And didn't look back. The savage grunts and metallic squeals provided a hefty deterrent. Like I needed more nightmare material.
I shot from the trailhead's near-empty parking lot and booked it down the road. A log-rail fence lined the thick woods, and when the demon's furious screech closed in from behind, I cut right. One hand planted on the top rail, slick from a recent rain, I swung my legs sideways, up and over. Home free.
Until my bottom foot clipped the post, and I spun as if caught in a crocodile's death roll.
Good news? The spongy forest floor cushioned my fall.
Bad news? Momentum slammed my torso into a tree trunk. Couldn't breathe.
But good news again. I'd rolled under a fat, bushy pine, which, along with the fading twilight, concealed my position. I heard the beast fly overhead in pursuit, taking out a few treetops on its way by.
Yeah, that was my plan all along. Man, I'm good. Except my body. It hurt.
My pity-party lasted until I could suck in a breath, then I pushed to my feet and headed for home. Demons salivated over remote locations like this. I needed to move.
Side aching, breath choppy, I shuffled-limped-jogged into town, made it to my neighborhood, and relaxed. Civilization. Where the demon wouldn't follow and-
Talons clicked an ominous rhythm on pavement.
Wrong had become my default choice.
I ducked behind an oak, huddling, chilled in my fear-and-sweat soaked T-shirt.
A malicious laugh churned through the air.
"Hide and seek. My favorite. How thoughtful of you to commence a game." A touch of crazy tinged the demon's smooth voice. Panic twisted my heart. "Ironic, is it not, that the great Divinicus Nex cowers in fear from that which should be her fated prey? A decidedly diametric circumstance."
What? It's irritating when the monster hunting you has a better vocabulary than your own. Maybe it could do my eulogy? This was crazy. I'd seen demons before but they were small, ignored me, or ran away. But this one? Well, it was a different breed. A psycho on steroids, and it wanted me dead.
Its chances looked good.
With my Amazonian height and auburn curls highlighted bull's-eye-red, all I was missing was an "Eat Me" sign taped to my back.
"You've got it wrong. I'm Aurora. Just some girl you don't want kicking you back to your hellhole." My plan to go on the offensive stemmed from my defense amounting to less than diddly and squat combined. Dusk began to devour precious daylight. My eyes ached from the frantic attempt to penetrate the emerging shadows. "Think of the embarrassment. The other demons will laugh and point, make fun of you behind your back. Your self-esteem will suffer and I'm late for dinner, so for both our sakes, I'll let it go. Just walk away and I won't come after you."
I hoped I sounded confident but I think my voice cracked.
Diffused light flickered to life from the surrounding houses. The ornate streetlamps lining the empty streets of the quaint mountain town buzzed to life reflecting on the shimmering fog that slithered across the ground. A sporadic drizzle hummed against the leaves on the branches above.
"I believe you suffer confusion, Nex." The volume of its voice lowered. Had it backed off, thinking I had something up my sleeve? "I harbor no trepidation but that you remain alive. And my immutable predilection is to deliver your corpse in a profusion of pieces." Then that laugh.
I couldn't comprehend much of what it said, but overall, I wasn't getting a warm and fuzzy vibe.
I fought a hysterical burst of laughter. I had nothing, nothing, but long legs and adrenaline. The spattering of drops above changed harmony. Feathering down through the branches, a grey mist swirled into a vague form my eyes strained to focus on. Mesmerized by its grotesque and lethal beauty, I almost waited a second too long. I ducked. With a menacing crunch, bark chunks splintered as the demon's claws gouged into the tree where my head had been seconds before.
I launched into a graceful ninja-like front roll, then stood my ground to face the monstrous heathen, fearless in my determination to vanquish the deadly foe.
Nah, just kidding. I bolted, discretion being the better part of not getting dead.
I'd been seeing demons for a few years now. Yeah, those nasty creatures that should be in hell but instead are wreaking havoc on earth. If they were close by, sometimes I could even locate them using this weird second-sight that I wished would go Helen Keller. It was the crappiest superpower on the planet, but I'd dealt with my unfortunate situation in a mature and responsible manner. I ignored it. And so did the demons.
Until tonight when this one changed the rules and attacked while I was on my run. I'd tripped and stumbled over a rotting log which is why the SUV had taken the death blow meant for me. Wish I could say it was a deviously clever move, but the truth is I've got grace management issues.