(35y) 2023, 21.16

They headed out, filing through the doorway in order. When they left the room, Dad gasped at the ash and ichor, at the carnage wreaked of the offices. Deep gashes in the tables. A few window panes shattered. Another tremor shook the building, and this time John saw flashes of light through the window, heard people screaming in the distance.

'Fuck,' Semila said as they all stared out the windows.

What looked like meteors the size of wrecking balls whistled to the ground, smashed buildings, crashed and burned with tremors that shook all around them, increasing in frequency. The sight froze them with awe as they watched smoke trail one huge misshapen flaming ball that crashed to the pavement of the parking lot outside the police headquarters, scraping tar and mortar from its path. Another flew straight at them, breaking the spell.

'Go!' Marty screamed, grabbing Semila's arm while John and Dad took the stairs two at a time, flying through the exit moments later. The thing crashed into the office where they'd been a breath ago. Shook the building like jelly. Dad lost his footing in the shaking. Fell hard to the ground. John watched a giant crack cut up the side of the police headquarters as he stooped to help Dad up. 'Put your arm over my shoulders Dad, I've got you.'

'Let's hurry,' Semila mumbled beside him. The roof fell in on one side, groaning, cracking. Fire sprung from the windows where they'd stood moments before.

'Yeah,' he mumbled, glancing back over his shoulder as they jogged to Marty's car. Marty opened the passenger door, but Semila screamed. 'No! Get out!'

A whistling noise grew rapidly louder, and Marty leapt away from the car as a meteor smashed into it. The thing exploded. The impact threw John from his father into the air, the wind cold against his cheeks before asphalt cut his palms and whistling deafened him. Fuck. Shit. He smelt smoke, tasted blood. Dirt.

'John!' Semila shook him, tugged at his arm. Smoke filled the sky, the screams from all around louder, the bangs a near constant. The drums of war, he couldn't help thinking. Flashes of that day with Tom made the whole thing seem surreal. Between buildings crumpling John glimpsed mud splattering, limbs flying, blood curdling screams echoing amidst the desperate wails of civilians. Semila pulled him forward by the hand, her hair a beacon in the gloom.

Through the smoke a new figure appeared, like a demon but way fucking bigger. It growled and smashed its fist at them. They scattered in the nick of time. The pavement split, hurling sharp fragments of cement in a wide radius. The thing roared. 'Your sword!' Semila screamed.

John nodded. They bent low, tensed, and ran together to cut the thing down. John looked to his left to meet Semila's eyes, and instead he saw John Two and futuristic Catsuit Semila running with them at the thing, screaming. His voice joined theirs. As they ran to stab the thing, Marty's gun went off. Another monster that'd come from the other side. It stumbled, fell with a boom that shook the ground.

'Good going, mate,' John said, then his arm jolted on impact with the demon, ichor splattered him. He'd hit its midriff. John Two and Sem Two smiled at him as the demon collapsed into itself. John Two saluted and they fizzled to nothingness. He met Semila's eyes and together they ran for the street. Sem bumped shoulders with him. 'We're fucking awesome.' She was smiling.

'No shit,' he said. Their breaths huffed, they dodged debris, burning cars. 'Marty?' he asked.

'Taking your Dad to find Mrs Finnie and Samantha.'

'Course,' John said.

The demons became more numerous as they ran, as if the things sought them out in particular. Screaming, frantic people ran haphazardly through the half-light. Broken streetlights spluttered sparks. Collapsed buildings made their path trickier to follow, but John left the navigation to Semila and focused on cutting down demons and avoiding panicked civilians. With each slash through a black demon body, John's confidence grew and along with it, his strength. Somehow he knew the sword made him stronger. He could feel energy sparking up his arm whenever he sliced at a demon's skin. He wasn't sure how that worked, some transference, maybe? And honestly he didn't care, as long as it did. The more he fought, the stronger he felt, a heady rush akin to battle berserking or dosing on ecstasy.

From the darkness to his left, a demon flew at John, nails out, maw gaping. Huge. The thing could probably crush John with one fist. Shit. His camera went off and in the flash his future self appeared, this time without Semila. Together they hefted swords at the demon. Each went for one leg. The demon toppled over both Johns, smashing into the road behind them. It was on its feet quick, its massive bulk not hampering it in the slightest. John Two strode forward, deftly slipping every blow and began to whirl the sword he held. The gleaming metal looked like a propeller blade as it caught glimpses of light. The demon reached forward and lost its fingers, then hands to the wrists, roaring its pain. It fell backwards looking in dismay at two bloody stumps.

John two knelt down and tapped his shoulder. 'Now Semila!'

Semila was ready, she ran and leapt from John's back onto the demon's squirming body to stab through its skull using both hands. The demon shuddered and lay still.

'Where's the Semila in the catsuit?' John frowned at Future John.

'Getting help,' he said, but already he'd arched his back and looked up at the star. John could almost see it, but not quite, and then the future version of himself had disappeared again.

Semila, wiping her sword on the downed demon, called, 'Should be two minutes.' The thing's stumps started swirling ash into the sky, adding to the murk. John coughed.

God his head ached. The smoke burned his nostrils. The screams pushed his nerves to jittering. With trembling fingers, he wiped ash from his face, felt smears. Then grabbed the camera and snapped another picture, pocketing it. Just in case. The screaming pedestrians quietened, scattered like ants from something. Something big, John realised as a shadow cut through the ash and dust. In the distance a building toppled with a deep rumble, the earth shook, metal creaked and scraped. People screamed, some screams cut short. The shadow swallowed John and took its time growing far behind him. Some fucking huge demon that was.

'John,' it said. The voice like rocks ground together, tremulous, scraping, booming from high above his head.

'Fuck.' He searched for Semila, grabbed his ears to block out the godawful piercing noise of the voice. But the voice couldn't be drowned out so easily. 'Look at me,' it said.

John squinted, but he couldn't see shit in the smoky half-lit street, the pile of debris on which he stood trembled and grated. The thing was obviously stepping on some of it. Shit, they didn't have time for this. They had to find the photos. 'Sem,' he shouted, 'Where are you?' The gloom and smoke hid her effectively, but she stepped from the smoke to his right, gold tooth just visible in her wide smile.

The thing hauled itself toward the pair, its hulking shadow drowning out what little light the dust let through. The smell of burning and sulphur choked the air as hordes of foul smelling creatures flocked behind the behemoth demon, jabbering, drooling, growling at the two who stood in their path. The great demon turned its head, looking from John to Sem and back again. The sound of rock scraping against rock rumbled from its massive frame. From the back another demon the size of a car jumped forward, intent on devouring John and Sem who still stood gawping. It never reached its destination, a huge arm struck out and caught it by the throat.

The bigger demon brought the smaller one up to eye level. A deep growl issued and in a blur of movement the smaller one's head was gone. Bone snapped and gore leaked from the great demon's mouth, stirring them from their stupor. John looked up, the thing before him stood as high as a house. Its huge plated body looked strong and muscled. John took a step back and the thing smiled.

The gravel voice reverberated again. 'Yes John, revel in my magnificence, in my strength, in my true and unholy form! Bow before me, bow before me and I will grant you your darkest desire, your greatest wish. We could rule you and I John, rule the world!'

In a flash Sem jumped over the rubble and thrust her sword into the great demon, landed, and rolled to her feet. The thing staggered back and gurgled, grasping at the hilt jutting from its neck.'

'I don't fucking think so you son of a bitch,' Sem spat as she joined John where he stood, as usual she moved protectively in front of him.

The thing crashed to one knee, shaking the ground they stood on. Sem shrugged and turned to John. 'Not so badass, was it?' She gave a crooked smile, which fell as she looked at John's face.

The monster before her grunted, pulled the sword from its neck, flung it into the murk. Green and yellow blood spewed from the wound but didn't hit the ground. It hung for a second, then returned through the slit in its throat, back into the monster's body. It looked up and grinned.

'Fuck!' Sem and John cried in unison.

© Steve Ford and Joy Cronjé 2018