『Guardian Angel』»〈skephalo〉

XVIII

•darryl•

Zak lunged at George. The angel brought his sword forward, but Zak dodged it. While the boy did that, his nails grew long and pointy, clawing George at his side. The guardian gasped out in pain, clutching where he had just been scratched. "You disgusting being!" George snapped.

Zak withdrew his claws and snarled at George in response. The younger boy's eyes were deep red and wild. His behavior mimicked a savage animal that thirsted for blood. It was terrifying.

Vincent opened his mouth wide, breathing a load of flames. The fire extended so far that I had to grab Finn and duck down so the flames couldn't touch our skin. Finn let out a cry of shock as I did this, but I didn't pay any attention to it.

Meanwhile, Dave and Carson were both helping Zak against George, attacking from all sides and vastly outnumbering the angel. I really considered helping him, but I couldn't bring myself to kill Zak. It was too much of a horrible task.

"Darryl!" George called out when he was struck in the back by Dave. Soon afterwards, Zak clawed the guardian's stomach. Carson cackled, blasting a ball of flames at George's torso and making him cry out. "You have to help me!"

I shook my head. "You know I can't do that," I replied solemnly.

"Listen to me!" He called, dodging a blow from Carson then pinning the possessed boy against the wall. A jab from Dave made him lose weight on Carson, giving enough of a distraction to let Zak claw him from the other side. "The Zak you knew and love is gone! He's gone, Darryl! He'll stay gone until you do something about it!"

I let George's words sink in for a moment. He was right. Unless I fight off this demon, Zak will forever be possessed. There's nothing I can do but fight at this point, so I guess that's what I have to do.

I knelt down to the grown, pressing my palm onto the floor and concentrating. While I sent the message to the overworld, my head began to ache from the amount of power I was putting into this action. Eventually, once it was complete, I withdrew my hand from the ground and stood up.

"Your time is over, you nasty creature!" I declared with anger and hate.

At that exact moment, five warrior angels appeared in the room. With full armor and huge powerful swords, the angels extended their wings and puffed out their chests. "All four of them are being controlled by the demon, but it's host is that one," I informed the warriors, pointing at Zak.

Immediately, the warriors shot themselves in Zak's direction, attacking the boy at all sides. It hurt to watch him be jabbed, stabbed, shoved and thrown. Vincent, Carson, and Dave tried to pry the warriors away from Zak but it was no use. The warriors were too powerful for their own good.

In the meantime, George took Zelk, Finn, Clay, and Jack into safety, leading them out of Finn's home and onto the street. I was tempted to follow them, but I just couldn't leave Zak's side, even if he was possessed by the most horrible creature in the universe.

Eventually, it happened. The warriors combined their powers and blasted in Zak's direction, hitting the kid square in the chest. The light pushed the demon out of Zak's body, causing the boy to fall to the ground. "Any last words?" One of the warriors asked the demon.

"Fuck you," The demon snarled.

Then the light enveloped the creature, blasting at him at full force. It was nothing new to me, I had seen demons be sent to hell. But I've never been so hurt by one being sent back before, not until today.

Soon, the light disappeared, and so did the warrior angels with it. They have to escort the demon back for security measures.

After they were gone, Vincent, Dave, and Carson's eyes turned back to normal. All three of them looked around in confusion. I ignored them, shoving past them to kneel next to Zak's limp body on the floor of Finn's house.

"Zak," I whispered in a shaky voice. I placed my hand on the side of his face. It felt cold. I bit my lip. "Zak, I need you to get up now," I told him, my voice trembling. I felt a tear slip out of my eye, traveling down my cheek and to the bottom of my chin. "Zak, please," I begged.

The boy below me was still motionless, just laying there as if he was sleeping. I brought my palm to his chest, letting it glow against his body. I concentrated on bringing all of my energy to my hand and giving it to Zak. Zak needed the energy more than I do.

"Zak," I repeated as more tears fell. My heart hurt so badly, it hurt... I just wanted all of this pain to go away but it just wouldn't. Watching the boy I cared for and love just slip away within my grasp hurt too much.

"Wake up!" I shouted at him, beginning to feel angry. Angry at him, angry at myself. Angry with the demon that came here and started all of this. Angry at George for attacking the demon, angry at Finn for not telling us sooner. Angry at everyone.

Then I thought of the only thing left to do. I placed my left hand under his head, my right hand on the side of his cheek. I sniffled, then leaned down and connected my lips to his, feeling the same magical feeling I first felt when we kissed. I forced all of my energy to my lips, feeding it back to Zack through the kiss that I brought him. I deepened it, using all of the energy I could muster to try and help the boy come back to me. More energy... and more energy... and more... and...

Zak opened his eyes.