The outside world was as he had observed from the seventh floor earlier that day. The sky still possessed the red tinge, and the city was still a shambles. Henry was no expert, but his best judgement of the time based on the current position of the sun, was that it was sometime after midday.
Doesn’t look much past the 2:45pm my watch is stuck at. But, that really doesn’t make any sense… The carnage, the emptiness, it’s too much. Then again, I have no idea how many demons came through the portal. There could even have been more portals around here. Is it even safe to assume the sun is behaving how it should?
Unhappy with his conclusions, he spent a few minutes looking around outside his office building, while listening for anything that might warn of him nearby danger. He found nothing, the local vicinity seemed to be completely devoid of life. He started off in the direction of the newsagent’s he often visited coming to and from work. It was only a short walk away, about five to ten minutes usually, depending on traffic. That at least, was no longer an issue.
He moved slowly and cautiously through the ruins of his home city, constantly on the look out for danger as he did so. The demons had done a thorough job. Every building he walked past seemed to have been heavily damaged, glass windows were smashed, doors flung away from entrance ways, while wrecked vehicles of all sorts were strewn about, with some having crashed into buildings. He even spotted a car somehow stuck in the side of a tall building, several floors up. It all added up to a rather depressing site.
Is there no one left alive?
It wasn’t just things that were damaged though. As he had seen from his aerial vantage point earlier, there were the remains of people scattered about. Henry did his best to avoid them, but it wasn’t that simple. He accidentality stumbled upon a few remains that were hidden out of sight, some behind walls, or cars and other obstacles, realising they were there only as he was almost on top of them, where the stench notified him too late. To say the grisly state of his office building had prepared him for what he saw, would be untrue. Even his own murderous assault upon Gyxr’s champion had not immunised him to the horrors he unwittingly discovered.
Like most of the buildings in the city, the newsagent’s too had been ransacked. Shelves were toppled over, and their remaining contents spread about all over the place. Further inside the store, his eyes caught upon a body. It had been blocked from outside observation, hidden behind a shelf that was still mostly intact. It was not a welcoming sight.
He conducted a thorough search of the place, finding the severed head of the body in the freezer of all places, where it was buried amongst the ice cream, before he finally he found the maps. They were stacked in a pile behind the counter. Many of them were damaged, singed, drenched in various fluids or ripped, but there were intact ones too.
Alright, let’s see… Okay, looks like there’s a police station not far from here, just opposite to a restaurant that I’ve definitely been too before. I really need to pay more attention to these things.
His next destination set, there was no reason to linger any longer in their, especially with the foul stench of death that permeated every inch. He made his way outside, but as his foot touched the pavement, an imp lunged at him from its hiding place beneath the street facing shop window. Before Henry could react, it collided with his midsection, sending him sprawling to the ground, and as he fell, his head collided with the pavement with a dull thud. The imp followed him closely, its small clawed hands keeping it in place as it fell with him, before it dove teeth first right for his face.
“Yeeeeargh!” Henry cried out.
Using his uninjured right arm, Henry managed to stop the imp’s toothy maw from savaging his face, but the pain of it biting into his flesh was still immense. He also managed to jostle his broken arm as he fell, making things far worse.
Struggling to fight the pain, Henry sought for a way to fight back. With his left arm broken and his right arm taking the brunt of the imp’s assault, there was no way for him to reach his axe. He was no gymnast, nor was he a wrestler, and as such, there was little chance he could wrangle the imp into some elaborate choke hold with his legs. Ultimately, the only option that came to him was brute force.
Henry twisted his body slightly, positioning himself so that the imp still attached to his arm by its teeth, was between him and the wall of the newsagent’s. The imp was surprisingly light, but the motion still caused further pain to emerge from his arm. Fighting through it, he enacted his plan. Bracing himself, he began smashing the imp’s head directly into the wall behind it.
It wasn’t easy. The imp’s teeth dug into his arm more unpleasantly with each bash, and the force of the blow was causing more pain to emanate from his other arm, but after several such hits, the imp released him and slumped to the floor.
With his foe detached, Henry wasted little time in unslinging his axe, and bringing it to bear upon the imp’s face with as much force as he could single handedly muster. His efforts released a sickening fleshy noise as the axe hit, but Henry was too relieved to not be dead to care overmuch.
Threat eliminated, Henry ducked back into the newsagent’s, and collapsed behind the counter out of sight from the street. His bitten arm was hurting considerably, and covered in a fair quantity of fresh blood.
Okay… Need to add medical supplies to my pack ASAP. Huh, guess this is a good test to see if I have those healing powers now that I think about it. Not that that will stop me from binding the wound.
Reluctant to venture outside again so soon, Henry decided to make do with what he could find in the newsagent’s, which turned out to be not much. With his arm covered with newspaper and string, Henry collapsed back against the wall behind the counter.
What is with those things? They seem to latch onto their target with their teeth and sit there. Almost like an attack dog trying to disarm someone. Well, it’s a good job they don’t do more, those claws looked pretty damn sharp too.
Weary from his recent battle, on top of everything else he had experienced that day, Henry slowly drifted off to sleep.
----------------------------------------
Henry awoke some time later. The shop floor was still being bathed by light coming in from the windows, that was tinged with the same reddish hue. He still had no idea what time it was. Shaking his head in annoyance, he peeked over the counter for signs of trouble.
“Ah, your finally awake!”
Henry let out a yelp.
Sitting down next to one of the shelves was an elderly man and a young woman. The man, who to Henry’s eyes looked at least 50, was wearing an old fashioned brown suit. His hair was grey and short, while on his upper lip sat a gigantic caterpillar of a moustache that was similarly coloured. Despite his age, he was quite striking. The woman was much younger in comparison, most likely late teens. Her hair was black and reached all the way down to her waist. She was almost dangerously thin in Henry’s opinion, but otherwise quite pretty. She was wearing a low cut t-shirt and skinny jeans.
Henry took a few breaths, trying to calm himself down before speaking.
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“You scared me half to death! Who are you? How long have you been there? What are you doing here?” he blurted out.
“Oh my, terribly sorry about that. I’m Peter and this lovely young lady with me is Catherine.”
“Hi!” the young woman called Catherine greeted him with a warm smile.
“We were just passing by, when Catherine here noticed that freshly bested beastie outside. We went to investigate and as we approached this very shop, we heard the unmistakable noise of a sleeping human, that lead us right to you.”
Shit, should have been more careful. Completely forgot about the snoring! Haven’t heard many complaints since my girlfriend left me…
“We then decided to keep watch over you. Can’t be too careful these days after all you know.”
“We didn’t mean to scare you, honest! You looked so peaceful sleeping there, I thought it would have been cruel to wake you,” Catherine added.
“Yes indeed. She was quite insistent that you remain sleeping. I was all for rousing you immediately, but Catherine here wasn’t having any of it!” Peter finished his sentence, winking at Catherine as he did so. Who responded with a playful slap on his shoulder.
Henry was caught completely off guard. The pair of them were acting like it was just another day in happy land, with no demonic invasion hell bent on destruction in sight.
“I see I owe you a debt of gratitude. I’m Henry, thanks for watching out for me.”
“Oh it’s nothing, anyone would have done the same. Right dear?” Peter replied jovially.
“It is dangerous out there,” Catherine cheerfully agreed.
Their intense cheer was quickly becoming too much for Henry.
“I don’t want to appear rude, but you are aware of what’s going on outside? You know, scary demon looking things, roaming around, killing everything in sight.”
Peter barked out a laugh. Catherine quickly giggling along with him.
“Of course we are, dear fellow. As I just explained, the very reason we stopped here, was to keep an eye out for more of the buggers.”
“Um, Professor, I think Henry is saying that we don’t seem to be very upset about the invasion.”
“Oh my, I see. You’ve got it all wrong, lad. Of course, it is an absolute tragedy, the worst disaster in the history of mankind I’ll wager. Believe me, I watched good men and women fall before my very eyes. Unable to do anything but watch as they died. But, Catherine and I have decided to keep our spirits up in the face of this adversity. We have to keep going, enjoying life as much as we are able.”
Professor huh… So an academic and his pupil? The ages look about right for it. She’s really pretty hot too. Probably doesn’t have a boyfriend either, given how things are… Unless…?
“Of course the massive loss of life is abhorrent. But, the appearance of demon-like creatures through portals! Some of them even resemble common creatures found in works of fiction. An absolutely staggering discovery. Oh, I have so many many questions. Is the likeness purely coincidence? Have they been here before, recorded by the people of long ago, only to be dismissed as fantasy over the centuries?” Peter had the look of a young child, being given a new toy.
“Oh professor, please calm down. It’s not good for you to get so worked up. I know how much this means to you. But, there’s plenty of time for us to discover the truth,” Catherine had wrapped her arms around Peter from the side and was gently hugging him as she spoke.
Shit… Maybe a bit more than professor and student now. Lucky bastard.
“Say, do you happen to know what time it is?” Henry asked.
“Ah yes, infuriating business this EM interference, isn’t it. How am I supposed to do proper research without electronics, I ask you. But, fear not, you are in luck lad.”
Peter reached into his breast pocket and pulled out an ornate looking pocket watch.
“I have with me this lovely heirloom, passed down to me from my great-grandfather no less. Purely mechanical it is, and still in perfect working order. Now let’s see...”
Peter flicked open the cover of the watch, and held it out before him at arm’s length.
“It is now 3:13pm.”
“What? Are you sure?” Henry inquired, as the seemingly impossible declaration reached his ears.
“Of course, I’m sure lad. It says so right here, 3:13pm, Thursday the 7th of April.”
Thursday? Ah, fuck. I arrived at work on Monday. Which means I spent three whole days stuck to that wall… Guess, that explains how empty it is, and the extent of the destruction. Still, was I really dead for three whole days?
“Is everything okay?” Catherine asked him with a look of concern on her pretty face.
“Heh, apart from how fucked we all are you mean?” Henry regretted his words as he saw the frowns on the faces of the pair before him. “Ah, sorry, I think I’ll step outside for a bit. Stretch my legs.”
“Please be careful! There are still monsters about,” Catherine warned him as he moved towards the door.
“Indeed, don’t hesitate to run right back here if you find yourself in trouble my lad. We can handle a few beasties,” Peter added.
“Thanks, I will.”
Stepping outside, Henry started walking back the way he had come from earlier. He didn’t intend to go far, as he was still very wary of further ambushes. As he walked, he let his mind wander over the various aspects of the situation he’d found himself in. It was all quite depressing. The incredible loss of life, which he had little doubt had extended to most everyone he had ever known; the continuing danger from demonic monsters of unknown origin and abilities; and the complete asshole of a ‘benefactor’ he’d found himself working for. There was also the mention of EM interference by the old professor, which seemed to imply things were worse than Henry had assumed. Dead electronics was a problem, but a complete inability to use them at all moving forwards was so much worse.
Henry had walked a fair distance from the shop where he had met Peter and Catherine. Having run out of topics to ponder for the time being, he started heading back, but it wasn’t long before he heard a faint scream. He broke into a run, arriving at the newsagent’s shortly after, completely out of breath. Holding his axe at the ready, he burst into the shop.
“Woah my boy, where’s the fire?” Peter asked with a smile, causing Catherine to burst into giggles beside him.
“I heard a scream… and came…. running,” Henry managed between breaths.
“Oh, sorry about that lad. I was just playing a little practical joke on the lovely Catherine here. Gave her quite the fright!” Peter barked out a laugh.
Catherine was wagging her finger at Peter in mock indignation.
“I see, phew. Well, that’s a relief.”
Henry put his fire axe away and took a seat next to the counter.
“By the way, I was wondering if you could tell me more about what’s happened since the invasion started? I spent most of that time stuck in a building… Has there been a response from the military? And where are all the demons?”
Peter nodded gravely and sat down opposite Henry. Catherine joined him.
“Well lad, it’s an unpleasant business, as you well know I’m sure. Myself and Catherine barely escaped the initial wave. It took a bit of cunning, and I must admit, a lot of running. We’ve been trying to get a message out since then, but with the lack of functioning electronics, it’s been difficult.”
Catherine was resting her head on Peter’s shoulder. He absent-mindedly began stroking her hair.
“We’ve seen no sign of the police or military. I can only imagine the local police forces perished trying to stop the demons. As for where the demons went, well according to a nice fellow we met just two days back, they have been spreading out from the invasion sites wreaking havoc as they go.”
“Another survivor?” Henry asked.
“Yes indeed, a most curious fellow. We spent some time chatting and trading information. Very friendly chap he was. Hmm, can’t seem to recall his name...”
“Barry. He was hunting demons when we found him,” Catherine supplied for him.
“Ah yes, Barry. As I said, a most curious fellow. Challenged me to a duel of all things! Of course I declined, I’m far too old to be throwing down the gauntlet.”
Barry? Could it be Baz? … What I am thinking, there must be hundreds of people called Barry in the city.
“After a spell, we parted ways. He was set on hunting down and killing more of the demons, ‘to prove himself’, I think he said. And well after that, we wandered for a while and then ended up meeting you.”
“Lucky us!” Catherine added. “How about you, Henry? Did you meet any interesting people on your way here?” Catherine asked him with a smile.
He couldn’t help swallowing noisily, almost choking on his own saliva.
“Ah, no, not really. As I said, I was stuck in a building for most of it. Pinned down by the demons.”
“Oh, you poor thing,” Catherine responded.
“Indeed, amazing you survived then, lad.”
A silenced lingered in the air, which Henry spent trying to push aside the disturbing memories of his time in the office building.
“So, were you two heading anywhere in particular before you found me?” Henry soon asked.
“Well, in a manner of speaking, yes. Catherine has this notion that we should head west,” Peter supplied.
“It makes sense professor! There’s a large military base out that way.”
“Yes, so you’ve told me! But, don’t you think it likely that the demons would be drawn to such a place?”
A hurt look crossed Catherine’s face.
“No need to get upset, my dear. I’m just concerned about your safety. I couldn’t stand losing you too.” Peter pulled Catherine into a hug, resting her head on his chest, and patting her head. He looked back at Henry.
“How about you lad? Where were you headed?”
“Well, I think I had a similar idea to Catherine as it happens. I was planning on visiting the local police station.”
“Ah I see, yes similar reasoning no doubt. And where is this police station you speak of? It would be a shame to split up so soon.”
“It’s to the west too as it happens,” Henry replied. “Not too far though, maybe about an hour to get there on foot.”
Having extracted herself from Peter’s arms, Catherine smiled reassuringly at Henry.
“We’ll join you then!”
“That we will,” Peter agreed happily. “Now, how about a nice luncheon before we head off?”
“Sounds good to me,” Henry replied.
They ate a decent meal from the food lying around in the shop. Henry was slightly concerned about dessert, but it turned out the severed head had been removed from the freezer while he was out.