Mass shoved and cajoled his way to the rear of the bus. He wanted to speak with Rick while the man – the angel – was still with them. He gave no reaction to Mass’s approach.
“Rick? How are you feeling?”
“Ashamed.”
“Ashamed, why?”
Rick swallowed, his neck bulging unnaturally. “My own pride brought me here to face my brother, but it was not enough to defeat him. It took most of my strength to remain here in this body, but it is rapidly failing.”
“You tried, man. That’s all any of us can do. Who are you, really? You ain’t Rick.”
“Michael.”
Mass was vaguely aware of angel names, but not enough to react in any particular way. He had just wanted to know who he was really talking to. “So what happened to the real Rick Bastion, Michael? You’re wearing his body, but where is his, um…”
“His soul resides in Heaven. His sacrifices were great.”
That was good news at least. Mass took a breath and asked another question. “What about Vamps? Is he in Heaven too?”
“Yes.”
Mass exhaled with relief. “Good. I’m glad.”
“Do not be glad. Heaven shall soon fall. God’s barrier is weakened and he will soon fall under attack. Crimolok and those loyal to him will erase existence and reignite it in their own dark image.”
“Michael, there has to be some way to stop Crimolok. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”
“There is nothing. He cannot be harmed by any mortal means. Only the power of Heaven can defeat him.”
“What about the gate? What if we manage to destroy it?”
Michael groaned and a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth. “His power is not linked to the gate – it resides within the abyss – but if you close the final gate, you will succeed only in trapping Crimolok here on this Earth. He will no longer be able to make an assault on Heaven, but this world would most certainly be doomed. Is that a sacrifice you are willing to make?”
“I would rather something be saved than everything be destroyed. Yes, I’m willing to destroy the gate if it means saving lives – even if it’s not our own.”
Michael tried to smile, but it appeared as a bloody grimace. “Lucifer was right about humanity. It is worth saving.”
Mass didn’t want to believe it was all over, but if they could stop Crimolok from attacking God and destroying the universe, then at least they could go down with a win. “I’ll go through the gate myself. As soon as we get these people back to the docks, I’ll head out and find it.”
Michael blinked, but one of his eyes remained closed. “I’m sorry I was unable to help this world. You will all perish.”
“I accepted that a long time ago, but I have to keep fighting. It’s who I am. It’s who my friends were.”
Michael died. The subtle movement of his chest, the slight flickering of his eyelids, ceased. Mass didn’t know what he was supposed to do, so he just stood up and moved away into the packed aisle.
The bus lurched. There was the chatter of gunfire as men fired from the bus’s upper floor and out of the windows. The tyres screeched and bodies were tossed one way and then another as the suspension bucked and tilted, but their driver had been true to his word; he handled the bus like a racing car.
Smithy met Mass in the centre of the bus. “How’s he doing?”
“He’s gone, but before he went, he told me what I need to do.”
“What?”
Mass didn’t want to tell him they were all going to die, at least not right there in a cramped bus doing forty through a backstreet during the apocalypse, so he patted his friend on the shoulder and told him not to worry. “We’ll talk later. I’m going to fuck up Crimolok’s plans.”
Smithy grinned. “Sounds good to me. Hey, can you believe Thomas? I know Rick healed you too, but it took longer. Thomas is like a new man. Makes you wonder what the comedown’s gonna be like.”
Mass peered through the bodies in the aisle and caught a glimpse of Thomas, still standing at the front of the bus. The son of a bitch deserved to die, but instead he had been given a second chance.
I’ll deal with him later. Right now, we have other priorities.
They careened through the backstreets for another ten minutes, firing at clusters of demons they couldn’t avoid. Several times, the bus ran straight over the enemy or ploughed through debris. The suspension was beginning to buckle. The bus was gradually giving up on them.
“Everyone get ready,” Thomas yelled from the front. “We’re nearly there.”
Mass tried to see through the windows but it was impossible. Had they actually made it all the way to the docks? The level of gunfire told him it might be so. He still had his Benelli shotgun, but he couldn’t lift it in the cramped aisle. The only thing he could do was ensure he didn’t drop it.
The bus came to a sudden stop, throwing everyone forward. Many fell and had to scramble to keep from being trodden on. Mass pulled a woman to her feet after she fell face first against his knee. “You okay?”
The woman nodded, sucking on a bloody lower lip. “Sorry.”
“No problem. See you at the docks.”
“There’re enemies on the ground,” Thomas yelled. “We need to fight our way to the walls.”
“Great,” said Smithy, appearing beside Mass. Addy shoved her way over to join him too. “Nothing’s ever easy, is it?”
Mass gave both his friends a steely glare. “Whatever happens, we three have each other’s backs, right?”
Both nodded.
The bus’s door folded open and men tumbled through the opening. Gunfire rattled immediately, joining the cacophony coming from the docks. Mass
