Nothing To Fear ....

Get Out Of My Way

      The four men huddled together on the frozen dirt floor , trying to conserve what little warmth remained in their bodies . Even though they had all dressed warmly to unload the truck , the lack of motion , combined with the chill leaching into them from the frigid floor , had them all shivering . After a brief , whispered discussion , they decided to risk standing up , hoping that it wouldn't set the demon off . It pivoted in the air , turning all of its multiple eyes toward them , but made no move to stop them , so they stood and stamped their feet , hoping this would help them warm up .

      "Shit , if we're here much longer , we won't have to worry about the damn demon !" , Jesse said . "We're all gonna be fuckin' popsicles !"

      Jon responded , "Well , if that happens , at least we won't have to ..."

      He broke off abruptly as a vibration shuddered through the ground beneath them , and a brief flash of sickly yellow light flashed from the far end of the unlit cellar . They glanced at each other in concern , and then turned their eyes back toward the source of the light , as they heard the demon begin to move .

      Their eyes , which had adjusted themselves to the darkness , were stung by the luminescence which began to spread across the area as their captor moved closer . As their vision cleared , they realized that the demon was being followed by a pair of new creatures , and that it was from them that the glow emanated . Their appearance was revolting , similar to a human , with their skin removed from their bodies , leaving only exposed muscle . They hissed and grimaced , flexing their long , wickedly clawed fingers , and leaking a greenish - yellow fluid , which was the source of the light .

      The demon pointed , and the creatures moved forward , as the floating thing began drifting back toward the main portion of the cellar , where the entrances were . One of them reached out and pulled Ashley against its chest , while the other stationed itself directly in front of the others .

      Chuckling , the demon croaked , "Before you think of being foolish , I shall have my pets demonstrate what the consequence will be ." Pointing to one of the skinless beings , it spoke several indecipherable words , and the creature turned it's head and spat a greenish stream onto the earthen floor . They all watched in shock as the spittle began to sizzle and smoke , leaving a hole in the frozen surface . This caused the demon to let out a gleeful cackle , and it chortled , "I see you understand . He will make sure you don't interfere , while my other pet delays your friends . By the time they reach us , if any of them do , I will have completed my transformation . Then you , and they , will provide me the nourishment I require ."

      It turned and shambled back in the direction it had come from , and the one who held Ashley followed , dragging him along , kicking and swearing , as the others watched , frustrated and helpless . They began to look around , hoping to find a way to elude their hellish guard and go to Ashley's aid , huddling close , so they could speak softly .

      "Any idea how much range that thing has with the acid spit ?" , Jon inquired . "If we move fast enough , and split up , do you think we could dodge it ?"

      "I have no idea , that would be one hell of a risk , since we don't know how fast these bastards can move ." , Jake replied . "If they're even half as fast as the other thing , it would be on us by the time we took three steps ."

      Jesse turned , and retorted , "So what do you suggest , then? We can't just fuckin' sit here on our asses while that thing basically destroys Ash !"

      A sudden creak , and the sound of footsteps above them caused them to pause , and look up . "Looks like we don't have to . Crane and the others are here ." , Jake said , allowing himself a faint grin . 

      Looking worriedly in the direction of the footsteps , Jon replied grimly , "Yeah , as long as they can get past the floater . If not , we're all royally fucked ." 

      At that moment , they heard Joe's voice , shouting , "Get down ! It's over your heads !" This was almost instantly followed by a low , vibrating hum which seemed to reverberate through their skulls , and which continued to increase in pitch . The three men covered their ears , even as Jake grinned widely , saying , "That's my girl ."

      The grin disappeared , however , when a wave of energy exploded from the direction that the demons had taken Ashley , knocking them back to the floor . They heard the sound of footsteps rushing toward them , and then something that chilled them even more than the glacial air around them -- a raw , profoundly anguished scream , that they had no doubt had ripped itself from Ashley's throat .

      "Oh , fuck !" , Jesse whispered hoarsely , as they all struggled to regain their footing . As Jake sat up , he saw Crane and Jenny moving rapidly toward them . They passed , either ignoring , or not spotting , the creature standing over them , but Jenny dropped a drawstring bag to the floor and kicked it toward them as she passed . 

      Jesse , with his longer reach , grabbed the bag and began fumbling with the drawstring closure . "Guns ." , he said , feeling the contents . "Feels like one for each of us ."

      As gunfire began to erupt from the direction of their other friends , he made another attempt to open it , but was momentarily distracted by another set of running footsteps . They all looked up , and saw Faith moving rapidly toward them , and their demonic guardian moved forward to intercept her .

      She slowed slightly , but didn't stop , and the three men were surprised to see that it was the monster , and not the woman , who appeared to cower and cover its eyes . She lifted the weapon in her hand and growled , "Get out of my way , fucker !"

      Then , without waiting to see if it would follow her instructions , she fired three shots , hitting the thing in the head , throat , and chest , dodging around it to continue following Crane and Jenny. As she moved away , she called back , "We consecrated the bullets , guys . Use 'em !"

      They finally got the bag open , and removed the weapons , quickly turning back toward the skinless demon . To their surprise , it lay writhing on the floor , unable to heal the damage that the blessed oil had inflicted . Looking at each other once again , the men reached an unspoken agreement . 

      As Jesse moved to follow Faith , Jon trained his weapon on the injured demon and began to fire , while Jake went in the other direction , shouting , "Hey , guys , I'm coming out ! Watch where you're shooting !"

      Jon methodically fired , one shot at a time , until the beast began to shrivel and steam , then turned to follow Jake . But , before he reached the rest of the group , He was met by an anxious - looking Hawley , who grabbed his shoulder , inquiring , "Where did she go ?"

      Jon pointed back the way he'd come ."She followed Jenny and Crane , after she shot the thing that was watching us . It was weird , it seemed to actually be scared of her , it was flinching back like a whipped dog ."

      "Must've been that necklace , lesser demons are more affected by things like that than the more powerful ones . Hopefully that'll keep her safe , if she doesn't do something crazy ."

      "Why would she do that ?"

      Hawley gave him a mirthless grin , and started moving in the direction that Jon had indicated . As he did , he threw his reply back over his shoulder . "For the same reason Crane went running into Hell's waiting room . They both want somebody they care about back . Right about now , if it wasn't a vicious , murdering demon , I'd almost pity the thing . Between those three , the bastard doesn't stand a chance ."

      Before Jon could even begin to process this response , the rest of the group began running toward , and then past , him , following Hawley into the depths of the cellar . And after only a moments hesitation , he moved as quickly as his near - frozen limbs would allow to catch up , knowing that they were all focused on a single goal :

      Get rid of the demon , and get Ashley back , alive and still human .