Euriv's Children

Chapter 10

Jess' POV

"We are going to find our way back in the dark?" I asked, swinging the bag of groceries over my shoulder. It was bulky, awkward, and digging into my shoulder.

"Eric's a mastermind when it comes to navigation." Ali said, clapping him on the back. "He will get us back quickly."

"It won't be hard with that. What the hell is that?" Eric asked, pointing ahead. There was a beacon of light coming through the trees on the exact spot that we were headed to. "That's where we need to go."

"I wonder what's going on." Ali took the lead. "Eric, you take up the rear, Jess, stay close to me."

I rolled my eyes and then looked up at the giant beam of light that seemed to come from the full moon. Other than the noise we were making it was peaceful. Even though the light from the moon was so bright, it didn't dull the stars. Home was nothing like this. It was silent. Too silent.

"Ali." I whispered. "It's quiet."

I could see the realization hit her as she stopped and looked around. It was completely silent. Not even the sound of crickets permeated the air. "Run." Ali pulled my arm and we ran, Eric at my heels. We were making a racket. I was surprised I didn't fall. Ali was practically holding me up until we saw something that almost sent me into a panic attack. If I thought crowds were bad this was going to be much worse.

Figures were looming out of the shadows, illuminated by the bright light. They were human shaped, and carrying weapons. My heart was pounding in my ears.

"Demons." Ali muttered. "Jess, get out your knife." She drew out a dagger from her jacket and an axe from her belt. Where did she get that? They glinted almost eerily in the moonlight.

I was already one step ahead of her. The piece of metal felt foreign in my hands. "What's going on?"

"We may have to cut though the hoard of pissed off demons who really want to kill us." Eric said, patting my shoulder. "Stay with us, we'll protect you."

Whatever teenage horror movie scene it was I had imagined went out the window as we were swarmed. Ali and Eric were slicing through skin like it was paper. I did my best to stay behind them. Bright red blood splattered our clothes as we fought through the mob. This was beyond any movie or anime I had ever seen and although my brain knew they weren't human, it chilled me to my bone to see children laying dead.

Pain laced up my side and my back slammed into the ground, almost knocking the wind out of me. I flailed the knife around, trying to hit whatever was on top of me. My knife sank into something and I opened my eyes to meet the blood red eyes of a young boy about five years old. My hands were bloody and pressed up against his chest, clutching the hilt of my knife. His blood ran down my arms and onto my shirt. I screamed, pushing the body off of me. The body of a boy that I killed.

I killed someone.

Eric yanked my arm and pulled me through the piled bodies and threw me into the bright light. Someone pulled me into their arms and started rubbing my back and soothing my hair as I sobbed into a shoulder.

"You're okay. They aren't human. You didn't kill a human. You survived." A soft voice cooed in my ear.

It wasn't the strong arms and broad shoulders I was used to. These arms were thinner, and there was definitely something there besides pecs. Celia's bright red hair cascaded down her shoulders and shone in the light of the force field.

"What happened?" Cathan shouted.

"We were attacked by damn demons that's what happened." Eric spit blood into the grass. I didn't know whether I wanted it to be his blood or someone else's.

"Are you hurt?" Cathan asked me. I shook my head.

"Jess, you did beautifully." Celia said, stroking my back.

We were still until someone screamed from right outside the force field.

"Who's still out there?" Celia asked, looking around frantically.

"Ali!" Owen and Cathan shouted in unison.