Mass groaned. “Typical. Okay – take two. Let’s get moving.”
The living Damien stood in the middle of the cabin and held up his arms. Harry and Steph helped him get into the harness. “That too tight?” Steph asked him.
“A bit.”
Harry grunted. “Man up, soldier.”
“Do you want to do this.”
Harry chuckled. “I most certainly do not.”
“Okay,” said Damien a moment later, “I’m ready.” He looked at Mass. “Is it really that bad?”
Mass couldn’t even give a reply.
Damien took it for the answer it was. “Great, well, hopefully Angela is right and it gets better. Maybe I can get a position on the board and campaign for change.” He chuckled at his own joke, but it came out as an emotionally fraught squeak.
“You’re a better Damien than me,” said the dead Damien, offering a handshake.
The other Damien went to take his counterpart’s hand, but Smithy yelped, “Don’t! If you two occupy the same space, won’t we all implode or something?”
Addy groaned. “They’re not time travellers, you idiot. They aren’t the same person.”
Smithy looked at the two nigh-on identical young men and raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“We’re not the same,” said the dead Damien. “Two sides of the same coin, maybe, but still different. As I was saying, this Damien here is a good bloke. I’m better looking.”
The two Damiens completed their handshake, and the one in the harness stepped up to the sliding door.
“Ready?” asked Harry.
“Yep! What the hell.”
Harry threw open the door.
Damien turned back and eyeballed Smithy. “No one push me, okay?”
Smithy held his hands up and stepped away.
Unlike Mass, Damien wasted no time. He took one step forward and was gone, plummeting out of view. The winch clunked. The cable went taut. When Mass had fallen it had felt like a minute went by before he had felt that life-saving jolt.
Harry got on the radio. “Damien, you good?”
“Never better. I see the gate. It’s to my right.”
The pilots confirmed their intentions and started to manoeuvre the helicopter.
“Almost there,” Damien said through the radio. Just a bit more and I’ll be— Oh shit!”
The helicopter lurched. It was as if gravity had suddenly increased tenfold and they were falling out of the sky. The pilots cursed and fought with the controls. Something yanked the cable. The winch groaned and clunked.
Harry shouted into the radio. “Damien! Damien, are you okay?”
There was no reply. Mass rushed over to the open doorway and leaned out. Damien was no longer on the end of the cable. It had snapped and was now dangling weightlessly in the wind. Something had happened. Something had snatched Damien out of the air.
What is happening? Where did he go?
Mass sensed movement to his left, to the rear of the helicopter.
Crimolok raised a giant fist and swung at the helicopter.
The boats were leaving en masse. Only a few remained, their captains either stupid or brave. The demons came in droves, although they seemed unsure since their leader had sprinted away into the distance. Maddy still didn’t understand why Crimolok had fled.
Tosco had rallied a group of men together, bringing them into a tight group. Everyone was armed with blades or clubs of some fashion, which were mostly empty rifles. Some had picked up sheets of metal or scraps of wood to use as shields. It was ridiculous, but at least they weren’t completely unarmed.
“The closer we push together,” said Tosco, “the harder it will be to knock us down. There aren’t many primates left. We can fight the burnt men with what we have if we stick to the plan. Shoulder to shoulder, swing and stab.”
A demon staggered towards the group and the men put their orders into action. A woman hiding behind a sheet of metal peeked out and planted a long kitchen knife in the burnt man’s skull. It dropped like a lead weight. The woman removed her knife and got back behind her shield.
“One down,” said Maddy. “Good work. We can do this.”
But for how long?
Even without Crimolok guiding them, the demons were everywhere. If Tosco tried to get everyone onto the boats, they would probably be taken down as they ran. The only chance they had was to stand their ground until they were too exhausted to fight. Perhaps a miracle would come and save them.
“How do you reckon Mass is getting on?” Maddy asked Tosco, trying to distract herself from the demons racing towards them.
“I think he made it to the gate like he intended. Why else would Crimolok have turned and ran. He’s under threat.”
“You think there’s a chance Mass might actually do something to help?”
Tosco shrugged. “I have no idea. Everyone, brace!”
A dozen demons hit the small squad of men and women. They held tight, pushing against one another and forming a solid wall. They pushed out their shields to absorb the impact and to avoid being toppled.
“Everyone, swing and stab.”
The squad lashed out with their knives or brought down their heavy rifles as best they could one-handed. The demons were pressed up against the shields, so it was easy to slash and bludgeon at their heads and necks. Several fell in the first assault while others tried to recover and attack. The second round of swinging and stabbing dropped several more, which led to the demons losing half their number. They were unable to get past the shields, unable to avoid the knives and clubs slipping from between the gaps and striking them unawares.
The melee went on for ten minutes until the attacking demons were all dead.
More would come soon.
“Good work,” said Tosco, panting and dripping with sweat. “Everyone catch their br—” His radio hissed and Klein spoke to them.
“Maddy, James, are you still alive? I was hoping to see you on my submarine by now. Please tell me zat you are to come any minute now, ja?”
Tosco gave a grim smile. “I’m sorry, Commander, but I don’t see a way out for us. You get Alice away from here for me, okay?”
“Ja, she will be safe with me. I
