Devil Incarnate

         The flash of a blade, a crimson river, ear splitting shrieks. And the Yablonski family is no more. The killer, a minion of Satan himself, locked himself behind a thick oak door on the second floor as his master instructed him. He looked forward to his reward. However, he was slain by his master, but he didn't die. The year was 1842. His corpse was never found.

2006. Dec. 18th. 23:45. Southwestern Pennsylvania
         Billy Dean pulled up to the decrepit house in his 1993 Toyota Corolla. He climbed out of his car and stretched, his muscles cramped from spending so much time in his little car. Billy was a stereotypical jock: 250 lbs. of muscle, 6 feet tall, blond hair, blue eyes, and couldn't outsmart a lemming. He strutted up to the front door and pounded on it. A young woman in her early 30's opened the door.
         "I'm here to investigate your ghost problem," he said, eyeig her from head to toe. She shifted uneasily under his gaze and motioned him to follow her. She led him through the kitchen tot he base of a winding staircase.
         "It's behind an oak door. I can't open it--it's locked from the inside," she explained, trying not to laugh.
         "Don't worry, ma'am," he siad, puffing out his chest, "I'll take care of it!" He strutted up the steps and she waited anxiously at the foot of the stairs. She heard a crack followed by a heavy thump about five minutes later. Then total silence.
         She started to wonder what happened when she suddenly realized that everything had gone silent. Everything. Then came an inhuman noise - a cross between a painful sigh and a roar. Against her better judgement, she ran up the stairs. She saw the thick wooden door laying in pieces on the floor and ran back downstairs and dialed 911. She heard another roar from the attic, then the roof collapsed on her.

-15 Minutes Later...-

         The squad car screeched to a halt beside the abandoned Corolla. Allen Knight surveyed the damage from his car for a few moments before calling in backup. Heidi FOx, his partner, made the call while Allen climbed out of the car and drew his firearm and flashlight. He had a bad feeling about this. The house was nothing but rubble now. Glass crunched under his boots as he waded through the wreckage. He heard a moan and spun toward the sound. His light revealed a lock of golden hair that disappeared beneath the rubble. Holstering his weapon, he hurried over to the hair and began to quickly remove the debris on top of the woman. He was about to check for a pulse when he heard a rustling sound. He spun around and panned hislight around the devastation. He felt totally exposed. He heard the same sound behind him again. He whirled and drew his gun. Nobody was there. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he surveyed the scene again in the eerie silence. Then he checked the woman and froze. Her neck had been slashed and a fountain of blood gushed out of the gash, forming a river that snaked down through the debris it landed on. Allen was paralyzed, the woman's sightless eyes bugging out at him, while her mouth hung open in a gruesome mimicry of her neck. He turned to run, but tripped over some wreckage. He reached out to brace himself and felt the smooth skin of someone's chest. Allen froze and looked at who his hand was against. All he registered were the wicked horns and the glint of a knife before -SLASH!- his windpipe was severed. He clutched his throat as he staggered backward, trying in vain to stop the flow of blood from pouring out of his aorta. The world lost focus, then went black as he died.
         Heidi witnessed all of this with growing disbelief. But when she saw the demon divert the river of blood from Allen to that of the woman's, she'd seen enough. Climbing into the driver's seat, she slammed the car into reverse and floored the gas. The rear tires spun, and the car lurched backwards. Yanking the wheel hard to the left, she spun the car around, shoved the shifter into drive, and stomped on the gas. WIth a mighty roar from the powerful V8, the Dodge Charger R/T police car accelerated away like a bat out of hell. The demon watched the red taillights grow smaller for a couple of seconds before spreading his obsidian wings and taking off after her. Within seconds, he was on top of her. Punching through the windshield, he reached in and slashed repeatedly with his knife. He felt the blade cut through something, but he kept at it until the car careened off the road. The devil pulled up and hovered as the car smashed into a tree. He then flew down to finish the job. Moments later, headlights appeared on the horizon as the backup Heidi requested arrived. The demon stood in the center of the road, wings spread wide as he observed the approaching car through his ice blue eyes. He opened his mouth in a smile, revealing wicked carnivore's teeth and laughed gleefully as the car exploded a few feet in front of him. The explosion washed over him, and he relished in the heat. Spreading his wings, he thrust downward, laughing gleefully as he flew away from the carnage.

To Be Continued...

[Next scene: Start in State Police HQ; next day; dozens of reports of victims with slashed throats; no leads on any culprit; police don't realize it's the devil incarnate]