shut it just as a gust of wind sent a mass of leaves by the door fluttering upward.
Less than a second later, Heather slammed into Cole’s door. The impact sent the car swaying back and forth. Marcus tried slamming Heather’s fist through the window, but the action broke Heather’s fist much more than it did the now blood-smeared window.
“What happened to her?” Crystal said. “What’s she doing?”
Via Heather, Marcus grabbed a large metal trash can and strode out in front of the car. When he hoisted it above her head, Thorn realized he was going to throw it at their windshield. He leaned up to Crystal’s ear.
“Gas,” he said.
Crystal hit the accelerator and the car lurched forward, nailing Heather. The trash can bounced harmlessly off the hood. Crystal wailed as the car ran over Heather’s body, which crunched under the weight of the car. Thorn would comfort Crystal later; for now, he was just glad she’d had it in her. Marcus couldn’t do much damage with a sloshy pile of broken bones and torn ligaments.
“Okay, that’s good enough,” Thorn said. But Crystal pressed her foot even harder on the gas, bringing the car out toward the guard post by the main road. “Hey, Crystal, Crystal. We can’t go out there.”
“Screw you! And screw this place!” Crystal said, her arms shaking from the effects of adrenaline. “I’m going to the cops.”
The car smashed through the boom gate by the guard station. Its tires screeched as it skidded around some bollards at the corner and sped out onto the main road. The thousands of demons outside lagged behind, slow to respond to the unexpected move.
“Crystal, no! The only safe place for us is inside that condo!”
Crystal pointedly ignored him and took their car a block ahead, onto the road through the park next to the condo. The huge building shrank behind them.
“Are you okay?” Cole asked Crystal from the passenger seat. Crystal ignored him too, but he placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “There’s no need to go to the police station, love. The cops are on their way to the condo. We’ll be fine if we just wait there.”
Crystal’s intent eyes remained on the road. As did Thorn’s. Fortunately, no one was outside at night in this part of town, though Thorn couldn’t tell if that was a natural occurrence or if it was the Sanctuary’s natural resistance to adding more humans. But he worried that if Crystal kept driving away from the condo, the Sanctuary would be forced to throw more souls into this mess to keep up the illusion that they were currently on Earth. Thorn warily eyed every closed shop and dark alley they passed, aware that he probably wouldn’t be able to save additional humans. Hell, I probably won’t be able to save the ones that are already here. And although no people yet existed inside all these skyscrapers, all Crystal had to do to change that was open any door and walk inside.
Then Thorn saw him: twisting around the tops of beachfront high-rises at full speed, the Judge was barely evading a host of a thousand demons, whose bodies formed a massive tentacle that reached out to try and grasp him. The Judge adroitly dodged several close encounters with the tip of the army, then dived closer to the ground and weaved through a row of palm trees lining the road. As the army barreled through the vegetation behind him, each successive tree’s fronds erupted as if a small hurricane had suddenly hit it. Some dead branches even tore off in the extreme wind.
The voracious army closing in on him, the Judge flew right toward the car.
Oh, hell no. Thorn turned to Crystal. “Speed up.”
“What?”
Thorn caught a brief glimpse of Virgil’s bedraggled reflection in the rearview mirror. Dark red bruises and scrapes covered his face more than did undamaged skin. He wished he had a more presentable body to use for communication. Maybe then the humans would have trusted him more.
“They’re coming up behind us. We have to speed up if
Less than a second later, Heather slammed into Cole’s door. The impact sent the car swaying back and forth. Marcus tried slamming Heather’s fist through the window, but the action broke Heather’s fist much more than it did the now blood-smeared window.
“What happened to her?” Crystal said. “What’s she doing?”
Via Heather, Marcus grabbed a large metal trash can and strode out in front of the car. When he hoisted it above her head, Thorn realized he was going to throw it at their windshield. He leaned up to Crystal’s ear.
“Gas,” he said.
Crystal hit the accelerator and the car lurched forward, nailing Heather. The trash can bounced harmlessly off the hood. Crystal wailed as the car ran over Heather’s body, which crunched under the weight of the car. Thorn would comfort Crystal later; for now, he was just glad she’d had it in her. Marcus couldn’t do much damage with a sloshy pile of broken bones and torn ligaments.
“Okay, that’s good enough,” Thorn said. But Crystal pressed her foot even harder on the gas, bringing the car out toward the guard post by the main road. “Hey, Crystal, Crystal. We can’t go out there.”
“Screw you! And screw this place!” Crystal said, her arms shaking from the effects of adrenaline. “I’m going to the cops.”
The car smashed through the boom gate by the guard station. Its tires screeched as it skidded around some bollards at the corner and sped out onto the main road. The thousands of demons outside lagged behind, slow to respond to the unexpected move.
“Crystal, no! The only safe place for us is inside that condo!”
Crystal pointedly ignored him and took their car a block ahead, onto the road through the park next to the condo. The huge building shrank behind them.
“Are you okay?” Cole asked Crystal from the passenger seat. Crystal ignored him too, but he placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “There’s no need to go to the police station, love. The cops are on their way to the condo. We’ll be fine if we just wait there.”
Crystal’s intent eyes remained on the road. As did Thorn’s. Fortunately, no one was outside at night in this part of town, though Thorn couldn’t tell if that was a natural occurrence or if it was the Sanctuary’s natural resistance to adding more humans. But he worried that if Crystal kept driving away from the condo, the Sanctuary would be forced to throw more souls into this mess to keep up the illusion that they were currently on Earth. Thorn warily eyed every closed shop and dark alley they passed, aware that he probably wouldn’t be able to save additional humans. Hell, I probably won’t be able to save the ones that are already here. And although no people yet existed inside all these skyscrapers, all Crystal had to do to change that was open any door and walk inside.
Then Thorn saw him: twisting around the tops of beachfront high-rises at full speed, the Judge was barely evading a host of a thousand demons, whose bodies formed a massive tentacle that reached out to try and grasp him. The Judge adroitly dodged several close encounters with the tip of the army, then dived closer to the ground and weaved through a row of palm trees lining the road. As the army barreled through the vegetation behind him, each successive tree’s fronds erupted as if a small hurricane had suddenly hit it. Some dead branches even tore off in the extreme wind.
The voracious army closing in on him, the Judge flew right toward the car.
Oh, hell no. Thorn turned to Crystal. “Speed up.”
“What?”
Thorn caught a brief glimpse of Virgil’s bedraggled reflection in the rearview mirror. Dark red bruises and scrapes covered his face more than did undamaged skin. He wished he had a more presentable body to use for communication. Maybe then the humans would have trusted him more.
“They’re coming up behind us. We have to speed up if
Similar Books
