The Soul

BEFORE: Chapter Eleven

     As she ran, Cara could not stop the frustration of her reality from seeping into her every thought, urging her to run as fast as she possibly could. It was insane to her that she had just been at her sister's apartment, refusing to go inside.

     Now...

     Now her sister and mother were God knows where, and she had almost been killed by a demonic lizard and now a demon child that had seemed normal just a couple minutes ago.

     The breath left her running form as she was tackled from the side, hitting the ground with a painful thud, her head immediately starting to ache. Expecting the demon child, her arms crossed in front of her face in a protective X.

     "Get up!"

     It was Ivor.

     A breath of relief left her. Before she could bring her arms back down to her sides, Ivor grabbed her left one, getting up off of her, hauling her up along with him.

     "You need to get out of here!"

     And just before he let go, he whispered in her ear "Get my arrow Cara", heading back towards the demon, meeting him halfway.

     As they collided again, Cara couldn't help but feel an insurmountable amount of panic. If Ivor got hurt, who would help her find her sister and mother? She knew it was selfish of her to think that way, but she couldn't help it.

     She didn't owe Ivor anything.

     Cara darted out of the pizza shop, looking around her as she ran. What she did not understand was why no one was running into the shop with all the commotion coming from within. In fact, no one was even looking in. The owner stood outside still. People walked about outside, unaware of the demonic activity occurring inside the nearby pizza shop. It was the same thing that had happened at her apartment, Cara noticed. She vowed that she would ask Ivor as soon as they made it out of this mess.

     If. If they made it out.

     Cara made it to Ivor's parked car, relief washing over her in waves. She grabbed the back seat handle, giving it a pull and...

     Cara groaned, frustrated beyond her wits.

     The car was locked.

     Looking back over her shoulder, into the shop, she could see that the demon was crawling on top of Ivor's laying form. Ivor in question was moving incredibly slow, doing close to nothing to protect himself. Cara's insides tightened painfully. She needed to do something. Now.

     Turning on her feet quickly, she made her way back towards the shop, mind speeding along with her. On the way, she noticed a rather large branch that had fallen from a nearby tree, and mustering up her strength, she grabbed it along the way.

     Inside the shop, alarm gripped her as she watched Ivor weakened, arms pushing against the ground in a futile attempt to move himself backwards. There was no way he would succeed. A long gash ran across his left cheek, bloody and ridged. Something small shined near his form, close to his leg. Squinting her eyes, she realized what it was. It was exactly what she was looking for: Ivor's keys.

     But first...

     Cara ran forward, tightening her grip around the branch. Reaching Ivor and the demon, she let her arms swing the branch toward the creature, eyes closed, hoping it would hit where she needed. The impact of the hit reverberated through her arms, shaking them. A pained shriek caused her eyes to shoot open, seeing the creature fly a short distance and fall to the ground.