Hellcyon Days Ch. 02

Just glancing into his mindscape, Alex saw that the blaze of his soul had grown again. It seemed that the act of bonding, while dimming his fire, had paradoxically made it larger. Then as he paused in recollection, it slowly dawned on him; sex may have been connected to his newfound abilities, but it didn't directly make them stronger. He had assumed that fucking his lovers had strengthened his powers, but it appeared that he had presumed wrongly. What it did was fuel his powers, which appeared to be reflected in the brightness of his flame. Only the act of bonding itself made his soul fire larger and presumably his powers stronger.

It also explained why his blaze always seemed dimmer after using his healing abilities and why all three of his lovers' embers were of similar size, albeit varying in brightness. Now though, that begged the question as to what exactly the level of intensity in his lovers' embers meant, could he use their reserves to power his own abilities?

Alex was knocked out of his reverie when his girls moved to surround him with radiant smiles. He had been standing next to the window, staring blankly into the street and utterly immersed in his thoughts, so the girls easily cornered him while his mind was miles away.

He felt slightly disquieted at the wide grins on his lovers' faces; they wouldn't have looked out of place on a cat which had just finished an entire saucer of milk. He tentatively asked, "So what exactly did you gals decide?"

With identical smirks, they said in unison, "It's a secret!"

Leira took pity on him though, "Don't worry, we've decided to share you, it's not like there isn't enough of you to go around," she purred with a lascivious grin, "We've only told Julia a bit about your unique talents...wouldn't want to spoil her surprise."

Julia laughed, "So you better take good care of your new harem!"

Though he had been expecting something along these lines, it still didn't prepare him for the reality. He now had three utterly gorgeous women as his lovers and they had all agreed on their own to share him, heck, they seemed happy to do so. But a nagging doubt refused to go away as he squeezed out, "But...don't you want your own lovers? Will you really be satisfied with just me? I know if I was in your position, I'd be unwilling to share my lover with anyone else..." he trailed off.

His redheaded lover giggled, "You make it sound like we're settling for second best or something. You've got a good heart, you're brave and smart and honest, not to mention your presence alone makes my panties wet." She continued in a more serious tone, "You could've let both Julia and me die, just stood aside and let circumstances claim us. But you didn't. Saving me took immense courage, more than any person I know possesses, and it almost resulted in your own death."

Leira spoke earnestly, "Without you, I would probably still be stuck all alone in my room, fearing for my life. And that's if I was not already dead by Rachel's hand."

"I can't say I know you well, but I can say with complete honesty that I really like what I've seen so far," Julia said with a wide smile, "You may not think it, but your heart is stronger than you believe. When you healed me, saved me from death, you had to commit something you clearly loathed, which you thought would make me hate you. But you did it anyway to save my life. Just know that there's nothing to forgive, hell, just think of it as an expedited first date," she chuckled.

"Anyway, we've got a complete dreamboat with some major talents in and out of the sheets, so just be happy with your new harem already," Leira admonished lightly, before closing in for a quick kiss, followed by Emily and Julia.

"Well, I will promise you this," Alex said in a tone of utter conviction, "I'll cherish you and do my best to make you all happy." Before he wrapped all three of his lovers in his arms, causing them to flush as they felt the resolve emanate from him.

-----

"Well, I'm not sure how good a safe house this place is right now..." Alex said as he gestured toward the bullet-ridden walls and the wrecked furniture. They were currently sitting in the lounge again since there were no other rooms big enough for them to conduct a discussion comfortably.

"And I don't think it'll be easy to remove that carcass from the room," he added, glancing pointedly at the slimy remains of the James-creature which had disintegrated into a pool of viscous goop with unidentifiable translucent organs floating in it.

John rumbled with a slight frown, "I agree...I hate leaving my home, but it's not safe here, but is there anywhere safe?"

"I recall there being a military base somewhere east of here, though I can't remember exactly where," Julia replied.

Alex quickly interjected while gesturing toward Emily and Leira, "We need to return back to our hometown first. We've got to check on our family and make sure they're safe. Only then can we try to find a more permanent base."

This drew a frown from the cops' faces but they nodded in understanding.

"It's not too far away; the journey would probably be slightly over an hour. We've still got plenty of daylight left, so I want to leave soon. You guys don't need to come, I understand if you want to stay here. If you want, we can decide on a meeting place and time, so we can regroup later?"

Julia quickly answered with a hint of admonishment, "Wait, why are you talking as if I'm not leaving with you? I'm definitely coming with you... can't let those monsters eat my supply of dick," she finished with a raunchy grin.

Feeling a blush come on despite himself, Alex hastily nodded before continuing, "There was a police car parked outside, I assume it's yours? Can we borrow it?"

The giant cop exchanged a look with his wife before he replied, "We'll be coming with you, we talked about it earlier already with your girls, also Tal's vision said that staying near you is as safe as we're going to be and well...family is important."

-----

The group quickly set to work, packing their supplies. Talaitha took the lead, delegating and ordering them about like a clan matriarch as they quickly gathered supplies and deposited them into the thankfully spacious jeep. In surprisingly short order, the jeep was filled to near bursting with provisions and essential tools, though Alex saw Talaitha surreptitiously packing a few photo albums as well, which he ignored. They could spare the space for the preservation of precious memories.

John got into the driver's seat, with Alex riding shotgun as the women piled into the backseat talking animatedly. Earlier, as they worked together, the ladies had started conversing and now seemed to be getting along famously as they chatted in hushed tones and occasional giggles, even from the huge amazon cop, which was a little disconcerting.

The two men just sat in stoic silence as John took the wheel and the jeep moved off almost ponderously, so heavily laden it was.

They were passing near Alex's university, when the cracks of gunshots could be heard. Slowing down so as to pinpoint the source of the noise, the car passengers exchanged concerned glances.

Abruptly speeding up without a word, John spun the steering wheel, speeding through an intersection, as the tires of the heavy jeep squealed in protest at the sharp turn. Weaving through the stationary cars parked haphazardly across the street, John exhibited an amazing degree of skill, squeezing between cars at breakneck speeds with only inches to spare. Before anyone could utter a syllable, John growled out, "I'm a police officer and I swore to serve and protect, this may be too late, but I have to try..."

There was nothing left to be said after his impassioned words and the rest of the group wordlessly began checking and preparing their weapons.

They burst into a wide street, where they were greeted by the sight of a screaming crowd running fearfully out of a side street, where the staccato of gunshots continued to emanate from. The panicked mob didn't even pause at the sight of the jeep, sprinting past the vehicle with wide eyed looks of terror.

Jumping out of the jeep with weapons at the ready, the group began running towards the side street, where a slowly retreating group of men were firing assault rifles at an unseen target. Before they could reach the corner, they were treated to a déjà vu moment when a flying SUV flew out of the side street, smashing into two of the defending men, crushing them to a crimson pulp against the unyielding asphalt.

Turning the corner, the familiar sight of a titanic charging horned demon greeted them, as the men of the rearguard screamed at them to fire. The group barely aimed their weapons before adding to the hail of lead.

Alex had replaced his bow with Lieutenant's James' shotgun and he fired unerringly into the demon's craggy brow, unable to target the lowered eyes and hoping instead to break through its skull. But all their efforts were in vain as the titanic creature's inexorable charge refused to be stopped.

The twenty or so defenders scattered as the demon broke into their lines, unable to retreat faster while firing, than its heavy plodding strides. It swept its massive arms from side to side, knocking desperate men flying away. Closer up, it could be seen that the monstrosity hadn't gotten away unscathed. Great holes had been blasted in the monster's rocky carapace and dark crimson blood flowed like tiny rivers between the spike mountains of its armor.

But it wasn't enough.

The creature paused momentarily as it grabbed one of the hapless defenders in one enormous clawed fist before it brought the screaming man to its cavernous salivating maw and bit off his entire upper body. As it stopped to chew its grisly meal, ignoring the bullets ricocheting from its body, Alex carefully took aim with his unfamiliar weapon and fired rapidly into one of its unprotected eyes.

Roaring as the shotgun slugs ripped into its eye socket, the demon descended into a berserk fury, shutting its eyes and smashing the ground about it with colossal fists that shook the ground and knocked people from their feet.

It cracked open its craggy eyelids, revealing a bloody socket and a baleful crimson orb that locked onto Alex in seeming recognition. With an inhuman screech, it leapt toward Alex, faster than a creature its size should have been able to move, and even with his increased speed and reflexes, Alex knew that he wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

Bracing himself, the enormous bulk of the monster landed on Alex with a booming crash, completely concealing him from sight. Roaring in triumph, the beast stepped out of the deep crater it had created before turning and pounding its fists repeatedly into the depression with deep reverberating blows.

Most of the defenders were shocked immobile, the viciousness of the strikes were terrifying, but even more so was the malicious leer that the monster shouldn't have been able to display. The slight glimmer of hope that had arisen when Alex had destroyed one of the demon's eyes had been quickly smashed to smithereens.

Only three women continued their assault on the monster, knowing without question that their lover was still alive.

Suddenly, in the interval between the demon's strikes, a flurry of opalescent tendrils flashed out of the hole to stab into the demon's exposed wounds. It flinched backwards, backpedalling clumsily as fear clouded its sole crimson eye. Stopping a dozen feet away from the crater, the monstrous creature raised its arms in a defensive posture, surprising many of the onlookers.

Almost leisurely, a gleaming platinum figure emerged from the crater. The first thing the stunned onlookers noticed were its magnificent luminous wings, they glimmered with suppressed fire and had glowing tendrils instead of feathers. Next was the languidly whipping tail, powerful-looking, covered in barbs and tipped with a wicked wedge-shaped blade. Then there was the iridescent armor that clad the figure from head to toe, which bristled with spikes and ended in gleaming talons. Finally there was the draconic countenance with its blazing purple irises which struck nameless dread into almost all present.

Silently, the figure stood motionless, as if contemplating the demonic entity almost cowering before it. It took a sudden step forward, causing the demon to recoil unconsciously, despite outweighing its opponent by a massive margin, before it caught itself and then as if to cover up its retreat, it thundered a challenge and then rushed forward.

Just before coming into range, the demon swung one of its huge clawed arms backward, to bring it crashing down onto the Alex-creature. The defenders gasped as the tremendous blow blew up an obscuring cloud of dust, which slowly cleared, revealing the straining pair of inhuman forms. The flaring wings of the opalescent creature had speared into the ground surrounding it, supporting the impalement of the massive armored claw of the demon. The Alex-creature had used the demonic entities' own monstrous strength against it, driving multiple tendrils through the thick carapace and deep into many parts of its armored limb, halting the blow before it could reach him.

At this point, the demonic monster had braced its other arm against the asphalt floor and was straining backwards, trying to free its skewered appendage. More tendrils shot forward from the Alex-creature, some wrapping themselves around the trapped limb and others piercing the demon's wounds.

Screaming in pain for the first time, the monstrous being flailing desperately against the entrapping tendrils, knocking many loose, and then charged forward to swipe at its source of agony. The pearlescent figure ducked too quickly for the eye to follow, the demon's paw flashing harmlessly above, before it pounced forward, one clawed arm outstretched to it spear deep into the monster's abdomen.

Whirling about, the draconic figure tore its talons and winged tendrils from the demon's body in a spray of ichor, as its bladed tail flashed across the armored belly of the monster, and with a deafening screech of metal on stone, disemboweled the demonic being.

Its purple entrails pooling beneath its feet, the monster finally managed to score a blow against its assailant, hammering a thunderous blow as the Alex-creature was concentrating all its strength on the debilitating slash. The glimmering figure was hurled from its feet, its turn to streak across the street and through a solid brick wall.

At this break in the clash between two titans, the defenders which had fallen into awed inactivity, regained their senses and restarted their assault on the gravely wounded monster. Focusing on the gaping rend in its abdomen, the fighters poured a constant stream of lead into the demon as it fell to its knees.

The demon tried to gather up its innards, ignoring the impacts of the firearms, slowly pushing them back into its body cavity. To the horror of the defenders, the yawning wound in its front began to visibly close.

Grabbing a grenade from somewhere upon her person, Julia heaved the bomb straight at the demon's injury, but it was snatched out of the air by a startlingly swift clawed arm, where it promptly detonated, wreathing the massive fist in fire, but not causing any obvious damage.

The explosion marked the reemergence of the Alex-creature from the hole it had made; it was lightly covered in dust, but otherwise unmarked. It crouched, leaning forward slightly and then leapt upward, its trajectory culminating in the glowering demonic being. The demon tried to seize the gleaming streak, but the figure's wings interposed themselves between the clutching claws, preventing them from reaching their target, and allowing the draconic being to land unmolested on one hulking shoulder.

Before the awed observers' eyes, the Alex-creature dug its talons into the demonic creature's skull and then bracing itself, wrenched the massive head of the demon right off its body in a display of inhuman strength.

Great jets of dark crimson blood fountained from the ragged neck of the demon, which became weaker and more sporadic as the seconds passed. With a great reverberating boom, the immense body of the monstrous being crashed to the floor while its slayer dropped lightly to the ground.

Propping the demon's grimacing visage on the floor before him, Alex reverted from his armored form, to reveal his triumphant grinning face and unfortunately his completely nude body to the gob smacked gazes of the defenders and the previously fleeing crowd, which hadn't gone very far, unwilling to distance themselves from their defenders.

Realizing his state of dress, Alex blushed fiercely as he desperately attempted to cover his exposed form from the many appreciative looks. Despite enjoying his flustered appearance, his lovers quickly passed him their jackets, which he immediately wrapped around his bare body.

Many in the crowd had closed in, warily curious as to this anomalous hero, while others went to check on their original defenders' injuries.

Out of the original thirty plus armed guards, only half their number had escaped relatively unscathed. The demon's attack had been devastating, every single one of the defenders it had managed to injure, had suffered grievous harm, and by the time the volunteer medics reached them, there was nothing they could do. Before their eyes, the last injured defender breathed their last.

Without warning, harsh retorts of guns sounded through the air as the recently dead were shot through the head, drawing surprised looks from Alex and his group, though realization quickly dawned in their eyes.

There would be no reanimation from their allies.

The inexorable blows of the demon had ironically proven somewhat a boon as most of the demon's victims were pulverized almost to mush, so there had been no additional monsters during the fierce battle.

A lean grizzled man in his fifties with a pockmarked face approached their group. Stopping several feet away, he rasped, "Thanks for your help with the demon. I don't think we could've beaten it alone..." He was joined by most of the defenders, who were staring unabashedly at Alex, as he continued, "My name's David Creston and I lead this motley crew. Was meeting a bunch of my old buddies when all hell broke loose. Managed to hole up in some convention center nearby and somehow along the way, we've gathered this mob. We were trying to move to a more secure location when that beastly bugger showed up. So what's your story?"

Julia stepped forward, despite the question being obviously aimed at Alex, "We're a group of cops and students, we met up in the ensuing chaos and joined forces. We were on our way to find some of our loved ones when we heard the commotion and came to investigate."

The grizzled man looked pointedly at Alex, "Lad, trust me when I say I've seen a ton of shit, but what you did back there easily topped the lot. I won't pry, but you better be careful about yourself."

As the adrenaline of the fight wound down, the crowd which had previously been awe-struck was starting to murmur softly to themselves while some casted suspicious glances at Alex.

Noting the agitation of the crowd, Julia quickly cut in, "Glad to see that you're fine now, it's obvious that you've got to get going, and so do we. If you tell us where you're heading, we could possibly meet up later?"

A contemplative look came over the pockmarked face, before David replied, "We're heading to this old military base nearby, it should be filled with supplies and munitions. We were heading to a bus depot, hopefully to get enough transport for our numbers when we were ambushed by that creature. Anyway, if you follow the north-east highway down around 20 miles, there should be a signboard pointing the rest of the way. I wish you luck on your journey."