Chapter 18: The Devil went down to Jersey
Abel and Chamuel looked down at the corpse, its headless body seemed fresh as if something had dragged it down inside the room to feast on it. Abel pulled out his cell phone, putting the flash on and snapping a few quick pictures.
"Last time I checked," Abel said, "Ghosts don't exactly eat people."
"Maybe this one's on a diet," Chamuel whispered as he leaned down to inspect the body. The comment caused Abel to chuckle, kicking the head softly with his boot.
"Keto diet getting out of hand," he murmured as old blood fell from the disembodied head, dotting the slayer's shoe.
Chamuel stood up, pushing his hands into his pockets as he looked between the body and the head.
"Should we--" Chamuel started to say, taking a few steps to the corpse only for the ground under his weight to crack and break. Letting out a yowl of surprise he fell through the rotted wood, Abel shouted out in shock but his fear for the angel overcame whatever thoughts flooded his mind.
Leaping forward without a second thought he grabbed the others hand just as his body vanished into the darkness, Chamuel gasped in shock as he found himself dangling between the floor and a large drop below him. He could hear the sound of rushing water, the wood from above him had landed in it with a loud splash.
"I gotcha!" Abel shouted, though his muscles screamed with the sudden weight he refused to let the other's hand go. His baseball bat rolled away from him as he struggled to pull the man up, his chin hurt from throwing himself on the dusty wooden floor so quickly.
"Abe," Chamuel shouted out, his voice echoing around him. Abel could see terror flooding Chamuel's blue gaze. Abel started to tug the man, groaning painfully as the others weight far outweighed him. His fingers dug into the angel's wrist as he tugged him upwards.
"Shit, fuck," Abel growled, his body flooded with adrenaline as he continued to pull, the diadem around his neck sparked away. Glowing a soft gold in the darkness, its gold light rolled over Abel's palms, the sudden warmth nearly caused the slayer to drop Chamuel. He tugged once more, suddenly feeling as if the angel weighed nothing. After a few short heartbeats Chamuel collapsed to the dirty, dusty floor below. Both men panting, Abel looked the other over and chuckled awkwardly.
"That was a close one," He laughed, Chamuel also let out a laugh sending a wave of relief through Abel's being.
"Yeah, it smelled terrible down there too. Worse than in here! I'd have needed at least three showers," Chamuel chuckled,
"You already need two, so that means you'd have needed five," Abel teased,
Chamuel laughed again, nudging Abel lightly with a closed fist. The sudden crack of the wood under them caused both men to freeze in their tracks. Chamuel caught Abel's eye before the rotted wood gave in, both men yelled out as they fell down into the dark pit below.
Hot terror flooded through him, he was falling! Memories flashed into his head before pain slammed into him at full force. Abel collided with pitch black water, it was cold, thick, and sticky. His back screaming in agony as he laid in the swallow muck, groaning outwardly. He was silently thankful for the minor cushion of the cold water, turning to his right he screamed in surprise. Leaping up and scrambling back, a human head grinning at him. Half of its skin had been heavily chewed on by large, sharp teeth, leaving a pure white skull. The other half was drowning in the dark waters, old skin peeling off the bone with the soft flow of the river.
Chamuel sat up at the sound of the others yelp, getting to his feet and groaning. Abel glanced towards the other,his hair soaked from the water below, the angel's clothes clung to his frame. He felt a spark in his chest as he eyed the man's frame before turning his attention back to the water.
"Are you okay?" Chamuel asked,
"Yeah," Abel laughed, shaking his head at himself and racing fingers through his wet locks. Grinning at Chamuel,
"Just a dead guy,"
"Oh good, I thought it was something important," The angel responded with a sarcastic hint in his tone. The blonde held his hand in the air, light started to emanate from his skin.
The angel's pink glow scared the shadows away as it grew, racing down his pale arm once more. The tingle of the light made the blonde shutter light, the light from the others hand caused the slayer to look down at the necklace. It was still, his hands didn't glow. What had just happened?
Skeletons covered the area around them, they seemed to be in some type of underground tunnel that reached deep into the earth. The dead rose in numbers the more the light shone, many of the bones seemed to have started to turn to dust with age.
"What the hell," Abel murmured, glancing around himself.
"There are hundreds of them," Chamuel agreed, that's when his eyes settled on the back wall of the underground tunnel. A large, stone shrine sat in the middle of the flowing water.
"Look," He whispered, nodding to the rocky structure. Abel followed his gaze, tilting his head.
"Is...this a shrine?" He asked out loud, the water continued to slosh around his pant legs as he made his way towards the oddly placed structure.
"I've heard about these," Chamuel murmured, "Back when the angel's still used the Diadems, I...don't recall what they're for,"
"So...it's abandoned?"
"Probably, they're usually pretty hard to find," Chamuel shrugged as they got to the rock. The soft noises of the rushing water filled the silent, stale air as Abel took a few steps up to the abandoned structure. Where is this water even coming from? he thought to himself as his boots kicked a couple of rocks.
"Whats it doing in New Jersey?" Abel asked out loud, pulling out his phone and taking a few pictures here and there.
"Don't know, probably some angel's lived in this place. They probably built their house on top of it so they could come down and do...whenever."
"That means there's a way out," Abel said, snapping his fingers. His smile died as he came up to another body.
It was very fresh. Its blood still flowed from its torn apart neck, eyes looked as though they had been gouged in by sharp knives.
"We need to leave," Abel said quickly, he snapped a few more pictures before. Glancing up at the wall he held his phone up, taking a quick picture of what seemed to be art on the stone. His phone flashed, panic exploded through his mind when the dark eyes of a creature glared down at them. Its head shaped like a goat, large wings pushed against the wall, It let out a loud, inhuman scream causing Abel to gasp in surprise. Stumbling backwards and nearly falling off the structure, Chamuel snagged him by the jacket at just the right time, pulling him from the edge.
The monster roared in anger, leaping at the two. Chamuel sent a shot of power at the creature, sending it flying backwards. The two didn't need to exchange a word as they turned and took off down the steps, racing the opposite way of the structure.
"We gotta kill that thing!" Abel shouted to his friend, the monster roared in anger as it leapt for them. Its screech filled the room, echoing in the vast darkness as it flew towards the men. Its hoof-like feet shone against the small trickles of light that fell on it from Chamuel's heavenly light.
"We don't know what it is," Chamuel hollered back, the two continued down the tunnel attempting to not fall into the sickening black water. A thought flashed in the slayer's mind, swallowing hard he turned around quickly. The monster roared, diving at Abel who pulled his small gun from it's holster. He had almost forgotten he had it attached to his hip before entering the home, holding it up now the way Nathan had taught him. Saying a silent prayer to whoever was listening that the weapon wasn't waterlogged.
Taking in a breath as though he were about to hit a home run and shot, the bullet let out a whine and hit it's target. The creature screamed in agony, dropping from the skies. A large grin swept over Abel's face only to feel Chamuel tug on his arm,
"Did you see that?" Abel asked with a laugh,
"Good shot, celebrate later!" Chamuel said though a flash of pride could be heard in his tone. Abel nodded, hearing the slash as the creature collapsed into the shallow waters below. The gun missed his holster, splashing into the muck but Abel decided against searching for it in case the creature wasn't dead.
The two continued to run through the long tunnel, he had spotted a small hole above them where light shone in but up ahead Abel spotted even more light. His eyes flashed to Chamuel who returned his look, the tunnel came to an end. Both sucked in air as they made for an old staircase that led up to, what seemed to be the door to an addict. Moonlight shone through the old wood of the door, Chamuel took a few steps up and put pressure on the door.
"Locked," he breathed as the door rattled against his palm.
"Blow it opened," Abel said, pushing his hand against the wood as if to test its strength. The glove on his palm keeps his skin from the sharp wood, he could feel large claw marks scored through the rotted door.
"You just think it's cool," Chamuel teased through breaths, Abel took a step back as the angel planted his hand against the wood. With a sharp hiss the blonde's grace glowed bright against the old door before it exploded into millions of pieces. Chamuel quickly covered Abel from the raining debris of the wood, the slayer's heart skipped a beat at sudden cover. Surprise pulsed through him as he found himself staring at the angel,
"You...okay?" Chamuel whispered,
"Yeah," Abel replied, he could see the blonde's face was red as he turned away and stared into the now open door. Abel glanced out into the darkness, the night sky was a blessing. The moon, a single claw slice in the clouds above, stars greeted them with a lovely glow.
"What the fuck!" A voice shouted,
Chamuel scrambled from the darkness of the tunnels, Abel following close behind. The men were covered in the wet, muddy water of the tunnels. Chamuel noticed the salt that had been placed around the door. Making a mental note as he got to his feet. They stood only a few cars' lengths from the old home, Mavis and Morris looking horrified as they raced towards where the explosion had come from.
"Where the hell did you two come from!" Morris shouted, Mavis gripping onto her friend.
"You have more problems than a ghost," Abel breathed, sucking in air still from his run.
"You two smell like death," Mavis replied, wrinkling her nose against the stink.
"I'd rather smell like death than be dead," Chamuel groaned.
"What did you find?" Morris asked, eyes looking over the two.
"I need to get my bat," Abel murmured, pulling out his phone to bring up the pictures they'd taken.
"Thank God phones are waterproof," he mused
He pulled up the photos, holding them out to the two employees.
"You got bigger problems than just ghosts,"
***
"I can't believe it," Nathan gasped into the phone. Abel could tell the man was on speaker as he and Chamuel sat on the floor of the old home. They had decided to go back inside to hide from the cold, both men shivered lightly as their soaked clothes clung to their frames.
"What is it?" Abel asked, flipping through the pictures on his phone. He and Chamuel both wearing an earbud as they listened to the more experienced Slayer,
"It's a jersey devil!" Nathan scoffed,
"What? I thought those were fake?" Chamuel asked, Abel opened up google and quickly started to scroll through the information on the creatures. His eyes settled on a snapshot someone got at some point, it was almost the spitting image of what he'd seen except the one online seems larger. Less skinny.
"Well, I mean," Nathan sighed, Baal cleared his throat.
"Listen kid," He said into the phone, "They ain't fake. They're rare, and they don't usually tend to hang out by themselves. You said you found an underground tunnel?"
"Yeah, huge shrine." Abel said as he recalled the stone structure, "Could he be part of it? The Jersey devil I mean,"
"Not likely," Baal mused, "Those are long forgotten, back when Faith was still around."
"So, why is it here?" Chamuel asked, leaning against his friend.
"Don't know,"
"What do you know?" Abel challenged, arching an eyebrow as if the other could see his look of frustration.
"Well," Nathan said now, "You said that there was a grave, right? Maybe it's not a grave. Maybe the Jersey devil got trapped underground and he finally was able to find his way out."
"Okay, that makes sense, but what about the spirit?"
"Not a spirit," Baal replied this time, the sound of sucking air through a straw could be heard. Causing Nathan to sigh loudly, "jersey devils can move things with their minds,"
"So he was able to Matilda the haunting?" Chamuel asked,
"If that means fake it, then yeah," Baal laughed, "They're territorial, he was probably trying to scare off your friends. Only one of them, not too strong, and if your friends are always together he might have seen it as a threat,"
"I shot it," Abel said, shrugging "Did...that do the job?"
"Probably not," Nathan replied, causing Abel's shoulders to drop.
"How do we kill it?" Chamuel asked with a groan, running his fingers through his wet mess of hair.
"Silver bullet," the older Slayer replied, "Should be some in the car. Just get it out of the tunnels, kill it, move on."
"Oh yeah, easy, did I forget to mention this thing can fly?"
"You two idiots figure it out," Nathan sighed, "I can't hold your hand for everything,"
The group chatted a bit more before the Slayer hung up, him and Chamuel glanced at once another.
"Looks like we're gonna need some bait," Abel said, Chamuel nodded as the two slowly moved their eyes to Morris and Mavis who were crowded around their phones only a few footsteps away.
"You thinking, what I'm thinking?" Abel asked
"That humans will do anything for twenty bucks?" Chamuel grinned at the other,
Abel gave the man a devilish grin, winking at the blonde before getting to his feet.
***
Abel watched Morris as he sat, alone, in front of the home. Shivering lightly in the cold air as he looked around with wide, fearful eyes.
"Y'all suck," Mavis murmured, "If he dies I'm going to beat the devil with your stupid body."
"He'll be fine," Abel reassured her, "So long as he can run," the two crouched behind the Corvette. Watching the man with focused eyes, it was getting incredibly late now. The darkness was deep, but the moon gave them just the right amount of light. His phone beeped lightly to signal the coming dawn, six am.
Abel could see Chamuel hidden in the shadows not far from Morris, he was going to chase the devil towards Abel who held the gun in his hand. His bat settled beside him as they watched, waited. The two had looked through his slayer's journal in an attempt to find anything else on the jersey devil but Pete hadn't included anything aside from a few doodles and basic information.
"So when the beast comes out, Cham is going to chase it to you, and you'll shoot it?" Mavis asked, holding up the video camera with a look of 'are you kidding me' covering her features.
"Do you have any other plans?" Abel asked, "Cause if you do, I'd love to hear 'em."
She glared at him for a few heartbeats before the sound of the jersey devils scream caused her to wince.
Abel got in position, leaning down in the dirty gravel that crunched below his feet. They had covered all the devils exits with salt so it wouldn't be able to pass through the doorways, forcing it towards the door inside. He was hoping Cham was right about the salt, they had nearly no information and if this went sideways he wasn't sure what he'd do. Though he kept his air of confidence about him around Mavis.
"Nathan, if you're wrong about this, I'm gonna kill ya," Abel murmured as the door to the home exploded open, the devil roared into the night. It's goat-like skull held long, thick teeth, sharp as knives. It's jaw seemed to come unhinged with its scream like a snake, anger burning through its beady black eyes. Its hooven feet clacked against the wood of the old home, with another scream the creature leapt into the sky. Abel could see its muscles in its human-like chest flex as it took on air, wings whistling in the night wind.
Mavis gasped as she held the camera up towards it,
"It's not supposed to fly," Abel groaned, gripping the gun harder. It screamed again and flew past Morris, right towards Abel and Mavis. Mavis screamed as she stumbled away,
"Shit," Abel yelled out, holding up the gun and shooting a few rounds off. The monster twisted in the air, bullets whizzing past it easily. Its bat like wings turned to silver in the light of the moon,
"Cham!" Abel shouted, but the angel was already on the case. White light exploded from the side of the home, leaving a large hole in the wood. Causing it to splinter inward as the angel flies into the air. His large, light pink wings glowed bright against the darkness. Eyes sparked with light as war pumped through the angel's veins. War rapidly took over the blonde's body. Every muscle screaming with power as war heard the distress in Abel's voice.
"I'm coming Abel," He shouted, his voice sounded as if it had an echo. the devil loomed over the Slayer. Abel held the gun up but froze as it jammed, "Oh fuck," He hissed, knocking it lightly against his palm. The devil was nearly on him, its teeth jetting forward. Ready to stab into the others eyes and face, wanting to rip his head clean from his body. Long tongue reaching down to lap at the brunette's features. Its spit splashing against his pale face, "Aw come on man" He growled
The monster screamed again but the noise was cut off as Chamuel barreled into the devil. The monster was thrown from the skies and into a small Toyota that had been parked along the fence in front of the home.
"My car!" Morris cried out,
The monster struggled against the metal of the car door before flopping to the ground. Taking in a few gasping breaths it glaring up at Chamuel with its beady eyes narrowed to slits. The monster roared with rage as it leapt for the angel, its hooves knocking into the man's chest sending him backwards a bit. He caught himself mid flip, sending a shot of energy at the creature who spun away from it with ease.
"Whoa," Mavis murmured, holding the camera up to capture the spectacle. She silently wondered if anyone else could see this. They weren't far from the nearest town and she silently hoped that the police wouldn't be called over.
Abel raced past her, having fixed the gun and reloading it.
"Cham, get him to come to me," Abel shouted as he raced into the street.
-
Chamuel was locked in battle with the monster, blood raced down his cheek as the creature shot a second mouth from its throat, sharp teeth snapping towards the angel, reminding Chamuel of a movie monster, wondering if Abel would think this was cool under normal circumstances. Dodging the monster's open maw and punching the creature's extended mouth knocking it away from him, the creature roared in pain. Abel's voice caught his attention, he watched the man race down the street with his baseball bat settled on his shoulder. Chamuel couldn't see the gun but he could see the spit and blood all over the others' faces, rage pumping through the angel's veins.
His thoughts interrupted as the monster latched onto his arm, hot blood raced down the angel's skin. He screamed in surprise and agony, and grabbed the creature. War raged inside him, this thing went after Abel, it didn't deserve pity. With a yowl of anger he ripped the monster's extended mouth from its body, leaving the sharp teeth embedded into the muscle and bone of his shoulder. The creature cried out in agony as blood showered the Slayer below,
"Batter up," Chamuel shouted, clenching the monster he threw it at the Slayer who held up his bat. Grinning wildly as the devil flew towards him, a satisfying smack filled the air as the being's large frame was knocked forward. Blood covered the ground as the monster fell into the rocky dirt. It's body kicked up stone and blood as it collided hard with the ground.
Chamuel landed hard next to Abel, sending a wave of power that made the lights in the old home shutter. Nearly knocking the Slayer down but the angel snagged him by the collar of his jacket to keep him steady. Silently thankful for the puffy collar on the leather jacket.
The two walked up to the monster that gurgled in its own blood, eyes wide with rage.
"Smile, you son of a bitch," Abel snarled, holding the gun up and unloading a bullet into the creature's head. Brain matter splattered around it, blood seeped into the dirt below. He shot one more time into its skull,
"Double tap," he said with a grin.
Chamuel felt war fizzling out as he saw the Slayer was alright and not hurt, it was as though cold water had been thrown over his body as the power and adrenaline slowly burned away.
"Hey Cham," Abel said, glancing up at the other who was now attempting to keep his shirt from falling off as the wings folded against his back and slowly retreated into the man's skin. Blood rolled down the angel's shoulder and soaked his shirt, leaving the angel shivering in the darkness.
"Yeah?"
"You're a badass," Abel laughed, pulling off his jacket, though it was still a little damp, he wrapped it around his friend. The angel smiled at him, tugging the fabric over himself more. The large maw attached to his skin sent shock-waves of agony into the blondes body.
"Thanks," He chuckled,
"Are you two okay?" Mavis shouted, limping up towards them with the camera up. Morris followed close behind her, his eyes wide with fear as they both looked down at the monster.
"Chamuel, you had wings!" Morris breathed, causing the angel's face to burn. The loud blare of sirens could be heard blasting towards them. Abel and Chamuel shot each other a look, turning and racing for the car. Chamuel stopped, turning back to the body and lifting his hand. His light covered the corpse of the creature, lifting it as he made his way back to the car behind Abel.
"Wait!" Mavis and Morris followed after them,
"We gotta split," Abel called behind them, "You're welcome!"
They all stopped by the car, Abel pulled his keys out and unlocked the doors. Getting into the vehicle quickly, silently cursing himself. The smell would take forever to get out! Chamuel dropped the body of the monster into the hole it had come from earlier, looking over at the two.
"Cover that, and quick," Cham said, opening the passenger door and getting in. Wincing as he leaned back onto the seat.
"What do we tell the cops?" Mavis murmured, looking from the car to the house.
"Don't know," Abel said, "Sorry guys, we can't get locked up,"
"Wait," Morris raced past them and into the home, Mavis handed their camera back and crossed her arms over her chest.
"You guys got my number, right?" Abel asked from behind the wheel, Chamuel glanced out to her. Tilting his head, taking a few sips from an old can of redbull.
"Yep, we'll text you when we get the cops to leave," She replied with a nod.
Morris appeared only a few seconds later, holding a bottle of wine in his hand. He took in a few breathes, silently cursing himself for being out of shape.
"Here, I…" He shook his head, "I wanted to give you something to show my thanks, I know it's not a lot, but it's all I really got,"
Abel took the bottle, looking at it with an arched eyebrow.
"For killing the devil?"
"For being you," Morris whispered, his face turning a light shade of red.
Abel glanced at the man with a surprised look on his face before a smile broke over his features.
"Us trans folks gotta stick together," Abel said, holding out a closed fist. Morris knocked his first against it.
-
The Slayer rolled up his window as the car kicked on, letting out a low growl into the peaceful night. The sun was starting to shine itself against the dark sky, casting warm light onto their face. Chamuel was busy attempting to pull the mouth of the devil from his skin, blood pouring down his shoulder as Abel moved the car from the spot and drove away from the home. Exhaustion burned through his system as he watched the other, placing a hand on the man's leg.
"Stop, Chammy, I'll help you when we put some miles between us,"
The blonde blinked at him, nodding, his eyes drooping from exhaustion but the pain kept him from falling into the comfort of sleep. Taking a few more sips of the old, warm energy drink and wincing.
***
Abel stood in front of the man who was looking at his fake ID, then back to Abel.
"Vincent Vega, huh? Parents pulp fiction fans?"
"You got no idea," Abel said smoothly, he knew he smelled terrible. Having changed his clothes in the car so he didn't seem as messed up.
"Alright, room twenty three," The man grunted, handing the ID back to the man and running his credit card and handing over a key card.
Abel made his way back to the car, the sun now shone bright light on them. Only a few hours to New York now but he knew Chamuel needed rest. The angel was white as a sheet which worried the Slayer as he walked to the other side of the car. Together they had stopped by the side of the road and ripped the devil's teeth from the angel's flesh, wrapping the man's arm messily in gauze before throwing the mouth of the devil into the river.
Now the angel was hardly able to stay awake, leaning against his friend as they staggered towards the small motel room. His arm was thrown over Abel who was determined to get the other to bed. Abel didn't bother getting two beds this time, both men found it more comfortable to share a single bed so why bother paying more? He helped Chamuel to the bed, the angel was shaking as Abel helped pull off his tattered shirt.
The fabric had been destroyed, the entire back split open, a few light pink feathers falling to the ground.
"Damn, we need to start cutting wing holes into your shirts," He murmured, starting to unwrap the large wound making Chamuel wince. Placing the large first aid kit down on the floor he stood before the man, getting to work.
"I thought angels could heal themselves," Abel whispered as he opened a bottle of disinfectant.
"We... normally can," He said through gritted teeth, "I don't know why I can't,"
"This is gonna suck," He murmured to Cham, Chamuel gripped onto the bed below him. Shutting his eyes tight as Abel sprayed down the wound, the angel shuttered as pain flashed through his body like hot fire.
"Least it aint too deep," Abel murmured, going into the first aid kit again and pulling out a needle and threat.
"Abel,"
"Cham I gotta, you'll bleed out,"
Chamuel nodded, shutting his eyes as the Slayer started to weave the needle through the other's skin. Chamuel occasionally hissing from pain as the man closed up his wound, the angel snagged the bottle of wine and practically broke the top off. He downed it for a few heart beats as Abel started whispering words of encouragement to his friend before spraying the wound down once more. The bite marks had gone deeper than he thought, silently thankful that they hadn't gone completely through Cham's shoulder.
"Gimme some of that," Abel said, taking the bottle from Chamuel and downing a few sips before handing it back.
"I hate being semi mortal," Chamuel moaned painfully,
"Hey, at least we got wine," Abel pointed out, wrapping up the other's shoulder with gauze once more.
"Oh yeah," Chamuel held the bottle up, "The blood of Christ soothes the troubled soul,"
"More like piss of Christ," He snorted, "That wines terrible, probably cost him three dollars."
Chamuel laughed, the pain shot through his chest and shoulders but he laughed. Suddenly feeling more comfortable and at ease than he'd felt all day.
"Hey Abel,"
"Yeah?" The Slayer was sitting in front of the other, letting his weight fall on his toes. Grinning up at him with his usual lopsided grin, the angel held up his hand. A few large splinters could be seen, dug deep in the skin.
"I'll get the tweezers," Abel chuckled, standing up and running his fingers through Chamuel's hair. It was sticky from the water under the house. Abel didn't understand how an entire water system was under the small building but he felt that was something he'd learn about later.
"And some of Donnies weed," Chamuel whispered, taking a few more sips of the alcohol.
After some more liquid courage and a few puffs from a small pipe that was gifted to the two Abel went to work digging into the angel's hand. The wood was deep, having to pull out a pocket knife and open the wounds to get to the bigger pieces.
Chamuel watched him with hazy eyes. The wine and weed doing its job as his body felt numb to the touch, the only thing he could feel was the growing warmth in his chest as Abel focused intently on plucking the wood from his skin. His other hand reached forward and grabbed the man's chin causing him to pause and glance towards the blonde.
"You gotta bruise," The angel slurred out, rolling his thumb over the black and blue color that formed on the man's chin. Abel smiled at the other,
"Yeah, from saving your sorry ass," He laughed, letting the angel touch and run his hands over his facial hair and cheek as he continued on with his work.
"There you go," Abel finally said, wrapping the angel's palms with gauze before standing up yet again. Chamuel flexed his fingers, closing and opening his hand, eyes falling to the shaggy floor below where his blood had collected. Chamuel felt such strong exhaustion he wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep his eyes open much longer.
The angel fell back onto the bed, avoiding laying on his shoulder. He watched Abel as the man plugged in their phones, collected the mess he had made and re-boxed it into the first aid kit. Going to the car to put it away Chamuel could feel sleep falling over him like waves, war was strong, his mind hazy as he recalled how easy it felt to rip a creature's mouth clean off as though it were paper. His stomach cramped painfully with hunger, he couldn't wrap his head around why he was feeling so mortal despite the intense power he had been displaying.
Abel came back into the room, closing and bolting the door behind him. He drew the curtains, placing the camera on the table before collapsing on the bed beside Chamuel. Groaning as he rolled to look at the other,
"How ya feeling?" Abel asked, his words slurred lightly.
"Like hell," Chamuel whispered, watching as Abel pulled his phone off its spot on the coffee table beside him and opening it to a few pictures.
"I found these cat pictures, look, it's you," He chuckled, the orange cat had a fake halo on his head and a pair of wings tied to his back. Chamuel smiled at the Slayer, closing his eyes. The weed lulled him to sleep, the pain dulled in the back of his mind.
-
"Good night, Cham," Abel whispered as Chamuel's eyes fell closed and he started to breathe deeply. Abel sat up, pulling off his shirt and making for the shower. After cleaning his hair a few times he finally felt as if he had gotten most of the muck off him, stepping into the motel room and grabbing his phone.
Laying down beside Chamuel and texting Nathan,
"Hey man, we killed it," He typed out, giving a short description of what had happened before attaching a few more of the pictures he had taken of the creature as well as the video he transferred to his phone.
He flipped open a message from Mavis next, "We got the cops to scram, cleaning up tomorrow. Thanks guys, you both rock!"
Abel smiled, closing his eyes and breathing deep. The pillow felt soft under his head as the darkness of sleep pulled him close. A thought flashed over Abel, he sat up and opened his twitter, going into his and Chamuel's shared donations. Most of it was made from the sales Donnie had started to make online, mostly shirts with their hashtag. Pulling a good portion of the money out, placing it on his personal card.
After a few minutes he found Morris' twitter, and through that he found where a fund had been set up for the man's top surgery. Abel donated the rest of what the man needed, silently thankful for the money that Mavis' father had given him. Leaving a note for the other, as well as a link to his personal social media.
With that the Slayer couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Turning the screen of his phone off he curled himself closer to Chamuel, laying his head next to the others. Feeling safe with the angel beside him he fell into the deep, blackness of sleep.
Arphaxad watched as sleep collected over the Slayer before grinning, "Sleep well my king, I'll see you soon," He murmured, laughter could be seen in his eyes as he vanished into nothingness.
***
"A jersey devil," Nathan whispered, looking down at his phone as he scrolled through the pictures Abel had sent him. Baal sat beside him in their shared motel room, playing the video he could see fear flood the demon's vision as they watched Chamuel rip the creature apart.
"He's...strong," The demon murmured,
"Yeah," Nathan agreed, "...Baal,"
"Hm?"
"Why…is this happening? The...wings, the horns?" Nathan looked to his friend with a look of bewilderment.
"It's the darkness," Baal said with a small sigh, "It's...not like anything you'd ever faced. The more it grows, the stronger the supernatural will become."
"But Chamuel looks...hurt in this," He zoomed into the bloody shoulder, Baal just nodded.
"The power is growing, that's for sure, but Angels...their souls are going to start becoming...sick, they'll start getting more mortal as the darkness grows in strength."
"But why?"
"I'm not sure," Baal admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "but Chamuel...he has more grace than any angel alive currently. He's far more powerful than we could ever imagine,"
"At...least he's on our side," Nathan whispered, Baal shook his head, "He is. But war, war isn't controlled, Nathan. War doesn't care if you're rich, poor, angel, human, war will destroy everything in its path. That's why the archangel of war was created, to bring the world to its knees."
Nathan hesitated, swallowing hard as he pocketed his phone.
"Why isn't he? I mean-- why hasn't war taken over Chamuel and just...killed everyone?"
"I don't know, Nathan," Baal said again, looking at his own phone now. Flipping through a few of Abel's pictures on his personal social media. All of Abel's pictures now seemed to include the angel, the same seemed to go for Chamuel's social media as well.
"I have a hunch though," Baal murmured
"Is it because Chamuel's the angel of love too? I mean, I've never heard of an archangel having twice the grace,"
Baal turned to look at Nathan with a deep frown on his face, he nodded slowly "I believe, the rumors about the King and Lionheart are true,"