Alex talked to the policemen who were at the door. They ensured that the place was empty. After identifying us, he allowed us to enter. I avoided to look at the officer’s face, because I didn't want to end up the night at the police station again.
It was dark Inside, only the streetlights were penetrating the broken windows.
The cursed energy was pushing us to the ground, so it took some effort to stay there.
“Get ready!” I whispered as I was looking around.
I ran, drew the dagger and wounded three creatures that approached together. I dodged another one that tried to attack me with its long proboscis, Alex hit it with the axe. They fell apart. Alex also took care of other leggy spiders that came running over.
I sighed.
“What is happening?” Alex whispered. "We've just entered the building and we're already being attacked!" “They are weak, they wouldn't attack right away.”
“There's something really weird going on here.” I whispered.
I unbuttoned the holster but kept the dagger in my hand. Silence was still a great ally at that moment.
So, we went up quickly, carefully entering each floor and trying, at all costs, to eliminate each one of the creatures without making any noise. Just using strategies and our bewitched artifacts.
The higher we got, the stronger and scarier the creatures we found. Nothing we couldn't handle. I just thought about all the money I would charge for exorcising such a cursed place.
However, anxiety was taking me as we went up, because we both knew there was something attracting all those spirits. Attracting even ourselves.
On the floors above, we could find something that we might not be able to face. But who would speak first? Me or him? We were like moths flying towards the trap and the big pay was the bait.
Then, on the eleventh floor, we heard screams. The tone showed us that they were from children.
"That son of a bitch!" I growled. “No one reported about hostages at the scene.”
“This will be going to increased extremely the risk level of our table.”
"I'm going to charge him a goddamn fortune! I want to see if he will dare not pay us.” I took the revolver out of my holster and cocked it.
We looked at each other, I nodded, then we walked onto the floor. We walked with our weapons through the dark corridor, aware of what was around us.
***
A baby took us by surprise when he came crying out of one of the apartments. I took aim for a second, then, I calmed down when I saw the little one's disorganized steps and put my gun away. I knelt and grabbed the baby in a hug. With him on my lap, I tried to calm him down. When two more kids left the same apartment.
"There's a monster eating my mother," one of them screamed.
I looked at Alex and confirmed that we're going into the apartment with a nod. So, I handed the baby to the older girl.
“Wait here!” I asked firmly. The children consented.
Once again, I drew my revolver. Alex was holding his axe. We both ran to the apartment prepared.
Two giant centipedes were feeding. One person had already been devoured. But a woman was about to go through the throat of one of the creatures when I fired, the bullet pierced the spirit. I snapped my left-hand fingers, and the projectile exploded the creature in half. Alex was quick to get the woman out of its mouth, as if he knew what I was going to do. I took one more shot at the creature’s head and finished it permanently.
The second monster was not satisfied with the person it had already swallowed; it came at me with its mouth wide open.
— I'm sorry, you piece of shit, but this witch here is not for you to taste!
Quickly, I fell to my knees and lay down with the gun aimed at its throat, two shots made the animal retreat.
I got up smiling.
"It'll be good to see this thing die. Hateful creature!”
I snapped the fingers of my left hand again. The projectiles exploded making a bang and the creature disappeared.
We barely had time to appreciate that exorcism when I felt a shiver on the back of my neck.
"Lady, give me some money!"
The groan came from behind. When I turned around another hideous creature was coming toward me. It had several eyes that turned in opposite directions. I was very close to it, I could handle it, as usual, but Alex's axe came first. The blade simply flew millimeters from my face, hit the creature on target, it was instantly exorcised. I smiled at Alex in relief. All that training, which at first seemed pointless, proved to be effective. I was very proud of him. Maybe I'd let him kiss me on the next try.
He, on the opposite, did not show a good reaction. He remained serious as he took the ax back. He was right, there was no reason to smile at that moment. We went fast to the surviving woman. She was all slimed, but alive.
“Poor thing!” I said.
“She probably doesn't even know what happened. Most people cannot see the creatures.”
“Yes!” I sighed. “One of the little girls saw it,” I stammered, remembering the child warning about the monster.
Suddenly, the woman woke up from her fainting. We calmed her down, then took her to the children who were relieved to see her. They all joined in a hug.
“Let's get them out of here and abort the mission,” I said while I reloaded the gun.
Alex didn't complain this time. It was like he was re-experiencing the nightmare of the day I met him. We walked quickly to the dark stairs. We went down a few steps, when an explosion shook the building. Alex and I immediately went back to look. More centipedes burst through apartment windows and doors. Some giant, some small. They ran furiously towards us.
I pulled Alex by the collar of his shirt: “Run with the children out of the building, I'll hold those creatures!” I ordered.
"No way, miss!"
He wasn't used to disobeying me.
"Get down!” I roared. “I can handle it. I'll meet you later.”
“Yes, miss. But if you don't come down...”
"Hurry up, get out of here!" I yelled as I pushed him away.
After Alex was left in charge of the survivors. I felt comfortable to fight the creatures that came towards me. I was willing to end every one of them. So, I ran towards them, wanting to exorcise them quickly, or at least buy some time so everyone could get out of that place.
***
My body's energy increased my speed. Then I could dodge and attack. I ran across the corridor, went up the walls and leapt between the creatures. I shot each one of them and kept running to get away, then snapped my fingers. I skidded across the floor and spun around. I ran back, entered the curtain of fire caused by the explosions, but now I attacked the smaller creatures using the dagger. When I finally finished, I stopped and took a breath. Then I opened the barrel of the revolver to reload it.
"Damn!" I thought.
I didn't usually skimp on ammo, but this time I was worried if I had enough for the large number of creatures.
I walked quickly to the stairs. The fire became one more reason to get out of that building. I thought maybe I'd catch up with Alex and the others on the way down.
But, before I could reach the stairs, the door to one of the apartments exploded and threw me backwards. The entire structure of the building shuddered.
“Ah, my back!” I grumbled after the violent fall.
Another creature attacked me. It was huge, fast and fierce. Lizard-shaped, bulging red eyes. it grabbed me with one of its four claws and threw me to the ground. Even protecting myself with my energy, I felt the impact, so I spat blood. It caught me once more, but I lopped off the creature's finger with the dagger and jumped to the ground.
I barely composed myself on the ground and the creature's finger had already regenerated. It was too strong, I couldn't waste time. I ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction of it. I unloaded the gun on it as I fled. I landed all 6 shots to the head. A target that size, I couldn't miss. The piercings made no difference to the creature, this one was too tough. Then I snapped my fingers. The explosion was so strong that the creature immediately fell apart, as well as part of that floor.
“Shit!” I yelled.
I should have seen this coming. I worried about the people outside.
But I got it. I exorcised one of the biggest creatures I've ever seen. However, this also resulted in a crater between me and the stairs leading to the exit. I didn't know how much that could have affected the overall structure of the building. He could fall apart. I had to get out of there as soon as possible.
“Ah, no time to think!”
I took advantage of the adrenaline in my blood, got a good boost and ran towards the other side. Heart was beating so fast. I had never jumped anything so wide before. That was close. As I fell, I slipped, but I held on to what was left of the structure on the other side of the ledge. And I got up.
“No time to think!”
Finally, I reached the stairs, but when I got there, I got a fright that paralyzed me for a second. A child was watching from the steps leading upstairs. I couldn't see the whole thing; it was just a silhouette.
She giggled:
“You are different from the others, because you are very strong.”
