Prisoners of Babylon

Joe’s face was a rictus grin of abject terror and blood streamed from his eyes as he ran from the tunnel. He stumbled and fell below the moving tank but it did not stop and he was caught under the track where his screams were cut short.



From the top of a crenellated tower Mike could only watch as the tank finally came to a stop to reveal Joe’s mangled remains. He turned his head away from the gruesome sight to the figure standing behind him. It was cloaked in shadow with only the baleful glow of its eyes visible.



“Will this stop your army now?” it asked, the stink of its brimstone breath filling the air. “Or will more have to die before you leave this sacred ground.”



“I’ve told you before, my army only does what it’s told by Washington and nobody over there is going to believe them if I say that a devil is attacking us. You can kill my men but all they’ll do is send more and you can’t kill us all.”



“I will destroy any who trespass here. I am sworn to protect this land and its peoples,” the creature hissed, as its massive wings unfurled and beat at the sky.



“Yeah well you haven’t done a great job of that then, have you?” he replied.



Over the past few terrifying days Mike had realised that he would die in Babylon. He had come to terms with the idea of dying in battle but he had never in his darkest nightmares considered death at the hands of a demon. It had slaughtered almost everyone in his squad and destroyed all of their land moving equipment.



It had been disturbed when they began laying out the helipads and parking spaces, coming to the surface when a large swathe of the city had been flattened. While he listened to the creature's rants he learned that the djinn slept deep below the ancient city. It had been waiting for the Magi to return and herald the rejuvenation of Babylon. Instead men from across the endless sea had arrived and desecrated its home.



“You dare mock me?” the djinn asked. “Well, then, you will learn for yourself what it is to stand in my way.” It slowly raised its hand into the air and Mike screamed as all the blood in his body began to boil. He felt the skin on his cheek crack with the heat and steaming yellow bile ran into his mouth.



He could barely breathe through the suffocating pain in his lungs. He knew that he had pushed the creature too far. It would kill him and then finish massacring his crew. The burning pain seared through his body and even though he could no longer stand unaided he watched as it took flight. It landed lightly beside the remainder of his squad and began lancing arcs of fire into their vulnerable bodies. As his eyes burst from the fire in his veins the last thing he saw was the flame dying out as each man fell in a crumpled heap; the smell of burning flesh filling the air.



The djinn’s scream of triumph filled the night as it returned to the tower.



Cradling the scorched body in its hands the djinn smiled, “I should thank you little man. You freed me and though you won this war; my people will take back this land and with my aid, none shall prevail against us”