Like Fallen Angels

Chapter 1 : Bright

The demon rose, spidery legs extended as it swung the torso from the ground with ease. The jaw unhinged unveiling fangs that glimmered in the watery light.

 

“Turn back.” Scott spoke from my left, his voice thin. “We can’t do this now.” His eyes slid from the beast before him to myself. My stomach lurched as I beheld the weariness that resided in his expression. The alpha was painfully aware that our odds weren’t good.

 

Suddenly, the beast lurched forward and contorted in a synchronised movement. The stick- like legs contracted inward and thickened and the head became increasingly defined. Landing smoothly, it whipped its head around and emitted a low growl that reverberated across the room. Now resembling an enormous devilish lion the creacher snap its jaws and lunged.

 

“GO!” Instinctively, Scott charged into confrontation. Upon reaching the beast, the alpha twisted away, racking his claws across its torso. The demon howled, a sound comparable only to that of the wailing of a thousand sirens, and charged again with a revitalized ferality.

 

Scott never stood a chance.

 

It caught him in the side - a blow that simultaneously slashed the skin and reinforced with enough strength to launch the alpha across the room. The thud of his head against the concrete wall echoed in my head and my breathing faltered.

 

“SCOTT?!” His lifeless form fell and sprawled limply onto the asfalt.

 

The creature was still, its warped face withered into what I swore could be described as a smirk as it speculated the fallen boy. In the silence I could hear my heartbeat thudding in my ears, my mind wheeling. Time appeared to slow, freeze, and speed up at ever changing intervals. I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t decipher anything to focus on. Panic pumped through my body, dulling my senses useless and fortifying my inability to fathom a coherent thought.

 

Detecting the second - and considerably weaker presence - the demon advanced in a languid pace. There was no rush, and I sensed the predator decided to toy with his prey this time before devouring it.

 

My effort to dodge his attack was painfully futile. He caught me with his claws and I bit my lip hard to avoid crying out in pain. Before I could regain any sense of direction I felt myself encaged by a set of jaws, its teeth digging painfully into my stomach and hip. I was lifted from the ground and flung a couple yards, skidding hard against the ground. I felt another patch of skin tear open and something warm trickle down my side. Holy. God.

 

“Alex?!” I experienced a sensation was similar to a blow in the gut when I heard Aiden’s strangled voice issuing from somewhere behind me.What was he doing here?! He needed to go.

 

The demon’s ears lay flat and slowly swiveled its head in the direction of the noise. I could hear him before I saw him - an unmistakable limp and labored breathing as he advanced. The word ‘run’ was thick in my mouth and stuck in my throat. I lay silent. Motionless.

 

Aiden appeared, shrouded in a shadow that didn’t quite obscure his form. The left leg hung at an irregular angle. Pain wracked his voice when the boy called out again, obviously unable to see into the deserted building.