Angels Vs Daemons

Chapter 1 - A fine day

The streets were full of activity on this hot summer day. Cars honked impatiently as traffic ground to a standstill during rush hour. A seemingly endless line of pedestrians walked back and forth down the avenue like a line of ants. Voices filled the air in a cacophony of side as thousands of conversations were held simultaneously.

Jamel smiled at his girlfriend as they walked down the avenue, his arm draped lovingly over her shoulder. She tip tapped on her phone as she scoured the interweb for details on the restaurant they selected for dinner. "Are you sure you're ok with sushi? I know it's not your favorite."

"Babe...I'm ok with whatever you want."

She smiles, "Are you sure??"

"Monica....sushi is your favorite. Of course we can get it for your birthday dinner."

She squeals excitedly as they walk, "This is going to be the best ... .I've heard they have a miso soup that is to DIE for!" She leans into Jamel and sighs, "Thanks babe."

As the pair walk past an alleyway a pair of hands reach out and yank Monica right out of Jamel's arm and into the shadows. Monica screams in fright as Jamel turns, "Hey.... hey let her go!!"

He dashes after her as the man who grabbed her pulls her further into the alleyway. Jamel sprints after them anger in his eyes, "I said let her g...."

A pipe swings through the air catching Jamel straight across the jaw knocking him backwards. From the shadows several men step forward and start to kick and thrash Jamel with multiple weapons. He does his best to fight them off but with a groggy head he can do little to defend himself. His ears are ringing from the initial blow and his vision is blurry but he can see Monica screaming as she's dragged away. The men stomp and pound him for several minutes before halting their onslaught. They smirk and start to turn away.

"Wait! *cough...hack sputter* You can't ....*cough*' Jamel shakily stands on his feet, taking several shakey steps.

"Would you look at that? He can still stand!" one assailant says.

"Not for long" says one of the men as he strolls over to Jamel before grabbing his shoulder. With three quick flashes of a blade he guts Jamel in the abdomen before he has time to react.

Jame gurgles and falls to his knees as he watches the men follow after his girlfriend. With tears in his eyes Jamel tries to stand holding his insides together with his right hand. He plods forward trying to speak, "Help.....we need help...." He thinks to himself I have to get Monica help....I have to..." Step....drag...step...drag. He can see the sunlight a short distance away. As he steps onto the street several pedestrians gasp in fright as his bruised and bloody form pops seemingly out of nowhere.'

"Help....cough us...help"

He continues to stumble past the onlookers as he walks into the street, "We....need....help!"

A blaring car horn screams warning as Jamel steps past the car by the curb and into oncoming traffic. Screeching tires fills the air before the car slams into Jamel with tremendous force. His limp body goes flying a dozen feet before crashing and rolling into the ground. A woman screams as she is sprayed with his blood. Many bystanders go running into the street to offer help. The driver exits his car frantically..."I didn't see him....I couldn't stop....oh my god! Someone call 911!!! OH MY GOD!!!"

Chapter 2 - Darkness Falls

The police and ambulance arrive quickly on the scene and arrive to utter chaos and confusion. Police try to calm the woman who was sprayed in blood doing their best to clean her and wrap her in a towel for the shock. Paramedics work quickly to stabilize Jamel on site as he has sustained multiple bone breaks in addition to his previous injuries. As they work feverishly Jamel starts to go into cardiac arrest and flatlines. Several attempts are made to bring him but ultimately the paramedics call the time of death and cover his body with a blanket.

Police secure the area and push back onlookers as the coroner's office is called in to take over. The driver of the car is in hysterics after Jamel passes, he tries to reassure everyone that he didn't mean to do this. A few onlookers who stayed on scene do their best to comfort him and reassure the police and him that he had no time to react and it was not his fault.

The wind blows causing a flower high up on a tree branch to break free and drift slowly to the ground. The flower spirals slowly as it arcs left and right as it is caught up in the eddies of the wind. Slowly to the left.....slower to the right.....the air grows thick as light seems to flee from the scene. People and animals seem to walk slower and slower until time appears to come to a halt. Shadows creep forward to take over the surrounding area making everything look hollow and bleak.

Jamel groans and slowly sits up on the ground, "The hell...how'd I get over here?" he stands and looks around to see everyone around him motionless. "The hell?"

A scratching noise from his left catches his attention as he turns to look to the darkness in front of him, "What is going on???" he goes to take a step forward but trips over something. He looks down to see his beaten bloody body below him, "AHHHHHHHHH! What is happening???? Is that me? Yooooooooooo that can't be me!!!"

The scratching noises from the shadows drew his attention again. He looks into the darkness and starts to squint, "What da fuck?"

Glowing eyes of various shades start to creep out from the darkest shadows. Long talons snaking out as long extended arms peel away from the darkness and into the bleak shaded reality.

"NO no no ... .this can't be happening". he turns and starts to run but his foot sinks into the ground, "OH holy hell..." he tries to yank his leg free and instead traps one of his arms.

He tries to swim-crawl forward but is stuck deeper in the mire of ground below him. Horrible laughter is heard from all around him as the creatures circle around him. Scratching and Ticking and Cackling. Jamel screams as they surround him...their eyes intent upon his flesh. He screams a blood curdling cry as they overtake him and everything goes black.

Chapter 3 - Daemon

Moonlight spills down the alleyway illuminating the dingy street between the buildings. Rats crawl between the garbage cans seeking out their midnight meal. Jamel sputters as a rat walks over his face startling him awake. He jumps with a start looking about the alley rapidly, "Wh...where am I??" he asks as he cowers in the shadows.

"Corner of 54th and Damacles if I'm not mistaken." a voice says.

Jamel spins towards the voice, "Who's there???"

"Sooooooooooo many questions ... sooooooooooo little time."

Jamel takes a few steps back, "This isn't funny......what's happening."

A voice from behind his ear whispers, "You died."

Jamel spins around, "Who's there....I'm not dead...I'm here."

"Oh but you did die........and now you're better."

Jamel spins around as he tries to find the source of the voice, "Stop it this isn't funny...where's Monica."

"Your girlfriend? Somewhere else....somewhere you can never go."

Jamel walks further down the alley, "How am I here? How am I walking??? I thought I saw my body."

The voice whispers, "You did....but you changed.....you're better now."

"Ch-changed??Changed how????"

The voice cackles, "Look in the mirror and see for yourself...."

Jamel's eyes are caught by something to his right. He looks into a shattered mirror and sees his reflection for the first time as the moonlight hits his body. He is nude for all the world to see. HIs skin is grey and ashen, his eyes a piss yellow, his hair dark and sooty. "Why am I naked??" he asks absently before his eyes look at the top of his head as he sees two curled horns flaring from his temple. "Horns??? The hell is this shit???" He spins and catches his tail accidentally, "A tail??? Oh my god what is happening???'

The voice hisses, "They have nothing to do with it....." from the shadows a daemonic figure crawls into the moonlight, "We work with the other side."

Jamel screams like a little bitch and starts to run away. The daemonic figure runs after him tripping him several times as he tries to get away, "Oh come now....is this the way to thank us after we fixed your body....made you new....whole....and improved!", it says with one final swipe as it knocks him onto his back. The daemon pounces onto Jamel's naked body straddling him as he pins him down, "Ooooooooooooh Jamel.....I think I know why your girlfriend enjoyed you so" it croons as it grinds on his hips.

Jamel screams again and tries to break free, "Let me go!!! Let me go!!!!"

The daemon cackles and licks his face, "Oooooooooooh Jamel.....it's too late for all that now... The daemon seed is in you now there's no turning back."

Jamel blinks as tears run down his face, "Daemon seed??"

The daemon pulls Jamel up to his face and comforts, "Oooh you poor baby....so traumatic of a day. I know what will make you feel better right away. Follow me....."

The daemon leaps off of him and scuttles up the wall. Jamel screams as his body is forcefully dragged by some unseen force up the wall after him. The daemon follows the firescape up the building and stops just outside a window of the 4th floor. He plops Jamel onto the rim of the fire escape. "ooooh look it's supper time."

Jamel peers inside to see a mother putting a baby to bed turning out the light and closing the door part way. He gulps, "You have got to be kidding me."

The daemon looks him in the face, "Does this look like the face of a kidder?" it cackles. Long tendril figures lift the unlocked window allowing them entrance. Slowly it skulks to the crib, Jamel feeling compelled to follow. The daemon sits on the railing of the crib and motions for Jamel, "Feast ... .your first time is always the best."

"Feast" he questions, "Feast on what??"

"Why the babe of course" the Daemon cackles.

Jamel looks horrified, "Never....I ....NO !!! "

The daemon shrugs, "Are you going vegan on me? Ah well more for me." his claws reach into the crib as his jaw unhinges like a snake. He drops the baby in whole while Jamel looks on in horror. The daemon clamps its mouth shut with a SQUELCH as blood splatters everywhere.

Jamel darts for the window knocking over several pieces of furniture, a lamp falls to the ground and shatters. He dives out the window onto the firescape and runs as fast as he can down the stairwell. On the first floor he releases the ladder and slides down it hitting the ground running as he tries to get away. For many minutes he runs down the dark alleyways going left...then right...then left hoping to lose the creature behind him. Eventually he comes to a halt and tries to catch his breath.

"Y'know when you run off like that it kinda hurts my feelings."

Jamel gasps as a clawed hand grasps him around his throat and pins him against the wall, "We can't be best friends if you keep treating me like that"

Jamel flails as he's choked, "Now listen here......I'm here to teach you about being a daemon....but I won't have you shirking your duties."

The daemon flings Jamel to the ground, "Daemons take the lives of mortals.....you are a daemon... so YOU take the lives of mortals!"

The daemon crawls all over Jamel, "Innocents are the best.....but the guilty will do just as well." The daemon hugs Jamel's face to his own, "The longer you wait to reap a life the more pain you will suffer until you can bear it no more."

The daemon cackles as he starts to disappear, "So don't wait too long y'here?"

Jamel looks around in the darkness...naked and exposed....he starts to cry into his hands sobbing in grief and desperation.

Chapter 4 - Cherubim

The breeze is soft and cool, clouds drift lazily by as Monica slowly starts to stir. She sits up suddenly as it all comes back to her. Frantically she looks around to find herself draped in white cloth sitting on a cloud high in the sky. The city looks like one of those sim games where you run the building of a new city. "I...I must be dreaming."

A soft voice whispers behind her, "No my friend.....you're in Sephalem."

Monica whips around to see a beautiful man standing on the cloud beside her. His body is adorned in gold jewelry with his privates covered by a billowy cloth fabric. "Hello Monica.....I am here to guide you on your bath."

"My....my path?" Monica asks nervously.

"Yes my friend. YOu have been gifted the angel seed and soon you will grow to become a protector of the mortal world.

Monica laughs as she stands up, "Ok....I don't know what kind of sick prank this is....but you better tell me where I am and where is Ja-"

She is unable to finish the sentence as the beautiful man shoves her off the cloud. She screams as she starts to fall rapidly to the ground, arms and legs flailing. Movement at the corner of her eye catches her attention as she watches the man jump from the cloud and sprout magnificent wings. He soars past her before looping back to match her path downwards, "I figured this would be the fastest way to convince you of the truth I speak."

Monica frantically reaches out towards the man, "Help me!! Help me!"

The man dives down beside her, "Help yourself.....if you are to help others."

Monica screams as he stops diving, extending his wings to slow his descent. The ground rushes up quickly as Monica sobs in fear. This can't be happening she thinks as she hurtles towards the ground. She closes her eyes and covers her face with her arms as she nears the concrete below her.

Time seems to warp and slow around her. She feels her face smack into the concrete expecting a hard surface that would crush her bones. Instead it warps and shapes spreading to cushion her fall like a giant balloon. She gasps as time reverts to normal and she bounces slightly off the ground only to smack back into the solidified concrete.

She sputters as she tries to catch her breath as the winged man lands besides her furling his wings away, "Real enough for you?"

Monica cries as she stands shakily, "I don't understand."

The man turns her to look into the storefront window. Monica sees her reflection for the first time. Soft skin, white flowing cloth garments, bright blue eyes. She gasps her eyes are brown not blue ... .suddenly she looks at both their reflections and sees floating perfectly above their heads are two glowing golden halos.

"Why you're an angel my dear!"

Chapter 5 - Blessings Be

Monica, "Absolutely not...this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."

The angel follows her, "More ridiculous than surviving a fall from heaven?"

Monica scoffs, "I'm in a coma.....I'm having a bad dream...."

The angel stops and sighs, "Come." he turns and starts walking down the street.

Monica feels herself being pulled backwards dragging on her ankles, "W...what..."

The angel talks as he walks amongst the people who don't seem to notice him. "You have been chosen to help those in need." he motions to a man with a sign begging for money for food. He points to a man walking by who looks down, snorts and continues to walk by. As the man passes the angel he touches him on the shoulder, the man stops, turns and gives the homeless man a twenty dollar bill. The man beams and thanks the other for his generosity.

Monica looks at the Angel like he's crazy, "Oh c'mon....there's no way you did that."

"Simple acts of kindness have a way of multiplying....we encourage them to be more so they do more and that spreads like a ripple on a pond."

Monica on a whim reaches out to touch a woman in an attempt to encourage her. The woman stops at the touch, looks around, shrugs and then continues on, "Hah ... nothing."

The angel laughs, "It will come in time..." he pats her on her shoulder, "For now...watch and learn and when you need me call me ... .I am Manuel....." his voice fades as he disappears.

"Wait what???" She looks around to find herself standing in a crowd of people yet utterly alone.

Chapter 6 - Blood by Blood

Jamel wakes a few hours later to find himself laying in the middle of the street naked and afraid. Last night he wandered aimlessly searching for help but no matter who he saw no one could apparently see him. He walked and walked till ultimately he passed out from exhaustion. As he stretches he sees the sun rising over the skyscrapers and sighs at the beautiful sight. Sunbeams move towards him slowly and he watches in fascination. As the light starts to touch the flesh of his foot he hisses in pain. Half in reflex he pulls his foot back only to see a scorch mark on the flesh where the sun hit it. He blinks several times and leans forward to slowly put his hand into the light. Pain sears through his hand which he recoils back quickly, "Awww fuck me.....now the sun is going to be the death of me??"

Jamel stands as he scoots back from the sun. He looks around and spies an alleyway across the street. He jogs over to the alley and disappears into the shadows just as the sun starts to pass along on the street. "Fuck...." he says as sees that the buildings are not very tall and soon the sun will be pouring into the narrow alley. The rays start to creep down threatening to destroy him. He sighs as he sees his only option to survive...a large filthy dumpster. "Of course it's a dumpster....". He looks over his naked body then at the dumpster, "Imma have trash where trash don't belong." He lifts the lid and jumps inside dropping the lid behind him.

"Awwwwwwww fuck it stinks in here"

"Sorry" says another voice, "I get nervous at sunrise."

"What the fuck!!!" he screams as he jumps up and tries to get out the dumpster. A pair of demon hands grabs him and yanks him back in, "Shut that ... .the sun is almost here."

Click....click.....fssst is heard before a fire illuminates the dumpster. The daemon pulls out a small candle and lights the wick. "There we go...."

Jamel scoots to the edge of the dumpsters as far from the other daemon as he can. "Ooooh you must be a newborn." he snirkles, "I'm Gaugabub.....bet you don't even have a name yet."

"Of course I have a name I'm Ja....I'm Ja....what the fuck...why can't i say my name?"

Gaugabub snirkles, "Because that's not your name anymore.....you'll find it...soon."

Jamel sniffles, "I don't want to be this...."

Gaugabub snirkles again, "Nobody do....can't be helped. Just do what you gotta do or cause yourself much suffering." The daemon tugs on his sack, "It's not all bad y'know....good foods.....orgies....get to eat the innocent...torture the wicked. All the drugs you can stand ....and even those you can't. It's all of the pleasure...none of the pains."

Jamel pfffts, "No daylight ... .sitting in filth.....no clothing."

Gaugabub pffts right back, "Who cares about clothes......fly free my friend ... .balls out I always say." The daemon haunches and jiggles his balls around.

"Ok ok...enough of the show...how do I undo this???'

"Undo it? Oh no no ......" he leans over and pets Jamel's belly, "Once the daemon seed is placed ... .there's no going back."

Jamel starts to sob, "I have to find my girlfriend...."

"Awww there there......girlfriend is gone where you can't go...."

Jamel snarls and pounces Gaugabub, "The other daemon said the same thing!! How do you know where she is?? How do I find her???"

Gaugabub, "Heaven....she is in heaven!!"

Jamel stops and throws himself back, "Hea-ven??'

Gaugabab sits up grumpily tugging on his sack, "No Daemon may go to Heaven....she is forever gone now she is."

Jamel sobs to himself.

Gaugabab offers him a small leg, "Is ok ... .we're friends now...you stay here any time. Here, have a snack."

Jamel looks visibly sick, "Please tell me that's not what I think it is."