The Impact (Book II)

Ambush

"Can someone please explain to me what the shit happened?!" Zach was loudly demanding in the back of the van, glaring heatedly at Orlene, Will, and me.

"I can't believe you asked me to just...just abandon you like that!" Will was all but yelling over Zach, glowering at me and the road.

Emily and Keith had their hands covering their ears with varying expressions of apprehension. Cole had his arms folded across his chest, his mouth a thin, stern line. Orlene was seated on his other side, twiddling her thumbs and not daring to look up from her sandals. In the meantime, I regarded Will boredly as he continued to rant and rave about me ordering him to leave me. When he paused to breathe, I asked dryly, "Are you done?"

In the second it took for him to draw breath, Zach bellowed, "Goddammit, someone answer me!"

Orlene flinched when he jabbed a finger at her. "Why is she still with us?! Why didn't that she-demon take her?! And, more importantly, Mom, why did you let them go?!"

Patience worn thin from the two volatile redheads yelling, I slapped the dashboard with my open palm. "Would everyone shut up?! I can barely hear myself think with the two of you roaring like an untamed hellhound!"

It grew silent in the van, the only sound coming from the tires riding over bumps in the road. Will and Zach glowered at me.

Drawing in a deep breath, I said tersely, "Now then. Zach, I will be happy to answer your questions so long as you ask them in a more subdued manner. Orlene is not a threat, Cole vouches for her, and Mikayla is the Demon Queen. We would not want her around when the Demon King already wants my head on a pike. And that is not even considering just how powerful she is; the fact that she came quietly is nothing short of a miracle."

Zach's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "How do we know you're not in league with them?"

My vision in my right eye sharpened and cleared as it changed. Keith rounded on his oldest brother, yelling, "Mommy isn't a traitor and if you think she is, you're dumber than you look!"

His voice was not fully his own; there was a deep sub-tone to his natural intonation. I looked at him. "Keith, it's alright, calm down."

"No! Even Dad doesn't doubt you the way he does! It's not right." His voice warbled and his aura darkened.

Emily fidgeted in her seat, leaning away from him. I was tempted to unbuckle my seatbelt and crawl into the back to try to calm him back down before his Adsecula came out. In the one second Will took his eyes off the road to give his two-bits, I watched a massive shape plant itself in the middle of the road.

Large glowing eyes leered at us as we rapidly approached it. It hunkered its body down, ready for the collision, massive, gorilla-like arms outstretched to grab the van.

"Will, look out!" I cried. He turned to the front again and jerked the steering wheel to the right. We narrowly missed the Human-Turned-Demon.

We veered into the woods while Will frantically turned the steering wheel to avoid the trees and kept slamming his foot down on the brakes. In the back, I heard the children grunting and screaming. I gripped the seat, my body being jostled by the bumps, too stunned to make a noise.

"Someone cut the brakes!" he yelled just before the front of the van struck a large tree.

Everyone jolted jerked forward from the force and the airbags deployed. My sternum and ribs snapped as the airbag hit me. Blood stung one of my eyes. Behind me, I heard Keith's wails and the others' groans of pain. The back door opened and several bodies rolled out. My hands trembled as I brought them to my face to wipe the blood out of my eye. Looking out my window, I saw Cole, Keith, and Orlene standing by my door, each a little cut up and bruised.

From what I could tell, the front of the van was partially wrapped around the trunk of the tree. My door was warped; if I was to get out, I would have to crawl through the back or the window. Something I didn't want to do given my broken bones. My legs were also trapped. On my left, Will groaned as he came back into consciousness. He bled heavily from a head wound but didn't seem to be too injured.

"It's okay, Dad, I'll get you out." Zach's face appeared and he struggled with the door but eventually managed to open it.

Will slid out and Zach caught him, slinging an arm around his shoulder. Incoherently, Will mumbled something and Zach nodded. "I'll get her out next. Cole!"

"Look the other way, Mom," Cole said. I did what he said and heard a shatter as the glass from the window sprinkled my lap.

With his upper torso in the window, Cole undid my seatbelt and hooked his arms under my armpits and started to lift. A shriek of pain left me. "Stop, stop, stop! My ribs!"

"We'll never get her out that way," Emily sniffled. "Look, her legs are trapped."

Zach propped Will up against a neighboring tree. The older redhead appeared dazed as he looked around, not fully taking in his surroundings. I suspected he had a concussion.

"Never mind me, get your father out of here," I said harshly, each breath hurting me.

"Why did he go off the road like that? Why did you tell him to look out?!" Zach demanded, his voice too loud.

"Zach, now's not the time. Look at the condition she's in." Emily said nervously. "I saw what Dad was trying to avoid to hit; i-it wasn't anything I've ever seen before."

"And it's still nearby!" I coughed and blood came out. Through the shock of being in an accident, I could hear its heartbeat as it followed our path of destruction.

Cole pursed his lips and he clambered into the backseat. Once again, he hooked his arms under mine and leaned back, pulling me with him. I bit through my lip to keep from screaming too loudly as he jostled me. The sharp plastic material from the interior cut my legs as they slowly grew free. With one more pull, I was free and the two of us fell out of the van in a heap.

I gasped for air, eyes not quite seeing what was in front of me as the pain threatened to rob me of my consciousness. My ribs and sternum were healing, but not fast enough for me to be able to move on my own.

"We have to get out of here. Cole, you watch Mom; I've got Dad. Emily, keep an eye on Keith and Orlene." Zach ordered as he bent down to grab Will.

"W-where are we going to go? We're still a few hours from home and no one other than Uncle Joel knows we're out here! We have demons and t-that thing running about!" Emily's pitch grew higher as she panicked.

"It was a Human-Turned-Demon. They're the ones that give us the stereotype of being baser beings who possess humans." Orlene spoke up.

There was a howl from nearby. Keith whimpered and the children froze, ears straining to hear where the howl had come from. His voice barely above a whisper, Zach gestured to Emily. "Em, you're the fastest flier; go to Heaven and get help."

Her wings, reminiscent of a butterfly's, erupted from her back and she hastily ascended. "R-right!"

She disappeared. Cole picked me up and placed me beside Will. He had passed out again. As I lifted my hand to wake him up, I paused.

I could hear loud, heavy breathing. Behind Keith, a monstrous looking Human-Turned-Demon had its hand raised. I lunged at the Human-Turned-Demon, taking the blow as I shoved him out of the way.

The blow was bone deep and red hot. My mouth opened in a silent scream as I slumped to the ground face first. There was a burst of something bright that struck the monster in its face, forcing it to retreat back from me. Zach leaped over my prone body, his face twisted with rage and fire dancing in his hands. Cole's face swam in my darkening vision as he dragged me away from the fight. I could barely feel the wound, though I was aware of a prickling sensation coming from the gouges.

It wasn't long before the prickling feeling overcame my entire body. My body grew rigid. As I seized from the poison infesting me, I was distantly aware of Cole turning me on my side before I blacked out.