Categories > Original > Fantasy

Automaton 5 Ashton Philips

by HannahBobble 0 reviews

Ashton and Gerard are demon hunters. They've dealt with all kinds of big bad, but nothing prepared them for the wrath of a woman who has had a bad day.

Category: Fantasy - Rating: PG-13 - Genres: Fantasy,Sci-fi - Warnings: [V] - Published: 2012-01-27 - Updated: 2012-01-27 - 1641 words - Complete

0Unrated
Ashton Philips was silent. If the demon sensed him now it was all over. Gerard was across the alley inside a ring of salt, safe and undetectable. Ash had always been protective of his little brother, and his brother was just as protective of him. They spent half their time hunting demons and the other half trying to protect each other at any costs, which generally meant they ended up saving each other as neither of them wanted to lose the other. So it all worked out fine.

Ash watched as the demon stalked down the alley, no doubt trying to find him as he had just stuck an arrow in its hind quarters a minute ago.

The demon was a magnificent one. It was nearly seven feet tall, with hunched shoulders, long blue talons, and big blue eyes, large curled horns the colour of the night sky without stars and shining black scales, its long tail swinging along behind it, the tip lined with blue spikes.

Gerard looked across at him for the signal. Ash gave it to him.

His brother jumped out from inside his circle, wielding a large silver tipped wooden stake. The demon turned and hissed at him, its long purple pointed tongue flicking out like a snake.

“Good luck trying to escape; the alley is lined with pepper.” Gerard said, a wide grin forming on his handsome face.

“Ha!” The demon smiled back. “Good luck trying to kill me, mortal hunter.” It hissed.

Ash chose this time to jump out, his crossbow ready and aimed at the creature.

“You’re the fool who shot me!” It glared at Ash as he stepped forward.

“I will do it again, you can count on it.” He said. “These babies aren’t like the one I shot you with before. These are silver tipped, just like my brothers stake there.”

Gerard shook the stake and smiled again for effect. “Best case scenario, you will get silver poisoning, worst case, you die.” He said before he lunged for the creature.

The demon laughed as it swung around, its tail colliding with Gerard, sending him flying into the damp brick wall of the alley. Ash fired but the demon used its tail as a shield, flicking the arrow away before it could meet its target.

“Alright, we’ll do this the old fashioned way then.” He said as he drew his silver dagger. He lunged forward, slicing at the demons chest but the tip of its tail batted his hand away, almost causing him to drop the dagger. Readying his muscles, Ash lunged forward again, this time bringing the knife down on the demons tail.

The demon screeched and clawed at Ash but he had already stepped out of range. It cracked its tail on the cobblestones like a whip, its throat bubbling up. The demon was preparing its paralytic mucus.

Ash lunged forward again, narrowly missing a glob of blue mucus as it sailed past his head. The demons tail whipped towards him, slicing his cheek as it cracked on his shoulder, cutting through his jacket to expose his flesh. The demon licked its lips as it came closer. It was going to try and suck his blood.

Gerard had recovered and jumped on the demons back, looping his arms around its neck, squeezing tightly. The demon bucked and reared, its tail whipping around aimlessly and its hands clawing at his arms, leaving his jacket sleeves and the hidden stake shredded and drawing blood.

“Hurry it up Ash!” Gerard called. “I am going to catch diseases if it keeps clawing at me like this!”

Ash nodded and picked up the crossbow, aiming it at the monsters chest. He fired but once again its tail flicked it away before it could make contact with its chest.

“The crossbow isn’t going to work this time I am afraid, brother!” Ash said as he dropped the crossbow and picked up the knife again.

“Well, then the pistol, the pistol!” Gerard shouted back.

Right, Ash always forgot about the pistol. They didn’t work for much since the magic in the bullets tends to make the range incredibly short and it takes too much time to make more bullets.

He drew the pistol and aimed. It was impossible to get a good shot, the demon was moving too fast and every one and a half seconds, Gerard would be in the way.

“Blast!” Ash shouted angrily. “I can’t get a clear shot!”

“Oh, just shoot would you! If you get me, I am not a demon so I won’t bloody well care!” Gerard called back, his voice strained.

Ash frowned and pulled the trigger. He got the demon in the shoulder, missing Gerard’s arm by a centimetre. The demon stopped clawing at Gerard and began to claw at its shoulder, screaming as the bullet burned its flesh.

“Good job!” Gerard called as he fell to the cobblestone floor, cradling arms against his chest. “Now the bugger is angry!”

Ash hurried over to his brother, dodging the demons tail as it whipped around. “Well, as you know, angry demons are stupid demons.” He said as he helped his brother up.

Gerard pointed to the ring of salt. “Let’s ambush him from the salt rings. It can’t attack us both at the same time.”

“Good plan.” Ash said as he helped his brother into the salt circle and then proceeded at a run to his own.

The demon stopped clawing at itself and looked around angrily, its tongue flicking in and out of its mouth and its tail rattling like a rattle snake. It began to walk deeper into the alley, peering into dark corners looking for the brothers.

Ash looked over at his brother who nodded to confirm that he was ready. Ash gave the signal.

The two of them jumped out each wielding a weapon, Gerard had his silver tipped stake and Ash had his dagger. The demon turned as they leaped at it. Smiling wickedly, the demon flicked its tail, sending both of the men into the walls of the alley.

It began to laugh manically as it stepped closer to the men. “You two pipsqueaks thought that you could kill me?” Its laughter grew more horrendous as it drew closer to the brothers.

“Have you got a plan?” Ash asked Gerard as he slowly rose from the ground, blood trailing from his nose.

“I’m working on one, but right now it mostly involves not dying.” Gerard replied. He didn’t try to stand, his arms were swelling up and a yellow liquid was leaking from the wounds.

The demon stopped laughing when it got to them. “I will enjoy tearing the flesh from your bones.” It said with a cackle.

“I have had enough.” An unfamiliar voice came from behind the two brothers. They turned to see a girl, no older than eighteen perhaps, with dark red hair and pale skin. Her blue dress had dark stains covering it and her face had an expression of anger, sadness and hatred upon its features. A look someone as young as her should not have to wear.

The demon hissed at her. “This isn’t your fight girly; you should go home before I break your bones.”

The girl ignored its threats. “I am having the worst day of my existence.” She said stepping closer to the demon, her hands fisted at her sides. “And when I want quiet time alone, I mean quiet time alone, not time with a demon fighting two boys noisily.”

The demon took a step back. Was it scared of this girl or just as surprised as Ash?

The girl reached down and picked up the stake that Gerard had dropped and continued to walk towards the demon. “You are just the cherry on top of the horrid day I have had and this time I am going to do something about it.” She said.

The demon hissed and rattled its tail at her. She was close enough to touch it now.

“Little missy, are you aware of what I can do–” The demon was cut off as the girl backhanded it across the face.

Ash shared a look of astonishment with his brother. This girl just backhanded a demon. What kind of girl is she? No one has ever backhanded a demon; it is mostly a bullet, arrow or stake to the heart. No one ever bothered to hit one with the back of their hand.

“I have no quarrel with you.” The demon hissed as it backed away. “Just let me kill the hunters.”

“No, enough people have died today.” She said and threw the stake at the demons heart. The monster looked down at the stake in surprise as it embedded itself in its flesh.

Nothing happened.

The demon laughed. “Didn’t pierce my heart little girly.” It reached up to pull the stake out.

Before the demon could pull it out, the girl ran forward and threw her leg up in the air, smashing her bare foot onto the head of the stake, causing it to sink in an inch.

“No! What are you doing?!” The demon shrieked.

The girl pushed with her foot and the stake sank in another centimetre. The demon screamed, yellow blood pouring from its mouth and the wound. The girl pushed again and the stake drove straight through, falling to the cobblestones with a clatter. She stepped back, watching the demon as it fell to the ground, writhing and bucking.

She turned and walked out of the alley, yellow stains had joined the dark ones on her dress. The two brothers stared after her.

Ash looked back at the demon that was now disintegrating into nothingness. “That is one hell of a woman.”
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