The faint smell of smoke fills the air. I paused just before cracking open the stairwell door. A thick blanket of smoke crept in from the thin opening. Something was coming up the stairs. I heard a door open and shut. An orange glow came from somewhere below. 'Shit, one of those monsters is here.' I backed away from the door and signaled the others.
"We need to get to the other stairway. One of those flaming demons is coming up this way," I whispered.
"Shit," Rachael whispered.
The group turns and heads the other way. Hannah and Emiko led the way while Rachael stayed at the rear with me. There was little we could do to stop that monster. Rachael stops and pauses. She takes a fire extinguisher from an emergency cabin on the wall and hands me a fire ax. I remember what Thomas said about the cross he used to kill two of the monsters. Rachael had a crucifix around her neck, too, and I'm sure Hannah did too. Counting Emiko and Gravino, we had five. I wasn't factoring the Mayor's party in yet, and hopefully, I wouldn't have to. Thomas's cross was melted to the point it was unusable. Rachael stares as I wrap my cross around the neck of the ax. If this works, then we have a fighting chance. That's if we don't get burnt to death before we can act.
My radio clicked three times. I knew what that meant. There was danger close to Thomas's group. I wanted to avoid signaling him, as the same was true for us. We weren't in immediate danger at the moment. Giving away his position could get him, or the others killed. Hannah suddenly stopped ahead of us. The stairwell access was right there. The problem was an orange light glowed from the slit window. Smoke trickled out from under the door. There was one of those flaming demons here too. We'd have to confront one of them to get downstairs.
"Hannah, Emiko! Get the Mayor and her family somewhere where you can barricade the door," I whispered.
"What the hell are you going to do?" Rachael snapped.
"Give me that fire extinguisher and go with them. I've faced these things twice already. If Thomas can kill them, so can I," I stated.
"You only got the one cross, if that will even work," Hannah countered.
"Here, take mine," the Mayor said. "I don't know how this will help, but if it gets us to safety, use it," she added.
"Take mine too. Just in case you need more. It's just a trinket from my deceased wife. I don't believe in that religious stuff. What I do know is I've seen one too. Face to face with one of those monsters. The only reason I lived to keep Mrs. Barnes and her nieces safe was because of that," Olivier revealed.
"Damn it, Eddie! Don't you dare die! Lorelei would never forgive me," Rachael stated.
She gave me a brief hug and left with the others. I can't say I didn't savor the closeness of her body to mine. How her ample bust pressed against my chest. If I didn't die today, I'd promise to tell her how much I appreciated her staying my partner. Anyone else would have bailed after the first week. With them out of sight, I crept to the metal door. I could feel the heat rising as the door handle slowly melted. With the fire extinguisher ready, I point it at the door out of view. The handle falls off to the floor. Now, a molten pool of brass. I saw flames first as the door opened. A monstrous creature bent its head through the doorframe. Two hands grip the frame as it pulls itself into the hallway. Flames threatened to burn me, so I pulled the trigger. Fire suppressant engulfs the creature, extinguishing the flames emitted from its boney body. I emptied the entire canister at the monster. The body was that of some animal I couldn't explain. This wasn't a human-shaped demon. I toss the canister and pick up the ax, burying the head into the creature's neck. Like butter, the head slices right off in one motion. In an instant, the monster petrifies and turns to ash.
"Thank God Thomas was right," I blurted.
"Hey buddy!?" a voice said from the open door.
Another demon stood behind the first. Before I could act, I was tossed back down the adjacent hall. Somehow, the ax was still in my hands. I didn't have time to think as the flaming man was on me. He picked me up by the vest and was about to punch my face. I act quickly, using my free hand, I unbuckled my pistol. I just squeezed, and the bullets slammed into the chest of the monster, causing it to drop me. The humanoid creature stepped back a few feet. That was all the time I needed to swing the ax into the monster's head. The ax split its head down the center, turning him to ash in seconds. My cross falls to the ground, a hot mess of twisted metal. The head of the ax was also a melted mess and was blunt to the point of no use. I toss it to the ground when I see another one down the hallway. 'Fuck, another one? They've got to be after the Mayor.'
I darted to the open stairs and ran down to the next floor. Heavy footsteps raced down the hallway. Looking down to the first floor, I saw another one burning open another door. The second floor was my only option. As I opened the door, I ran right into Thomas and Bob.
"Shit, Eddie! We damn near killed you!" Bob snapped, pulling his shotgun up.
"Run, or we're all dead!" I hissed, running past them.
Bob and Thomas got the picture fast and sprinted behind me. We passed by the ashes of one of those monsters. They must have killed another. Behind us, three of the flaming demons came running. Their flames were growing wildly, burning the hallway walls.
"If you can hear me, get the hell out of here before it burns down," I whispered.
The fire was spreading fast, and these demons were pissed off. Thomas pointed to the service elevator. The three of us just pulled the doors open and got in as they closed behind us. I knew there wasn't power, but Thomas had a plan. He signaled Bob to boost him. Bob and I lift him up so he can pop the ceiling panel. Thomas climbs in and, a second later, pulls Bob up. The doors to the elevator start to open, and a rush of heat comes in the narrow crack. I toss a smoke grenade down before Hopping up to grab Thomas's hand. He pulls me in just as the doors come open.
"Let's see how they like this," Bob said, dropping a bundle of frag grenades wrapped in a crucifix.
Thomas closes the panel, and we hustle up the service ladder. Five seconds later, a loud boom shakes the elevator. The force destroys the elevator and its cable, falling a short drop down to the first floor.
"Jesus, Bob! That could have blown all of us up!" I blurted.
"Yeah, but it didn't, and those damn fiends are toast!" Bob countered.
"You're insane, Bob! Just like back in that damn desert!" Thomas snapped.
"But I bet you're glad I'm here, right?" Bob said, smiling.
"Damn, right!" I said.
Thomas opened the third-floor doors just in time to see James and Gravino running by. The two men help us out of the elevator shaft. We didn't have time to fuck around. Fires were burning on the floor below. If we didn't get out, we'd die anyway. Thankfully the sprinkler system kicked in, but we still had to leave. There's no telling how many of those monsters are here now.
I soon realized I was right. Another one was coming up the stairs. 'Why are there so many, and where the hell are they coming from?' The only way to go was up. We could use the fire escape to get out. My radio crackled to life.
"Eddie, we're outside. Where are you?" Rachael asked.
"I'm with Thomas's group. We're going to the roof and take the fire escape. More of those flaming demons keep showing up," I revealed.
"What do we do? Wait for you?" Hannah asked.
"Get the Mayor to safety. We'll have to find another way back," Thomas ordered.
His mind was made up, and we all felt that way. Bob lobbed a couple of frag grenades down the stairway as we raced to the roof access. James busts through the door to the roof. It was already open as someone had smashed the door. We came face to face with two more flaming fiends. They were flanking a police officer. Suddenly his body bursts into flames like spontaneous human combustion. The officer's body twists and morphs into something that no longer resembles anything human. My senses sharpened as I watched the terrifying scene play out before me. What used to be a police officer was now a flaming, twisted mockery of humanity. Whatever this thing was, it was no longer human. A sense of primal fear bubbled up from deep within my being, and I had to fight the urge to flee as my instincts screamed at me to get away from the unnatural sight before me.