Well I am back again. This is the second last chapter and again it is long so please stick with it. Lots of action though.

Bad day at the office

"Work can kill"

Chapter 12: Damned Souls

Seeing the fiery threat headed towards them Jack motioned Tess and Patricia to continue searching for a vehicle. Flame enveloped Jack's own body as he took on the demon inside.

"You want to play with fire old man? Then lets play." The lion roared again and jets of flame whipped towards Jack. The flames surrounded him like tentacles and he was surprised to find that they burned his skin.

"Montrellan? What's happening?"

"Mind control. He's making you think his flames are affecting you. Leave him to me. There are battles for you to fight yet."

"Fine." Jack took a back seat once again as Montrellan resumed control.

"You won't find such easy prey here fledgling." The lion bounded towards him in a living ball of fangs and flame. Montrellan jumped to meet the creature, tackling it in mid air as it pounced. They hit the ground hard and tussled, setting fire to the cars nearby.

Patricia, seeing this, increased the speed of her search before coming upon a C4 construction truck. Tess looked inside to check for unwanted passengers.

"Patricia."

"What?"

"You better take a look at this." The truck was full of explosives.

"What the hell do they need this for?"

"More to the point look at what's happening very close to all these explosives!" Patricia watched the two fire demons fighting. Montrellan had produced fiery swords from nowhere it seemed. He slashed at the lion and missed, cutting a car in half with the red-hot blades. Patricia turned to Tess.

"Good point. Let's shift this thing out of here."

"Know how to drive it?"

"No," Patricia concentrated a while then smiled.

"Mind you I know someone who does though. He should be here shortly." She shouted over to Montrellan.

"I know you're not Jack but whatever you are I need you to push that thing away from the garage doors."

Montrellan nodded and spun his blades to make a fan. Soon a fiery tornado whirled towards the lion sending it back. Cornelius laughed.

"It won't be that easy old man." Cobb dug his claws into the concrete and inched his way back towards Montrellan. The demon in Jack's body just smiled.

"Good. I haven't had a decent fight in ages." He flicked the tornado of fire so that it caught a car and hurled it at Cornelius. It hit the lion with a wet smack, sending it back until several tentacles ripped the car to shreds. The lion started clawing back more rapidly. It was easier to see just how hungry for the kill the last hit had made it. The beast sent whips of flame towards Montrellan's face to intimidate him. Montrellan shook his head.

"Wrong being to try that on."

Just then the garage door opened and an undead construction worker poked his head in.

"Did someone call me?" Patricia waved him over. He saw the fire demons fighting and decided that it was better to be in the part of the garage that they weren't in. He shambled over to Patricia.

"What do you need me for ma'am?" Her eyes went black.

"Hey Hugo. It's Sharon. Don't you recognise me?"

"The girl in the lift? My God. No I had no idea. Nice meat suit by the way. How did you get out?"

"She accepted me. After all these years of crying out to a willing soul she took me from the lift when she came into her power. She realised she could control demons but wouldn't have the strength to survive the path before her, so having felt a spiritual compatibility we bonded." Hugo smiled, stretching his face at an unnatural angle.

"Well now I'm glad to hear your lot in life has improved somewhat. What seems to be the problem?"

"We need a ride in your truck. None of us know how to drive it," a flaming car part shot past them, "and we need to move quickly."

"They do know what's in there right?" Hugo said with a hint of disbelief. Tess shook her head. Hugo ran to the truck.

"Get in now."

A shadow fell down from the sky to block the entrance. Patricia wondered what faced them now. She didn't have to wait long before two red eyes glared out at her. She felt extremely uncomfortable as they studied every inch of her. A forked tongue licked the air in front of Patricia. Hissing laughter came from its hidden maw.

"Come out and play Sharon. I know you're in there." Patricia's eyes became black again as Sharon took control.

"So the big, brave Robert Corn finally wants a fair fight with the poor little girl from the lift. What form have you stolen this time you misshapen bag of bones? Do you even know what you are anymore?"

"Of course I do. I'm the last thing you're ever going to see. I am the beginning of all nightmares."

"You are full of hot air is what you are."

"Being an eighty foot tall dragon I would say that is quite accurate." Sharon concentrated for a minute.

"Well dragon you are welcome to try and best my knights in shining armour. Personally I have no time for you."

A unified battle cry sounded in the lounge. Within seconds the garage was flooded with a surge of little Nates. Most of the infant army found the fighting fire demons nothing but a minor inconvenience as they could run on the ceiling. A few got caught in Montrellan's whirlwind and were flung towards a very angry lion. They did not survive long. Cobb grabbed at the small creatures and started intertwining the bodies to make an effective meat shield. He bounded through the fiery tunnel to pounce on Montrellan. The two grappled with each other while the rest of the infant army started ripping at the cars around them to create makeshift suits of armour and weapons. The dragon laughed when he saw this.

"You expect this band of toy soldiers to destroy me?" Sharon smiled.

"In a manner of speaking. Charge!"

The little knights burst into action, surging forward on all four surfaces, little swords and car door shields at hand. Some squeezed past the large black head to go for the wings. The dragon gave a roar as the little soldiers hacked away at it. The giant reptile backed out to deal with the little pests. The flare of green flames lit up the sky. A screeching signified that the dragon had caught a few of the infants with the flames. The small, green candles ran screaming down the street, setting fire to anything and anyone they touched. Sharon and Tess heard people screaming. They ran outside. The streets of West Fairbank were now a screaming mass of burning bodies and panicking people.

"We're back in the real world." Patricia exclaimed after regaining control. Tess nodded.

"So it would seem and it looks like there's everything to play for. I think Nathaniel is intent on destroying the city no matter who sees what happens." The two women watched as the huge black creature proceeded to engulf entire buildings in rivers of green flame.

A screech was heard as the truck backed out of Paradise Tower at speed. Hugo wound down the window.

"You two may be enjoying the pretty fireworks but some of us would like to get out of here mostly if not completely intact."

"Where are you thinking of going?"

"I have a plan. We don't have anything nearby to deal with a problem this big."

"The dragon should be manageable if we work together with our powers."

"The dragon is the small fish in this pond. I'm talking about the building or did you not just go through the several levels of hell it offers."

"Good point. What's the plan?"

"I reckon we should extend the boundaries of Lake Caline."

"You mean blow up the dam? That would kill far too many people."

"You mean the people whose majority is mostly screaming and on fire at this point?" Patricia thought about it before hanging her head and letting out a hopeless sigh.

"You have a point. I guess we don't have much of a choice. At least this way some people might have a chance. We need to get Jack first though. Where is he?" Hugo squinted into the garage.

"I shouldn't worry too much about him. He should be with us shortly now get in." The two women did so.

Montrellan was busy holding Cobb at bay with all the strength he could manage. Jack could do nothing but watch in horror as the flaming creature snarled and gnashed its deformed jaws at his face. The fire on Montrellan's arms suddenly bulked up.

"Enough of this nonsense." With one massive flaming arm he grabbed the creature and flung it at a pillar. Horrible, wet, crunching noises sounded at the impact. The fire on the creature died except for a small flicker at the end of the tail. The creature ceased to move from the scorched patch of concrete it lay in. Montrellan stood there getting his breath back, giant flaming arms at each side made him look half human, half gorilla. The fire faded back into his body as Jack took over. The sound of a horn came from outside. Jack ran towards the waiting truck. He was surprised to see Hugo in the drivers seat.

"Who is this guy?"

"Hugo Sorenson. Pleased to meetcha."

"The feeling isn't mutual. You nearly ran Patricia and I down earlier."

"Yeah well I was busy. Besides I'm about to do you a massive favour so let's just call it even ok?"

"Fine." Jack said begrudgingly as he got in the truck.

There was a painful roar as a large black mass fell in front of the vehicle with a large thud. It was Corn. His wings had been removed. He had not gone down without a fight first though as a rain of car part armour and bloodied clone infants fell from the sky shortly after he landed. He looked at the trucks passengers with hatred and hissed as his arms and legs disappeared into his body, healing many of the wounds inflicted by the baby Nates. Tess looked over at the driver.

"Hugo we need to get out of here now."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Hugo reversed at top speed then swung the truck around. The serpent did nothing. Jack looked in the wing mirror.

"What's it doing?"

He watched on as a small tongue of fire floated up towards the serpent's head. A cloak of shadow drew itself up around it to form the shape of a man. The flame remained where the face should have been. The hooded figure that once was Cornelius Cobb stretched its arms out. Suddenly a stream of flame shot out of each sleeve. They danced in the sky until he brought his hands down to create fiery reigns for his new mount. The snake hissed in pain as living flame proceeded to coil and swirl around it. Heat lines distorted the cityscape around them.

Tess spoke up.

"Not to ruin the moment or anything but this place is going to hell unless we get to that dam. Hugo floor it!" Hugo did so without hesitation. Patricia looked worried.

"I still think there has to be a better way. This plan is going to kill a lot of people." Jack nodded.

"True this will kill people but after all we've gone through I reckon they'll be the lucky ones. Whatever that child thing is planning to do back there I don't think it is going to stop at just one town. We have to end it here."

"What if he escapes into that nightmare world?" Tess answered this question.

"Leave that to me. I shall make sure that both worlds become flooded." Patricia gave Tess a questionable look.

"You sure you're up to that task?" Tess nodded.

"Positive. Good luck. May God have mercy on all our souls." With that the lady in white disappeared into nothing. Patricia looked at Jack.

"Well that was unnerving." Jack gave her a sideward glance.

"After today I would have considered that normal." Hugo was muttering to himself.

"Where is that serpent? Have we lost it?" A large hiss soon answered his curiosity. The snake appeared smashing its way through a building and turning nearly everything it touched to ash. Fire licked up its sides.

"Oh we are so screwed," Patricia exclaimed, "come on Hugo. We have to go faster."

"I'm working on it meat bag." The truck almost overturned as it rounded a sharp corner and sped towards its destination.

Tess appeared back at the garage. The place was a wreck after the battle. She went through the doors into the nearly empty lobby and smirked at the giant spider desperately trying to fix its web before the remaining hungry infants playing beneath noticed it. The small creatures were wrestling with each other. It was a strange sight to behold. Tess quietly made her way through the doors and up the stairs. For some reason she still felt corporeal. This illusion was broken when her hand completely passed through the railing. She sighed.

"I miss my body." She eventually found what she was looking for. The misshapen boiler stood before her in defiance of reality. Half of it now seemed faded and almost transparent.

"That's it. The nightmare realm is a spiritual plane. Now if what Robert told me about this thing was the truth then there should be a way to increase the boundary of that realm to spread over the whole city." Tess sat and studied the device. Listening to every click and whirr that it made. It was a bit unnerving to see the hearts of each sinner beating. An idea crossed her mind. She felt around the heart on the spiritual side and found a small catch. She plucked at it to reveal a small doorway covering a valve about as big as her fist. She laughed with glee as she turned it.

"That should do it. Now to guard it until the job is done." She reached out to Sharon with telepathy and informed her of what she had done.

Patricia went into a sudden trance as Sharon took over.

"Tess has done her part. The portal is being kept open." Hugo looked in his rear view mirror for a second.

"It looks like she's done more then that." Jack leaned out of the window and looked back. Thick clouds of darkness were spewing from the gargoyles mouths at the top of Paradise Tower to cover the ground below. Flying shapes emerged every now and again to issue unearthly screams. The cries of suffering sounded from the panicked streets wherever the darkness fell.

"Great. As if a huge fiery snake and its rider weren't enough to deal with. Hugo take the next right. There's a roundabout there."

"What is that going to do?"

"Distract the damn thing for a while I hope."

The massive serpent sped after them with great determination. The hooded rider on top was spreading fire wherever he could and paid particular attention to the buildings just in front of the truck. He blasted flames at the windows on high floors making them shatter, their shards falling onto the road below. Hugo did his best to avoid the falling debris. He growled in frustration.

"This is no good. At this rate that pair will kill us all. Can't either of you do something. You're meant to be gatekeepers for Goddess' sake. Use the powers you have been given." Both of them went into a trance. Jack opened his eyes first. They were filled with fire.

"I am Montrellan. What would you have me do builder? They are flame demons. I cannot destroy them."

"Then protect us from the glass shards that devil is raining down on us. Seriously you're not to bright for a supposed saviour." Montrellan grumbled something mostly inaudible apart from the words "burn" and "smart arse."

He started to climb out the window.

"I will be on the roof if anyone needs me."

The man that was once Jack Keller scrambled onto the roof of the cab. Once there he uttered a short phrase in a dead tongue.

"Eurt morf eb delaever Eris." The snake recoiled as a blinding flash of light seared its eyes.

"Aagh. What the hell is going on?" Cobb exclaimed. A deep voice called out to him.

"The beginning of the end for you two. That's what's happening." The aura of Montrellan's fire spread out to form a pair of fiery wings. The swords were back in each hand. Jack's face was hidden behind a mask of flame that appeared to be in the shape of a tiger. Montrellan's true face was revealed and it was grinning. He started spinning the blades until they couldn't be seen. The glass shards that fell melted and were flicked to the ground behind the truck. They looked like small, glowing, orange slugs before they hardened again. The snake let out a painful hiss as it scraped its belly along the newly found glass shards. The rider had to concentrate one of its jets of flame on the glass now. It blew the molten debris onto the pavement and more often then not caught pedestrians fleeing in terror.

Sharon saw the pain in their burning and screaming bodies. She concentrated hard. As the charred corpses fell to the ground a pulsing movement could be seen coming from within.

"What are you doing?" Hugo shouted.

"I can feel the boundaries of Nowhere and it's expanding. I can manipulate some of its space. I don't just command demons. I've picked up some tricks since you last saw me." The charmed bodies began to writhe. Every now and then a shape prodded out of their skin. With a series of large cracks the carcasses split open and from each one a giant skinned bird burst forth into the streets. Its cries of torment only spurred the onlookers around to flee in terror. The birds took to the air, filling it with a shower of blood as they spread their wings. They soared to a great height before diving at the snake and its rider. Sharon smiled.

"You can floor it now." Hugo focused on the road and put his foot down. He shouted up to Montrellan.

"You better hold on kid, things are about to get bumpy."

The roundabout lay just ahead. The snake and its rider had focused their attentions on the skinned monstrosities in the sky, giving people a chance to seek cover. It didn't give them much respite as the darkness of Nowhere closed in on them, followed by all the horrors that came with it. Montrellan leaped into the air and beat his mighty wings, shattering the remaining windows around him before he resumed protecting the truck. The deadly rain cut through bird, snake and people alike. The snake recoiled with pain. The rider increased its efforts to take down attackers while the snake pulled back to recover. Both of them seemed determined to resume the chase. It looked like an interesting light show. Montrellan, seeing his work done glided back to the speeding truck, leaving a line of fire in the sky. He landed with a bump on the roof. Hugo shouted up.

"That you boy?"

"Yes its me."

"How did it go?"

"They're distracted for the moment. Just keep going. What the…?"

"What's going on?"

"They're turning back." Sure enough the pair did turn back with a sense of urgency. Montrellan watched with a sense of caution and bemusement.

"Best stay up there. I think all hell is following closely." Montrellan sat down crossed legged and waited to deal with anything that approached the truck as they sped towards the dam.

Nate and Matt stood in front of the boiler. Nate was livid.

"What the hell did that bitch do?" Tess' spirit writhed on the floor in front of them with four swords of obedience keeping her there. The spirit gurgled hatefully at them. Nate grasped one of the handles and twisted the blade into the spirit making the tormented creature attempt to writhe in pain, only to be held in place by the other swords. Nate smiled cruelly.

"Aww. That must be hell on you Tess." She snarled at him. Nate shook his head.

"Such impotent anger. Surely you know you are damned. I wonder have you ever given thought to the relics that hold you in place? Surely you have seen them on Uncle Robert's bedroom wall before. Well I'll let you in on a secret. They are nothing more then spells on thin sheets of metal. The real beauty however lies in the type of spell. It is a binding spell. Even as we speak your spirit is being woven into the swords and held there by the countless souls already trapped inside. Tess' eyes widened. Nate's face grew full of dark purpose.

"You understand now don't you foolish girl? Now: you must have an idea what those two failures have planned. Tell me what it is and I promise to free you." Nate took one of the swords out to demonstrate he was serious. Tess hung her head and proceeded to explain what had happened. After she was done Nate grabbed Matt and pulled at his arm.

"We have to go. Now!"

"Where?"

"The forest."

"What about me?" Tess cried.

"You will make a wonderful martyr my dear." With that the two ran off leaving a screaming Tess pinned to the floor.

Montrellan looked back at the town as the group sped up the old maintenance road for the dam. The city was now covered in darkness. The eternal night was occasionally lit up by green and orange flames. The shadows that could be seen made Montrellan thankful for the darkness. He heard an argument coming from inside the truck.

"What's going on?" Sharon shouted out an answer.

"Hugo wants to go slower because of the potholes. I want to actually live through this. Any ideas?" Montrellan pondered.

"I could use my wings and lift us above the trees I suppose. In normal circumstances I would have held back for fear of being noticed but at this point in time I think I can get away with it."

The tiger demon spread his massive fiery wings and beat down hard, whisking the truck up into the air and narrowly avoiding a line of trees, which made Hugo scream in a high pitch. Sharon looked at him. He looked back defensively.

"What? Just because I'm undead doesn't mean I'm ok with losing my parts in an explosion. I still fear eternal life as a cloud of tiny pieces." Sharon shrugged and suppressed a chuckle as she busied herself looking out a window. There seemed to be a lot of activity on the ground. She strained to see what it was. Hugo looked over at the same time to see what was going on.

"Crap. He let them out."

"How are they moving that fast?"

"More then two legs on those things. That is a small army of mature clones and in this light I would not want to get dropped in that forest.

"Where are they going?"

"Heading for the road it seems."

"Looks like they're…"

"Laying a trap. I know. I'm sorry Sharon it looks like they got to Tess. You able to control any of them?"

She went into a trance before having her head thrown back hard with a scream.

"It's him. He's controlling them, he knows where we are and he is coming." The two watched in silent horror for a while, wondering what the demon would do to them. Sharon slapped her forehead.

"What am I thinking? If I cant control the army I can control the land around them. You may not see it but a lot of bodies have been buried in that forest over the years. I just need to convince their spirits to animate the trees around there." The forest groaned as trees creaked and cracked. From the ground it looked like small hills of dirt were on the move. They wove between the trees until they reached the side of the road. Each mound stopped at its own tree. Sharon smiled.

"Those knuckleheads won't see this coming." The trees creaked and rustled briefly. Then it was as if nothing had happened at all.

Complete silence held the forest road in an uneasy tension. The silence was soon broken by the rabble reaching its destination. They sniffed around like feral animals, trying to catch the scent of sulphur. Eventually one of them climbed a tree to get a better vantage point. The group looked up when they heard the muted scream of one of their own as it was brutally grabbed and pulled inside the tree. The sound of wood creaking and limbs breaking sent a chill down their spines. In seconds the roadside was a battle between forest and flesh. The trees ripped and crushed a good number of them before they seemed to organise themselves.

A large figure lumbered up the middle of the road with a small boy on his back. The boy hopped down to let the figure continue towards the battle. Matt walked up behind the army.

"Troops to me." The army of Nate clones came to his side.

"Form up." They stood in lines then began interlinking limbs as if trying to make a wall. This was indeed the tactic as Matt shouted "Charge". The wall moved at a slow pace at first as the small beings tied to work as a hive mind. Tentacles flashed as Matt took the lead. He wound his tentacles around a trunk. The spirit trying to grab him and pull him inside found it was fighting a loosing battle as Matt simply ripped the tree apart. A wail came up from the tree as the spirit fled back into the ground. The rest of the army followed Matt's example. Soon they were beating their own path to the dam. The wall picked up the salvageable remains of their fallen brothers and added them in their own mass.

"Keep it up," Nate shouted, "I will see you up there." Matt nodded and continued to beat a path through the forest.

There was an audible squeal of metal as the truck landed on top of the dam. The passengers staggered out into the night as Jack jumped down from the roof.

"Nice landing idiot." Patricia said as she rubbed her head.

"Don't look at me I wasn't flying." Jack retorted.

"I take it our pilot is resting then." Patricia said. Jack nodded.

"We may need him later. What about you?"

"My passenger is also taking a break. I should mention however that she left a message with me. She told me you should work quickly. Apparently whatever is behind all this is coming our way."

"Nate?" It was Hugo that spoke this time. "He's coming here?" Patricia nodded. Hugo looked scared.

"Ok I will get to work then. I need both of you to help me set this place to blow." He opened the truck and speedily proceeded to bring the explosive cargo inside the dam.

Two figures stood at either side of a white door on the top of Paradise Tower. They watched as the city burned before them.

"Robert. The time is near are you sure you are ready for this?" The man shrugged.

"I seem to be adapting well enough. I'm sure I will manage. I mean so far I have died, been reborn and become a giant fire-breathing snake. This next trial shouldn't be too much trouble. What about you?"

"I don't really know anything anymore. My Josephine is dead because of these idiots. The boy is all I have left. If we had only chosen the right people the first time around she would still be alive. Well undead. Well more alive then she is right now."

"Shall we then?"

"Yes, it should be a change from this little patch of hell anyway." Robert produced a key and unlocked the cracked white door, letting red light flood the night sky through the frame. Paradise Tower looked like some kind of hellish lighthouse. Cornelius opened the door and in seconds a tide of adolescent Nate clones surged through. The front wave clung to the side of the building, digging their tentacles in. The second moved further out, making a bridge into nothingness. They stopped where the beam of red light stopped at the sides.

"It has begun." Cornelius beamed. Robert nodded.

"That it has my friend. That it has."

Well thats it for another chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Please R&R.
Cheers
Wolf