"John, wait. Stop!" Livianna stomped her foot in contempt," we need to stay close, or I can't protect you."
He stopped and turned defiantly, "You are the second person to tell me that, do I look like I need protection?" John said, tapping his M-4.
"Silly man, you are not fighting flesh and blood anymore, your bullets and grenades won't save you from these demons." Livianna brushed his shoulder with her hand and walked away slowly and then stopped," this fight will get you and all of your loved ones killed if you don't listen to me." She knew that he was still in shock and in pain from seeing his entire team get murdered by the demon. The hate and pain radiated through his body, causing a serious disruption in the energy levels around them," you know that demons can sense fear, anger, and rage. These emotions are just as powerful as Love, trust, and peace. You might really want to calm down and focus on how you are going to get us out of this, because your weapons won't help us." She handed him back his 9MM, holding on to it purposefully and said," I just lost my closest friend and brother to the same demon, so let's focus on getting out of this alive, okay."
John removed his hand and holstered his 9mm. "What about the dagger and scroll that Kaleb gave me, can they kill demons? Can they protect us in case we meet another demon?"
Livianna smiled, "That dagger is one of two powerful relics that only releases its power when it is within the same proximity as the first. As for the scroll, it opens a portal into the third heaven, or so I have been told. No one that I know of has ever used either of them."
"Okay! Now we are getting somewhere. Where is the first relic and if we find it can we kill these demons? Is it an amulet or a medallion?"
Livianna shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Probably not."
"What!?" John asked as he grabbed her by the shoulders. "You gotta give me more than that, Livi." He said with a frustrated smile.
"Truthfully, I have never seen the other relic. The elders say that it is the very sword that Elijah used to kill the thousand prophets of Baal in the Kishon valley."
"Where?" John asked, perplexed.
"Never mind where, John. The legend is that Elijah used the same sword to kill the demons that Jezebel, a powerful witch, sent after him while he was hiding in the wilderness. So, yes, we can kill demons with it if we can find it." She shook her head while looking into the distance." The order of Elijah can be secretive and mysterious in many ways…" She paused and stayed quiet for a few seconds before continuing, "this is when my faith must be stronger than my sight. I know that God will reveal everything that we need in His timing." Livianna smiled weakly as she brushed her hand across John's shoulder and stared into the darkness that seemed to follow them and grow darker.
"Are you ready to get out of here? How's your head? Can you run if we need to?" John walked closer and checked her bandages, gently, changing the saturated ones. "You're going to need some stitches and you might be lucky enough to get a mean scar, men love chicks with scars." He laughed at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and they began to follow the fresh air that gently tickled his face. "Do you smell the fresh air coming from down there?" John said as he let her go and grabbed his M-4 looking into the darkness.
"I don't want a mean scar." Livianna said as she sniffed at the air. A cool gentle flow of fresh warm air danced on her skin. "We are close, I can smell the mountains."
John sniffed the air again. "Mountains? You can smell mountains?" He blew his nose into his hand and sniffed the air again. "Mountains. All I smell is dust and singed hair."
"That was disgusting, John, don't touch me again until you wash your hands. Follow me." Livianna said with a gentle smirk. She climbed a slight incline within the narrow hallway and noticed movement as she peeked over the cusp of the sandy floor. "Stop." She whispered as she crouched down against the wall and motioned for John to do the same thing. "There is something down there."
"Let's have a looksi, shall we? I have my m-4 with a night vision scope." He smiled and dropped into a prone position and quietly crawled toward the incline and noticed a thin line of light that shone into the darkness, blinding him momentarily. A second later something moved quickly up the wall and into the shadows of the ceiling again. He crawled backwards to his original sport. "It could be a bird or something like that, too small to be a demon."
"Really? So now you're a demonologist." Livianna roller her eyes. "There are many types and sizes of demons, and they are all equally dangerous. So how are we going to kill it if it happens to be a demon?"
John handed her the m-4. "Hold this." As he pulled off his rucksack, removing the dagger, its 10-inch scabbard gleaming in the darkness. "We got this and I'm gonna see if it works. We gotta try, right?"
Livianna shrugged her shoulders. "The elders are usually right about things like this, but hey, what do we have to lose?"
"We're so close to freedom. You need a hospital. I need to call my daughter. Demon or not, I'm outta here." John said as he unsheathed the dagger revealing a translucent blade that shot a brilliant light that flooded the hallway, sending all of the darkness within the area into obscurity as he walked. Eerie screams erupted from the once dark hallway as three child sized demons with red eyes dropped from the ceiling, falling hard onto the hard ground. They flopped and contorted as the light began to char and burn their silky black wings and skin. Blisters and boils began to form as they all cried out in pain. "Have mercy, son of Adam, have mercy."
Livianna looked away as one of the demons transformed into the image of a child. "Have mercy." The screams got louder and ghastlier as a soft gargle and whimper escaped from their mouths. "Have mercy, Son of Adam." The last one cried before it crumbled into charred ash.
"I guess we can kill demons, Livi." John said as he looked around. Livianna was bawled up against the wall, crying uncontrollably. "What happened, are you okay, Livi?"
She looked up; puddles of horror pooled under her eyes. "They were begging… and you murdered them."
John stood there speechless, unable to relate to her pain. He had a mission and killing demons was his main objective, nothing would stop him from killing every demon that he found. John turned and noticed a steel door and walked toward it, kicking the charred remains of the demons. The door opened and let in fresh mountain air, blowing the ashes down the hallway.
"We need to move. I'm sure something heard those demon cries, let's go." John said as he waited for Livianna before closing the door, hoping that he was wrong. He sheathed the dagger and attached it securely to his belt and began to walk.
Warm sand whipped around them as the afternoon sun rained down waves of heat, draining what little energy they both had left. "We need to get into the shade. How much water do we have left?" John asked as he found his heading.
"We have almost half of a canteen, we need to be careful."
"Do you see those mountains over there?" John pointed toward the sun.
"You want us to travel in the same direction as the setting sun, why?" Livianna questioned while pulling her hood over her head.
"That is where our ride will be if he is still there." John put his earpiece in and tried the com. "Eyes, this is big bear, do you read?" White noise filled his ear. "I will keep trying, don't worry."
"I don't fear death, John. Let's go."
"Are you angry with me, Livi?" John waited for an answer, but none came. "I saved us from those things, Livi."
She whipped around, making her hood fly off, revealing dark circles under her eyes. "You murdered… they begged you. Why didn't you…" She covered her head again. "I can't get those images out of my mind; I need to pray and meditate, or we are both in trouble."
John knew that she wasn't as strong as she claimed. He didn't understand her or the claims that she made about being thousands of years old and a part of a secret order, but he did believe in demons, and he trusted the dagger that now rested on his side. He would help her with the mission, and he would find the sword of Elijah and kill every demon that he encountered. John looked around and only found more sand and a horizon of mountains that continued to run from him. Everything began to get heavy as the sun's heat sapped his strength. First, she fell and then he did. John uncovered her face to give her the last of the water and found an ancient looking woman staring up at him.
"Go to Harvest Hills…" She smiled gently before cracking and crumbling into a pile of ash.
John tried to gather her face in his hand before it mixed with the sand, but it was too late, she was gone.
He drank the water and screamed. "I'm sorry! I failed you, Livi!" He tried to get up but couldn't. He punched the sand and passed out under the oppressive sun.