Am I actually going to go through with this?
Yeah, and that’s why I’m so fucking terrified.
The demons beneath Mass thrashed wildly, reaching up at him despite him being massively out of reach. He felt like a chunk of meat being dangled above a horde of alligators.
“It’s go time,” said Addy. She sounded sad. “Still time to back out.”
“Just do what you have to do.” Mass reached up and switched off the radio. No goodbyes. No regrets.
Above him, the helicopter swayed to one side, swinging Mass on the cable. At first it was like being dragged, but then the helicopter swayed back the other way and Mass was swinging upwards like a child at a playground. The cable creaked and the harness cut in to his groin once more, but he held on tightly and reminded himself to breathe.
The helicopter swayed back and forth, back and forth. Mass was a pendulum cutting through the air. It was exhilarating, nauseating… and terrifying.
The helicopter banked, and suddenly Mass was swinging towards the gate. His eyes burned from staring into it, assaulted by colours and images that made no sense. A howling wind seemed trapped beneath its surface and it gave off a throbbing heat. It was a portal straight to Hell, and he was swinging right towards it.
Mass closed his eyes.
And passed through the gate.
Maddy slumped against a pile of pallets. She had nothing left. No more energy. Those still alive had been pushed right back to the docks, and the only things keeping the demons at bay were the ship-mounted weapons. Several boats had stationary machine guns, and some were able to direct their lighter cannons at the demons racing from the ruins. It would only keep the enemy at bay so long, but at least it gave people a chance to get onto the boats.
No one was trying to play hero any more. Even Frank had joined the evacuation queues. No one wanted to stay back and hold the line. People just wanted out of there before it was too late.
“We’re almost there,” said Tosco, standing beside Maddy. He was clearly unwilling to leave her. “Just a little longer.”
Maddy shook her head. “The boats should leave now before it’s too late.”
Crimolok entered the military docks, and those shooting from the boats instinctively shifted their focus to the larger target.
Demons were everywhere.
Sorrow did what he could. With his wings flapping, he rushed back and forth, trying to keep his brethren from making it to the last of the survivors yet to get onto the boats. They engulfed him like ants on a wasp, weaker as a species but more powerful in numbers. Sorrow was eventually brought down beneath the sheer weight of them.
Crimolok marched onward, reaching down and grabbing Klein’s train carriage from its resting place at the edge of the docks. The carriage was empty, but it was still horrifying when Crimolok tossed it into the air. The glass and steel tube hit the deck of a Royal Navy frigate like a missile, obliterating a hundred men firing from its decks.
Demons began tackling the men and women shoving their way towards the boats. They died screaming in agony, fifty feet from safety.
Crimolok scooped up an old van parked next to one of the warehouses and launched it at the same frigate he had already hit. The vehicle struck the upper structure of the frigate, taking out the bridge and toppling the conning tower. A fire broke out. Hundreds of people still on deck howled in terror.
Tosco was aghast. “You’re right, Maddy. Those ships need to get the hell out of here. The rest of us are doomed.”
The noise of metal scraping and engines firing drowned out the sounds of killing as the first of the ships began to move away, its captain smart enough to realise the same thing Maddy and Tosco had.
Tosco put his forehead against Maddy’s and held her. “Whatever happens, we stick together.”
“We managed to survive for so long, James, only for it to end like this. It sucks.”
“Yeah, it does.”
Crimolok continued throwing projectiles at the boats and the demons continued swarming. The ships carried on providing support, but more were starting to push away from the docks. There was no other choice.
Maddy saw Sorrow get back on his feet. A pile of demons lay dead around him. Before more could engulf him, Sorrow leapt into the air, wings unfurling like a bird of prey. To Maddy’s astonishment, he lunged at Crimolok. The giant roared furiously and swatted at Sorrow as if he were a fly. Sorrow was much smaller, able to dart around and avoid the blows. Several times he made a slice at Crimolok’s face, but it did no damage. Sorrow’s lethal talons were as ineffective as the ship’s cannons. At least Crimolok was distracted for the moment.
On the ships, men doubled down with their machine guns, slicing through the swarming demons. Some of the primates made it to the water’s edge, falling upon humans trying to get up the gangways. Many fought back with knives and empty rifles. There were no cowards in Portsmouth, but at the rate things were going, mere minutes remained before everyone not on board a boat would be dead.
Crimolok roared triumphantly, snatching Sorrow out of the air and gleefully tearing off the smaller demon’s wings. Then he tossed Sorrow to the ground and raised a massive foot to crush him into the dust.
Maddy couldn’t take her eyes away from the scene. Seeing Sorrow torn apart could be the final atrocity before she met her own end, a parting horror before oblivion.
Crimolok paused, balancing on one leg as he hesitated. He seemed confused, almost like he had suddenly realised he’d forgotten something.
Maddy swallowed the lump in her throat. What is he doing?
Slowly, Crimolok lowered his foot and turned around. Then, in an inexplicable move, he stomped away, picking up speed until he was sprinting back through the ruins of Portsmouth like a
