Heaven and Hell

Serena saw it before she heard it, the large Flying Feral that had just come into view near the centre of the village. Even from here she could tell that it was much larger than the one they saw before. It let out its piercing shriek and took to the sky. The beast began circling high above, presumably in search of its next meal.

Beside her, Kaseem tensed as he drew his scimitar and held it at the ready. He followed the Flying Feral’s movements, trying to anticipate when and where it might strike. The demon just kept circling overhead. Serena tore her gaze away from the beast to see a strange horned creature standing in front of them. He held an enormous hammer in one hand and was dressed in nothing but a loin cloth.

“He won’t strike until the Master orders him too,”the creature snivelled. Kaseem and Omar turned their attentions to the creature as well. They both wore puzzled expressions.

“And who are you supposed to be little imp?” Omar demanded. The creature feigned a look of surprise.

“Who am I you ask, Who am I?” The creature put his hammer in both hands and smiled, showing off tiny pointed teeth. He disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared beside Omar. Before he could react, the creature struck him with his hammer and sent him flying into a nearby building, the wall collapsing on top of him.

“I’m Gikabrik, and I just killed you,” the creature giggled madly.

“Watch yourself Serena. That little thing there is a Minion. They’re mid level demons, in between the Feral and Greater demons,” Kaseem explained. Gikabrik twirled on his tip toes and faced Kaseem and gave a mock bow.

“Tee-hee,” he giggled. “I am a Minion, and I will kill you! Master says so!”

“They’re nasty little buggers too.” Kaseem added.

“ Little bugger am I?” Gikabrik once again disappeared in a puff of smoke. He reappeared behind Kaseem, hammer raised to strike.

“Behind you!” Serena shouted. Before she could get off a shot, Kaseem had parried the little demon’s blow without even turning around. The wide smile on Gikabrik’s face fell.

“You’ll have to do better than that, imp!” Kaseem growled. Gikabrik vanished again. Serena looked around wildly, trying to find him. The demon reappeared again, coming from Kaseem’s blind spot. He swung his hammer, but only caught air. Kaseem had anticipated the blow and whirled to the side. His own weapon was raised above his head, and he swung it down upon the demon, who blocked the strike. Their battle then became a flurry of quick strikes, neither one was able to land a blow. Serena marvelled at the speed the older man possessed. She could barely see his swift attacks. But Gikabrik was also fast, maybe even faster than Kaseem. He not only kept up with him, but was even able to take the offensive. He would vanish and reappear several times, making it seem as though he were in several places at once! Kaseem always seemed to anticipate where he was going to appear and always had a counter ready. Finally the two combatants paused, both were breathing heavily.

“You certainly are a persistent little bastard,” Kaseem remarked, wiping sweat off his brow.

“You’re not to bad for a geezer,” Gikabrik taunted. “Lets see how your little friend fights!”
He vanished again. This time reappearing behind Serena.

“Look out!” Kaseem cried. Serena turned just in time to see Gikabrik bring his hammer down upon her.



George covered his ears and yelled in pain as the Flying Feral screeched behind him. Even though it was quite a distance away, the horrible sound carried all over the area. When the screeching stopped, he turned to see that the beast was taking to sky. He swore loudly. Beside him Ahmed and Aziz drew their scimitars.

“We should regroup with the others. That thing will cause major damage when it decides to strike,” Aziz commented, his English heavily accented. George nodded his head.

“Agreed,” he said. The three of them made their way through the barren streets. After a few blocks, George heard a strange rumbling noise. He paused and held up his hands to get the other two behind him to stop. He put a finger to his lips and strained his ears, listening for the sound. The rumbling grew louder, and it sounded like it was getting closer.

“What is that?” Aziz asked. As if on cue an explosion occurred in front of them. The wall of a building a few feet away that had burst outward. George covered his mouth to try and protect himself from the dust the was being blown his way. It didn’t help much, he still coughed, his lungs trying to get rid of the dry dust and sand.

A silhouette of something large appeared where the wall had been blown out. The smell of blood mixed in with the dust. George recognized that smell. It had the same smell as the creature that had attacked him and Serena the night they had met Father Stephens.

“Some prey at last!”a voice said. The dust cleared, and George could clearly see a man riding atop a hulking Feral Demon. The beast’s jaws were open, drool dripping down onto the sand. It was much larger than the one George had seen those many months ago. That one was the size of a small bear, whereas this one was easily twice as large. Though the sizes were different, George noticed that the eyes were the same as he remembered, black. Black and full of nothingness. Nothing but pure instinct and a never ending hunger.

The man, who George figured must be Diego cracked the whip. The beast growled and charged towards the three warriors. Ahmed and Aziz quickly moved to the side. George, however, stood his ground. He drew his gun and knife and glared at the stampeding demon. He fired his gun once, striking the beast’s shoulder. It showed no signs of slowing down as it beared down on George. He twisted out of the demons path at the last minute and slashed with his knife, cutting its side as it ran by. The Feral Demon howled in pain and rage, but did not fall, or even falter.

“Damn, I only scratched it!” George cursed to himself.

“It will take more than that toothpick to kill my beastie,” Diego cackled. “Still, you were pretty brave, boy, staring him down like that. Too bad I’ll have to kill you!” Another crack of the whip and the Feral Demon began its charge again. George attempted another shot, but the demon dodged to the side, snarling all the while. When the beast got closer, George dodged to the side. Just as he was about to slash the demon again, it had turned and swatted him with a massive paw. He was caught completly off guard and was sent flying several feet away. He was momentarily stunned on the ground. The Feral Demon stalked towards him, growling and drooling. It was so focussed on George that it momentarily forgot the other two were still nearby.

Aziz and Ahmed attack the beast simultaneously from behind. The beast snarled and turned its attention to them. It swatted with its massive paws, but missed. The two sent a flurry of attacks at the beast several times in perfect coordination. Unfortunately, they could not do any more than scratch it. Aziz attempted a thrust at the face, but the Feral Demon caught the scimitar with its teeth and shattered the blade. Aziz leapt back as it attempted to take a bite out of him. Ahmed continued his futile attacks.

“Fools! You cannot cut my demon! Its skin has thickened over the centuries, making it virtually invincible!” Diego cackled. “You can scratch the surface, but you can’t penetrate any deeper. Your attacks are no more effective than a paper cut!”

“We’ll see about that!” George exclaimed. He stood up and took a fighting stance. There must be a way to kill this thing. Think George, think! He thought to himself. And then a plan began to form in his mind. He remembered an old Greek myth, The Twelve Labours of Hercules, particularly the part with the Nemean Lion. It was a long shot, but George knew what he had to do. He began to gather his chi into his arms and legs. Ahmed was managing to occupy the demon’s attention. Diego turned and noticed that George was beginning to power up.

“Oh no you don’t!” he shouted. He cracked his whip, and the beast turned toward George, slamming Ahmed with its long tail in the process. Another crack of the whip, and it charged toward George, snarling. George tossed his weapons aside and took a wrestler’s fighting stance.

“You fool! What are you doing?! You’re going to get killed!” Aziz shouted from behind the Feral Demon. George held his ground. When the beast lunged at him, George avoided its claws and got in close and seized the beast’s neck. With the chi powering his arms and legs he was able to stop the demon in its tracks. It tried to bite him, but his grip was too strong, and it was growing stronger and stronger. George grunted with exertion as the demon continued to struggle its way out of his iron grip. He applied as much pressure as he could, his muscles bulging, veins beginning to pop out. Finally, he threw the Feral Demon to the ground, throwing Diego off his mount. George had the demon pinned to the ground. He put all his weight and all his strength into its neck and finally the beast ceased its struggle. It twitched once and was still forevermore.

George slowly took his hands away from the demon’s throat, panting heavily. His muscles were receding back to their normal size, no longer fuelled by the extra chi. His skin glistened with perspiration. Nearby, Ahmed stood up slowly, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open. Aziz wore a similar expression as his companion. The two could not believe their eyes.

“Y-you just strangled a fully grown Feral Demon,” Aziz stuttered.

“Like Hercules did to the Nemean Lion,” Ahmed added, gazing from the demon to George and back again. George’s whole body began to shake from exertion. He chuckled slightly.

“Yeah, it looks like I did,” he replied, still panting. Suddenly something wrapped itself around Aziz’s neck. It pulled him upwards, strangling him. George looked up and saw on the roof of one of the building was the man who was riding the Feral Demon. He was using his whip to strangle Aziz.

“Cut the whip!”George shouted to Ahmed, scrambling for his own weapons. Ahmed brought his sword down upon the whip, but it didn’t have any effect.

“I can’t cut it!” he exclaimed, though he kept trying. Aziz’s face was turning blue, his eyes bulging. George grabbed his gun and aimed it up at the man and fired it three times. Diego avoided the bullets with amazing reflexes. Aziz then rasped his last breath. The whip uncoiled itself and retracted upward towards the man. The limp body of Aziz collapsed face down into the sand.

“And now,” Diego said, his voice low and dangerous, “I shall kill you both, slowly and painfully.”