Part 19
It happened fast, and Alex was stunned by how quickly such a massive creature could move. Alex felt his back bump against a concrete divider and rolled hard to the side as the enormous fist of the alligator swung and smashed through it in an eruption of stone and even a little rebar. The demon barely lost time, and when Alex looked at him, the arm was swinging at him, and with a flick of the demon's wrist, claws extended from the tips of the fingers, which caught the boy's clothing but thankfully not his skin. Those claws could have quickly disemboweled him.
Alex scrambled to his feet and tried to run from the fight. He had no issue with running, but Brutus's large and scaled hand grabbed the back of his jacket, and he was thrown backward into the dumpster on the opposite end of the alley with a metallic thud. Alex went to scramble off again, not caring if his hands and legs were in line properly in a desperate attempt to move, before he was met with a massive open palm as the Gator slapped the boy's ribs so hard he could hear a crack. He was confident he flipped once before he hit the ground. He wasn't going to be able to get up.
"Lookit, the poor widdle baby, all alone in Hell and doesn't even know the rules of engagement!" Called the petite lady as she leaned against the wall. She blew the lizard a kiss. Alex gasped, coughing, but the pain in his abdomen wasn't letting him up. "Xerxes says the boy is new to hell. And we are all family in hell. Give him a big ole' hug, Brutus." The Gator stomped over and gripped Alex by the wrist, lifting him clear off his feet.
He was like a rag doll in the Gator's arms, and they were wrapped around his chest, the giant creature beginning to squeeze him. Alex screamed when he felt a pop and tried to push Brutus away pathetically. The Gator almost looked bored. "He's so fragile...almost not worth doing." The petite demon lady huffed and walked forward.
"Do you have anything on you worth having, honey?" She asked, rummaging around in his side pocket. She looked disappointed when she found nothing inside. Alex squirmed and stared, his eyes widening when she took out a small blade and skipped behind him. Alex couldn't see her and kept fighting against Brutus's strong arms. The Gator squeezed him a little tighter, and Alex screamed when she stuck the tip of the blade into the back of his leg, staining his clothes in his dark blue blood. She sighed and dug a little deeper. "Wow, he doesn't have anything. Pretty boys are never that smart. A little tip: always carry something around."
The small demon whipped around the other side of Alex, pressed her cheek to his, and grinned at Brutus.
"Let's see how tough the pretty is."
Her hand snaked behind him, and the blade in her hand nipped at the scaly skin of his lower back, carving up the flesh until blood started to pour from the wounds. The blade cut deep, and Alex yelled at the pain and was dropped when the Gator took several steps back as the wrappings on his wrists exploded out of his sleeves and coiled around the throat of the giant reptile, squeezing tightly.
The blade had cut to the bone and was more profound than Alex thought. The woman held up her arms to stop herself from getting involved, backing up as Brutus, face turning a darker shade, continued to be hoisted into the air by the coiling fabrics as they looped around his throat a third time. Alex stayed on his knees but screamed again as he threw his arms to the side, his fists clenching tightly, and the body of Brutus smashed into the side of the building. "I am trying!" He threw his arms the other way, and Brutus followed like a puppet, crashing into the bar wall and the concrete cracking with the impact. "To behave myself!" He lifted his arms into the air and then threw them down, Brutus's body hitting the pavement, the wrappings going tighter. "I didn't want to fight! I wanted to stay inside tonight!" He was growling now, "No one is helping me!" He slammed his hands together, his body tensing and his chest and shoulders rising and falling with his heavy breaths.
Brutus had become quiet. A sickening purple color took over his face as his neck began to tear, and his skin pulled as Alex clenched his fists higher. He was going to pull that beast's head off. The wrappings were glowing brightly and beginning to burn the scales around the Gator's neck.
"Please..." Alex saw the girl's little claws curl around his wrists. " Please let him go. Please don't hurt him anymore. We're sorry. Please? Please, cutie?" She rubbed his scales a little, pawing at him, rubbing her cheek into his arm. "Let him go. We'll leave. Promise.
The desire to rip the Gator's head off was burning inside of him, a terrible need to finish what he started, but...she looked rather upset, even a little scared. With a deep and agitated sigh, Alex closed his eyes and unclenched his hands, his fingers uncurling. When they did, the grip lessened slightly. The color began to return to the Gator's face, and the wrappings uncoiled from him, falling to the ground, the light dissipating and slithering back under the sleeves of Alex's jacket.
"It's alright...he's alive..."
The little demon whistled. "Shit, you have a good handle on those, huh?" She said as Brutus gripped his throat, coughing and stumbling, trying to get to his knees.
"Please, just go." Alex sat down on the pavement. "I don't have a wallet or anything."
The Gator seemed angry, but his cohort waved her hand, brushing him off. He looked annoyed and headed back towards Alex, clutching his neck with one hand. As he approached, Alex looked up at him, towering over him, his massive body casting a comprehensive and long shadow. "I hope I didn't hurt you, Brutus."
"Hah!" The demon cackled loudly. Alex found it odd to laugh when he could still make out the bruises and burns starting to form. The Gator reached out a massive hand, and Alex cringed, waiting for the blow to come until the hand patted his head, and the Gator scooped up the tiny demon, putting her on his shoulder. "Not bad for a guppy." He laughed again and turned away from the boy, walking down the alley with the smaller demon until they were out of sight.
Alex groaned and laid back on the ground, his arms around his chest, bleeding from his back and his leg, staring up at the deep crimson sky. He didn't want to move.
"Alex!"
A shout came from the end of the alley, followed by a series of curses. The voice was familiar. Alex leaned up onto his elbows, groaning in pain, to a sitting position and saw Husker jogging down the alley to him.
He got a single whistle from him and stopped, "Well shit, you started the party without me." Alex giggled and leaned back down on the pavement. "You should see the other guy." He wanted to laugh, but it hurt, and he tightly wrapped his arms around his chest. It was a rib, "Are you proud of me, dad?"
Alex could sense Husker's grin.
"Hey, not being dead is a feat, especially since you're new. So it is an accomplishment."
"Lucky me," he said behind clenched teeth, "Get me up."
After Alex made a small attempt to get to his feet, he found that the cut from his lower calf stung as soon as he put pressure on it, and so, with Huskers' assistance, the pair stumbled back to the Hotel.
The relief swept through Alex in an awesome wave when he finally crossed onto the grounds of the Hotel and made his trek with Husker up to the building. Standing in front of the door was Alastor, all smiles as usual. He checked his watch. "Twenty-two and a half minutes late. Another three hours and I might have gone looking for you. Ha-ha!" He slid his staff under his arm and stepped aside. "I can only assume your evening has been colorful, dear boy?"
Alex didn't answer; he didn't have the energy. As soon as he made eye contact, Alastor's eyes fell on the injuries on Alex's torso, and he raised his eyebrow with intrigue, making Alex suddenly feel exposed and vulnerable; Alastor looked at him like a wolf looking at a cooked chicken.
"And this?"
Husker grunted, not letting his body stop. "A group of street thugs got the drop on the kid. He let it go too far before he took control."
Alastor shrugged with a hum. "Sometimes, we must be beaten into the ground before we can crawl. Isn't that right, Husker?" The cat sighed and brushed past Alastor into the Hotel. Husker managed to muster a question. "It's two-forty-seven am; what are you still doing up?"
His face brightened. "I couldn't dare sleep with all the excitement of the boy's progress. If he were swiping bottles in the foyer, I would have grown disinterested hours ago and gotten the beauty sleep I do not need. But how could anyone sleep when the good boy is sent to scavenge the underbelly for some excitement?"
They started to head upstairs, and Alex was visibly favoring one leg over another and wincing. "Wish I was still drunk at the bar." Husker let out a throaty chuckle, "You and me both, kid. Come up. One flight of stairs, and you're in bed."
Husker wasn't far from the truth. Despite being only a few floors, the energy left in Alex was drained after only a short ascension. After arriving upstairs and managing a pitiful limp to his room, Alex turned the brass doorknob and pushed open the door, Husker helping him as he flopped face-first down into his pillow. Husker didn't even lean up again before Alex was asleep.
