Legions (26 page)

I began my way down the
other side of the cabin when I kicked something soft. I felt for
the person’s arms and swung them over my shoulder. This time, I
decided to try to drop them in one of the boats that Arie and Cyril
had released into the sea. The closest one to the ferry was already
full, so I found a spot in the next one to drop off the
man.

Heading back to the ferry,
one of the demons suddenly barricaded me. Hovering directly in
front of me about five feet, he attempted to stop me from moving
forward. Knowing that my range was limited with the other creatures
still flying overhead, I shot to the left waiting for the creature
to follow me through the ferry’s car deck. Knowing my best shot for
victory was if the demon couldn’t use his wings, I hoped that the
demon would be forced to relinquish them due to the tight quarters
of the car deck. Landing smoothly through the steel opening, I
gained my composure before I felt the black soulless creature
arrive behind me. He was perched on the metal framing, surveying
his options. Relief flooded me, as his wings were sucked into his
back as if they never existed. The victims on the ferry needed
Cyril, Athen, and Arie more than I needed them. I would need to
finish this creature off on my own. I was actually looking forward
to it.

A screech echoed through
the air, bouncing off the metal walls alerting me of his
intentions. My body was hovering in the air, as I did my best to
blend in with the dark smoke that was getting thicker by the
second.

“Come here. I’m ready for
you.” I hissed.

My veins were pumping with
excitement at the thought of destroying this demon and anymore that
made the mistake of coming towards me. Another message needed to be
sent. I was stronger, and I was ready for whatever Azazel wanted to
send at us. If I was the reason behind these battles, then I would
ensure that I would make my presence known.

A sudden black streak
darted towards me as I dropped to the floor, leaving a steel
support beam in my wake behind me. The demon crashed into the
steel, slinking to the floor, which gave me the opportunity I
needed. Jumping up, I extended my leg, quickly kicking him in the
spine, pushing him back towards the steel beam, his jaw cracked on
the metal. He spun around, reaching for my neck with his hand and
missing, but not before grabbing my hair, and slamming me down onto
the metal floor.

Looking up, the smoke made
his features indistinguishable, but I could still see what I needed
to continue the fight. Playing lifeless, I let the demon bend down
to continue his attack, attempting to step on my neck, but not
before I was able to rotate my body underneath the nearest car.
Imagining myself back on the cliff, throwing the boulder over the
edge, I knew what needed to be done. Letting my mind imagine the
weight of the cold metal car above me, I grabbed onto the axles,
squeezing as hard as I could, becoming one with the machine. The
rage that had been building since stepping foot on this ferry took
over, and I rolled the car on top of the demon who was waiting for
me to roll out. The scraping of metal on metal overshadowed the
demon’s shrieks of pain as his body was crushed by the weight of
the car that I toppled onto him with. The adrenaline was still
pumping, and I was experiencing a high like no other. Defeating the
demons was becoming my drug.

Athen was dropping off
another lifeless, victim into a lifeboat as well. A man, dressed in
a beige suit now covered with black soot, who was probably rushing
home to be with his family. The fury would not stop building inside
of me. I hoped that help would get here soon. Athen looked
exhausted, which wouldn’t be unusual since he only recently had
begun using his skills again. I nodded at him before I began my
rescues again. I knew there were more victims in there. My job was
to find them before it was too late.

Cyril was yelling to Arie
to go to the car decks and begin searching inside the cars, and
that was when I realized the ferry was beginning to sink. We didn’t
have much time left. There were still countless people on this
boat, most unable to make a sound and who were unable to move from
the mass amount of smoke inhalation.

I focused as hard as I
could, placing my thoughts in Cyril, Arie, and Athen’s heads
telling them that the boat was sinking. We had to hurry; otherwise
we, too, could get caught up in the ferry’s final resting place. I
shuffled my feet, using the tables and seats as my guide searching
for anyone. Cyril and Arie’s thoughts came rushing into my mind
telling me that we probably only had five minutes at the most to
try to rescue whoever else we could. I still hadn’t found any other
bodies in the cabin, but I felt they had to be here. I didn’t
understand why I couldn’t find anyone else. Arie summoned me to the
car deck, and I agreed since I couldn’t find anyone where I was
at.

I sprinted to the stairwell
and attempted to open the door. It kept bumping into something, so
I wiggled it more, and it only gave way a little bit – not enough
for me to open and get through.

“Athen.” I hollered. I knew
he wasn’t able to carry any more bodies to safety but would be able
to help me at least get the door open. His strength was failing and
we still needed some to be able to leave the ferry unnoticed and be
prepared for the demon’s next surprise.

“Athen! I need help!” I
used all of the energy I had hollering and communicating through
our mind network.

“Ana, Ana. I’m on the other
side of the door. People are in the way. They are collapsed onto
each other. I’m moving them right now.” He yelled through the door.
I could feel the pressure begin to release from the door as it
gently started to swing open.

“Oh my, God! There are like
ten bodies here. Are they still alive?” I asked, bending down to
the first one that was propped against the steel walls – a man with
his head hanging down, and his chin resting on his own
chest.

“Yeah, they are still
alive. I think we’ll be able to do it.” Athen uttered as he was
throwing the first two bodies over his shoulders. “We’ve got to
hurry.”

He ran down the stairs. I
knew he didn’t have the strength left to be doing this. I knew I
didn’t. I grabbed one woman and tried for another when I realized
that I didn’t have the strength. I carried the woman and ran into
Cyril who directed me to Arie, who was carrying the two Athen had
brought her. On my way back to the stairwell, I darted out of
Cyril’s way as he was carrying two more from the stairwell, this
time two large men. Athen had one man right behind him. I used what
little energy I had left picking up the last two women I could
find, who seemed to be barely breathing.

A low whisper from one of
the women startled me beyond all belief. “Where’s my husband?” She
asked again. I hoped with everything that one of the men we had
already brought to safety was her husband.

“He’s okay. He’s in a boat
already.” I gave her directly to Arie, along with the other
woman.

The sound of the metal
creaking and echoing into itself began getting louder as I realized
our side of the ferry was the only piece of metal that was sticking
up in the ocean. We needed to get off this thing. A thunderous
shudder began as if all of the metal was about to
explode.

Athen and Cyril had the
last three men and were carrying them to the ledge when the ferry
began to quickly fill with the crashing of ice-cold water. They
began to slip backwards, and Cyril nodded at Athen, and instantly
they both shot off the deck. I was stunned. I didn’t know how Athen
had the strength, and before I knew it, Arie grabbed me around my
waist. We left the ferry that was now completely encircled by the
rescue boats. We didn’t leave them many to have to
rescue.

While Arie was trailing
Athen and Cyril, I looked up into the sky, seeing nothing but the
ominous starless sky. The winged creatures were no longer circling
their prey.

“Where did they go, Arie?”
I hoped she could hear me with the wind swirling around like it
was.

“Hopefully not waiting for
us, that’s for sure. As exhausted as you and Athen must be, we can
only hope for the best. Only time will tell though, huh? You did an
incredible job on fighting off that demon, Ana.”

“Thanks. I am drained and
that wasn’t quite the answer I was looking for.” We all landed on
the shore with a thud. My body completely crumpled with the weight
of itself. I reached for Athen who quickly fell to his knees and
began hugging me.

“Do you think we got
everyone?” I asked, looking over Athen’s shoulder at
Cyril.

“I do. You guys did
amazing. You really did.” He said, patting my arm that wouldn’t let
go of Athen.

I was so afraid of
releasing myself from Athen’s embrace. The comfort his touch
provided me was beyond anything I could explain. I just couldn’t
let go.

“You did wonderful,
sweetie.” He whispered into my ear.

“No,
you
did. Carrying two people over
and over? You at least could fly to the shore after everything!
Arie had to haul me off the ferry, or who knows what would have
happened to me.” I said only half-joking.

I realized, by this point,
that Athen and I were literally propping each other up. The amount
of fatigue was unlike anything I’d experienced in any of my fights
or training so far. Athen must have felt the same way.

“So, Cy, isn’t there like a
power up or something?” Athen asked, laughing as he tried his best
to steady himself and move backwards so we could both sit on the
ground. I really didn’t want him to back away, but I didn’t want to
appear as clingy as I felt.

“
Well, I wish it was as
easy as that. It’s gonna take good old-fashioned rest. You’ll be
surprised.”

“Let’s hope nothing is
waiting for us back at the house though, right?” I announced
rolling my eyes. “You know? Come to think of it, I think we should
hang out in public for a little while. Try to rest up a bit before
we head back.” Not wanting to admit that I was actually terrified
at the thought of having to expend any more energy on
anything.

“Sounds good.” Arie plopped
herself of the ground.

I finally exhaled and felt
all of the air escape that I’d been apparently holding in this
entire time, looking up into the sky, thankful I didn’t see any of
the winged creatures any longer; I fell fast asleep on the grassy
hill.

I’d only been out for a
matter of minutes when my mind became emblazoned with images of an
impending attack on us. It was at our home in Victoria. I forced
myself to wake up. I’d seen everything I needed. They were waiting
for us or they would be waiting for us. I needed to be able to tell
everything to my family before it was too late. It had matched my
earlier dream. The attack was coming. Waking them all up from their
rest, I began relaying what I was certain was waiting for us at
home.

Chapter 28

Everything looked like we
had left it, but that was little consolation since when we were
expecting them last, they toyed with us making their presence
known, only to be missing in action. Something told me the demons
were here this time or were about to arrive.

“Guys, I don’t think we are
alone or won’t be for long.” I was finally understanding my role in
this family. I had to communicate. I’d learned my lesson the hard
way.

Cyril opened the door
slowly, letting the living room light cascade onto his shoulder and
out onto the porch. In our hurry to the ferry, we hadn’t turned on
the porch light, making tonight’s return a little more
intimidating. I squeezed Athen’s hand, hoping for comfort. I
partially wanted the demons to be waiting for us, because at least
we would be alert and ready for action.

We had a couple of hours to
refresh and restore our energy as best we could from the ferry
battle. Unfortunately, the majority of the burden was left in Cyril
and Arie’s arms. They were the strongest and most skilled in
fighting.

Cyril looked over his
shoulder and nodded at us. We were going in. Athen positioned
himself in front of me as we walked into the foyer. Always trying
to save me, I guess. The house was quiet – not unlike the other
night. How many times could I be wrong with these
visions…

Matilda wasn’t coming out
to greet us, which was a little unusual but not unheard of. She
often slept through our arrival. That was my hope with this one as
well, although I didn’t hear her snores.

Arie and Cyril headed
towards the kitchen and the back part of the house, while Athen and
I went to the bedrooms. Knowing what I saw in my visions, the
bedroom might be where they were lurking, preparing themselves for
a battle.

Everything looked okay in
Cyril and Arie’s bedroom as Athen flipped on the light switch. I
peered into the closet and there was nothing. Athen and I checked
the office. It was just as we had left it earlier. The last place
to check was our bedroom. That was where I saw the initial attacks.
I grabbed on to the back pocket of Athen’s jeans. He could sense my
tension and slowed a bit.

“Matilda is out back!” Arie
yelled.

That was all I needed to
hear to know we weren’t alone. We would never leave her outside,
and she would never go outside on her own.