The Book of Gemma -Apocalyptic Fantasy Romance-

CHAPTER 26: DARUS DEVILS

I hear voices and the shifting sand underneath Indigeos. I can hear men's voices saying this is the place. A leader snarling at the others to keep quiet. Guns are being removed from holsters and the sliding motions of butcher knives slitting the leather as they are removed as well.

"Bring me my glasses, take Djinn into the cave and tell Akira to keep the children safe." Gem orders me. I do as told as the people begin to hide in the shacks.

I can't leave Gem though, I hide behind the rock wall as they begin to approach. She tells me to hide but I can't leave her alone, she doesn't need me but I can't hide and just hope she's okay.

I peer around the corner to see at least twenty men and ten Indigeos attached to wagons halt in front of Gem.

"Evening gentleman, something I could help you with?" She greets them.
The larger man in front hops off the Indigeos back and steps in her direction, I assume he is the leader that shushed the others on getting closer to our town.

"Are you the leader of this place?" His voice was rough and stern. I can feel his anger already seeing Gem.
She giggles, "At the moment, yes... and I'm sorry to say but we aren't taking in anymore people.. I wish you well on your travels."

He looks back and starts belly laughing at her reply, the other men join in.

"It is us who will be doing the taking, miss." He snarls.

Gem giggles again, "I assure you that you will do no such thing, I recommend heading back to your camp before the night takes you."

He steps closer to her, he's towering over her body to intimidate her but she just bats her eyelashes at them. She was no longer afraid or frantic in her choice of words or actions.

'Gem, you can't kill them.. What if some are innocent bystanders?'

She knew I was right, she couldn't just kill one and have the rest know her secret. She needed to hear them out for their knocking on our door.

"How dare you speak to the Darus Devils like this. Step aside."

The Darus Devils? Must be a gang here on Lower, probably wanting to raid our food supply. Gem only made food for the people during the day, they shrivel up and die come nightfall. There was not much food for them to take.

'Darus Devils?...oh God let me punish them, Deecon. They can't be serious.'
She says lowly to me.

'You can't let them hurt these people, just do as they say or this could be a massacre.'

She nods and steps aside.
They leave the Indigeos outside the walls and walk towards the fire.
I slink behind one of the shacks to keep watch.
"Where are you people?" He questions Gem as she follows behind him.
"Why are you here?" She argues, the man ignores her.
Some of the other men are rifling through the last of the feast we had for the celebration, some start to poke around the shacks where our people hid.
Gem didn't like that.

"I said why are you here?" She says more sternly.
The man pulls his gun out of the holster and points it to Gem,
"Where is Akira?" He asks, holding her at gunpoint.
Akira must have had a run in with these people before.
Maybe that's why they live so far out of the city.

"I am the leader now, anything with Akira goes through me."
Gem doesn't even put her hands up, she stands there boldly at his threat.
"Akira fled from our deal, I'm here to take what she owes me."
I see the other men grabbing our supplies, the leftover food, even some of the blankets around the fire.
"Are you the leader of the Darus Devils?" She says with a little mocking at their name.
"Trust me, you wouldn't want our leader coming here."
Gem's question was answered without the man realizing she wanted to know if there were more of them.

She nods, "After you take our supplies, will you return?"
"We will be needing more food in a couple weeks."

Fuck, Gem... you might have to harm these men. Who knows if they will slaughter these people when we return to Sky?

"If you get your food, will you harm anyone?" A little bit of begging comes out in her voice. He may think it's her begging for them to not kill someone but really, she's begging you to not force her swift swing of justice at their sinful acts.

"If every ant is in line, no reason to."
'He's lying.' I say lowly to her.
'I don't have much choice right now, do I?'
He lowers the gun, "I'll need a head count though.. Can't have someone stray."
Gem shakes her head, "Just take the food and supplies, a head count is unnecessary."

It doesn't matter what she says, his men begin bashing in the doors and yanking everyone out. Their cries and yelps echo as they are pulled by their jackets and pushed to the ground to their knees around the fire.

"You!" One of them shouts behind me, he puts his hand on my shoulder and an instinct takes control as I grab his hand and launch him over myself. The man slams to the ground, Gem looks over to me scared I am harmed. Their leader points to me as a couple more of his men drag me to the fire. My chest hits the dirt as rocks try to pierce my skin.

Gem pleads to the man to be gentle, that she will do whatever he asks if he stops treating her people like rag dolls. He ignores her once again, walking behind each individual until he lands behind Akira.
Akira trembles feeling his presence around her, she was absolutely terrified to see him. He grabs her ponytail and yanks it upwards as he curls his back to have the side of his face next to hers.

"Akira... it's been too long... you haven't forgotten me have you?" He mocks.
She can barely form a word but manages to shake out, "Milgor."
He smiles as his name leaves her lips.
"I see I have finally found where you fled after our little fight."
That sentence makes her squirm as she fights back tears,
"Little fight?.. You killed my son because I didn't have enough contribution."

I can feel coldness ooze from Gem, he had given her a reason to strike him.
"You said you wouldn't harm them." Gem barks to Milgor.
He releases Akira's hair and turns to her, he huffs at the interruption.

"Only if you do as told."

I begin to chuckle under my breath,
'Should not have said that.'

Gem's coldness grows as he says it, coming in here calling themselves the devil and threatening innocent lives doesn't settle for her. They were fake Gods.
She smiles up at the man's face.

"Besides the cringe worthy name you have given yourselves, what makes you the devils? Because the devil only punishes the damned, not the innocent. Your entire marketing for yourselves is incorrect."

Milgor goes to shove her to the ground but she doesn't move an inch, his anger grows as none of his efforts knock her on her ass.
She stands on just the tip of her toes on her right foot as she twirls to the side for him to land face first into the ground.

He scrambles to his feet, furious he is being a joke in front of his soldiers.
He pulls his gun out again and points it to her forehead.
"Guess I have to make another example to you people." He snaps.
She stands there waiting, smiling at him. "Do it." She taunts him.
My body tenses up knowing what will happen if he pulls that trigger but Gem?
She always knows more than me what to do next. She was always steps ahead in her plans. I needed to trust her.

The blast from the gun irrupts throughout the rock walls, my eyes shut at the sound ringing in my ears. I was afraid to open them but knew I needed to see her next move.
The bullet is flattened against her forehead like a penny. Her hand raises and prys it off her skin, there wasn't even a fleck of red from the pressure.
She takes the flattened bullet and hands it Milgor.

"Do you want to try again? Maybe that bullet was defective."

Milgor narrows his brows, his breathing picking up and he fires again.
She hands him the bullet back.
He fires over and over until the clip is empty.
His men are speechless behind him not knowing if they should open fire as well.

"What-..What is this? Who are you?" Fear starts to spread through his words.
Gem removes her sunglasses and the glow from her eyes makes his face a pink hue.

"Are you full of sin?" She asks.

At first I assumed the man would laugh in her face and tell her some bullshit to scare her... but it's like he's in a trance. He blankly stares at her and I can feel his anger turn into hatred with undertones of excitement at his choice.

"I burned my whole family alive as a sacrifice to the Darus Devils."

He tries to snap out of it saying "Why would I tell you that?"
She steps closer to him and for once he steps back.

"Funny thing about the real devil... he had this neat trick that he would use to pull information... to have people confess their desires, what they wanted most in the world... I guess I just took a page from his book." She grins, pointing to one of the soldiers behind him.

"What is your sin?"

The man drops his gun and blankly stares at her gaze,
"I drowned my sister as a sacrifice to the Darus Devils."

She asks every member as they reveal that each one had to kill in order to join... They were all guilty.. Damned. Some even laugh as they admit to torturing their friends, strangers and loved ones. My stomach turns as one confesses to brutally raping and murdering his own wife in front of the Darus Devils.. A show he called it.