Prey (17 page)

As Jasper and Ezekias take hold of Alex’s arms, Trent stands directly in front of Alex and begins a vicious assault. Trent hits Alex with a number of brutal body punches and headshots. Unable to defend himself, Alex takes a lot of physical damage from the sadistic onslaught. When Trent’s barrage of punches end, the two demons holding Alex’s arms throw him halfway across the yard.

Alex lands soundly, sliding across the turf until slows to a stop. The second his body stops, Trent picks Alex up by his sweater and slams him against a nearby tree. The impact of Alex being thrust into the tree triggers a number of leaves to trickle down.

Trent keeps Alex’s back pressed securely against the tree’s rough surface. Alex’s feet dangle inches above the ground, his face battered from the savage beating he’s taken. Blood flows from a gash over his left eye. His nose has been bloodied and an abrasion marks his cheek. Still in a state of haze, Alex is incoherent and nonresponsive to Trent’s taunts.

“Come on, angel! I know you’re tougher than this!” Trent shouted in Alex’s face. Alex is so dizzy he can barely keep his head up. Trent holds Alex against the tree with one hand, while violently slapping him with the other. “Come on, angel! Fight back!”

Alex’s limp body only serves to irritate Trent even more. He proceeds to throw Alex back towards Jasper and Ezekias. And like a pack of hungry wolves, the two demons gather around Alex and lift him back up.

With bad intentions in his blood-red eyes, Trent approaches Alex, stopping when he hears Zavior calling out to him. “Look, Trent, I know you’re having fun with our little friend here, but we really need to get back to business. The girl is getting away, and if my nose serves me right, she’s traveling with a traitor. So we may actually have to break a sweat today.”

“I know. I can smell the Judas, too,” said Trent, keeping his eyes trained on Alex. “We’ll deal with him later.”

Zavior cleans his glasses. “He may be a bit of a handful. This demon’s different. He’s learned to block us out of his thoughts. The boss said he’d be a tricky one.”

“Yeah, the boss told us a lot of things,” Trent arrogantly stated. “He also told us this that angels could give us problems. But look at this one. He’s almost as easy to squash as the frail humans.”

Coolly placing his glasses back on his face, Zavior smiles at Trent and says, “Well, dear brother, if it’s that easy, then why haven’t you squashed him yet?”

Taking what Zavior said as challenge, Trent glances at his older brother before refocusing on Alex. Trent closes the distance between himself and a restrained Alex, boldly marching towards him with an expression of hatred etched on his grotesque face. As Trent nears Alex, he raises his hand and forms it into a claw. It’s a gesture that signals Trent’s plan may be to use every ounce of his strength to swipe Alex’s head clean from his shoulders or at least inflict enough trauma to Alex’s spinal cord to end his life.

The two demons detaining Alex excitedly await the anticipation of his death. For a demon to be involved with the death of an angel is a great honor. No matter how big or small the participant’s role in the death was. Zavior maintains his position near the tree. He’s unmoved by the fore coming death of Alex. He’s been a part of killing many angels and in the majority of those deaths, he himself was the executioner. Instead of moving in closer for a better view, Zavior patiently waits in the background as his younger brother aims to finish the job.

To weak to stand on his own, Alex’s head hangs low. When Trent reaches striking distance he cocks his hand back before setting into motion for the lethal swing. Suddenly, Alex looks up, his eyes glowing bright, and before Trent has a chance to follow through with the fatal blow, Alex uses both of his feet to place a massive kick into Trent’s chest, blasting him through the side wall of the Harris’ home.

Zavior is stunned by the unpredicted assault. He rushes toward the gaping hole to check on his brother. In the meantime, while Jasper and Ezekias are temporarily distracted by Trent’s collision into the house, Alex goes on the attack. His jerks his arm free from Jasper and elbows him in the face, causing him to reel back. Alex then takes his free hand and uses it to throw a vicious hook into Ezekias’ sternum, knocking him several feet away. With both of his arms now free, he rushes over to Jasper and slams him on his back. To keep Jasper from getting back up, Alex shoves a knee into Jasper’s chest. He takes hold of Jasper’s chin with one hand, and the back of his head with the other. In one swift motion, Alex twists Jasper’s head, brutally snapping his neck.

Realizing that Jasper is no longer a threat, Alex takes a second to catch his breath. Something that Ezekias doesn’t want to allow. Alex hears leaves rustling behind him. He toward the disturbance, but sees nothing. He rotates his head from side to side in search of Ezekias, but to no avail. What Alex is unaware of is that the hulking, dark angel is barreling up behind him. Before Alex knows it, he’s being blitzed from behind by Ezekias.

Ezekias carries Alex several feet away, slamming into a propane grill. Alex smashes into the grill, chest first. They knock the grill over, Alex and Ezekias flipping over with it.

The first to get back to his feet, Ezekias picks up one of the propane tanks. Alex, who is on his hands and knees, feels a thunderous pain in the center of his back, accompanied by the thudding sound of metal meeting flesh. Alex is flattened by the blow. He tries to resettle back on his hands and knees, but another strike with the propane tank levels him again.

Inside the Harris house, Zavior is kneeled beside his brother’s seemingly unconscious body. A closer examination reveals to Zavior that Trent’s condition is a lot more severe than he initially thought. It seems that Alex’s kick was powerful enough to jar the spinal column. Needless to say, this type of injury was just enough to end Trent’s human life force.

Zavior takes his brother’s hand and holds it between both of his own.

Zavior knows that Trent will suffer dearly for his failure. A rage ignites in Zavior. It is an anger that grows geometrically as he watches his brother’s body disintegrate into ashes.

Back outside, Ezekias has abandoned use of the propane tank and has now resorted to using his fists.

Alex crawls on his hands and knees, trying to get away from the brutal onslaught long enough to heal.

Enjoying the merciless beating he’s dishing out to Alex, Ezekias sinisterly stalks Alex as he edges along the sidewalk.

“Are we regretting coming back to Earth yet, Alex?” Ezekias teased. “Look at you. Crawling on the ground like an insect. I bet you’re even praying for some divine act of God to save you.”

Once he feels the moment is right, Ezekias delivers a destructive kick to Alex’s ribs. The kick lifts Alex off of the ground, rolling him over into the lawn. Ezekias takes even more pride in his handiwork when he sees that Alex is coughing up blood.

On the verge of victory, Ezekias’ lust for more bloodshed goes into overdrive. While he has Alex on the brink of defeat, he decides to voice his opinions of Heaven and God. “I’ve got news for you, Alex. Forget everything you think you know about God. God may care about all, but he fights for none. He ignores every single man, woman, and angel in existence. He’ll sit back and allow the deaths of millions before he even thinks about stepping in to save anyone. Take you for example…”

Alex sits to his knees, firmly clutching his ribs as a single strand of blood streams from his mouth.

“You came back here to save the girl you love. By saving her you would be saving the lives of every living thing on this planet, and let’s not forget, you’d be saving Heaven, too. But what will you get for your selflessness? What reward will you get for being the only one brave enough to take on Hell’s army? You’ll get chastised.”

Still coughing blood from his airway, Alex responds, “I didn’t do for glorification…” Taking deep breaths in between his words, Alex adds, “I didn’t do it to save the world or Heaven. Everything I did, I did for Jade and Jade only. I couldn’t stand by and watch her be hunted by monsters. Monsters like what you’ve become…demon.”

“I wouldn’t be so quick to judge, Alex,” said Ezekias, smirking. “You may be an angel for now, but what do you think lies at the end of your fate? It’s time for you to face the facts, Alex. God turned his back on you, me, this planet and everything else a long time ago. He’s ignored us all for so long. He put angels in charge of other angels and secluded Himself to His own company. That’s what led to widespread corruption in Heaven. None of this could’ve ever happened if God was paying attention...But he wasn’t. So maybe when the gates of Heaven are being burned down by Hell’s army, He’ll have no choice but to pay attention to us again.”

“That’ll never happen, demon,” Alex told Ezekias in a pain-filled voice. “The only way Hell could ever march through the gates of Heaven is if it merged with the realm of demons, and for that to happen, they would need Jade. And that’s something I’ll never let happen.”

“I admire your determination, Alex. Sadly, your time has come to an end. And don’t worry about your precious Jade. After her double-crossing bodyguard has been taken care of, I’ll take good care of her. Do you know the one good thing about joining the dark side?” Ezekias squat down next to Alex, looking him right in the eyes. “Immoral and depraved behavior is widely encouraged and greatly rewarded. So trust me…I’m going to take real good care of Jade until her soul begs me to stop.”

Alex’s eyebrows furrow, his eyes narrow.

Ezekias smiles sadistically. “I know you get my drift.”

Without hesitation, Alex puts every ounce of energy he can gather into one single shot. He doesn’t even take aim before attempting the punch. He doesn’t really care where it lands, just so long as it connects.

Ezekias, who was still squatting next to Alex when the unexpected fist is thrown, has unknowingly made himself an easy target. Alex’s fist crushes into Ezekias’ nose with a surprising precision. The punch propels Ezekias back towards the patio. He crash lands into a wooden-bench, destroying it entirely.

Alex races over to Ezekias. He picks up what’s left of wooden-bench and holds it directly over Ezekias’ head. Alex forcefully slams the bench down on Ezekias’ head and neck, killing him instantly.

Once he comprehends that Ezekias won’t be getting up, Alex tosses the bench aside. Depleted of all energy, Alex collapses to the ground from a combination accumulated injuries and acute fatigue.

Back inside the house, Trent’s body has completely turned to ash. Zavior opens his hands and stares at the pile of gray ash, scooping a small amount into his hand. Like a switch that has just been flipped on, Zavior’s evil side emerges. His pupil ignite, his body undergoes a demonic transformation. Zavior’s true form has surfaced.

Zavior continues to kneel by the pile of ashes, channeling his anger and harnessing all of his power, allowing his inner fury to reach its boiling point. After only a few seconds, he’s finally ready to unleash his wrath. Enraged, Zavior releases a spine-chilling, bass-filled scream that is so loud it blows out every window of the Harris’ home.

Outside, Alex is lying on the patio when the petrifying scream reaches his ears. Alex exhaustedly stands back to his feet. He traces the source of the noise, eventually settling his black pupils on the large hole in the side of house. Seconds later, Zavior steps into view, his face grossly grotesque.

Zavior stares at Alex with his steaming red eyes. As Zavior growls, drool runs down his chin and a foamy, white substance amasses in the corners of his mouth.

“You!” said Zavior, pointing at Alex.

A sudden chill courses through Alex’s veins. Although most of his wounds have healed, he still isn’t strong enough to challenge another demon. Getting into a fight with Zavior in his current condition will put Alex on the losing end of a one-sided battle.

Recognizing this, Alex ransacks his mind for a possible way out. Running from Zavior is an option, but with Zavior being so freshly energized, it would only be a matter of time before he’d catch up to him. Zavior leaps down for the opening, keeping his eyes trained on Alex. Alex gets an idea, but the only way it’ll work is if Zavior is charging at him.

To get the ball rolling, Alex summons his remaining strength, causing the golden-flames in his eyes to flicker. Zavior takes his as a sign of engagement and proceeds to stampede toward Alex with malicious intent. Zavior moves so fast he practically disappears right in front of Alex’s eyes.

Relying on his heightened senses, along with pure luck, Alex tries to time Zavior’s attack. Alex quickly picks up the bench he used to finish off Ezekias and swings it like a baseball bat.

The bench hits its mark with a booming thud. Zavior is clobbered by the bench, creating an explosion of dust and wood fragments that expel everywhere. Zavior soars through the air, coming to a nasty landing in the next door neighbor’s backyard. His back slides across the lawn, destroying the well-kept turf.

Exasperated, Zavior pounds the ground. He jumps up and rushes to the fence that divides the two yards. Zavior smashes through the wooden fence, but he’s too late. Alex has already fled the premises.

“YOU COWARD!” Zavior yelled out. “YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM ME FOREVER, ANGEL! I WILL FIND YOU! YOU AND YOUR GIRLFRIEND!” Fuming, Zavior begins to truly reveal his sinister side. “YOU HEAR ME, ANGEL?! DO YOU HEAR ME?!”

CHAPTER 21

Jade and Drake have boarded a Greyhound bus and are currently en route to Wakarusa, IN. Her parents took the place over after the owner, her father’s brother, passed away.

Just as Alex suggested, Jade hasn’t told Drake the details of where they’re going or even the city where they’re heading. Drake provided Jade with cash to buy the tickets and waited outside the bus station while she paid for them.