Chapter 129
-Micah-
I couldn't be helped. We were spotted, and there was no way around it. Well, it was time to fight!
We fought through corridors of scaffolding, ducking under swinging rebar and waves of hypnotized workers. The first possessed worker came at me, swinging a steel pipe. I sent a gust of wind slamming him into a stack of boards. The others closed in fast.
James moved beside me despite his injury, his twin pistol crossbows drawn in one smooth motion.
Thunk-thunk!
Two bolts flew, one pinning a wrench to the wall, the other disarming a worker mid-swing.
He reloaded with practiced rhythm, mechanical yet graceful in ways I didn't notice before. He used non-lethal ammo, just enough to disrupt the pattern.
Josh's cyan fire arced around him, spitting twin trails that crackled against the metal scaffolding.
"Careful," Josh yelled, "Don't hit a gas line with your bolt!" He said jokingly.
"Already mapped it. James replied without looking, firing again. "Besides, I'm more afraid of your wildfire." James surprisingly joked back. He is so much more lively than before.
A bolt ricocheted off a hard hat and hit a control box, killing a floodlight that had been pulsing demonic sigils across the site.
Evan tore through a cluster of possessed workers, using his fists that glowed blue, every punch echoing like thunder. This was his way of not hurting the humans. "We have to find the core—something's binding this whole site together."
Duke motioned toward the crane's control cabin. "That's where the Malice seems thickest.
We fought our way across the half-finished concrete lot, stepping over twisted rebar and broken tools. The demon's whispers hissed from every direction.
"Work harder. Earn your worth. Don't stop until nothing is left of you!"
The demon's words made me sick. They had a nagging feeling behind them, almost a call, nearly seductive. I felt the spell they placed on people. I gritted my teeth, spinning my fans in a defensive arc. "Don't listen to him—his words act like spells—it's power feeds on guilt and pride!"
Baby, hidden behind the smoke, forced her way through. "It's not just pride—it's devotion gone wrong. They've been working for weeks without stopping. The demon's promised them perfection, and the desires were met to the point they would risk their own lives."
Josh grunted, hurling another blast of cyan flame toward a crane joint where black tar oozed. The fire bit through the rot, revealing the demon's form again—a tall, wiry creature made of shifting metal plates and ember veins, wearing a twisted construction helmet like a crown.
It laughed, voice metallic and sharp. "I make progress. I make a purpose. They begged to be useful so they could make a living! For money! I gave them their desires. I gave their pathetic lives meaning."
"Yeah, meaning like in chains!" Evan snarled, slamming his shoulder into the possessed foreman.
James stepped closer, both crossbows raised, eyes narrowed. "And we're here to break those chains."
The demon's grin widened. Its molten eye flashed as it dove back into the nearest worker, merging completely. The man screamed, body contorting, arms expanding with raw power.
Josh hissed, "It's using them as fuel—everybody spread out and take out as many workers as you can to limit him."
I launched into the air, a gust lifting me up the scaffolding as I sliced through the haze. "James! The pulse—do you see it?"
He adjusted his stance, sighting down one crossbow. "Left beam, under the crane's base—heart node!"
"Take it out!" I shouted.
He fired, the steel lines singing through the air. I pushed the arrow to help it stretch farther. The impact split the node open, and a fountain of glowing tar burst upward. The crane groaned, lying sideways.
Josh slammed his fist into the ground, creating a shockwave that rippled up the structure. Josh's flames surged along the cracks, sealing the rupture in the shimmering cyan light.
The workaholic demon screamed, its form tearing free of the host like a shadow ripped in two. It felt the ground, thrashing, the faces of the workers flickering across its oily body like trapped souls. It regained its composure and lunged at me. Wrapping me in its tar body. I felt my lungs and throat burning as it slid down, trying to drown me.
Baby rushed forward, her aura burning bright. "Time for your shift to end."
She raised both hands, and pure light poured out, washing across him. He released his grip on me as James was only seconds behind, helping me as I vomited the remaining tar. The remaining workers simultaneously dropped where they stood—alive but unconscious, freed from the demon's hold.
What was left of the demon tried to slither away, but James caught it mid-retreat. He fired a bolt that pinned its tar-soaked limb to the concrete barrier. The creature hissed, eyes flaring in panic as it burned under Baby's light unit until it finally dissolved into embers.
The machine around us stilled, its demon's hum fading to silence.
For the first time all night, the city felt at peace and still.
Evan exhaled and cracked his knuckles. "Well... that's one shift canceled."
Josh snorted. "And about a hundred workers are going to wake up confused and sore. I think it would be best if we want answers to get the foreman to a more secret location for when she wakes up."
James returned his crossbows to his keychain form. So it can remain hidden until needed. His expression was unreadable. "The workers will be alright. Whatever that demon took from them—it wasn't their humanity. I can't say the same for the foremen. We will only know when he wakes."
I looked up at the cranes, now dark against the dim light of the dawn. Then let's keep it that way." I said, wiping my lips with a tissue.
"I hate to say it, but the demons seem to be targeting us first, Kaysi, then Becky, and you have been attacked twice. It is safe to say I don't trust letting you stay anywhere alone." James lowered his head.
"I will be okay; I will recover. The demon was more gross than dangerous. You got to me before I drowned."
"And what if we were taken out or preoccupied, cornered by other demons? This is why we all stay close."
I nodded; the silence between us was heavy but proud. The next battle would come soon—they always did—but for now. We had won this round, and we had the person we needed to find the answers we sought.