Death's Memory
Shrieks pierced through the air as waves of demons soared through the Gateway. Chance. At last they had regained their chance to claim the human realm as their own. All of the demons that had awaited obstinately for the past several centuries had at last gotten their reward.
Of course, not ALL of the demons of the realm had been awaiting tensely behind that sealed wall. Word would spread soon enough, but at the moment the only ones who had crossed over were the ones who believed the sealed rift could be torn open again.
In the considerably brief time in between the believers' and the opportunists' flight, another people left the DemonRealm: the humans.
Only, they weren't entirely human. Not anymore. They were all half-breeds.
"Go! Go! Go!" a voice was heard through the dull silence of the demons' absence.
Taking their chance at finally escaping, the descendants of the humans that had been taken as prisoners-of-war three thousand years ago ran madly through the portal. Not caring about the bloody corpses that surrounded the gate…they ran. Freedom! It was finally theirs.
Dozens of feet pounded the ground as they scurried away.
One of the humans jumped through the gate and stopped.
"Incredible," he gazed out at the bright green forest.
"Freeze! What are you doing!" a woman called out to him. She jogged up and grabbed his arm, "Come on! The demons could come through any minute!"
"But it's all so…" he gawked.
"You'll have all the time in the world to look at it… later!" she quickly looked to the ominous light of the portal.
As he was about to relent and run off, something caught his eye.
"Wait! Look…" he pointed at the crumpled form of a winged creature.
"What!"
"It's one of us!" he started to walk toward the figure.
The woman gaped at him, "No she's not!"
"How do you know?"
"Just look at her!" the woman cried fiercely, "She may be pale skinned…just like us. But she's in her dark form!" she grabbed his arm and forced him to face her, "She is NOT one of us!"
Another man appeared, "What are you two doing?"
The woman's face showed instant relief, "You have to help me get Freeze out of here! He thinks that the wounded hybrid over there is one of us!"
"Freeze! Enough of this madness. We have to get out of here!" the man said sternly, "She was clearly working for the others…look at her…she has embraced her demon side. She can't be good news. Let her be!"
"No!" Freeze spat, "I don't care what you think or believe. She is just like us. Just because she has not renounced who she is does not mean that she can't be worth saving!"
"Freeze…!"
"No. I am going to help her…We ALL have demon blood running through our veins…it is not something that we can deny! It is part of us!" Freeze exclaimed.
"I have had enough of you and your philosophies Freeze! Embrace who we are? Embrace the fact that we are part demons? Do you not see what ridiculous ideas those are? We are HUMAN…we are who we want to be!" he growled.
"Then I am going to do what I want! …I am who I want to be not who you want me to be!" Freeze retorted.
The man and the woman looked at Freeze with disgust and then left him.
Freeze ran over to the demoness' rumpled form and kneeled beside her.
"Oh no," he said in defeat as he saw her tattered throat and gaping chest wounds, "She's dead."
Looking around he saw an enormous pool of blood and the small tributaries that had formed around it.
It's ALL her blood… Freeze thought in shock. Gazing down at the demoness he suddenly something that was impossible: her chest was rising and falling…very slowly…but surely.
"What?" Freeze stared. Hesitantly he lowered his head to her chest and held it right above her.
Her heart was still beating.
"This can't be!" Freeze gasped, "No half-breed could still be alive with wounds like that…"
After a few moments of deliberation he reached down and picked her up. If he could do something for her…then he would. Quickly making his way to the dense forest, he tried to follow the path left by the others who had escaped. After hiking for several exhausting miles, he finally found the simple makeshift camp.
"Freeze! What are you doing here!" the woman from before saw him, "You brought her?! O Gods…she's dead!"
Freeze shook his head angrily, "No. She's not. Her heart is still beating…I need to bandage her wounds as quickly as possible!"
"Then I wish you luck in finding someone that will be willing to help you…" the woman said in contempt before walking away.
*A few days later *
"I really don't know why you believe that she will wake," a boy said sadly as he looked over to the demoness' body, lying down on the reed mat. He handed Freeze a bowl of food.
"Neither do I," Freeze said as he reached over for his dinner.
As the two of them ate in silence, suddenly they heard a noise. No not a noise…a moan. Both guys sat there with their spoons up near their mouths. They looked at each other and then down at the demoness.
The boy dropped his spoon, "She's awake!"
*A week later*
"How are you feeling?" Freeze asked the demoness. He handed her a small gourd-cup filled with water.
The demoness nodded slightly as she took a slow sip. Although the injury to her throat had healed remarkably fast, she had not regained her ability to speak. Her other wounds were a different story. They had not healed…even in the slightest.
The following day, Freeze walked back into her tent to bring her something to eat.
"Here. I know you don't have much of an appetite and that it probably hurts to eat but…" he handed her a small bowl filled with hot soup.
"No…" came the hoarse reply. Freeze's jaw dropped.
"You can talk?!"
"yes…" she winced as she spoke.
"I thought that you would never speak again…"
"We need to stop them…" the demoness said weakly but sternly.
"What?" Freeze was surprised. She got right to the point.
"We need to stop the demons…"
"We?" he raised and eyebrow.
"We. Anyone who can help," her voice cracked, "I can help you…but we need fighters…"
"Are you crazy?!" Freeze interjected, "You're coming back from the brink of death and you want to go fight again?!"
The demoness bowed her head, "I'm the reason they're here…I'm the reason that fucking gate opened…my blood broke the seal," she looked up, "and I'm going to be one of the reasons they won't get what they want." Her eyes narrowed in anger.
Freeze just gaped.
The demoness glanced in his direction, "Well? Are you going to help me…or am I going to have to do this on my own?" She grimaced again.
Freeze bit his lip while he pondered the demoness' little proposal. In truth, he didn't have much reason to help her…he didn't even know her…but it seemed as if she had her mind set.
He nodded, "I'll help you find people willing to fight."
"Great," she sighed, and then reached her hand out to him, "I'm…Reaper…by the way."
He looked at her hand in confusion.
She let out a small laugh, "It's a greeting…You're supposed to grasp my hand and shake…"
"Ah…" he reached forward and shook her hand.
"And you are…?"
"Oh…My name is Freeze."
Reaper gave him a small smile, "Nice to meet you…and…thank you for what you've done for me."
He smiled back, "There's no need to thank me…I just did what I believed was right."
And so…the counterattack began…
________________________________________________________________________
A/n: And so Reaper is back in business! So to speak…XD
Many "thank you"s to all who have reviewed and commented! ILY!!
