Unlikely Hero: Fall of the Demon Slayer

Part 7

The sound of the Power Hunters footsteps rushing through the woods were like thunder. I could hear there dogs sprinting towards me, and I couldn't do anything but lay there. I was done for, I knew I wasn't going to make it. They were closing in on me. Time began to slow, I felt as if I was seeing my whole life flash in front of my eyes. I was loosing a lot of blood, my shoulder was bleeding more profusely now. It was a powerful shot. Why didn't I see this coming? I knew I should have stayed in the house, I shouldn't have left Claire and her family. The kids could be in danger now.

As I sat perched up against the tree I began to wonder what it was the Power Hunters would do to me. They might just kill me right here and now, it would be the easiest thing for them to do right now. I was their biggest threat at the moment and they would need to get rid of me soon enough. Maybe they'll take me in and experiment on me, maybe see what makes my powers tick and then use it against me. There were so many things they could do to me, so many things that no man should ever have to think about. I could hear them closing in around me, only a matter of time. I was losing consciousness, my vision began to blur. Being struck in the shoulder by a bullet seems like it isn't much, but you still lose blood fast. I could hear them getting closer and closer.

I stood up and leaned against the tree. I forced myself to try and walk in the opposite direction. I was stumbling around and having to hold on to the trees to keep myself balanced. If I was going down, I'm at least going to make them catch their prey. I began to shuffle my way through the woods. The ground beneath me felt like it was crumbling under each step I took. I was in so much pain from the fall I took after I got shot. I'm pretty sure a few of my ribs are broken and my arm is broken at the elbow from how I landed. I was to weak to heal myself, I needed to get find someplace to rest up. I kept stumbling around the woods, pausing and leaning against a tree to catch my breath every once in a while. Soon though my walking started to slow. I was starting to loose feeling in my legs. I was losing to much blood and my body wouldn't be able to take it much longer. I didn't let it stop me, I kept moving forward. I wasn't going down like this.

I walked further ahead, forcing myself to bare through the pain and exhaustion. My body began to grow weaker. It started to shut itself down. I was running my time stamp thin. I would be dead from blood loss and exhaustion before the Power Hunters even made it to me. I needed to keep pushing, to keep fighting. I need to do it for mom, the kids, especially for Claire. My vision began to blur out and I grew dizzy. The whole world began to spin. I collapsed to the ground. I stretched out my arm and tried to pull myself further, but I no longer had the strength to continue on. This was it, this was how I died. I fought two demons and won, I saved the whole town and possibly more. I did all that just for my time to end with a bullet to the shoulder. There was no use in trying to fight it. I could sense them closing in on me. I began to close my eyes, trying to fight to stay awake and keep moving forward. Right before I went under I saw two shadowy figures above me. I figured it wouldn't take them long to get to me. I blacked out shortly after.

I wondered out into a bright white room. Everything seemed nice and peaceful, I felt happy and comfortable. I walked in further and noticed all the people in there. Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves. There were no sad faces, only smiles and joyful looks. Was I in heaven? I must have died in the woods. There was no other explanation to it. I walked in and sat down on a couch off in the corner. I looked around the room, examining all the people. They all were laughing and talking with each other. All of them were wearing white clothes that were clean and pristine looking. I looked down at my self, I was still wearing the blood stained grey t-shirt and ripped up jeans from the woods. I looked around for a while longer. No one seemed to notice that I was there. I looked down at my hands. They were cut up and covered in dirt and blood. Was this really the end of me? Did I really die out in the woods and this is my body going into the afterlife? This couldn't be, I still had so much left to do. I need to protect those kids, Claire is still out there. I've failed them, I've failed everyone.

I noticed the people in the room began to point and stare at me. They were whispering to each other, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Their tones shifted from a happy and joyful one to a scared and confused one. Soon there was no sound in the room. It was just the mass of people staring at me. Then someone in the back yelled.

"Failure!"

Then another shouted.

"Freak!"

Soon everyone was shouting different things towards me.

"Liar!"

"Useless!"

"Monster!"

Then everyone started shouting in sync.

"Failure! Failure! Failure! FAILURE! FAILURE!"

I was starting to get surrounded by them all. I didn't try to stop them. All of them were right. I was a failure. I was a monster, a freak, a liar, useless. I was all of those things rolled into one. I was never going to be able to see mom or Claire again. I had failed them, failed to protect myself so I could protect them. The room around me began to catch on fire. The people were burning around me, but they were still chanting the same things over and over again. Each time would get even more creepy than the last. The room was ablaze in a matter of seconds. I just sat there and let the fire spread around me. This was my punishment for being the way I am. I couldn't stop what was happening anymore. There was no point in trying to fight it. I wasn't going to win the fight.

The flames around me grew larger, everything around me was scorched but for some reason I was still fine. There was something pondering in the back of my mind. A small thought from a year ago when Claire told me to never give up no matter what the cost was. I remembered the thought was what helped me in my fight against Ethan and Austin. It helped me stay motivated. Maybe this isn't the end after all and the thought coming back to me because this wasn't my time to go. It only just now showed back up in my mind so it must mean something. I began to concentrate hard on the real world.

The world I was in started to shake and grow hotter as the flames overtook it. My mind raced with old memories and happy days ahead of me. I was fighting death right at it's door step, and I think I'm winning this fight. The world shook more frantically than before. Then a bright light appeared ahead of me. I began to walk towards it. The ground shook with anger. I was losing my balance and started to fall back. I regained my stature and began moving forward again. The ground still shook under me. I unfolded my wings and attempted to fly. I would gain some air and then stumble down to the ground again. My shoulder wound kept me from flying away. I didn't let that stop me. I got up onto my feet and bolted towards the light, not letting anything stop me from getting to it. I was almost there. The ground was shaking violently, trying to keep me in deaths grasp but not being able to catch me. I was right in front of the light now. With one final thrust from my legs I jumped into the light.