Fright Fight Part Three

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The elevator doors shook for a moment as the banter between the two men died, replaced by the grinding of gears. Testing the heft of her Morningstar, Jeanine palmed the heavy spiked orb, judging each of the spikes to being three inches in length.

“More than enough to cause some havoc on a grown man, let alone a kid.” She muttered, looking around the elevator for some kind of condition she would be fighting in. Kneeling down, she looked at some silt that was near the entryway, fine granules of dirt that anybody would overlook on any other day.

A loud buzzing noise caught her attention, forcing her back to her feet as the elevator doors popped and then slid open ominously.

 Looking out, she saw she was in what appeared to be a closed off football stadium, with a lush forest growing in the middle of the field. Noting the deep gouges on several of the trees near her, she could only guess that some kind of battle took place near here, though whenever it was, it was long ago. The grass growing from the ground was dark and soft looking, with patches longer than the rest.

“Odd… does someone come in and cut the grass?” She asked herself aloud. “If so, they’re doing a horrible job.”

Hearing a ragged howl in the distance, Jeanine immediately adopted a guarded position, eyes scanning the tree line for any signs of movement. Seeing none, she relaxed a little before deciding to take the fight to her enemy.

“Can’t just stand around and wait for them to find me,” She muttered, moving towards the forest.

The trees were poplar trees, and fairly young at that. They were clear of moss and moist to the touch, the light underbrush holding in water that must have recently rained down. Stopping at a tree with three deep gouges in the trunk, she traced the lines with her hand, trying to figure out what kind of animal could have done that. Hearing a click, she looked up to see a drone, perhaps three feet in length, with a camera.

“So that’s how you guys are watching me?” She asked the drone. Looking around, she moved behind a tree, watching the drone rise into the canopy.

“Good, it won’t just hang low and reveal my position. Now, time to find high ground.” She said, jogging deeper into the forest, through the light underbrush and over rocks. A slope was leading her uphill, allowing her to get a better look of what was below her in the sparsely packed forest. A fluttering of birds told her that something was on the move close by, and the smell of rotting meat came in when the wind blew by her, proving she was downwind of something.

“Some strange kid… smells like he’s already dead.” She muttered, ducking behind a tree when she heard the trampling of undergrowth behind her. Taking a chance and peeking around the trunk, she spotted her enemy.

A boy of perhaps ten years of age, starved and beaten looking, was moving through the underbrush slowly, his steps and gait strange for someone his size. He walked tall and proud, as if he were a man, and ignored the underbrush scraping at his legs, which bled from the nettles scratching him. His only clothing being a sparse stretch of cloth covering his groin, the olive skinned child had cracks in his skin that smoke seemed to leak from, and chapped, bloody lips that threatened to scrape open from his ragged breathing. What caught Jeanine’s attention the most were his eyes, big and yellow like a cats. His short hair revealed he had only one ear, and his eyes were sunken in as if he hadn’t slept in days.

“I know you’re there,” the boy rasped in a ragged voice, not matching his age. “I can smell your filthy soul!”

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Jeanine stepped out from behind her tree, staring at the young boy with a slightly annoyed look. “So you can smell my soul, eh? What’s it smell like?”

“Sin and decadence, just like that of all you pathetic worms that call this mortal realm home… though yours is heavy with the sin of pride and anger. You’re a killer, aren’t you?”

“Got it in one demon, so I guess I can set aside the disbelief for now and just hammer you into a bloody pulp.”

“But that would harm the boy!” The demon said, drawling into a sick series of dry chuckles.

“From what I understand, if you win this, you go back to Hell with the boys soul. If I kill the boy, and you, his soul should move on to Heaven.”

“Interesting reasoning,” the demon said, a long split tongue coming out to wet its dried lips. “Are you so sure you wish to gamble on a child’s life like that?”

Jeanine answered by lunging forward, bringing the Morningstar in a wide arc to hammer the boy in the side. The child move forward, lashing out with a fist in a childlike flailing move, slapping Jeanine’s shoulder with a resounding crack. Jeanine maneuvered back, favoring her other shoulder as her right one was now throbbing as if a fully grown horse had mule-kicked it. Panting slightly, Jeanine began to circle slowly around the child, which moved like an ape on all fours to keep both blazing eyes locked with Jeanine’s.

“What’s the matter girly? Hurt too much to continue? Well just lay down the mace real slow like and I’ll put you out of your misery nice and quick.” The demon mocked, the child’s voice a low keening whine as the creature from within spoke. “Afterwards, they’ll set me free with the two souls I’ve gathered, plus yours and the child’s!”

“So you mean to tell me if I surrender, you’re going to drag me to Hell?” Jeanine asked, somewhat stunned at the thought.

The demon’s grin grew even wider. “Yeah, where it’ll burn for all eternity.”

Jeanine hefted the weapon to her shoulder. "Screw that. I'll just have to cave your head in."

"Smooth talk coming from a guilt ridden killer." The demon gushed, giggling as it spoke.

Jeanine shook her head. "No shame in defending yourself demon. No shame at all."