Age of Demons

Chapter 39 - Leyla

Detroit Safe House

Leyla wasn't expecting the number of people that showed up at the funeral.

Hundreds crowded into the auditorium, which looked like a school gym. The floor was shiny with faded painted lines tracing circles along it. Huge bleachers were pulled out, and people were filling them from both sides. She and Niko sat at the top, squished between others.

"It's like the whole community came..." Leyla said in astonishment.

Beside her, Niko said, "Everyone feels the impact. Especially with this many people..."

Down below on the floor, twelve signs lay propped in a line. Each of them was a deceased person's name, along with a painting of each person too, almost exactly to their likeness.

"Did that guy with the paintings do those?" She thought back to noticing a painter in the stores.

Niko nodded. "Pretty talented, huh?"

"Yeah."

On the main floor, she observed people moving up to the signs, placing things below each name. She squinted. Some looked like letters. Others were objects. She saw one was a stone. There was a stuffed bear too.

Niko seemed to notice her focus. "Some people write letters to the deceased. Others bring stuff—maybe something that was a connection, or a gift from that person. It's an in-memory type of thing."

Leyla nodded. It was sweet. Especially since bodies weren't present—they'd already been cremated—the objects served as an identification to that person. Tears crept in her eyes, and she tried to blink them away, but they cascaded down. She covered her mouth with her hand, stifling the sob that wanted to choke out.

Niko glanced over at her. His arm was immediately around her once he noticed the tears tracking her face. "Whoa, Ley, are you okay?" He rubbed her arm gently to comfort her.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. It's okay."

"Did you know anyone?" he asked softly.

She sucked in a bug gulp of air and held it, as if that would help keep the emotions stuffed inside her rather than bursting forth. Then she gradually let the air out. "No. It just made me think of someone else."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Did she? They were surrounded by people, but no one paid them any attention. She quickly wiped the tears off her cheeks. "His name was Carter. He left our safe house with us. He was murdered not even a mile away from here."

His hand stilled on her arm. "Oh jeez, Ley... I'm so sorry, I didn't even know you were dealing with this."

"It's not your fault."

Niko drew her to him and she laid her head on his shoulder. The warmth of his body comforted her, and she let out a long sigh. It was weird—it felt like they were in their own bubble. Loud people having animated conversations with one another encompassed them. But in this small space they sat in, it was just them and the tumultuous emotions.

"You want to know the worst part?" she asked him. She bit her lip—it had come out without her warrant. He just made her feel like she could tell him anything, especially in this moment.

"What?"

"Carter and I—we dated, on and off. I was always the one to break it off. He was trying to get back together again. I should have accepted—but it's too late now, I guess..." She sucked in a choked breath. "And I'm guilty that I'm feeling something for you."

Niko didn't say anything right away. She clenched her hands in her lap—maybe she had dared too much.

"This might sound kind of sappy... but he would have wanted you to be happy, not miserable and avoiding other people," Niko finally said.

"I know," she whispered. But no matter if she did, the guilt and the loss still wouldn't leave her.

A tall man walked onto the floor once everyone finished placing items by the signs. It wasn't anyone she recognized. He appeared to be in his forties, and his dark hair was pulled into a ponytail. His voice was loud as he declared, "We are here today to remember the lives of our fallen soldiers." The man then named every individual and said something about each one. After he was done, others came down and gave their words, but nobody on the bleachers could hear them. The man allowed handfuls of people down at a time, making sure no one crowded the main floor.

Since they were at the top, they waited there for a while. Which was good for her. Hopefully, her face would have calmed down by then.

"Did you know any of them?" she asked Niko.

He sighed. "I kind of knew Kole. He was a fun guy to be around. He definitely did not deserve this world."

Soon, their section was called down. They descended the bleachers. Niko walked over to Kole's sign, and Leyla followed. She didn't know any of these people, and a bubble of guilt formed in her gut that she hadn't tried to talk to them, to branch out in this place.

Niko said some words quietly. She studied the items at the foot of Kole's sign. There were a couple notes, some folded, some open to the world. There were also a few items placed around. Many seemed random to her—a slinky, for one. Another was a stuffed bunny, dirty from years of attention. She even spotted an action figure toy. She figured there was some kind of reason and connection behind all of the items. She wondered if they burned all these things, like they did the bodies.

After the funeral, Leyla's limbs dragged heavy. She was used to death. But this seemed different somehow. Witnessing this much care put in—how this community helped each other and thrived—it felt much worse when the lives were snuffed out. Back home, when someone died, it was hush-hush, and nobody talked about it.

Leyla trudged beside Niko down the halls. Leyla's stomach growled. Niko laughed at her before offering to get lunch.

They almost made it to the cafeteria when they heard a scream.

They froze. Suddenly, Niko darted down the hallway, Leyla right on his heels. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. What could be happening now?

When they rounded the corner to the cafeteria, they saw what was happening. A crowd was forming near the back wall where the windows were. People were gasping and screaming and yelling. Someone broke through the crowd and ran, pushing past Leyla and Niko in a rush. She shared an uncertain glance with him.

They couldn't see what everyone was freaking out about so Niko grabbed her hand and started pushing past people to get to the busy window.

They shoved past bodies. Leyla got a couple elbows to the abdomen and someone stepped on her foot, but finally they broke through and were in front of the window.

Leyla lost her breath. "Shit..."

Before them was the field that seemed to go on and on, with the exception of the forest to the left. And with the exception of the demons. There was always a line of demons waiting along the border, watching. While their presence before was disconcerting, the sheer number now sent a jolt of alarm.

There must have hundreds—maybe even thousands—of demons massing together, blotting out the light, transforming the world from green to black.

Leyla's heart sank into her stomach. It was truly the world of the demons now. And humans were terribly outmatched.