 |
"There's...there's blood on the walls. Help us! Help us!" |
| This article contains mature content and is thereby considered suitable for ages 17+. This article may involve some level of sexuality, violence, serious language or ideological issues. Read at your own risk. |
Chapter One: Freaky Shit[]
Five... four... three... two... one, and class was over. Angel was the first to stand up, as always. She was always determined to get out of the hellhole known as school. She picked up her journal, which was full of obscene doodles and drawings, and swiftly strolled her way out of the classroom. As she left the room, she made sure that her trusty knife was still tucked firmly into her belt. Just as she expected, it was. Nova Hejmo, her home city, was a dangerous place. Perverts, kidnappers, and murderers all over the god-forsaken place. It was necessary to carry some form of defense at all times, no matter what.
She walked out the front doors of the school and into the open air. She took a deep breath and sighed.
"Nothing like gross, smoggy air." she said sarcastically before she started to walk down the sidewalk. Suddenly her cellphone vibrated in her pocket, and she stopped. She checked her phone. A text message from... oh! It was Josh. Just seeing his name brought a smile to Angel's face. It got better, too. He wanted her to meet him at the mall! She jumped slightly in glee. It was obvious to everyone at her school that she had a crush on Josh, and it seems that he finally found out about it. About damn time, Angel thought. She checked the time. Only a little after four. She'd have plenty of time to hangout at the mall before going home and having to do stupid homework.
Walking down the sidewalk, Angel thought she'd heard whispering in her ear more than once. She barely even noticed it, though, since she was too excited to hangout with Josh.
When she got to the mall, she saw the person she was looking for. With saggy jeans, a green hoodie, a backwards baseball cap, and a cigarette in hand, was Josh, leaning against one of the front doors of the mall.
"Hey there, Angel." he greeted while exhaling a puff of cigarette smoke. Angel blushed and nervously said hello, but she was suddenly stricken with a sharp pain in her head. Everything faded to white before she found herself in a round stone room with strange symbols covering the floor.
"My daughter..." a voice called out. Angel looked around, but saw nothing. The voice called to her again, and she looked up this time. High above her was a man hanging from the ceiling, chains wrapped around him. He wore a white, torn up tank top and dark jeans, with a pistol strapped into his belt at either side. Something seemed familiar about him. Her head hurt the longer she stared at the helpless man. She watched as he grabbed each of the pistols and dropped them down to her. Angel bent to pick them up, and as soon as she touched them, she was back to real life.
She was laying on the ground, with Josh staring blankly ahead of him, uncaring that she'd just passed out in front of him. Angel sat up and just looked at him. It took him a few seconds to realize that she was conscious again.
"Back to the world of the living, I see. You want a smoke?" Josh said dumbly. Angel thought for a few moments, trying to think of the right words.
"I just passed out in front of you, and you didn't even care?" she said angrily. The boy shrugged and blew out another puff of smoke.
"I dunno. I wasn't that worried. So, you wanna have a cigarette? Or do you wanna head back to my house and we can-"
"No, asshole." Angel interrupted. Josh raised an eyebrow.
"Whatever." he said, focusing more on the cigarette than on Angel. It was then that Angel finally realized that she was holding something in each of her hands. She looked down and saw a pistol in each one, just like the ones she picked up in her vision. Before she had a chance to react, there was a loud screeching sound behind her. Angel stood up quickly and faced the sound. Only a few dozen feet away was a human shape, but it was clearly not a normal human. Its body was thin and dead-looking, its eyes glowed a terrifying purple color, and in its hand was a long silver sword that split into two separate blades at the end. The thing was screaming horribly, and it charged at unsuspecting Angel. Luckily, she reacted quickly enough to move to the side just as the demon swung its sword.
"Oh my god!" Angel screamed as the demon turned to face her again, purple light trailing out of its eyes. Its mouth was hanging open, the lower jaw totally broken, and all teeth missing.
"That's some freaky shit!" Josh yelled as he backed away, but seeming more curious than afraid. Angel instinctively raised one of the pistols and fired at the thing in front of her before it could do anything else. The bullet planted itself firmly in the monster's skull, but it didn't seem to cause much damage to it. The demon screeched and swung its sword again at Angel. She backed up quickly, but the blade still managed to cut a wound into her arm, bringing forth a painful yelp from Angel as she kept moving away from the inhuman thing.
"Leave me alone!" she screamed again, firing a bullet from each of the pistols at once this time, causing considerable damage to the monster. It screamed in pain and jumped back a bit, preparing for another attack. Angel heard Josh's voice call out vague shouts like "Holy shit!" and "This is insane!" Angel noticed that the gash on her arm had already begun to heal, much to her confusion. Not only that, but the pistols didn't seem like they would run out of ammo anytime soon. It was like they had unlimited ammunition...
The demon threw its sword at her, but she ducked to avoid being decapitated by the razor-sharp blade. She stood back up with a look of sternness in her eyes, and fired at the demon mercilessly until it fell to the ground and exploded in a small puff of dust. As soon as the fight was over, Angel's arms fell to her side and she collapsed to her knees. The words that the man in her vision had spoken finally reached her. He'd called her his daughter. A tear fell from her eye. Could it really be her dad that she'd never known, the man who disappeared without a trace soon before she was born?
Chapter Two: Daddy's Secret[]
...
Amerigo hung from the ceiling of the chamber, bound in chains. He finally got what he deserved. He was in Hell for eternity... But not if he could do something about it. After years of trying to contact his daughter, he'd finally succeeded. Now it was up to her to rescue him.
"Please... don't fail me." he whispered with sorrow. The air around him erupted in laughter, and his vision went blurry.
"Your pitiful daughter can't save you, Amerigo. She is weak, just like you." the walls of the chamber screamed, the entire room shaking. Amerigo closed his eyes and blocked out the chamber's insults.
"Just wait. She'll come, and she'll save me, and then I'll get out of here. I've been in Hell before, and I've always made it back out again. This time won't be any different... even if I have been stuck here for sixteen years." Amerigo muttered with his eyes shut tightly.
...
Angel stared at the ground. She was still in disbelief. Her mother never told her much about her dad, except that he was well known in the city for his violence. That didn't keep Angel from wanting to meet him, though. She looked up to him, really, even though she had never even seen him.
"Hey, that was pretty sweet." said Josh, who had walked over to her. Angel looked up and grimaced.
"Fuck you." she said painfully. Josh shrugged and then walked away, uncaring. She had never realized how much of a jerk he was. Angel stood back up and checked her phone for the time. It was already almost six o'clock. She'd have to head back home.
"Damn, time flies." she muttered tiredly. She glanced again at the pistols in her hands. They weren't normal guns. They looked... different. Angel couldn't quite figure it out, but she knew they were unusual. Another sharp pain went through her head before everything went white again.
She was standing back in the chamber, with her father hanging from chains above her while insane laughter rang out from all directions.
"Help me..." her father said weakly as the laughter grew louder. Angel just stared blankly, barely taking in what was happening. The vision faded, and she was back in real life. As her eyes opened back up, she witnessed a group of demons like the one she fought earlier emerge around her.
"Shit." she said, not wanting to fight again. One of the demons was about to swing its sword, but she quickly kicked the demon over and fled. After running a considerable distance, she turned to face the demons and counted them. There were five. Great. She tried to focus and started firing at the demons, but most of the shots missed. Her fumbling around gave the demons a chance to attack. One of them hurled its sword at her, but she reacted quickly enough to avoid the attack. The sword impaled itself in the cement behind her, so she decided she'd try and pull it out to use against the demons.
Angel shoved one of her pistols into her belt and wrapped her hand around the hilt of the sword and pulled as hard as she could until it finally dislodged from the concrete. She turned back towards the demons and gulped. They were coming closer. Angel tightened her grip on the sword and ran. She swung the sword skillfully and watched as the demon was torn in two, exploding into dust immediately. Aiming for a combo, she swung her newly acquired sword at the next nearest demon. The sword became stuck in the demon's chest, but it didn't kill it. Angel pulled the sword back out and finished the demon with a single shot from one of her pistols. This wasn't so bad, she thought.
She spun around with her sword held straight in front of her, and she sliced another demon in half. The two remaining demons backed up, and a different, large demon appeared behind them. Its body was burned and charred, with some spots glowing like the coals of a fire. Its eyes were a raging orange, like a fire. The demon roared and pounded its fists into the two smaller demons, killing them.
"Oh my god!" Angel yelped. The huge flaming demon roared again and charged at her. Angel rolled to the side instinctively, not quite knowing where or how she acquired the skill. After she stood back up, she threw down her sword and withdrew her other gun and fired a blast of bullets at the fierce demon. It roared and pounded its fists into the ground, generating a miniature wall of flame that came rocketing towards Angel. The flames hit her, but it didn't last long. The fire extinguished itself immediately, confusing Angel.
"What...?" she mumbled. She didn't have long to question it, because the demon lifted a car from the parking lot and launched it at her. Angel screamed and moved away quickly enough to avoid being crushed, but she tripped and scraped her knee, leaving her vulnerable for a short time. Angel quickly stood back up and regathered herself before turning back to her huge foe. There was no way she could kill this thing. Unless... She searched frantically for the sword she had foolishly thrown down. That sword may have been the only thing that could kill this monstrous demon.
"Come on, where is it?!" Angel yelled, avoiding a volley of flames from the gigantic demon. Finally she found the sword lifted it back up, and pointed it at the demon.
"Get ready!" she yelled courageously, although she was more terrified than she was brave. She charged at the demon and stabbed the sword through its chest. The demon roared and pounded the ground harder than ever, creating a huge wall of flame around the two of them. Angel screamed, but the demon didn't attack again. Instead, Angel found herself suddenly falling through an empty void, and she was suddenly back at the mall, the demon nowhere in sight. But something was different. The sky was a hazy red color and there were no people anywhere. Everything was silent, and the cars on the highway remained motionless. Even the air seemed wrong somehow.
"What happened...?" she said fearfully. She turned back to face the mall and saw that the many windows were either shattered or boarded up, and the front door was broken in many pieces. Everything seemed ominous. It was almost like she was in... Hell.
Chapter Three: Something To Remember Me By[]
Angel took one more look around for any more of those things that had attacked her before deciding on taking a look around in the mall. Everything was abandoned. That meant everything was free. She took care to avoid cutting herself on the broken glass on the smashed door.
The interior of the mall was in horrible shape, just like the exterior. Tables and chairs were smashed and strewn about, the windows of stores were shattered, and there were flaming piles of rubble scattered around. Angel was horrified. What happened?! She took another step and heard a crunching sound, scaring her. She looked down and saw that she had stepped on a skull. She screamed and backed away and back out the front door of the mall. She was NOT going in there. Angel ventured out to the motionless highway and took in her surroundings. The entire city appeared to be in ruins. No cars moved, no people were on the streets, and everything was silent.
"What the..." Angel whispered in awe and in terror. One particular thing stood out to Angel. Far away and partially shrouded by blood red fog was an enormous mound of rock with many towers sticking out from it. Strangely enough, some of the towers seemed to jut out at an impossibly horizontal angle, or even hanging upside down from overhangs in the rock. At the very top of the tallest tower was a glowing red light. Angel didn't recognize the monument, but it seemed like a good idea to head towards it. Her father could be there.
She took to walking along the sidewalk, heading towards the colossal building in the distance. Each step she took echoed loudly. That made her nervous. What if the sound drew the attention of one of those things that attacked her earlier? She slowed her pace so her footsteps wouldn't make so much noise, but the sound was still rather loud. She never took her hands off the pistols at her waist.
Angel suddenly heard a loud crashing sound far behind her. She turned back to see where it had come from but saw nothing. After waiting a short time, she heard heavy footsteps of a huge beast running far down the street. Her eyes widened, and she hurriedly searched for a hiding place. There was a shop nearby with an open door. Thinking quickly, she sprinted inside, ducked down near a boarded up window, and looked through a hole in the boards to see what was coming. The footsteps got closer and closer until Angel finally saw the thing. It was a gigantic wolf-like creature. Its fur was pitch black with some red patterns that suspiciously resembled blood, its eyes were black and hollow, and a set of horns grew out of its head. The thing sniffed the air and snarled, but it didn't move. Angel's heart was pounding, so much so that she hoped the thing couldn't hear it. For a horrifying second, the huge thing looked to the window that Angel was hiding near. She crouched down as much as she could to avoid being visible, and it seemed to have worked. The wolf turned its head forwards again and bounded down the street, out of sight in seconds.
Angel waited for what seemed like days before she finally built up the courage to leave the store. There were now cracks in the sidewalk where the wolf monster had stepped, hinting at its weight and power. Angel shuddered and looked down the street. The thing was nowhere in sight, so she figured it'd be safe to keep moving. She eventually reached a place that she and her friends had been to a few times - the Black Clam Bar. Angel and her friends drank occasionally, just like any respectable teen in Nova Hejmo did. The Black Clam Bar was their favorite. She sighed and decided to take a look inside. She couldn't help herself. There could have been some good beer in there.
The inside of the bar was demolished, just like she expected. There were smashed beer bottles all over the floor, and the tables and chairs were ruined. All except one. There was a lone table sitting untouched in the center of the room. Curious, Angel walked over to it and set her hand on it. Everything went white, and she was suddenly standing in a normal version of the place. The bar was packed with people, and it was noisy. Sitting at the table Angel stood in front of was a tall man with brown hair, blue eyes, a necklace around his neck, a black-brown leather jacket with a white tank top underneath, blue jeans, and two pistols stuck in his belt. Not only that, but a scythe was resting on the man's back, in some sort of strap. Angel knew who it was. It was her father. He reached to the scythe on his back and set it on the table. With that, the vision was over.
Angel was back in the desolate bar. There was no scythe on the table, but Angel heard heavy breathing behind her. She swiveled back to face it and saw a hideously emaciated humanoid figure with no eyes holding a scythe. Angel screamed and tried to jump back away from the demon, but ended up landing on the table, leaving herself open to attacks. The demon lunged on top of her and began shrieking with its gaping mouth. It tried to slice at her with its scythe, but it was unable due to the close range of the fight. Angel finally built up the strength to force the demon off of her and kicked it away. The demon lay motionless on the floor, so Angel used this as an opportunity to attack. By the time she had gotten off the table, however, the demon was on its feet again.
"Die!" she shouted as she started firing endlessly at the demon. The demon was filled with bullets within seconds, and it fell to the floor and exploded in a puff of dust, leaving the scythe behind. Angel put away her guns and picked up the scythe. She studied it curiously, taking in every detail of it. It was definitely demonic. It seemed to be alive somehow, and it was warm to the touch. This could be a great weapon, but she would have a hard time carrying it around. Angel decided she would use it for a while and exited the bar, continuing on her way.
Chapter Four: The Doctor[]
Now that Angel was back on the streets, she was more alert than ever. There seemed to be danger around every corner. The farther she walked, the more she noticed that the footprints of the wolf monster seemed to lead towards the huge rock formation that Angel was heading to. That meant she had more of a chance of encountering the thing again, which wasn't good. Everything was calm and silent again, adding to the haunting atmosphere.
The deserted stores and buildings only made everything more disturbing. The broken and boarded up windows, flaming heaps of... bodies? That's sure what it looked like to her. Her heart was still pounding. She was terrified of this place.
Suddenly a group of the sword-wielding demons appeared around her, along with a larger demon which wore a black cloak, a strange pointed hat, and a terrifying wooden bird-like mask with bulging glass eyes. The demon raised its arm, and a long staff materialized in its hand. Angel readied her scythe and backed up a short distance to prepare to attack. The demon with the bird mask cackled demonically, flew up into the air, and summoned a flock of ravens, which immediately attacked Angel.
The black birds swarmed around around her, pecking at her and leaving her vulnerable to the attacks of other demons. Angel dropped her scythe in the chaos, but she was able to grab her pistols and fired at a few of the horrible birds, killing them. She jumped back and was attacked by one of the other demons right away. She ducked down to avoid being sliced by its sword, and she fired a flurry of bullets into the demon's chest. Her foe shrieked and retreated back, but the others weren't so cowardly. Two of the demons ran at her at once, their purple eyes glowing furiously. She managed to take out one of the demons by firing a few well-timed shots at its head, but the other one survived and threw its sword at her. Angel was able to move out of the flying sword's path, but she was instantaneously overwhelmed by another swarm of ravens, which clawed and pecked at her. Now more enraged than scared, Angel fired at the violent birds around her until all were dead. The demon with the mask was still alive, though, as were two of the sword-wielding demons.
Angel charged at one of the sword demons, fell to the ground and slid under its legs, and then stood back up behind it and fired a single shot into the back of its head. The demon collapsed and faded away, leaving behind nothing but dust. The last sword demon screamed and charged at her, but Angel leaped at it and kicked it to the ground before it had a chance to attack. Angle pried the sword out of her foe's hands and impaled it into its chest, ending the demon's life. Now there was only one demon left.
Angel turned back to face the demon with the mask, which still floated in the air. She aimed her pistols at it, but before she could attack, the demon disappeared. Confused, Angel stared at where it had once been. The demon reappeared directly in front of her and screamed, scaring her into falling to the ground. The demon raised its staff and the air inexplicably turned scorching hot, burning Angel. She screamed and forced herself to stand back up before shooting at the demon, which ended the burning heat. The demon flew back up into the air and raised its staff again. Angel breathed heavily, but she felt her injuries healing quickly. The cuts and scratches from the ravens were already completely gone, and the burns were beginning to disappear. The demon wasn't done yet, because this time it summoned three humanoid shadows to fight for it. The three shadows surrounded Angel and grabbed hold of her, making it impossible for her to move. The demon fell back to the ground and approached Angel, its staff held to its side. As soon as it was in front of her, it raised one of its hands to its mask and peeled it away, revealing a face that had no facial features aside from a single toothless mouth. The demon shrieked again and held its mouth open, and Angel felt her soul being sucked out of her. She struggled to pull her arms out of the grips of the shadows, but she eventually did and raised one of her guns to the demon's mouth and fired. The shadows instantly disappeared and the demon fell backwards, clutching its face in agony. In only a few seconds, the demon had disappeared.
"That was awful.." Angel mumbled, still feeling weakened from the demon's last attack. She would need to be more careful from now on. She walked over to the scythe she had dropped and picked it back up. She still hadn't had a chance to use it, but she hoped to try it out soon.
Chapter Five: Second Encounter[]
Angel examined the scythe. She finally noticed the initials carved into the handle. "A.T.", it read. A.T.? Those must have been her father's initials. She never did learn her father's name, though, so she couldn't be sure. The scythe seemed to pulse in her hands. It felt as though there were a thousand souls trapped inside, all trying desperately to escape. Since she was paying more attention to the scythe than her surroundings as she walked, it took her a few moments to hear the growling sound. Finally noticing it, she looked around fearfully. She didn't see anything, but the growling was still there.
"What is that?" she whispered in fear. Suddenly, from a nearby alleyway, came the huge wolf she had seen before. Angel screamed and fled into the closest building. It wouldn't keep her safe for long, because the gigantic monster began to bash itself into the side of the building in order to break in. Angel thought quickly. Her only weapons were her two pistols and her scythe. She had her pocket knife too, but that probably wouldn't do any good against the monstrous wolf. She settled on heading upstairs. That would keep her safe a little longer.
She started to head toward the stairs, but the wolf broke in and blocked her path before she was able to reach them. The wolf howled and snarled at her. Angel backed out of the building and back outside. She had no other choice. She would have to fight this monster. She spun her scythe around and prepared to fight. The demonic wolf leaped through the air and tried to crush her, but she moved out of the way in time and counterattacked with a quick sweep of her scythe. It didn't seem to do much good, although it did trim the wolf's fur a little bit. The thing howled again and ran at Angel, its mouth wide open. It tried to clamp its mouth down on her, but her scythe held the monster's mouth open. Angel jumped back out and her scythe left a deep gash inside the demon's mouth. It roared in pain and leaped over her and onto the side of a building. It sunk its claws into the building before jumping off of it and pounding the ground below in another attempt to crush Angel, but she was once again able to evade the attack.
"Leave me alone!" screamed Angel as she dropped her scythe and withdrew her pistols instead. She fired a flurry of bullets at her enormous foe, which actually seemed to harm it slightly. The wolf roared again and charged at her with its mouth open again. This time, Angel didn't have her scythe to keep herself from being chewed up by the wolf. The demon clamped down on her, swallowing her whole. Angel was trapped inside the wolf demon's throat. She fired a few bullets, which didn't do much good, but then she remembered her knife. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her knife, which she then stabbed into the wolf's throat. She could tell the demon jerked, and she didn't hesitate to stab again, and again, and again, and again. Eventually, the demon coughed her back up and howled in pain before jumping over her and trotting off into the distance. Angel stood up and rubbed her head.
"God... that was close." she murmured. Somehow, she had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time she ran into the wolf. She picked up her scythe and sighed.
"This'll be a royal pain to carry around with me... but I bet I'll need it again." she said tiredly. Angel looked back towards the monument in the distance. She was getting a little closer. Slowly, but she was getting there. She spun her scythe around again, glanced up at the red sky, and continued on her way.
Chapter Six: Crane Panic[]
By now, Angel had reached the suspension bridge that crossed over the river that cut straight through the middle of Nova Hejmo. Strangely, the bridge was broken into two pieces in this version of the city. There was no way she could get across the river this way. Fearfully, she looked down to the river far below. It didn't flow here like it did in the normal Nova Hejmo. It was completely motionless, and it was a crimson red color. She supposed she would survive a fall to the river, but there was no way she'd want to try it.
"Damn..." she said, looking around for another way across. She noticed the neck of a fallen crane sticking out from behind a building. It extended almost all the way across the river. She cringed at the thought of having to crawl across it at such a high height, but it was her only way. Angel walked through an alley between two buildings and came out in a small construction zone. Tools and broken machinery littered the place, but it was the crane she was after. Resting at the very edge of the wall above the river was the crane, almost dangling dangerously over the edge. Angel gulped in anxiety. This would be scary. Without another thought, she walked over to the crane, carefully climbed on top, and shakily stood up. She froze instantly, unable to move thanks to fear.
"Come on, Angel. You have to go.." she whispered to herself, "Come on, you have to!" Her original intention was to crawl across, but that would be nearly impossible while carrying her scythe, so she was left with only the option of walking. One step at a time, she finally made it out above the water. With each step, the crane creaked and groaned slightly, seeming as though it would fall at any moment. Suddenly, she lost her balance and nearly fell into the water below, but she barely managed to grab hold of one of the bars of the crane and pulled herself back up. She was halfway across the crane now when the unthinkable happened. At the very end of the crane a cloaked demon with a wooden mask appeared. It cackled evilly and flew high into the air before summoning a flock of ravens to attack.
"This isn't exactly the best time!" Angel complained. She grabbed one of her pistols and started shooting at as many of the ravens as she could, but a few of them were able to reach her. The birds tried more than once to peck at Angel, but she managed to bat the birds away each time they tried as she moved along the crane slowly. One of the birds flew around behind her and pecked into her back, causing Angel to shriek and fall forwards. She involuntarily spun around to the underside of the crane, dizzied from the bird's attack. Still holding onto the scythe and barely clinging to the crane, she pulled herself along, still upside down. The jerked suddenly and she felt herself moving downwards quickly. The crane had fallen, and she was now plummeting to the river! Knowing she could be crushed if she held onto the crane, she loosened her grip on it and allowed herself to free fall to the water. With a loud splash, everything went dark.
When Angel awoke again, she was laying on a concrete platform at the edge of the river. She stood up and rubbed her head, which was now pounding with a headache. Luckily, her scythe had washed up onto the platform right next to her. Angel stood up, picked up the scythe, and looked for a way back into the main city. There was a sliced-up door nearby which appeared to be the only way out. Angel crept over and looked in. A rancid smell assaulted her nostrils, and she backed up immediately and gagged. She looked back inside and was horrified. There were rotting corpses dangling from the ceiling, as well as a trail of blood on the floor.
"Oh my god..." she said in disgust. It was repulsive, but it was still her only hope. She had to go in. She built up her courage and entered the horrific building. Her first step was an unlucky one. Her foot landed right on a chunk of entrails, creating a sickening squishing sound. She held back the powerful urge to vomit and moved further in. There was a loud thud from somewhere behind her, and when she turned around, she saw that one of the bodies had fallen to the floor. She grimaced at it and kept moving through the place, which she figured out was some sort of slaughterhouse. After only a few more steps, she heard sloshing footsteps behind her. Horrified, she spun around and screamed. The corpse had stood up on its own, and was now wielding a round shield lined with spikes. Angel raised one of her pistols up and fired at it, but the demon deflected it.
Seeing that her pistols would be useless against this demon, she shoved it back into her belt and instead readied her scythe. The demon charged at her and tried to stab her with its shield, but it failed when Angel countered with a strike from her scythe. The demon's shield was now in two pieces and useless, leaving it open for attack. All it took was one solid slice to end the demon's existence. It collapsed to the ground and exploded in a heap of dust. More thudding noises sounded from around her - more of the living corpses. She panicked and looked around her. She was surrounded by at least a dozen of the demons.
"Fuck." she said dreadfully. She gripped her scythe tightly. This would be a tough fight.
Chapter Seven: Icy Hot - Awakened Power[]
One of the demons lunged at Angel, its shield held mightily in front of it. Angel swung her scythe just in time and knocked the demon backwards. Before it had a chance to get back up, she sliced her scythe through the demon's neck, decapitating it. That didn't take care of the other demons though. There were still a lot left. They all charged at her at once, flailing their shields wildly and shrieking to confuse her. Angel could barely handle it, but she still managed to fight off as many of them as she could.
Enraged and terrified, she dropped her scythe, screamed, and there was suddenly a miniature explosion around her, and the demons were all thrown backwards. Angel looked down at her hands. One hand was engulfed in hot blue flames, and the other was encased in freezing ice. She felt full of energy, like she was invincible. The demons raised themselves one by one and growled menacingly at her. Angel grinned at the feeling of her new power and raised her hands to two different demons. Out of her left hand spurted an enormous flame which engulfed almost half of the demons, and out of her right hand came a blast of ice crystals that impaled most of the other demons. Once she was done, there were only a few foes left. She raised her hands to fire another blast, but she saw that the power had faded. The flames were extinguished, and the ice had melted. Angel shrugged and picked up her scythe. It would do.
She ran at the demons and sliced her scythe through the air as hard as she could. The demons were sliced into pieces within seconds, and the chunks of them hit the ground and evaporated into dust. Angel spun her scythe around and yawned. This wasn't so bad, really. It felt almost... natural to her. She checked for the way into the next room, and she found it. She wandered aimlessly through the disgusting building until she entered into a huge room with a deep square pit in the floor. At the end of the pit was a set of gigantic saw blades that were covered in ashes and dust. In the center of the square pit was a red circle. Angel cautiously slid down the side of the wall and landed gracefully at the bottom of the pit.
Her mind went dark suddenly, and she was suddenly standing in the very same room, but everything was fuzzy. She saw a very familiar man wielding a scythe and two pistols combating a monstrous entity with two heads and chainsaws for arms. Suddenly the demon fell to the ground and was dragged across the moving floor into the spinning saw blades, getting torn into horrible pieces.
When Angel opened her eyes, she was faced with a similar sight. A colossal monster stood in front of her. It had two heads, and its arms were chainsaws. But this one was different. It was like a shadow, and its eyes glowed red. The thing breathed a deep, labored breath onto Angel and raised one of its arms high before trying to slice straight through her. Angel leaped backwards and let out a small cry. The demon pulled its arm out of the floor and roared, small black orbs falling from its mouth as it did so.
"Well, then. I guess it's a fight." said Angel fearlessly. She charged at the demon and swung her scythe, but it did no good. She simply fell straight through the demon, like passing through a wall of mist. The demon turned around and kicked at her, and it sent her flying. Strange, she couldn't touch it, but it could touch her. Then she got an idea. She tried hard to summon her new ability again, and after a short struggle, she finally managed to generate energy in each of her hands. She fired a volley of flames at the shadowy monster, but the flames passed straight through it. While the room was illuminated by the flames, though, the demon appeared to be in pain, and it became less transparent. That gave Angel an idea. She looked around the room for something to ignite. There were bodies on the ceiling. Those would be perfect. The huge demon ran at her and tried again to brutally murder her with its chainsaws, but she was once again able to avoid its futile attack. She launched a blast of fire at one of the bodies on the ceiling and set it on fire. The room was better lit now, and her demon foe appeared weaker.
Angel readied her scythe and charged at the monster. One fluid slice, and the demon roared in agony and backed up before spitting out a ball of darkness at the flaming corpse, extinguishing the flames.
"You're smart, eh?" Angel remarked. The demon ran at her again, but she simply ran right through it unharmed. Angel unleashed another raging flame at a different corpse and watched as it ignited. The demon moaned and fell to its knees. Angel hastily ran over to the weakened demon and swiped at it with her scythe as much as she could. The demon spun around and threw her all the way across the room. When she hit the ground, she heard a sickening crack as her leg broke. The pain started to subside within seconds, though, as the healing process began early. She was able to stand up quickly, but her leg was still in awful pain. Before the demon killed the flame of the corpse, Angel launched a blitz of ice onto it, freezing it in place temporarily. She dropped her scythe and grabbed her pistols instead and started firing wildly at her frozen and weakened enemy. The ice finally shattered, and the demon collapsed to the floor motionlessly. It wasn't dead yet though, so Angel quickly replaced her guns, grabbed her scythe, and lunged at the demon while swinging the scythe. The demon roared one more time before it exploded in a puff of ashes and dust. Angel stood back up and cringed at the pain in her leg. She would be able to walk on it since it was healing so quickly, but she would need to be more careful.
Chapter Eight: Big Bad Wolf[]
Angel searched the room for an exit, but she saw none. Feeling slightly panicked, she started to pace back and forth through the room until she finally noticed something -- there were three small doorways in one of the walls. Angel sighed.
"There sure as hell better not be something in there..." she said unhappily. She walked over to the first of the doorways and crouched down to look inside. There didn't appear to be anything dangerous in there, so she crawled into it. Angel pulled herself along until she came out in a freezing cold room. It was a huge freezer. More corpses hung from the ceiling, but they wouldn't be a threat since they were completely encased in ice. Every step she took made a crisp crunching noise as the tiny ice fragments on the floor shattered. She explored through the cold place until she came to a heavy steel door encased in a thin layer of ice. Angel grabbed onto the handle and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. It must have been frozen shut. That wasn't much of a problem for Angel. She summoned a small flame in her left hand and held it up to the ice-crusted door. Within seconds, the ice around the handle was completely gone, and the door opened easily. Angel stepped back out into the eerie abandoned city, breathing in a deep breath of stale, motionless air.
After taking only a few steps, she heard the sound of sniffing, followed quickly by a hostile growling sound. Angel froze, her body filled with fear. It was the wolf again. She knew it was. She held onto her scythe tightly, knowing she would need it. Although she was expecting to be attacked at any moment, nothing happened. The heavy breathing remained, but the growling stopped. Maybe it hadn't noticed her yet. Slowly, Angel started walking again, but with her back place against the building so she could observe her surroundings as she moved. From somewhere came the sound of trotting footsteps. Wherever the wolf was, it was following her. She started to move faster, and the footsteps following her moved faster as well. Angel finally started to run, and there was a sudden roar as the wolf demon appeared out of nowhere, chasing her. Angel ran faster, and she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her leg again. It still wasn't healed. She turned around, grabbed one of her pistols, and fired at the demon in an attempt to slow it down. It roared in rage after taking a few bullets to its face and charged at her with its mouth wide open.
Angel knew exactly how to avoid this attack, and she swung her scythe just in time to get it jammed in the demon's mouth. She pulled it out quickly and leaped backwards, sliding across the ground as the wolf recovered from her attack. It howled loudly and a black aura appeared around it as demons wielding scythes emerged from the ground. The demons charged at Angel, who was barely able to fend off their attacks. She blocked the swing of one of the demons with her scythe and counterattacked with her own scythe, slicing a huge wound through the demon. The demon screamed and exploded into ashes and dust.
The wolf growled, a black fluid dripping from its horrible mouth. The demon roared again and the smaller demons spontaneously burst into flames, and Angel even felt herself grow hotter. After all the smaller demons was gone, the wolf leaped at Angel again, trying to crush her this time. She ducked down under it and fought back with a swift slash of her scythe to the demon's legs. It snarled and kicked Angel a dozen feet forwards, dazing her. While she was still dizzy, the demon roared again, causing the surrounding buildings to ignite. Angel stood back up and shook her head. The demon stared at her, ready to attack again. Angel summoned her energy back into her hands and raised them at her foe. One hand covered in ice, and the other in flames, she unleashed a short blast of ice and flames at the demonic wolf. The demon seemed to have taken quite a hit, as it stumbled back with its eyes closed.
While it was still down, Angel charged at it and swung her scythe again, carving out a thin but deep gash into the demon's neck. It snarled and attempted to flee again, but it fell to the ground as black blood flowed from its injured neck. It roared again, heating up the surroundings even more. Finally it quit struggling and lay limp before it deteriorated into ashes.
"Big bad wolf..." said Angel softly as she walked tiredly away from the heap of ashes. The giant building was growing much closer now, but there was still a great deal of distance to cover. Angel saw what appeared to be an amusement park up ahead. That wouldn't end well. She'd always hated amusement parks thanks to the clowns. That was all she needed now, but it looked like she would have to pass through it in order to reach her destination...
Chapter Nine: Fucking Clowns[]
Angel approached the front gate of the amusement park and shuddered.
"There better not be any fucking clowns in there..." she said nervously. She pulled on the gate a bit, and it opened with ease, making a haunting squeaking sound as it moved. Angel gulped and took her first steps in. A strange mist filled the park, making the whole atmosphere even eerier. She nearly had a heart attack when she saw what she thought were sets of eyes staring at her, but they were merely the lights of carnival rides glowing through the fog. She scolded herself silently for being so dumb and moved quickly through the disturbing place. Every one of her steps echoed, creating the only sound to be heard in the damned place.
There was a suddenly giggling sound. Angel swiveled around and strained her eyes to look through the dense fog. She couldn't see a thing. Beginning to panic, she walked backwards and ran straight into a wall, scaring her and causing her to let out a terrified yelp. There it was again. The giggling. This time it was accompanied by the sounds of footsteps not far from Angel. Her heart pounded, her whole body shaking in terror. Angel looked around to see where she had wound up, and she found that she was standing at the foot of a large Ferris wheel. As her eyes adjusted, vague shapes hanging from the cars of the wheel became clearer. They were...
Angel gasped and backed away from the Ferris wheel and backed straight into a man, who laughed hysterically at her making contact with him. Angel screamed and backed up against the wall again, not knowing how else to react. What stood in front of her was terrifying. Its face was covered in white makeup, with small blue teardrops painted below its eyes, red paint surrounded its lips, and it wore the goofiest outfit ever devised. What really made it terrifying, though, were its inhuman golden eyes, a huge butcher knife in its hand, and a bloody pentagram carved into its forehead. Angel froze as the clown drew nearer, laughing insanely the whole while. She finally came to her senses and grabbed one of her guns and fired at the bastard's head. The top of the clown's head exploded and it stumbled back momentarily, but it quickly regained control and face her again and screamed, the entire top of its head missing. Angel shrieked and fired relentlessly at the demonic clown in front of her until it finally collapsed and didn't get back up. That wasn't the end of it though, for the sound of hysterical laughing came from all directions, and a hissing sound came from in front of her as a masked demon wearing a black cloak emerged from the thick mist.
Angel's heart felt like it was about to explode, but she ran blindly through the Satanic carnival, hoping that she wouldn't see another one of the clowns. Unfortunately, she saw exactly that. She was stopped by another one of the demons, this one wielding a flamethrower instead of a butcher knife. The clown guffawed endlessly and let loose an intense blast of flames at Angel. She managed to jump back in time to avoid being barbecued and fired a few bullets at the demon's face. The clown's head exploded, but still it lived and attacked again. Angel instead turned to her scythe, which she used to slice the demon in half. That took care of that one, now she just had to find her way out of this hellish place. She hastily started running again, determined to escape. There was a shrill hissing sound from up above her, and the masked demon from before appeared in front of her and raised its staff up high, summoning a flock of ravens to attack.
Angel spun her scythe furiously to keep the birds at bay, even killing a few of them, but the main demon still lived. After all the birds had been slaughtered, Angel took on the main demon with her scythe. She swung swiftly and harmed the demon a great deal, but it only flew high into the air and summoned three shadow figures to attack. The shadows clung to Angel, but she was able to force them off by creating a ball of fire in her hand, which deterred the shadows momentarily. She used the moment to her advantaged and shot endlessly at the demon above her. It gave off a sharp scream and convulsed horribly before exploding in a plume of ashes, which rained down to the ground.
The horrifying giggling, chuckling, and laughing rang out from behind Angel. The clowns were coming, and she had to go. Now. She picked up on sprinting again. She could NOT stay in this park any longer. She couldn't handle it. She was okay with demons, and she hated clowns. But DEMON CLOWNS were far too much for her to handle with her sanity intact. The laughing grew closer and came from all directions. Finally she reached the other end of the park and tried to pry open the gate it wouldn't budge. She looked behind her to see if the clowns were closing in. They were. Her eyes widened, and she found only one solution. She would have to climb over the gate. She clung to the metal gate and started her ascent, taking care not to drop her scythe on the way. It wasn't easy. She could only use one hand because the other was holding the scythe in place, and it took all her focus to prevent herself from falling back to the ground below. Falling now would mean certain death, because the ground below was now swarming with demon clowns. A few tears welled up in Angel's eyes from fear. She finally reached the top of the gate and leaped down to the ground below. She braced herself for impact and landed gracefully by rolling across the ground and standing up with perfect timing. She turned back to the gate, where the clowns stood, staring and laughing at her, all with murderous insanity in their eyes.
"I fucking hate clowns." Angel said, her eyes squinted in contempt. Ignoring them, she turned back to the rest of the city. The stone monument was close now. It wouldn't take long at all to reach it.
Chapter Ten: Entry[]
The closer Angel came to the huge stone building, the darker the sky became. The blood red sky was now filled with ominous black clouds, and her surroundings seemed slightly distorted. There was something bad in there. She walked with caution. She was more afraid now than she ever had been before.
A few feet in front of her, a huge black force field appeared, blocking her progression. She turned around to head back and find a different route, but there was a force field behind her too. She was trapped.
"I don't like this.." she whispered. Suddenly a huge demon wearing a bird-like mask appeared in front of her. It was exactly like the smaller ones Angel had fought before, but it was much larger and its body appeared to be made from darkness. The demon's bulging glass eyes gleamed and gave off a fearsome green glow. The demon screeched and raised its arms high into the air, and a long staff appeared in its hands. The demon waved the staff around and the air turned putrid, causing Angel to suffer a coughing fit. Still, Angel was able to ready her scythe and keep her guard up. The air around her was green, and everything was reduced to a shadow. Then she saw the silhouette of the demon. She ran at it and swung her scythe and the demon fell backwards. As soon as the demon was harmed, the air returned to normal, and Angel could breathe normally again. The demon jumped back up and hovered in the air before it removed its mask and revealed a face with no eyes and no nose, only a screaming mouth.
The thing charged at Angel, its arms outstretched, but she moved to the side, dropped her scythe, and grabbed her pistols and started firing. Every bullet seemed to have gotten trapped inside the demon's shadowy body, but didn't do much harm. The demon turned back to Angel and screamed, placing its mask back on its face. It raised up its staff again and an enormous flock of ravens appeared. The ravens immediately swarmed over to Angel and clawed and pecked at her. Angel screamed and fell to the ground, but rolled away from the evil birds. When she stood back up, the birds were still coming after her, so she started firing randomly at the swarm until there were only a few left. They wouldn't be a problem. She turned her attention back at the huge demon that loomed near her. Angel picked her scythe back up, spun it around once, and sprinted at her huge foe. Just before she reached it, she launched her scythe through the air and at the demon. The scythe impaled itself in the demon's chest, causing the demon to convulse violently. The demon screamed and screamed until its body started to fade away and nothing was left.
Angel walked over to where the demon and picked up her scythe, which now had a small black aura around it. Curious, she swung it through the air and watched as the scythe started to glow a fierce white color and the air seemed to boil.
"Whoa." Angel said in bewilderment. Her scythe had gone through some sort of change. Angel began walking again. She wasn't far from the entrance of the stone monument. After only a few more minutes of walking, she reached it. The building, along with its many towers, reached high into the red, cloudy sky. The walls around the entrance were lined with strange symbols and what appeared to be splatters of blood. Angel shuddered and started her walk up a long staircase to the inside of the monument. Once inside, she saw a row of statues on each side of the room. Most of them were falling apart of completely destroyed, but the intact ones depicted a powerful-looking demon two sets of wings, a spiked body, horns, and a gigantic anchor attached to a chain held in hand. The base of the chain appeared to be nailed through the demon's arm.
Now Angel knew something powerful was somewhere inside this fortress. Something dangerous. She looked for an entrance to another room, but she could see no visible signs of a doorway. Suddenly she got the feeling she should look up. Obeying her sudden impulse, she turned her head upwards. Sure enough, high up on the ceiling was a doorway.
"How the hell am I supposed to reach that...?" she said in disappointment. There must have been some sort of trick to it, she was sure of it. Looking around, Angel saw a few unlit torches on the walls. Maybe they should be lit? Angel summoned a ball of fire in her hand and used it to ignite one of the torches. Nothing happened, so she decided she should light the others as well. Upon lighting the final torch, the room began to emit a cracking sound and gravity was suddenly reversed, sending Angel flying upwards into the doorway. She screamed as she ascended, but as soon as she entered the doorway, gravity returned to normal and she landed softly in a passageway. She shook her head in confusion, trying to recover from the shock of being suddenly lifted. There were crashing sounds below as the statues also floated up and smashed into the ceiling.
"Jesus. I can already tell this place will be a pain in the ass to figure out." Angel remarked before she began her walk to the next room.
Chapter Eleven: Horrors of the Fortress[]
The walls seemed to shift around Angel as she walked. It was like they were alive, almost as though they were... breathing. Despite the fact that there was no source of light within the building, the whole place was filled with a disconcerting red glow. On the walls were carvings depicting the same demon that the statues from earlier showed: The tall and menacing being with a double set of wings, sharp horns, and a gigantic anchor attached to a chain that was impaled in its left arm. These carvings were different though. In the very center of each of the demon carvings' chest was a small indentation that resembled a closed eye.
Angel found herself in a square room with huge gates at the very end of it. Of course, carved into each of the gates was the same demon. As soon as she took a few steps into the room, the passageway behind her sealed itself with a black force field. In front of her appeared a decaying humanoid monster with glowing yellow eyes, two long horns that ended in a sharp point, long claws, and a pair of rotting wings. The thing made an odd clicking sound as its head twitched disturbingly before it leaped at Angel. Unable to react in time, the demon landed on top of her and shrieked while trying to tear her to shreds. Angel managed to move her legs up and kicked the demon off of her before she could be harmed. Angel ran at the demon and swung her scythe. As soon as the scythe made contact with the demon, it burst into flames and went into a frenzy, galloping around the room as the fire slowly melted away the already rotting flesh. Finally it collapsed to the ground and turned to ashes, but that wasn't the end of it. More of the demons appeared around the room and made the same clicking sounds that the previous demon had made. They weren't moving. Then it hit Angel. They couldn't see her, and they were searching for her.
Slowly, she set down her scythe and reached for her pistols. One of the demons suddenly snapped its head up and stared in her direction. It must have sensed her. Angel fired at the demon that had discovered her until it was nothing but ashes. Unfortunately, the sound of gunshots attracted the other demons, who were now all charging towards her. She put one of her pistols back into her belt and picked up her scythe before rolling under the legs of one of the demons, stood back up, and fired at the back of its head. The other demons still came at her, so she skillfully swung her scythe and sliced two of the demons in half, setting them on fire in the process. With every demon she defeated, though, it seemed that two more appeared to take their place. Desperate, Angel moved to the center of the room, away from the demons surrounding her, and materialized a ball of ice in her free hand. Without wasting any time, she launched a spray of ice shards all around her. As soon as the shards impaled themselves in the demons, they grew larger, and larger, and larger until each and every one of the demons was torn apart by the growing ice. The ice melted within seconds, and still more demons appeared around her.
"You're kidding!" Angel complained, feeling exhaustion setting in. This time Angel summoned a ball of flames in her hand, created a wall of fire around herself, and charged at the demons, the flame wall still following her. Every demon she passed ignited and quickly turned to ashes, but more demons kept appearing. Less exhausted and more angry, Angel threw down her scythe and summoned a spherical flame in her left hand and a freezing hunk of ice in her right before hurtling the mixture of fire and ice at the demons around her. The demons were frozen first, but the flames soon overtook them, melted the ice, and scorched each of the demons to death. The demons were finally gone for good, and the stone gates at the end of the room ground open slowly, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
Angel picked up her scythe and walked disgustedly through the newly opened gate. She had to save her dad. She knew she was getting close, of course. But there was still a long way to go.
Chapter Twelve: Demon Destiny[]
The hallway was a dead end, with only a statue of the demonic being at the end of it. In the center of its chest was an open eye, unlike the carvings that were on the walls of the previous hall. Angel stared into the eye and began to feel dizzy. It was like it was watching her.
...
"Angel will save me. I know she will." Amerigo mumbled achingly, still hanging from the ceiling, with chains embedded in his back. His shirt was stained with blood. The walls rumbled and the chains shook. The anchor hanging from a chain above him wobbled with amusement.
"She cannot rescue you, fool. A mere girl could never possibly survive the challenges of my fortress." the walls roared, "You will be here for eternity, never allowed to die, nor allowed to live! You will endure the horrors and tortures forever, slowly losing your humanity and becoming more and more demon." Amerigo hung his head down and said nothing. He didn't want to accept his fate. Even if Angel did manage to save him, there was no way he could go on living. It would be too painful.
"Look, look. You've already changed. Look at your flesh. It is hardened and beginning to rot. Soon your face will become that of a nightmare's nightmare! Ha ha ha!" the walls laughed mockingly, happy to see such a strong man broken so horribly. The walls were right. Amerigo was changing. He was hardly a human being anymore, after all the years trapped in Hell. He was transforming.
...
Angel raised her pistol and fired a bullet straight into the eye of the statue, leaving a hole all the way through to the statue's back. The statue started to crumble, and the walls began shaking violently before the floor collapsed and sent Angel tumbling through darkness. Her descent slowed, and she landed gently on a stone floor in the center of a long corridor. She turned around and saw that the wall behind her was covered in sharp spikes. There was a sudden crashing sound, and the wall started to move forwards shockingly quickly. With a soft yelp, Angel started to run. The wall quickly caught up to her, but still Angel ran in a desperate attempt to avoid being punctured by the sharp spikes. As she ran, the floor started to crack and separate, leaving huge gaps between each chunk of floor and increasing the length of the room.
Angel leaped over each of the gaps, but she was starting to feel the strength being sapped from her body the longer she ran. She finally made it to the end of the room and hurried through the doorway before the wall crushed her. In front of her lay a huge spiral staircase. Angel figured it led up to the room that her father was held captive in.
"So close. Well, Angel. What's slowing you?" she motivated herself and walked onward, closing in on her target.
Chapter Thirteen: Farewell, Father...[]
Angel walked determinedly up the long staircase. She was almost there. She had almost reached her father, whom she had never even met. As she walked, she heard repeated banging sounds, and debris fell from the ceiling high above her. The walls shook and quivered and twisted and cried out, angry at her ascension to the top of the highest tower. She moved onward, undeterred by the horrendous moans and screams. In front of her appeared a mass of vines that grew seemingly out of thin air to block her path. Angered, Angel sliced furiously through them to keep moving.
With every step, the screams and shouts of the walls grew louder, more forceful, and more vulgar. Vines continued to emerge in front of her, but she just wouldn't have it. This time she summoned a large fireball in her hand, tossed it at the mess of tentacles, and watched as it burst into flames and started to convulse violently before retreating back to wherever they had come from. By the time she neared the entrance to the highest room, the screaming and moaning was deafening, but she ignored it. She burst into the room and searched frantically for her father, and the loud noises stopped. Everything was eerily silent. Suddenly fear overcame her. Every ounce of courage that she held within her only moments ago was now gone, drained away by the impenetrable darkness around her. She looked up instinctively and saw him. A broken-looking man wearing a torn up white tank top and dark blue jeans. A small droplet of water appeared in her eye.
It was her father.
He was in much worse condition than she had previously realized. Scars covered his body and his clothes were ripped and torn. Every little bit of strength that Angel had seen in him in her visions was nonexistent now. He was comparable to a corpse.
"D-daddy..?" Angel squeaked. Amerigo heard her soft whimper and looked down. He tried to warn her that it was a trap, but he was unable to speak, so he only motioned with his hands, hoping that she would understand. Suddenly the passageway behind Angel disappeared, and the room was suddenly ablaze with terrifying lights. The walls rumbled, and a demonic voice laughed victoriously.
"Ha ha ha! You see, Amerigo? Your daughter is here now, but what good can she do for you? She is as weak as you!" the walls boomed. An anchor hanging in the ceiling shook ferociously. Then Angel realized something. The anchor in the ceiling matched the ones that the statues in the corridor held. Angel froze, unable to utter a single word, let alone fight. Suddenly every emotion within her built up until she exploded in rage.
"Let my father go! Leave him the FUCK alone! Just give him back!!" Angel demanded, her eyes gleaming with a golden tint. The lights dimmed momentarily, but they quickly reappeared stronger than ever.
"You fool girl! Fine, release your father and see what will happen! You lose either way!" the walls screamed demonically. So many thoughts raced through Angel's mind all at once, and she could only force herself to do one thing. She aimed her pistols at the chains holding up her father and focused. Just a few shots, and he would be released. She gathered up all her energy and pulled the triggers. There was a clinking sound, and suddenly Amerigo was falling through the air. He landed with a loud thud and a slight cracking sound, but he stood up quickly.
"Dad!" Angel shouted with glee, thinking everything was okay. Amerigo found that he was able to speak again.
"Angel!" Amerigo yelled as he pushed her back against the wall and shielded her. Suddenly the ceiling exploded and the anchor fell to the floor, dragging behind it a monstrous grey being. The thing crashed into the floor so hard that it was a wonder that the whole room didn't collapse. It stood up and stretched its arms. Rather, it's right arm, for its left arm was weighed down by a chain impaled in its arm, which was attached to a gigantic anchor. It unfurled its wings and smiled.
"It has been a long sixteen years since I have been free. Thank you, child. I think I will begin by showing the two of you a gruesome fate. Does that sound pleasurable to you, Amerigo?" the demon roared. Amerigo stood back up and faced the demon.
"In your dreams, fucker!" Amerigo roared just as aggressively. The demon's smile grew wider.
"You talk unusually mighty for a broken half-man. You are defenseless. Accept your fate and I may let you die... eventually." the demon taunted. Amerigo grimaced and held his hand behind him, towards Angel. She sat for a minute, confused. But then it was clear what he wanted. Angel hastily grabbed one of the pistols and placed it in his hand. Within seconds, Amerigo was firing at the demon, but it stood unharmed. It laughed mightily as the eye on its chest opened up and everything appeared to shrink down and disappear until nothing was left but whiteness.
Suddenly Angel found herself standing on a gigantic hunk of flying rock with her father by her side, and the demon foe standing at the opposite end, arms crossed and anchor sitting at its side.
"Let's show this bastard who's boss... Right, dad?" Angel said confidently. Amerigo nodded.
"That's right." he grunted. In the back of his head was one painful thought. Even if he and his daughter did take down this demon, how would he return home? He was barely human. It seemed like his only option was... His thoughts were interrupted when the demon hurled its anchor at him. He was able to move out of the way in time and flipped the demon off, snarling as he did so.
Angel charged blindly at the huge monster and shot at it with her single pistol, but it didn't do much. The demon simply brushed off the bullets as if they were merely grains of sand and laughed. The demon threw its heavy weapon at her, but she ducked down in time and ran to the right, continuing her charged and readying her scythe to attack. She reached the demon and swung her scythe, but her foe put up its hand and stopped her in midair. She was frozen in air. Suddenly the air around her grew unbearably hot, and she felt her insides beginning to boil. She screamed in agony, but the pain ended within seconds when she fell to the ground with a loud thump. Her father stood in front of her, now glowing a fearsome white color, with eyes glowing red. He trembled slightly, but he stood his ground firmly. He was protecting her.
Amerigo yelled and fired at the demon, and it fell back with a look of shock on its face, but it soon melted into a look of amusement.
"You see the results? You're more demon than ever... You don't even need that god-forsaken necklace anymore. You're doing that all on your own..." taunted the demon as it spun its anchor around on its chain before throwing it at Amerigo. It slammed into his already frail body and sent him flying backwards, sliding across the ground. He didn't get back up. Angel screamed and ran back over to see if her was okay. He was still conscious. He looked at her and shook his head.
"It's no use. We're fucked." he said. Angel thought it was funny how he could still have such a lighthearted tone in his voice in such a situation. Angel reached for the necklace around his neck and gently pulled it off.
"I'm going to save you." she said as she put the necklace around her own neck and suddenly felt energy coursing through her. She was empowered, and she felt like a goddess. Amerigo stood up and aimed his pistol at the demon and fired a few more shots to weaken it. Angel readied her scythe and charged at the demon. With one slice, the deed was done. The menace was dead.
"Just remember. The world is impossible to repair. The evils and sins of mankind cannot be undone, and we will make sure of that. And you, Angel, will ensure that corruption spreads. You will be just like your father, but worse." the demon spoke before it collapsed and its body disappeared in a strong blast of light. Angel turned back to her father, who looked at her sadly. He said nothing.
"We... can go home now, right?" Angel asked in exhaustion. Amerigo shook his head.
"I'm not a family man... besides, I am barely even human. You heard what the demon said... I'm more demon than mortal now, and it would be too painful for me to return to Nova Hejmo." Amerigo began, raising his pistol to his chin, "I won't come back to Hell, don't worry. I'm a demon now, so I'll end up in Limbo, between Heaven and Hell... I'm sorry, Angel. Just remember that I love you, and tell your mother that I love her..."
Angel couldn't watch. There was a loud bang, and everything was silent.
"Dad..." she sobbed. Tears ran down her cheeks. She couldn't comprehend it. When she opened her eyes, she was standing back outside the mall with a pistol on the ground in front of her, a pistol in her hand, and a scythe in her other hand. Her vision blurred and she wiped away the tears. Her cellphone vibrated. It was text from Josh. She swore under her breath and threw the phone into a nearby trashcan. She picked up the other pistol and shoved it into her belt, along with her other one. It was time to go.
She sat on the sidewalk outside the Black Clam bar with a bottle of beer in hand. Next to her sat two empty bottles. She was dizzy and couldn't think straight. Angel stood up and was about to walk into the busy street to end her life, but someone grabbed her hand. She looked back and saw someone she faintly recognized. It was... Jonah. A boy she knew from school.
"Don't." was all he said.