“We need to hit him again,” said Addy. “Another nuke may do it.”
“You got a radio?” asked Mass, nodding towards the wrecked helicopter. “Because I’m guessing the one in there is broken.”
Smithy shook his head. “Damn.”
The demonic shrieking in the distance was gradually getting closer. The demons were unsure exactly where the helicopter had crash-landed, but it wouldn’t be long before they found it. This time, Mass wasn’t even going to fight. It was pointless now. The last of his hope was gone.
“If only we could close the gate,” said Addy, “Crimolok would be stuck where he is.”
“Even if we could close it,” said Mass, “there are too many demons. You’d have to wade through a thousand just to reach the gate.”
“I’ve got this.” Damien rose to his feet. Unlike the rest of them, he was unhurt and didn’t even appear winded. He was a dead man walking, and that made him more alive than any of them right now.
Smithy tutted. “Yeah, okay, man. I know you’re a badass and all, but even you can’t fight a thousand demons.”
“I don’t need to fight them. I’ll see you guys later. Don’t wreck what’s left of the world, all right?” He looked at Smithy. “Put it in the can, man, remember!”
Damien walked away, marching down the hill they had landed on. Mass couldn’t get to his feet, but he managed to rise onto his elbow and shout, “Damien, what are you doing?”
Damien turned back with a smirk. “I’m going to go fuck shit up. Like I said, I got this. It was always meant to be me.”
“What was meant to be you?”
“Saviour of mankind, innit? Keep it real, Mass, and stop skipping leg day. You look like a goddamn turkey.”
Mass chuckled, not understanding at all. The only thing he knew was that Damien was a law unto himself. There was no controlling the guy. All you could do was watch and see what he would do next.
“That guy is about to become a demon McMuffin,” said Smithy. “What the hell is he doing?”
Mass remembered something Damien had said to him not so long ago. There was a reason he had made it to the fort so easily when they were looking for Thomas. Mass remembered the exact words Damien had said to him.
They don’t pay me much attention.
Damien carried on down the hill. The others dragged themselves to positions where they could watch him. The demons were mostly congregated around the ruined roads. None of them made a move when Damien appeared on the slope and headed towards them. Some looked his way curiously, but they didn’t attack. They looked at him the same way they looked at each other. Like he was one of them.
The gate was nearby, maybe two hundred metres ahead of Damien. Smouldering, irradiated embers drifted out as Crimolok continued to stumbled around drunkenly. It was like he had never felt pain before and was as confused about that as he was about suffering from it.
The demons were gradually moving towards the hill, spreading out in their pursuit to find fresh meat.
Smithy groaned. “The demons are going to rip us to shreds, and I really want to see what Damien does.”
“Leave it to me,” said Angela, dragging herself along the ground like a slug. “Christ, every bit of me hurts. I hope I can still do this.”
Mass frowned. “Do what?”
“This!” Angela pointed at the closest demons on the hill and began uttering what sounded like nonsense. Then, to Mass’s utter astonishment, a dozen demons exploded into a bloody mist. It began to rain, and when Mass looked at his forearm, he saw it was blood.
“I think a demon’s anus just landed on me,” said Smithy. “Tastes like chicken.”
“Maybe you were licking your own arsehole,” said Addy. “Your mouth always has to be doing something.”
Smithy grinned at her. “Girl, you are so into me.”
Addy blushed. “What? I so am not!”
“Yeah, you are. You want me.”
“I do not!”
Angela looked back from the edge of the hill. “Sorry, sweetheart, but I think he’s right.”
Addy glared at both of them, but a smile slowly crossed her face that she failed to fight. “Yeah, okay, maybe I am into you. Too bad we’re all going to die.”
Angela nodded at Smithy and chuckled. “Too bad for him at least.”
Smithy blushed. “Can you just get back to exploding demons, please, vicar?”
“No problem.” Angela turned and started chanting again. Another handful of demons went up in a bloody mist. It was a neat trick.
Mass turned his focus back to the gate. Crimolok was starting to recover. His wounds seemed to be healing, burned flesh hardening into scar tissue. His once beautiful face was now a craggy mess, but his agony dripped away and anger took over. As he looked around in confusion, it seemed to dawn on Crimolok that he was back in Hell. Then he glared right through the gate, peering back upon the world he had just been blown out of.
Mass’s jaw tightened.
Don’t you come back through that gate, you sonofabitch. Stay where you are. Please.
Crimolok was still wounded, but he started to stagger towards the gate, seeming to stare straight at Mass. It couldn’t be true, but it’s how it felt.
Damien continued walking casually amongst the demons. They paid him no attention, some even moving out of his way. Others, he simply grabbed and shoved aside. He was a slow-moving bullet slicing through a wall of flesh.
Get your arse in gear, mate. Look alive. Hurry!
Mass dug his fingertips into the soil, his whole body tense. Addy and Smithy crawled up beside him while Angela continued chanting to keep any demons at bay. Their exploding bodies were just part of the background now. Several times, the blind pilot asked what was happening.
“He’s not gonna make it in time,” said Smithy.
“I can’t believe he can just walk through them like that,” said Addy. “He needs to be careful.”
Mass felt the same way. Damien pushed his luck several
