Fall Foretold

Ghost Rider

Lucifer flung two daggers at him, at once. He caught one and picked the other on the ground. "Defend yourself", Lucifer said and flew after the female demon on a horse.

John tripped, almost slamming his head on the ground. The slime from the long tongue was all over his legs.

"Just get a tattoo. Then, you can join the party", the man said, as his long tongue dangled like a serpent ready to attack. He had a weird hairstyle and tattoos, covering the left part of his face.

"You're killing yourselves, i***t", John said, as he got up slowly. The sticky saliva irritated him. The man's tongue flung at his face but he bent his head, quickly, avoiding the hit. The tongue flung back, attempting to slide him off the ground again, so John flipped backwards, stabbing the tip of the tongue into the ground, with a dagger. He pushed the second dagger into the tongue, again, finally nailing him to the ground.

Then, he pulled out his gun. "Goodbye", he said, as he shot at the man, blowing his head off, totally.

*****

"You really underestimate me, Lucifer", she said, sitting on her horse. The demons remained around her, like bodyguards. "I have upgraded"

"You are still the same wayward kid I've always known", Lucifer replied.

"Are you scared of your own daughter? 'cause I believe she should be the target. Even Melissa never dared to confront me. She wouldn't, now"

"I thought I taught you humility in my time; humility... and respect, Helena"

"What's your goal, now, Lucifer? You clearly can't stop this"

"Oh no! I like Change", Lucifer replied. "I came to kill you"

"Then, you should have rehearsed with your daughter", Helena replied and snapped her fingers, making two demons appear behind Lucifer.

Lucifer remained where he stood and two similar demons appeared behind Helena's demons, snapping their necks. "If I took you all, at once, it would still be a beginner's game"

Helena stepped down from her horse, staring furiously. "Then, let's take it to pro".

The place transformed, as they transported themselves in an illusion. She created and rained a storm of fire on him. Lucifer spread out his arms, as if hugging it. He absorbed the fire and threw a fireball at her. She bounced back.

She stood up, quickly, making multiple copies of herself, and running towards Lucifer. Lucifer spread out his arms again, making a wave of fire emit from his body, throwing all of them back. They jumped back to their initial battleground.

Lucifer made a hole open in the ground. "Supporting Melissa was your mistake", he said, approaching her, slowly. "If we stood together, we could have stopped her"

"Please, Lucifer", she pleaded. "Don't- don't do this"

"It's too late for you", Lucifer said. The horse bit the tip of Helena's cloth and pulled her into the hole in the ground. Then, the hole closed up.

★

"Three... two... one", Mario snapped his fingers, teleporting Juan and Ashwood out of the bar.

"Will the incense work?", the drunk diviner asked.

"I don't know", Mario replied and burst into his usual hysterical laughter. "I mean, who knows?"

The drunk diviner joined in the laughter. "Who knows if you just teleported them to death?"

"I know, right?", Mario replied, still laughing wildly.

Stan dropped in the tunnel, while Juan remained outside the hall. He would know when his help was needed.

"Have you come to give your soul to the beacon?"

Stan genuflected on one knee and bowed his head. "I have come to give my all, in return for power"

"Come in to me", the beacon said. He couldn't be seen but his eyes glowed in the dark. "Come in to me and take it. Take all the power you desire"

Stan stood up and walked into the dark room. He closed his eyes tightly, as it was forbidden to look at the beacon. He could feel himself been stripped off his clothes.

"Just create the story!", the beacon yelled, maniacally. "Create the story! and become it! Grrrr ahh! ahh! ahh!"

He could feel power and confidence brewing in him, and his heart rate increased. As though choking on power, he couldn't stop panting, neither could he open his eyes. He dropped, weakly, to the ground, losing consciousness.

*****

The bricks broke down, suddenly, as Stan jumped right through the walls. He had long fiery chains, in and out of his body. He had a black hat on his head and a yellow glow in his eyes.

“Ashwood! Over here!”, Juan called. Stan flung a fiery chain out of his hand at Juan, holding him by the neck. He pulled back the chain, violently, making Juan turn completely into a pile of sand.

Juan grew bigger, pulling Stan closer with his chains. Stan opened his mouth, spitting out a storm of fire at Juan’s face. Juan dropped the chains, coughing. His face glowed brighter. He enlarged his arms and dropped the huge sandy arms on Ashwood. He pulled Stan up and created a mould of sand over his head. He pressed on the sand and burst it. Ashwood fell on the ground, unconscious.

★

“Hey, Laura called me”, Felix spoke to Jackson on the phone. “I think Joe has talked to her”

“Yea. She called me, too”, Jackson replied. “She asked us to come over”

“Are you kidding? You want to do it?!”, Felix exclaimed, staring through the windows. He had seen an absurdly huge rat scampering across the street, a few minutes earlier.

“Yea. I’m waiting for this armed mob to pass”, Jackson replied, also looking out, through his window. “Everyone’s wearing a tattoo, now”

“Yea, I guess. You better stay home. They are literally killing people without tattoos”

“Don’t worry. I got spray paint”, Jackson replied. “They don’t jump into houses, do they? I was thinking of opening the door for ventilation”

“You really like danger. No one has left the house since this s**t started”, Felix said. “I’m not going anywhere, man”

“Ok. The mob is gone. I’m out. Meet me there”.

“Are you kidding?!”