The Damned

Final chapter: Salvation

Salvation

How long Nathan wept, he did not know. He only knew that it was over after all these years. The demon was dead, and Auburn's death was avenged. He didn't have to run away any longer.

'What now?' he thought to himself. He turned back and looked at what was left of the demon. Its head was a bleeding gory mass, still oozing with some strange green pus with little white shards that must be its skull floating in it. After so many years of running, it took maybe 5 minutes all told to finish it. Ohhhh, the irony.

But, Nathan was not concerned with this as he walked over to the demons body. Reaching down, he picked up the knife the demon had fought him with from the ground and wiped the blood off with his sleeve. It didn't look like the same knife that had killed Auburn... And yet, there was no mistaking it. It had an aura about it, like the blood from Auburns veins running down the blade had somehow granted it divine properties.

Shivering at this thought, Nathan stood up. Suddenly, he turned at hearing a sound and looked down at the demon. Before his eyes, the demon's body was crumbling into dust!

Nathan watched as chest caved in and became dust, and then watched as that dust floated up into the air, drifted a few feet away, then began to solidify again into something.

"Dammit!" Nathan cried, whirling around and snatching up the dropped stake he'd used to kill the demon earlier. It looked like it hadn't really been dead!

'Then again', Nathan thought, 'Did i really think cleansing my soul would be that easy?'

But, as he watched, the dust didn't form into the large, ghastly shape of the demon. Instead, it formed the curves and body of a woman. Soon, details began to show as well, and even before the process was complete, Nathan knew who it would be.

"Auburn... You came."

Auburn smiled at him and beckoned him with his hand. Nathan walked forward towards her. He slowly stretched his hand out to grab hold of hers.

Then, his hand faltered for a moment, and then began to drop back a little as he suddenly thought, 'Wait... something's wrong with her. Why doesn't she say anything?'

As Nathan's hand dropped, the smile vanished from Auburns face and she suddenly lunged forward trying to grab him. He stumbled back and managed to avoid her outstretched arms and grasping hands.

"Auburn?? What's wrong with you?" he cried. The smile was back on her face now, but it was twisted and demonic.

Then, Auburn reached her hand up to her hair, grabbed hold, and began to -pull-. She pulled it straight up into the air. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, with a sickly ripping sound, her neck seemed to rip free of her body. Only, it was just the skin on the outside, for there was another neck hidden below her fair skin.

Auburn finished pulling off the skin of her head to reveal an entirely different form. Nathan dropped to his knees, totally speachless. The demon grinned at him from on top of Auburn's body, then reached down and ripped off the top of the white shirt she'd been wearing.

Underneath were Auburn's white breasts, which the demon began to carress with its/Auburn's hands. Suddenly, with one swift jerked, it ripped off her/its own right breast and stuffed it into its mouth, chewing greedily.

Then, blood bubbling out from the hole where its breast had been, it began to walk forward towards Nathan.

Nathan could do nothing. It was just too much. He'd tried, and this is what happened. He just hoped that the demon would end it quickly.

It put both hands on either side of Nathan's head. Then, it leaned forward, as if meaning to kiss him. Then, it said, "Nathan..." In Nathan's own voice! Then, the demon disappeared.

And with the demon's disappearance, truth came. Terrible, horrifying, monstrous truth. The demon... its possession of Nathan... All the years he'd been running from it... All that time, and Nathan had never even suspected.

Nathan threw back his head and began to shreak. One endless peal that split the darkening sky and filled it with his pain and his rage.

For he knew now that the demon had never been real. The only monster had been himself.