-unedited-
“We need to go. Now.”
I grabbed Isaac’s hand and found it a struggle to suppress the comforting warmth that went up my arm.
I grabbed onto the roof and swung into the driver seat, grinding the engine.
“W-why are we always in such a rush?” whined Isaac.
“How the entire planet could be invaded by thirsty soul sucking demons at any point kinda puts me in a rush. I don’t know, how about you?” I turned to him and smashed my foot against the pedal. His head thumped backwards on the headrest, grabbing on hold to the armchair.
“We got to warn Hell about the Cold Bloods rising. They also ought to know how to restore the demons back into Alice and remove them from Isaac,” Grim announced, resting a hand on both seats.
Isaac held his wrist, kissing it better. “M-Mind telling me why everyone is wound up?”
I pushed the car to its highest speed, our jeep a flash of light down the vacant road. Trees were green blurs at the corner of my eye. “Well the cells in your body are being devoured by demon souls, poisoning your heart to transform you into a psychotic serial killer.” I looked over with a fake smile. “And I’m turning into a pathetic hormonal teenage girl.”
The news saved me a smack to his face as the expression he wore was priceless.
“What in Lord Death is that?!” my ex screeched.
I glimpsed over my shoulder and saw Grim pointing to Isaac’s pants.
Isaac raised his arms and stared down. “O-O-Oh, I-I—” I stifled a laugh and watched Isaac frantically dig through the hand compartment. “It—it’s nothing,” he lied.
“That boner is not nothing! Why do you have that?!” Grim roared.
“He did say he’d prefer demon semon,” I chirped.
“I d-d-didn’t mean it like that!” he clarified. Isaac panted in fear and took a handful of napkins.
“Those napkins just make it worse,” I commented. He started throwing them over the tent in his pants but the boner was even more outlined by the paper. A smile fought its way to my face. “Are we in France because I think I see the Eiffel Tower.”
“Alice!” Grim shouted.
“What?” I said in a fit of laughter.
˟ᴹᵅᴰ ᴬᶟ ᴬ ᴴᵃᵀᵀᵉᴿ˟
We were here.
Almost.
The portal to Hell was concealed within an uninhibited town on the hidden mountains of Mount McKinley. Snow was lightly dancing on our shoulders, our boots crunching to a stop under the white ground.
All three of us crowded at the open trunk of the jeep. “Well would ya look at that.”
Grim gave out a long whistle and picked up a gun. “These Eagles know how to pack.”
I unzipped the second duffel bag in the trunk and my lips curled into a big U. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
The Velcro crinkled off the seal and I unrolled cloth of beautiful jagged knives. Grim held up two grenade strapped slings, the untouched rings tinkling against each other.
Chewing on a pack of cheese puffs he found in the glove compartment, Isaac curiously tipped the third duffel bag to see inside and accidentally toppled it off the trunk. A wide range of guns spilled on his shoes and he screamed, cheese puffs flying.
I nudged further into the trunk and found a change of clothes. Relieved, I began stripping so I could toss my burnt garments.
“Woah, woah.” Grim waved his hands as my shirt flew over my head. “Honey.” He did a husbandly nudge in Isaac’s direction. “We have kids here.”
“He’s not the only kid here,” I hinted at Grim, glancing up and down his figure.
Taking time to catch on, his brows pointed inwards and defended, “I’m not a child!”
“Then shut up,” I simply said and unbuckled my shorts.
“It’s negative thirty outside and you’re—”
“Demons hardly feel anything,” I countered, stepping out of the puddle of clothes.
Redness blew up on Isaac’s face and although he wanted to glance away, he accidentally roamed over my undergarments. The cheese puffs hit the floor.
“There’s nothing wrong with being proud of your feminine side,” I said, shimmying into the black spandex looking suit. Pulling it past my waist, I gave a little smirk and added, “Shouldn’t you guys be gearing up too?”
Isaac heated up again, rapidly nodded, took an abrupt step forward, slipped on a cheese puff and landed smack on his butt.
Grim responding with his own smirk, dug through the duffel, and changed into a black jacket and cargo pants.
Soon we were ready to venture into Earth’s worst nightmare, weapons firmly strapped onto our bodies.
I glimpsed at Isaac as he snuggled his shoulders into the denim jacket. “You look cute in normal clothes.”
He pushed up his glasses, and blushed. “Thank you.”
Grim yanked on his vest strap and told Isaac, ”Now that you already have some demon souls in your system, you should have a little power.”
I placed the last dagger in my jacket. “Grim, I don’t think—”
He held his hand up to silence me. “No. The guy might actually have some use.” He nudged Isaac towards the abandoned sword stabbed in the dirt. It looked like it weighed more than two of me. “Lift that.”
Isaac nibbled on his lip and quietly sloshed through the snow, standing above the four foot sword. Hands glued to his sides, Grim barked a, “Go!” and he awkwardly wrapped his hands on the ribbon handle. Digging a foot in the ground, he heaved on the weapon, pulling harder but not getting anywhere.
Grim smirked, watching Isaac barely nudge the weapon. “I knew he couldn’t—”
Shing!
The sword flung out of Isaac’s hands and pinned Grim by the shirt to the door behind him.
Shock overruled my body and I just stared at Grim who shared the exact same reaction. Isaac seemed to be in panic and hobbled to Grim, arms flailing in attempt to move fast along the snow. “Sorry, sorry, sorry!” By the time he reached him, he took out the sword and started dusting my ex’s shoulders. “I-I-I didn’t—”
“Don’t apologize, you dipshit!” I cackled and slapped Isaac on the back.
Grim was glaring at him, and shoved him away, dusting the snow off his shoulders himself. He ignored the slash the sword left in his jacket and was mumbling, walking towards the portal.
Sticking with Isaac as we lagged behind, a huge smile wouldn’t wipe off my mouth. I handed over the sword he lifted. “You did good back there. The demons are making you stronger.”
He feebly averted my gaze, taking the sword. “A-All I did was lift a sword.”
“And next thing you know you’ll be killing people!” I haughtily laughed.
He gulped at the thought and my smile slightly faltered. I cleared my throat and rested my hands on his wrist. “Here. Lemme put the sword on your back.” Attaching an extra strap across his torso, I hooked the sword on his back, my breath just hovering the end of his hair. I heard him swallow and gently kissed his neck, his body automatically leaning back into my touch.
Ready to kiss his neck, I immeditaly pulled back, smirked and marched off, heading for Grim.
Isaac left himself in the snow for a few seconds before calling out, “You’re such a tease!” and tried to catch up behind me.
My laughter loud enough for him to hear, I shuffled next to Grim and said, “Now that Isaac is getting stronger, he’ll be really good for us.”
“I will?!” he popped from behind, sandwiching between us.
Grim glanced at him, disgusted. “No, what you’re gonna be is the stupid mother fucker who trips over a rock and shoots himself,” Grim said. A bullet missed his foot and he jumped, glaring up.
I wiped the cloth across my smoking gun. “What?” I cooed innocently.
“Ha-Ha,” he said, giving a fake smile before loading his own gun much harsher than needed. His scythe poked out on his back like Isaac’s sword.
Swinging my gun at my side, he glimpsed down and grinned. "Geared up, I see."
Cheekily smiling, I led us deeper into the abandoned town. The trudging through ankle heightened snow, I pushed the black wood out of the way, most of the broken houses caved in with the whiteness.
"W-What happened?" Isaac stammered, slowly lagging last.
Grim stepped over a pile of burnt planks. "This town used to be inhabited with humans long ago."
I crouched under the caved in roof. "But when Hell began overpopulating more Cold Bloods than regular demons, the anger wasn't being controlled down there and an outbreak happened."
Grim described, "That's how a physical tunnel from Hell to Earth was created."
"It was a massacre from the gateway, and the Cold Bloods, faster than regular demons, were the first ones to surface on the mainland."
Grim continued, "Demons that once leaked and had human DNA warned the humans in time for them to prepare. Two gangs, the Eagle's Eye who is now known as the Eagles which is run by Cameron, and the Snipers fought against the Cold Bloods."
"The Snipers and Eagle's Eye were able to push the demons back into the gateway but had no idea how to close it up." I stopped in the snow, and averted my gaze to my boots. "That's all I know."
"There was a reason to why Lord Death didn't tell you the rest," Grim spoke softly. I didn't move. Neither did he.
"The gate can only be closed by a demon. The demon that warned the humans, he slowly turned into a full human because of his frequent interactions with them. He knew of the battle and understood the gate could only be closed by a demon." He let out a long breath. "Living as a human for a short time, he was able to create his own gang and was starting experiments. He had managed to create a drug. And to stop the demons from passing the gate, he injected the drug into himself, previously destroying traces of his experiments so other humans wouldn't manipulate its power."
Isaac was still as well. I didn't even notice he was here. "What kind of powers?"
"Once the man injected himself with the drug, he not only became demon as planned, but became a Cold Blood. Able to control the demons inside of him, his conscious was humanlike—with powers of a Cold Blood—and he managed to close the gate."
"Still able to control the Cold Blood, like the Hulk, he transformed back into a human with the Cold Blood DNA remaining in his body. An unknown event happened and he forgot his memory, living on as a human with no recollection of his past.” He hesitated. “Then he had a child."
Grim didn't talk for a few seconds. I didn’t like where this was going. I knew what was to become of this conversation. "That child was you Alice,” Grim said. “As Jessie, your previous human form, your father was a hero. Because your father had aged by then, the Cold Blood DNA in him needed to transfer. Therefore when developing you, the DNA left his body and went into yours."
"The demons picked you as the Purge because you are part Cold Blood. They know your father prevented the Cold Bloods from rising and are grateful, that's why Lord Death adores you so much." He sighed. "Look, the regular demons don't want the Cold Bloods rising. But the Cold Bloods are getting stronger-"
Isaac was the only one capable of speaking. "H-How? I thought her dad destroyed the remains of the drug."
Grim glanced at him with sadness. "So he thought. Alice, I'm assuming that man you once loved in your human form, the man who tried killing us back at the Eagles, has rediscovered the drug and turned himself. However unlike your father, he wasn't able to control the drug and transformed into a true, heartless, killing machine; a Cold Blood. A stronger Cold Blood is ordering him to recruit and transform bodies into Cold Bloods for their rising." I heard his voice aim to me. "Like I said, they're getting stronger and we have to warn the demons. We don't have time for you, Alice, to give me shit for not saying anything. Okay?"
My thoughts were inexpressible. But demons didn't think. I had artificial Cold Blood in me. They didn't think either. They just acted.
I whipped around and slapped him in the face.
He rooted to his spot, cheek stinging with redness. He knew I was alone. He knew I believed I had no family. Yet he never told me.
"You're right. We don't have time. I'll deal with this later," I remarked and advanced towards the gate, not daring to glimpse back.
I spat into the snow, bottling the frantic feeling. A mix of burning emotions begged to tear me apart. Cracking a wood plank under my heel, I saw the old well and made my way closer.
"Alice! Wait!"
"We're not talking about this now, Grim." I swung one leg over the well before he grabbed onto my arm.
"If you knew you'd try to find your father. And if you did, you'd become more human and the Purge would transfer to someone. It's dangerous to let the demon souls within the Purge choose the beholder. Whoever Lord Death chooses to be the Purge should stay the Purge and was chosen for a reason. I couldn't let that happen." Honesty sadly twinkled in his eyes.
I didn't even blink. "We'll talk about this later." I peered past him and waved my hand. "C'mon Isaac, let's go. We need to get those demons out of you pronto."
He rattled over, the rings clicking across his vest as he put one leg on the well. He glimpsed down and I could tell he regretted it as the darkness seemed infinite. I held onto his forearm and snatched my other arm from Grim. Swinging both ours legs over the well, our butts scooting closer at the edge. Tingles I've never experienced skittered up my toes.
"Count of three?" Isaac squeaked.
"Okay." I rested my hand on the back of his neck. "Ready?"
"O-One..."
"Three!" I shouted and pushed him in. His screamed died within an instant.
Then it was just Grim and I. He snuck his hand on mine, a faint warmth glowing between us. He whispered, "If you became human, that meant I'd lose you."
I squeezed his hand and gazed into his pleading eyes. "You've already have." I pulled away. "When Alice fell down the Rabbit Hole she was never the same when she came out."
"I know."
"She was still lost even after Wonderland." Snowflakes began landing on my eyelash. "Alice was never curious or looking for a man. She was meant to find adventure beyond that rabbit hole. You'll find someone, and she isn't me. I was meant for this, not romance."
I slipped into the well before he answered.
Space and time froze, a crack open within the threads of galaxies. The universe made that rare connection, dropping us from one cosmos into another. And just in flash, it closed.
Water enveloped my skin, eyes drowning in blurs. I kicked my feet up, pushing until I broke through the surface. I released a short gasp before treading on the spot, searching for the other two bobbing figures.
Grim was next to surface, holding Isaac who was in a string on sputters.
“You swim like a dying fish!” he told Isaac, struggling to hold Isaac plus himself.
“Shworry!” Isaac barely splurged with a mouthful of water.
Grim let out a grunt and he swam towards the shore, towing him. I crawled onto the cement, dripping wet as I climbed to my feet. Squeezing the water out of my ponytail, I heard a thump and saw Grim drop him.
“You saved his life,” I said, amazed as I fixed my eyes on Grim.
“Yeah. I did,” he answered and started heading off.
“W-What’s that stench?!” Isaac coughed up, dragging himself to his knees.
“We’re in the sewers,” I answered, tapping my fingers as I waited for him to stand.
Finally rising, I ushered Isaac so we could return next to Grim, trudging through the darkness. I was surprised he remembered his way around, the last time we visited Hell a year ago. When we were still together.
The sound of teeth chattering made our heads turn and we watched Isaac shivering like a hyena, rubbing his arms.
“Relax, thin skins,” Grim said, making a left turn in the dark. The darkness soon faded into a bright glow, radiating from two torches.
Guards who could’ve been mistaken for rhinos were standing by a metallic gate, pitch forks standing tall by their sides. Isaac quietly whimpered, unable to resist to see their silver curled horns gleam in their sharpness.
The guards darted their observation at us and Grim gestured to the closed gate, speaking in the foreign language of Satan. In translation, he spoke, “Good to see you again. Open the door for we seek the Lord.”
They remained still, not giving a blink. I took a step forward and arched a brow, growing a slow smile. “Boys.”
They smiled back and bowed. In translation, they said, “Welcome, Master Purge,” and the gates opened.
Grim scowled and I winked at him, tugging Isaac beside me. A whoosh of hot air hit us hard, the water sucking off our skin. The humidity level was more extreme than I last recalled.
“The phrase burn in Hell had its reasons,” I said aloud.
Metal pipes ran above us, steam blasting through the holes and floating overhead. Creatures of different sizes, all with eyes of either black or red hustled past us, shoving their way through. Brick homes and buildings either catching fire, split in half, crooked, or burnt, no roads jammed with vehicles and only walkways overflown with growls, profanity and alcohol, guns causally hanging off waists, horns poking in sides, tails whipping around ankles; this the normal pedestrian way of Hell.
As soon as Grim and I stepped on the stoned path, some snarled and others cowered away. They paid no attention to Isaac, too curious about my ex and I.
“W-Why are they acting like that?” whispered Isaac who was keeping incredibly close to me.
“Because they hate him.” I pointed to Grim. “And love me.”
“You’re such an arrogant arse.” He rolled his eyes.
“It’s true and you know it,” I chuckled, and bumped my waist with him. He scowled and I laughed, leaning over to Isaac who hid behind my back. “And since we’re the only demons legally allowed to be on the mainland, you have demons that honor us and those who despise us.”
“Or are jealous,” Grim chirped.
“Well isn’t it my two favourite mother fuckers!” The Lord himself swept through the crowd, the demons squishing to the side. His long, black robe dragged at his feet, face tanned with a set of slim black eyes. Like Grim, he was a shapeshifter who preferred to transform into a human appearance. “And you brought a snack!” he shrieked, peering over to Isaac. “Welcome to Heaven, fellow friends!”
Isaac looked taken aback. “I thought we were in Hell?”
“Nope,” he said. “You’re in heaven. Where all your dark dreams come true.”
“Don’t you mean nightmares?”
He snatched his shirt and fire burst from his hands. “Do you want to go!”
“Go where?” he squeaked.
“I said do you wanna go?”
“Go where?”
“He doesn’t get it, Lord,” I told him. I placed a hand on the soft robe. “Everything flies over his head.”
“If you want to kill him be my guest,” Grim popped in.
“And why haven’t you?” Lord Death hissed.
Grim aimed his finger at me like we were children and I was getting scolded. “Because of her!”
“I had every good reason not you—”
“Liar!”
“No you’re the liar!”
Lord Death tended close to Isaac and muttered, “Are they always like this?”
“Um…” He couldn’t take his eyes off the Lord’s sharp talons peeking out of the long sleeves.
I screamed, “Lord Death, can we speak to you now before I’m tempted to rip this imbecile’s small intestine out of his mouth and his large intestine out of his ass to make a fucking skipping rope!”
“Speak, child.”
+++
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