Flight of the Raven

Hi again! Before you start I would strongly recommend that you read Chapter 1 first before this part or bits will not make sense to you :)

To reiterate from my first post. This story, despite being posted in the 'Sci-Fi' section, will also include: Non-Human, Non-Consent, Erotic-Horror, Group-Sex, Mind-Control and (heaven forbid) Romance elements so I'd recommend you grow a pair and continue reading if any of this scares you.

The story will also contain: strong language, gore, violence, explicit sex scenes, bouts of philosophy, intimate relationships, magic, demons, continued misuse of kitchen equipment, different perspectives (both 1

st

and 3

rd

), a complete disregard for geographical locations and a vastly unrealistic representation of our solar-system.

If you feel you can handle all the above then I warmly invite you to delve into my imagination to your heart's content.

-- Demonnox --

Chapter 4 -- Escape

"Luke."

I groaned.

"Luke."

I groaned some more, my head was pounding mercilessly.

"Luke, come on, you have to wake up."

I tried to swat away the voice, but realised I couldn't move my arms. It took even longer to remember that voices weren't magically silenced by random arm movements.

"Please Luke. I'm worried about you."

That sounded like Cathy. Cathy was worried about me, but why?

Then it all came rushing back to me, the eclipse, the demons, the explosion. Everything.

Forcing my eyes to open I stared into Cathy's blurry face. Why the hell was her face all blurry.

I was mortified with myself. I felt embarrassment colour my face and thanked God I hadn't said that allowed. Seriously, did I really just think Cathy's face was blurry. Just how hard had I hit my head I wondered.

After my headache had calmed slightly, and my vision was back to normal I looked up at Cathy's regular face, and asked. "So, I guess It worked?"

I didn't get an answer. Instead Cathy started crying and wrapped her arms around me, smothering me in a friendly hug.

Well I suppose that was an answer in itself I thought with a smile, returning the hug, thankful that she was all right.

After a few seconds I disentangled myself from Cathy's arms and asked. "How long was I out?"

She sobered up at this, becoming grave. "You've been out for almost three hours Luke. It's almost 7 o'clock." She bit her lip, unsure how to continue.

"What is it?" I supplied.

"Luke, there aren't many of us left. It's been pretty crazy while you've been out. John's tried to keep things under control, but a lot of people have fled the school, despite the ash falling again. It's crazy." She took a deep breath. "There are 62 people here in the school, and almost all of those were part of the group in the cafeteria that you saved. A lot ran when the imps got in, and still more decided to leave afterwards. We're not sure how many the imps killed." Her face went slightly green and she looked like she was about to throw up. "It's unclear how many bodies there are in the cafeteria. It's... It's hard to tell."

I hugged her again and she buried her head against my shoulder, whimpering softly.

"I can't believe there are so few of us left." I whispered sorrowfully. Cathy nodded her agreement into my shoulder.

"Was that the first time you've tried to wake me?" I asked.

"Yes." Cathy replied. "I wanted to let you rest."

"So, why did you try and wake me now?" I pressed.

Cathy pushed herself up and wiped her eyes of tears, smiling sadly. "There was another earthquake, a few minutes ago. The crack outside grew so much that it's caused some of the cafeteria's wall to crumble. John asked me to try and wake you as we'll have to leave if anything else comes out the crack, but there's been nothing so far."

"I see, and where's everyone else" I said, as I looked around, examining the empty classroom.

"Most of them are in the other room across the hall, it has a view of the crack outside. I think John and a few others are around the school, I'm not exactly sure what they're doing though." Cathy replied.

I grunted in pain and started to stand, slowly. Very slowly. "Wait! You shouldn't be getting up yet, it could be dangerous." Cathy scolded, but helped me up nonetheless.

"Thanks." I said, gratefully. "What would I do without you."

Cathy tried to look annoyed, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face and ended up chuckling, stating. "Come on then mister. If you're so damn sure you want to be walking about, then I can't exactly stop you."

I opened the door to the corridor, crossing the threshold and was reaching for the handle of the room opposite when I heard a noise.

Looking to the right I spotted John, followed by Mr Woodstock and Mr Harrel blazing down the darkened corridor, their flash-light beams dancing madly across the walls, as if the forces of Hell were at their back.

I suppose that could literally be true I thought with grim amusement, hoping I was mistaken.

I wasn't.

By now I wasn't even surprised.

"Luke! Cathy! We have to get everyone out. You know where to go Cathy, we'll guard the rear " John bellowed at us, while still running down hall.

Cathy wasted no time and breezed past me, opening the door to the other classroom and sticking her head in. "It's time to go people! Get your supplies and follow me. No running, stay behind me and keep your heads, okay?"

"Yes, Ms Jones." Replied a large group of people on the other side of the door.

"Wow." I told Cathy in amazement after she had given her orders. "What the hell happened while I was asleep."

She switched on her torch and pointed it ahead. Answering while we walked down the corridor, towards the stairs, 60 people in tow. "It's all John really, he's made sure that everyone knows who's in charge. He's made it clear that everyone is to listen to his instructions, as well as mine and yours." She stopped me as I began to argue, evidently knowing what I was going to say. "Luke, almost everyone here was in the cafeteria until you managed to get them out. They all saw what you did and the ones who weren't trapped have all heard the stories. Whether or not John asked them to follow your orders is irrelevant, I guarantee that they all would anyway. So it's not worth complaining about." Cathy finished with a sly smile and a wink, causing me to laugh.

"I guess not." I agreed, shaking my head. "How come everyone seems so organised now? With the bags and stuff." I wondered aloud, motioning to the various sports bags people were carrying behind us.

"John again." Cathy replied. "He made everyone pack supplies into sports bags we collected from the changing rooms. He then gave everyone a bag or something that didn't fit in a bag to look after. He said it would help prevent us from leaving stuff behind if we had to move and would make for a faster exit if we all knew what we had to take and no one was taking more than they could carry."

"Seems to be working so far." I said, impressed. "Last question, I promise." I continued, making Cathy chuckle as we began to walk down the stairs. "Where are we going exactly?"

"The car park." Cathy dead-panned.

I nodded, keeping silent as I stopped myself from asking another question.

Cathy glanced at me, smiling devilishly as she saw my internal struggle. Finally she released me by saying. "You can ask another question if you want."

I grinned stupidly and asked "Why the car park?"

"To get on a bus." Cathy told me.

I wish I hadn't asked.

No really, I wish I hadn't asked. If there was one thing I hated more than this demon apocalypse -- it was Hargraves buses.

"What's wrong?" Cathy asked me, obviously picking up on my discomfort.

"I hate buses." I mumbled, hoping she wouldn't hear me.

Cathy laughed heartily, evidently I hadn't been quiet enough. I ignored her and focussed on walking, trying not to think about Hargraves buses and to focus on less horrible fates instead, like being eaten alive by imps, or burnt to a crisp by ash.

As we pushed open the double-doors leading to the car park, we were met by a truly distressing sight.

A Hargraves bus was parked, facing away from the entrance with its doors open, ready to be boarded.

I was almost sick. Maybe I could just stay here and fight whatever we were running from I thought, hopefully.

Cathy dashed that hope. "Right, on the bus Luke. I'll follow you on when everyone else is accounted for." And with that Cathy sealed my fate as she withdrew a piece of paper from her pocket and began ticking names off as people passed her.

Sighing heavily, I got on the bus.

I chose a window seat in the back row and looked towards the line of people exiting the school, hoping I'd see Tony. I really should have asked Cathy about him I thought, guiltily.

As the bus started filling up I began to worry about Tony. There couldn't be many more people left. Luckily, as I had this thought, John came through the doors with Tony at his side.

I sighed in relief as I watched them board the bus. Cathy following close behind, evidently having completed the registration to her satisfaction.

Gazing out the window I was amazed by how dark it was. Sure, it was always dark by now at this time of year, but it was never this enveloping. London's streets and buildings are covered in lights which illuminate the city with a yellowish, hazy glow, but almost all of those lights were off, I guess due to the earthquakes. In their place our only light sources were from the two dirty headlamps of the bus, the thin, greenish hue of the strip light above the school's outer-doors, the gloomy, white glow of the Half Moon and the sparse distribution of flash-lights among our group.

Wait... Where the fuck was the red light of the eclipse? Hmm, I guess we wouldn't have to see that menacing, crimson glare until sunrise. At least, I hoped so.

I was interrupted In my reverie by a hand clasping my shoulder.

Startled, I looked up and saw Tony standing there with a big grin on his face.

"It's good to see you're okay Luke, we were all worried about you." Tony told me matter of factly.

"Yea it's good to be back" I replied. "Hey Tone, does it feel weird to you being back on the bus?" I asked.

Tony looked confused, saying "What do you mean?"

"Well, I can't believe what's happened since we got on the bus this morning and now we're getting on another. It Just feels strange that's all." Tony's look of bewilderment prompted me to change the subject. For someone that smart he really was dense.

"How come we're leaving?" I asked, hoping Tone might have an answer.

I was in luck. Although, it didn't feel like luck when I saw Tony's face pale visibly, but at least I got my answer. "John told me something else has come through the crack. He wasn't sure what, but he said he saw arms gripping the side and heard what sounded like groaning." Tony paused, took a deep breath and continued. "He said the arms were grey and had hands, not claws. He said... He said they didn't look like imps." Tony shivered as he told me the last part, seemingly wanting no part in any of this. I didn't blame him.

"I see." I said, thoughtfully. "Well at least we made it out before anything could get to us this time, eh Tone?" I added cheerfully. I also crossed my fingers and prayed that I didn't jinx the situation.

No windows smashed, no doors viciously mauled apart and everyone's still alive. Check. Looks like my jinxing days are over.

"Why don't you sit down Tone?" I proposed, patting the empty seat next to me, when I noticed that for some reason he was still just standing in front of me.

I mean come on, there are five seats in the back row and last time I checked I only take up one of them.

"Oh, I didn't want to intrude." Tony nervously stated, avoiding my gaze.

I raised an eyebrow at him, completely at a loss and asked. "Intrude?"

Tony looked sheepishly about as if searching for an escape; when none presented itself he resigned himself to his fate and spoke "Erm... Well... I figured you would want to sit with Cathy... Seeing as the two of you are... Erm."

Thankfully, I clicked it before his brain overheated and I rushed to release him from this predicament. "We're just friends Tone. Honestly, nothing more than that."

"Wha--" Tony tried to interrupt me, but I raised my hands, placatingly, managing to silence him long enough to explain. "Seriously Tone, we've spoken about it and we both know that we're just friends. It's not my place to tell you exactly what happened but please believe me when I say we're not together, okay?"

"Ah. Okay. Erm... Sorry Luke, I guess I rushed to conclusions." Tony apologised, sitting down in the centre seat.

That's right. He made sure to leave an empty seat between us, I guess I hadn't fully convinced him.

At least I would have some peace I surmised.

No sooner had I thought this when my peace was utterly shattered by the scent of fresh peaches. However, it wasn't Cathy's arrival that disturbed me, I was prepared for that. What I was not prepared for was Kate. What I was even less prepared for was her choice of seating.

When I got my hands on Tone I would kill him I thought grimly, while surreptitiously watching Kate sit beside me.

I looked up at Cathy, desperately hoping she'd get me out of this. She just smirked knowingly. "John's having trouble starting the bus." She announced, waving airily behind her. "Anyway, he's gone to get some diesel from the bus shed. It seems Mr Harrel didn't check the fuel gauge when he parked the bus and we're running on empty." At this she raised an eyebrow and continued. "John's driving and he asked if we could look after Kate for awhile. I said we'd be more than happy to. Any questions?"

Tony shook his head and preceded to look absolutely anywhere but at Kate. I didn't blame him, she really was a brat before all this had started.

I decided to mimic Tony's plan, it seemed pretty damn good from where I was sitting, so I too shook my head and studiously ignored Kate. I also took no notice of Cathy, as penance for her part in my now awful seating arrangement, and went back to staring out the window. I hoped that John would hurry up so we could be on our way. The quicker we left the sooner I'd be able to put distance between myself and Kate -- A lot of distance.

Although, this did spark a question I hadn't asked. "Cathy, do you know where we're going?" I said, as I heard her slip into the seat beside Tony.

I still wasn't looking at her, the presence of Kate beside me kept reaffirming that Cathy's punishment would last for awhile.

Luckily, she answered me anyway. "We're going to the Marsh. It's close by, with multiple routes in case any roads are blocked. Also, a lot of people's families live on the estate. Much more than anywhere else and John wanted as many people as possible to have the chance to be reunited with their families. We all spoke at length about where we would go when we left the school. After the imp attack no one was under the illusion that the school would be a safe place to hide." Cathy cleared her throat and continued, sounding embarrassed. "A lot of people wanted to leave as soon as we'd decided on the Marsh, but I convinced everyone to wait until either something happened, or you awoke. You'd be surprised how many people agreed with me so readily. You really made an impression Luke."

God damn it. How was I supposed to ignore her after she'd admitted that. I glanced up at Cathy and smiled gratefully, truly thankful for her friendship.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to avoid Kate's gaze as I looked at Cathy and what I saw shocked me to my core.

She was smiling, actually smiling. What the fuck happened to the Kate I'd encountered this morning. She looked a lot nicer without her heavy make-up too, less of a glamorous bitch and more of a normal school girl.

Well, until she started screaming and pointing at me that is. What a spectacular return to form.

At least, that's what I thought was happening, but then she started shivering and whispered the words. "They're coming." over and over again, barely loud enough for me to hear.

I realised that she wasn't pointing at me, but past me. swiftly turning I stared out through the gloomy night in the school's direction. Nothing.

Looking around the bus I met the fearful stares of students and teachers alike. None of them had heard Kate's whispers but they had all heard her scream and were looking out the windows in distress, dreading what they would see in the darkness.

I looked out the windows for John, hoping he would be back with diesel by now, but there was still no sign of him. The silence outside was unnerving.

Tony was still pretending Kate didn't exist. I didn't blame him, the guy had been here for years, I'd only had to endure her and her ilk for a week. Thankfully, Cathy had taken on the neglected role of carer and had Kate wrapped up in her arms. She was still shivering, but at least she wasn't repeatedly murmuring.

I felt strange, like I held an important answer in my grip, but couldn't for the life of me remember the question. It was like clutching at something just out of reach, something that you couldn't quite make out, but you knew was significant.

Threads began to weave together in my head. Images flashed before me: Kate arguing against leaving the first time, Tony saying he felt strange after surviving the Hell-Fever, the feeling of something clawing its way into my mind when I went through the same thing, the voice inside me that 'knew' to dive to the ground a split-second before the imps would have had me and finally Kate again seeming to know something that we all didn't.

Singly each of these events were meaningless, but together they formed a whole. A truth I couldn't ignore. Something had happened to us when we survived the Hell-Fever. We weren't the same as we were before. However, it was a thought for another time. I still had nothing concrete to go on so everything was just guesswork and, more importantly, John was still no where to be seen.

It didn't take that long to get a can of fuel... Did it?

I had a bad feeling about this.

Apparently, so did Kate. She sat bolt upright in Cathy's arms and spoke clearly, loud enough for the whole bus to hear. "They're here." After saying her piece Kate slumped into Cathy's embrace, out cold.

Fuck.

Well, at least no one was screaming this time. Although, the silence was so pressing that I might have preferred the screams.

Everyone on the bus just sat there, hardly daring to move, speak, or even breathe, looking fixedly out the windows for... Demons.

A couple of kids near the front wailed in panic at something in the gloom. This, obviously, prompted a few more students to bawl. You'd have thought, after all they'd been through, that these people would be slightly tougher. I guess not.

Relief coursed through me and the rest of the bus's occupants as a figure came jogging from the darkness, and into the shine of the headlamps. John, jerry-can in hand, came to a standstill at one side of the bus, deftly opening the bus's tank and pouring in the diesel.

"We should strap her in. Looks like we'll be leaving soon." I said, glancing at Cathy who was still cradling Kate's limp form to her chest.

She nodded and placed her gently back in the seat, buckling her in.

Suddenly, a piercing jolt shot up my spine exploding in an agonising wave in my head and forcing me to my knees. I could feel warm blood dripping steadily from my nose, I could see only vague shapes and sharp colours, and I could sense them. The demons. There were eight of them, slowly marching through the gloom, getting closer and closer to the bus.

These weren't imps too. They felt bigger, more powerful, more dangerous.