God's Gone AWOL

[11] Jailbreak! --Again!!

[EPISODE 11: ANNOYANCE]

The alarms in Hell had finally stopped, thanks to whoever managed to contact the security commission. Although the noise was no longer hammering out throughout the entire cavern, the situation hadn't been rectified at all. The streets were still chaotic, swarming with an intense feeling of panic and confusion as the everyday residents of Hell tried to figure out what was going on. And the threat of an imminent invasion was still looming on the horizon, even if the public hadn't been properly informed yet.

"What's happening?"

"The fuck did y'all turn on the alarm for?"

"Someone said that we were under attack! Is that true??"

All of these questions were aimed at Xander as he tried to push his way through the crowd again. His usual intimidating look didn't seem to be working in this particular situation, and he was quite overwhelmed by all the noise and attention. He didn't dare say anything either, as he had no idea what he could say that wouldn't cause even more trouble.

"Xander!" someone shouted from within the crowd.

He ignored the voice and kept wriggling his way towards the civil-justice building like a tadpole stuck in a moving current. Around him, the spiral of fast-moving bodies never ceased. Some demons were desperately trying to approach him, some were running about on their own business. Regardless, it was impossible to get a decent footing or follow a clear path.

"Xander hold up for a minute!" the demon called again.

Suddenly, Xander stopped. It took him a moment, but he realized that he actually knew the voice. Even if it didn't belong to someone he particularly wanted to see right then and there, he still had to turn and face them regardless.

Seeing that two of Hell's high councilors had come together, the surrounding demons finally backed off slightly. Although they apparently had no trouble harassing Xander on his own, at least they recognized that two councilors speaking about current disasters was something that shouldn't be overwhelmed by random questions. Thus, the pair were able to speak to each other quietly without worrying about any of their words getting lost in the mix.

"What in the name of all that is bad and unholy did you do? Why did you set off the alarm??" Xander asked.

"Do you think I wanted to?" Eleazar replied. "If I hadn't, would anybody have listened to you? Xander, you and I both know that even in an emergency, nobody else ever takes the initiative to act unless they're actively on fire,"

"Yeah, but now they're too busy panicking about being on fire to actually stop-drop-and-roll,"

Xander decided he didn't want to look at Eleazar's annoying face anymore, so he spun around and continued his trek towards the civil-justice building. However, Eleazar had never been an easy person to shake off. The moment Xander tried to push away from the conversation, they followed like a dog at his heels.

"Where are you going?" they asked.

"To put out the flames!"

"Are you looking for Smythe?"

Eleazar had guessed correctly, but Xander was still mad at them for causing so much panic. He didn't even slow his walking pace as he made his frustrated reply.

"Of course I'm looking for Smythe. She's the only demon in this entire realm with any braincells left,"

"Hang on hang on!" Eleazar still chased after him. "That's another reason I sounded the alarm. Smythe's gone!"

This immediately made Xander freeze. Frowning, he grabbed Eleazar by the forearm and tugged them into a narrow side-alley, away from any pointed ears that might still be listening. Once they were well shielded between the dark walls of the metropolis, Xander spared no time in rounding on them.