Road Trip To Hell

Evil Eye

Cover: Jason laying on the floor amid a pile of boxes, being attacked by a lizard-like monster with a bony exoskeleton and glowing red eyes. Jason is trying to force the demon away from him. The creature's red eyes are mere inches from Jason's face; Jason's face is beginning to blister and burn.

arilyn had just put her shoes on and grabbed her keys from the kitchen table when the phone rang.

"Oh, great... who is this NOW..." she groaned. She picked up the reciever. "Hello-?"

"Good morning, Dobbs," said a familiar voice. Marilyn couldn't help but smile.

"Royce! How's things in the working world... or have they found a reason to suspend you too?"

"Oh, they LIKE me, Dobbs... its YOU they've got the hardon for. Internal Affairs has been all over this place. Ransacked your files, espescially the Brooks stuff... your desk looks like... well... actually I don't think they could make it look worse than it already did, but it wasn't for lack of trying."

"Ha, ha," Dobbs said sarcastically. She glanced up the stairs. Her daughter Alexis was parked on the top step, trying to tie her new sneakers. "Guess what I did yesterday?" Dobbs said into the phone.

"Got laid?"

"Department-mandated psych-eval. Four hours."

"They sent you to a shrink?"

"Uh-huh."

"They find out what's wrong with ya... 'cause I've been trying to figure that out since I met you."

"Let's see... I've got 'Aggression Issues' and a 'Deep-Rooted Resentment of Authority."

"Took four hours to figure THAT out?" said Royce. "Hell, I coulda told 'em that!"

"...then he asked me if I was a lesbian."

"Are you?"

"I jammed his letter-opener right through the top of his desk and walked out."

"Very feminine. I'm sure he was impressed. Did he ask you for a date?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Yeah... every Thursday, 1:00 pm. And I gotta go if I want to get reinstated.... which shouldn't be too much longer. The captain says so far it looks like I'm gonna get off with a formal written reprimand. And a standing appointment with a shrink."

"Be good to have you back."

"Be good to BE back. If I'm out of action too much longer I think I WILL need a shrink. So who they got you working with while I'm out?"

"Some new kid. A rookie."

"He any good?"

"Not yet. I'm working on him."

"Don't work too hard... I'll be back in the driver's seat before you know it."

"Yeah... so what do you think about last night?"

"Last night?" said Dobbs. She checked the stairs again. Alexis had managed to tie the laces of both shoes together in a very large knot. She had, of course, done it on purpose. Marilyn just shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

"You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Turn on the TV. Check out the news."

The cordial smile faltered on Marilyn's lips.

"Royce, the last time somebody told me to check out the news, there was a mob threatening to burn down city hall..."

"This is better."

"BETTER better, or James Royce's twisted idea of better?"

"Just watch it."

Carrying the cordless phone with her, Marilyn walked into the den and turned on the television. It was already tuned to the local news. There was a reporter standing outside of a hospital, with a small crowd gathered aroudn her. Dobbs turned up the volume.

"...cancer patients miraculously cured by what some are calling an act of God."

The scene switched to a previously-recorded segment where the reporter was interviewing patients.

"It was an ANGEL!" said one woman. "A heavenly angel came into my room... he reached inside my body and took the cancer out. He held it in his hands... I SAW it! I thought I musta been dreamin'... or hallucinatin' from the drugs, but I was wide awake! I felt him take my tumor out, and I was HEALED!"

"There was two of 'em," said a man wearing a hospital gown. "A man and a boy. I heard something in the room, and I woke up... but I couldn't move. The man touched my leg where the cancer was... the one they were gonna cut off. He touched it and his hand went inside and healed the cancer! He took his hand away and just walked out... never said nothing, him OR the boy. But the boy looked at me real funny, and the next thing I know, I was waking up with all the doctors standing around me saying I was cured! Complete Remission, they said!"

The reporter went on to interview several other patients... all with similar stories. Then she spoke with doctors, who were at a complete loss to explain what had happened.

Marilyn paid rapt attention. Her eyes never left the TV set until the report was over... but then another report came on. A different hospital. A different reporter. Different doctors and patients.

The same miraculous healings.

Dobbs changed the channels to get see if she could catch it on another network. She needn't have worried... it was on ALL the channels. It even got a segment on Headline News. This was big.

"My God," Marilyn gasped into the phone.

"Hey now," said Royce. "Easy on the God, stuff. You know I'm an atheiest."

"Royce, this is... amazing. If its true."

"Its true, all right."

"How do you know?"

"Guess who got assigned to the case?"

"Case? What case... there's no murder-"

"How do YOU know?" said Royce.

"Royce, what aren't you telling me?"

"These 'angels' that everybody says they saw..."

"Yeah? What about 'em?"

"They fit the descriptions of one Dr. Anthony Braxis and one Tomas Velazquez. Those names sound familiar?"

"The KID! But he-"

"Disappeared from the hospital a few weeks ago."

"He was catatonic!"

"Not any more."

"And Braxis-"

"The one that got away."

"I figured he'd be out of town by now... but I guess he stuck around. He's up to something, Royce. I don't know how the Velazques kid is involved, but that crazy old bastard is up to something... something other than healing a few cancer patients. He's bad news, Royce."

"And I have no idea what his game is now."

"Now?"

"What?"

"You said you don't what his game is NOW... like you knew what it was before-"

"Just a figure of speech, Dobbs. C'mon... I'm your partner, not a suspect."

"First rule of homicide, Royce.... everybody's a suspect. So... why'd you call me? I know it wasn't to keep me up on current events."

"Actually, it was. You put a hurtin' on Braxis before-"

"That was Brooks."

"But you were involved. If the good doctor is up to something... chances are he'll figure a way to slip a little revenge into the mix. You and Brooks. And, since Brooks is missing, that just leaves you."

"Nothing's turned up here," said Dobbs. Marilyn looked back to the kitchen, where Alexis was looking out the window at something. Her shoes... still tied together... were dangling from her fingers by the knotted laces. "This is the first I've even HEARD of Braxis since that night at the farm. Well... except for the thousand-and-one questions that Internal Affairs asked me in the inquiry."

"Keep your eyes open," said Royce. "I'd hate for this guy to take you by surprise."

"Not likely," said Dobbs. "But if something turns up, you'll be the first to know... IF you promise to keep me in the loop on this."

"You mean violate the captain's orders and feed you information about a case that you aren't even officially on any more?"

"Yes."

"You got it."

"And take care of that rookie," said Dobbs.

"Oh, I'll take care of him all right," said Royce with a sinister lilt to his voice. "I'll take care of 'im reeeal good."

"I've got to go, Royce. I've got an appointmen.t"

"Shrink?"

"Lawyer. This custody suit is about to kick off."

"Ouch. Well... I'll be in touch."

"You'd better be."

Dobbs hung up the phone and turned the volume down on the television... but she didn't turn it off.

"Honey, come here and let mommy tie your shoes."

"Mommy," said Alexis. "Who's that man out there?"

"What man?"

Dobbs went over to the window and looked out. Alexis was pointing across the street, but there was nothing to see but the the neighbor's shrubbery. Dobbs hated that shrubbery.

"What man?" she repeated.

"He's gone now," said Alexis.

"What did he look like?"

Alexis shrugged.

"Great. You know you'll never make detective like that."

randon Phillips crouched low behind the bushes, trying to decide if he should risk a few more shots or just call it a day. The little girl had spotted him; he was sure of it. And the last thing he wanted was another run in with Dobbs. The cop had nearly taken his neck off the last time.

"No wonder he left her," Brandon whispered to himself. "Damn, what a bitch."

Brandon spread the foliage a little more so he could see the house again. He didn't have a clear view of the kitchen window, but he couldn't risk standing up again. The problem was, he'd have to leave the cover of the bushes to get to his car. He'd be walking in plain sight, and if Dobbs just happened to be looking...

"I'll just sit here. Maybe something interesting will happen..."

Not likely. Horace Dobbs was paying him ostensibly to take pictures of the girl... but his REAL purpose was to find something juicy. Men (or women) coming and going at strange times of night. Drugs. Wild parties. Orgies. ANY quasi-unethical activity that might help Mr. Dobbs out in the custody hearing.

So far... nothing.

Marilyn Dobbs had to be the most boring woman alive. EXCEPT when she got mad. Then things got a bit TOO exciting.

Brandon sighed and shook his head. The client was probably just gonna be out of luck on this one-

"And what do we have here?" said a voice behind him. "A Peeping Tom?

Brandon quickly turned and found himself staring at a pair of legs. The man behind him was standing up, and Brandon was still crouching. Brandon looked up into the face of an elderly man. He couldn't quite place the age, but he had grey hair and more than a few wrinkles. He was slim, but healthy. He had a tired look in his eyes, though... like he'd been up all night.

Behind the man was a young Hispanic-looking boy. Brandon didn't want to look into HIS eyes... there was something there that sent chills down Brandon's back.

"Uhhh..." said Brandon. "I'm sorry. Is... is this your house?"

"No," said the old man. He had a deep southern accent. Not the ignorant, redneck drawl... no, this was smooth and distinguished. A certain way he pronounced his words and paced his sentences that marked him as a Southern Gentlemen. "It isn't. We were just passing through and noticed you kneeling down here... thought you might be in a bit of trouble."

"Oh, no," said Brandon. "I was just... uhh..."

"Keeping an eye on the detective?"

"Well..." Brandon couldn't just come out and TELL them what he was doing... even though it was fairly obvious. "Sorta."

"Would you happen to be with the police department?" said the old man.

"No... no, I'm a p-private detective. I'm on a case."

"Ohhh!" The old man's smile widened... as if Brandon had said exactly what he wanted to hear. "Perhaps you can do us a small favor, then."

"Favor? What favor?"

"You could kill Detective Dobbs for us."

"Uhhh... heh... what?"

The old man squatted down in front of Brandon, coming face to face with him. The kid walked up beside them.

His face...

...Brandon tried not to look at the boy's face. There was something about it that was just.... wrong.

"I said," the old man continued. "You can do us a favor and kill the detective for us."

"Uhhh... I'm not... I mean... who... who are you?"

"Oh, everyone will know who I am soon enough," said the old man. "I'm gonna touch the world... and it's gonna be such a wonderful place when I'm done. But some people don't want that. People like our detective friend. And her partner... You can help make sure none of them get in my way."

"No-"

"Don't you want to help make the world a better place, detective?"

"You're crazy!" Brandon tried to back away, but ended up in the bushes.

"Thomas-" said the old man.

The kid made some kind of noise...

...and Brandon couldn't move. His muscles froze, as if there were a dozen men holding him down. He tried to struggle-

"Thomas, make sure our new friend here stays good and still-" The old man trailed his fingers across Brandon's face... dragging them up and down... back and forth over Brandon's forhead. "-while I do a little sculpting ensure he's up to the task. I'm afraid his best might not be good enough... so we need to make a few changes..."

Braxis's fingers sank into Brandon's skull... gently piercing the bone to reach into the organ beyond.

Brandon's scream died in his throat as the world dissolved around him.

"ook at him. He's about to do it again... watch..." Tony Zignetti watched the monitor carefully, and the men crowded around his desk did likewise. No one said anything.

The camera was positioned over the craps table, where a small crowd had assembled to watch "Lucky" Joe Weller... a short little nobody with a rather tall stack of Mr. Zignetti's money piled in front of him. Joe took the dice in his hands... blew on them... shook them... then tossed them out onto the felt tabletop.

"SEVEN!" the table-tender announced in fake-excitement. The kid was more than a little nervous. He knew he was being watched; he even glanced at the camera a couple of times. The crowd cheered, and Joe Weller added some more chips to his stack.

That was the eighteenth win in a row.

Tony Zignetti leaned back in his leather chair and looked around at the other four people in the room.

"Well?" he said.

"I-I didn't see nuthin,' boss," said Tiny... a 6'8", 350-pound hulk of a man. "I was lookin,' but I didn't see nuthin'"

"Me neither," said Daniel. Danny-boy was almost Tiny's height, but was a good 100 pounds lighter, and ten times meaner.

"Of course you didn't see anything," said Tony. "I didn't EXPECT you to see anything.... I been watching this guy all day and all I seen is him taking my money. People come in here and go on lucky streaks, yeah... but this!? This ain't no streak. That little runt is cheating, and for the life of me I can't figure out how."

"Maybe he switched the dice." Reggie was an average-looking man with a deep scar running across the front of his neck from where someone had once tried unsucessfully to slit his throat. His damaged voice-box could produce nothing but a deep, jagged rasp.

"He didn't switch the dice," said Tony. "And if he did, it wouldn't do him any good. The kid at the table changes the dice every other hand."

"Maybe the kid is in on it?" said Daniel.

"The kid is my nephew."

"Oh. Sorry, boss."

"But he's doing it somehow," said Reggie.

"He's cleanin' us out. First it was the blackjack tables... he walked away with half a million. The next day, it was roulette. Then the slot machines... seven jackpots in two hours. And today its the craps table. In one week this runt has walked outta here with the entire quarter's profit. He wins all the time... even at the RIGGED tables, he wins. At the tables where its IMPOSSIBLE for him to win... he wins. Tell me boys... how is he doing this?"

Tony's voice was calm and even. The boys backed away from his desk for their own safety. When the boss was ranting and raving and slamming his fists on the desk, everything was cool. But when he got really calm... somebody was about to die.

This was about as calm as they'd seen him since the time he had the sherrif's family killed.

"So w-whatcha want us to do, boss?" said Tiny.

"This runt's streak is over. Go get him and bring him up here."

"Alive?" Reggie asked.

"Barely," Zignettie replied. "As long as he can still talk."

"You got it."

The three thugs filed out of the room as Tony watched the action on the monitor... growing calmer and more sedate with with every passing second.

"EVEN!" Joe annouced to the roaring pleasure of the crowd. "I win again!" He added more chips to his gargantuan pile of winnings.

"Twenty in a row!?" said the man beside him. "That's gotta be some kind of record or something-"

"Just my lucky day," Joe replied.

"You gonna keep going?" said the gorgeous woman hanging off of his left shoulder. She'd been nibbling on his ear and rubbing her fake breasts on his arm for the past twenty minutes... ever since the winnings started stacking up. Joe considered taking her home. She was a bit too tall for his tastes, but maybe he'd make an exception tonight.

"Oh, I dunno," said Joe. He checked his watch... an antique gold and diamond pocketwatch that hung from his belt by an thick gold chain. It read just a few minutes to midnight. "Whoa," he said. "Didn't realize the time."

"Your watch is wrong, honey," said the woman. "It's not even ten yet."

"Oh, its right," Joe said with a sly smile. "Maybe I need to take a quick break-"

"But you can't stop nowww..." the woman moaned. "You're winning!"

"Another round, sir?" the kid at the table asked.

"Welll..." Joe asked, glancing at his watch again. Three minutes to midnight. "Maybe a few quick ones."

The crowd cheered.

"Or maybe not," said a voice from the edge of the crowd. The crowd parted, and three rough-looking men in expensive-looking black suits approached the table. One was big. The other was bigger. And the third man was HUGE! All three had the same serious look on their faces.

Half of the crowd quickly filtered away from the table. The kid holding the dice looked nervous and relieved at the same time... an expression Joe didn't think was possible until now.

"Hey, can I help you guys?" said Joe. He glanced at his watch again... and then at the door.

"I'm affraid you've reached your limit," said the tall, thin one. He nodded at Joe's winnings.

"Limit?" said Joe. "I didn't know there WAS a limit."

"Yeah, there is," said Daniel. "You just went over it."

"Oh. Oh, well... I guess I should be going then." Joe dumped his chips into the bag he'd brought with him. "I'll just cash out-"

"Before you do that... maybe you should come with us."

"Come... with you? Why?"

"The boss wants to see you," said the smallest man... who wasn't really all that small. He was taking in a whisper for some reason. Not a soft whisper, but a loud, harsh one... as if something was wrong with his throat.

"Wants to congratulate you in person," Daniel added.

"Oh, uhhh... maybe I can come back later-"

"Or maybe you can come now." Reggie put his hand on Joe's shoulder... his fingers dug painfully into Joe's muscle.

"Ouch!" Joe tried to pull away, but man's hand was like a vice. Joe's arm was going numb. "Ouch! Okay, okay!"

"Come on, then. The boss is waiting... he's got a surprise for ya..."

Daniel and Tiny lead Joe through the casino... past all the other patrons and tables. Joe thought about making a break for it... but Reggie still had him by the shoulder. And every time Joe squirmed or even STARTED to open his mouth... those fingers dug into his muscle and turned his arm to mush.

"...ouch..."

They passed the bar, where a number of beautiful women turned to look at him... but when they saw the goons he was with, they quickly turned away. The bartender just shook his head.

The slot machines were in the back corner of the casino... three rows of the glittering, chrome and glass bandits gleamed in the harsh overhead lights as the quartet of men approached a door in the far wall. The door had no trim... and was painted the exact same color as the wall itself... not QUITE invisible, but not very noticeable either. In fact, Joe hadn't even noticed it when he was playing the slot machines the other day. There was no knob on the door... just an innocuous-looking keypad hidden under a colored plate on the wall. Daniel punched in a code, the door unlocked with a click, and the walking mountain named Tiny pushed the door open. They stepped into a hallway, and the door swung closed behind them-

CLUNK!

The sound of the automatic lock engaging made Joe's skin crawl. He suddenly realized he had to go to the bathroom very VERY badly.

The hallway was a stark contrast to the casino on the other side of the wall. There was no carpet... the floor was cheap tile and the walls were a plain white. Pipes and conduit ran down the length of the cieling, occasionally branching off on odd directions. There were so many that Joe couldn't actually SEE the cieling itself... just cables, pipes, and ductwork. There could be all kinds of vermin crawling around up there, and no one would ever know.

There were doors to the left at irregular intervals. None of them were marked, but Joe assumed they were storage closets, HVAC rooms, and whatever else casino's needed to run smoothly. The wall to the right unbroken except for the door they'd come through... and for the fire extinguishers mounted at regular intervals.

Reggie shoved Joe down the hallway. They walked until they reached a corridor to the left. Reggie grabbed Joe by the neck and tossed him down the adjoining hallway.

"Hey!," Joe shouted as he stumbled. "What's this about!"

"You know what its about," said Tiny. "The boss don't like cheatin.'"

"But I wasn't cheating! You can't prove anything!"

"I think maybe you've confused us with people who give a damn about proof," said Daniel. "If the boss says you're cheatin'... you're cheatin. That's all the proof we need."

"But- HEY! HELLLP!"

"Don't bother," Reggie hissed. "Walls are soundproof. We don't like the patrons being disturbed."

"Disturbed b-by what?"

"By you screaming," said Tiny.

Joe gulped. He was still carrying sack of chips in one hand... and with the other, he reached for his watch. He felt Reggie's eyes on him as he checked the time.

Less than a minute to midnight. Joe looked around frantically... searching for something. For anything.

"Nice watch," said Reggie. "I think it'll go good with my cufflinks-"

"Hey, Reg!" Daniel said suddenly. He pointed.

There was someone standing in the corridor ahead. A black man wearing a brown trenchcoat and hat... both of which looked like they'd been through hell. The hat was pulled down so that Joe couln't get a good look at the man's face... but at this point, he didn't care. Whoever it was, he was right on time.

"Who are you?!" Tiny demanded.

"Look," said the man. "I'm not in the mood for all the preliminaries... you don't need to know who I am, and I don't want to know who you are. Just let me talk to this guy for a second before you dump him in whatever river you're taking him to, and you'll never see me again."

"Oh, we're ALREADY never gonna see ya again," said Daniel. "Tiny... break this mook in half-"

"Mook? What the hell is a 'mook'? Is that Italian for 'nigger?'"

"What if it is?" said Tiny.

Suddenly, the man in the trenchcoat was holding two big HUGE chrome revolvers. Joe didn't even see the stranger move... just a slight twitch... and it was like the weapons just appeared in his hands by magic. It took the goons by surprise too. Tiny gasped and backed up a step. Reggie and Daniel both reached for the weapons tucked into their shoulder holsters-

"I wouldn't do that," said Jason. "I have a hard time dealing with my urge to SHOOT people who call me a nigger. And I have an even harder time not shooting people who pull guns on me. You boys leave your guns where they are, and we'll settle this without anybody getting their nuts shot off, okay?"

"What the f-"

"How'd he get those past the metal detectors," Daniel whispered.

"I shot the metal detectors," said Jason. "Satisfied? Now... what I want doesn't have anything to do with you, and what YOU want doesn't have anything to do with me-"

Reggie pulled his gun. It was a very quick, smooth motion... but not nearly quick enough-

BLAM!

Joe heard a ricochet, and Reggie's semiautomatic 9mm tumbled to the floor. Reggie's hand was spraying blood from the stump that used to be an index finger.

"AAAGH!"

Joe saw Daniel reach for his gun... and at that exact same time, Tiny charged. Jason put two slugs into Tiny's Kevlar vest... which slowed the large thug just long enough for Jason to let off another three shots exactly as Daniel was firing his own weapon.

Two bullets ricocheted up and down the hallway. Daniel hit the floor, bleeding profusely from where his kneecaps used to be.

By then, Reggie had managed to pull his backup weapon.

And Tiny looked very, very angry about the holes in his tailor-made suit.

Joe didn't care to see what came next. He turned and ran back down the hallway as gunfire erupted... but then he stopped.

He turned back... holding his pocketwatch in one hand. He aimed the watch at Reggie and pushed the tiny button on the case-

-click-

The watch tingled and grew warm in his hand. He quickly aimed it at Tiny and Daniel, pushing the button twice-

-click-
-click-

The watch buzzed slightly. The gold trim was hot now... but not uncomfortably so. He aimed it at the forth man... the stranger in the trenchcoat. But when he pushed the button, nothing happened.

"Huh?" said Joe. "Oh, well... I got all I need anyway."

The watch now read 3:00.

"Thanks," said Joe as he continued down the corridor. He turned the corner and went back the way he had come, hopefully back to the door near the slot machines. He hadn't gone far when something appeared in front of him-

"WHAA-"

It was a man. A young blonde man dressed in all black... holding a sword. He'd been hiding among the pipes on the cieling, and dropped down when Joe came running.

He swung the sword... and Joe felt soemthing pass less than a hair's width inch from his face... right in front of his eyes.

"Don't move," said Sebastian. "Or the next will be your throat."

"What are you supposed to be," said Joe. "A ninja?"

"I am-"

KTANNG!

The fire extinguisher to Joe's left suddenly developed a fault. The valve ruptured, and the high-pressure contents propelled the tiny pressure gauge cross the hallway... right to the side of Sebastian's head-

WHAK!

"AGH!"

The boy hit the floor, bleeding from the deep gash on his temple.

Joe ran.

He reached the door leading back into the casino... but it was locked. There was a keypad on the wall beside it, but Joe didn't know the code.

"HEY!"

The man in the trenchcoat had just come around the corner.

"Sebastian!"

The kid with the sword was just getting up. He pointed at Joe.

Joe hit the keypad with his fist, pressing a bunch of numbers at once...

The door unlocked. The numbers his fist had entered just HAPPENED to be the access code.

Joe pushed the door open and ran out into the casino. The door closed behind him, but as soon as it did-

POP!

A random short-circuit destroyed the keypad. Smoke and bright blue sparks spewed out of the mechanism. Joe could hear people pounding on the door from the other side, but even if they knew the code... they weren't gonna get through.

Still holding his bag of winnings in his hand, Joe started for the main entrance... mind firmly fixed on getting to his car and getting the hell away from here.

"Not so fast, slimeball." A short blonde woman stepped in front of him. She was cute-

-Suddenly Joe felt someone else's thoughts in his mind... someone rummaging through his memories like cops ransacking a house.

"HEY!" he objected.

"Just tell us what we need to know-" Ashley began.

The slot machine to the right hit a jackpot. The old lady who'd just put her quarter in started squealing and jumping up and down... but she lost her balance and fell... right on top of Ashley.

They both hit the floor, breaking the old woman's leg and knocking down several other people in the process, like a row of dominoes...

"OOOF!"

"Watch out!"

"HEY!"

"Somebody's picking my pocket!

"GET OFF!!"

"OUCH!"

"MY LEG!"

"Get your HANDS off my ASS, you PERVERT!"

"She hit the jackpot! FREE MONEY!"

"GRAB IT!"

A mob scrambled for the quarters still spilling from the old woman's machine...

...and Joe calmly stepped around them on his way to the exit.

"THERE HE IS!" someone shouted. A half-dozen men in expensive suits swarmed into the casino from various hidden doors. They were all looking at Joe.

Joe sprinted for the exit, but two of the goons was right behind him... several more were converging on the only exit. As Joe passed a waitress, the woman abrupttly tripped over her own feet. She fell, spilling the tray full of drinks she'd been carrying. Ice cubes went all over the rug. Both of the men behind Joe slipped on the ice at the same time... almost as if it had been choriagraphed. One man fell on his side... causing the weapon in his shoulder-holster to go off-

BLAM!

-sending a bullet into his torso, killing him instantly.

The gunshot echoed around the casino. The patrons went wild and surged for the exit... but not before the security men at the exit pulled their weapons. A fleeing patron slammed into one of the men. His weapon went off. The bullet richocheted off of few things before finally finding its mark... the thin chain holding the giant crystal chandelier over the center of the casino.

The chandelier came down and exploded into a million pieces. Flying shards of crystal shredded clothing and flesh as they flew across the room. For those who weren't quick enough to duck in time, the injuries ranged from ugly to fatal.

The blackjack dealer was killed instantly. His funeral would be closed-casket.

Meanwhile, Joe mixed in with the crowd and slipped out the doors unnoticed.

There was a mad dash for the parking lot, but Joe held back for a few minutes. It wouldn't do him any good to get caught in traffic. He waited until he heard the paramedics arriving, then went into the indoor parking arena. The place was mostly empty, so it was easy to find his Porche. He smiled as he unlocked the door. He was about to toss his bag of winnings into the passenger seat when he realized something-

-the bag was worthless. It was filled with plastic chips that had to be exchanged for money. And in order to do that, he would have to go back to the casino.

He actually THOUGHT about going back... but decide against it.

"Aww, shucks," he said. "Dammit."

"Shucks?" said the man in the trenchcoat. He'd been crouching on the other side of the car, waiting for Joe. Now he had both chrome revolvers pointed at Joe's forehead. "All that trouble you caused... and all you've got to say is 'shucks' and 'dammit'?"

"Uhhh..." Joe put his hands over his head. "Look, uhhh... the chips... you can take 'em... take 'em all-"

"Do I look like somebody that'd be interested in a bag of worthless plastic chips?" said Jason.

Joe looked around the lot. There was no one else around. He glanced at the watch hanging from his belt... It read 2:30.

Joe smiled.

"What was that, Donovan?" said Jason.

"Uhh... m-maybe you've made a mistake," said Joe. "My name's not Donovan, its Joe-"

"I wasn't talking to you," Jason snapped. "What was that?"

Jason took his eyes off of Joe and started looking around... at the car... the concrete...

"Uh-huh," said Jason. "I see 'em... What now?"

"Wh-who are you talking to?" said Joe.

"With pleasure."

Jason started shooting.

Joe didn't think any of the bullets would actually HIT him, but he flinched nonetheless. Jason's guns roared and flashed five... six... nine times. Bullets zipped all over the lot, ricocheting off of the walls and taking chunks out of the concrete. Then he put the weapons back in their holsters and drew two more just like them. He didn't fire them, he just aimed them at Joe.

"I got 'em all," said Jason.

"Huh?" Pools of strange, greenish-blue slime began to appear all around Joe. Puddles of multicolored goo spread over the concrete, like a boxes of crayons melting in the sun. And in the middle of each puddle was a nick in the concrete, where Jason's bullet had ricocheted.

"What the-"

"Gremlins." Sebastian stepped out from behind one of the concrete posts. He had a bandage on the side of his head, and dried blood on his face.

And a long, sharp sword in his hand.

He grabbed Joe by the throat and shoved him against the wall. Hard. Joe hit his head on the concrete.

"Now," said Sebastian. "You're going to explain how managed to summon a pack of GREMLINS when you-"

"Its this thing," said Jason. He grabbed Joe's watch and tore it free... snapping the gold chain. He held the watch up in front of Joe's face... and Joe saw that the watch had stopped running. "Its got an aura. Watches don't usually HAVE auras... and this guy doesn't look smart enough to tie his own shoes, let alone summon demons. Not without help, anyway."

"Where'd you get the watch?" Sebastian sneered.

"How does it control the demons?" Jason added.

"Hey, I don't know NUTHIN' about no demons or gremlins!" Joe cried.

"Where'd you get it?" Sebastian repeated.

Joe's blubbered incoherently for several seconds.

Sebastian let Joe go... but before he could even move, the tip of Sebastian's sword was pressed to the top of Joe's throat, just under the jaw. It pricked the skin just enough to sent a tiny stream of blood trickling down into Joe's silk shirt.

"Where!" Sebastian snarled.

"Uhh... Sebastian?" said Jason. "What are you doing?"

"Extracting information."

"Oh. Okay, how about we do it this way-"

Jason grabbed Joe's arm... and a few seconds later, he released it.

"There's a store on the waterfront... in an old warehouse on River Street. Nasty-looking place." said Jason. "The guy there told him the watch takes luck from other people and gives it to him." Jason frowned at Joe. "But that's not really how it works."

"How... how... how... did you know-"

"Because you knew you were doing something wrong when you BOUGHT the watch," said Jason. "You knew you were hurting people when you used it, but you figured if you never learned the details you'd get a free pass on the hellfire and damnation bit. But your aura knows you were doing wrong. And what your aura knows... I know."

"Wh-what are you gonna do to me?"

"We got the information we need," said Jason. "I guess that means we don't need you any more, Joe. Sebastian-"

Joe gulped and closed his eyes tight so he wouldn't see it coming...

"-let him go."

Suddenly the sword at his throat was gone.

Joe opened his eyes.... and saw that he was alone.

"...whew..."

shley had the car waiting just outside the parking garage. She was in the driver's seat, with a very large bruise on her arm from when she'd fallen in the casino.

"We got it," said Jason. "Let's go."

"Can I drive?"

"No," said Sebastian. "Move over."

"How's your head?"

"Still attached. Move over."

Ashley got out of the car.

"You know," said Jason. "I can't help the feeling that we're forgetting something..."

"Do you have the watch?"

Jason checked to make sure he still had Joe's watch in his pocket.

"Yeah..."

"So what's it do?" said Ashley.

"Well, it USED to command a bunch of little invisible demons to 'arrange' things for whoever possessed it. And I think it drained the souls of other people to feed the demons... but I'm not sure."

"You're kidding right?" said Ashley. "I mean... a cursed pocketwatch? Damn, that's corny."

"But I shot all of the gremlins, so now it's just a broken pocketwatch."

"What about the slimeball?" said Ashley. "What'd you do with him?"

"Let him go," Jason answered.

"Let him GO?!"

"He's wanted by the mob," said Sebatian. "What's left of his life won't be very pleasant."

"Yeah," Jason added. "Espescially since while we were waiting for him, I drained his gas tank and left a voice-mail with casino security telling them where he was parked."

"Ouch," said Ashley.

"So, what are we forgetting?"

"I can't think of anything?" said Ashley.

"Donovan?"

"Nothing. But we need to move quickly... our quarry is no doubt aware of our presence here."

"Oh, well... I'm sure it'll come to us later..."

"ou be careful wit my guys, eh?" said Tony Zignetti. The mobster stood close by as the paramedics loaded Tiny, Reggie, and Daniel into two ambulances. All three men were sporting wounds from high-calibre weaponry... but, oddly enough, none of the injuries were fatal.

True... they would probably ever WALK again... but they would live. At least until Tony got around to punishing them for their failure.

Tony didn't take disappointment and frustration well. And with the interior of his club in ruins... with cops and paramedics trampling every inch of his establishment... Tony was VERY frustrated. Joe Weller was already on his way to the river, but that wasn't enought. Someone else was going to pay... and unless another target presented itself very soon, those someones would be Reggie, Tiny, and Daniel.

"Will they be okay," Tony asked the paramedic that was closing the ambulance door.

"They're stable," said the young man. "They lost a lot of blood, but shock hasn't set in yet-"

Suddenly, a stiff, cold wind rushed past them. The wind reeked of sulphur and rotting things...

"Mary Mother of Jesus, what is that SMELL!?" Zignetti coughed.

KLUMP!

The side of the ambulance caved inward as if someone had punched it, leaving a large, roughly circlular dent in the metal.

"Wha-" said the paramedic.

KLUMP!
KLUMP!

Two dents appeared in the other ambulance... the one carrying Daniel and Reggie.

And then the wind died.

Zignetti and the paramedic just stared at each other. One of the ambulance drivers got out to see what had hit him... but there were no other vehicles around.

"Hey, what's going on back here-"

WHAM!

The rear doors to both ambulances flew open at the same time. Tiny emerged first... stepping out of the ambulance and standing behind the vehicle. He didn't speak. He just stood there. Waiting.

"Whoa, whoa!" the paramedic rushed over to him and tried to push him back in. "Hey... get back in there!"

Tiny shoved the paramedic away. It looked like nothing more than a gentle push... but the paramedic went stumbling backward.

"HEY!"

"Tiny!" Zignetti yelled. "What are you doin'!"

Tiny ignored him. Instead, he turned his attention to the other ambulance, where Reggie and Daniel were just getting out. Neither of them was in any conditiion to STAND, let alone walk... but once all three were out, they calmly turned and walked away, leaving the ambulance and their stunned employer behind.

"TINY! REGGIE! WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!" Zignetti bellowed. "GET BACK HERE! IF YOU'RE WELL ENOUGH TO WALK, YOU'RE WELL ENOUGH TO KEEP WORKING!!"

The trio didn't respond... or even show any signs that they'd heard him. They just kept walking, heading toward the employee parking lot...

"hy am I not surprised?" said Jason.

The warehouse was exactly as he'd seen it in Joe's aura... a small, run-down building that didn't look any different from the dozens of other run-down buildings that shared the same street. Sebastian had parked the car in the alley behind the row of warehouses.

The sign on the back door read: "Coventry and Payne Distributers - Worldwide"

Just underneath, it read: "Rare Goods - Antiques - Hard To Find Items"

Sebastian made short work of the rusty padlock securing the door. He opened it and quickly tossed in a road flare... the glaring yellowish light revealed...

...an empty building.

Other than stacks of large shipping crates pushed against the far wall, the warehouse was empty and abandoned. A vacant office sat behind a door to the right. The office had no phone, copier, or any other equipment... just an old metal desk.

"Another dead end."

Sebastian knelt down and ran his fingers across the concrete floor. He took out his flashlight and scanned the corners where the wall floor met the wall.

"No dust," he announced. "No rat droppings. This place was in use recently. Within the last few days... maybe even earlier today. We're getting closer."

"Why would the dragon lead us here just so we can find an empty building?" said Ashley.

"It's a trap," said Sebastian.

"WHERE!?" Jason snatched the guns from his holsters.

"Whatever it is, we haven't tripped it yet," said Sebastian. "But every place we've gone, there's something waiting for us. Why would this place be any different?"

"Ashley... wait outside," said Jason.

"But-"

"I'm serious. Outside. Let me and Sebastian handle this... whatever it is..."

"Okay. I'll go hide outside like a good little defenseless-"

"Just GO!"

Ashley backed out of the warehouse stepped back into the alley.

"You search the crates," said Sebastian. "I'll search the office."

"Don't touch anything," Jason warned. "Your track record isn't too good... don't touch NOTHING until you warn me first... so I can get the hell out of the way."

Sebastian ignored him, as usual.

The shipping crates ranged from one foot squares to huge boxes larger than Jason's body. They were stacked like children's blocks in columns that reached almost to the cieling. There were only a few that could be opened without knocking the whole thing down. Jason tapped the side one of the larger ones with his gun. The wooden crate made a hollow, empty sound.

Of course, that didn't mean that it WAS empty.

"Hell, I'm not opening all these things," said Jason. "He can kiss my ass... besides, I'M the one in charge here. Hey, Sebastian! Come here and cut open these boxes!"

Sebastian was in the office, going through the desk drawers one at a time. So far, he'd found nothing.

"You can't open them?" he shouted across the room.

"What do you want me to do... SHOOT 'em open?!"

There was a sound from outside... a car engine. Headlights flashed across the windows as a vehicle... something large... turned onto River Street came to a stop in front of the warehouse. Jason ducked back behind the crates.

The engine died. Doors opened and closed.

Footsteps walked up to the warehouse door and stopped.

Jason looked across the room at Sebastian. The kid already had his sword drawn. He nodded at Jason, and then turned off his flashlight and eased into the shadows.

The latch on the front door rattled... then stopped.

It rattled again, more violently...

...then it stopped.

Then...

WHAM!

The metal door flew into the room... thrown off its hinges by some incredible impact. The crumpled door landed on the concrete-

BANG!

And skidded across the floor, traversing the entire length of the warehouse before coming to a rest near the back wall.

Jason was very glad he hadn't been standing in front of that door.

Several figures stood in the doorway. The light from Sebastian's flare outlined them in flickering, neon-orange light. There were three of them. Jason couldn't see their faces clearly, but he didn't need to. He recognized them immediatly just from their body types...

One big... one bigger.... the other, HUGE.

The three goons from the casino walked into the warehouse... despite the fact that Jason had left them each with .454 calibre slugs lodged in all their major joints. But instead of being treated for shock and fitted for wheelchairs at the hospital, they were wandering around the warehouse, looking bigger and healthier than ever.

Except for their auras. Their bodies exhuded a lifeforce like a whirlwind of darkness intersperced with streaks of some color that Jason didn't even recognize.

"Hey, Donovan," Jason whispered as quietly as he could. "Looks like somebody threw a bucket of neon vomit into a tornado... what's that mean?"

"Demons," Donovan replied. "Nasty ones."

"That's what I thought. Looks like that cursed watch did a little more than steal souls."

"...like replace with something else. These men aren't human any more, Jason."

"That means it's time for me to do my thing..."

Jason checked his weapons and stepped out from behind the stack of crates. The two .454 Casull revolvers hung from his side... looking like twin chrome cannons.

"Well, well," he said as he walked toward them. "Look who decided to drop by." He moved at an angle... drawing the demons attention away from the office where Sebastian was waiting. They all turned to follow him with their dead, yet somehow still sininster, eyes. When their backs were to the office, Jason stopped walking.

"How're the kneecaps, fellas?" said Jason.

The men hissed at him. It wasn't an overt, aggressive sound... it was more passive, like the air being let out of a tire. The largest man added a gutteral growl... and the noise was picked up by the other two an instant later.

"Now, before you embarrass yourselves trying to kill me... I think its only fair to let you know that I'm a Knight. You know... proffessional demon killer. Big medieval badass. Superpowers and all that. I'm sure you've heard of it. You MIGHT want to reconsider-"

The growling increased, and the men started toward him... all three moving at the the exact same pace, walking with the exact same gait.

"Oh, well... I guess they don't make demons as smart as they used to. Lets see... three of you and one of me. I predict you'll all be on the floor by the count of three. One..."

Jason raised his guns and pointed them at largest man.

"Two..."

He eased the hammers back...

"Three..."

SHLUCK!

The shaft of Sebastian's sword burst through the chest of one demon, sending a spray of blood splattering all over the floor. Sebastian had snuck up behind the distracted mobsters and impaled one of them, then performed a spinning slash that ripped open the backs of the other two... severing their spines right across the midsection. All three dropped like corpses-

WHUMP!
FWUMP!
KLUMP!

Sebastian yanked his sword out of the first demon and wiped the blood off on the corpse's tailor-made suit coat.

"See," said Jason as he returned his guns to their holsters. "Teamwork isn't such a bad thing now, is it?"

"At least your incessant yapping is good for SOMEthing."

"What'd you say?"

"I said-"

KKrrrrrACKLE!

The sound was like three fresh heads of lettuce being slooowly pulled apart.

Jason and Sebastian turned toward the corpses, which were swelling like balloons. The expensive suites ripped... the skin underneath split as boney protrusions tore their way to the surface. The three 'dead' bodies convulsed, and then exploded in a shower of shredded flesh... freeing the things that had lain coiled tightly within them. The things almost had a perhistoric look... sharp shards of bone dotted their back and limbs... thick plates covered their chests. Their long, muscular tails ended in a cluster of nasty-looking spikes. Each three-inch claw dripped an oily substance that sizzled when it hit the concrete. Their heads were pointed, with a short, narrow snout that, were it not for the rows of teeth, would have looked like a beak. Their eyes were tiny dots set deep into their pointed, triangular skulls.

One of the creatures crouched on all fours, with its tail slashing slowly at the air behind it. The other two stood almost erect... each was over seven feet tall. Their armored chests rose and fell in time with the deep hissing that was their breath.

"Uhhh," said Jason. "Sebastian,... you gonna take care of this or what?"

The creatures' dark eyes began to glow bright red.

Sebastian ran for the front door.

"Wha-"

"RUN, YOU IDIOT!" he shouted.

Sebastian? Running?

"Oh, SHIT!"

Jason sprinted for the rear door, but the instant he moved, the creatures were on them both. One charged after Jason, and the other went after Sebastian. The third crouched low, then sprang straight up into the air. It hit the cieling and began scrambling toward the fleeing Sebastian, moving along the inverted surface as deftly as a cheetah darting across the grassland.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE THINGS!" Jason shouted.

"Blightmanders!" said Donovan. "A type of pestilance demon! You have to watch out for-"

Jason heard the demon running behind him. Jason's gun was in his hand before he even remembered that he HAD guns. He turned-

"KEEP RUNNING!" Donovan shouted. "FIND COVER! DON'T LEAD IT OUTSIDE, THE GIRL IS OUT THERE!!! DODGE RIGHT-"

Jason threw himself to the right, and the demon sailed past him. The pounce would have taken Jason's head off if Donovan hadn't warned him. The demon hit the wall and sprang off of it as if the wall were a trampoline. It shot after Jason, eyes blazing-

"ARRRGH!" Jason felt a searing pain shoot across his back, as if he were being burned with a laser. "WHAT THE-"

"THE EYES ARE DEADLY! DON'T LET THEM LOOK AT YOU!"

"WHAT!?!!?"

"FIND SOME COVER.... NOW!!!"

Jason spun and zigzagged across the empty warehouse, catching intense bolts of pain every time his path crossed the demon's deadly gaze. His back felt like the skin was being peeled off with a hot knife. He headed for the crates that were stacked against the wall. When he got close, he and the creature BOTH made a running leap-

Jason landed just short of the first crate, then rolled behind it... the sprang back into the open as-

KRA-WHAM!

The lunging creature demolished the crate, and unbalanced several others... causing a miniature avalanche that quicky burried it.

"DUCK!"

Jason ducked.

whoosh-KRACK!

The creature's tail whipped out of the wreckage and nearly caught Jason in the face. The demon was right behind it, leaping out of the pile of broken boxes with both forelimbs extended... claws pointed at Jason's throat.

"DON'T LOOK!" Donovan warned.

Too late.

Jason caught the creature's gaze...

... his eyes swelled to almost twice their normal size, and searing blisters erupted all over his face. Everything turned blood-red... and then went completely dark.

Jason was blind.

"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"DOWN!"

Jason dropped to one knee and ducked. Something passed ovehead-

"ROLL RIGHT!"

Jason fell to the right and ended up on his back as-

whoosh-KRACK!

The deadly tail missed him by inches.

Jason felt the vibration of something hitting the ground not far away.

"I CAN'T SEE!" Jason cried.

"Then its time for me to earn my keep," said Donovan. "Do EXACTLY as I say and we can still get out of this-"

"But I can't SEE!!"

"GET UP AND RUN!"

"Which way-"

Suddenly, Jason's left arm clenched solid... paralyzed with pain. The creature's eyes had caught him again. He got up and ran. He had no idea what was in front of him... but he KNEW what was behind him, and he wanted to stay as far away from it as possible.

"WHERE AM I GOING!!!" he called.

Donovan responded with a series of orders-

"When I say 'now,' jump, rotate and shoot!"

"But I can't see!!!"

"You don't NEED to see!!"

"But-"

"Affinity! Just let it happen! NOW!"

Jason jumped... the demon's tail slashed right under his feet...

...and then the whole world slowed to a crawl Jason felt portions of his brain awaken with blazing intensity... he heard the sound of the creature's footsteps... he heard the echoes of the sounds, and the echoes of the echoes. He felt the changes in air pressure from the demon's movements... the minute flucutations in temperature from its body heat. The took all these things and drew a picture in Jason's mind as clearly as if his eyes were wide open.

The revolvers came around as Jason turned in the air-

BLAM!
BLAM!

Jason couldn't see the bullets... but he felt them. He felt them leave the gun. Heard them ripping through the air...

The demon looked up at Jason... its eyes sending waves of pain and pestilance-

"KREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" the demon howled as the first two rounds destroyed both of its glowing red eyes.

The high-pitched screech was just a low moan to Jason... who's perceptions were still at hypernormal speed. The world still moved at a snail's crawl, except for Donovan's voice:

"The major organs are in the chest, behind the exosekelton. The heart is dead-center. One bullet will only crack the armor, but-"

BLAM!
BLAM!

The first bullet cracked the demon's chestplate, creating a weak spot.

The second hit in the exact center of that spot, punching a hole in it-

BLAM!

The third went through the hole created by the second... and continued on through the creature's heart.

All of it had taken place in less than a second.... while Jason was still airborn from his leap. The world sped back up to normal just as he hit the ground, landing on his back and slidding as short distance.

"Jason, brace yourself!"

"Wha-"

WHAM!

The demon's corpse slid into him, carrying them both into another pile of crates. The pile collapsed on top of him, pummelling Jason with sharp pieces of heavy wood.

Fortunatly, Jason only felt the first hit.

Meanwhile, Sebastian was still fighting. He'd run for the front door in hopes of leading the creatures away from Jason, but it didn't work out quite that easily. One demon was behind him. Another was streaking along the cieling, trying to get to the door before him... and all the while, both were trying to fix Sebastian in their glowing red eyes. Sebastian had to avoid both sets of eyes at once, or the fight would be over very quickly. That would be too hard to do while running across an empty warehouse, so a change of tactics was in order.

Sebastian reversed direction and dove past the creature coming up behind him... slashing at the demon's flank as he passed. The demon spun and whipped its tail after Sebastian, but Sebastian wasn't there anymore. He kept close to the demon... always behind or to the side... continuously hacking at its exoskeleton while avoiding both the poisonous tail and the deadly gaze.

The second creature crawled halfway down the wall and stopped.... It hung there like a cancerous growth on the warehouse, glowing red eyes seeking Sebastian. But Sebastain was careful to keep the FIRST creature between him and the second. He kept moving... spinning, striking and dodging... never stopping, not even for a second. Neither creature got more than a passing glimpse of him as he fought. He had both swords drawn, and was matching the demon's claws with a deadly fury of his own. Sparks flew from the blades when they met the demon's jagged bones... and blood gushed when he struck the softer tissue. The demon kept trying to hit him... but its powerful claws caught nothing but air. And for each failed strike, Sebastian retaliated with a hailstorm of hard steel, slashing at every target he could find... literally fighting in circles around the creature.... slowly hacking his way through the exosekeleton to the more lucritive targets beneath.

Suddenly, the second demon launched itself off of the wall.

Sebastian heard it coming. He ducked and spun out of the way as the first creature turned...

KRUNCH!

The monsters collided, and they both went down and skidded a short distance... but the quickly righted themselves. One creature charged Sebastian, and the other circled around.

Sebastian darted to one side and ran for the back door... zigzagging across the warehouse, trying to keep one demon always directly behind the other... thus giving him only one set of eyes to avoid. The tactic would only work for a few seconds, but that was all he needed.

The demons separated to get more distance between them hoping to catch their quarry in a demonic crossfire. Their eyes blazed fiery red as they hissed... searching the shadows for Sebastian. They spotted him-

-just as he reached the door that had been throw off of its hinges when the demons first entered. He dove for it, snatching it up as he rolled past. He came up in a crouching position with the metal door leaning upright against his shoulder... like a shield. He felt the metal growing hot as the demons literally tried to stare their way through it. The door began to warp and rust under the power of their eyes... but their gaze was meant for flesh, not metal.

The demons both gave up and charged.

Sebastian held his reaction to the last second, when the first creature was almost upon him. He dropped one sword and grasped the door with his free hand. He gave a half-hearted charge directly at the first demon, thrusting the makeshift shield toward it-

whoosh-KREEEEK!!

The demon's tail sliced the metal door in half across the middle... leaving Sebastian with a much smaller shield. A shield that he could FIGHT with. Holding it by the latch, Sebastian turned the shield toward the second demon just as it came around behind him. Its gaze played harmlessly along the metal for an instant as Sebastian's sword pierced the already weakened exoskeleton of the first. The blade thrust at an upward angle through the creature's intestines... the blessed metal burned like acid all the way up into its torso.

"GGRAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEE-"

The demon twisted suddenly, snapping the blade in half with the shaft still imbedded in its innards. The wounded demon's tail whipped around... Sebastian ducked under it as the second demon's claws ripped the door/shield to ribbons. The demon's head shot forward; the razor-sharp teeth seeking Sebastian's shoulder. Sebastian quickly spun around beside it while drawing his hunting knife. He jammed the blade into the demon's left eye-socket.

PLOP!

The deadly orb popped free with and rolled across the floor. The demon roared and slashed at Sebastian, but the boy quickly lost himself in the creature's newly-created blind spot. The creature's head snaked back and forth... seeking its prey... while Sebastian reached for his other sword-

On the other side of the warehouse, several boxes toppled over. Jason sat up... his swollen, blistered face looking very much like a Halloween mask.

"...ouch..." he moaned.

The demon charged immediately.

"BROOKS, GET DOWN!" Sebastian shouted.

Squinting through blind eyes, Brooks turned toward the charging demon... raised his gun, and fired three times-

BLAM!
BLAM!
BLAM!

FWUMP!

The creature collapsed... with one crisp, clean hole in the dead center of its chest. It was then that Donovan informed him that Sebastian was shouting to warn him about THE OTHER demon-

The second creature... the one with Sebastian's sword still protruding from its guts... pounced. It had managed to drag itself over by the crates... presumabley to die... when Jason's sudden movement drew its attention.

Even caught by surprise, Jason had time to react. His gun swivelled and fired at point-blank range, right into the creature's chest-

BLAM!
BLAM!
-click-

Out of ammunition... with the demon still very much alive. It had a hole in its chest, but the bullet that made the hole didn't have anough momentum left over to make the fatal wound. It would take one more... one more that Jason didn't have.

At least not in THAT gun.

He reached for his other weapon, but time had run out.

The thing was too injured to leap... instead, it just rose up and FELL on top of Jason with claws out and fangs bared. Jason's hands came up and held the demon back as it pressed down on top of him.

The creature was staring right into Jason's face.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGH!" Jason screamed. He felt his scalp blistering... new sores blossomed on his face like flowers.

"HOLD ON!" Sebastian shouted. Jason heard the boy running toward him.... but he couldn't see anything.

The demon pressed forward, its claws ripped through Jason's shirt... is mouth dripped burning, poisonous saliva onto its target: Jason's blistered face. Jason pushed the demon back as hard as he could, but the thing was too heavy... too strong. His eyes closed as he strained from the effort. He felt its jaws closing around his head... Sebastian was too late! The PAIN!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Something snapped. Jason felt a surge of... something... roar through his body. He pushed back with all his strength-

-and the demon was gone.

He opened his eyes... and was at a loss as to which he should be more surprised by: The fact that he could SEE... or the sight of the demon flying across the warehouse, tumbling through the air... heading right toward the back door.

shley was sitting in the car, listening to the chaos in the warehouse. She was fighting the urge to enter Sebastian's mind and see what was going on, but from the few peeks that she DID take, things looked under control. She heard more gunshots. Jason was still in the fight.

But no... now he was screaming! Knowing she'd never get into Jason's head, she reached out for Sebastian's thoughts. She got more than she wanted. Sebastian's thoughts blared in her head like a siren:

"ASHEY! WATCH OUT FOR ITS EYES! DON'T LET IT LOOK AT YOU!"

At that instant, something big and ugly came flying through the warehouse door... destroying the door and a good portion of the wall along with it.

It landed right beside the car.

It was alive. It was pissed. And Sebastian had the car keys.

Ashley reached up and grabbed the rear-view mirror. It came loose in her hands after two tugs... just as the demon rolled over and pointed its blaring eyes at Ashley... staring at her through the window.

Sebastian came running out of the warehouse.

Ashley held the mirror up in front of her face, with the reflective side pointed at the demon.

KRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Caught by its own gaze, the demon's face peeled away from its skull like the skin of an onion. The monster fell away... landing on its back. It was still trying to get up when Sebastian's blade came down, impaling it through the weak spot that Jason had created in its chestplate. The demon squealed... lurched... and lay still.

Sebastian yanked his sword out of the demon's chest, then peered into the car.

"You ruined my mirror," he said, pointing at the rear-view mirror in Ashley's hand.

"Well," she said. "You SAID not to let it look at me-"

"You could have just gotten out of the car and hid behind it."

"And YOU could've killed that thing inside. I mean... wasn't that the whole POINT of making me wait out here in the first place? And what happened to Jason?"

"That's what I'd like to know," said Sebastian. He sheathed his sword and went back into the warehouse... with Ashley right behind him. "BROOKS!" he shouted.

"Hey, hey, easy on the decibles," Jason wheezed. "My head hurts enough already."

Jason was standing by the wall, doubled over with his hands resting on his knees. He'd just thrown up on the floor, and looked on the verge of a repeat performance. His eyes were swollen and bloodshot, and patches of tiny blisters still marred his face. But the blisters weren't nearly as large as they had been before, and the open sores were gone completely.

"My God, Jason," Ashley gasped. "What happened to your FACE!"

"I think I'll be all right," he said between gulps of air. "It doesn't even burn any more. Just sort of... itches. I think my Resistance is finally kicking in. About damn time..."

"But Resistance didn't throw a 400-pound demon across a warehouse and through a solid metal door," said Sebastian.

"What?" said Jason. "That wasn't YOU that did that?"

"No."

"Well it sure as hell wasn't me-"

"Yes it was. I saw you."

"Hey, Donovan... when were you going to tell me about the COOL superpowers... like throwing demons through walls, eh? When were you gonna tell me about THAT!?"

"I didn't tell you about that because you can't DO that," Donovan replied.

"I think Goode's serum may have had a few residual effects," said Sebastian.

"Nah," said Jason. "That stuff's for healing right? Well... I still feel like shit, so it ain't the serum."

"Hey guys-" Ashley began.

"But you look reasonably well for someone who stared a Blightmander in the face," said Donovan. "Even considering the Resistance. I think we need to go back and see Goode. He needs to look at you-"

"No, no, no," said Jason. He leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths. "I'm fine. Really."

"Yes, that's what concerns me," said Donovan. "The gaze of a Blightmander is deadly. You SHOULDN'T be fine."

"Guys-"

"I'm not going back to Redneck-Mountain just so your hairy friend can poke me- .... okay, maybe that came out wrong. Look... the dude took some of my blood and checked it out. We were ALL standing there when he gave me a clean bill of health. And in CASE you haven't noticed, there's no full moon out tonight. We go back now just for a second opinion, we'll just be wasting time."

"But what you did was impossible-"

"Guys!"

"Any of you geniuses ever hear of adrenalin?" said Jason. "Little old ladies picking up Buicks to save their kids? Happens all the time. Life or death situations, people do all kinds of impossible stuff. That demon was about to take my head off... I think that qualifies as 'life or death.' Then the Resistance kicked in and fixed me up proper... end of story. Now can we get the hell out of here? These demons are starting to stink."

"Rapid decomposition," said Sebastian. "We won't have to worry about disposing of the corpses. Hmmm..." Sebastian started looking around for something.

"HEY GUYS!" Ashley shouted.

"What, Ashley?"

Ashley held up a piece of wood... a plank from one of the broken shipping crates. It has some writing stamped on it in black:

"Coventry and Payne Distributors - Worldwide
Rare Goods - Antiques - Hard To Find Items"

"Yeah, yeah," said Jason. I saw that on the door-"

"Hel-LOO!" Ashley pointed at the line at the very edge of the board:

"Shipped From:
ATLANTA OFFICE - 666 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA."

"...whoa..."

"Damn you guys are slow," said Ashley. "Anyone for a trip to Atlanta?"

"-or are we going back to the magic mountain to see the Beastmaster?"

"You realize that what's waiting for us in Atlanta is likely another trap," said Donovan.

"Well," said Jason... finally standing up straight. "Let's not give 'em more time to summon up something REALLY nasty, right Sebasitan? Sebastian? What the hell are you looking for?"

"Keys."

"You lost your KEYS!?"

"No. Their keys," Sebastian was going through the torn, shreeded clothing that had been thrown off when the demons emerged. He'd collected two Rolex watches, three wallets... and one set of keys to the black 2001 GMC Yukon parked in front of the warehouse. He tossed the keys to Jason.

"A mob car," said Jason. "You want to ride to Atlanta in a STOLEN mob car!?"

"We just killed three demons that could poison flesh with their eyes... and you're afraid of the mob?"

"Well... since you put it that way..."

"It'll likely have cash and weapons that we could use. And if you turn into a werebeast, I don't want you doing it in MY car. Ashley has damaged it enough already."

Ashley made a rude gesture at Sebastian, who promptly ignored it.

"So?" said Jason. "We done here?"

"We're going to see Goode when this is over," said Sebastian.

"Whatever... let's roll."

"I'm riding with you," said Ashley.

Jason and Ashley went out the front door, leaving Sebastian in the warehouse alone. He waited until he heard the car doors close outside, then knelt down to study the item he had hidden under his boot.

It was a small, leathery red orb about the size of a pecan.

An eye.

Sebastian pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to protect his hand as he plucked the blightmander's eye from the floor. He wrapped the orb in the cloth and took it with him when he left.

[To Be Continued]

copyright 2005 by Dark Icon Entertainment