SHOWDOWN WITH A DEMON

Jake stepped out into the middle of the street, barely registering the screams and gunfire, the dust and smoke. Come on, he thought, show yourselves. Come and get me … kill me if you can. He held the demon gun up high.

As if his death wish had suddenly been granted, he saw his target at last: One of the flying monsters swerved, its shadow-form making an impossible turn in midair. As it came back it fired down at people on horseback and on foot who were still firing their guns, blasting them apart with bolts of lightning.

Still it came on, straight down the middle of the street toward Jake, as if it had been searching for him alone. He could see lights covering its body—demon eyes glowing in the dark.

Come on, he thought, not even sure if he meant the demon or the demon gun. He stood his ground, holding his arm steady. People fled around and past him, clearing his line of fire. Suddenly the targeting arc shone above his wrist; he took aim, helping it find its mark.

The weapon fired with almost no recoil this time. The blue beam hit the flying monster like a bullet’s trajectory made visible, before he even had time to blink. It struck the demon almost head-on; the explosion stunned his senses.

The demon tilted, wavered, and lost control, falling from the air even as it roared toward him, like it meant to take him down with it.

Jake ducked as the thing passed just over his head. He spun in his tracks and saw it hit the ground with a grinding crash, plowing a furrow into the packed dirt of the street, trailing fire and debris.

The other demons circling over the town suddenly vanished into the night, faster than they’d come. As they disappeared, a sound like the air exploding shattered windows along the street.

And then there was quiet, as deafening as the pandemonium of moments before.