Hi again! Before you start I would strongly recommend that you read Chapter 1 first before this part or bits will not make sense to you :)

To reiterate from my first post. This story, despite being posted in the 'Sci-Fi' section, will also include: Non-Human, Non-Consent, Erotic-Horror, Group-Sex, Mind-Control and (heaven forbid) Romance elements so I'd recommend you grow a pair and continue reading if any of this scares you.

The story will also contain: strong language, gore, violence, explicit sex scenes, bouts of philosophy, intimate relationships, magic, demons, continued misuse of kitchen equipment, different perspectives (both 1^st and 3^rd ), a complete disregard for geographical locations and a vastly unrealistic representation of our solar-system.

If you feel you can handle all the above then I warmly invite you to delve into my imagination to your heart's content.

-- Demonnox --

Chapter 4 -- Escape

"Luke."

I groaned.

"Luke."

I groaned some more, my head was pounding mercilessly.

"Luke, come on, you have to wake up."

I tried to swat away the voice, but realised I couldn't move my arms. It took even longer to remember that voices weren't magically silenced by random arm movements.

"Please Luke. I'm worried about you."

That sounded like Cathy. Cathy was worried about me, but why?

Then it all came rushing back to me, the eclipse, the demons, the explosion. Everything.

Forcing my eyes to open I stared into Cathy's blurry face. Why the hell was her face all blurry.

I was mortified with myself. I felt embarrassment colour my face and thanked God I hadn't said that allowed. Seriously, did I really just think Cathy's face was blurry. Just how hard had I hit my head I wondered.

After my headache had calmed slightly, and my vision was back to normal I looked up at Cathy's regular face, and asked. "So, I guess It worked?"

I didn't get an answer. Instead Cathy started crying and wrapped her arms around me, smothering me in a friendly hug.

Well I suppose that was an answer in itself I thought with a smile, returning the hug, thankful that she was all right.

After a few seconds I disentangled myself from Cathy's arms and asked. "How long was I out?"

She sobered up at this, becoming grave. "You've been out for almost three hours Luke. It's almost 7 o'clock." She bit her lip, unsure how to continue.

"What is it?" I supplied.

"Luke, there aren't many of us left. It's been pretty crazy while you've been out. John's tried to keep things under control, but a lot of people have fled the school, despite the ash falling again. It's crazy." She took a deep breath. "There are 62 people here in the school, and almost all of those were part of the group in the cafeteria that you saved. A lot ran when the imps got in, and still more decided to leave afterwards. We're not sure how many the imps killed." Her face went slightly green and she looked like she was about to throw up. "It's unclear how many bodies there are in the cafeteria. It's... It's hard to tell."

I hugged her again and she buried her head against my shoulder, whimpering softly.

"I can't believe there are so few of us left." I whispered sorrowfully. Cathy nodded her agreement into my shoulder.

"Was that the first time you've tried to wake me?" I asked.

"Yes." Cathy replied. "I wanted to let you rest."

"So, why did you try and wake me now?" I pressed.

Cathy pushed herself up and wiped her eyes of tears, smiling sadly. "There was another earthquake, a few minutes ago. The crack outside grew so much that it's caused some of the cafeteria's wall to crumble. John asked me to try and wake you as we'll have to leave if anything else comes out the crack, but there's been nothing so far."

"I see, and where's everyone else" I said, as I looked around, examining the empty classroom.

"Most of them are in the other room across the hall, it has a view of the crack outside. I think John and a few others are around the school, I'm not exactly sure what they're doing though." Cathy replied.

I grunted in pain and started to stand, slowly. Very slowly. "Wait! You shouldn't be getting up yet, it could be dangerous." Cathy scolded, but helped me up nonetheless.

"Thanks." I said, gratefully. "What would I do without you."

Cathy tried to look annoyed, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face and ended up chuckling, stating. "Come on then mister. If you're so damn sure you want to be walking about, then I can't exactly stop you."

I opened the door to the corridor, crossing the threshold and was reaching for the handle of the room opposite when I heard a noise.

Looking to the right I spotted John, followed by Mr Woodstock and Mr Harrel blazing down the darkened corridor, their flash-light beams dancing madly across the walls, as if the forces of Hell were at their back.

I suppose that could literally be true I thought with grim amusement, hoping I was mistaken.

I wasn't.

By now I wasn't even surprised.

"Luke! Cathy! We have to get everyone out. You know where to go Cathy, we'll guard the rear " John bellowed at us, while still running down hall.

Cathy wasted no time and breezed past me, opening the door to the other classroom and sticking her head in. "It's time to go people! Get your supplies and follow me. No running, stay behind me and keep your heads, okay?"

"Yes, Ms Jones." Replied a large group of people on the other side of the door.

"Wow." I told Cathy in amazement after she had given her orders. "What the hell happened while I was asleep."

She switched on her torch and pointed it ahead. Answering while we walked down the corridor, towards the stairs, 60 people in tow. "It's all John really, he's made sure that everyone knows who's in charge. He's made it clear that everyone is to listen to his instructions, as well as mine and yours." She stopped me as I began to argue, evidently knowing what I was going to say. "Luke, almost everyone here was in the cafeteria until you managed to get them out. They all saw what you did and the ones who weren't trapped have all heard the stories. Whether or not John asked them to follow your orders is irrelevant, I guarantee that they all would anyway. So it's not worth complaining about." Cathy finished with a sly smile and a wink, causing me to laugh.

"I guess not." I agreed, shaking my head. "How come everyone seems so organised now? With the bags and stuff." I wondered aloud, motioning to the various sports bags people were carrying behind us.

"John again." Cathy replied. "He made everyone pack supplies into sports bags we collected from the changing rooms. He then gave everyone a bag or something that didn't fit in a bag to look after. He said it would help prevent us from leaving stuff behind if we had to move and would make for a faster exit if we all knew what we had to take and no one was taking more than they could carry."

"Seems to be working so far." I said, impressed. "Last question, I promise." I continued, making Cathy chuckle as we began to walk down the stairs. "Where are we going exactly?"

"The car park." Cathy dead-panned.

I nodded, keeping silent as I stopped myself from asking another question.

Cathy glanced at me, smiling devilishly as she saw my internal struggle. Finally she released me by saying. "You can ask another question if you want."

I grinned stupidly and asked "Why the car park?"

"To get on a bus." Cathy told me.

I wish I hadn't asked.

No really, I wish I hadn't asked. If there was one thing I hated more than this demon apocalypse -- it was Hargraves buses.

"What's wrong?" Cathy asked me, obviously picking up on my discomfort.

"I hate buses." I mumbled, hoping she wouldn't hear me.

Cathy laughed heartily, evidently I hadn't been quiet enough. I ignored her and focussed on walking, trying not to think about Hargraves buses and to focus on less horrible fates instead, like being eaten alive by imps, or burnt to a crisp by ash.

As we pushed open the double-doors leading to the car park, we were met by a truly distressing sight.

A Hargraves bus was parked, facing away from the entrance with its doors open, ready to be boarded.

I was almost sick. Maybe I could just stay here and fight whatever we were running from I thought, hopefully.

Cathy dashed that hope. "Right, on the bus Luke. I'll follow you on when everyone else is accounted for." And with that Cathy sealed my fate as she withdrew a piece of paper from her pocket and began ticking names off as people passed her.

Sighing heavily, I got on the bus.

I chose a window seat in the back row and looked towards the line of people exiting the school, hoping I'd see Tony. I really should have asked Cathy about him I thought, guiltily.

As the bus started filling up I began to worry about Tony. There couldn't be many more people left. Luckily, as I had this thought, John came through the doors with Tony at his side.

I sighed in relief as I watched them board the bus. Cathy following close behind, evidently having completed the registration to her satisfaction.

Gazing out the window I was amazed by how dark it was. Sure, it was always dark by now at this time of year, but it was never this enveloping. London's streets and buildings are covered in lights which illuminate the city with a yellowish, hazy glow, but almost all of those lights were off, I guess due to the earthquakes. In their place our only light sources were from the two dirty headlamps of the bus, the thin, greenish hue of the strip light above the school's outer-doors, the gloomy, white glow of the Half Moon and the sparse distribution of flash-lights among our group.

Wait... Where the fuck was the red light of the eclipse? Hmm, I guess we wouldn't have to see that menacing, crimson glare until sunrise. At least, I hoped so.

I was interrupted In my reverie by a hand clasping my shoulder.

Startled, I looked up and saw Tony standing there with a big grin on his face.

"It's good to see you're okay Luke, we were all worried about you." Tony told me matter of factly.

"Yea it's good to be back" I replied. "Hey Tone, does it feel weird to you being back on the bus?" I asked.

Tony looked confused, saying "What do you mean?"

"Well, I can't believe what's happened since we got on the bus this morning and now we're getting on another. It Just feels strange that's all." Tony's look of bewilderment prompted me to change the subject. For someone that smart he really was dense.

"How come we're leaving?" I asked, hoping Tone might have an answer.

I was in luck. Although, it didn't feel like luck when I saw Tony's face pale visibly, but at least I got my answer. "John told me something else has come through the crack. He wasn't sure what, but he said he saw arms gripping the side and heard what sounded like groaning." Tony paused, took a deep breath and continued. "He said the arms were grey and had hands, not claws. He said... He said they didn't look like imps." Tony shivered as he told me the last part, seemingly wanting no part in any of this. I didn't blame him.

"I see." I said, thoughtfully. "Well at least we made it out before anything could get to us this time, eh Tone?" I added cheerfully. I also crossed my fingers and prayed that I didn't jinx the situation.

No windows smashed, no doors viciously mauled apart and everyone's still alive. Check. Looks like my jinxing days are over.

"Why don't you sit down Tone?" I proposed, patting the empty seat next to me, when I noticed that for some reason he was still just standing in front of me.

I mean come on, there are five seats in the back row and last time I checked I only take up one of them.

"Oh, I didn't want to intrude." Tony nervously stated, avoiding my gaze.

I raised an eyebrow at him, completely at a loss and asked. "Intrude?"

Tony looked sheepishly about as if searching for an escape; when none presented itself he resigned himself to his fate and spoke "Erm... Well... I figured you would want to sit with Cathy... Seeing as the two of you are... Erm."

Thankfully, I clicked it before his brain overheated and I rushed to release him from this predicament. "We're just friends Tone. Honestly, nothing more than that."

"Wha--" Tony tried to interrupt me, but I raised my hands, placatingly, managing to silence him long enough to explain. "Seriously Tone, we've spoken about it and we both know that we're just friends. It's not my place to tell you exactly what happened but please believe me when I say we're not together, okay?"

"Ah. Okay. Erm... Sorry Luke, I guess I rushed to conclusions." Tony apologised, sitting down in the centre seat.

That's right. He made sure to leave an empty seat between us, I guess I hadn't fully convinced him.

At least I would have some peace I surmised.

No sooner had I thought this when my peace was utterly shattered by the scent of fresh peaches. However, it wasn't Cathy's arrival that disturbed me, I was prepared for that. What I was not prepared for was Kate. What I was even less prepared for was her choice of seating.


When I got my hands on Tone I would kill him I thought grimly, while surreptitiously watching Kate sit beside me.

I looked up at Cathy, desperately hoping she'd get me out of this. She just smirked knowingly. "John's having trouble starting the bus." She announced, waving airily behind her. "Anyway, he's gone to get some diesel from the bus shed. It seems Mr Harrel didn't check the fuel gauge when he parked the bus and we're running on empty." At this she raised an eyebrow and continued. "John's driving and he asked if we could look after Kate for awhile. I said we'd be more than happy to. Any questions?"

Tony shook his head and preceded to look absolutely anywhere but at Kate. I didn't blame him, she really was a brat before all this had started.

I decided to mimic Tony's plan, it seemed pretty damn good from where I was sitting, so I too shook my head and studiously ignored Kate. I also took no notice of Cathy, as penance for her part in my now awful seating arrangement, and went back to staring out the window. I hoped that John would hurry up so we could be on our way. The quicker we left the sooner I'd be able to put distance between myself and Kate -- A lot of distance.

Although, this did spark a question I hadn't asked. "Cathy, do you know where we're going?" I said, as I heard her slip into the seat beside Tony.

I still wasn't looking at her, the presence of Kate beside me kept reaffirming that Cathy's punishment would last for awhile.

Luckily, she answered me anyway. "We're going to the Marsh. It's close by, with multiple routes in case any roads are blocked. Also, a lot of people's families live on the estate. Much more than anywhere else and John wanted as many people as possible to have the chance to be reunited with their families. We all spoke at length about where we would go when we left the school. After the imp attack no one was under the illusion that the school would be a safe place to hide." Cathy cleared her throat and continued, sounding embarrassed. "A lot of people wanted to leave as soon as we'd decided on the Marsh, but I convinced everyone to wait until either something happened, or you awoke. You'd be surprised how many people agreed with me so readily. You really made an impression Luke."

God damn it. How was I supposed to ignore her after she'd admitted that. I glanced up at Cathy and smiled gratefully, truly thankful for her friendship.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to avoid Kate's gaze as I looked at Cathy and what I saw shocked me to my core.

She was smiling, actually smiling. What the fuck happened to the Kate I'd encountered this morning. She looked a lot nicer without her heavy make-up too, less of a glamorous bitch and more of a normal school girl.

Well, until she started screaming and pointing at me that is. What a spectacular return to form.

At least, that's what I thought was happening, but then she started shivering and whispered the words. "They're coming." over and over again, barely loud enough for me to hear.

I realised that she wasn't pointing at me, but past me. swiftly turning I stared out through the gloomy night in the school's direction. Nothing.

Looking around the bus I met the fearful stares of students and teachers alike. None of them had heard Kate's whispers but they had all heard her scream and were looking out the windows in distress, dreading what they would see in the darkness.

I looked out the windows for John, hoping he would be back with diesel by now, but there was still no sign of him. The silence outside was unnerving.

Tony was still pretending Kate didn't exist. I didn't blame him, the guy had been here for years, I'd only had to endure her and her ilk for a week. Thankfully, Cathy had taken on the neglected role of carer and had Kate wrapped up in her arms. She was still shivering, but at least she wasn't repeatedly murmuring.

I felt strange, like I held an important answer in my grip, but couldn't for the life of me remember the question. It was like clutching at something just out of reach, something that you couldn't quite make out, but you knew was significant.

Threads began to weave together in my head. Images flashed before me: Kate arguing against leaving the first time, Tony saying he felt strange after surviving the Hell-Fever, the feeling of something clawing its way into my mind when I went through the same thing, the voice inside me that 'knew' to dive to the ground a split-second before the imps would have had me and finally Kate again seeming to know something that we all didn't.

Singly each of these events were meaningless, but together they formed a whole. A truth I couldn't ignore. Something had happened to us when we survived the Hell-Fever. We weren't the same as we were before. However, it was a thought for another time. I still had nothing concrete to go on so everything was just guesswork and, more importantly, John was still no where to be seen.

It didn't take that long to get a can of fuel... Did it?

I had a bad feeling about this.

Apparently, so did Kate. She sat bolt upright in Cathy's arms and spoke clearly, loud enough for the whole bus to hear. "They're here." After saying her piece Kate slumped into Cathy's embrace, out cold.

Fuck.

Well, at least no one was screaming this time. Although, the silence was so pressing that I might have preferred the screams.

Everyone on the bus just sat there, hardly daring to move, speak, or even breathe, looking fixedly out the windows for... Demons.

A couple of kids near the front wailed in panic at something in the gloom. This, obviously, prompted a few more students to bawl. You'd have thought, after all they'd been through, that these people would be slightly tougher. I guess not.

Relief coursed through me and the rest of the bus's occupants as a figure came jogging from the darkness, and into the shine of the headlamps. John, jerry-can in hand, came to a standstill at one side of the bus, deftly opening the bus's tank and pouring in the diesel.

"We should strap her in. Looks like we'll be leaving soon." I said, glancing at Cathy who was still cradling Kate's limp form to her chest.

She nodded and placed her gently back in the seat, buckling her in.

Suddenly, a piercing jolt shot up my spine exploding in an agonising wave in my head and forcing me to my knees. I could feel warm blood dripping steadily from my nose, I could see only vague shapes and sharp colours, and I could sense them. The demons. There were eight of them, slowly marching through the gloom, getting closer and closer to the bus.

These weren't imps too. They felt bigger, more powerful, more dangerous.
I forced myself to stagger upright, still in a world of pain. I had to get John. We had to go. Now.

I heard Cathy shout something behind me, I had no idea what. I just kept going, picking up speed as I stumbled down the aisle. Eventually I reached the door and gracelessly slid out the bus, landing in a pile on the concrete of the car park.

John looked up from his task and stared in shook and bewilderment at my prone form.

Fighting through the pain I managed to hold on to enough of my mind to articulate one word. "Hurry."

I saw John hastily close the tank's lid and run towards me. The jerry-can was still sloshing about, the sound attesting to its half-full state.

At least he believed me I thought with relief as my vision started to fail. Soon John appeared only as an indistinct, gloomy blur.

"Get him inside, quickly." Was that John I wondered? It sounded like John

I felt arms wrap around me and heard the voice of Tony beside my ear. "I've got you buddy, hang in there Luke."

I would have laughed at the situation if I wasn't in so much agony. I couldn't believe that Tony was carrying me all on his own. I must have been nearly twice his weight. Of course, the world re established its laws of physics when I heard another voice in my ear. "It's okay Luke, You're going to be all right. I promise." That explained things. It wasn't just Tony carrying me but Cathy too.

Everything was right once more. Well, except for the eclipse, the demons and the infernal torment that was mercilessly corroding my sanity.

I was haphazardly carried back to my window seat -- only bumping into a couple of things along the way.

A solid effort I thought as I began to drift off, despite the still intense pain, my head resting on something soft and warm that smelled of peaches. I realised it was Cathy's blouse and smiled, glancing out the window as the sound of the bus roaring to life started putting me to sleep.

Of course, what I saw beyond the glass managed to put an immediate halt on my sleeping plans.

A pair of glowing, red eyes were glaring at me through the window. The pale light from the crimson orbs dimly illuminating the rest of the creatures face: grey, decaying skin, mouldy, rotten teeth, straw-like hair that was crawling with various insects, but the most startling feature was the shape of the head. It was human. It was like looking at a decaying human corpse that just so happened to have red, glowing, baleful eyes.

The face was only there for an instant, but I shuddered regardless, feeling waves of terror course through me at the sight.

As the bus pulled away from the school I slipped once more into the line between waking and sleeping. The twilight between the two realms. I couldn't believe what I had seen. I needed to say it. They needed to know.

"Zombie..." I murmured almost incoherently. Hoping someone would hear me.

I couldn't stay to find out. The pain was too much. My brain was shutting down. I could feel every sense turning off, one by one.

The last feeling I had was of the soft fabric beneath my head, gently cushioning me as I drifted away.

Chapter 5 -- A Mother's Love

Sophie sighed tiredly as she put down her pen. Writing the letter had taken far longer than she thought it would. Not to mention the pain it had caused her to relive those times, but Luke might need her knowledge and if that meant dredging up distressing memories -- then so be it.

She walked from the kitchen, up the stairs and into her own bedroom. Briefly glancing at the clock by her bed informed Sophie that it was now 11 o'clock; she couldn't believe how long she'd been writing for.

There had been a lot to say she realised, not for the first time.

Searching through the drawers beside her bed she eventually found what she was looking for: a small pot of red sealing wax that had been tucked behind various odds and ends she'd picked up over the years.

Sophie placed the letter in a plain envelope with 'Luke' already inscribed on the front and proceeded to heat the wax with a lighter.

She almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. She'd once used this same wax to seal letters to incredibly important people: politicians, influential businessmen, inquisition officers, even royalty -- and now? Now, she was using a disposable, bright-yellow, plastic lighter that had set her back 99 pence to melt the wax. The wax which she would then use to seal a hastily scrawled letter of her life and leave under the bed for her son to find.

How the mighty have fallen Sophie chuckled to herself as she placed the sealed envelope in the large trunk under her bed.

Her humour was short-lived however as she thought of the circumstances that had forced her into writing the letter in the first place.

She just couldn't believe 10,000 years had passed since the last eclipse. All the books she'd studied made it feel like such an ancient event, which it was, but she'd never fully appreciated that the next eclipse would be in her lifetime.

Sophie lay on her bed with her knees to her chest and her head in her hands and did what she promised herself she wouldn't do. She broke down in tears. She cried about her relationship with her son, the distance she'd always kept between them. She bawled about her mistakes and failures in life, she wailed like a baby at the coming eclipse, knowing in her heart that this would be the one. The one they would fail to stop.

Most of all Sophie grieved for her son, she knew the hardships he would face, the struggles, the uncertainty, the pain. She prayed that he would be okay, that he would survive the coming darkness and that he would forgive her. Oh, how she hoped he would one day forgive her.

Sophie used her training to collect herself after she'd had her moment of weakness. She wiped her wet eyes and promised herself that she'd be strong from now on. She would have to be.

She couldn't believe how foolish she'd been. She had spent 18 years running with her son from city to city. New schools, houses, jobs, she'd even used false names to find work, although she had never let Luke find out. He had to go through enough as it was, but after all this, all this care and careful preparation, they'd still found her.

Shuddering, she once again extended her senses and confirmed the presence of six cultists across the street. Sophie was beside herself with worry. They had arrived an hour after Luke left for school, thankfully. She dreaded to think what they would do to her boy if they had found him too.

She knew she couldn't run and so she'd spent her time writing the letter to Luke. Now that was done, and everything that may be of use was secured away and hidden from all but him.

Now she could only wait, she had donned her combat outfit earlier in the morning and had her sword, Light-Bringer, strapped securely to her back. Truth be told, Sophie was getting bored.

Of course, the boredom stretched only for a few seconds before it was replaced by fear as she sensed the cultists moving in.

She checked off everything in her head, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. She hadn't. Luke would be as prepared as she could make him with the tools at her disposal.

Sophie walked stoically down the stairs into the kitchen, accepting the fate that was before her, before everyone. She sat on a cheap wooden chair and faced the door. Her eyes blazing with the righteous anger of a mother protecting her child. She would have to kill four. No matter what happened she needed to kill at least four. Inquisitors of her strength required two or more powerful psychics to control and she knew Michael would have ordered her brought to him alive, not dead.

If she couldn't kill four then there would be nothing stopping one from remaining to wait for Luke, she couldn't allow that to happen. She smiled devilishly as the men outside reached the door -- she wouldn't allow that to happen.

The door imploded inwards in an explosion of force and fire. Show-offs.

Sophie drew her blade and in the same motion threw it through the gaping hole where the door used to be. As the lead cultist crossed the threshold he swiftly raised his own sword to block the hurtling blade, bracing the sword with his hand.

Sophie could sense the shield around him, it was one of the strongest she'd ever encountered and reminded her of a thick bubble of perspex. Even if he failed to block her blade the shield would probably still deflect it.

Fuck that, she thought with a sneer of contempt as she readied herself to unleash her power.

As the blade reached the cultist's sword Sophie abruptly threw a wave of telekinetic force at the man's arms, forcing them down and opening up a path that would make him a pin cushion -- except this particular pin was bigger than the cushion...

She was a little irked at the unworried attitude the man still exuded as the sword sliced into his shield, carving its way through the air until suddenly halting, inches from his chest, motionless, suspended in flight like some cheap magic trick.

Sophie smiled a little smile, more than matching the one plastered on the cultists face as she released one of the runes painstakingly inscribed on her sword. Water gushed from the tip and flooded through the small hole in the shield her weapon had created, quickly filling up the sphere.

She smirked with grim amusement as she saw the man's smile fade to be replaced by a look of terror. He couldn't release the shield without allowing the sword to gut him, but likewise he couldn't keep the shield without the water drowning him. Caught between a rock and a hard place had never been such an apt description Sophie thought with a chuckle as the man desperately looked about, searching for an escape.

There was none. He didn't even have the courage to end it quickly by the sword, such was his fear of death. The sphere filled from top to bottom with clear, sparkling water and he began to drown.

Unfortunately for Sophie there were still five more cultists to deal with and as the drowning man's life slowly slipped from him so too did his shield, until with a bright flash both the shield and his soul were gone, the water crashing down and gushing across the hallway.

With a clang Light-Bringer dropped to the floor and the remaining cultists walked past the body now cluttering her hallway. Even in death he was a nuisance Sophie thought darkly as she watched the five men walk down the hall, eyes alert after witnessing her performance.

They entered the kitchen and surrounded her -- unspeaking -- standing as still and silent as death itself.

Sophie smiled, despite the circumstances she found herself in. Running was all well and good, but it had been eighteen long years since she'd felt the thrill of battle -- there was nothing quite like it.

She had an instant of peace where she savoured the air with an impossibly long breath, knowing full-well it could be her last -- until the assault started.

To an observer the scene would have looked quite comical, five men were surrounding one woman, all of them quiet and yet everyone's face showing a great strain, as if they were each trying to lift some huge weight.

In reality the five cultists were throwing all their mental powers at Sophie in a bid to destroy her defences and take control of her mind -- ending the fight with no further losses.

Unfortunately for the cultists -- Sophie was in the mood for blood and nothing was going to get in her way.

With a mental roar she released all the pain she'd bottled up inside. Eighteen years of having to hide, to run, to worry, everything he'd put her through and everything he'd put Luke through. She used all the hate she had for him: vast oceans of malice, and violently unleashed it all -- the cultists never had a chance.

One died before he could withdraw, his mind obliterated by the strength of her will and his body slumping to the floor in a graceless heap.

The others were more fortunate. They'd sensed the wave of raw power she'd released and had managed to leave her mind before they too became victims of her roiling emotions.

However, Sophie had made one fatal error. She had gone against her own advice. The advice she'd drilled into Luke ever since he was a little boy: always use your head.

She hadn't. Being so caught up in her emotions had weakened the restraint on her powers and she'd unwittingly created a psionic blast more powerful than any she'd ever used before. Much, much stronger than was necessary.

She had ignored the limits even magic held: you cannot create without destroying. The basic principle in the conservation of energy. She'd created too much and now it was time to destroy. The problem with that of course was where the energy had come from: herself.

Sophie dropped to her knees in agony. Her mind a maelstrom of tormenting visions from the past, each more horrifying than the last. She'd been trained to use painful experiences in her life to block out the agony of the transfer -- luckily she was never short of those.

The technique to lessen the torment of the transfer was not an exact science. It involved using one pain to dull another. Obviously, this had its drawbacks. Sophie clenched her eyes shut as another wave of images assaulted her, forcing her to expel the remaining air in her lungs.

Sophie shuddered to think how close she had come to completely losing control and the dire straits that would have left her in. Despite remembering her training she was still in danger of allowing the pain to sweep her away in its destructive waters, such was its intensity.

After a few seconds the agony of the transfer was manageable enough for her to open her eyes and look around. She wished she hadn't. Lying on the white tiles of her kitchen floor was a body, a headless body. The corpse was covered in blood. The force of the psionic blast had caused the head to explode, showering the room in crimson gore and bits of grey muck that Sophie thought was brain. At least, she hoped it was.

Groggily looking around her kitchen Sophie desperately tried to get her bearings and stop her head from pounding. She was still on her knees and tried, unsuccessfully, to stand. As she fought through the pain her ears popped and voices immediately lanced through her, causing her to stiffen with concentration as she attempted to retain enough awareness to listen.

What she heard caused her redouble her efforts.

"--Call for assistance." finished a formal, toneless cultist.

"Are you mad?" Countered a shrill, reedy voice. "The Lord will skin us alive and let his pets have us if we fail."

"But I've never seen power like that! We need help Kesin, regardless of the Lord's displeasure." Argued a voice choked with fear.

A strange silence settled upon the room causing Sophie to hold her breath in fear, hoping the pounding of her heart wouldn't give her away.

"Enough." announced a deep, booming rumble. "Kesin is right. We have no choice but to continue. Besides," The rumble proclaimed off-handedly, "look at her."

Sophie shut her eyes and stayed dead-still, she could feel their gazes and hoped they hadn't seen her moving.

"See?" The rumble asked after a few seconds. "She's used too much energy -- I'd wager she can't even stand."

Sophie reddened with indignation, even though the cultist was correct. She'd never felt so helpless.

"You're right Bran. Ha, I can't believe one woman's caused so much trouble." The thin, reedy voice answered in relief.

That must be Kesin, although she wasn't sure how that knowledge could help her. Not In the state she was in. Every muscle, every joint, every bone stung, throbbed and ached respectively. Sophie could barely think through the pain.

"Prepare yourselves." The rumble -- Bran -- spoke. "We go in once more, carefully this time, and be ready to flee her mind at a moments notice. We don't want to end up like Corbin."

Sophie heard grunts in affirmation and stiffened with fear. She couldn't erect a defence, she was in too much agony to concentrate. She wouldn't be able to stop them. No one had successfully invaded her mind since she was an initiate, and now four cultists were going to try. Sophie let out an involuntary whimper and her eyes opened wide in fear.

The blast hit her like a solid wall. A mental probe that lanced into her skull and physically threw her body backwards to the floor. She could feel its tendrils creeping into every memory, every experience, every thought as it searched for her core. The part of her brain that defined her. That controlled her.

Sophie screamed as the probe seeped into her brain, deeper and deeper through her subconscious. The added pain from the invasion seized up her limbs and held her, paralysed, on the floor.

She desperately tried to think, she was losing herself to them, her sense of identity was becoming foggy. There was something Sophie needed to do, but she just didn't know what it was.

Struggling to remain conscious was all she could do, it was all the fight she had left. Her own name was just a blur to her, the last thing she could remember. Even that was fading, soon she wouldn't know who she was and she found herself less and less troubled by the thought.

Luke. Her Luke. Her son. A surge of electricity rushed through her, banishing the fog enveloping her memories. Sophie knew what she had to do, but that didn't make it any easier. The cultists were still searching for her core, and they were getting closer -- she didn't have much time.

With the last remnants of her flagging strength Sophie fought through the fog surrounding her spirit and desperately released the last of her power.

The remaining cultists pulled back with unnatural speed and braced themselves against a psionic blast like the last time, but are left confused when no such energy is released.

"Wha--" A cultist is cut short when Sophie's sword comes flying from its place in the hall, impaling him through the back with such force that both sword and man continue until they collide against the kitchen wall.

A smile was plastered on Sophie's face even as she began to lose consciousness. Her defences had crumbled completely and she was more exposed than any other time in her entire life, and yet, she couldn't get the vision of the cultist pinned to the wall by her sword, feebly struggling to breath while his lungs fill with blood, out of her head. The sight gave her hope, after all, she only had one more cultist to kill.

Her mind filled with darkness as the remaining cultists once more encircled her, deadly intent in their eyes. She tried to stay awake as their probe once more invaded her mind, but it was like trying to keep the wind at bay. It found more and more cracks in her armour forcing her deeper and deeper into slumber despite her struggles. Until, mercifully, her head lolled, her eyes closed and her thoughts ceased.

The last thing she remembered were two uttered words. "found it." Then she was falling through darkness. Complete, unyielding emptiness.

Chapter 6 -- Hate, Lust and Drugs, a Concoction for Disaster

"But why not Bran? Look at that body! Besides, the Lord only ordered us to bring her to him alive, he won't even know if we have a little fun with her beforehand anyway." Fang's grating voice pierced through Bran's ears like razor wire, causing him to stiffen in annoyance.

Fang was a short, thin, grimy man with dirty, long-brown hair, brown, beady eyes and the personality of a weasel with a score to settle.

Bran towered over Fang in both size and stature. He was a six foot ten block of muscle with short, militaristic black hair, two days worth of stubble, piercing blue eyes and pale skin, criss-crossed with a multitude of scars.

He used this physical advantage to stare down at the much shorter cultist, glaring at him until Fang could no longer meet his gaze.
Bran gave a silent sigh of relief that he'd managed to pacify the man. However, it wasn't out of any sort of decency or honour that he was against the defilement of their target. It was solely due to his fear of their Lord. A fear the rest had yet to fully grasp.

The others in his squad were all fairly new recruits, only recently having completed their first summoning. Their inexperience was apparent by the three dead bodies littering the house. One inquisitor, no matter how powerful, should not have been able to inflict these sorts of casualties on a full circle of cultists.

This wasn't the first time Bran had led a circle to kill or capture members of the Inquisition either. However, this was the only occasion he had lost cultists under his command due to combat.

Occasionally, one would attempt to summon something they couldn't yet control in their eagerness to prove their ability, or simply to brag about to the other cultists. Needless to say, many of these summonings resulted in a very pissed off demon, and a very dead summoner.

Still more common were the deaths caused by drug abuse. The cultists were provided with a supply of drugs called Adrenathol, which were similar to Ecstasy, but far more potent. These were used to expand the mind and were often ingested before cultists used their power to keep the pain at bay. However, many cultists were addicted to the stuff and ended up overdosing on the pills.

Bran chuckled at the thought that more cultists died each year from simple drug addiction than in the many deadly skirmishes against the Holy Inquisition. Of course, a grimace replaced his smile as he realised that he had personally overseen the deaths of three psychics, no matter how inexperienced, in what should have been a simple kidnapping.

A circle was made up of a specific number and class of cultists. Designed to be extremely effective at killing or capturing lone inquisitors, and incredibly hard to evade, circles were feared by almost everyone that knew about them.

There were six members in a circle, five were psychics and it was their job to find the target, subdue the target, and, if necessary, execute the target. The sixth cultist was put in charge of the group as they were often extremely experienced veterans, but that wasn't the only reason they were in command. The sixth cultist made a circle so deadly because they were always, without fail, gifted.

A gifted individual is exceedingly rare. Almost everyone with access to magic is only able to use one form of it or another. A gifted one is able to use all of them. It was their job to protect the other cultists from forms of magic they couldn't fight against, and to give them time to penetrate the mind of their target.

As the sixth cultist in the circle it was Bran's fault that three men had fallen under his watch. He would have to include the deaths of Nessel, Corbin and Unas in his report to the Lord upon his return. Bran would have preferred to face an angry behemoth with just his bare hands.

Bran was interrupted in his reverie by the arrival of Kesin from the stairs. He had sent the man to search the house while he and Fang bound their target to one of the kitchen chairs.

Kesin was the older brother of Fang and as such was a taller, grimier version of his twin.

"Find anything?" Bran asked tiredly, not expecting much.

"Nothing much, the kid's rooms got some weaponry and stuff, but none of it's enchanted. The only thing that's odd is under the woman's bed." He leered lecherously at the still unconscious Sophie before continuing. "There's a large chest which I can't open. I can't find a keyhole or anything like that, and I can't even move the thing, let alone lift it. It's weird as fuck.

Fang interjected before Bran could even open his mouth, evidently sensing an opportunity to one up his brother. Something the twins devoted most of their lives to.

"Bah, you fucking pansy. I'll go up and deal with this 'super' chest, you moron."

"Ha! You couldn't deal with a small rodent let alone a magical object. Just because you changed your name to Fang doesn't mean you're not still the same 'Reggie the Retard' that all the other kids bullied at school.

"Fuck you! I'll take you right now you piece of shit!"

"Yea right, you co--"

"Enough!" Bran bellowed, thoroughly pissed off with the both of them. "Leave the chest, we've got what we came for anyway. I'll leave one of you to wait here for her son, like the Lord commanded. Just in case he survives the eclipse and somehow makes it back here, but beyond that we're done. So for fucks sake stop your pathetic squabbling and make sure her mind's contained." He gestured to Sophie's limp form, slumped in the chair and bound with both mundane and magical ropes.

Kesin and Fang both grumbled under their breaths, but obeyed Bran's commands, neither wanting to incur the wrath of the huge man. However, once they were only inches from Sophie, their hands on her forehead while they checked for weaknesses in the bonds, they both had an epiphany. She was fucking hot.

Fang had been the first to notice, and now his brother was having the same thoughts. They both wanted this woman, and their minds quickly lost control as the Adrenathol in their systems served to boost the lust they felt towards the captive. They grinned lewdly and communicated mentally to each other while Bran busied himself with incinerating the bodies of the fallen cultists -- black flames leaping from his fingertips to engulf the lifeless corpses that he'd pulled into the kitchen. Luckily for the house, the fire gave off no smoke, sound or heat, and didn't touch anything but the bodies.

Within a few seconds the twins had formed a plan and Bran's fire had completely consumed Nessel and Corbin, leaving nothing but two human shaped black stains on the kitchen floor. Unas however, was giving him trouble.

The young Egyptian was still pinned to the kitchen wall by Sophie's sword, the blade completely embedded in the dry plaster and skewering the lifeless Egyptian spread-eagled against the beige paint.

This wasn't a problem for Bran: he'd simply pull the sword out, let the body fall to the floor and consume it in flames. Except, he couldn't pull out the sword. He'd tried using both magical and physical means but both were insufficient to even budge the blade.

Frustrated, Bran raised his hands and let out a jet of black flames, much larger than needed, at the body still pinned to the wall. After a few seconds the flaming torrent ceased and the kitchen wall was revealed once again, further aggravating the even-tempered cultist.

The corpse was pristine. It was as if the fire that had completely engulfed Unas a second ago was nothing more than an ineffectual breeze. Bran growled as the sword glinted knowingly at him, taunting his ineptitude.

He turned towards the twins, not able to stand the sight of the mocking weapon any longer and was met by an empty room. An empty chair. Where the fuck was their target Bran wondered, his hands balled into fists and his stomach was in knots as he looked around the kitchen.

A noise from upstairs calmed Bran. He knew where she was. The twins. The fucking twins.

Bran stomped upstairs, arriving at the closed door to what he assumed was the woman's bedroom. Wasting no time he smashed through the door shoulder first, wood splintering in a dozen directions as he shattered the door frame.

Striding into the room, Bran couldn't believe how stupid two people could be. The twins had completely ignored his orders and were drooling like two sick puppies at the foot of the bed, staring intently at the still form of their target. At least she was still bound he sighed, as he used his power to check on the mental ropes surrounding her mind.

"We're leaving. This house in nothing but trouble. Fang, You're staying here in case the boy returns. Kesin, You're with me. Both of you ready the portal in the kitchen while I strengthen her bindings for the trip." Bran walked to the bed, intending to use his power to make sure the woman was securely contained, but he didn't get that far.

"No." Two sets of voices replied.

"No?" You dare go against my orders?" Bran turned menacingly towards the duo, hoping his threat would bring them to their senses, avoiding a confrontation. The Lord would be beyond angry if he failed in this mission.

The twins seemed unconcerned, both wore small smiles and smug expressions, as if they were party to a joke that only they found amusing.

"Yes, we would." Kesin replied, smirking darkly.

"We found a way to get what we want." Fang continued.


"It's simple. We get what we want, or we kill her." They both concluded, eyes glinting maliciously.

Bran, for the first time in his life, was stumped. He simply couldn't imagine disobeying the commands of his Lord. He knew the twins were fairly recent recruits, but he didn't think they were stupid enough to go against their Lord's instructions.

Bran, struggling for words, finally managed to string a sentence together. "If you kill her... He'll do things to you that I can't even imagine. You must know this, surely?"

"We're prepared for that. Besides, we do things our way and no one need ever know. We have our fun with her. We deliver her, alive, on time to the Lord and no one needs to mention what went on in this room." Kesin countered, obviously failing to spot the hole in his logic.


Bran, however, did not. "What's to stop me from simply informing our Lord of your insolence upon my return?"

"Well, that's what we've been talking about while you were downstairs." Fang replied, smiling smugly before he continued. "We wouldn't be the only ones that have her." He paused, as if savouring the moment. "You would too."

Bran was enlightened when Kesin saw the look of confusion on his face. "If we all use her then the Lord will punish us all if he finds out. So, if you decide to speak out then you'll share whatever torture is inflicted upon us. Understand now?"

He did. He didn't want to, but he did. It was fucking crazy the logic that these two held, but it made sense. He either let them kill her, failing his mission, or he participated in the rape, condemning himself to death if the Lord ever found out. Thus buying his silence. Bran sighed, crazy bastards.

"Alright. How do we do this?" Bran asked in a soft voice that seemed out of place from such a huge man.

Kesin checked the clock on the bedside before replying. "It's simple. We've got to get back with her before the Eclipse. It's twenty past eleven now, so we've got three and a half hours to get back. It'll take around half an hour to rebind her and form the portal to Rome, so we've got three hours to do whatever we want with her." Bran thought Kesin might start drooling as he talked about how much time they had.

"You'll have to heal her after we're done as well, to conceal the deed." Fang stated, staring at bran restlessly.

"Alright... You win." Bran said, simply. Seeing no way to get out of his predicament. He grinned slightly when he looked towards the bed. She really was beautiful.

"Untie her then! Let's begin already, we're wasting time." Fang's eyes were alight as he imagined all the things he would do to her in just a few moments.

"You're sure she's contained?" Bran asked warily, having moved to the bed and begun untying the ropes around her body. He may have been gifted, but the twins were still more accomplished psychics than he was.


"Yes, yes, we're sure. Untie the ropes and we'll drop the sedative bindings around her mind, while keeping the control bindings in place." Kesin replied hurriedly, as if speaking slowly would diminish the time he had with her. His brother nodded mindlessly -- completely focussed on the lithe form sprawled on the bed.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Bran sighed, finally dropping the last of the rope to the floor; switching places with the twins as they stood opposite Sophie, their palms resting on either side of her head.

"Awaken." They commanded together, their voices infused with a small spark of power. This spark slithered into her mind and shattered the sedative bindings surrounding her consciousness, leaving the control wards that would keep her as a mindless drone untouched.

Sophie awoke, instantly. Gasping for air as if she'd been underwater and had finally broken free of the murky depths. After she'd caught her breathe she looked around the room wildly, not recognizing anything, including the three strange men standing around her.

"Calm yourself." Kesin intoned in a deep voice, laced with power. "We are your masters. Our pleasure is your pleasure. You will do everything we ask of you willingly, without exception. You will feel no shame or sadness, only desire."

Fang took over, his voice also deep and baritone, the polar opposite of his regular speech. "You will remember nothing of your previous life. You will remember nothing of this day and will never reveal to anyone what happened in this room after we are finished."

The brothers spoke together again, their voices intertwining as their powers combined, flowing into Sophie. "Do you understand our commands?"

Sophie seemed to think for a moment, her eyes closed as each command was repeated over and over again in her head. At last she nodded, her dull eyes opened wide and she spoke tonelessly. "I do, Masters."

"Finally." Fang whispered, leaning down and slipping his hands into her shirt, caressing the soft skin beneath.

Kesin followed suit, running his palms along the inside of her thighs in small circles, slowly making his way up to her covered mound.

Bran was slower to act, standing listlessly as he watched Sophie writhe and moan on the bed as the twins finally got their wish.


Fang noticed Bran's preoccupation and leant closer to the squirming woman, whispering in her ear. "Call to your master."

"Please Master! Please come to me!" Sophie cried, motioning to the speechless cultist waving her hand in a 'come hither' gesture.

That was all Bran could take. He stripped off his shirt, revealing his chiselled chest, covered in even more scars than the rest of his body, as he all but ran to the bedside.

Reaching the writhing woman he bent down and enveloped her lips in his, hungrily tasting her and devouring her tongue with his own.

Fang had ripped off his own shirt and was busy sucking a line down to her breasts, discarding first her shirt then her bra when they impeded his mission. Finally reaching her uncovered orbs he took one in his mouth, sucking on the small, rigid nub, while his restless hands explored and groped the other, equally exquisite globe. Caressing her nipple in their grip, causing her to cry out in pleasure.

Kesin had torn off her skirt, leaving her clothed in only a pair of tiny, white, cotton socks and her black-lace panties. He took a moment to admire her perfectly sculpted figure as his eyes ravaged her flawless body, further igniting the raging inferno of lust the woman brought out in him. She ground her legs together, trying to rub her sopping wet pussy while Kesin stripped; his member already rock hard and dripping precum as he feasted on her wanton act of desire.

Bran could barely think as she returned his kiss with a passion he had never experienced before. She moaned loudly into his mouth as she was stimulated by the three men, her dull, glazed eyes the only indication that she wasn't truly throwing herself into the act. Bran paused briefly in the lip-lock to pull off the rest of his clothes, his rigid cock springing free and settling on her warm, smooth arm as he threw himself back into the passionate kiss, gasping into her mouth as her hand found his rod and gently pumped it over and over.

Fang disrobed too, his rigid cock standing to attention as he continued lustfully devouring her tits. Swiftly becoming heated, he straddled her chest, determined to find release as he pressed her soft, fleshy globes around his cock, enveloping it in her warm flesh. He spat a line of saliva against her breasts, rubbing the liquid into her skin, giving it a soft shine as he used it as lube to quickly start thrusting his throbbing member against her body. Her soft skin seemed to stick slightly to his dick each time he pulled back, as if wanting to keep it nestled within her mountainous orbs, causing him to groan loudly in absolute bliss.

Hearing his brother groan, Kesin redoubled his efforts on Sophie's body. He tore off her black panties with his teeth, the sweet smell of her nectar causing him to almost completely lose control. Inhaling the scent he dived down into her dripping slit, his tongue lapping up her juices as his mouth caressed the lips of her pussy and his hot breath causing her to shudder as it assaulted her exposed clit. Reaching down he grabbed her ankles, slipping off her cute little socks and wrapping her warm, sweaty thighs around his head as he continued stoking her fire.

Bran shuddered as he felt her have a small orgasm, the vibrations making their way into his mouth. His self-control evaporated as she screamed into down his throat again. Breaking the kiss he climbed onto the bed, standing with his feet framing Sophie's head. Squatting down he let his hard dick and sweaty balls dangle a few inches from her nose, enjoying her attempts to sit up and take them in her mouth while he held her head down with his hands. At last, unable to tease her any longer he bent down lower, his sack brushing her lips as she opened her mouth wide, taking in both his balls at once and sucking on them while her moist tongue caressed the sagging skin.

He groaned as her hands found his hard member and resumed pumping him for all she was worth, while her warm mouth caused him to quiver excitedly as she found the sensitive spot he had on the underside of his sack. Once she'd discovered this location she wasted no time in rubbing it sensually with her tongue, making him cry out in pleasure. When he felt himself near release he withdrew his sack from her reluctantly parting mouth and replaced it with his cock, unable to stop himself from face-fucking her repeatedly as Bran found his release, her hands on the back of his head urging him on, screaming wordlessly as he felt himself erupt deep inside her hot mouth, her hungry tongue lapping up his seed with relish and greedily swallowing every drop.

Completely spent Bran turned and sat on the bed, his legs on either side of Sophie's head as he watched the twins finish up with her through glazed, contented eyes.

Fang was the next to explode as Sophie used her now free hands to pull him down for a mouth watering kiss, crushing her breasts around his member as he continued thrusting against her in long, swift strokes, her sweaty orbs leaving wet trails across his thighs as she moaned in ecstasy. He devoured her lips as he roared his pleasure into her mouth, thrusting impossibly fast into her soft flesh as he sought his release. Within a few seconds Fang was gasping atop her incredible body, his member spewing large amounts of his cum across her chest, her breasts, her neck and her face, while she wantonly rubbed the spend into her hot flesh, whimpering in approval as another orgasm coursed through her body.

Fang shivered in pleasure from his release, feeling immensely satisfied as he joined Bran at the top of the bed, both men smiling lazily to one another and still shuddering in ecstasy as they watched Kesin commence with the main event.

Kesin had kept sucking on Sophie's clit and licking up her flowing juices as the other cultists had found their release, wanting her to himself for what he had in mind. When his brother was finished and both were sitting, unable to move while they watched the action -- Kesin decided it was time. Detaching his mouth from her soaked slit he slipped up her body; her warm, sweaty, cum soaked flesh sticking slightly to his as she caressed his whole body with her smooth skin, mewling with arousal as she ground her entire form against him, desperately trying to cum again. Kesin smirked as he looked into her glazed, dull eyes. The power he had over her causing his dick to somehow stiffen even more, precum oozing from the tip, creating a line from her navel to her chest as he took in her panting, lust fuelled breaths.
"Tell me what you want my little cock slave." He whispered heatedly in her ear, just loud enough for the others to hear.

"Fuck me master! Please! Stick that big cock inside my soaked pussy!" She wailed in answer, her whole body quivering with need.

"That's right you fucking slut!" He growled, grabbing her hair in his fist, pulling her up for a vicious kiss as he pressed the tip of his member against her wet folds, teasing her. "Let me here you beg for this cock."

"Please! Please master! Give it to me! Please!" Sophie screamed, almost incoherent with her need to orgasm.


"There's a good girl." Kesin smirked as he plunged his hard rod into her tight hole in one long stroke, impaling Sophie on his cock while she screamed her approval.

Kesin gasped at the feeling of her wet pussy surrounding his member, squeezing him rhythmically in her hot tunnel as her fingers clawed furrows down his back. Her mouth found his while her soft hips slammed up to meet his every thrust, pulling back when he did and then meeting again in an explosion of warm, sticky flesh.

Sophie's breasts were mashed against his chest as he pressed himself harder against her, forcing her to thrust faster and faster as the gap between their bodies was narrowed, making large thrusts impossible.

Sophie mewled her frustration as she felt her impending orgasm slow slightly now that Kesin had stopped mercilessly pounding into her with his cock and was instead slowly grinding on top of her.

Kesin had reached his limit and pulled her in closer to him, lessening the intensity of their fucking to try and hold on for a little longer. He'd never experienced pleasure like this and wanted to prolong it for as long as possible, the feeling of her soft orbs against him, her hot mouth within his and her flexing pussy engulfing his member were causing him to completely lose control.

Her soft, warm thighs were rubbing against him as she struggled to reach her finish. Wrapping her long, slender legs around his body allowed her to grind herself against him and brought her closer and closer to the edge, finally causing her to moan blissfully into his mouth as she found her climax, exploding beneath him while her body shuddered repeatedly.

Kesin found it harder and harder to think as her lithe form embraced him tightly and she rigorously thrust against him, moaning her pleasure as she found release beneath him, limbs still locked around him and flesh quivering intensely.

The feeling of her orgasming pussy around his cock, her velvet walls tightening and her juices gushing out to splash against him while she continued fucking him brought Kesin dangerously close to the edge. He managed to hold off his climax as he wanted to do one last thing before he coated her insides with his seed.

Grabbing her hair more tightly in his fist, he brought her face away from his, breaking their lip-lock as he gazed down into her empty eyes. Smirking with malicious glee Kesin made space between their bodies so that he could continue his long, piercing thrusts into her still quivering hole.

"I'm going to cum inside you slut. You like that don't you? You want that?" He growled in her ear, picking up speed as he pounded into her while his head was assailed by her intoxicating scent.

"Yes! Please master. Please cum inside me." She whimpered her response, her body to weary to scream for it.

"Who knows, maybe I'll even get you pregnant with my cum. You want that my little fuck slut? You want to have your master's child growing inside you?" Kesin panted, lustfully, as he picked up more speed, smashing into her hips with his, creating small shock-waves to ripple across her thighs and filling the room with the sounds of flesh slapping against flesh.

"Yes! Please master! Please give me your child!" She wailed, her body on fire once more as the brother's control bindings continued to build her desire. Her face was ecstatic and her movements frantic as she rode out another orgasm, the only indication that something was wrong was in her two lifeless blue eyes, utterly devoid of emotion.

"Yeah? I knew you'd want that my slave, my pet, my slut. I knew you'd want my seed to fill your womb. Ha, I knew it!" Bran crowed, his mind becoming less and less coherent as he shuddered towards his own climax. "Maybe you can replace your boy with mine eh? After we kill your child I'll be able to give you another one. One just like me. A cultist. Someone who knows how to fuck. Who knows, maybe I'll even let him fuck his sexy mum when he's older. What do you think about that you fucking bitch!?" Bran screamed wordlessly as he came hard, his thick cum spurting from his cock in endless torrents, creating a small puddle on the bed where Sophie used to be.

Kesin groaned in bliss, feeling Sophie's hot mouth attach itself to his neck in a loving caress as he felt all his frustration slip out of him. He moaned in pleasure as blood dripped down his body in rivulets, mixing with his spend on the sheets. His eyes flickered open and closed as he heard a woman's blood curdling scream shake the room. He slipped down onto the bed, his face resting in his own cum and blood as his vision became darker and darker. A voice fluttered to him in the darkness. The last voice he'd ever hear. "Before you die... I hope you choke." A hand shoved warm liquid down his throat, but Kesin didn't choke -- he was already dead.

Bran and Fang were too slow to stop her as she bit into Kesin's neck, tearing out a great chunk of flesh and spitting it into the puddle beside her, howling out her fury. The two cultists could only stare in shock as she bent down and whispered something in Kesin's ear, shaving a handful of his own seed into his throat before falling back onto the bed -- unconscious.

They stared at her resting body, then at each other, then back at her.

"How..." Bran started to wonder aloud, standing up and walking to the side of the bed nearest Sophie's peaceful form. Keeping his distance as he eyed her wearily, at a complete loss for what to say.

"It's not possible. It's just not possible... The bonds didn't break. They didn't break... How?"

Fang gazed emptily at his brother's corpse, sprawled gracelessly on the bed, blood and cum still dripping from its open mouth. He had never liked his brother, but even he wouldn't have wished a death like this for him.

"What do we do?" Fang continued after staring at his brother, turning his terrified eyes to Bran for guidance.

Bran sucked in a great gulp of air as he sought to calm himself. He was no stranger to death and misfortune, having served as a cultist for almost twelve years, but he was unused to so many bizarre occurrences happening in the same day. The chest that wouldn't open, the sword that wouldn't move and now the woman that couldn't be controlled. This mission was nothing but trouble and he'd had enough. He was done.

"We're done. I've had enough of this place. Start the portal to Rome. I'll burn Kesin's body and tie the woman up again. We tell no one what happened in this room. No one. Besides," he mused. "No one would believe us anyway, control bindings can't be overcome without breaking them. It's unheard of."

"What about the boy? We're supposed to wait for him. The Lord will be displeased..." Fang moaned in distress, obviously dreading the punishments that were likely in store for them.

"Just one of us won't be able to contain her, I can feel the bindings straining even with both our powers combined. She'll break them if we split up, and then the Lord really will be pissed. She was always our primary objective, the boy was not." He sighed deeply, his eyes showing an age far beyond his years. "Let's get out of here."


Chapter 7 -- Grisly Encounters in a Dark Night

A scream woke me, causing me to bolt upright in my bed and look around my room. Except, this wasn't my room. This was a bus.

The past few hours came back to me in an explosion of clarity. I groaned, I was doing that a lot lately.

The noise must have just been a nightmare I thought, shuddering.

Looking around the bus I saw it was almost half empty. I wiped my face, trying to dispel my sluggishness as I forced myself to keep my eyes open.

The bus's internal lights were on and we were stationary, I could see two lines of houses outside, flanking the bus. There was no sign of Cathy, John or Tony. Kate was still next to me though, she was wrapped up in a blanket and snoring softly. Looking down, I noticed an identical blanket draped over me.

I yawned tiredly, just how long was I out for. Luckily, Cathy chose that moment to appear at the front of the bus. A clipboard in her hand and a distressed look on her face. Hell, It would have been weird if she had any other expression considering the circumstances.

She spent some time talking to a few kids at the front of the bus before walking towards Kate and myself. Her head was down and she didn't even glance in our direction. However, half way down the bus she looked up and met my eyes.

Her face showed palpable relief and she smiled, briskly covering the last few yards of the walkway.

"Hi." I said, nonchalantly.

Cathy rolled her eyes at me, obviously not buying it. "I guess you want the Cathy update report?" She replied with a completely straight face.

"The what?" I asked. Maybe I hadn't fully woken up yet.

She looked at me for a second and then raised an eyebrow, stating. "You know, where you wake up after a few hours and ask me fifty questions about the situation until you're satisfied."

I reddened with embarrassment but laughed along with her regardless. I suppose she wasn't entirely wrong.

"Look, you just happen to be the closest person to me whenever I wake, So, technically, it's partially your fault." I argued, trying to wrestle back some dignity.

Cathy just chuckled, completely ignoring my plea. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." I punctuated with a yawn, causing Cathy to grin. "But other than that. Good I suppose. How long was I out?"

Cathy looked down at her wrist, checking her watch in the harsh white light from the interior lamps. At least it wasn't the demonic red glow of the eclipse I thought with satisfaction as Cathy made a calculation in her head. Thank god the light left when the sun did, I didn't think I could stand an entire night of eerie, crimson glowing keeping me awake.

I was interrupted in my contemplation by Cathy saying. "Just over two hours, it's almost twenty past nine."

"Wow." I paused. "I've got a lot of questions." I said, sheepishly.

Cathy smiled. "I thought you might. Why don't I tell you everything I think you'll want to know and then you can ask me questions if I've left anything out?"

"That... Yea, that sounds great. Thanks." I replied, lamely.

She just chuckled and thought for a moment. After a few seconds she seemed to brighten and sat down on the chair in front of me, her knees on the cushion as she faced me over the backrest.

"Okay, where to start?" She took a deep breath and began to speak, rapidly. "Last I checked everyone was fine. We've had a few run-ins with imps and once with a pack of zombies. Yes, Tony heard you before you passed out so we weren't too freaked when we saw them. Well, not as much as we would have been." Cathy answered my question before I could vocalize it, prompting me to shut the hell up and listen. "They're stronger than imps: I've seen one get up after we ran it over with the bus, but they're pretty stupid and slow so it hasn't been too hard to keep away from them. Also, they aren't always in a group, unlike imps. We've seen zombies on their own just walking about, it's quite amusing to watch actually."

"The imps have been more of a problem to be honest. They're pretty stupid too but they're a lot faster and we've had a few close shaves with them. We've managed to outrun or sneak past them so far, but we've been cutting it close." She paused, chuckling. "John even managed to run one over, completely flattened the bugger."

I raised an eyebrow incredulously. Some of my humour must be rubbing off on her.

She continued, completely ignoring my expression. "We followed John's plan and drove straight to the Marsh and have been escorting students to their homes. Unfortunately, I think it's worse out here than it was back at Hargraves." Her faced paled at that and her eyes grew sad. "We... We haven't had much luck Luke. Around thirty people had family in the Marsh and we've visited most of them. We've found less than twenty survivors, but it's much worse than that. John had to change plans when he realised how few people were still alive out here; so we started going door to door."

Cathy paused, looking at me intently, her face a mask. "We've been here for two hours Luke. After fifteen minutes John had already decided to visit every house, rather than only the houses of students and teachers from school."

She held up her clipboard, a single sheet of paper attached to it. I think it was more symbolic than anything as I was too far away to make out her neat script. "Nineteen survivors. Nineteen! We made four groups, one to remain here, on the bus and the other three splitting up to cover more ground. For almost two hours I've been running from group to group and in all the hundreds of houses we've visited. Only nineteen people have been found alive. Almost half the kids lived here and we've found five people who are related to them. We've found bodies though... Hundreds of them. John wanted to bury them or at least burn them the first few houses, but there are simply too many. We've been forced to just leave them in their houses. All those people."

Cathy let out a whimper before continuing. "There are too many bodies Luke. If we take what happened at Hargraves and what the broadcast said about the 'Pain' as fact then only around half of the population should have been affected by it, but that doesn't explain why there are so many bodies. Too many.

Suddenly, as if the flood-gates of her emotions had suddenly burst open she began weeping quietly. She rested her head in her arms across the back rest and I shifted forwards, stroking her hair soothingly.

Cathy tried to speak through her muffled sobs, but I couldn't make out a word she was saying.


"Hush." I whispered, trying to calm her. "It's alright Cathy."

Even I thought that was a pretty lousy attempt to cheer someone up, but, regardless, after a few seconds Cathy had stopped crying and was now merely sniffling. Well, at least that was an improvement.

She looked up at me again, big brown eyes seeming to find strength and warmth in mine. With tears still dripping down her face she continued her tale. "I had to tell the kids. The one's whose families we couldn't find, alive anyway."

She paused, looking around at the twenty or so students and teachers behind her. "I've spoken to most of them. After the first few times I just... I just became numb... Their cries when I told them didn't even register to me. The worst was after the first hour or so, when everyone started realising how hopeless it was. No one would even look at me when I climbed into the bus... They knew it wasn't good tidings I brought."

"John and I had to change his plan. Drastically. The original idea was to let families care for their kids, but allow them to stay with us if they wanted to. That changed to offering anyone we could find a chance to join us, and trying to convince family members to come with us rather than encouraging them to stay. At least, in that regard we've had some success. John's becoming quite the persuader, eighteen of the nineteen survivors are now part of our group and the one that's not." Cathy grimaced. "Personally, I think she was crazy 'before' the eclipse." she said, chuckling at the memory.

I grinned, imagining just how mad the woman must have been to have earned a chuckle from the grief stricken lady in front of me.

"I think that's pretty much everything. I've probably left out something glaringly obvious, but you'll just have to deal with it mister." She finished, poking me in the chest and giggling like a school-girl.

I was just glad she'd stopped crying. Demons I could just about deal with. Crying women, not so much.

"Thanks Cathy, that really helps. I'm sorry for asking for so much detail, but my mother taught me to always use my head, and I'll be damned if I forget her lessons now." I sighed, thinking about my mother.

That gave me a thought. "Where are we exactly? What road?"

Cathy checked her clipboard and told me what I had both been dreading and hoping to hear. "Wiltover Close."

I could feel my hands shaking and my head go cold. "Have we searched the houses yet? All of them?" I pressed, leaning forwards worriedly.

"No, two groups went along South Road." She gestured out a window at a street opposite mine, its houses dark and imposing in the deep night. Seriously, someone had to fix these damn street-lamps, even terraced housing were scaring the shit out of me now.

"And one group went down Wiltover Close, starting with houses on the left-hand side." Again she gestured out another window, although, this time, her hand signals were unnecessary.

"How soon did they leave?" I asked, my home was on the right but that didn't mean they couldn't have reached it yet.

"About five minutes ago, why the interest?" She replied, looking concerned.

I exhaled -- It felt like the first time in hours. They hadn't reached my house yet, which meant my mum could still be alive. No. She had to be alive.

I glanced at Cathy, seeing the look of worry on her face. It took me a moment to realise that it was for my benefit. I really wasn't used to having a friend that genuinely cared about me. It would take some getting used to, I mused.

"I live here. Wiltover Close. Number 53." I bit off each sentence so as not to enrage the god-awful luck that was surrounding me lately. Okay, it wasn't the greatest plan, but I'd be damned if I kept on jinxing things.

"Well, we can go now if you want? Maybe she's okay Luke. I mean if she's anything like you, then she's probably fine." Cathy tried to joke, worry swimming in her eyes.

I opened my mouth to agree, but couldn't get the words out. I couldn't break my promise again. Not again. "Thanks Cathy, that really means a lot, but I think we ought to go with the group instead. I don't want to disappoint her any further. I've broken my promise enough as it is."

She looked at me, bewildered. "What are you talking about."

Oh right. I hadn't told her, I really wasn't used to having friends. "Erm, I promised my mum something this morning and I've broken that pact already. I didn't want to break it again."

Cathy looked at me, raising an eyebrow in frustration.

Urgh, friends were a pain. "I promised her I'd be careful alright? I know, I know, I'm not exactly doing great on that front so far."

She just stared at me, her mouth hanging open and a stunned expression plastered on her face. "You... You what?" She chuckled, laughing louder and louder until the whole bus had turned towards us.


Now it was my turn to stare at her, she'd gone from weeping to cackling in the space of a few seconds. It was a little disorientating.

After a few more chuckles escaped her mouth she was able to control herself, gasping for breath as she calmed down. "Sorry Luke. It's just, I can't believe you made that promise, not after all you've done for us." She gazed up at me, a smile on her face and in her eyes. "You saved me Luke, you ran out into the ash and rescued me. You saved every one of us in the Cafeteria from those imps. You've risked your life for us, despite that promise. Thank you." She leaned over across the chair and hugged me tightly, slowing my racing mind. Friends were worth it, I decided.

I grinned, speaking into her hair that hung protectively around my head. "You're right I suppose. I couldn't not help you guys, just because of a promise I'd made. I'm sure my mum will understand."
"I'm sure she will." Cathy agreed, releasing me.

"So. You're place?" she asked, grinning mischievously.

"Very funny. Anyway, I meant what I said. I'm not going to be reckless if I can help it. No, we'll meet up with the group going up my road and stay with them. It'll be safer that way -- for everyone."

Cathy nodded, standing and beginning to walk down the bus.

"Hey, wait a second!" I shouted after her, suddenly realising something.

"Who's guarding the bus if we leave?"

"Mr Harrel's outside, checking the tires. We ran over a lot of debris and stuff on the way here -- he's in charge of guarding the bus." She replied, smiling warmly at me, evidently pleased with my concern.

I didn't blush. It may have looked like I did, but it was merely an annoying eyelash, and my cheeks were red from the heat. These buses are warmer than you think. "Well, whatever." I said, nonchalantly.

Once again she raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying my tone, chuckling briefly before turning and continuing down the bus.

A few people indifferently watched us leave, but most seemed too depressed to even lift their heads. It hurt my very soul to see such sorrow in the hearts of so many people, most of them children.

However, there was one on the bus that did seem interested in our departure.

"Wait!" A girl's voice echoed around the bus.

Cathy and I turned back, searching for whoever had spoken. We should have just ignored it, or pretended we didn't hear anything, or jumped through a window, or something other than looking at the back of the bus. Seriously, anything would have been better than that. Anything.

Kate was standing up, her blanket fallen to the floor atop mine, eyes wide with fear as she stared at us. "Can I. Can I come with you? Please." she whimpered softly, tears falling down her face.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I knew Cathy would fall for this shit. Fuck! I can't believe I had to have her near me again. Maybe if I kept really still and quiet, she wouldn't be able to see me and would sit back down. Was worth a shot.

Obviously, Cathy had different plans. She ran past my statuesque form, reaching Kate and hugging her, both of them crying now. "Of course you can angel. We're going to find the group that's gone down Wiltover Close. Your dad and Tony are in that one too. Come on Kate, let's go.

I remained stationary, the trick with any disguise is to never break character. My character was a silent, unmoving block. I could do this.

Cathy screwed up my plan once more by grabbing my arm in hers when she was level with me, practically dragging me down the bus.

I broke character. Even I realised how hopeless it was. Tearing my arm from hers I huffed and indignantly whispered to her. "Fine! You win, let's find John and he can take care of her."

The three of us walked out the open doors of the bus, nodding to Mr Harrel who was just climbing back into the bus. It was darker than I thought it would be outside. With the earthquakes knocking out London's power we were left in almost total blackness. The thin, gloomy Moon barely managed to shed any light through the thick, oppressive clouds that were likely full of ash just waiting to fall. Luckily, Cathy had thought ahead and replaced her clipboard with a large torch from her backpack.

She switched it on and took the lead, Kate following with me at the rear. At least I couldn't see her face this way, I reasoned.

Our motley crew walked slowly along the pavement, footsteps echoing in the empty night. We skirted shards of glass, burnt bricks, broken furniture and other strange pieces of debris as we moved up the street, Cathy's torch shining through the darkness like a beacon. After a few minutes we came to the first of the bodies. Cathy was evidently used to it, barely pausing as she emotionlessly passed the corpse.

Kate and I -- not so much. She visibly paled, giving the body a wide birth and studiously looking in the other direction. I bent down, examining the corpse. What I saw made me wish I hadn't.

The poor fellow had been eaten. Great chunks of flesh had been clawed, ripped and mauled out of him. His blood created a shallow pool on the pavement, with him in the centre, but that wasn't the worst of it. It wasn't just imps that had done this, or, from what I'd seen of them, zombies either. No. The bites were too big, the teeth too large. This looked like a dog had been at him, a really big dog, maybe even a wolf. The scary part was that I didn't know if the animal was perhaps rabid, or, more worryingly, if it was another type of demon that had starting coming through the cracks.

I sighed tiredly, wishing again that I would wake up from this nightmare. Sadly, I was still here. Standing, I followed the two girls further down the street. We passed a few more bodies lying sprawled across the road, one with his head on the trunk of a smashed up car, and his body on the bonnet. I'm pretty sure Kate turned green when she saw that, but she managed to keep walking.

Eventually, we saw a number of bright lights in the distance. Torches.

"Thank God." Cathy said, breathing a sigh of relief as she led us towards the lights.

We passed more corpses on our way towards the cluster of lights, but ignored them, focussed entirely on reaching what we assumed was the group we'd come to find.

Cathy started raising her arm to signal the group when the screams started. Lots of them.

Twenty yards in front of us was a mass of people crowded round the front door of a house. I could make out John's face as he raised what looked like a shovel menacingly towards the door, shouting for the others to get back. However, a few didn't seem able to move and were screaming hysterically, pointing towards the entrance of the house.

These weren't the only cries either. Kate had started screeching her head off, almost causing my ears to bleed. Looking away from the group I decided to check on the crazy bitch, sparing her a quick glance.

Shit. Cathy had turned too at Kate's cry and saw what I had just seen, her eyes bulging at the spectacle.

The corpses we'd ignored weren't corpses. Well, they were, but they weren't fucking dead corpses. No. They were zombies. One had grabbed hold of Kate's ankle and was dragging itself across the pavement towards her, its mouth hanging eerily open, rotten teeth stinking of raw flesh and blood. The others were similarly clawing their way across the ground, luckily none seemed to be bright enough to stand back up. Maybe they couldn't. Hopefully.

Fuck. One had started to rise, obviously determined to prove me wrong. We had to do something. Fast.

Cathy was quicker off the bat than me. Sprinting towards Kate and preceding to almost kick the head off the zombie attached to her, each blow causing its skull to tilt in sickening angles and give off horrible cracking sounds. After a few powerful strikes its head smashed against the ground and its hand relaxed: allowing Kate to fall into Cathy's arms, crying hysterically.

"We need to get to the others! Come on Luke!" Cathy shouted at me, already running as best she could with Kate still attached to her.

That snapped me out of it. No way would Cathy let me live this down if I didn't act.

Dashing after them I stooped down to grab what looked like a large frying pan that had been blown in half, barely pausing as I scooped up the makeshift zombie slaying device.

I reached the girls and checked behind us, noticing that all the zombies had made it to their feet and were slowly shuffling after us. I was a bit surprised they weren't chanting "Brains!" in a sickeningly grating chorus.

I stayed behind the girls as they ran, making sure no zombies reached us before we could make it to the others. I had nothing to worry about. Despite how slowly they were running in their awkward embrace, it was still much quicker than any of the zombies.

After a few moments we had reached the group -- though I wish we hadn't. We stood motionless along with the others as we stared in terror at the killer of the first corpse we'd passed.

A giant dog was framed in the doorway to the house, covered in filthy black fur which was matted with the gore and blood of its victims. The dog was slightly larger than a man, had huge fangs and long, sharp claws. It would have looked like a giant, black wolf if it wasn't for its eerie green eyes that were glowing brightly in the night.

The thing wasn't a hound. It wasn't a wolf. It wasn't from this world. It was a demon and it was looking straight at us, its fangs bared and snarling softly in the darkness. Waiting, but for what? A shiver ran down my spine as I worked it out. It was waiting for the zombies to reach us before attacking. Fear clutched at me as I realised how cunning this creature was. It wanted us to run, it was built for the chase. This creature would pick us off one by one while the zombies kept us from regrouping. No. We couldn't run. We had to make our stand here. Now.

I just hoped I wouldn't be alone.

John and the rest of the group were backing away from the hound, half of them looked like they were about to turn tail and run. This wasn't good.

"John! We mustn't run -- that's what it's waiting for. We need to get through it, into the house, maybe we can form some sort of barricade once were inside." I yelled from the back of the crowd, squeezing my way through the frightened pack to reach him.

I just hoped he'd listen to me.

"Alright! Everyone! Stop moving! We have to make a stand." John hollered at the top of his lungs, causing the startled hound to growl threateningly.

I pushed past the last few people and reached John, standing beside him with our weapons out: a rusted shovel and a broken pan. Man, was this hound in trouble.

"There are zombies behind us John, we have to hurry. I'll draw it outside and you stop it from going for any of the others while they run into the house, okay?" I stated, expecting no argument.

I got none from John, instead he nodded, readying his shovel.

Unfortunately, I still received one: in the form of two figures which tried to tear my plan to pieces. Kate had jumped on John and was bawling her eyes out, wailing in terror, forcing him to drop the shovel and comfort her. Seriously she really was great at fucking everything up.

Cathy also decided to join in, planting herself in front of me and giving me her best scowl. Hands on her hips and completely ignoring the giant hound behind her she kept on glaring at me until she was sure I had her undivided attention.

Crazy women are pretty hard to ignore.

"You can't do this Luke. Please. Remember your promise -- this is suicide. At least let us all help you. Let me." She begged, tears running down her face as she stood like a force of nature between me and the demon.

There was no time, I knew I was breaking my promise. Again, but I had people to protect and I knew they would die if I didn't get them into the house. I had to sacrifice myself so that they might live.

I looked at Cathy. At least it would be worth it I thought, eyes watering.

"You can help me Cathy." I said, softly, seeing a combination of joy, determination and fear crossing her face. "You can lead them all inside, and you can barricade the door when they're through." I paused, finally letting my tears fall. "You can remember me. As I will remember you, my friend."

The look of grief that came over her almost made me change my mind. Almost.

She nodded through her sorrow, gently grabbing Kate from her father's arms and allowing him to pick up his shovel.

I turned briefly, seeing that the zombies were almost upon us. We didn't have much time.

I calmed myself, taking a deep breath and then letting it out again, slowly. Hefting my broken pan I launched it straight through the doorway, catching the hound by surprise and hitting it square on its muzzle, causing it to whine in pain.

"Get moving!" I shouted when I saw the great beast rise up on its hind legs before falling back down with a thunderous boom, charging straight at me. It let out an almighty roar as it picked up speed, swiftly racing through the darkness towards me.

Cathy held Kate to her as she took the lead, the others falling in behind her. They gave the hound a wide berth and managed to pass safely while it charged, completely ignoring them. Cathy had reached the doorway by the time the hound had reached me and she proceeded to usher everyone inside.

I dived to the right as the hound jumped at me, its vicious fangs snapping closed where my throat had just been. The demon growled in annoyance, turning swiftly and racing towards my prone form.

Luckily, John decided that it was time for him and his shovel to get involved.

Just before the hound made another leap for me, it was hit soundly on the head with John's shovel. I wasn't sure if he struck it with such force that the shovel broke, or if it was just a really shit shovel. Either way it got the job done and the beast paused, snarling with what I hoped was pain rather than annoyance.

The brief interruption was all I needed to get back to my feet, causing the confused hound to swing its great head from John to me and back again -- unsure who to attack first.

This was good, risking a glance to the doorway I could see that almost everyone was inside. I just had to buy time for John now.

"Come on you fucker!" I roared, kicking shards of glass across the hound and receiving its undivided attention.

"Run John! Quickly!" I shouted, already turning my back on the beast and running away from the house, towards the zombies which were just a few yards away. I hoped that I could buy John and the others more time if I managed to slow the zombies.

The only problem with my plan was that I had no idea how.

"Fuck!" I screeched, manly, with absolutely no hint of fear. Changing direction in terror as I reached the first zombie, which tried to clumsily embrace me in a friendly hug and then possibly start eating my digestive system.

Unfortunately, my new position brought me into contact with another zombie; it too had its arms extended for a hug. Maybe we'd misjudged these creatures I insanely surmised, berating myself for even attempting to joke in the situation.

I ducked swiftly, a shadow passing over me, causing the zombie to explode backwards in a spray of blood and gore. That was more like it I grinned, the smile quickly slipping from my face as I saw the great black hound standing where the zombie had been, blood dripping from its jaws in a grizzly display of ferocity. Oh -- so my agility hadn't slain the zombie. Damn.

I stared at the hound, its glowing, green eyes fixed on me with deadly purpose. I gulped. Glancing away from the hound further soiled my hope of survival. I was surrounded. Completely surrounded. Almost a dozen zombies were in a circle around me, the only gap in their numbers was in the form of the giant hound. Fuck.

I closed my eyes, hope just a memory as I prepared myself for the end.

A voice in the darkness snapped me back to my senses, putting a halt to the crazy thoughts which had started invading my mind. "Run Luke... Run!" I smiled as I saw two green eyes, filled with love and determination staring back at me through my closed eyes, her voice like a gentle breeze after a raging storm.

I opened my eyes, grinning at the beast before me; causing it to tilt its head in confusion as it felt the fear drain out of me. Tilting its head still further as it watched me charge straight towards it.

Eventually, the hound seemed to grasp that I was, unquestionably, running straight at it and that I should probably be stopped, or eaten, or both.

Reaching the demon just as it started to growl I leapt over the beast, using its back as a springboard to sail over it. I was still faced with a dilemma: a dozen zombies and one pissed off hound were a few feet behind me and they all wanted me dead, but at least I had a home run to the still open doorway of the house. I spotted Cathy and John on either side of the entrance, waving their arms towards me, frantically.

I could do this. I could make it I thought, running as I'd never run before. I would make her proud I decided, feet barely touching the ground as I flew towards the house in a blur of speed. I would make her proud I repeated, I would make her pr--

Apparently, hell-dog didn't seem to like that its meal ticket was getting away, or that It seemed so pleased to be doing so. A fact I learnt when 400lb of demon crashed against my back, sending me sprawling to the pavement just a few yards from the door. Looking up through a fog of pain I saw John holding Cathy back as she tried to run to me, her cries ringing in my ears and her tears searing my soul.

The hound wasted no time and prowled closer, its fetid breath flowing over me like fog in the cold night. I managed to turn on the ground, despite the agony of my back, and came face to face with a vision of demonic fury. The huge beast's head was just inches from mine, its glowing, green eyes stared with malice into my own and its jaws were opened fully, displaying two rows of large, sharp fangs, smeared red with blood and dripping thick, slimy drool onto my leg. Somehow, I doubted it wanted to play fetch.

This was it. I'd tried, I really had, but staring into the maw of the beast really put things into perspective. Those fangs were fucking huge. I was going to die.

I felt pretty calm considering the circumstances. I let the sound of Cathy's screams wash over me, the gurgle of the zombie's groans pass through me and I simply ignored the hound's growling. Well, as much as I could anyway. They were very loud growls.

Unfortunately, my moment of peace didn't seem to extend to the demons: judging by the zombies continuing their shambled approach, getting closer and closer. Although, considering the hound's drool was now starting to pool on my chest -- rather than my legs -- it didn't really matter whether the zombies were moving or not. I was fucked either way.

I glanced over at Cathy, hoping to see my friend one last time. Instead, I glimpsed what very well may have been my salvation. There on the ground just inches away was the broken haft of the shovel: its snapped tip seeming to glint at me with promise. Holy crap -- that could actually work.

As the hound's gaping mouth descended upon me I quickly snatched up the makeshift spear from the ground, firmly wedging one end against the ground behind me and holding it just below the sharp tip which I positioned between the beast's jaws, hoping it would do the work for me.

I was not to be disappointed. The hound's maw swiftly lowered to my neck, the wooden shaft creeping into its throat as it slid, undetected, past the rows of fangs on display. I almost felt like laughing, this was going to be hilarious. The hound's jaws finally came to rest on either side of my neck, its mouth drooling with anticipation, ready to snap closed on my unprotected throat. However, the hound was more intelligent than I'd first assumed. It had one last thing for me before it killed me. Mockery. That's right, the fucking demon tilted its head so that one of its great, glowing, green eyes was looking down at me. It winked. It fucking winked. I was completely speechless, the bastard was actually toying with me.

Well. Fuck that I thought, swiftly pulling on the makeshift spear with all my strength and sending it hurtling into the throat of the beast. I grinned with satisfaction as I felt the tip wedge against something deep in the hounds throat, causing the demon to start choking violently. I kept pushing, determined to be the end of this hound, no matter what. My hands climbed lower and lower down the shaft, pushing more of the wood into the hound's mouth. I watched with grim satisfaction as the hound's choking seemed to get more and more violent, it's great head shaking with fury as it attempted to dislodge the weapon.
Ha, that'll teach a glorified mutt to mess with me. Little fucker.

"What the..." I whispered, suddenly having no more spear to pull. The entire weapon was inside the creature, but it didn't seem to be in as much pain as it was before. What the hell. My hopes were utterly quashed when I looked past the end of the shaft which was quickly disappearing down the hound's throat. Fire. The thing had fire in its throat. That couldn't be fair I moaned inwardly, watching the last of the spear turn to ash inside the demons jaws. Well, this was just great.

The hound wasted no time, seeming to have tired of its new plaything, and its jaws quickly descended upon me once more.

So I did the only thing I could do in the situation -- I stuck my arm down its throat. I didn't exactly expect to get the Nobel Prize for brilliant ideas award, but I was under a lot of pressure.

As I felt the demon's jaws inexorably tighten and its flames lash out at my gloved fist I couldn't hold back from venting my fury and frustration. "Why won't you fucking die!" I screamed, putting everything I had left into the words.

I felt a pressure building in my engulfed hand, but it wasn't from the hound. The force became more and more powerful, until I could no longer contain it. Within moments my hand was ripped open as the force inside it was unleashed directly inside the beast's throat.

My head felt a little fuzzy. Well, at least I had a head.

The hound on the other hand, did not. It didn't have much of a torso either.

The demon had literally exploded, its limbs and chunks of meat and bone hurtling backwards into the closely bunched pack of zombies, sending a few of the corpses tumbling uncontrollably to the ground. The beast's black blood had also drenched the area like thick rain, making the pavement, road and most of the zombies appear as if they were victim of a particularly large oil spill.

I could only glimpse the destruction from my peripheral vision as I was entirely focussed on my hand. The hand encased in the black fabric of my combat suit. The black fabric that was covered in bright, shining gold script. A script I had never seen before. A script that began to fade back into the fabric, becoming completely black and undetectable from the ordinary cloth. A script that I knew had just saved my life.

"Luke, come on!" A voice called behind me. Cathy. Shaking my head to clear the sudden dizziness I quickly got to my feet, ignoring the pain in my back and turned, stumbling tiredly to the doorway.

Cathy ran out to meet me, leaving a stunned looking John clutching the door frame, his knuckles white against the dark wood. She reached me a few feet from the door, quickly threading her arm under mine and helping me limp to safety.

We passed the still flabbergasted John and Cathy pulled him with us, all three of us crossing the threshold together to a chorus of happy cries from the others inside. I smiled with relief as Cathy slammed shut the door, wedging a chair under the handle and swiftly throwing closed the door's bolts.

Just in time too. No more than a second passed when the first of the zombies crashed against the entrance, immediately silencing the joyous reunion and sobering the house's occupants, reminding us all of our dire situation.

There were still a dozen zombies outside after all.

"Right," I coughed, still a little fuzzy. "anyone got any ideas?" You'd think I'd come from Mars the way they all looked at me.

Cathy was the first to speak up. "Erm, I think we were kind of hoping you'd have one Luke." Well at least she had the decency to look embarrassed, the others were just nodding their heads dumbly.

Luckily, John provided more fuel for idiot head-nodding time. Lucky me. "When you suggested we run inside I think we all assumed you had a plan Luke." John also had the decency to look embarrassed as he said it. Well that was something I suppose.

"I was thinking more along the lines of we all die right now, or we get inside where we'd have a few minutes to think up a plan. I didn't have one ready. Besides," I said softly. "I didn't expect to make it back."

Cathy hugged me tightly, burying her head against my shoulder. "I'm glad you did." she sniffled, obviously thinking she'd lost me.

A loud clattering could be heard on the other side of the house, making us all jump, the zombies had us completely surrounded and were even trying to get through the ground floor windows. I hoped the glass was thick.

"Um... I have an idea" It took a moment for everyone to find who'd spoken as the words were uttered so softly. Eventually the small crowd parted and Tony was revealed, wobbling slightly as he felt everyone's hopes resting on him.

"What is it Tony?" Cathy helpfully supplied, after seeing him struggle to begin.

"Um... Well... I've checked the gas in the kitchen and it seems to be working. Erm... Luke and I both live on this road. Does your house have a skylight in the loft too Luke?"

I nodded, wondering what the hell he was talking about.

"Right... So it stands to reason that this house should have one too, being on the same road and all."

I interrupted, staring at him in amazement. "You're a genius Tone."

He smiled, proudly, obviously relishing his role now that I'd given my approval.

John, along with the others were still confused. "I'm not sure I understand Tony, what a skylight and gas have to do with anything." John said, voicing the opinions held by the group. Cathy was grinning though, obviously she's figured it out too.

"Well, we can't simply break out of a window and run. The zombies will hear that and pursue us and even if we get away they might happen upon other survivors while they follow us. We probably can't fight them without at least some of us losing our lives in the process and hiding here indefinitely is obviously not an option. We have to get back to the bus before others come looking for us and run into the zombies and we also don't know if zombies need food or drink to survive, they might stay out there until we're all dead from thirst or starvation if we try and wait them out, or they might even manage to break the door down or smash through a window." As if to emphasis his last statement a huge, resounding bang echoed through the house as the door was once again used as a zombie punching bag.


"So." He continued, unfazed, finally getting to what I hoped was the 'plan' part of his speech. My ears were beginning to go to sleep after all. "The only real option we have is to get away, while ensuring the zombies are no longer a threat to us or anyone else."

He continued before the inevitable interruptions from the still unenlightened people could stop him. "It's fairly simply really. We make a rope out of sheets, climb out the skylight to the roof, jump to the roof of the house next door, tie the rope to the chimney and hang it down behind the house, we then climb down the rope to safety. We can't go through the other skylight in case the zombies hear the glass shatter and decide to investigate." Tony paused, obviously hesitant to continue, looking at me for help.

I sighed, knowing I'd be the one to stay behind as soon as I'd figured out his plan. "I'll stay behind, while you all escape, and I'll turn on the gas. When you're all outside I'll set fire to a fuse which should ignite the gas, I'll then open the door, letting the zombies inside the building, and escape myself. Hopefully, if we time it right, we'll all be outside and the zombies will all be inside when the house goes boom. That about right Tone?"

He nodded at me dumbly. Great, now Tony was doing it too.

"You don't have to be the one that stays behind Luke, let someone else do it this time. You've risked enough for us." Cathy begged me, still attached to my chest.

"She's right Luke, I'll do it." John spoke up gruffly, squaring his shoulders.

"No. You have Kate to consider. Anyway, it's honestly not that dangerous, I don't know what you're all so worried about. Besides," I added, placing a finger on Cathy's lips to stop her from arguing. "I'm the one with experience of being blown up. Aren't I." referring to the explosion we'd rigged on the cafeteria fire-exit which had killed five imps and almost taken me too.

Cathy and the others couldn't help but grin, I knew I was successful when I felt Cathy disentangle herself from my arms, fixing me with a piercing stare. "You be careful though. No silly heroics okay? Just set the fuse, open the door and get the hell out. I won't be pleased if you get yourself hurt again..." I grinned, nodding at her like a school-boy would his teacher, making Cathy roll her eyes in mock annoyance.

"Sorry to interrupt, but how will we jump from this roof to the other one? I don't understand." Kate asked, worriedly. Seriously how annoying could one girl be, it was utterly ridiculous. Although, I admitted, grudgingly, it was a good point.

Luckily Tony seemed eager to prove her wrong. I didn't blame him, she'd been a bitch to him for so long it must have been hard to look at her in any other way. "The gap between houses is only a couple of feet so you could probably just step across to the other roof, and the roofs aren't too steep so they shouldn't be too hard to keep your footing once you're up there. Any other questions?" He said, almost tauntingly towards her.

She shook her head no, wide-eyed. John seemed oblivious to the exchange, but Cathy gave Tony a look of disapproval. She really didn't miss much.

The tension in the room got the better of me and I clapped my hands, shattering it. "Right! Let's get moving then, it's not like a pack of zombies are trying to claw their way inside and eat us all is it?" My attempt at humour sadly falling on deaf ears.

Well whatever. At least that got them moving. I watched as Tony, John and Kate took the lead, forging up the stairs with the others following them up. I could hear their feet clattering up the steps on their way to the loft. Cathy was still here. It seemed I wasn't getting away that easy.

She was standing a few feet away, hands on her hips in a pose not unlike the ones my mum used to adopt when she was angry with me. I was pretty used to that pose. "You'd better come back Luke, or I swear to God I'll drag you back myself. Are we clear?" she asked, trying her best to put on a stern face.

I smiled, softly, still not really used to having a friend. "I'll be fine Cathy, compared to everything else, this'll be a doddle. Trust me."

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak and just looked at me, as if trying to commit my face to memory. Finally, she smiled sadly and turned, making her way up the stairs behind the others.

I breathed a sigh of relief, glad to finally be on my own. I had a lot to think about and it was hard with all those people surrounding me.

Walking to the kitchen I made my way over to the oven, smashing the gas spout with a frying pan I'd found in a cupboard, damn useful these pans I thought with satisfaction as I heard and smelt the gas beginning to escape. Grabbing the cloth covering the kitchen table I ripped off a long, thin strip, creating the fuse I'd use to ignite the gas. With nothing left to do but wait I sat on the kitchen counter and went through my final moments with the hound, racking my brain for anything I'd missed.

I wasn't sure how exactly I'd blown up the demon. It had something to do with my suit, that much was obvious, but beyond that I was at a total loss. I was emotional at the end I suppose, I definitely remember feeling strong frustration and anger towards the beast. I spoke too, just before I blew a 400lb demon to little more than pizza toppings. What had I said... Something about wanting it to die I remembered, but I don't see how that would have affected anything.

I sighed, no closer to an answer than I was before. looking at my gloved hand, trying to see that gold script from before I was interrupted by a shout. "Luke we're all out, good luck young man!" I heard John's booming voice bounce down from the loft.

Cracking my knuckles I jumped down from the counter. It was time to roll. Producing a match from the pack Cathy had given me from her explosive stint earlier in the cafeteria I proceeded to light my makeshift fuse, tying the other end to the gas spout.

All that was left now was to play tag with a bunch of zombies, just great.

I decided leaving through a window at the back of the house would be the best option. I wanted to make sure all the zombie got inside and to do that I'd have to give them something to follow. I couldn't just open the front door and expect the zombies behind the house to make it inside in time. No. That'd be far too convenient.

Swiftly creeping to the lounge I briefly looked outside the window, making sure no zombies were standing right next to the glass. I was in luck, so I slid open the window and eased my way outside. There were three of the demons in the back yard, walking aimlessly around and groaning like demented, battery-powered puppets that couldn't be turned off.

Continuing to stealthily make my way to the other side of the house, I stopped short. They weren't following me. "For the love of..." I murmured under my breath. The only time I actually want to be chased by demons and they're completely oblivious. Well, I'd just have to make it more obvious. Walking back to the window I'd made my exit from I took a deep breath, preparing to run.

I smashed through the window with my elbow, filling the still night with the shattering of broken glass. Well, I think that ought to do the trick. I wasn't disappointed. All three zombies were shambling their way towards me. Groaning with excitement. Excellent.

Running through the dark night with demons close behind gave me some perspective on things. This was fun. I was actually enjoying myself. Maybe I'd hit my head too hard outside the cafeteria, I mused.

Finally making my way to the front of the house I was met by a solid wall of zombies. A wall that just so happened to be between me and the door. Shit. Looking at the door also caused my blood to run cold. I'd forgotten to unbolt the fucking thing. Ah shit.

Fortunately, there was a window on this side of the house, unfortunately, there was also a zombie in front of it. Well, I didn't exactly have many options. I ran towards the lone zombie, skirting the other demons as I ran straight at the confused creature, obviously unsure what to do with itself as I came hurtling towards it. Eventually the corpse decided that some form of hugging strategy was the best way to go and proceeded to spread its arms in a loving fashion.

I smiled -- this I could handle. Ducking under the arms of the zombie I dived behind it, arms crossed across my face and eyes closed. I felt the window shatter completely as I sailed through the opening. I rolled upon landing, immediately running to the hallway. I wasn't sure how long I had until the gas ignited but it couldn't have been long. Unlocking the bolt on the front door and kicking open the door completed my mission. There was no way the zombies wouldn't follow me inside now. Follow me they did, slowly climbing the stairs after me as I made my way to the loft.

I didn't pause to check behind me, I didn't need to. I could hear the zombies clumsily making their way upstairs. I saw the skylight as soon as I entered the loft. There was a desk directly under the open window, obviously acting as a form of step ladder to the opening. Swiftly jumping to the desk I grabbed hold of the the window edge and pulled myself up, breathing in the fresh air as I stood on the roof.

I could see the rope tied to the chimney on the other house, the mismatched sheets forming a colourful line to safety. Jumping the two foot gap between houses -- better to be safe than sorry -- I reached the chimney and looked down, smiling as I made out Cathy and Tone's faces amidst the people gathered in the garden of the other house. They waved to me, relief evident on their faces, causing me to smile warmly. I could get used to this.


I slid down the rope, hand over hand and legs wrapped around the sheets as I descended to the garden. Cathy embraced me almost before my feet touched the ground, causing me to chuckle in amusement.

"Hush, it's not funny" She admonished me. "I was worried about you. We all were." Everyone was nodding in agreement, even the people I'd never met before. I didn't recognise them from school so they must have been a few of the survivors Cathy had told me about on the bus. It felt strange, going from pariah to celebrity in the space of a few hours, though I suppose a lot of crazy things were happening in the wake of the eclipse.

Tony was the next to approach after Cathy had released me, grinning at me in relief. Obviously, he felt somewhat responsible as he was the one that came up with the plan. "I'm glad you're okay Luke, it's nice to have you back." He paused, unsure how to continue.

"What's up Tone?" I offered, helpfully.

"Erm... Did you manage to rig the gas up okay? I mean, when do you think the hou--" Tony was silenced as the house in question suddenly exploded as a pillar of flame erupted into the night sky, illuminating the entire street in a hot, orange glow. The noise was so deafening that I was sure some people's ear drums must have burst. We all watched, silently, as the blaze consumed the building, seeming to engulf the structure in its fiery depths. Somehow, I doubted any zombies would be walking out of that.

After a few moments of relative peace amongst the chaos reality set in and John spoke to the group. "We need to get back to the bus people. It's too dangerous to be searching for survivors after witnessing that demon-hound. Far too dangerous. I know that a few of you had friends or family living in this road, but we just can't risk staying out here any longer, we need to get to the bus, organise the others and then decide on our next move." Tony stiffened beside me as John spoke and I knew why. He lived a few houses along from mine. They'd yet to search the other side of the road so our homes were still unexplored. I knew how hard this must be for him, judging by my own worries.

"You guys go, Tony and I will check a couple of houses and then follow you back, we won't be long." I said clearly, daring anyone to argue. Tony stopped shaking and smiled at me in thanks, looking relieved.

John's moustache quivered as he seemed to be engaged in an internal struggle about what to do. Eventually one side prevailed and he just nodded towards us, barking at the others to get moving. Well that was easy I thought cheerfully, delighted to have convinced him so simply.

A cough brought me back to earth and tempered my mood. Right. Cathy. I sighed, this was going to hurt my ears. "You can't come with us Cathy." I gently uttered.

As I suspected, my hearing got a battering. "What do you mean I can't come with you!? I bloody well can if I want and I do want to so that's that." she yelled vehemently, causing a few unlucky people who were close-by to cover their ears with their hands.

"I need you with the others Cathy, John needs someone as intelligent and insightful as you for assistance. Kate needs you too. Everyone does. Besides," I added, hoping to placate her. "We're just gunna get in and get out, the more people we have the riskier it is. Tony and I can do this, But John can't lead everyone without you. Please Cathy."

"But I owe you my life..."

"And you can repay me by using that life to help the others. To save their lives, as I saved yours." I firmly replied.

"You're sure about this?" She asked, sniffling, as she struggled not to cry.

"I'm sure."

She nodded absently, not trusting herself to speak.

John saved me from the heart-wrenching goodbye with his typical brisk tone. "Miss Jones, we're all ready to leave." Gesturing toward the line of people that looked like they wanted to all lay down and have a nap or something, rather than walk back to the bus. I didn't blame them. Hargraves buses were fucking horrible.
A few seconds passed and I started to wonder whether she'd respond when she briskly turned, breaking eye contact with me and started walking towards John. "Be careful you two." she said, her words floating over to us as she reached John at the front of the line and began walking, leading the group back to the bus.

Tony and I watched the procession of sorts leave the garden through a thin, wooden door set in the fence that surrounded the cut grass. John and Kate were the last to leave, bringing up the rear as Cathy lead them. John nodded to us and Kate waved goodbye. I'm not sure who was more shocked: the hound when I blew him up, or Tony right now. He even half raised his arm to reciprocate until remembering who exactly Kate was, immediately dropping his arm again.

The night seemed somehow deeper and more oppressing when everyone had left the small garden, despite the fiery blaze that was still casting its hellish light across the street.

I sighed, not exactly relishing what our expedition would likely bring us, but bound regardless. "Right. Let's go Tone, your house first as it's closer."

He nodded, turning on his flash-light and walking out the gate in the direction of the others while I followed.

When we reached the pavement we both carried on, crossing the debris, corpse littered road to the other side of the street.

"Why didn't you want Cathy to come?" He asked suddenly as we made our way through what looked like a war-zone.

"I didn't want her to die." I replied, truthfully, bumping into Tony who had come to a halt in front of me.

He turned, terror etched onto his face. "You don't 'really' think we're going to die. Do you?" he stuttered out, obviously not relishing the prospect.

"This isn't exactly the safest of environments any more, and that's saying something considering how dangerous some of South London was 'before' the eclipse. I think the others at the bus will have a better chance of surviving the next few minutes than we do, but beyond that, I have no idea Tone." I told him bluntly, trusting him to carry on despite my observations.

He did not disappoint. "I... I suppose you're right." He muttered, letting out a breath. "I fucking hate Mondays."


I laughed. I laughed so hard I thought I was going to choke. The guy had got it dead on. Mondays fucking sucked.

"Oh come on, it's not that funny." He groused, looking at me in mild annoyance.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so unused to you making jokes and it's so true too. Mondays really are shit." I managed to wheeze out amidst my laughter, finally calming down enough to breathe.

He seemed to accept my explanation, continuing to walk down the street in companionable silence.

"Luke?" he asked, tentatively, still trudging along.

Ah. I'd wondered when someone would ask about that.

"What happened earlier... With that hell-hound?"

"Honestly Tone, I don't know. I've asked myself the same thing and I can't figure it out. What exactly did you see?"

He thought briefly before replying, still moving down the the road. "Well, I was watching from the window, I didn't have the best of views but I could see you and the hound thing above you. I saw you shove that stick into its mouth and I saw the demon somehow eat it."

"Burn it." I corrected, causing him to stop mid-stride.


"Burn it?"

"That's right. The hound had some sort of fire in its throat and it literally turned the wood to ash as I shoved it down." I said, brushing my nails across my suit as Tony looked back at me incredulously.

"Right... Okay. Well, after the beast had burnt the shaft I saw you stick your arm into its mouth, and after that. Well. The thing blew up into about a million pieces.

"Did you see anything before the hound blew up?" I pressed, not really expecting anything.

Which was a good job, as Tony had nothing to add. "No. Like I said. I saw your arm go into its mouth and then a couple seconds later it just blew up. Maybe they explode if something touches that fire you were talking about?" He asked, hopefully, eyes wide with the prospect of blowing up more demons. Causing me to chuckle warmly.

"Unfortunately no. You must not have seen from your vantage point but my glove was covered in this weird golden lettering after the thing exploded." I paused, holding his gaze. "Also, I felt something, not dissimilar to the 'pain' from the gym trying to get inside our heads, but this time it was trying to get out from my hand. It felt pretty strange but was no where near as agonising. Anyway, after I felt this 'force' unleash itself the hound was no more, and the script on my glove only lasted a few seconds before disappearing too. I'm not sure what to make of it all. All I know for sure is that whatever caused the script to appear also killed that demon."

"I don't know what to say Luke, it seems that a lot of things are linked to that 'pain' though I'm not sure how. Maybe you can ask John or Cathy about it later, they were at the door and had a much clearer view of you. Show me the gloves?" I nodded, placing my hand in front of him.

Tony looked the gloved hand over carefully, he even poked it a couple of times in what I was sure was a sophisticated scientific experiment, and not just the desperation of someone fishing for clues.

"Well, I'm stumped. Sorry Luke."

I sighed, annoyed with our lack of knowledge. The eclipse was dredging up far more questions than answers. Hopefully my mum would know something about all this.

Thinking about my mother caused me to start walking again, prompting Tony to do the same. I just hoped she was okay.

As we walked down the road we finally arrived outside Tony's house: looking exactly as it had the last time I was here. Minus the black stains from the ash that was covering its walls, the various bits of debris in the small front garden and the broken windows on the ground floor. Okay, so it looked nothing like it did before, having more in common with a haunted house than most haunted houses did.

Tony wasted no time, running to the front door and pressing the doorbell. We waited on tenterhooks as we heard the chime of the bell echo through the house.

Nothing.

Tony rang again, lightly bouncing up and down on his heels nervously.

Nothing.

A cold feeling of dread crept its way into my gut, settling there in preparation for what we'd find beyond that door. I had no doubt Tony felt the same.

I glanced at him, motioning to the closed door in front of us. Tony nodded wordlessly, bending down and retrieving a spare key that was taped to the underside of a large sunflower plant's petals. I almost laughed, talk about safety conscious, that was definitely the last place anyone would think to look.

With shaking hands he eventually got the key into the lock and managed to turn the metal, a sharp 'click' echoing through the night.

A gentle push caused the door to creakily swing inwards, revealing a hallway cloaked in darkness. Tony shivered, pointing his torch through the opening, illuminating the walls in a harsh, artificial luminance.

A wave of fetid air greeted us as we quietly crossed the threshold, causing both of us to cover our noses and gag.

Ignoring the smell as best we could, we crept towards the lounge, eyes alert for the slightest movement and ears straining to make out any noise.

Nothing.

A gasp suddenly broke the reticence. Startled, I lurched forwards uncontrollable bumping into Tony. Muttering an apology I wondered where the noise had come from, it sounded like it'd been close by.

My heart lurched. Tony. He'd made the noise. He was standing in the doorway to the lounge, his face completely white and his whole body shaking uncontrollably.

I nervously poked my head above his shoulder, looking into the dark room.

The thin beam of light from the weakening torch was stationary, fixed in position on the bodies of two people. Mr and Mrs Smalls. Tony's parents. His only family. The source of that god awful stench.

Their bodies were blackened and broken, both had obviously died from the 'Hell-Fever' but that wasn't the end of their stories. Oh no. A demon had been in here, you could see from the marks on their bodies and from the missing limbs that something had literally eaten most of the corpses.

Tony slumped forwards, violently vomiting on the carpet. I didn't blame him. Putting my arms around his shoulders I gently lifted him up and walked him to the kitchen, sitting the dazed guy on a chair while I hunted for a cloth.

Finally finding one I soaked it under the tap and made my way over to my small friend. I wiped the sick away from him mouth and off his shirt, discarding the soiled cloth when there was nothing left to mop up. I pulled up a chair next to his and sat with my arm round him in silence.

After a few minutes of complete silence he tensed suddenly, leaning into me and crying. It felt a bit odd having never held a guy like this but I persevered, gently patting him as he let out his sorrow.

My arm was soaked by the time his tears had run dry.

Eventually, he managed to sit up straight and looked at me, his eyes betraying depths of pain that I never wanted anyone else to have to experience.

"We... We should go." He sniffled, listlessly.

I patted him on the back gently, nodding as I helped him stand.

We walked down the hallway together, Tony briefly stopping to mouth his goodbyes at the doorway to the lounge. When he was finished he reverently shut the door and sighed, nodding at me to lead the way.

We made the short trip to my house in morose silence, Tony no longer in the lead as he lagged behind me slightly, his feet shuffling through broken glass and bits of wood on the ground.

I paused outside my front-door, the feeling of dread in my gut as rampant as ever. Taking a breath I rang the doorbell. Well, I tried to.

As my hand touched the bell it wasn't stopped by the plastic button, instead it carried on through the image. Half my hand disappeared into the side of the solid looking doorway before I managed to whip my hand back in fright.

I turned, wondering if Tony had seen the spectacle. He had, his eyes were wide even in his grief and his mouth was hanging open in a large 'O'.

I peered at my hand closely, bring it right up to my face as I inspected the strange appendage. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. What the fuck had just happened. Glancing at Tony again provided me with nothing but a helpful shrug.

I reached out with my other hand this time, ever so slowly touching the doorbell. The same thing happened as before, the tips of my fingers that were in contact with the bell seemed to almost pass through it and I had no sensation of touching anything at all.

I slowly pulled my arm back, wondrously looking at both my hands. What the hell.

"Tony, you want to give it a try?" I asked, unsure what else to do.

He nodded, not having spoken since discovering his parent's bodies.

Reaching slowly forwards to the bell with his own hand, Tony experienced the same strange occurrence that I had. His hand seeming to pass harmlessly through the solid wood of the door-frame. He let out an 'eek' of surprise despite having witnessed the phenomenon twice already, quickly pulling his hand back to safety.

"Strange senses, exploding demons and now illusionary walls. I think it's time to start believing in magic Tone." I said, referring to some of the unexplainable events that had happened in the past few hours.

"Yea..." He uttered, wondrously.

I smiled inwardly, knowing it was a good sign that he was talking so soon. Then again, he'd been with the group searching for survivors before I'd even woken up. He must have seen some horrific stuff already.

Making my mind up as I gazed at the doorway I stepped forwards. A hand shot out and grabbed my arm before I could reach the doorway however, Tony obviously not too thrilled to have me walking straight into god knows what. "Wait a second Luke, we don't know what will happen if you try and walk through... That." He argued, gesturing at the innocuous looking door.

"I'll go through first, if it seems safe I'll call to you, okay? I can't just not go in Tone, you know that." I sadly intoned, causing Tony's shoulders to slump and his grip to relax in agreement.

Walking slowly forwards once more, I lifted one leg through the door and then followed the intrepid limb with the rest of my body.

I stepped through to my hallway, the darkness too deep to make out much ahead. Turning back to Tony I could see him through a great hole where the door should be, burnt and crumbling wood surrounding the monstrous opening. I motioned to my friend to come inside, but he made no gesture of acknowledgement. Strange, he didn't appear to see me at all.

I realised that the illusion must only work from the other side and swiftly stuck my head through the hole, startling Tony. "What... What... Your head!" He cried, eyes wide as he pointed towards me.

"Oh! Sorry Tone." I said, embarrassedly, realising what it must look like from his end. I stepped fully through the hole until the illusion was once again behind me.

"It seems safe to go through the door thing, but it's pretty strange on the other side. It's definitely my hallway but the door appears to have been blow apart and the illusion only works from this side, I could see you when I looked out of the hole, but you couldn't see me it seems." I explained, as much to myself as to Tony.

"Right. Well, you ready?"

"Wha-- What?" Tony stared at me incredulously.

"You ready to go through?"

"You expect 'me' to walk through 'that'." He said, clearly not liking the idea one bit.

"Well, you could stay out here if you want, but I'm going in again. I just thought you wouldn't want to be alone." I shrugged, carelessly. It was a cruel thing to do, but I didn't want him on his own out here and I couldn't just leave without exploring my house. Besides, if the past few hours were anything to go by, this was just going to get worse and Tony needed a backbone if he was to have any chance of survival.

Tony nodded his agreement, clearly not liking the sound of being on his own one little bit.

His shoulder touched mine as we stepped through the image together, both of us appearing in my hallway. I motioned for Tony to give me his torch and led the way, swinging the beam of light from wall to wall as we walked to the lounge.

"Wait." Tony muttered, crouching down for some reason. I swing the light to him and wondered what he was doing. His hands were on the carpet and he was frowning. "It's wet."

"What?"


"The carpet, it's soaked Luke."

I lowered the light further, illuminating the dark blue of the carpet. Except. It should be light blue. Bending down I mirrored Tony and felt the floor with my hands. He was right, the carpet was soaking wet. Raising a hand to my nose I sniffed the liquid, I couldn't smell anything.

"I think it's water Luke."

"I think you're right." I agreed, standing up again and proceeding to the lounge. Tony in tow.

I opened the door, peeking inside, eyes following the light of the torch as I shined it into every nook and cranny of the small room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Closing the door again I entered the kitchen, stopping dead as I saw the strange spectacle. "What the fuck..."

"Wow." Exclaimed Tony from behind me, no doubt fixated on the same spectacle I was.

On the kitchen wall, right where I was shining the torch, was a man. A dead man. A dead man with a sword through his gut, pinning him to the wall. My mother's sword.

Walking closer to the corpse, I studied the body. The man looked to be in his late twenties, was fairly tall, though it was hard to tell as his feet were a few inches off the ground and he seemed to be in good shape. He had short, black hair and brown eyes. The only strange thing about him, other than the sword through his chest was his skin colour. Even in death he was a dark tan, hinting at perhaps a Persian or Egyptian descent.

Glancing away from the body I swung the light around the room, stopping abruptly when I noticed something strange on the floor. Ash.

Tony gasped when he saw what I was staring at: two piles of black ash, each in the outline of a person covered the floor. It was almost an imitation of when the police draw chalk outlines around bodies, except much darker.

"What the..." I murmured, bending down and examining the ash more closely. It was definitely different from the stuff that had fallen earlier as it was darker and seemed thicker too. Very strange. I ran my fingers through the dust, feeling the coarse flecks cascade across my skin as I pooled some of the ash in my palms.

Sighing I parted my cupped hands, releasing the ash, and stood back up.

"Erm. Luke. I don't mean to pry, but who exactly is your mum?" Tony asked me when I rose, gesturing to the ash and the body pinned to the wall by an actual sword.

"Honestly, I'm asking the same thing in my head mate. This is unreal." I replied truthfully, walking back up the body and inspecting the weapon through its gut. Something about the blade was familiar. I'd seen it before.

I remembered. This was my mother's sword. She'd shown me the katana when I was little and had first started teaching me kendo. Sophie had shown me the weapon and had cut a small, thin line across her palm, reinforcing the danger that blades represented and how careful I had to be, even with my wooden training bokken. I'd never forgotten that lesson. Never. I'd cried for hours when I saw her hurt.

This was the second time I'd ever seen the sword. Apart from that first time, she had never taken it out from the chest under her bed that I was forbidden to open.

I reverently gripped the hilt in my sweaty palm, caressing the silken leather in awe. Gently pulling on the hilt caused the blade to smoothly slid out of the wall, eventually leaving the corpse entirely which fell, gracelessly, to the floor.

Shakily holding the blade in front of me raised a lot of questions. Just who the hell was the man whose stomach was used as a sheath for my mother's sword. Who were the two people that were now just ash outlines. What the fuck had happened here.

"Come on, let's go upstairs." I sighed, having no clue how to answer the questions that these dead men had prompted.

"Ri-- Right." Tony replied, eyes glued to the naked blade in my hands.

I just shook my head in amusement, using a cloth on the counter to wipe off blood from the weapon, proceeding to head upstairs when the blade was clean.

The torch light fell upon the door to my mother's room. A door that was closed. The feeling of dread in my gut coalesced with the fear in my heart and I was filled with such terror that I couldn't bring myself to open the door. I was afraid of what I might find.

"Luke. You have to go inside, you know that." Tony murmured softly from beside me.

I nodded, not even looking at him.

Gripping the sword more tightly I slowly pushed on the door with my hand, a creaking sound echoing in the house as the portal swung open.

As the flash-light illuminated the small room I was met by a grim sight. There was another ash outline, this time not on the floor but on the bed. That wasn't the worst of it. There was blood, lots of blood, splashed across the sheets, dripping down the bedding and pooled amidst the ash. There was another liquid there too, some form of whitish fluid floating atop the pooled blood.

There was no sign of my mother.

Moving towards the bed with Tony on my heels I knelt down and inspected the outline. It seemed identical to the ones downstairs except for the two liquids pooled within the torso outline.

The dark red substance was definitely blood, but what was the white I wondered.

Oh.

My cheeks reddened in embarrassment when I was close enough to smell the fluids. So that's what it was.
Tony noticed my expression and commented. "What? What is it Luke?"

"Erm... The red stuff is blood." I said, blushing as I continued. "I think the white stuff is... Um... Semen..."


"Oh." He finally managed to choke out, looking slightly distraught.

"Yea." I added, lamely, not knowing what else to say.

"Let's check upstairs, it's the only place left."

We made our way upstairs and searched my room for any additional clues about what had happened here. Nothing presented itself, the room looked exactly as I'd left it this morning when I'd gone to school. There was even still a damp patch on the bed from my mum's prank with the skylight.

I began to feel slightly frustrated, I couldn't make sense of the situation and my mother was no where to be found. I sighed. At least we hadn't found her body.

Trudging back down to my mother's room I glanced briefly at the spectacle on the bed, roiling emotions swirling round my head.

Finally coming to a decision I turned to Tony. "Come on Tone, Let's get back to the bus, however weird this place is doesn't matter, she's not here." He just nodded, no doubt sensing my frustration.

We'd made it back to the kitchen before I was struck with an idea when I saw the sprawled body on the floor. The chest. I doubt I was still forbidden to open it, not now, I rationalised.

"Wait! There's one thing I have to check." I said, sprinting past Tony back up the stairs to my mother's room.

Ignoring the spectacle on the bed as best I could I knelt down and shone the torch under her bed. There, in the harsh light of the flash-light, was my mother's trunk.

I quickly reached under the bed and pulled the heavy, oak box out of its hideaway. After a few seconds I had the chest completely out and was searching the lid for some kind of keyhole. That was odd, I couldn't see one.

Shrugging, I tried to pry open the lid with my fingers, not expecting to be successful. I was pleasantly surprised when the top popped open with a sharp 'click' and I shone my torch into the box.

Wow.

There was a lot of weird shit in here, I mused, pulling out strange looking packets of teeth and claws, bits of dried skin, coloured stones, odd looking statuettes and other things which I could only guess as to their function. There was also a large backpack stuffed in the side of the box and I began transferring everything into the bag. I gasped as I pulled out two small handguns and boxes of bullets which I assumed were for the guns. I also found the scabbard for my mother's katana and gently slid the blade home, strapping the weapon to my back.

There were a few dusty tomes too, which I placed into the bag after failing to read the strange script they were written in.

Finally, after scraping the edge of the box to make sure I hadn't missed anything, I found what I'd been dreading and hoping for at the same time. A letter. A letter in my mother's hand. A letter addressed to me.

As I sat with my back against the empty box and looked at the cream coloured letter in my hands, all the days events seemed to catch up to me. I missed Sophie so much, I was so scared and confused, I needed her more than ever, and I had no idea where she was. Staring at my name on the letter brought up such sorrow that I couldn't help but release the flood gates on my tears, eyes welling up with moisture as I started shaking and crying uncontrollably.

Tony had evidently followed me up as within moments he was beside me, providing the same comfort for me that I'd given to him.

As a tear-drop splashed onto the letter a single thought crystallised in my mind. I would find whoever was responsible for this. For this whole god damn fucking eclipse. I would find them, and I would kill them.

To be continued...