Fallen

Chapter 14 "Demon Night"

One beat—Two beats—Three beats—Four!

A raging pulse quickening with each stride as every ounce of me fought, pushing forward.

I don't want to die!

But too late for those cries. Death was only a heartbeat away, catching up to me with each step. Why do people turn around when they know there's someone behind them? I fought the urges to see how close they were behind me. As if guided, I just pushed on until the tunnel got smaller—And, smaller!

"I got her!" yelled a voice two yards away.

Heckles followed behind that eerie voice.

Was this a game to them?

"Ha—HA! CHOAW!" hollered a voice.

What are they?

My lungs burned, but I could no longer keep that pace. My legs like gelatin as I crashed into the ground, tripping over my own feet.

"PLEASE!" I screamed.

"Please? Ha—OUAH!" yelled the silhouette of a shadow at the top of its lungs.

It crept closer, gripping a hammer in its right hand. Shortly afterward, two other shadows joined at the gate; they took their time enjoying every second of my fear.

"I'm smashing her skull in first!" yelped one of the shadows.

"Let's have some fun with her first," said another shadow.

Too dark, I couldn't tell who was talking, but they each had a distinct voice, and all young maybe just a little older than I.

"No—we can all have fun with her after we bash her skull in," cackled a chilling voice.

"You're mad!" I spat, breathlessly as I continued to crawl.

"We're maniacs!" scoffed the shadow closest to me, heckling like a hyena.

He was the shadow right behind me—I could tell.

"Please—Don't do this—please," I wept, too exhausted to get back to my feet as my palms kept pushing me back, dragging my entire body in the process.

"Do what, Lydia—You wanted it—You begged for it!" scoffed the shadow that was right behind me the entire way.

Lifting up his right arm, I could clearly see the silhouette of the hammer surrounded by a light of a single bulb, illuminating the doorway of a building. It was the only bright part of the alley, and it guided me like a beacon. Everything else around was pitch black. With a hint of rust and iron wafting accompanied by a pungent urine and waste odor, I was in the belly of some putrid garbage disposal. And, this was how it would end for me as the blunt end of the hammer came barreling toward my face.

Then—a blue flash lit up the sky!

Mere seconds before being impaled, a bolt of lightning exploded, tossing that hammer and the hand attached to it in the opposite direction.

From the depths, the night sky lit up as the alley became engulfed in blue flames.

—My Guardian!

Two figures were picked up by the illuminating one and thrown with such a force, their bodies collided into the brick wall, shattering bones upon impact.

The figure walked up to one of the bodies and stomped on its head, crushing the man's skull to smithereens. A blade grew from the illuminating figure, plunging it into the back of the other man as I heard the metal crash into concrete with a loud clink.