Touched by the Devil

Touched by the Devil # 30

“I don’t know.” I heard myself say.

Easing myself down the side of the tunnel, I sat on the edge, my feet dangling out over the cave wall, my dress bunched up around my knees. Everything hurt. I felt like I was breathing in a heat that covered my teeth in a vile, sick skin. My head pounded, everything tipped whenever I moved it and all of my joints ached.

“What are you doing?” Gabe hissed as another rock clattered to the floor.

I didn’t answer. My body slumped backwards so that I was lying down, staring at the ceiling.

“Don’t you miss the stars?” I asked absently, my eyes shifting from the huge bulbs attached to the ceiling, to the uneven rocky tunnel roof.

“Not now,” Gabe groaned, his feet kicking up specks of chipped stone as he shuffled over to the edge and peered down. “You gotta get up, we need to leave.”

“There’s no point, we won’t make it.” I grumbled. My lip stung as it got caught in my undead teeth, the skin tugged slightly as I flicked it free. “Angels can fly remember?”

“We can’t sit here either!” Gabe argued his voice a rumble in his chest, “I have not been dragged across the country to die because a demon-vampire thing decided to use me as bate to eat a freaking Angel-reptile!”

I sighed warm air and carried on studying the tunnel roof. Loose rocks hung further back, like knobbly fingers trying to grab us.

The heavy feeling in my body begged me to close my eyes, to fall asleep.

“I can buy you time.”

“You can barely stand.” Gabe growled throwing himself against the side of the tunnel wall and glaring at his feet.

“I don’t really have to stand to buy you time.” I said evenly.

Actually that wasn’t a bad idea. The angel would want to eat me. It’d want to hurt me for hurting it, for taking away its food. I mean I may not be able to stop it from going after Gabe once it’s finished, but at least he’ll be able to have a head start.

“You just need to stay underground, the longer you stay underground the faster the angel will lose strength. Once it’s weak enough you can try to kill it. Get the wings first. It won’t be able to fly and they aren’t very fast runners so-”

“I’m not leaving you.” Gabe snapped.

I frowned at the roof a line took shape out of the shadows, it weaved in and out around some of the larger rocks hanging from the roof.

“Don’t be stupid,” I said, “start climbing down now, I’ll keep it-”

“I said no.” Gabe snapped again, his foot flying out from his side and whacking my shin.

“Do that again and I’ll rip your foot off,” I growled, my nails cutting into the palms of my hand as my undead thing tried to crawl its way to the surface.

“Sit up then.” Gabe growled back, his foot hitting my shin again.

Another rock smashed to the tunnel floor, the sound closer than before. As I watched the crack up ahead shook, a fine sheet of stone dust fell to the floor.

An idea floated out of my foggy head.

“Hey Gabe.” I said my voice sounding softer than I wanted it too.

“What?”

“You don’t by any chance happen to have an SBD gun on you do you?”

Gabe hesitated, “Why would I have a Sonic Blast Device gun?”

I hesitated, before remembering he didn’t have his bag with him. It must be back in Amelia’s house somewhere.

“Never mind,” I huffed out, “just thought we could collapse the tunnel roof.”

I could see him out of the corner of my eye inspecting the roof. It could have worked, or at least it could have slowed the Angel down a little.

“I’m sorry I can’t save you,” I heard myself whisper.

“It’s okay Gwen,” Mathew shushed me his hands on either side of my cheek as I sat slumped up against the tunnel wall. I shouldn’t have brought him down here. Amelia knew her castle like the back of her hand. The underground tunnels would be the first place they’d come looking.  

“No it’s not,” I wept, the tears that leaked from my eyes had never fallen like this before. “I should never have brought you here. I put you in danger. I don’t know what I was thinking, I just-”

“It’s okay,” he said again.

Mathew shifted slightly and pulled me into his lap, his hand brushing my hair away from my face.

“I shouldn’t have brought the gang with me,” he said softly, “I should have known things would have gotten out of hand.”

“I’d thought she’d listen, I really did,” I cried hugging Mathew’s arm around my waist, as the tunnel before me swam around in salty water. “I thought she’d see you, really see you.”

“I’m an Outcast love,” Mathew sighed, “those in the Society will never see me as anything but.”

“You are though,” I said, the words shuddered as I gasped in air. Blood stained my blue dress purple. I could still feel the Society member struggling as I’d killed him. Mathew injured on the floor. I’d had no choice. I’d had no choice. I’d had no choice.

“You should go.” I said pushing myself up slightly.

Mathew held me against him, his chest steady as he breathed.

“I can hold them off, give you time to run-”

“I’m not leaving you to take the fall Gwen,” Mathew said his tone silencing me, “I know what the Society do to those who betray it. I’m not leaving you behind.”

“Mathew please-”

“If I run they’ll kill you, and then they’ll hunt me down and kill me too,” he said his lips gracing the top of my head. “If I stay, they’ll kill me but not you. You can play them Gwen, you’re good at surviving.”

I started to shake my head. My fingers didn’t know how much tighter they could hold onto him for.

“Just tell them I used you, tell them I tricked you into falling for me, that you tried to stop me from leaving, that you tried to kill me for killing that man back there-”

“But I-”

“Did nothing wrong,” Mathew shushed me, his cheek rested against my head. “Just tell them that and they’ll believe you. You’re Amelia’s protégé, they won’t harm you.”

Mathew tightened his arms around me and nuzzled my neck, his breath warm against my skin. Footsteps echoed down the tunnel. I froze, my stomach clenched up. We had to leave. We had to move.

“Tell me you forgive me,” Mathew whispered in my ear.

A soggy gasp rattled up my throat when I realised he wasn’t going to run away.

“There’s nothing to forgive, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Mathew whispered, “My Gwen.”

He broke my neck just as the Society Guards rounded the corner.