Demons Ascension - Promise Not To Move?

[Posted by Ted H]

Pointlessly gore filled death scenes? Check.

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[Demons Ascension - Promise Not To Move?]

            "You ok?" James heard Bradford scream as he felt dizzy, but conscious. "Blake, are you ok? Can you hear me?" Bradford yelled again. James looked out where he could and could see Crow walking away. "I'm fine," he said as he struggled to get out of the car. "Stay here," Bradford said as he easily got out and sprinted after Crow.
            "Wait," James stammered as he forced his door open and stumbled out. Bradford was already down the alley and screaming for Crow to freeze. "Bradford!" James yelled as he ran to catch up, the entire situation seemed wrong, as if they were being led by Crow. "Bradford!" James yelled again as he heard two loud gunshots.
            There were sirens of approaching cops in the air as James heard three more gunshots. He turned out of the alley and felt a knot in his stomach as he entered an empty lot. Constructions materials and equipment were strewn about as the city was planning to build on the land. "Bradford!" he screamed as he weaved his way through equipment looking for the cop.
            On the ground near some blood and bullet casings was a magnum pistol. James picked it up and checked the chamber; only one bullet remained loaded. "Bradford, say something!" James called out. He could feel that he wasn't alone. Croatoan was still lurking and was probably planning on finishing what he started before. "Headshots slow him down," James said to himself as he gripped the magnum and slowly made his way through the site. Dead or alive, he needed to find Bradford one way or the other before trying to escape.
            "Oh no," he breathed as he came across a torn up pile of clothing, all things Bradford was wearing. He followed a nearby blood trail to find Bradford laid out on a tarp covered pile of wood; His legs were straight and his arms outstretched like he was on a cross, and his chest was ripped open. His eyes were still fixed open, wide and colorless. His heart was gone.
            The approaching sirens were getting louder, making it almost impossible for James to hear approaching footsteps behind him, almost. He spun around and pointed the magnum as Croatoan stopped and smiled, a bloody dagger in his right hand and a mess of Bradford's blood on his mouth from when he consumed his heart.
            "Finished your little art project in the city I see," James said.
            "Not quite," Croatoan said, never losing that grin "But it's not like you'll be around long enough to see me complete my task."
            "The police found one of your boys. They moved him. Whatever you're doing, it's been disturbed. It won't work."
            The placement is key, but hardly static. It's more ceremonial than anything. You've stopped nothing. Unless of course you can make that one shot count."
            Croatoan was taunting him, Matthew said a headshot would only momentarily inconvenience the demon if anything, but Croatoan wanted to give him the false hope of a chance before killing him. James scoffed at the notion but kept up the charade. Croatoan didn't know that James knew what he knew.
            "One shot, huh?" James said, adding a little extra desperation to his voice for Croatoan "That doesn't seem fair, seeing as how this will be your second chance to off me."
            "Life isn't fair, Blake. But seeing how hopelessly doomed you are, I might as well have some sport in the moment."
            "What's to say you even have a weak point?"
            "Oh, everyone has a weakness. Is it right between my eyes? Or perhaps it's where my ice cold heart should be? Or maybe it's somewhere else?"
            "Promise not to move?" James asked, Croatoan was getting cocky.
            "I almost wish that gun was fully loaded. Tell you what, you've impressed me a little. I left you for dead back in Syracuse and yet here you are, aimlessly trying to stop the inevitable. I mean really, the two most powerful forces in existence, your maker and my own, both powerless to stop me. And yet here you are, a mere mortal, honestly thinking you can do what literal gods are limp to do anything about. It be endearing if it wasn't so irritating.
            "So when we're done here, Blake, after I've collected your soul and taken your heart, I'll hold onto you. For when my ascension is complete and I take my rightful place as god of this realm, you and I are gonna have some fun. I'll resurrect you, just to torture you for centuries on end, then, when your flickering soul finally gives out and you die, I'll bring you back and we can begin the fun all over again.
            "You see, your insistence on being in my way has earned you a special place in my kingdom. Whether or not you find that to be a good thing is up to you but rest assured, I'll manage to enjoy your tortured company. You will be held up as an example for all to see; Gods, mortals, demons and angels alike will understand the fate of those who dare oppose me. And I have been opposed for so long that you, dear Blake, will be the outlet of my frustration for these centuries of denied ascension."
            "So..." James said with a smirk "I take it you won't move on me when I shoot?"
            Croatoan glared at James a moment. "Arrogant and a snark, even at the end," he mused "Go on then, take your shot. One, final defiant volley against that of a god!"
            "You're not there yet, you self absorbed choke artist."
            "What did you call me?"
            "You messed up once, and you'll fall short again. I just need to figure out how."
            "What makes you think you'll even live long enough to try?"
            "Well, for one, I'm not dumb enough to take this shot."
            Croatoan then tensed up as he prepared to rush James. "And for two," James said "You should've realized that I can't go two freaking minutes in this town without a cop catching up to me. Croatoan was confused by that until he looked around and noticed a number of officers surrounding them. He then looked back to James who had a big grin on his face. "You shouldn't monologue so much," he said before diving out of the way behind a truck.
            Numerous officers screamed at a now furious Croatoan to freeze. Croatoan sprinted at a speed no one expected to where James had gone and overturned the truck with one arm. James was no longer there but the cops weren't patient anymore and started firing. Croatoan took every shot without notice and screamed "Blake! I will rip your spine out through your throat and shred your fucking soul into pieces!"
            Croatoan gave up on his search for James and instead decided to take out some frustration on the officers shooting at him. He covered an intimidating amount of ground in no time and ran for an officer, ripping his hands into the man's stomach, then began pulling his intestines out. He then continued to pull as he ran to a neighboring officer and began to strangle him with another man's guts.
            The other officers momentarily stopped shooting at the sight of the spectacle, some questioning the use of shooting someone that clearly did not care for the bullets, others opting to run away now while they still had the chance. Croatoan twisted and pulled the intestines tight on the officers neck until his struggles fades and he went limp. He then leapt to another officer who was trying to sneak in close, then began choking him with the same intestines.
            The officer whose guts were being used meanwhile was unfortunately still alive. He laid on the ground, arms in a spasm, while he pleaded for someone to kill him. He was groping for his dropped pistol and was unable to see from the agony. Every twitch and pull from his intestines sent a new wave of pain through him and he began to choke on his own rising blood and bile, eventually he decided to stop trying to void his mouth because choking to death was more favorable than the constant pain he had no escape from.
            The intestines Croatoan were using meanwhile had begun to tear and fall apart. The officer he was choking was gasping for air at every interval while Croatoan failed to salvage the organ as a viable murder tool. He decided there was no more pleasure to be had with it and instead chose to stuff the pieces of broken intestine down the surviving cops throat, taunting him as he struggled to either cough out or swallow the constant flow of innards.
            James had no intention of watching the wanton display of gore and violence and instead was concerned with sneaking his way out. As long as there were cops dumb enough to keep shooting and hold Croatoan's attention, he figured he could escape. "James!" he heard John calling and he made his way over. "Keep your voice down and let's get out of here," James said as he ran up to him.
            "What the hell was that?" John asked with wide eyes as they ran back down the alley.
            "Are we ready to start believing all the crazy nonsense I've been suggesting yet?" James asked right back as they sprinted towards Bradford's car. John had parked right at the entryway in the street.
            "I'm feeling a little more open minded," John said as James noticed all shooting had stopped. "What the hell though? Is he wearing kevlar? And how could he move that fast and rip that guy apart?"
            "He's immortal. A demon," James said, hardly able to believe his own words said out loud "I'll explain on the way. How'd you even end up here?"
            "I tried to get to you at the apartments before Bradford. I was in the area when he made the pursuit call. What happened back there?"
            "Bradford's dead. It was a trap, he was the next sacrifice."
            "What do you mean?"
            "Blaaaaaaaaaake!" Croaton bellowed from down the alley, his voice echoing as it took a clichéd demonic accent. "Oh, fuck," John said as he worked his way around Bradford's car "He's coming." Croatoan was sprinting down the alley at Olympian speeds as James mind raced for a way out. "Head shot won't kill him, but it might slow him down," he said as John readied his gun. "Good enough for me," he said.
            Croatoan made no effort to deviate his path as he came straight for the men. "You can make that kind of shot, right?" James asked. John didn't answer as he aimed, held his breath and fired, Croatoans head immediately snapped back and his body toppled over, rolling like a rag doll as his momentum carried him farther down the alley. Within seconds he was shaking it off and pulling the bullet from his skull. James and John had meanwhile ran out and made it to the car.