Marked (17 page)

“Oh, no! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” Kara trembled as she backed away, her eyes on the two higher demons marching towards her. The world around her grew still. She felt helpless and stuck, like a mouse caught in a trap, as she stared at the black-eyed monsters.

One of the demons pulled out a long black blade from his jacket. It was opaque, and a black mist emitted from it, like rippling black smoke. She felt a strange prickling from the inside, as though tiny electric shocks were going off all at once inside her mortal body. The demons broke into a run.

“DAVID!” she cried desperately. She waited ten seconds. Then she ran.

Kara bolted down Decarie Boulevard. She ran without looking back and pushed her mortal legs as much as she could. Her M suit, it turns out, was better than she could have hoped. Her powerful legs moved with incredible speed. She glanced back and nearly fell, as the shock of the higher demons being so close took her by surprise. They were faster than she was.

Kara pressed on. She knew she wasn’t trained to fight these demons—not yet. She imagined demon torture. That gave her the fuel to keep running.

She had been running nonstop for so long that she felt her spirit starting to dampen. Her M suit didn’t tire, but she didn’t know how long she could keep this up.
Am I going to run forever
? How long could she stay in her suit? She knew they didn’t last long. What was going to happen when she outlived it? She knew she had to do something, fast. Dread overwhelmed her whenever she looked back and met those evil black eyes. And David hated her now. The unfairness of it all filled her with rage.

A bright red neon sign, Stan’s Diner, appeared in front of her. Kara saw her chance and took it. She ran into a large group of teenage girls, stole a blue jacket from one of them, pulled it on and squeezed herself in with them. She hid with the giggling girls until she was right in front of the diner. Ducking her head, she sprinted straight for the front door and nearly collapsed as she rushed in. She crashed into a few people. “Oops, so sorry! Excuse me!” Kara whirled around and looked out the front glass door.

The higher demons passed Stan’s Diner. They ran along the sidewalk. Then they stopped. Their heads moved around, as if to follow a scent.

Oh, no! Crap! They’re going to find me!
She ran towards the back. A waitress walked down a hallway. “Toilet!” yelled Kara. “I need a toilet—hurry!”

The waitress stopped and pushed up her glasses. Her white hair was pulled back in a tight bun. “Okay. Keep your pants on,” she laughed. “The washrooms are over there,” she pointed behind her, “but they’re out of order.”

Kara stared. “Are you freaking kidding me?”

“You’ll have to try Stone Grill down the street,” the waitress told her.

“I’m not going to make it!”

The waitress blinked. “Are you sick?”

“Something like that.” Kara ran past the waitress and stopped in front of a wooden door. Two small paintings of a man and a woman with, each sitting on a toilet reading the paper, were nailed to the door. A paper sign taped on the front read;
Out of Order
. She tried to force the door open. But it wouldn’t budge. “Oh no, this can’t be happening!” cried Kara. She pulled on it again as hard as she could—and lost three fingers.

“AHHHHHH!” screamed Kara. She watched her fingers fall to the ground and bounce to a stop. Her index, middle and ring fingers lay by her shoes, looking like a couple of merguez sausages. A flash of blinding white light radiated from her severed hand it, illuminating the entire hallway, as if someone had just turned on a huge spotlight.

“Oh, my God!” Kara bent down and scooped up her mortal fingers with shaking hands. She squeezed them with her left hand. They felt like rubber. They were hollow, like empty shells. She dropped them in her pants front pocket. Then she shoved her glowing hand underneath her shirt and turned to check if she had been seen.

A man in his fifties, with salt and pepper hair, appeared in the hallway. He smiled at Kara as he passed by her. Kara put on her best fake smile and pretended to be talking on the phone. He disappeared into the kitchen where the smell of grease was as thick as tar. A metal coat rack stood against a wall, near the entrance to the kitchen. Kara dashed over to the rack and grabbed a pink silk scarf. She quickly wrapped the scarf around her glowing fingers. She stared at her pink hand.

Oh…this is so not good! How long do I have until the rest of me melts!

She jogged down the hallway to the front of the restaurant. A faint clatter came from the dining area, where customers enjoyed their greasy meals. She saw a young waitress setting up a new table. Kara looked out through the tall glass windows which ran the length of the diner. A higher demon searched the grounds outside. It prowled and down the block searching, like a wild animal sniffing out its prey.

Hmmm…now where’s the other one?

Kara hid her pink hand under her shirt. She leaned back against the wall. The waitress filled the empty salt shakers with a large bag of salt.

Salt!
Kara ran to an empty table.
Why didn’t I think of this before?

She grabbed a salt shaker and shoved it in her pocket. She knew what a bit of salt could to a higher demon. But this time she was alone. And there were two of them.

One is not enough—I need more!
She ran to the next empty table and grabbed another salt shaker. There were only two empty tables in the diner. But she needed salt.

The men and women in the restaurant eyed her suspiciously. Kara flashed them a smile. “I have low salt levels.”And with that, Kara rushed over to a booth with a family sitting comfortably inside.

“Hi there,” she said as she grabbed the salt shaker, “do you mind? I’m all out. Thanks a lot.” She shoved the shaker inside her other jean’s pocket. And just when she was about to turn around—her right ear fell onto the table.

“Crap!” yelled Kara as she scooped up her ear. She looked at the terrified family.

“Ah—it’s just a rubber ear,” she smiled, “nothing to worry about. Stupid little prank.”

But a beam of light had exploded from the right side of her head. A look of complete shock masked the faces of the family. Their eyes were glued to her head; at the glowing hole where her ear used to be.

Wide-eyed, Kara smacked the right side of her head. She pressed her hand against the hole. “I’m having a seriously
bad
day!”

She swung herself out of the booth and threw her mortal ear on the floor. She ran to another booth and scooped up three more salt shakers. Satisfied, she headed towards the back of the restaurant, but not before grabbing a knife from one of the tables.

A bell rang, and she turned to see a demon pushing the front door open. He stepped into the diner. His black eyes locked onto hers and grinned. Kara pushed open the back door and ran into an alleyway.

The other higher demon stood in the back alley. Hands in his pockets, he waited calmly outside for her. His pale face cracked in an evil grin. His black eyes watched her every move.

“I’m
so
not ready for this!” She put as much distance as she could between her and the demon. She knew running was not an option anymore. Her mortal body was shutting down.
Okay, think Kara! Think!
There are two of them and one of me...and I’ve got the salt and
—She looked at her right hand
,—and a butter knife…of all the possible sharp knifes in a restaurant—I had to pick the butter knife.
She opened a salt shaker.
If I’m going to die today—then I’m going down fighting.
With her butter knife in one hand and a salt shaker in the other, she waited for the demon to attack.

A door slammed shut behind her. The second demon stepped into the alley with a black blade smoking in his hand. Kara blinked and backed away.

“How about playing by the rules?” said Kara. “Two against one, that’s hardly fair!”

Rotating his dagger skillfully between his fingers, the demon took a step closer. Kara watched silently as he positioned his body in anticipation.

And then he struck.

But Kara was ready. The demon lunged forward, his weapon going for her stomach. Kara side stepped and thrust her knife into his side, cutting away at his flesh. She rolled and stepped back, watching in horror as black blood oozed from the cut. The demon clasped his wound with his hand, with a stunned expression across his face. Black blood dripped between his fingers. Then he came at her swinging.

Oh, oh—now he’s really mad
.

She went into defense mode; positioning her right foot in front of her while adjusting her weight with her left. She blocked his hit. The impact nearly forced her to her knees—but she held on. She felt the mortal body strain. She knew it wouldn’t last long. With all her strength, she pushed off and backed away, watching the demon’s corrupted face screwing up in anger, its upper lip trembled.

The demon attacked again. He swung his blade with brutal force, aiming for her head. She blocked it, but the force of the strike forced her to the ground. Her butter knife flew out of her hand. Blinking, she looked up at the demon, its black eyes filled with a mix of hatred and hunger. She felt a cold fever rushing through her. She trembled. She felt the M-suit weakening beneath her; melting away. Her vision blurred. She blinked desperately, trying to see clearly. The second demon walked slowly towards her, a smile materializing on its face. It opened its mouth to speak.

“The end is near,
angel
,” hissed the higher demon. “You can already
feel
it. We will
drink
your essence, little one—and you will be no more!” Its jaw dislocated and opened abnormally long, all the way down to its chest, like a ventriloquist’s dummy’s wooden mouth. Kara could only stare. It lunged at her—

Kara threw the salt shaker in its mouth. The demon fell over and screamed. Convulsing on the ground, his mouth sizzled and popped. Black smoke rose from his body, like burnt toast. He howled in pain.

Kara grabbed another salt shaker and readied herself as the other demon attacked. She threw the salt at it, but the demon brushed it aside with its blade. With lighting speed, the demon struck and sliced off her right arm.

“Ahhh!” Agonizing pain surged through her M suit. Her body burned, the poison of the blade eating away at her soul. She stared at the hole where her right arm used to be; black mist emitted from the wound, like smoke from a candle. A kind of acid surrounded the cut, eating its way around the stump, leaving it blackened. The pain was so intense that Kara shut her eyes and rolled on the ground. She was burning alive from the inside. She felt the poison of the blade spread through her M suit—and into her soul. She was dying, for a second time.

Kara
…
Kara…

Kara turned and looked at the demons. Their lips didn’t move.

Kara
…
be strong…

“Who—where are you—?” She whirled her head around.

We are here with you…

Kara trembled. “I can’t s—see you. H—help me. Please.”

Feel your strength, Kara. Don’t be afraid…

“What d—do you m—mean?” She shook uncontrollably.

“Who are you talking to, little
angel
?” The higher demon tossed her severed arm in the air. “No one can help you now.”

The demon stretched open its mouth and swallowed her arm. Its eyes suddenly glowed white, before going back to black. The demon grinned. It turned its attention to the remaining parts of Kara. “Your essence tastes great,” said the demon. “You will make me very powerful, little
angel
. You should be happy your
meaningless
angel
soul
will have served a purpose.”

Kara blinked as she forced herself to sit up. She cradled the stump of her arm. Part of her wanted to die, to stop the excruciating pain. She waited.

Kara… don’t let go…you can do this…hang on a little longer…