If I have made a mistake, I apologize.
Much love.
Most were asleep, unaware of the chaos raging outside their homes, and those who were awake had no idea what was happening. Hunters walked the streets with rifles and knives hanging from their hips and shoulders. Police officers sped through the town, arresting looters and robbers, but with every person they arrested, another popped up. In the shadows, demons sprung forth and snatched humans who walked a little too close. Their screams were drowned out by the sirens echoing through the town, and shortly after, bright flashes of light appeared, and more screams followed.
It was War.
Angels were hunting Demons, Demons were hunting Humans, and Hunters were hunting both, unwillingly to accept either creature putting their lives on the line for anyone but themselves.
Cars ran over fire hydrants, mailboxes, and humans as they rushed towards the edge of town, but no one could leave. They banged on the barrier, crying, but the town line remained unpassable. There was one human, in particular, a single mom who had her baby in her arms, jogging through the high school parking lot. Her child was crying, and she wanted nothing more than to stop and comfort her baby, but they had to find somewhere to rest.
Growling caught her attention, and she skidded to a stop when glowing red eyes appeared out of nowhere. Several demons, fangs dripping with saliva, surrounded her. She held her child close, her own tears mixing with his, and a sudden chill wrapped around her.
"Kinda late to be out, innit?" one taunted, licking his lips.
"I think the young one's upset. Want me to hold 'em?" another said, reaching his arms out.
"NO!" she screamed. "Leave him alone!"
The demons shared a smile, and they closed in on her, each one describing what they wanted to do to her. She kissed her baby's forehead, thinking it was the end for them both, but the demon to her left screamed out as something yanked him into darkness.
"What was that?" one demon asked, looking around.
That demon vanished. Then another. And the woman watched in shock as each demon disappeared one by one. In the dark mist, a lone figure stepped out.
The woman blinked, and said, "Santana?"
"Sorry about that," the girl said, licking blood away from her lips.
"I-what is going on!"
Santana sniffed, rubbing the back of her head, and said, "That is not important. All you need to do now is go to the gym. When you get there, you will be safe. There will be food and water and blankets in case you get cold. You cannot stay out here. You and Josey are prime targets tonight."
"You just walked out of the shadows, Santana!" she exclaimed.
"Elise, please, just trust me. Just go to the gym and stay there. No matter what you hear, do not leave that gym," she warned, taking two steps back.
Before Elise could comment, Santana twirled on her foot and vanished into the darkness. It took a couple of minutes, the threat of imminent death, and the sticky hand smacking into her face to force her to move.
"Fangs, red eyes, moving shadows," Elise muttered, running toward the gym. "My old cheer captain still looks exactly the same and can teleport. Sure, not weird at all. But I'm not going to ask questions. We're just going to go to the gym and forget all about this. Right, baby boy?"
Her child gurgled in response, his toothless smile bringing her a few seconds of joy, but she took it for confirmation.
"Good. Glad we're on the same page."
Santana hated shadow traveling. As rare as she used it, the act made her dizzy and nauseous. When she was flying, she saw her former high school mate surrounded, and Santana acted without thinking. Calling forth her magic, Santana flew directly into the nearest shadow and snatched each demon with her until Elise was safe and sound. She didn't want to reveal herself to someone she knew, but she remembered Elise, and once she laid eyes on the baby, well, Santana's choice became much clearer.
Falling to the ground, Santana crashed into Rachel, and the two rolled in the grass a few feet before they managed to stop. Santana groaned and helped Rachel to her feet.
"Sorry, love," she murmured.
"Not to sound like a bitch, but what the hell were you doing? You said you would be right back! I've been worried sick about you!"
"I- an old friend was in danger," she said with a sigh. "She had her child with her, and I could not let her die."
Rachel brushed dirt and grass off her shirt, and said, "Just…give me a heads-up when you deviate okay?"
"I will. It was spur of the moment." Santana kissed Rachel on the forehead, and she looked around curiously. "Where is Quinn?" she asked.
"At the town line."
"Still?"
Rachel nodded. "Well, yeah. The more humans that flock there, the more demons that follow, which means archangels are showing up, and then Hunters are killing anyone with wings. It's a bloodbath over there. Tina and the remaining witches willing to help have their hands full with the people at the gym. We're spread thin, baby. We need help."
Santana knew that, which was why her next move would probably bite her in the ass shortly, but they needed to take the risk.
"I need you to trust me," she said slowly, kneeling to the dirt. "Can you do that for me?"
Rachel narrowed her eyes warily. "Um, I would if I didn't feel the guilt flowing through your veins at the moment," she said.
Santana dug her hands into the soil, and she muttered a couple of incantations, pouring her magic into the dirt. In the background, she heard Rachel calling her name, but Santana couldn't break her concentration.
Tina taught her years' ago about necromancy, how dangerous it could be, but Santana figured there were a few dead hunters and soldiers whose spirits had some grudges to work through. The ground shook, and Santana's eyes focused on the marked and unmarked graves that opened in the Earth. Skulls, decomposed bodies, and spirits rose from the soil, and Santana nearly collapsed from the sheer amount of souls buried in Lima.
Maybe she shouldn't have been so broad with her requests.
Tearing her hands away from the dirt, Santana climbed to her feet, and wavered a bit, leaning into Rachel.
"W-what did you just do?" Rachel hissed.
"Got us our help," she said weakly.
"This is not what I meant!"
Santana shook her head, trying to work out the voices bombarded her conscious, and she held up her hand in the air. The voices stopped, and Santana took a deep breath.
"I apologize for disturbing your rest, but I need your help. There are humans here, some of you are related to them, and others have no idea who these people are, but they are in desperate need of a savior. I cannot be everywhere at once. Can you please, please help me out here?" she pleaded.
The voices started again, but one, in particular, spoke above the rest.
"What do you need us to do?"
Santana stiffened, glancing around, and she saw the lifeless eyes of Finn staring back at her. She pushed Rachel behind her, but the Hunter gave her a dead smile.
"I'm only here to help," he said. "Just point me in the direction of some demons, and I'll make it right."
"Same here."
Santana saw Azimio come up beside Finn, and then another body, half-burnt from the neck down, and her eyes watered on their own accord at the sight of Royce. He bowed, his skin crinkling like paper as he did so, and Santana cleared her throat.
"Spread out. Some of you can go to the gym and keep the demons away. Some can go to the town line and help the Hunters. In this instance, archangels and demons are equally as dangerous. Hunters are the only people we can trust, unfortunately. You will know who to help. Keep the humans safe, no matter what," she ordered, slipping her fingers into Rachel when her energy started to wane.
Her girlfriend squeezed her hand, and Santana felt a burst of energy spread through her limbs.
"What about you? Don't you need help?" Finn asked.
Santana grimaced, knowing he was right, and she said, "I do."
"Then I'll stay with you," he said.
"Me too," Royce rasped.
Santana grudgingly nodded, knowing their sole existence depended on her magic and her staying alive, and she said, "The rest of you can go."
The spirits, ghosts, and zombie-like figures went their separate ways at various paces, and Santana hoped the tides of the War would lean in her favor.
"Are you sure about this?" Rachel whispered.
"Nope," Santana deadpanned.
"Wonderful."
"Stay here for a sec?" she requested.
"What are you about to do?" Rachel asked.
In response, Santana's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she performed the same trick she did on the General Commander. Her magic attached to the fog in the sky, and she searched for Solomon, knowing her brother was watching the carnage. She needed to rattle him, get him to come out of hiding, and what better way to do that than make him think she was closer than she was?
Solomon perched on the top of a tree, and his eyes narrowed on the spirits flying around the town.
"Necromancy," he spat. "How irresponsible of you, sister."
But as irresponsible as it might've been, Solomon knew his sister would go and do something that would even their playing field. He stood up on the branch, his claws twitching at his sides, and he took a deep breath. Blood already stained the streets, but it wasn't enough. Solomon knew he needed to get out of Lima. The longer he stayed there, the fewer chances he had at getting out of everything alive.
"Which witch shall I take tonight?" he whispered, searching for the one he knew responsible for his prison. "Where, oh where, are you, stone-maker?"
Solomon rolled his neck around, and he tensed when a familiar scent, carried by the wind, reached his nose.
"Sister, you know better than to sneak up on me."
Turning, Solomon anticipated seeing Santana, but instead, discovered nothing but the empty sky. Spinning around, he glared at the clouds, at the smoke, and at the darkness, looking for her, but nothing.
"Where are you!?" he shouted.
Nothing.
Solomon sneered at his paranoia, and shook his head, trying to calm his nerves.
Are you scared, brother?
"Never!" he roared, still looking for her.
His sister's voice echoed around him, and he carefully kept his balance on the tree.
You lie. I smell your fear, brother. It intoxicates me.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!"
You want me? Come and find me.
Solomon felt her presence leave, and he jumped off the branch, shooting into the air. She was taunting him, and he knew it, but oh, did he want to find her just to see the look on her face when he tears her head from her shoulders. Their relationship was complicated, tinged with hate but built on love, and Solomon understood that no matter what happened over the next few hours that either sibling would feel remorse for the loss of what could have been.
But Solomon felt no guilt for his life.
He deserved the world, and no one was going to stand in his way.
Not even his flesh and blood.
Tina ran her hands through someone's hair, keeping them calm, but the ten-year-old was beyond terrified of the monsters outside the gymnasium doors.
"Miss Tina, are we safe here?" the child asked for the third time.
"As safe as I can make it," Tina said softly. "I can only do so much for you here."
The child pouted, rolling to the side, and he said, "I want my Momma."
Tina winced, looking at the cloth-covered body in the corner, and said, "I-I know, but you- I-
"She's dead, isn't she?" he asked, tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry," Tina stammered. "I swear we tried to help her-
"I know. Those, those, creatures bit her too many times."
Tina closed her eyes, trying to stop her heart from breaking any further, and she flinched when another demon slammed against the magically reinforced door. More screams from the humans at the thought of being killed in the worst way spread throughout the gym, and Tina knew the gems along the threshold wouldn't hold for much longer.
What could she do?
"H-Harold?!" a woman screeched.
Tina turned to the side and bit back a scream at the ghosts floating through the room. Several people called out dead relatives, all of whom seem more interested in the demons at the door, and Tina had a bad feeling that settled in her chest.
"Momma!" the child screamed, scrambling to his feet. "Momma, over here!"
Tina swallowed the bile threatening to rise in her throat. Someone was playing with the dead, and she knew who it was.
"Oh, San," she murmured.
"Teen?"
She froze.
"G-George?"
Her brother stared at her funnily, the slice along his neck making her sick, and she asked, "Why here?"
"This is where I am needed. I am only here to help," George said, glancing around. "But things are different now. I-
"Enough," she snapped, too afraid to hear his regrets. "Just do what you came here to do and leave me alone."
Her brother's ghostly visage seemed hurt and Tina almost, almost, felt bad for yelling at him, but instead, George bowed and went to join his dead comrades. Tina noticed the young child from before smiling and laughing with his mother, and she turned her head towards the sky.
"Dammit, Santana," she growled, hoping the demon felt every last bit of anger that radiated through Tina's heart.
Across town, Santana tensed as a brief flicker of something passed through her mind. It was anger, and she couldn't decide if it was hers, Solomon's, or someone else. Shuddering to herself, she pushed it out of her mind and turned to Finn, who wouldn't stop giving her weird, probing looks. Rachel and Royce were a little behind them, which was understandable. After all, Rachel was the one who killed Finn and turned him into the half-dead icicle walking with them.
"Where are we going?" Finn asked.
"The edge of town."
"Why?"
"Because despite your faults, you were noble enough to protect the human race. I can only hope you still have that nobility in the afterlife," Santana said.
"No, I meant, why are you coming with us?"
"Because despite your nobility, one of your main faults was that you believed me to be evil incarnate like my father," she spat, glaring at him.
"Are you not?" he asked. "You are his child, after all."
Hearing what he was actually saying, Santana went to attack him, but Rachel appeared out of nowhere and pulled her off to the side. Santana took deep breaths to calm down, and that was when she noticed the fear spreading through Rachel.
"What is it?" Santana asked.
"Um," Rachel paused and pointed over Santana's shoulder, "we have a problem," she said hoarsely.
Santana followed the finger, and her world was knocked off its axis.
In the sky, swirling over the town-line, were a bunch of archangels, but that wasn't what caught her attention. It was the sole angel floating amidst the crowd.
Santana's entire body erupted into blue flames.
They had Quinn.