Apex Predator

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Alaina

I kick the thick metal bars encasing us. They are barely visible against the darkness we are standing in.

"Can never get around this stupid place without getting trapped," Zayx complains.

"Well there has to be downsides to hell other than watching your best friend die." I mumble. A slow clap fills my ears. Light floods the room we're in and it becomes obvious that we're standing in a large cage.

I hear footsteps and back away from the bars. A foot steps into the light followed by a muscular body shrouded in a long black robe. The man has yellow-orange eyes and his hair is made of dancing orange flames.

"You failed," the man says in a tortured voice.

"You cheated, Hades." Quinn says.

"How so?" Hades asks.

"You know how," Sy says. "Let us go."

"No can do," Hades shakes his heads. "The boss wouldn't be happy. Now you die. I hope you liked what you saw here because now you're going to spend a lot of time here."

"That's not fair!" Karla says.

"Hell isn't a place of fairness," Hades says indifferently. He snaps his fingers and the cage disappears. He snaps his fingers again and an army of demons appears in front of us. The demons are different from the skinny demons that had killed Cindy. These demons have muscular bodies covered in leathery red skin. They have razor sharp teeth and thick black claws. They stare at us with hungry, black eyes.

"I'll see you again shortly," Hades says and disappears.

"We're in trouble," I say.

"I can't use my power!" Quinn says, his face full of fear. We all back away from the demons but they advance towards us.

"What are we going to do?" Karla asks frantically.

"Xeon," Zayx says. "Xeon can help us." One of the creatures jumps at Zayx. He moves out of the way and it crashes into the stone behind us. It roars and looks at us angrily. We run away from the creature without taking our eyes off it. The other creatures watch us for a moment and then continue to close in on us.

"We don't know where he is and he probably doesn't know where we are," I say. The demons lunge at us we dart in different directions but one catches my back. I scream as its claws cut through my skin. I fall to my knees as pain rushes through my body. The demon raises its massive hand to slash at me again. I close my eyes and wait for the demon to finish me off.

It never comes.

I open my eyes and a very tall, dark-haired boy standing in front of me. He is holding back the demon's claws with strength that his lanky body shouldn't possess. He looks back at me with beautiful violet eyes.

"I always know where you are," Xeon says with barely any strain in his voice. "This is a fine mess you've all gotten yourselves into." He throws the large demon across the room with little effort. He helps me to my feet and rests a cool hand on my back. The pain lifts out of my back. I reach behind me and touch my skin. There are rips in my shirt but my skin is smooth as though nothing ever happened. I stare back at Xeon in disbelief.

He can do that but he won't heal Sy?

Xeon steps away from me and his eyes turn cloudy. He runs towards the other demons and torpedoes through their chests. Soon, every demon is lying dead on the ground without its heart.

"Now," Xeon turns to face us and rubs his hands together. "Let's get out of here before Hades comes back." Xeon taps his foot on the ground and the area around us wavers. It twists and turns until it is different.