"How much time do we have?"
"Not a lot," Miranda said as she rushed in. "Caleb, Adriana, you must get out of here, Heaven can not lose you."
"We will go nowhere," Adriana said. She took my hand and we shared a look that said we were on the same page.
"We will stay and fight," I said, "and if we do not win then we will die trying." Miranda nodded with a sad smile, then turned and ran out the door. Then Adriana turned to Ai.
"Ai, go."
"No." She stood firm.
The door burst open and men with blood-stained swords and folded black wings on their backs rushed in. I immediately stood between them and the girls, defending them as the men advanced. But, of course, some got past me.
"Ai, go!!" Adriana screamed. I heard her sword clash with another.
"But-!"
"No! You have to get out of here! Caleb and I will take care of them! You remember what I told you right!?"
"Yeah, but-"
"Ai!" I yelled. "Get out of here!!"
Ai backed out towards the door. "I'll save you," she yelled, "both of you! I promise!"
And then she was gone and Adriana and I were left to fight the demons. Since we died, we had both learned sword fighting skills as a fun pastime in the afterlife, and we'd gotten quite good at it. As the minutes went by, more and more demons fell around us. Just the two of us took on so many, as they kept coming and coming in waves at a time. But we held our ground, and we fought. Finally, there was not another wave. We looked at each other, completely exhausted, drenched in sweat, and covered in small drops of blood. I noticed some blood on Adri's forehead was her own.
"You're hurt," I said. I tore off a strip of my shirt and wiped off the blood.
"I am?" There was actually quite a bit of blood rushing out.
"Yeah, it's a pretty bad gash. You're going to need stitches." I wrapped the strip of cloth around her head, covering the gash and soaking up the blood.
"I hadn't even noticed."
"Aw, did the delicate princess get hurt?" We both looked to the doorway to see a man leaning against it. He was about our age, tall, muscular, with short black hair and dark eyes.
I turned to address him and pushed Adri behind me. "She's not a princess, she's a queen. May I assume you are to blame for all this death and destruction?"
The man raised his eyebrows as he looked around the room. "All this death was caused by you two, not me." He took a few steps into the room. "My name's Kris, and I've taken control of Hell. Yes, I began the war. I encouraged the demons to attack.
"You will pay for what you have done," I said as I once again weilded my sword. He slowly, deliberately took out one as well.
Then, with an evil smirk on his face he said, "Make me pay."
"You will pay for what you have done," I said as I once again weilded my sword. He slowly, deliberately took out one as well.
Then, with an evil smirk on his face he said, "Make me pay."
