The building where Liam and Jax found themselves was a mix of a store and office complex. It stretched over at least thirty floors, possibly more. The electricity seemed to have failed, casting the interior in an eerie twilight.
Apart from the fleeing Liam and Jax, the building appeared to have already been evacuated. However, a dreadful sound echoed through the empty corridors – the Hellhound, pursuing them with terrifying speed.
"Up the stairs!" Liam shouted, and the two boys sprinted. Shelves were overturned, glass shattered, and furniture flew through the air as the Hellhound barreled through the store. Its deep, menacing growl made the ground vibrate.
Jax glanced nervously over his shoulder. "What's up with that bastard?" he panted, but he didn't slow down. Stopping was not an option.
Liam leaped over a toppled table and reached the stairwell. He risked a quick look back and saw the demon rounding the corner, its glowing red eyes locked onto them.
Without hesitation, they stormed up the stairs. The Hellhound followed close behind, its claws leaving deep gashes in the walls and on the steps.
Just as they reached the next landing, the Hellhound snapped its jaws. Its massive maw caught only Jax's pants, tearing them before it crashed loudly onto the stairs.
"That was close!" Jax yelled as he hastily freed himself from the demon's grip and continued to race upward. Liam followed closely, his heart pounding, adrenaline surging through his body. The Hellhound was still on their heels, its furious growls echoing through the stairwell, amplifying both their speed and heartbeat.
They ran up floor after floor, but no matter how much they hoped, the Hellhound was relentless in its pursuit.
That was the thing about demons – they knew only death.
Liam panted heavily, trying to organize his thoughts and find a way out. Their stamina would soon be exhausted, and even if they managed to keep evading the Hellhound, they would eventually run into a dead end.
Hiding was not an option – the Hellhound had sniffed them out even on the street, amidst other humans and demons. In this skyscraper, it was only a matter of time before it would find them again.
Maybe they could escape to the roof and somehow leap to another building, but what then? The situation wouldn't change. It would only be a matter of time before the Hellhound tracked them down there too – if the door to the roof was even open.
Liam knew they didn't have a weapon strong enough to penetrate the demon's thick hide. Even if they did, it would be impossible to hold the Hellhound off long enough to aim effectively.
But... There was something nearby powerful enough – the Gunship. If they could somehow attract the Gunship's attention, its weapons could take care of the Hellhound.
"Jax!" Liam shouted to his friend, who was close behind.
"Please tell me you have a plan!" Jax called back, his voice filled with exhaustion.
Liam nodded, though his heart raced and his mind strained with tension. "The Gunship," he explained breathlessly, "if it's still here – it has to be – the Gunship's weapons are strong enough to kill the Hellhound!"
His explanation was interrupted by the deafening roar of the demon, echoing from a few floors below. It made Liam's heart pound faster, but he kept running and tried to outline his plan.
"If we get the Gunship's attention, it can kill the demon... but we have to get the beast into its line of fire."
Jax nodded, visibly exhausted.
"How do we do that?" he panted, as they continued to storm up the stairs.
"We need to lure it near the windows," Liam said, his thoughts racing. "If we can manage that, we can get the Gunship to notice and it can take it out."
"That's crazy!" Jax wheezed.
Then he smiled. "How do we get it there?"
Liam thought quickly, his mind racing. "We need to lure him higher up until we find a floor with large windows. That should provide a clear line of sight for the Gunship to take a shot… but how we get its attention, I have no idea!"
By now they had reached about halfway up the skyscraper. Liam's legs burned like fire, each step feeling as if he were wading through flames. Sweat poured down his face, and his breath came in ragged gasps, but the deafening roar and crash of the demon drove him onward. With every step, the pain grew more intense.
As they continued to run, a wave of frustration and anger washed over Liam. He hated this situation with every fiber of his being. Initially, he had wanted to join the military to fight for humanity, and now he found himself fleeing, helpless before a creature that possessed not even the slightest bit of intelligence.
He was nothing more than prey, at the bottom of the food chain. No, he wasn't even food, just a toy for this creature. A feeling of humiliation and helplessness threatened to overwhelm him, but then...
A fire ignited in his heart. A burning, uncontainable rage. If that damned dog wanted to play, then Liam would play.
"We're doing it," Liam said, his voice suddenly resolute and firm. The determination in his eyes was unmistakable.
Jax looked at him and then nodded, his own gaze hardening.
"I trust you more than anyone," he said to Liam. "If you think the plan can work, then let's do it!"
They reached another floor, and Liam immediately recognized the large window on the other side of the room – it faced the street directly.
"Here!" Liam shouted, and the two boys veered into the room and ran towards the window. Their steps echoed through the empty office, ignoring the crunch of broken glass under their feet.
"Down there!" Jax pointed out. The Gunship was indeed still there, seemingly still searching for the demon somewhere on the street. From their height, they could see it was lower than they were. That was a problem. But it was only two buildings away.
The plan could work.
But when the two boys looked out the other side, their faces turned pale. The massive, winged demon was still there, surrounded by destruction and death. Corpses and debris littered the streets, and the firefight was far from over.
The creature stood like a dark sentinel over the chaos, its red eyes gateways to hell itself as it continued to wreak havoc.
Liam shook off the sight; they couldn't do anything about that. The Hellhound was the priority.
Jax started pounding on the window and shouting for help. But the glass held firm, and his cries went unheard. Desperately, he grabbed an office chair and hurled it with all his might against the window – but the chair bounced off harmlessly and clattered to the ground.
"That won't work!" Liam stopped him, grabbing Jax by the shoulders and looking him firmly in the eyes.
"The Gunship can't hear us over this noise. And unless you have a nail gun, we won't break the glass."
"So what then?" Jax's voice broke with panic. The two boys turned as they heard the scratching sound of the Hellhound storming up the stairs. They had maybe one or two minutes left.
Liam's thoughts raced.
"What to do, what to do?" The uncertainty threatened to overwhelm him. He needed to find a way out, needed to come up with a plan.
"Liam!" Jax screamed desperately, but Liam couldn't hear him. His thoughts were elsewhere – his gaze swept through the room. Then it landed on the sprinkler system.
Then he turned and looked at the Gunship again, more closely. He knew this model. A Valkyrie.
"Infrared!" Liam suddenly shouted. "The Valkyries have 360-degree infrared sensors – but we're deep inside a building. They could mistake us for anything. We need to be more noticeable – a fire could do the trick."
"What?" Jax asked, confused, but Liam was already giving orders.
"Pile everything up! One minute! We've got one minute! Go!"
The two boys threw everything they could find into a heap – furniture, electronics, devices. The initial fire didn't need to be big – the entire floor would soon be ablaze. With the electricity out, the automatic sprinkler systems wouldn't activate.
Liam was sure that the intense heat generated by a fire would immediately alert the Gunship's infrared sensors. These sensors were designed to detect even the smallest heat signatures, and a rapidly growing fire would present a massive heat source that couldn't be ignored.
The plan was risky, but it was their best chance.
As soon as they had a small pile built up, Liam held his hand out to Jax. His friend looked at him, puzzled. "What are you doing? We're running out of time!"
Liam raised an eyebrow. "I know you still smoke. Give me the lighter."
Jax's eyes widened. "You didn't have one yourself?"
Liam nodded and took the lighter. Then he lit a piece of paper. The fire spread quickly over the dry materials, catching onto an old chair and igniting it within seconds. A computer began to spark and burst into flames.
Within twenty seconds, the pile was ablaze.
Thick, black smoke billowed up, filling the room. The heat was overwhelming, and Liam and Jax had to step back to avoid being caught in the flames themselves.
The two boys laughed with relief as they watched the fire grow, turning the entire room into an inferno. The Gunship would definitely notice the massive heat source.
But what the Gunship would also see was the Hellhound, which leaped from the stairwell in a rage.
Its roar echoed through the room, and its red eyes fixed on Liam and Jax with deadly precision. The Hellhound was on the hunt, undeterred by the flames.
Liam's heart pounded in his chest as the beast charged at them. He grabbed Jax's arm, pulling him back as they scrambled to find cover.
"Get down!" Liam shouted, dragging Jax behind a desk. The flames roared higher, casting eerie shadows across the room.
The Hellhound barreled through the fire, its eyes glowing with fury. The intense heat didn't seem to faze it as it advanced on their position.
The demon would stop at nothing. Liam stared at the approaching death, frozen in place...
Right until the rapid thumping of rotor blades sounded behind him, and the sunlight streaming through the window was suddenly blocked.
One second later, hell rained down upon the demon.