The Redstone Demon

Chapter 10

Max knew it had been five hours, because he'd tried, and subsequently failed, five times now, to keep the demon and its lackeys from beating Ross, like they had promised Shelby they would, and taking pictures of the nineteen year old who was steadily getting in worse and worse condition, already almost as battered as Max himself.

Ross was shaking, laying in Max's arms, pressed up against the older man for the small amount of comfort that he could offer. Max knew that Ross was probably close to passing out, as exhausted and hurt as he was, so, feeling guilty, he forced himself to keep pinching Ross, shaking him, doing what he could to keep his friend from falling asleep, and become vulnerable to Sky's power.

There was something making a small scraping sound, coming from above them. He paid it no mind at first, figuring it was a mouse that was wandering around in the air vents. But, when a figure suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, the grate hanging open behind them, he jumped back, pulling Ross with him, making sure he was between the younger man and any potential danger.

"Shit!" The figure coughed out, in a quiet, but high-pitched voice. They shoved themselves to their feet, looking around until their eyes landed on Max and Ross, and they gasped, flinching.

It was a girl, probably somewhere around Max's age, with long, dark brown hair, the ends of which had been dyed a bright red. She was wearing a light grey shirt, a white sweater, and a short black skirt, all of which were covered with dust, probably from crawling throughout the vents.

"Ross!" She whispered, glancing towards the door nervously. "I'm here to save you!"

Ross was gaping at her, blinking dumbfoundedly. "Shelby?" He asked, voice hoarse.

She nodded. "Yeah, it's me! C'mon, we aren't gonna die." She slipped something out of her pocket and stuck it in the lock, fidgeting with it for a minute or so, until it clicked, and swung open. "I'll boost you guys up into the vent, then you can lift me back up, okay?"

Ross nodded, clearly dazed. "Okay." He muttered, blinking a few times at his cousin, as though expecting her to vanish as soon as he reopened his eyes.

Max helped him to his feet, eyeing Shelby with thinly veiled suspicion. "Careful, Ross." He murmured, when the younger man stumbled, though he didn't take his wary gaze off of Shelby as he said it. He helped Ross walk towards the middle of the room, where the vent was. Then, reluctantly, he helped her lift Ross up into the ceiling. Then, fetching a chair from the other end of the room, he used that, and her help, to climb up himself, reaching back down to lift her up.

The vent was an extremely tight fit, and they had to stay single file, with Ross in front, which worried Max. If anything tried to attack them from the front, Ross would take the brunt of the damage. And Shelby was behind him, which made him nervous, because he couldn't keep his eye on her if he couldn't see her.

"Okay, keep going straight, then, when you come across an open grate, to your left, go out that one." Shelby instructed them, as they started to crawl along the vent. "My friend is waiting outside, to help us. She'll make sure you're okay." As much as he didn't want to, Max followed her instructions, since Ross was doing as she said, and he wasn't willing to leave the younger man behind.

Sure enough, when Max tumbled out of the vent, from the grate that led to the outside world, he saw a strange woman doing her best to help support Ross, though it was hard since she was much shorter than him. She had black hair, tied back in a ponytail, and was wearing a loose purple sweater and white shorts.

Shelby clambered out behind him. "This is Jess. She's helping us." Jess gave them a nervous, but friendly smile, as Max went over to help her support Ross.