Prey (28 page)

Alex sniffs the air and catches whiff of a familiar scent. “It’s Jade. I can smell her,” Alex excitedly stated. “I can actually smell her scent.”

“A little louder, Alex,” said Drake, sarcastically. “Zandor may not have heard you.”

“She’s over here!” Alex exclaimed, running towards a dark corridor.

Drake shouts out to Alex, “What the hell are you doing?! It’s a trap, Alex!”

Alex hurries through the dark corridors, using his newly heightened sense of smell to track down Jade’s scent. The scent leads Alex out of the dark hallways and into a dimly lit opening. He steps through the opening and finds himself on the railing of a rickety catwalk. Alex is oblivious to the fact that his nose has led him to the fourth floor of the industrial unit. He quickly becomes aware of this, though, when he realizes he has a bird’s eye view of the gigantic production area.

Jade’s scent is at its strongest point now. Alex thoroughly scans over the large area in search of Jade. After scanning through all the obsolete and rusted equipment of the factory, he spots Jade in the shadows of a far-off corner, tied to a steel beam.

“Jade!” Alex shouted.

“Alex.”

Alex looks around for a nearby stairwell, but the closest one is too far away for his liking. He decides to take the fastest route and jump over the railing.

“Alex, no! It’s a trap!”

Sadly, Jade’s warning comes a little late. Alex has already committed to his jump and is now falling to the factory’s ground floor. Alex comes to a sound landing on the molded floors. As he stands erect, a fast-moving force runs into him, carrying him away.

“ALEX!” Jade screamed.

Alex is carried to the opposite side of the production area and slammed into a large, rusted container. It’s at this point where things slow down enough for Alex to see his assaulter’s face. Staring back at him was the horrendous face of Zandor. Zandor has his forearm buried underneath Alex’s chin, keeping him firmly pressed against the container.

“Welcome to the party, Alex. I had a feeling you’d show up.”

Alex tries to free himself from Zandor’s clutches, but he can’t overpower the superior demon. Nonetheless, Alex persistently tries to break free. He even throws a desperation punch, catching Zandor on the side of the head. Sadly the hit doesn’t faze Zandor in the least. With his air supply being cut off, Alex starts to fade out.

“No, no, sweetheart,” Zandor grinned. “I want you alive for a little bit longer.”

Zandor removes his forearm from Alex’s throat and tosses him across the production area, throwing him into a steel beam; a loud smacking sound reverberates throughout the production area. His body bounces off the beam and falls helplessly to the cold concrete.

“I see your cowardly partner decided to not to participate. Very smart on his part.”

Winded, Alex slowly stumbles back to his feet. With the aid of the incoming moonlight and Zandor’s red eyes, Alex is able to pinpoint the demon’s exact location. He’s standing right in front of him.

Alex throws a number of punches that Zandor easily avoids. Zandor lands a rapid sequence of crushing shots to the side of Alex’s ribcage and then finishes up with a head shot, knocking Alex through a nearby wall.

This one-sided battle continues for several minutes. Zandor is taking great pleasure in beating Alex to within inches of his life. Alex, who is showing severe signs of abuse, hasn’t thrown a punch since the fight started. Zandor’s high octane, merciless offense continues to keep Alex reeling.

Jade is forced to listen to the brutal onslaught, her heart taking as much punishment as Alex’s body. She keeps her eyes tightly shut to prevent herself from seeing the beating, but the quiet atmosphere of the factory allows her to hear every thudding blow. As the tears roll freely from the tightly sealed corners of her eyes, a bright red light and accompanying heat causes her to reopen her eyes and investigate.

The bright red light is originating from a stairwell that leads to the downstairs basement. Zandor, who is holding Alex up with one hand, also catches a glimpse of the light from the corner of his eye and turns to examine it. Once he realizes what it is, a smile stretches across his repulsive face.

Turning back to Alex, Zandor says, “It’s been fun, Alex, but that’s our cue to go. Thanks for helping me pass the time. Me and Jade have a date with destiny.” Zandor takes hold of Alex with both hands and throws him back up to the catwalks above. Alex comes to a painful landing on the unforgiving steel of the second floor.

“Jade, honey…It’s time to go,” Zandor gleefully declared.

When Zandor enters her sights, Jade begins screaming, trying her best to scramble out of the securely bound ropes. Jade’s last attempt for escape has failed. Zandor has already reached her and snatches her restraints off effortlessly. He grabs her by the arm and escorts her to stairwell where the blinding red light continues to pulsate. Jade tries to pull away from him, but his grip is unyielding.

“ZANDOR!” a raspy voice powerfully yelled.

Zandor turns back to where the voice came from and sees Alex standing on the catwalk, staring back at him with fiery-red eyes.

“Well, well, well…Look at what we have here,” Zandor smirked.

Jade looks up and is disturbed by the vision she perceives. “Alex?”

Zandor releases Jade’s arm. “Come on, demon,” he gestured to Alex with the wave of his monstrous hand. “Show me what you’re made of.”

“Demon?” Jade repeated to herself, her confusion evident.

CHAPTER 34

Alex jumps over the railing and nimbly lands in a few meters away from Zandor. “No. You show me.”

Zandor smiles. Obliging Alex’s request, he throws a lightning-quick punch that Alex catches with no trouble. Zandor grunts in anguish as a sharp pain flows through his arm as Alex squeezes his fist. Once he feels he has Zandor’s attention, Alex lets him go.

“Okay,” Zandor started. “You’re a little faster, maybe even stronger…But you’re still not me.”

Zandor goes on an all-out assault. He throws as many punches as he possibly can, and amazingly, Alex successfully avoids them all. Once Zandor’s furious pace of punches slows, Alex uses this opening to go on an attack of his own. Alex’s punches are sharp, precise, and extremely jarring. Every time Zandor avoids one punch, he gets caught by two others. The tide of the fight has unquestionably turned in Alex’s favor, but Zandor still has a trick or two up his deceitful sleeve.

After dishing out a dizzying combination to Zandor’s head, Alex finishes the series of blows with a straight right to Zandor’s chest, propelling him halfway across the cluttered production room. Alex rushes toward Zandor to continue the non-stop pressure tactic, but as he nears, Zandor wallops him with a thick iron rod. The cheap shot lifts Alex off his feet and catapults in the opposite direction. He smashes into the steel railings on the second floor’s catwalks before crashing back down to the main level. Zandor hurries over to Alex and thrashes him repeatedly with the iron rod. Zandor continues to strike Alex in the back with the iron rod until it’s bent out of shape. In spite of the brutal onslaught, Alex refuses to stay down.

Growing impatient with Alex’s resilience, Zandor grabs him by the back of his shirt and hurtles him to an area cluttered with sharp, serrated materials. Alex feels a sharp pain that starts at his upper back and quickly rips through his shoulder. He looks down at the source of the pain and observes a sharp piece of steel protruding from his shoulder. He tries to remove the object, but the slightest movement causes him to feel an unbearable amount of pain.

Jade runs to Alex’s side. Once she reaches him, she tries her best to help free him, but everything she tries only causes him more pain.

“Run, Jade. Get out of here.” Alex told her in a weakened. “Go while you still can.”

“I’m not leaving you like this, Alex.”

“Yes you are,” Zandor interrupted, forcibly grabbing Jade by her hair. “Sorry we can’t stick around, Alex. I’m working on a fixed timeframe here. But we’ll meet up in Hell soon enough…We’ll settle our business then.”

Zandor aggressively drags Jade back towards the gateway that’ll transport them to Hell. Kicking and screaming the entire way, Jade’s cries give Alex all the incentive and motivation he needs. His eyes reignite and burn brighter than they ever have before. He pushes through the pain of freeing his shoulder and lifts up until he has cleared himself of the sharp object. Just after the object was removed, the gaping hole in his shoulder heals completely.

Zandor and Jade are feet away from entering the gateway. Two hands tightly grab Zandor’s shoulders and compress them. The force of the compression forces Zandor to release Jade’s hair. The instant Jade’s set free, the two hands lob Zandor in the opposite direction of the gateway. Zandor soars across the room, hits the floor soundly and slides to a stop.

Before Zandor has a chance to rise back to his feet, Alex is already on top of him, dropping a series of powerful right hands on his head. Alex is exhibiting a vicious nature unlike anything before. After ten right hand power punches, Alex puts an end to the brawl by placing his hands on what’s left of Zavior’s head, and twists Zandor’s head more than halfway around, killing him definitively.

Alex gets up and stands over Zandor’s dead body, breathing heavily. His eyes return to their natural color and his aggression subsides. Hearing Jade walk up behind him, he turns to face her.

“Are you okay,” he asked her.

“I am. Are you?”

Alex looks at his healed shoulder. “I’m alright.”

Jade and Alex silently stare at each other before they both burst out into smiles that soon evolve into laughs of relief. They embrace each other in a loving hug as they celebrate their victory.

“I can’t believe we actually did it.”

“Thank you, Alex,” said Jade, holding Alex tightly. “Thank you.”

The two advance from an embracing hug to a passionate kiss. Unfortunately, Alex and Jade’s celebration is short-lived. Footsteps and savage growls reach their ears. They know without ever looking away from each other that something is dreadfully wrong.

They slowly turn the heads toward the brilliant red light and discover that three entities, all of whom possess the same characteristics as Zandor, have just crossed through the gateway’s opening. As the three demons close in, Alex steps in front of Jade. The demonic forces prepare to attack.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice from above warned.

Every eye in the room searches for the owner of the mysterious voice. Walking down the narrow stairwell is Gabriel, the Archangel who visited Alex and Jade at her parent’s home.

When Gabriel reaches the main floor he walks over to Alex and Jade and stands in front of them, shielding them from the three demons. The demonic entities stop dead in their tracks.

“This isn’t your fight, Gabriel,” one of the demons snarled.

“I’m making it my fight,” Gabriel smiled.

Not wanting to try Gabriel’s hand, the demons hesitantly backpedal towards the gateway. As the demons leave, Gabriel turns around to face Alex and Jade.

“I see you crazy kids made it through the first battle okay. Alex, I must admit, you impressed me today. I didn’t think you had what it took to put Zandor away.”

“I’m glad I could amuse you. Maybe now you can tell me what’s happening to me.”

Gabriel steps toward Alex. “You’ve had your fun, kid. It’s time to end this. I’ve been sent here to tell you that your presence is required back in Heaven. You have some things you need to account for up there.”

“Is Jade going to be looked after if I go?”

“That’s no longer your concern, Alex. Believe me when I tell you, there are bigger things you have to worry about now.”

“No.” Alex told Gabriel.

“No?” Gabriel repeated, standing directly in front of Alex, his expression hardening. “You’re really starting to wear out my patience, young man. I could easily drag you back, but I’m under orders to let you make your own decision. Now personally, I don’t care if you ever see the inside of Heaven again, but what I think is irrelevant.”

Holding his position in front of Jade, Alex stares Gabriel square in the eyes and replies, “That’s right, angel. It isn’t your choice. You’re a pawn—a spoke on a wheel. You’re a mindless drone that has to follow every order you’re given. Unlike you, I can make my own decisions because I still have something you never will…A soul.”

Showing a look of restrained anger, Gabriel clenches his jaws to help release his anger. He then follows jaw clenching with a forced smile. “It’s because of man’s soul that this world’s in the shape it is now. Maybe if you were all mindless drones this planet would be the utopia it was meant to be.”

Gabriel glances at Jade and then resettles his sights on Alex.

“Bottom line, Alex,” Gabriel went on, “either you come back with me and face your punishment now…or you stay here and suffer the consequences.”

“Consequences? What consequences?” Jade asked. “He didn’t do anything wrong. He saved my life...He saved all of our lives.”