Beyond (43 page)

“
Should we go back home?
”
o ne said as her body shuddered.
“
It ’
s really creepy. I don ’
t think any good is living here. Since I ’
m the reporter, perhaps I should go .”

“
Shhh…it will be okay.
”
Elissa move d toward the window to peek in , and the rest follow ed .

She placed
her bow flat against the glass. It gave enough light to see what was just beyond.

It happened so fast she didn
’
t have time to react. The d emon slam med its fist r ight through the window . It gripp ed her hair , and yanked her in. Thankfully she wore her protective gear ; the shattered glass bounced off her instead of piercing through her skin. If that wasn ’
t surprising enough, t he other demons pulled in the venators that peered through the glass beside Elissa. One venator purposely smashed through the window, firin g, trying to release the demons ’
hold s on his friends. Elissa stomp ed on the demon ’
s f oot, and jab bed her bow into it s guts. Immediately she turn ed , knowing others were pulled in , and sho t .

When the rest of
the venators followed, more demons appeared. There were too many, outnumber ing the venators . One after another the demons charg ed , hissing, full of vengeance. When they thought they had killed the last one, more came pouring out.

“
We need to retreat !
”
Eliss a shouted.
One by one, the venators escaped out the door.

“
What on Earth?
”
one venator said, looking behind his shoulders.
“
God help us.
”

From a distance, countless demons appeared on
the street.
The whole town was possessed.
The demons stampeded forward. Behind them, the fire blazed as if hell was set loose. The black smoke rose higher and thicker. Upon the burning flames, the smoke took the form of a giant hand , as if it were the hand s of the devil.

“
This town is doomed, ”
El iss a said , with fear in her eyes. Never had she imag in ed this scenario ; a t least , she ’d hoped it wouldn ’
t happen in her lifetime.
“
Apocalypse , ”
she whispered. Then they were gone.

Chapter
2
8

Instead of
hav ing everyone meet at Nubilus City as planned, they decided to split up. Austin headed alone to Katherine , and the rest were to wait at Island of Eden until further notice.
This way, Katherine wouldn ’
t ask many questions about Michael and Claudia. Austin didn ’
t care for Michael, but he did care for Claudia. When he found out she didn ’
t take the apple to Callum, he wondered what she had done with it .

Th
is thought broke off when Katherine entered her office. She was startled to see Austin sitting on her leather chair, behind the desk, swerving it a round like a little boy .
Fond memories of Austin ’
s ch ildhood flushed Katheri ne ’
s mind.
How quickly time had passed, yet she could still remember it like it happened yesterday.

“
Austin, what brings you here? Don ’
t tell me you are the reporter ; and where is your team?
”

Austin stopped spinning when she asked him questions. His hands were clasped together, looking straight at her, unable to speak. He didn ’
t know wh ere to start.

“
Austin? Are you okay?
”
Her tone was tender. It was a long time since his mother spoke to him with a sweet tone.
Katherine was always in a rush, giving him orders and acting more like an authoritative figure than a mother.
S
he was also worried that Austin was getting too close to Claudia.
Looking into his eyes, she knew how much he cared for Claudia , and hope d that he would come to his senses on his own.

“
Ummm…I ’
m fine, ”
he finally said.
“
Actually, you might want to sit down for this.
”

Austin got up
and walked to the other side of the desk, but Katherine stubbornly remained standing , with a demanding look on her face .
“
What happened?
”

“
It ’
s Callum. He ’
s not himself.
”

“
What do you mean ‘
not himself ’
?
”

“
He has evil in him. His soul has been compromised.
”

“
How do you know? Are you sure?
”

“
I ’
ve seen him with my own eyes. He isn ’
t missing . Actually…it ’
s more like his soul is missing.
”

Katherine wasn
’
t listening to Austin ’
s words. She was deep in thought , and had a distant look in her eyes.
Before he got a chance to ask her what she was thinking , she placed her hand on his shoulder.
“
I need to talk to Samuel.
”

“
Okay…
.
”
Austin said, wondering why she needed to speak to Samuel, but he didn ’
t ask. Instead , he was mo re interested in what the other team found.
“
D
id any team s report back?
”

“
I sent the Beta team to another town. The first town was hopeless. Only the reporter came back from the Delta team. I ’
m afraid he was the only survivor. Many teams came back , and I sent them ou t to search the other cities .
”
Kather ine looked distressed .
“
I need answers. I have a hunch Samuel is withholding information that is critical. I need to draw it out of him.
”

Left with only the breeze from the speed of his mother ’
s take off, Austin stood there alone.

With a
r ush of wind, Katherine reached the cell. Samuel felt the draft and knew he had a visito r, but he didn ’
t care. He remained in the same crouched position and sat with his wings expanded half way as he gazed straight at her.

“
My , my , aren ’
t we in a bit of a rush, ”
Samuel smirk ed .

“
You ’
re lucky you ’
re behind bars . I could kill you with my own hands.
”
Her tone was calm, but her eyes were not.

Samuel paced toward her and looked
squarely into her eyes. He had aged, showing more defined wrinkles than before.
“
You could start a fire with the look on your face. Hmmm…th at look tells me I did something right , a nd everything is moving according to the plan.
”

“
What plan?
”
she asked.

“
The plan where I get out of this cell and take over your rul e . Sounds like a great plan, does it not?
”

“
Remember, you ’
re still in t here.
”

“
True, but I know a lot is happening out there.
”

“
Tell me what you know, ”
Katherine demanded.

“
Now that the ball is rolling…where shall I beg i n ?
”
he boasted.
“
The three of you brought me in , so that would make it the four of us ; or perhaps there were five in the room and not four.
”

“
Stop playing games, ”
Katherine said sharply, raising her tone.

“
Do you know what happen ed in Spec u s?
”

Katherine gave him a puzzled look.
“
Don ’
t change the subject.
”

“
What you don ’
t understand is that th is subject is where it all began.
”

Katherine looked bewildered.
“
Spec u s?
”

“
Yes, Spec u s. Just before Aliah…
k aboom , ”
he said, flicking his fingers all at once.
“
His soul entered my body, which permission was given beforehand .
”
Katherine gasped in surprise as Samuel continued.
“
When the two of you were so happy to lock me up, Callum stayed behind to secure the lock. Well…guess what? Aliah ’
s soul entered Callum. This was our plan.
”