Ancient Awakening (The Ancient) by Matthew Bryan Laube

  *****

  Miller finally came to his senses and freed himself from the wreck of twisted metal. It took him several moments to gain the strength to get to his feet, the still-broken leg sending up shocks of pain in protest. He had to move faster. He had to get to Ann, to save her from whatever that demon had planned. Not far ahead, he noticed the still body of Samson on the ground. He quickly hobbled to his side, looking him over. He was still alive. Now for Ann. Where had the demon taken her?

  As if on cue, a sudden movement caught Miller’s eye. It took several minutes to work out that it was Ann, falling from the top of the building.

  “No. No. No.” He breathed and turned away, not wanting to see his new friend’s end. He had seen so much death, but watching it happen to the people that you liked never got easier. He heard the body hit the ground with a strange metallic clank. Anger boiled up inside of him, anger at the demon, at this modern world, at himself for not doing more. He resolved to make the demon pay. He swept up a large shard of glass with one free hand and headed to the building that Ann had fallen from.

  As if answering Miller’s call for revenge, the demon dropped from the roof. It was now almost human, except for the massive wings jutting out of its back. Perhaps it planned to make some use of Ann’s corpse. “We’ll put a stop to that.” He swore under his breath. Glass raised, Miller attempted to charge, limping as fast as he could. The demon did not turn to face him, instead standing motionless, black blood dripping onto the ground from its various wounds.

  As he at last came into range, a battle cry escaped Miller’s lips, and he brought his makeshift weapon to bear. He put all of his remaining strength into a blow aimed at the back of the demon’s neck. The attack might have worked, had he been in better shape. The demon suddenly came to life, catching the “blade” with one hand and grabbing Miller’s throat with the other. The move was either impossibly fast or Miller was moving much slower than he had thought.

  “Gah!” was all that he could get out before his throat was forced shut. The demon screamed and tossed Miller into the air. He hit the concrete hard, falling again into darkness.