Eden (29 page)

Jared grabbed the barrel
of Ryan’s weapon and jerked it. “Everyone can shell. Everyone is a
threat. The demons are
counting
on you to see the human and hesitate. Hesitation
will get you killed. Got it?”

“
Got it.”

“
Five minutes!” Claire
called.

Everyone tensed. Bex flew through
traffic, trying to leave the shells building up around us behind,
but every time he gained ground, the drivers of the cars ahead
shelled. The stores and houses seemed to be almost on top of each
other, covering the gentle hills. Many of the buildings—especially
the older ones—were made of rectangular rocks and castle-like in
shape. Trees peppered the landscape, unlike the vast desert I had
expected.

The sun was blindingly bright, glaring
off the road and buildings. Kim squeezed my hand when we passed two
statues of knights on horses, flying flags and proclaiming victory
over the land. It was dizzying to think of how many how many
empires had tried to own this land, and how much blood had been
shed for a claim to it. We were going to be the numberless battle
in that holy city. Not to own it, but survive it.

Jared looked at me. “Stay close. Never
leave my side, for any reason. Keep your eyes and ears
open.”

I nodded. “I love you.”

He managed a small smile and shook his
head. “I love you,” he said, pulling me to him. He planted a quick
kiss on my lips, and then the Humvee stopped.

“
Damascus Gate less than
one klick!” Claire yelled.

Jared looked to Samuel for
explanation, but he was gone.

Bex turned, his face intense. “Shells
coming over the hill!”

“
That’s it! We’re on our
own!” Jared yelled. He took the safety off his pistol, and grabbed
a fistful of my vest.

Claire and Ryan left the Humvee first,
and Jared and I followed. The bullets were already flying, landing
in the sand at my feet. We hunkered down in a small alley just
inside a stone corridor until Kim and Bex joined us, and then Jared
silently ordered us to move.

Claire pointed further inside the
corridor. “Damascus Gate. Markets and pedestrians. No
good.”

Jared nodded once, and then we moved
out. Claire took to the street with cover fire, running at full
speed to the next alley. People walking in the street would run,
and then suddenly stop to follow. Jared pulled me across the
street, and a large man with military fatigues ran at us. Claire
put a bullet in his head in less than a second. Jared didn’t bother
to slow down. We jumped over the corpse and caught up.

Duck and cover seemed to be the plan
of action for the next two streets. The Old City was a series of
narrow rock roads and corridors lined with trinkets and rugs for
sale. We reached the end of one road to find ourselves at the
beginning of a marketplace. Claire froze, and we stopped abruptly
behind her. A hundred or so people stopped, slowly turning around.
They eyes of men, women, and children were black as night and
bulging from their sockets.

“
Move,” Claire said,
waving us back.

Jared turned on his heels, leading us
to the next building and up a set of stairs. We climbed to the
roof, with the mob just behind Bex and Kim. Jared took a few wide
strides and then we leapt from that roof to the next. He wanted to
continue, but I refused, waiting for Kim. Once they breeched the
top of the stairs, I saw hands clamoring over bodies, the shells
trampling each other to get at us. Bex was focused, but Kim’s eyes
bulged.

“
Just hang on to him!”
Claire called.

Bex, still running, hugged Kim to him,
and when his feet left the roof, he cradled her to his side like a
football. His landing was smooth, but Kim had to take a moment we
didn’t have to get her bearings. The mob still came at us, most of
them falling to the alley below when they tried to make the
jump.

My hands flew to my mouth. Children
were among those falling to their deaths.

We made the jump four times, and then
descended a set of stairs that lead us to another series of
corridors.

Jared hunkered down, letting Kim catch
her breath. “We’re in the Christian Quarter. The Sepulchre is two
klicks away. We’re going to take the west bypass, and make a path.
It’s a high traffic area for tourists, with high rock walls on each
side, so we’re going to have to mow a path.”

“
Copy that,” Ryan said,
cocking his rifle.

Jared began to speak again, but a
small group of young men shot at us from above. We ran again,
dodging shells and bullets. Bex followed up the rear, turning and
shooting as he ran. Ryan and Claire were at the front, their rifles
against their faces, pointing the barrels in every direction they
looked. As many times as I had tried to imagine it, we really were
in the middle of a war. The sounds of the AK-47s trading shots and
the bullets ricocheting off the walls and roads just made me run
faster.

Already exhausted, Kim had trouble
keeping up, and Bex kept encouraging her to keep moving. We took
cover behind dumpsters and parked cars every few seconds, and the
noises around us paused ever so often when we hunkered down, and
began sounding like a familiar beat.

Claire and Ryan would reload at nearly
the same time, and then we’d start again. Jared would drop a clip
and reload as we ran, and Bex did the same. At one point, he pulled
a second pistol, turning to lay down more cover fire until Jared
yelled for him to keep up. He was next to Kim in less than a
second.

Shells that were unarmed simply tried
to grab us, but the demons were still human on the outside, and
Ryan quickly learned how to incapacitate them. He would use his
elbow or the butt of his gun, and shooting the ones he didn’t have
time for. I noticed most of his bullets landing in their kneecaps
or shoulders, hoping to give them a chance once the demons let them
go.

In the court of the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, a large crowd obstructed the two giant wooden doors that
led inside. They stood like statues, their arms calmly at their
sides, their black eyes and ashen skin confirming control by the
demonic. Some of them were civilian, but most were in fatigues,
holding AK-47s. The building itself was massive, much larger than I
had imagined, made of stone. I suddenly felt much better about
being holed up in there for the next sixty days or so, but the high
rock walls made it impossible to do anything but initiate a head-on
invasion.

“
Should we wait until
dark?” Bex asked.

I grabbed his bloodied shoulder,
pressing my palm against it. “You’re hit.”

He winked. “It’s not bad. So...should
we wait?”

Jared shook his head. “We just need to
get in there.”

Kim sighed. “But how? There are
hundreds of people out there.”

Claire pulled a pin from a grenade.
“Like this.” She rolled it into the crowd, and in seconds a large
explosion blew people and body parts in different directions. A
huge brown cloud of smoke filled the area and Claire and Ryan ran
full speed into it.

Jared grabbed my sleeve and we
followed. We didn’t get five steps before a hail of bullets rained
down on us. Jared was hit several times and faltered. A bullet
ripped through my arm. At first it didn’t hurt, but the closer we
got to the Sepulchre, the more the burning surged through my veins.
The memory of the pain in my leg at the Japanese restaurant in
Providence immediately came to the forefront of my mind. Jared
flipped around, and emptied his pistol into the dissipating cloud.
He pushed me forward, and Claire and Ryan took me into the
church.

“
She’s hit!” Ryan
said.

They had already cleared the main
room. Ryan tied a piece of cloth around my arm while Claire took
out the shells in the rest of the church and secured the entrances.
Jared, Bex, and Kim came into the doors as one unit, with Kim
sliding in on her knees. Bex slammed the door closed behind them,
and immediately covered the window.

After a few minutes and sporadic
gunfire, Claire returned. “We only have a few minutes before they
reorganize. The barricades won’t hold for long. We need to get
underground.”

I winced as Jared tightened Ryan’s
tourniquet. “I thought they couldn’t come in here.”

Jared frowned at the dark red
saturating the cloth on my arm. “It’s the tomb they can’t violate.
The church and basilisk itself are fair game.”

Bex glanced back from the window.
“Whatever we’re doing, let’s do it fast.”

The cloud from the grenade had
cleared, revealing dozens of mutilated corpses on the ground. More
shells were crowding the Sepulchre, and were now climbing its walls
and beating on the doors.

Jared lifted Kim off the floor. “You
have the book?”

She nodded, breathing hard.

“
You ready to do what you
came here to do?”

“
Yes, and it’s about damn
time, Ryel,” she said, tightening her grip on the pack.

We retreated into the church, passing
extravagant garnishing of gold, marble and artwork. Candles lined
altars, and pictures of the crucifixion of Christ. We passed a set
of stairs that made Claire pause before advancing into the
Sepulchre of Jesus.

“
Where do they lead?” I
asked.

Jared glanced at the stairs only
briefly. “That would be the stairway to Calvary. Christ climbed
those steps on his way to be crucified.”

We continued through a large room to
another room that held a smaller room within it. You could walk
around this room, but Claire advanced inside.

“
Is this it?” I
asked.

Jared squeezed my hand. “The Holy
Sepulchre.”

We filed in, and everyone dropped
their packs. I was confused. The adornments around the room
signaled a holy place, but all this time, my mind pictured an
underground cavern.

“
This can’t be it. How can
we protect ourselves in here?”

Claire sighed. “Not in here.” She
pushed the altar to the side, revealing an ancient steep staircase.
“The true tomb is hidden below. It’s hidden from the
public.”

“
I’m having my baby in a
hole,” I said, more of a statement than a question.

Bex laughed once. “Uh...is there room
in the inn?”

My stomach lurched, and I grabbed
Jared’s arm.

“
Nina?” he said,
immediately worried.

I grabbed my belly with both hands and
groaned. “Give me a minute,” I said, panting.

Claire took a few steps down. “We
don’t have a minute.”

“
Let’s get her
downstairs,” Bex said, checking outside the room. “They’re
coming.”

Claire clicked a flashlight onto her
rifle and ducked down the staircase. Ryan followed, and then Jared,
me and Kim went down next, with Bex closing the opening behind us.
The stairway opened up into a stone hallway that led to a massive
cavern. Damp, dark, and drippy. Just as I had imagined.

“
Feeling better?” Jared
asked, touching my protruding stomach.

I nodded, still looking around the
room. The flashlights illuminated giant stone arches lining the
vast space, accessing lateral halls.

“
Where do they lead?” I
asked.

“
Tunnels. Two hundred
yards either way isn’t protected. They won’t come down here, but
don’t wander.”

“
I won’t.”

Kim pulled the Naissance de Demoniac
from her satchel, and pointed her flashlight around the room,
settling on what looked like a formerly adorned altar. She walked
over to it slowly. Even in the dim light, I could see her body
shaking uncontrollably. Ryan and I walked behind, watching her hold
the book in front of her.

“
I did it,” she said,
staring at the book in awe. “We’re free.”

Ryan put his hand on Kim’s shoulder as
she placed the book on the altar. She fell to her knees, and we
fell with her. In the next moment, the ground began to shake, and
small bits of rock fell to the floor. A piercing roar echoed
through the tomb, causing us all to cover our ears. It was one
voice, but also many, wailing, yelling, cursing utter
foulness...and then it was over. Silence.

Kim looked back at Jared, and he
offered a knowing smile. She had completed her mission, and freed
her family of the duty of protecting the Naissance de Demoniac from
a constant, powerful enemy.

“
I guess I can go home
now?” she said.

“
You can,” Bex said. “But
you’re on your own, and this place is crawling with
shells.”

“
We could use you here,”
Jared said, “to help with the birth.”

Kim smiled at him. It was a relief to
finally see the two come to terms. The air was immediately lighter
between them.

“
I wonder if you still
have your superpower?” Ryan said.

Kim punched him in the gut, and he
doubled over. “It would appear so.”

“
That wasn’t what I
meant,” he coughed.

Chapter
Nineteen