Demons |¤| Lashton

Highway to Hell

"Run!" Ryan screamed at me. I dove left and ran for the palettes. Running was really useless, but at least it'd delay whatever Luke was going to do to me.

This was more serious that ever, I realized, panting. Adrenaline pumped through me, and I sped up. Luke's demon knew full well that we were out to get it, and it was going to do anything in its power to stop us.

Speaking of Luke and his demon, there was no way I was going to remain out of his hands. He was practically on top of me, despite my best efforts, and his entire body was trembling with fury. I was gonna die, I decided, looking at him over my shoulder one last time.

Fatal mistake.

I tripped over a cut in the worn concrete floor.

The scene must have looked ridiculous, like a wild goose chase, but it was really frightening for me. For everyone.

Screaming, I tried to crawl backwards as Luke quickly swooped down and wrapped his cold hands around my neck.

No!

My breath was violently knocked out of me as he pulled me completely off of the floor and then slammed me back down. He was snarling, vapor streaming from his mouth. My pathetic terrified screams soon died away as his grip grew tighter and tighter. He was choking me. A hot pain began to bubble inside my brain.

The room was full of screaming. Michael and Calum had followed us, but they were hesitant to touch Luke.  I could see Father Dominic just over Luke's shoulder, furiously praying.

In an instant, Ryan was past Mike and Calum, clambering on top of Luke and trying to rip him off of me. Using some of supernatural abilities to aid him, he tried flying backwards, hoping it'd give him leverage.

Yet another mistake, I guess you could say, because Luke didn't let go.

And then I was hanging by my neck; Luke's iron grip playing the noose. Ryan rocked Luke rythymically, trying to make him just let go, but it made it worse.

The entire weight of my body began to swing to and fro, my neck and spine serving as a continuation of the rope. The pain was indescribable.

The light from the little window high up in the wall seemed to slowly grow distant, and everything else faded into nothingness.

---

I was in hell.

But I wasn't in eternal suffering yet. This was only the preliminary round, the stage of identification and the stripping of all human pride and mercy.

The line was long, and the heat was even worse. But there weren't any flames or giant witch stirring pots where dozens of skeletons were left to boil. There was just an ominous red glow stretching out forever in every direction.

The lady with long hair that stood in front of me turned to face me. Her face was beaten and distraught, taking on a dull blue color. It looked like she had been chewing her hair.

"Its a long line, boy, and an even longer wait. But trust me, the line to heaven's even worse. Because I tell you, the longer it is, the fewer that make it in." She laughed this dry, horrible laugh, before turning back around.

And then I woke up.

"Ashton?" A tiny voice called to me. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," I wanted to respond, but I couldn't. I became aware of a dull throbbing that coursed through my entire weight. I felt heavy.

"Leave him," another voice said as the weight behind my eyes grew heavier. I could feel the first voice comply, their presence abandoning mine, leaving me feeling cold all over.

I eventually sank through the chill and was enveloped in a deep sleep.

----

I didn't really mean to let Ashton fall from ten feet up in the air, but that's how it happened. I stretched my arms around Luke, tightly embracing this shitbag of sin, and began prying his fingers off of Ashton's neck individually. Every time I moved a finger out of the way, I'd carefully replace it with one of my fingers, so that my efforts wouldn't go to waste.
This demon didn't seem too worried about fighting back and getting his hands back on Ashton, and then I realized why.

I watched as Ashton's body went limp as I began working on the second hand, and it made me furious. I suddenly slammed backward, securing my arms around Luke's chest, and he actually allowed it, releasing his hold on Ashton.

And then Ashton fell, and there was no one to catch him.

Luke simply turned to look at me and grinned with his black marble eyes, earning him a hard punch in the face. A trickle of blood made its way out of his nose. He barely reacted, the smile not faltering in the slightest.

We returned to the floor and Calum and Michael snapped out of their trances of fear to help me, leaving Ashton unconscious on the floor. They didn't want to look me directly in the eyes. I could tell they were afraid of me.

"What are you?" Michael muttered, helping me secure one of Luke's arms to the bed frame.

"It wasn't me, it was him--it," I brushed it off, finishing the first loop. "I was just too close."

Luke had stopped resisting until Father Dominic picked up the bible.

The sound that came from his lips was gut-wrenching. It was this chilling combination of a screech and a howl, but the sound was thick, full of agony and dripping with revenge.

Calum immediately started crying, spitting out apologies, and Michael simultaneously teared up.

It was a pure exorcism, and one of the most violent and difficult I'd ever heard of, let alone participated in. I tried not to let it get to me. It would be okay soon.

Luke developed serious bruising around his eyes as the second prayer was rattled off, and his skin grew unbearably hot to the touch as Father finished with the third. The prayers made my stomach churn, and I was trying not to vomit.

There were times when I really thought Luke was going to tear himself out the bed and kill us all, but he didn't. Not yet, at least.

During the fifth prayer, Luke's black eyes stopped rolling and became focused on something behind me.

The same shit-eating grin he gave me earlier reappeared on his face, and I realized that Ashton must've woken up.

"No!" I cried, turning to see Ashton trying to stand up. He looked up, hearing my cry, not comprehending what was wrong.

And then a massive force shoved Luke's bed nearly 10 feet back, tearing him from underneath our protective ring, and a shimmering vapor rushed out of Luke's body towards Ashton.