Heaven and Hell

George caught a glimpse of Father Stephens being whisked off by the Flying Feral. He attempted to pursue them, but the imp like demon barred his path. Though he was injured, the little demon had put up a great effort to keep him there. George tried shooting him, but he kept teleporting. He tried to slash him with his blade, but the demon never got close enough for it to be effective.

However, the demon didn’t seem like he was trying to kill George, merely prevent him from going to the priest’s aid. His attacks were just enough to keep George on the defensive, but he kept him at a distance. He knew if he could close that distance, he could kill the demon with ease.

“Hold still you little bastard!” George exclaimed in frustration as the demon evaded his bullets.

“Ha! You wish human!” The demon taunted. He reappeared beside George and swung his hammer at his head. George ducked and rolled out of the way. He brought himself up onto one knee and fired his weapon, but his target had once again vanished. He glanced around trying to find the little demon, but there was no sign of him anywhere. George stood up, keeping a wary eye out for his tricky adversary. No attack came. There was no taunting either. He seemed to be alone.

A breeze whipped by him, causing his clothes to ripple. The breeze had blown some of the sand into his good eye. George yelled as he was momentarily blinded. That was when he felt something slam hard into his back. So hard, it knocked him off his feet and sent him careening to the ground. On his way down, his head collided into the side of a wall. Blood trickled down his face. George couldn’t move, his back was in agony. He was sure a few ribs were broken, perhaps even his spine. He was still blinded as well, his eye began to tear up, causing his vision to blur. He could hear the little imp cackling. A silhouette strode towards him.

“You’re mine now, you weak and pathetic human,” the demon giggled. Gikabrik raised his hammer for the killing blow, when he stopped mid swing. The hammer fell to the ground at his feet, as did the little demon’s head. George could just barely make out two silhouettes, before he passed out.

****
Serena knelt down beside George and checked his pulse. She let out a sigh of relief as she felt the blood pumping in his neck. For a brief moment, she thought they had been too late.

“I swear he enjoys me worrying about him all the time,” she mumbled to herself. “It’s a good thing we’ve been through a lot together, you big lug. Somewhere down the line I grew too fond of you.” She holstered her weapons and began examining George’s injuries. She wasn’t the most experienced at assessing injuries, but from what she could tell he had a few broken ribs, several bruises and a concussion. She ripped some of the fabric from her outfit and began to clean and wrap up his head.

Behind her, Kaseem had sheathed his scimitar and was bending over Aziz. She heard him murmur a few words in Arabic and closed the fallen warrior’s eyes. He then walked over to where Ahmed lay. He turned the man to his back and let out a gasp.

“Serena get over here! He’s still alive!” he exclaimed. He quickly began to tend his wounds. Serena finished wrapping George’s head as quickly as she could and trotted over to Kaseem and Ahmed. Ahmed’s turban had fallen off his head, revealing short dark hair that curled slightly. His face was pale, his eyes barely open. He opened his mouth to try and speak, but nothing came out except a raspy sound. Kaseem had pulled out a roll of gauze from a small pouch on his belt.

“Take this and put pressure on his wound,” he said as he handed the gauze to Serena. He ripped the fabric of Ahmed’s clothes, revealing the gaping wound. Serena quickly applied the gauze and pressure to stop the bleeding. Kaseem began to check his breathing. It was shallow, but he was still able to breathe.

“We have to clean his wound, it’s got sand all in it,” Serena pointed out. Kaseem nodded in agreement. He began to clean the wound when they heard a noise. Their hands dropped to their weapons as they turned toward the sound. The form of Sahib began slowly walking towards them. Serena could tell he was out of breath, perspiration dripping from his brow.

“Sahib, where have you been?” Kaseem demanded. Sahib lowered his gaze in shame.
“I fell behind the priest, Imam,” he replied, using Kaseem’s prestigious title. “I have failed in my mandate and have let others-”

“You’re forgiven, Sahib. We have more pressing matters to attend to. Ahmed has been stabbed, give us a hand will you?” Kaseem interrupted. Sahib stepped over and began helping Kaseem.

“Is he going to die?” he asked.

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Kaseem said through gritted teeth. “Come on, Ahmed, hang in there! We’ve lost too many good men already.” Serena couldn’t help but admire the older man’s determination to help his people. It was a sign that he was a great leader among his people. She silently wondered if Father Stephens was the same way. She suddenly became aware of how little she really knew about him. She hoped she could change that.

After the wound was cleaned, they wrapped him up in what was left of the gauze. Sahib had signalled for reinforcements, and was ordered to remain in a nearby building with Ahmed and George until they arrived. Serena and Kaseem were going to track down Father Stephens and Diego. Before they left, a voice called out to Serena, causing her to stop in her tracks. She turned and saw George was attempting to sit up.

“Serena, wait up. I can still fight,” he slurred. She knelt beside him.

“You’ve got a concussion George, you’re in no condition to fight,” she explained. George shook his head and then placed his hand on it. It was clearly still hurting.

“I’m going with you,” he protested.

“George, I’ll be fine. I’ll be with Kaseem and soon, Father Stephens. Together we can stop Diego and end this before it gets out of hand.”

“You haven’t seen him, Serena. He’s not only mad, but powerful. I think something is affecting him. It’s not normal.”

“It is the power of the Demonic Whip you sense,” said Kaseem. “It corrupts the mind and infuses the user with the power of Demonic Energy. That is why your Order had it sealed away. No human is meant to be exposed to that kind of power.” As if on cue, Serena felt a strange sensation, like something in the air had changed. She exchanged looks with the others and from their faces they must have felt it too. Something big was happening.

“Come, Serena, Darren might be in trouble,” Kaseem exclaimed. She nodded. She gave George’s hand a tight squeeze, as if to say ‘I’ll be alright’ and followed Kaseem out the doorway. The air around them seemed to get a lot thicker; it was almost too difficult to breathe.

“What’s happening?” she asked Kaseem, running beside him.

“Nothing good,” he replied curtly. As they progressed, the sensation grew stronger. She could tell they were getting close to whatever was happening, and she knew Father Stephens was in the centre of it. She noticed that they were nearing the edge of the village, and that’s when she saw it. She couldn’t quite make it out at first, but as they drew nearer, she realized that Father Stephens was now facing down what looked to be a wolf man. The sight she saw astonished her. She was expecting to see him fighting Diego or the Flying Feral, not this new monstrosity. Serena saw that the Wolf Man was actually holding onto the Demonic Whip. Then a horrifying thought occurred to her.

What if that is Diego? She shuddered inwardly. She and Kaseem were so close now that two combatants took notice.

“I see your friends have arrived, Darren,” the Wolf Man said, his deep voice almost sounded like a bark. Serena now knew without a doubt that somehow, the Wolf Man was indeed Diego. She stared at him, horrified, unable to turn her gaze.

His eyes were yellow, the black hair on his head had grown down to the middle of the back. His mouth and nose were now a snout, razor sharp teeth filled the mouth. He had tufts of fur all over his body, some parts were bare skin. His hands looked partially morphed, claws extended from them. His clothes were ripped, showing off a somewhat furry, muscular chest. He still had his pants on, though they were partly ripped along the legs. It still had an incomplete look, like a werewolf who was in the middle of its transformation. He still held the whip and looked prepared to use it.

“Stay back you two, I can take him alone,” Father Stephens ordered. Diego barked out a laugh.

“You could barely take me before, Darren. I’m now ten times stronger than any human has ever dreamed!” he growled.

“This is between you and me, Diego, they aren’t part of this!”

“What if I decide to make them apart of it, Darren? Are you going to stop me?” Diego snarled.
“Don’t you dare,” Father Stephens threatened.

“Oh but I do dare, Darren,” Diego lunged toward Serena, only to be blocked by Father Stephens.

“This is between us. I’m the one you want to kill, so fight me and try your luck, beast!” he twirled his blades in an intricate, skilful fashion, challenging Diego. Diego snorted. A low growl emanated from his throat as he bared his teeth, trying to intimidate the priest. It appeared to have no effect.

The two stared each other down, each gauging the other for openings. Suddenly, they were a blur of motion, Serena was just able to keep up. Father Stephens moved with such grace and speed; it was almost as if he were dancing. Diego, on the other hand was swifter than his size and bulk suggested, and his attacks were fierce. He attacked with the whip as well as his new claws. He even attempted to bite the priest a few times.

The priest grunted and panted as he continued his relentless assault. The blades clinked against Diego’s claws and the whip cracked, but missed its target. Diego snarled and snapped as he was being pushed back, away from Serena and Kaseem. Father Stephens was attempting to herd him back into a wall, but Diego caught on quickly and began taking the offensive himself. With one great swipe he managed to strike the priest, knocking him to the ground. He barked a laugh at his downed opponent.

Father Stephens let out a loud groan as he struggled back to his feel. He looked exhausted, but determined. His face was deadly serious, Serena had never seen it like this.

“Let us help you, Darren,” Kaseem called out. “We can finish this together!”

“Stay out of this, Kaseem. This is my fight, and my fight alone,” the priest replied. He was back on his feet, just in time to dodge an attack by Diego.

“Stubborn bastard,” Kaseem grumbled as he swung his scimitar uselessly in the air. Serena watched the fight progress. It seemed inevitable that Diego would win. He was stronger, faster and nowhere near as exhausted as Father Stephens. Yet, despite this, he was still able to hold his own. Occasionally he even mustered up the strength to blast him with his power, but it had little effect on Diego’s new form.

It seemed Diego was now toying with his opponent. Serena noticed there were a few opening he could have taken to end the fight, but he never took them. He seemed content to draw it out. Father Stephens was reduced to barely defending and dodging the attacks. Serena knew he was running low on his reserves of power, how she knew she couldn’t understand. It was like a strong feeling she had.

And then, Diego knocked the blades out of the priest’s hands. His eyes grew wide in horror. A gasp escaped his lips. Diego slammed himself into Father Stephens, sending him crashing to the ground. Diego barked a laugh that turned into a howl. Serena screamed the priest’s name. Diego loomed over the priest, who stared up helplessly at his opponent, the fear gone from his eyes. All that was there was pity and sadness for what his friend had become.

The monster raised his hand to finish off his opponent when suddenly it was decapitated. Diego howled and screamed in pain as he clutched the bloody stump of his elbow. Kaseem now stood in between Father Stephens and Diego, his scimitar at his side, dripping blood.

“No one is allowed to kill Darren Stephens until we have settled our score!” the warrior declared. Diego growled.

“I will feast on your flesh!” he snapped.

“I’d like to see you try you abomination!” He flicked his weapon, sprinkling blood on the sand at his feet. Kaseem held his scimitar with both hands in front of him. Before Diego or Kaseem could do anything, a sudden dust storm appeared, buffeting them all. It dispersed as quickly as it had come, and Diego was gone, along with the whip. The only thing that remained was his severed limb.

“That was no ordinary dust storm,” Kaseem stated. “Whatever, or whoever did that must be an ally of Diego’s. He is not alone.”

“The flying Feral is gone too,” Serena observed. “Could it have done it?”

“No, we would have seen it coming,” Father Stephens replied weakly, getting to his feet. He stumbled and Serena went to catch him, but he waved her away. He dusted himself off and staggered over to where his weapons lay and sheathed them.

“I fear that there is something much more sinister going on here,” he said. “I have a feeling that our time here is not yet over.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll be ready,” Serena said confidently.

“Perhaps. But I have a feeling that whatever it is, is much stronger than Diego will ever be,” Father Stephens replied. Silenced passed for several moments, each of them lost in thought. Finally, Kaseem spoke up,

“We should regroup with the others. I have already sent for reinforcements from my own people.” The other two nodded in agreement.

“I pray they get here in time,” said Father Stephens said. “For if they don’t, we may not survive whatever awaits us.” The priest looked weary, and there was a haunted look in his eyes. He looked as if he were trying to recall a nightmare, but couldn’t. The three of them made their way back into the village in silence. Serena knew the priest was right, she could feel it in her very core, this was far from over.