Descending

The endless rain was pouring down in torrents when they dragged the Demon in by her arms, thrashing and cursing them the whole time. Jason watched silently from his post as the woman kicked one of his soldiers in the groin, got an arm free and punched a soldier in the face, and bit into the last soldier's arm as the other two soldiers quickly recovered and body slammed her into the mud. He watched as her head lolled in the muck and she lost consciousness to his men's relief. One man tossed her limp body over his shoulder like she was a saddlebag and they hurried inside to throw her in a cell before she woke up.

Jason shook his head as he finished his cigarette. He didn't allow himself that many even though the nicotine didn't affect him much, but he enjoyed the buzz. It had been raining for weeks out in this wasteland and while most of his men were depressed from lack of sunlight, he didn't mind the weather so much. He wasn't here on vacation either way and the weather kept him on his toes. He gulped down his black coffee and flicked the cigarette into the wind.

The man couldn't blame the woman for fighting like a rabid animal. His men had just burnt and slain her entire tribe, including her father and everyone else she had ever known and cared for. His men were only following his orders, whom he carried on from the general himself. The only reason this Demon girl was still alive, was because the general wanted this girl for himself as a lesson to all other Demons not to poke at the powers of the Confederate Arms. An overused phrase by higher ranking military officers was that 'threats must be dealt with'.

The man spat with contempt of his country and the things he was forced to do. Like all other boys of 16, Jason Griffin was drafted into the military and showed a surprising knack for military tactics, a quick wit that only improved under pressure, and a talent in killing. His parents were quite surprised that he moved up his ranks so quickly, for he had always been such a gentle and quiet child growing up. He began in the army, and transferred over to the marines, where the toughest and most brutal soldiers were bred nowadays. Jason became a hollow eyed mercenary after the invasion of Mexico and the horrors he had witnessed and had been forced to participate in had permanently changed him into a shell of his former self. This problem with Demons was relatively new and he wasn't sure what to make of these people.

The rain continued to pound on the iron overhang above him and Jason turned as he heard boots behind him against the concrete.

"Sir, the Demon has been detained in cell B6. She is almost ready for interrogation."

"Thank you soldier."

The soldier saluted, then left.

Jason let out a deep huff of breath, gazed at the foggy mountains in the distance, and became the curt and cold lieutenant Griffin. He turned on his heel and descended down the stairs towards the cell block.

When Jason turned the corner of the long hallway, he was greatly surprised to see 5 men posted in front of the heavy steel door to the prisoner's cell. When they saw him, they all silently saluted.

Lieutenant Griffin smirked at the men. "Does one female Demon, locked behind 5 feet of concrete and steel really need to take 4 men from their posts?" With that said, 4 of the men apologized and went on with their duties while the one soldier assigned to be guard remained.

The last man stood silently by the cell door and Jason slid back the tiny window in the door to see what the girl was up to. It appeared that she was just coming to, with a nasty looking gash at her temple, still wet with fresh blood.

Lieutenant Griffin ordered the soldier to get a medic to stitch the wound. He had promised the general that she would not receive permanent damage or death before she was handed off to him. Like a fresh canvas, Jason thought

When the medic arrived with two soldiers to help, Jason watched as the girl was pinned down on the cement bench. He almost winced as the medic sloshed pure alcohol over the open wound and began to stitch the edges of the raw flesh together. The girl closed her eyes in pain as the alcohol burned her skull, for she hadn't been given any kind of pain relief as the thick thread pulled on her burning scalp.

Jason gritted his teeth but didn't want his men to think he was sympathetic to this girl. He remembered that it was because of her and her people that many of his soldiers were dead and their skulls used to decorate spikes on the battle fields.

He instructed the guard to bring the girl to an interrogation room where he would be waiting in an hour.

The girl didn't look afraid as she was forced down into a chair before Lieutenant Griffin. She didn't look up as he began to address her as the two guards who had brought her began to lock her wrists behind her back in handcuffs. She allowed them to.

"You are very lucky someone holds a special interest in you, otherwise you would be dead just like all those other dog fuckers you called family."

Jason didn't get the rise he wanted to out of her. She merely looked at the porous cement wall behind his head. The two guards left and closed the door behind them to continue to keep guard outside. Jason was now completely alone with this girl with nothing else but a digital recorder bolted under the table.

He continued, "What is your name?"

She still ignored him.

Jason was already impatient. "Give me a fucking name."

Silence still.

Jason ground his teeth and decided that he needed to show this girl that he was no one to not take seriously.

"One more chance Demon. Answer the questions." He stood up and leaned against the table right in front of her. She still never even looked at him, so Jason darted forward and grabbed her by her matted and dirty hair and forced her to look him in the face. Her black eyes were colder than any human's and Jason imagined the thoughts of gore running through her head, but instead he twisted harder forcing her to grit her teeth and squeeze her eyes shut.

"Your name!"

"Ane."

Jason smirked. Her voice was low and husky with her fury. Her pupils contracted and Jason caught a glimpse of thin golden rings around them.

Jason needed to break this defiance. "Are you afraid to die?"

"No."

Jason let go of her hair and leaned back in his chair.

"Do you want to know how we found you?" Silence was her response. "Looking everywhere in the country that would be totally secluded, free of most pollutants, have abundant wildlife, and difficult to reach?" Jason paused for effect. "Do you know how many places are left in this country that fit that exact description?"

Ane stared at the wall behind his head.

"There are about 5 left. But only one has such an extensive cave network that hasn't offically made it into the network. Did you know that there are 5 platoons of soldiers on their way to those caves as we speak?"

Ane's eyes flashed. Then she spoke in a gravely voice, "Each and every one of your men will die with as much pain as their bodies can muster."

If she didn't have to remain unmarred for the General, Jason would show her the meaning of pain himself if he could and she'd be begging him to kill her.

Jason glanced at his wristwatch. It was almost nightfall, 6 o'clock. It was almost dinnertime for most of the soldiers. His stomach growled in hunger, and he knew Ane had heard it. He heard her stomach growl as well, but he knew she wasn't going to get a bite to eat until somebody caught a rat. Jason almost chuckled aloud at his private joke.

"My men watched your cave for 3 days until they had identified the King and you. Then they shot everyone who wandered too far from the cave, slowly moving in until there weren't enough dog fuckers to resist us and you and your so called King-daddy were right in the middle of that bulls-eye. So fucking obvious by the way those mongrels worshipped you two."

The Demon's face became weary at the memory. Jason didn't care at this point. What was done got done right for once. A promotion might lay in his future, but Jason didn't care much about rank when there was always someone higher up pulling the strings. The pay was the only incentive at this point.

"What do you suggest I do right now?"

A slow and evil smile crept across her cherry lips. "Join your men and venture down into our caves. How I wish I could be there to see it."

"I wish you could be too, but sadly you wouldn't be able to see a thing because you would be dead. That is because the country's top scientists have just mutated a deadly virus to make it only effective against Demons."

"I'll tell you something useful if you take off my handcuffs and give me something to drink." Ane knew perfectly well that any question he asked her would not help his cause at all. Only a Demon would have a chance at using any information Ane knew. It was time the humans learned that their only advantage over Demons was their population and Ane wouldn't say or do anything to get in the way of that ever happening.

"No to the handcuffs, but we'll get you some water if you make an effort to impress me."

"It's a deal."

Jason cleared his throat. "Why do the Demons consider you as their leader?"

Ane didn't even have to think about the question. "Because my father is pure Demon and is the son of the true Demon King. All the others are born from parents of half Demon or less. I have the purest and oldest Demon blood running through my veins, now that my father lies dead in a pile of burning bodies like mere trash."

Jason nodded. "Can you speak the language of Demons?"

"Of course."

"Then tell me what this says." Jason pulled a folded piece of paper from his breast pocket. There was a photograph of a cave wall with a Demonic carving of 5 winged beings tearing apart a human before a huge monster with 6 arms, huge ram-like horns and a wolflike snout. In it's hands it held a burning sword and a skull. The human had a look of anguish upon it's face as the beasts tore its limbs off and pulled out its intestines. Below the carving there were 2 rows of hieroglyphics.

"I said I could speak the language, but I can't read this. Along with the Demon polulation, most of the language was lost to us as well."

Jason frowned. It was very important to certain people that this image was deciphered.

"Do you think any other Demons can still read this language?"

"No. If there are, I wouldn't know."

"Do you know who these beings are in this picture?"

Ane studied the picture and frowned. "The 5 with wings are the children of the larger monster. He is a god."

Jason folded the paper and tucked it back into his pocket. He looked under the table and made sure the recorder was one. The light was blinking red.

"I'm going to ask you a question in English and I want you to respond in the Demon language."

Ane nodded.

Jason asked her the seemingly unimportant question.

She uttered a stream of words in a language that sounded haltingly sharp and gravely, but was captivating by its pure alienity to Jason's ears. It was a language from practically another world untouched by human cultures. It sounded so strange coming from the mouth of a girl who looked so human, except for her pale coloring and obsidian black eyes.

Jason had been ordered not to have her translate what she had said for reasons of security, but he couldn't fathom how any answer to such a simple question could be of any significance and why they didn't want him to know. He could probably find out later. He reached under the table and pressed the button that would send the conversation directly to his commander.

For now he had no more questions. He had to wait until his commander issued him more after he reviewed her responses.

Jason got up from his seat and went to the door. Out of his peripherals, he caught sight of Ane mulling over something as he asked a soldier outside to get a glass of water.

He sat down again across from Ane and when he looked up, he caught sight of a thin trail of a tear run down her cheek. Ane's gaze shifted to his face and Jason continued to look at her as her face hardened.

The Demon woman looked like she was maybe in her early 20's. She was covered in a thin layer of dirt and blood and the stiched wound on her head would leave a scar, but he could almost picture what she would look like if she were clean. Her hair would be straight and pale as bone, maybe even whiter. Her face was heart-shaped with a sharp jaw and high cheekbones. Her eyes had a small slant to them,with heavy lids and long black lashes. Her nose was thin and straight and her lips were full and curved. Her face looked so somber and smooth, he couldn't picture those lips ever smiling or those eyes ever crinkling with laughter. She drew in a deep breath of air and Jason saw that her teeth were slightly sharper than a human's, but not much different. Ane could defenitely pass as a human if she darkened her hair and wore colored contacts or glasses.

Jason snapped back to reality when there was a rap on the door. He realized that Ane had been watching him look at her and he quickly got up to recieve the glass of water his soldier handed to him. After the door was shut, he pushed the glass to Ane and spoke sharply to her. "Can I trust you to not do anything stupid if I uncuff you?"

Ane nodded and Jason took a key from his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs behind her back. He realized afterwards that he had already told her he wasn't going to do what he just did. She was defenitely going to think he was going soft for her, which he reassured himself he wasn't. He just didn't want to have to hold the glass for her or watch her lap from the cup like a dog. That was too degrading for his comfort. His ease on her could be to his advantage too, if she learned she would be rewarded for her cooperation with him.

Jason watched tensely as she drank the entire glass of water in two gulps. As he expected, she did nothing but drink the water and rub her wrists tiredly. He was finding the act of appearing like a tough and cruel soldier harder to keep up with this girl. That's all she was, Demon or human, just a girl who had lost everything and was being hunted by the entire world for being what she was created to be. Sure the Demons had killed plenty of humans, but the humans had eradicated the entire original population of Demons. All that was left were hybrids and until earlier this morning there had been one full Demon left in the world.

Ane was silently watching Jason's stony face, wondering when he was going to slip up and give her a chance to kill him and escape. If she had to choose though, she would just escape and find the rest of her people and take them deeper into hidng. "I need to use the restroom," she murmered, hoping he would take the bait.

"Your new cell will have a toilet and cot." Jason informed her. Standing back from the table, he could see that there was no longer a red light on the recorder. He bent to look at it.

Ane silently cursed then saw a staple just under the leg of the table on her end. She saw that Jason was still distracted and bent down, pretending to scratch her ankle, darting her hand out to snatch the staple and tuck it under her sock. Her heart hammered as she checked to make sure he hadn't noticed.

Jason stood up and walked to the handcuffs still resting on the table. He picked them up and walked around Ane to put them back on. Her wrists looked so delicate, but he saw the tendons under her hands ripple as they pulled the slender muscles of her arms together. Her body looked like that of an athlete's and Jason admired the gentle curve of her waist and the small muscles bunched on her back as her arms were pulled closer to close the handcuffs. To his surprise he saw that her hands were slightly trembling. He shook off the pull of her attractiveness and tightened the cuffs and gently pulled her to her feet.

As he led her out the door and down the maze of halls that only a person with a lot of experience in the base should be able to navigate through it, he realized that something in her mood had changed. She seemed suddenly nervous since he had put the cuffs on her. As a soldier unlocked the door to her new cell, he noticed that her eyes were frantically darting around the halls. Jason realized that she was trying to remember their route before entering her cell. He immiediately became suspicious and came into the cell with her. The soldier outside automatically shut the door, but didn't lock it until Jason gave him a disparaging look through the small glass window, then didn't shut the window until Jason jerked his head in a sign to close it.

Jason turned back to his prisoner and was shocked to see real fear in her eyes. She stood in the corner of the cell, tense as if ready to defend herself. Jason realized she thought he meant to rape her. "Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you."

Ane swallowed loudly and sat on her cot. She glanced around the room as if for a weapon to tear off the wall. There was nothing but a sink and a toilet.

"I'm just here to tell you to not try and escape. I know what you're doing and I promise you, that if you somehow escape from this cell, the soldiers around here won't let you. Our government has no problem with eliminating anyone who they think isn't doing their job effeciently enough. They would replace us all with robots if it weren't so damn expensive, so if any soldier catches you, he will make you pay tenfold for your efforts to escape. I'm telling you this for your safety. I can guarantee you will be brutally raped if you are caught outside of this cell."

Ane's brow furrowed. "I'm sure either way I will be raped, but thanks for the notice." Jason realized this was true and nodded with a tinge of regret. "I will leave then."

Jason knocked on the door and watched as the guard pulled back the cover on the window to confirm it was him knocking and pulled open the heavy door. With a glance over his shoulder as he walked out he saw Ane staring at him in confusion. He shouldn't have said anything to her. She could tell that he was going soft for her, he knew by her face. To his shock she gave him a quick smile. He almost ran into the guard in surprise, but quickly dodged around him before the guard even noticed.

The cell door slammed shut behind him as he angrily strode to his quarters. This woman thought she could manipulate him, but he would show her next time she dared to flirt that he was someone to take seriously. He would teach her not to mistake him for someone who could be led around by his dick. Maybe he should rape her and have her really fear him. Jason cringed inwardly. He could never rape a woman. He could do every cruel act his country ordered him to do, but he could never rape a woman for his own pleasure, whether she was fully human or not.

He opened the door to his quarters and was very pleased to see a tray of food placed on his desk. He sat down heavily in his chair and opened the tray to behold a heaping plate of mashed potatoes, corn, bread, and a breaded pork chop. His thermos was warm with fresh black coffee to pour in his tin cup.

Jason ate heartily, a little guilty that Ane had nothing to eat, but still couldn't help enjoying the meal and cleaning his plate. After he finished he yawned so wide, his jaws cracked and he ambled over to his cot to take a nap.

When Jason woke, he grabbed his pack of filter cigarettes and went outside on the porch to have a smoke while he sipped a cup of coffee, just as he had done when Ane had been dragged through the gates of the cement wall surrounding the base.

Night had fallen since he had been outside last and he saw that although the rain had stopped, there was a violent lightning storm brewing just above the base. The silence was eery as the sky danced with flashes of light like viens branching across the black clouds. The valley that the base was in was covered in lush fields of grass. He didn't have to worry about lightning setting the valley on fire tonight. Once summer came though, fires spread like a disease throughout the thirsty and dry land. Winter drowned them and the Summer sucked the life out of them with the intense heat and months without a drop of rain.