Anti-Devil Security: Devil of Las Lobas

This is a tribute story I wrote for an I.P. a friend is developing, original idea goes to Will Marton.

Daniel's breath was strained as he tore his way out of the Peterson Power solar station. Cries for help raced out of the four-story facility behind him. The young man shook as he fell to the parking lot's pavement. His lab coat wrinkled as he curled into a ball. The screams died, and his pulse beat within his head like a war-drum. Minutes passed. The throbbing noise was finally drowned out as a sleek helicopter advanced on the facility. The gray aircraft rustled the arid fields next to the parking lot as it landed. A trio of armored figures marched out. The only helmet-less one regarded the facility with a detached demeanor. Daniel shoved himself upright.

"Are...are you from Anti-Devil Security?" Daniel asked the dark-haired man before him. The soldier spoke in a Spanish accent as he responded.

"Who's asking?"

"I'm uh...Daniel Li, a research assistant. Are you really the only ones coming?"

The soldier sneered at Daniel.

"No, 'cuz sending a platoon towards a power plant out in the fucking countryside will fail to draw the media's attention, and we don't need to keep our ops under the radar or anything. Yes, dipshit, we're all that's coming! So, how do you even know we exist?"

Daniel's eye twitched before he responded.

"I'm from the Miscellaneous Research Department...it's just code for 'Paranormal Energies', though. My supervisors told me that you were the ones to call in situations like this...so that's what I did."

"Alright...what's going on in there?"

"My...my coworkers must have lost control of test subjects while I was on break. The things blocked both stairways and somehow knocked out our elevator's power. I managed to slip under one, but since it's nighttime, only staff on the third and fourth floors were here...I don't think anyone else made it out."

Daniel looked back at the facility with a worried expression. He jumped to attention as the soldier snapped his fingers next to his ear.

"We need more to go on than that. What did they look like? How big? How did they kill? Talk."

"How did they kill? What kind of...never mind. The one I saw...it was purple, and gelatinous. I only had a glimpse, really - but it was at least nine feet tall, and wide enough to block a hallway. Our guards' guns didn't do much against it. I couldn't see but I...I...must have heard it snapping my coworkers' bones. Please tell me you don't need more to go on..."

"I do. Did anyone use flame against them? Or a fire extinguisher? Was there anything that made the monsters slow down?"

"Nothing...nothing for sure. I think I heard flames early on, but screams came right after...can a fire extinguisher really hurt a devil?"

"The fuck else would I ask? But that's enough."

The soldier turned his back to Daniel and pressed a device within his ear.

"Command this is sergeant Moreno-Santos. We have arrived at the Peterson Power solar station outside of Las Lobas. We've got multiple gel-type devils on the loose, probably three. Size is large. Resistant to gunfire and maybe heat, cold resistance undetermined. Only one confirmed survivor. Over."

Daniel could hardly hear as a weathered voice replied. Moreno-Santos continued.

"Yes sir. Over and out."

Moreno-Santos turned to his squad-mates.

"Command has given the go-ahead. You two know the drill with gels; grab your blades but keep your pistols handy...and take a couple grenades."

The trio pulled their gear from the helicopter in rapid succession; Moreno-Santos drew a single-edged sword, the stockier of his two squad-mates whipped out a straight-backed machete, and the thinnest of the three took hold of a broad-bladed axe. The helicopter took off as the squad marched towards the solar station. Daniel tried to catch their attention.

"So...I can go home, right? I really need to relax before I email corporate about this..."

Moreno-Santos turned and raised a brow at Daniel.

"All of your coworkers may be dead, and sending an email is what you're thinking about? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Daniel's eyes shifted to the ground.

"I've worked here for three years - don't think I'm fine right now! But what the hell can I do in there? I'm trained to experiment on restrained devils, not hunt loose ones!"

"We could use a guide - and who knows, there may still be people to rescue. But whatever you do...stay out of our way."

The soldiers continued into the facility. Daniel paused twice before following through its glass doors. Moreno-Santos looked back at him with a slight smile.

"You said they were on the third floor?"

"Y-yes."

Moreno-Santos nodded, and withdrew a lighter and cigarette from a belt pocket. He scrunched his eyes shut while raising both to his lips. His calm manner gave way to trembling as he lit the cigarette.

"Come out, that which shares my flesh." he muttered in a grim tone. He took a long drag and exhaled a cloud of acrid smoke. It twisted and condensed into a maddening form, as if two torsos had been sawed off and stitched together below their waists. Six dark, wispy arms writhed out of the billowing mass. Two heads gave out crackling wails as they formed and infernal eyes burned to life within them. Daniel backed away from the humanoid cloud but froze as his back hit a wall.

"You people...make p-p-pacts? With devils?" he stammered out. The sergeant was silent, but the smoky being he had exhaled swayed towards Daniel. It stopped within a yard of the research assistant. Its heads took turns shifting forward as it spoke in an ashy tone.

"Good eve, lamb. You are most courageous, staying in the company of these three."

Daniel tried to respond but coughed so hard he bent over. Moreno-Santos barked out a command at the devil.

"Tar, shut the hell up and leave him alone. You have work to do."

Tar floated back to the sergeant while keeping its gaze on Daniel.

"Always tasks, always orders, never appreciation from this one. Ungrateful."

"Enough of that, shit-cloud. Don't make me tell you a third time."

Tar finally turned its gaze to Moreno-Santos. It took on a sarcastic tone.

"What would you have me do, oh kind and noble master?"

"There's unbound devils in here, last seen on the third floor. Our guide over there said they're gels - large ones. Find them - and don't you dare come back without a good look at the things."

"As you wish, Raul."

The sergeant shouted after Tar as it slipped into an air vent.

"I told you not to use my name, fucker!" All Raul got in return was muffled cackling from the vent. He leaned against a wall and his squad mates followed suit. Whenever he needed to exhale, Raul breathed towards the vent. He caught Daniel staring, who looked away and rocked on his heels. Tar returned less dense than before but grew more jubilant as it hovered next to Raul's cigarette. Once it reached its previous density the devil gave its report.

"I have found the ooze...a gluttonous thing, that one. It is full of the servants of this facility."

Raul took his cigarette out for a moment.

"The ooze? You were supposed to find more than one you lazy shit!"

"Have you no faith in me, Raul? Oozes do not care for stealth - there is only one. And it is immense."

Raul turned to Daniel.

"Are you sure there's more than one?"

"Yes!" Daniel responded.

Raul took another drag of his cigarette as his eyes shifted between man and devil.

"Sorry Daniel, but I trust my pact-partner more than some research assistant." Daniel sneered at the remark but the sergeant disregarded it and turned to his squad mates.

"Heng, Anne, release your devils." The axe-wielder of the two helmeted figures sighed at the order.

"Sarge, can we..."

"No, Anne. Bring out Bleht." Anne's shoulders sunk, but she still removed her helmet after Heng. She withdrew a piece of veal jerky from a belt pouch as Heng drew a knife and shakily put it against his cheek. They spoke in unison.

"Come out, that which shares my flesh." Heng breathed rapidly as he sliced a thin piece of skin from his face. The back of Anne's dirty-blonde dreadlocks was scrunched as she leaned against a wall and took a loud bite out of her jerky. When the slice of Heng's skin hit the floor, it began to vibrate. Layer after layer of flesh folded out from it, eventually forming a paper-thin face that stood high as Heng's belt. Its features were pinched and sunken and became even more so as two small arms protruded from its back. Heng drew a short wooden rod, and the devil's hands coiled around the presented handle.

Meanwhile, Anne finished her jerky. Her eyes teared up and the slender woman fell to her knees retching. Daniel reached towards her but Raul waved his sword at the research assistant. Anne finally vomited out a gooey maroon puddle. After a moment it pulsed and grew at an explosive rate. The semi-translucent being looked like the twisted offspring of a bear and slug when it reached full size. Daniel blinked a few times, but shook his head and turned towards the stairs.

"Thank god I've seen worse."

Raul smacked Daniel's shoulder as he marched alongside him.

"Glad to have a guide with some backbone." Heng and Anne put their helmets on as they and Bleht followed. Tar shot up to the next floor and watched Daniel while maintaining its distance. He looked away even as its smoldering gaze held firm.

"So, stranger - do you wish to know how I was bound to Raul?" the smoky being asked. Raul scolded his pact-partner.

"Shut up, shit-cloud."

"Come now, Raul...I have to pass the time while you slog up these stairs! So what do you say, stranger?"

Daniel refused to meet the devil's eyes as he responded.

"That's absolutely none of my business."

"Oh but it can be! Now-"

Raul cut off Tar.

"You heard him. Not another word."

The group reached the second floor. Tar flew up to the ceiling and looked at Daniel upside-down as Raul walked past. It floated behind Daniel, and Tar's two heads each took up one of Daniel's ears and whispered.

"To seal a pact, a human must have foul emotions associated with what a chosen devil symbolizes...and they must indulge in that symbol to draw us out."

"I know more than I want to about pacts, leave me alone!" Daniel shouted. Raul turned around with fury in his eyes, yet Tar continued.

"Then you must know what Raul hates. He has to keep it lit to keep me present, after all."

"Tar'Kahl, shut the fuck up right now!" Raul screamed. Heng ran up to his side and yelled.

"Don't let him bait you! Just seal his ass!" Raul brushed him aside and took a couple steps down. His sword shook in his clenched fist. Tar rose to the ceiling and spoke again.

"So small, those little vice sticks - yet they took Raul's aunt. And his father. Even his precious older sister, the poor thing!" Tar's last sentence was in an especially mocking tone. Anne shouted at her sergeant.

"Don't use his full name Raul! Listen to Heng! Put out your cigarette! Raul!" The plea fell on deaf ears.

"Tar'Kahl'Choth, you cannot speak." Raul announced.

The devil flailed its hands against its heads at the command. Heng and Anne slumped against the stairs and stared at their superior. Daniel watched what came next open-mouthed.

"Tar'Kahl'Choth, kneel to me."

Tar flew to Raul's feet and bent its billowy body into the staircase.

"I'm finished with your shit. You've got one more chance not to heckle me in the middle of a fucking mission. Blow that off, and our pact is done. I will have you locked in a tight, cold place where you will be forgotten. Now, Tar'Kahl'Choth, get up and don't speak until I let you."

Tar did as ordered and dejectedly floated ahead of the group. Anne passed Daniel and she and Heng looked over their shoulders at the research assistant. Their posture sunk as they marched forward. Daniel hesitated before following them. The group reached the third floor without another word. Daniel crushed his nostrils as the stench of death hit him. Bodily fluids and torn clothing were plastered to the floor and walls. Shattered glass split further under the group's footsteps. At the hallway's end lights flickered bare inches above something that was firmly lodged in the corridor. Heng flicked a switch attached to his helmet and a beam of light revealed the object for the violet-hued devil it was. Daniel audibly swallowed.

"The one I saw wasn't that huge! What...what the hell happened?"

Raul walked towards it, his expression cold again. The group slowly followed and all stopped once they stood within thirty feet of the creature. Besides numerous corroding bodies, a trio of yellow orbs sluggishly spun through the violet mass. Raul pointed at them.

"See those, Daniel? There were multiple gels when you ran out of here - but they've been one all along. Had a captain who managed to capture one of these - Anne and Heng, draw pistols. Aim for the balls - fire at will once you've got a bead on one."

The two did as ordered. Raul joined them in trying to shoot the spinning orbs. The yellow balls accelerated within the ooze after the first rounds struck and the squad struggled to keep aim. Dozens of bullets sunk and puttered through the mass as they continued to miss. Raul barked another order before Anne and Heng had to reload.

"Hold fire and holster!"

Raul waved a hand back as they complied. The group followed him in stepping another twenty feet back. Sections of the ooze made slushing noises as it ponderously pursued them.

"Ready grenades, and aim for center of mass when I give the order - hide somewhere if you want, Daniel."

The squad drew their explosives. Daniel looked between two rooms and scrambled into the one on his right. Raul shifted his weight to throw.

"Let fly!"

The trio pulled the safety pins off their grenades and pitched them right into the ooze. After five seconds, three dull booms went off within the devil. Purple gel splattered the walls but Raul grimaced when he saw how ineffective the bombardment was. The ooze began to re-form without the mass it had lost, and shrapnel floated harmlessly through it. Not a single orb had taken a hit. Daniel dashed out of cover next to Raul. The sergeant motioned for the group to step back more as he spoke.

"Just like what Captain Trejo dealt with. We're going to have to hack out those yellow balls. But first...knock him forward, Heng."

Daniel gave Raul a quizzical look. It shifted to a shocked stare as Heng shoulder-charged the research assistant from behind. Daniel struck the floor face-first and Raul stomped him down when he tried to rise. The sergeant dragged his sword across the back of Daniel's knees. His voice broke as he gave out a wordless cry.

"Sorry Daniel, but you heard Tar's full name - after I'm done with this thing, you're coming with us...if command thinks you're worth that." Raul said.

"What the fuck man?!" Daniel screeched as he tried to rise. His legs failed to function and he fell to his side clenching the hamstrung limbs. He shakily pulled out a slim phone, but Raul kicked it towards the ooze. Daniel screeched at the sergeant.

"I can't wait until corporate asks your superiors why my body is the only one missing! Did you think of that, dumbass?"

Raul looked over his shoulder at Daniel.

"You work for a company that fucks around with devils...the only thing they care about when shit like this goes down is that the public doesn't learn, Daniel."

The research assistant's eyes widened. Raul and his squad left him as he cried against the floor. The sergeant held the point of his sword before him as they closed on the ooze.

"Plow formation." He muttered. Tar followed behind his pact-partner. Heng stocked into the middle of the hall and raised his own devil before him like a shield. Anne and Bleht moved as one to the hall's left side.

"Advance!" The five moved in unison, Raul and Anne constantly swinging their blades horizontally while Heng swung his machete overhead. Tar and Bleht followed closely behind their pact partners. The ooze shot two blocks at the squad and the humans hacked the protrusions apart. It tried hitting Heng next, but his shield-devil curved its lower half upon impact, diverting the blow into Heng's machete-swings. Bleht condensed its jaw mass into hardened fangs and tore into the next volley the ooze launched towards Anne. Tar wrapped around another block, suffocating it as it went for Raul's feet. It fell to the floor in dry husks. A blubbering noise emanated from the ooze and the orbs within retreated deeper as more and more of it was splattered about the floor and walls. The corroded bodies it had been feeding upon smacked the ground as they fell out. The unbound devil frantically continued to pummel the squad, but their combined assault forced it into the very back of the hall. The translucent being lashed out a fourth, then a fifth block of gel. Raul was forced to spring to the wall as a block tried to sweep out his legs again. It split in half after missing and he and Tar failed to deflect both tendrils. The one Raul missed struck him just above the hip, knocking the air out of him. Tar tried to take up Raul's slack, but it began to dissipate as Raul couldn't keep his cigarette lit. A block curved past the fading devil and into Heng's side, knocking him down. He rolled to his back and braced his own devil above him, but both were barely able to keep the blocks of gel at bay. Another block shot towards Raul, and the sergeant was forced to drop his sword as he sloppily rolled backwards. Tar waived all six hands at Raul in a pleading manner. The sergeant raised a finger before he finally regained his breath. Anne and Bleht had fallen back to protect Heng. Raul lit a new cigarette before shouting.

"Anne, I'm going to drag Heng out of there, cover me!"

She didn't regard the order, but her axe-swings sped up. Raul sprinted at Heng. He dropped into a slide as another block tried to pummel him and Tar came to his rescue as the same one doubled-back. Raul grabbed Heng by a shoulder pad and backpedaled his squad-mate out of harm's way. Anne and Bleht slowly retreated too, but a pair of blocks knocked the woman to her knees.

"Anne!"

Heng grabbed Raul by his calf and shouted.

"I can't fucking stand - take Skalth, sir!"

Raul nodded. Heng's pact-partner gave out a dry hiss as Raul took the devil up. He retrieved his sword before charging the ooze and swiping his blade in a vicious uppercut. Skalth deflected a couple blocks the ooze launched and Raul hacked another back. Tar flanked the unbound devil's blows as needed, and Anne managed to get to her feet. As the squad gained the upper hand, the ooze began to pulse. A single orb shifted towards Raul. The ooze split itself, and the smaller half attacked Raul with a dozen rapid-fire blocks. He was forced into a wall as the frenzied ooze kept him, Skalth and even Tar on the defensive. Raul took glances at Anne and Bleht. The thin woman's pact partner was subdued by the enemy ooze as it split Bleht's head, forcing the maroon devil to crawl backwards and re-form its translucent skull. The unbound devil smashed three thin blocks against Anne's left arm as her axe grazed one of the two orbs within. She screamed as it bellowed. Its next blow knocked her to the floor by Bleht. Raul shouted after stabbing the ooze before him.

"Anne, fuse with Bleht!" Heng gave Raul a worried stare through his cracked visor.

"Don't make her do it!" he shouted. Raul's attention was back to the smaller ooze thrashing him. Heng stared at Anne as she reached towards Bleht.

"Just bail sarge out so we can regroup! Anne!"

"There's nothing else, Heng...Bleht...let us be one!" she cried out. Her hand made contact and the maroon ooze immediately shot itself across her armor. Anne rose covered head-to-toe with Bleht's dispersed mass. Its fangs protruded from her helmet as she roared in a voice not entirely her own. She threw herself at the enemy ooze, her broken left arm flailing behind her. Multiple blocks of gel pummeled Anne but did little to slow the possessed woman. She swung her axe in vicious arcs that put her two-handed strikes from earlier to shame. The ooze blubbered out as she continued to paint the ceiling with its gel. It shattered her right leg with wild blows, but the demolished limb held still as Bleht condensed its mass around the region. With an overhead blow Anne firmly struck one of the orbs. It crashed to the bottom of the ooze, its golden radiance fading as it sank further. Half of the large ooze's gel began to bubble and sink to the floor. Thin blocks of gel shot from the weakened ooze and wrapped around Anne's good arm. Her axe-swings stifled, Anne head-butted the ooze. Bleht's extruded fangs bit into the remaining orb and it unleashed an unearthly wail. Its remaining gel splattered the floor. The other ooze shifted towards its fallen half and Raul grunted as he stabbed the distracted devil. His sword sunk into the final orb, blanketing the hallway with golden light. As Raul panted, the three cracked orbs rolled towards one another and made a sharp, grating noise as they crumpled into a single ball. Anne shambled towards the dimly-glowing object. Raul shouted at her.

"Anne, split from Bleht."

She raised her axe. Raul's eyes narrowed.

"Damnit - Bleht'Byar, release Anne!"

Bleht gave out a blubbering wail as it sloughed off of Anne. By the time the devil had slipped past her ribcage, Anne was shaking the rest of him off.

"Thanks, sir. Permission to scold my pact partner?"

"Granted. I'll be right back."

Raul stalked back down the hallway and grinned as he heard Bleht wail again when Anne screamed its full name. Tar came up to his side and pointed towards its heads.

"No, you still don't get to talk. But if you scour the facility for any survivors - or any more devils - I may change my mind."

Tar whisked away through another air vent. Raul found Daniel where he had left him and gave out a whistle at his now-paler skin. Daniel's eyes wearily shifted towards Raul as the sergeant pressed the device in his ear.

"Command this is sergeant Moreno-Santos. We have subdued the unbound devils - or devil, I should say. Turned out to be split-capable. My squad has sustained injuries, but nothing life-threatening. No more survivors have been found. Over."

Daniel could hear the man who responded this time.

"Good work, Raul. What's the status of the survivor you found? Over."

"He had the misfortune of hearing my pact-partner's name, sir. I was...forced to cripple his legs until the devil was dealt with. Over."

"That's the fourth time you and your pact-partner have slipped up. Have you taken measures to ensure it does not happen again?"

"Yes, sir. Over."

"Stop saying over Raul, you're com's crystal-clear. What's the status of the devil?"

"We cracked all three of its orbs, but they fused just fine...but it's out of gel."

"You need to act. Fast. Is the survivor you found in stable condition?"

"Yes, sir. I'll bring him before the devil."

"I always appreciate not having to spell things out for you, Raul. Sending Evac your way now. Over and out."

"Thanks, sir. Over and out."

Raul bent down and grabbed Daniel by the wrists. He started to drag the research assistant down the hallway.

"What are you going to do to me?" Daniel asked in barely more than a whisper.

"You get to live, at least for now...but it won't be pleasant."

"D-don't dodge my question!"

Raul stayed silent.

"I'm talking to you, asshole! Hey! Hey!" Daniel tried to break free, but was soon wheezing and even paler than before. His hands smacked the floor as Raul dropped them to retrieve the damaged orb. He knelt and held it next to Daniel's chest. The research assistant stared at the sergeant like a netted animal. Raul spoke.

"You said you know more than you want to about pacts, Daniel...well, you're about to learn even more."