Hell's Army

Chapter Thirty- Recruitment

Holly slipped into the basement of the SCPD, the walls shaking around her as another explosion tore through the air. A bullet screamed past, burst through the black outline of a man hanging from the wall, straight through the head. Three more shots sailed down. Head. Head. Heart.

"I think he's dead," Holly said.

"What the hell do you want?" Morganstone muttered, not looking round.

"Just came to talk."

Morganstone took another shot to show just how much of a talking mood she was in.

"I never said I was sorry," Holly said, surprised at just how much it hurt to say.

"Wasn't your fault," Morganstone muttered.

"Maybe," she said. "Maybe it was. Maybe if I'd just been faster-"

Another shot. Heart.

"I know you're hurting," Holly said, quieter this time. "Believe me, I know. But we need your help one last time."

Morganstone glared at her. "You've got some nerve, kid."

"I miss him, too, you know," she murmured. And she did. God, she did. It was like everything she did, waking up, walking Beelzebub, casting spells, was just a little more empty. "I miss his laugh, and I miss the way he always cleaned his glasses in the middle of a sentence, and I miss how happy he always was. How happy he made me. But I know that if he was here, he'd tell us to finish the job. And if there was even the slightest chance that I could make it up to him, I'd do it in a heart beat. I owe him that." They said saying stuff like this made you feel better, but she didn't feel any better. All she felt was that lump pushing itself further and further up her throat, threatening to explode.

Morganstone put the gun down, breathed deeply.

"How did you two meet?" Holly asked.

She didn't answer for a second. "In a bar."

Holly laughed softly.

"I tried to shoot him," she continued. "He was hanging out with a bunch of kids from the Occult. I always told him to get out of there, but he kept on insisting they were good people. He was always seeing the good in people. Even when it wasn't there." She looked up at her. "I'll help you kill the vampires, because they took Felix. But after that, I don't ever wanted to hear from you again."

Holly nodded slowly. "Thank you." She made her way to the door. Stopped. "He loved you, you know."

Morganstone didn't look round. "Yeah." Another shot.

Heart.

****

Ingleseid stumbled out of the elevator and onto the creamy floor. He wove through the sea of suit-clad demons and into Ammelius' office, a newly found ringin bouncing around in his skull.

"Ingleseid?" Ammelius asked as he pushed through the oak doors. "Are you all right? You look dreadful."

Much as Ammelius was deeply concerned about Ingleseid's wellbeing, he was sure, he cut to the chase. "I need your help."

Ammelius crossed his fingers together. "Well, this is interesting."

"Do you remember the experiments Dr Lacere was working on before he died?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not likely to ever forget. Do you know how much paperwork I have to deal with because of that man?"

"One of them succeeded," Ingleseid said. "Its been creating others. They're going to attack the Christmas parade."