Mehdi cursed under his breath. Fear wasn't the only thing Baelrek could smell. Demons hunted with an unholy sense, capable of tracking prey through even the most labyrinthine paths. Their scent clung to them like a death warrant.
Gabriel tilted his head, listening intently. "It's coming closer."
"I noticed," Mehdi muttered.
As if on cue, the department store's roof groaned under the weight of something massive. Dust rained down, and Baelrek's golden eyes appeared through a gap in the ceiling.
"There you are," the demon snarled, its maw twisting into a grotesque grin.
Mehdi grabbed Gabriel and bolted toward the back of the store, where a collapsed stairwell led into what remained of the subway tunnels. They slid down the rubble, landing in a dark, damp space filled with the acrid stench of stagnant water and decay.
"Keep moving," Mehdi urged, though his legs ached and his lungs burned.
They stumbled through the tunnels, their footsteps echoing against the walls. Baelrek's roars grew louder, each one rattling the very ground beneath them. Mehdi's grip on his makeshift weapon tightened, his mind racing. He couldn't fight the demon—not with a rusty piece of rebar and a kid who could barely run.
Eventually, the tunnel opened into a collapsed train station. Rubble and overturned train cars created an impassable barrier on one side, leaving them cornered.
Baelrek appeared at the entrance, its wings scraping against the walls as it crouched to fit into the space. The demon's golden eyes gleamed with triumph.
"This is where it ends," Baelrek growled, advancing slowly.
Mehdi stepped in front of Gabriel, raising his rebar in a futile gesture of defiance. His hands trembled, but his gaze was steady. He had failed to save Lily. He wouldn't fail again.
But before Baelrek could strike, Gabriel stepped forward.
"Gabriel, get back!" Mehdi shouted, grabbing for him, but the boy slipped out of his reach.
Gabriel's green eyes glowed faintly as he faced the demon. Baelrek hesitated, its growl turning into a low, wary rumble.
"You reek of their light," the demon spat, its wings twitching.
Mehdi froze, his mind reeling. Gabriel didn't look human in that moment—his calm demeanor, the faint glow, the way Baelrek seemed almost… afraid of him.
Gabriel didn't speak. He simply stood there, unflinching, as the demon snarled and snapped its jaws. The air around them grew heavy, charged with an unspoken tension.
After what felt like an eternity, Baelrek let out a frustrated roar and retreated, its wings scraping against the walls as it disappeared back into the darkness.
Mehdi stared at Gabriel, his chest heaving. "What the hell just happened?"
Gabriel turned to him, his glowing eyes dimming. "We need to keep moving."
They emerged from the tunnels hours later, their journey leading them to an abandoned library nestled deep within the city's ruins. To Mehdi's surprise, the building was alive with the faint sounds of conversation and movement.
Gabriel led him inside, where a group of survivors had created a makeshift sanctuary. The air smelled of sweat and desperation, but it was the first sign of human life Mehdi had seen in weeks.
"Welcome," Gabriel said simply.
The group turned to look at them, their eyes filled with suspicion and exhaustion. Among them was a woman with curly black hair and warm brown eyes. She wore a tattered lab coat and moved with a calm authority.
"I'm Farah," she said, stepping forward. "Who are you?"
"Mehdi," he replied shortly.
Her gaze shifted to Gabriel, but the boy said nothing.
"We don't get many new faces," Farah said, her tone cautious. "If you're staying, you'll need to pull your weight."
Mehdi's instinct was to leave. He didn't trust groups. People meant attachments, and attachments meant loss. But the desperation in Farah's eyes reminded him of Lily—of the way she had begged him to fix what he couldn't.
"We'll stay," Gabriel said, answering for him.
Farah nodded, though her expression remained wary.
Over the next few hours, Mehdi observed the group. They were a mix of ages and backgrounds, united only by their shared struggle to survive. Farah, as it turned out, was a doctor. She spent her days tending to the sick and injured, clinging to the hope of finding a cure for the Infernum Plague.
"You don't believe in hope, do you?" she asked Mehdi as they sat by a fire that night.
He shook his head. "Hope gets people killed."
"Maybe," she said, meeting his gaze. "But it's also the only thing keeping some of us alive."
Her words lingered in his mind, stirring something he didn't want to face.
Meanwhile, Gabriel's strange behavior didn't go unnoticed. The boy didn't eat, didn't sleep, and seemed unnervingly calm at all times. Whispers spread among the survivors, some calling him a blessing, others a curse.
Mehdi wasn't sure what to believe, but one thing was clear—Gabriel wasn't normal.
As the days passed, Mehdi felt increasingly torn. Part of him wanted to leave, to avoid the inevitable pain that came with caring about others. But another part of him—the part that had once been a paramedic, a brother—felt drawn to the group's plight.
His internal conflict came to a head one night when the sanctuary was attacked. Baelrek had returned, this time leading a horde of lesser demons. The survivors panicked, their screams echoing through the library as the walls trembled under the assault.
In the chaos, Gabriel stepped forward, his voice cutting through the noise. "Mehdi, they need you."
Mehdi froze, his heart pounding. "I'm not a leader."
"They don't need a leader," Gabriel said. "They need hope. And right now, that's you."
Mehdi looked around at the terrified faces of the survivors, and something inside him shifted.