Lucas ✔️

Forty-Seven

Lucas didn't look like Lucas. I mean, he did – he still had the same jacket and jeans, and his hair was black, and he looked drop-dead gorgeous. But he looked... dangerous and not exactly human.

His eyes glowed a bright red – a colour I had never seen on him before – and his skin glowed red in veins, as though his skin was cracking to show molten lava beneath. Even his gorgeous hair seemed like crackling embers at the roots, small puffs of smoke burning from his hair. The air around him seemed to zap and tingle from the energy he was oozing, and the heat from his body burned my skin even from this distance.

His white shirt was singed, small burnt holes appearing across the thin material. The leather jacket I had gotten so used to seeing him wear - old and worn - was nowhere to be seen. Ghouls floated in the air around him, but none got too close. It was like they wanted to touch him, cling to his bad energy, but the air around him singed their forms.

"Mephistopheles," Lucas said slowly, stepping completely into the floodlit area, his eyes trained solely on Memphis. "I have grown tired of this game."

"Game?" Memphis scoffed and chuckled darkly. "This isn't a game Lucifer - it never was. I'm sick of waiting! We're sick of waiting."

Lucas moved past Shax, who stood silently watching Amy. Lucas' skin seemed to glow red, as though fire and light swirled beneath it. Even the roots of his hair burned brightly, the smell of singed hair filling the air. He took slow, purposeful steps towards Memphis, who slid back half a metre closer to me, bringing a cloud of ghouls with him. Unlike Lucas, the ghouls clung to Memphis and some even moved to stick on me.

My eyes caught Lucas' and he paused for a brief second, before clicking his tongue and facing Memphis.

"Let her go." His voice was deep, one that rattled my bones and crawled across my skin. It didn't sound light and airy, it didn't sound like his usual musical tone. This one was deep and dark - the voice of Lucifer.

"You know I can't do that." Memphis moved to touch my head, patting it gently. "We both know my powers don't work like that."

Lucas was silent for a minute, his eyes flashing a bright red.

"Surely you knew I would kill you for touching her?"

"It's not me you're going to kill," Memphis said with a chuckle, leaning down to whisper in my ear. "Aim it at Lucas, darling."

My body moved willingly, turning the gun away from the silent Cole and Janie, both of whom looked completely confused. Cole looked worried though, his eyes darting to Janie everg few seconds. Inside I was screaming at them - telling them I was sorry, that it was all my fault, that I know they'll get out of this. But, really, I didn't know. Would they get away from here? Would they die? There's no way to tell.

"You know that won't kill me," Lucas said roughly, sending Memphis a glance before his eyes moved back to mine. "You can make her pull the trigger as much as you want."

"It's not meant to kill you." Memphis smirked and I was pulling the trigger.

The bullet hit Lucas faster than I could register I had even shot it. His body stayed still, solid like concrete against the force, but it lodged into his chest and blood began to pool from the wound. A scream cut the night - one that matched the sound I was making inside - but it wasn't me. It was Janie. She had folded her body over and buried her head on her knees, her body shaking. Cole pulled against his chains and talked to her, whispering words I couldn't hear, but it didn't seem to help.

Lucas lifted a finger and touched the wound on his chest, pulling his fingers back and looking at them, drenched in blood. He smirked and looked to Memphis with a scoff, one which Amy and Shax followed up with small chuckles.

"You never learn, Mephistopheles," Amy groaned out, shaking her head.

"How many times do we need to tell you?" Shax said, stepping forward slightly. "We'll never let him go there."

"Oh, don't worry," Memphis replied sarcastically. "I know you won't."

My body jerked and I pulled the trigger again and again and again. This time, though, I wasn't aiming for his chest. I was aiming for his knees and shoulders - something I didn't know how to do. A few bullets whizzed past Lucas, but some hit. Lucas fell to the ground, his kneecaps shattered from the few unlucky shots that managed to hit him.

The gun clicked in my hand, signallingan empty chamber, and Memphis took it off my hands smoothly, reloading it quickly. Lucas didn't make a sound as he sat on the ground, his knees bloody and raw, flesh and bone poking through the holes made in his jeans.

My eyes caught Cole's and he watched me, wide-eyed and nervous before they darted back to Janie, who seemed to have passed out. I was oddly glad she was out cold - Janie was way too precious to have to see these things. I was such a horrible friend, constantly making her experience the worst life has to offer. In a way, I felt relieved that when I died she wouldn't br dragged into my shitty world anymore. She could live happily with Cole, live a suburban life full of thing dreams were made of.

Ghouls clouded around me, making my body heavier than before. I wamted to shake them off, hit them, and run screaming from this whole situation, but I couldn't.

"Ugh," a small, gargling noise escaped Shax's mouth before he fell to the ground in a heap, blood pooling from his mouth.

"Shax!?" Amy yelled, pulling roughly on the knives pinning her hands down. Pearl moved swiftly, pushing the sword deep into her neck, making Amy freeze.

Another sword, one eerily similar to the one Pearl held, was shining in the darkness, blood pooled on its pointed edge. A girl stepped into the light, her hair dank and limp, her clothes tattered. Bones stuck out from her body, jutting through her taut skin in a creepy way. She was someone I knew - someone familiar - yet she looked completely different.

"Layla?" Cole breathed, his eyes wide. She glanced at him for a moment but her body moved stiffly to Shax. She shoved the sword deep into his back, causing him to yell out. Amy looked away, her face curling into pain as Pearl dug the sword into her neck deeper.

It... all fell into place.

Memphis really was the one stealing girls and... 'brainwashing' them. Layla and Pearl were just the latest victims - but who were his first ones? I thought about that notice board, full and overflowing with missing girls. Layers upon layers of girls who had been forcibly ripped from their families.

Lucas stood up, his knees clicking back into place. It was as though he hadn't just been shot, like his knees hadn't just been a mangled pile of bones and blood.

"I see," Lucas said as he turned to view Shax groaning on the ground behind him before turning back to Memphis.

"Lilith," Memphis said, handing the gun back to me.

My bodh understood the silent order and I moved, my eyes begging Lucas to stop me as I did so. He watched carefully, moving with my arm, ensuring the gun was trained on him as I twisted my body.

"Kill her, Lucifer," Memphis sneered. "Kill her, or she'll kill them." He gestured to Cole, who swore out loud, and Janie, who was slowly lifting her headas she came to.

"You bastard!" Cole yelled, kicking his legs. "You won't get away with this!"

"Cole?" Janie muttered, her voice cracking as she looked up.

I trained the gun on Janie and my hands twitched and shook as I fought desperately to break out of his control. He couldn't make me shoot my best friends - I wouldn't let him. Lucas stepped to the side, blocking my shot.

"I'll kill you, Mephistopheles," Lucas said darkly, heat oozing from his skin and radiating toward me.

"What? I'm no longer 'good' enough to have a nickname from the oh-so-holy Lucifer?" Memphis sneered, curling his top lip back. "You know what? I'm sick of this shit. I fought for you, I fell for you, and you've just left me out here to dry!"

"Mephisto." The name made Memphis freeze as Lucas eyed him. "I'm going to kill you."