Project 365
The old, metal door buckled under her boot heel and the door jam splintered from the force of her kick. Inside the warehouse, the outline of boxes and crates filled the darkness. Her hands pulled two, clear bottles from the silk pockets on the inside of her trench coat. She brought the white cloth jammed in the bottles’ necks up to her lit cigarette and inhaled. Fire sprang to life right before her face.
Nerissa tossed both bottles through the open door. The glass shattered against the cement floor. Her homemade accelerant spread across the floor with flames following close behind. The
boxes and crates went up like kindling. By the time Nerissa flattened herself against the outer wall, the inside of the warehouse burned like Hades itself.
The first two bodies out the open door were pure flame. Within a few steps onto the wharf, the humanoid forms burst into ash. Their fire died out like Saint Elmo’s light in the mist. The next body out the door ran. Its face was distorted by its demon mask of ridged eyebrows and long, sharp incisors. As it raced down the dock, an arrow struck its chest where its heart would have been, had it had a human heart. It burst into dust.
“What the fuck?” Nathaniel grabbed his head as he watched two more run out of the burning warehouse. “Are you kidding me?”
From behind a crate nearby, Mel took aim. His straight arm dropped to bring the arrowhead into alignment with his target. But it was too fast; it slipped past the flying arrow to grab the boy. Nathaniel screamed. He bent in the creature’s hands as if made from dough before his father’s red glow grew around him.
It hissed as its grip slipped. A large, red hand encased its chest and began to squeeze. How dare you, contaminated, touch my son? You are not fit to clean my hooves.
Two more dashed from the flames to hide in the crates. In shadows, they hid easily. If they moved, they didn’t make a sound. Evie watched where they disappeared. She reached into one pocket for crumbled, black root. From a pouch on her belt, she scooped a deep red powder. From her vest pocket, she extracted a single, dried leaf with two fingers. She rolled the combination between her hands and whispered sweet nothings to it.
When her hands parted, two balls of flame hovered over her palms. She smiled. “Go.”
The burning spheres flew from her hand fast. One looped around the other as if nothing more than playful spirits, until their light drew the creatures from the shadow. Before they could move, the spheres hit their clothing with a force that engulfed the creatures. Within seconds, piles of dust were all that remained.
“Nathaniel!” From her place behind the rusted warehouse door, Nerissa cupped her mouth as she yelled. “As they come out, throw them into the air.”
“What?”
“Throw them into the air!” She raised her voice to be heard over the depot fire. Three more half-charred creatures dashed from the flames. Nathaniel and his father took two large steps to grab the first. As if picking dandelions, he popped the creature over his shoulder into the air. Mel’s arrow struck the flailing form in mid-flight. Only dust landed on the docks.
- More. Bring me more so I may crush their worthless existence. -
“Dad, for once, can we can the world global conquest talk and do the job?” Nathaniel floated in the center of his father’s protective form. He watched from within the glow of red as another creature flew over his head only to be met by a ball of fire.
- These are things for you to contemplate, my son. For when you are of age, my full vestige will walk the Earth. We will turn it away from the contemptuous Heaven and into our own Hellish domain. -
“Dad! Why is everything about you? What about me? Maybe I want to go to college or something.”
- You will possess all the knowledge you will ever need through our special bond. -
“Will you shut up?” He placed both hands over his face. Nathaniel’s shoulders sagged. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“So, any humiliating details you can share about your sister?” With a spin, Mel pulled his bow. His arrow was true and turned another flung creature into dust. He stopped within a few feet of the concurring Evie.
She threw her flame. “I’m sorry, but we haven’t met. How do you know I’m her sister?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? You look alike, same build, same determination”
“Fucker, if you don’t want your ball-hairs singed, I would never compare me to my sister again” Evie held the ball of fire in her hand until the last second. She grunted as she threw it at the creature that had managed to twist around in the air. It was poised to attack.
Mel dove. With his arm and shoulder, he moved Evie out of the way of falling flame and ash. His straightened arm and flattened hand stopped both he and Evie from crashing into the crate. While she gazed up at him, breathless, he watched as four more creatures rushed out of the blaze.
“Last ones by my count!” Nerissa placed her hand against the open door. The heat caused her to pull it away and shake it with warmed, pink skin. She blew on it as she shouldered the door closed. “Evie, ready the wave!”
Project 365 Short Stories by Mary Lewys is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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