Midnight CEO

36.

"Ebony, are you ok?" Carter said, walking towards me as he cleaned his blood-soaked hands on a towel.

"No," I shook my head and stared at a photo on the wall of Janet and myself on a boat in our bikinis. We went to Mexico two years ago and had the time of our lives. She was my closest friend, one of a few people in this world that I truly cared about, and now she was gone because of me. Tears fell from my eyes as I pictured her in my mind.

"I'm sorry, baby, I never meant for any of this to happen," Carter said gently, kissing the top of my head.

"Why do innocent people have to get hurt? She did nothing wrong," I yelled, kicking the wall so hard it left a hole. "Janet was my friend. She was my family," I cried as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Ebony," Carter said in my ear. "I'm sorry this is happening to you and people you care about. I never intended for any of this to happen."

"She didn't deserve to die, Carter. She had nothing to do with this. I should have been the one who died," I turned to look at him. "That should have been me,"

"NO," he bellowed loudly. "Don't you dare say that you deserve to die. I will not stand here and listen to that. I'm sorry that your friend was hurt, I truly am, but I need you to stay strong and survive because, without you, I have nothing to fight for. I will turn this world upside down and inside out for you and the people you care about." he wrapped his arms around my body and held me tightly. "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." He said softly in my ear. "To get through a war, a man needs something bigger than himself to fight for, and you are why I am fighting this war, Ebony, and I will not allow yourself to have such thoughts. You are the only sunshine in this horrid world right now, and we need you to shine and give us hope that what we are doing has some meaning. War is never easy, but right now, we don't have a choice. I will fight for you and everything you love, so you will never feel pain again. I will avenge your friend and make them pay for hurting her," he said softly as he wiped my tears with his finger. "They will pay for all of this."

"You promise," I sniffed, resting my head on his chest.

"Until my last breath, baby," he said, kissing the top of my head. "I will make them all pay for your tears."

"Thank you," I whispered, looking up at him.

"I would do anything for you," he kissed me softly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," I smiled as I reached up and kissed him again. "Can demons feel pain?" I said, looking back over the now torn-up body that lay on the floor.

"Well, that one sure as fuck did," he shrugged.

"Good," I kissed him again.

-------
Does everyone understand the plan?" Carter said as we all stood in the kitchen of my apartment.

"Question," Jake said, raising his hand like he was in school. "How does one kill them things again?" He said, subtly pointing to Janet's bleeding corpse on the floor. "It's been a while."

Carter cleared his throat as he looked over at me, then quickly looked away. "You simply cut its throat and let the demon be sucked back into hell," he said quickly, looking to the ground. "You must make sure the throat is cut deep for this to work."

"That's right. I remember now." Jake nodded in agreement. "Question," he raised his hand again. "Is anyone else completely creeped out by these things? I mean, they take over your body and walk around like everything is sweet," he made a face and shivered. "It's creepy."

"That's why we must close the portal and stop them from coming out," Carter said calmly. "Now, everyone knows the code word?"

Everyone nodded.