“Sounds like your buddy needs a pizza. Sorry, I don’t deliver. How about you drop the gun and go tell your master we got enough troubles without his baggage weighing us down.”
The creature rushed for Hunter, wielding the rifle like a club. Hunter ducked as the swing cut through the rain above his head, and he lifted the thing up, plowing it against the metal building where a nice demon-shaped impression was left.
The demon sank its teeth into Hunter’s bad shoulder and tore away a bloody chunk of skin. Hunter screamed, more from horror than the quickly subsiding pain. Again his body healed but now he had an even bigger hole in his jacket.
He gripped the thing by the throat and bashed it in the face repeatedly before releasing it with a final punch. The little demon scrambled away from the sudden fury, but Hunter yanked hard on its cable-like tail and started kicking.
“You ruined my brand-new coat my girlfriend made me. Now I’m going to hear all kinds of crap about how I never appreciate anything she does for me. Why couldn’t you just be some normal tool instead of a freak show?”
Hunter dragged the monster to the edge. He gripped the back of the demon’s shirt and lifted. The rain pounding down on him washed away some of the madness, and Hunter hesitated. With inhuman speed, the creature bounded off the ground, flipped behind Hunter and shoved him from the roof. Hunter caught the edge and his shoulder popped. Dangling and barely hanging on, he watched the demon pace above in quick, tight circles. It smiled and its forked tongue lashed out, flicking blood at Hunter.
“You haven’t found your wings. The fall won’t kill you, but it will hurt.”
The demon lifted its barefoot, clawed toenails sharp and threatening. Hunter strained to pull himself up, but his weakened shoulder denied the attempt.
Thunder roared as a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and blasted into the demon-kid’s chest, driving it away from sight.
The air smelled of ozone and burnt toast. With the major distraction gone, Hunter strained harder, his boots finding traction and his bad shoulder holding, the other arm hauled the rest of him over the edge. He flopped onto the rooftop and rested a cheek on the cool, wet surface. The rain lessened with steady fat drops splashing in the puddles. Hunter closed his eye and considered checking out for a little nap.
“What are you doing, silly?”
He opened his eye. “Catherine?”
“Huh? Not even.”
Hunter flipped onto his back and sat up. A teenage girl, wearing a tight fitting t-shirt that Hunter found very distracting, dropped the demon-kid’s limp body. Behind them, a large smoking hole had been blown inward through the metal building, down into the grain elevator itself. He gagged and covered his nose from the overwhelming smell of rot.
“Stinks don’t it. Try living down there. I’ll never get that smell out of my hair.”
“Who are you?” Hunter asked.
“My name is Barbie.” The blonde beauty said flashing a bright smile. “Thank you for finding me.”
Hunter laid back down and watched the clearing storm shake out the last drops of rain from the clouds. “You have got to be kidding me.”