FicWad

-Jason sat on a rock while sharpening his sword. He had carved the weapon from the jaw bone of a giant demon beast he had killed. Although it was made from bone it still cut like steel and was exceptionally tough. Nearly all of Jason's weapons were made out of demon bones. He had knives, spears and even axes which he handed out to his followers.

-All around him his people went about their business preparing for battle in their little war camp. They sharpened their weapons, set up their makeshift tents and prepared the food. Jason looked over them and felt inspired to try even harder for them.

-He remembered how overjoyed he had been to find other humans. That joy had been shattered when he realized how broken down and feeble they had become. Every human he found was the same, living in holes, scavenging whatever food they could find and afraid of their own shadows.

-Through all their stories Jason had learned the history of the world's present state. Despite what he had first thought, he was on earth. Several years ago a human who was now the demon king somehow tapped into hell and brought forth demons to plague the world. The attack had been launched in Jason's home country but had quickly spread to the rest of the world.

-Now the whole planet was covered by what everyone referred to as the dark territory. It was a terrible place where unspeakable horrors stalked defenseless humans to devour them and hope had long since been forgotten. Civilization no longer existed in any conventional form. Humans lived in small clans of five to ten but rarely more than that.

-Jason's group numbered over forty and more joined them every day. They seemed drawn to Jason, either inspired by him or wanting to be protected by him but they came just the same. Jason had shown them someone who would stand up to the monsters. He had fought and killed the demons, sometimes with his bare hands. He used the beasts' meat to feed and arm his people and in time he would challenge the master of the monsters and put the world back to the way it should be. But first he had to find the dark castle.

-Two men ran up to Jason and caught their breath. They wore black camo blankets that were designed to blend in with the dark territory which meant they were scouts. Jason stood up with concern on his face, he always sent his scouts out in groups of three. One of them was missing and the fact that the other two were holding an extra camo blanket wasn't a good sign.

-"Where's Sharice?" Jason asked.

-"Dead, if she's lucky," the man holding the camo blanket said as he offered it to his commander. Jason took the blanket and mourned the loss of one of his people. He dismissed the two men and they went about their business. Jason looked down at the camo blanket that he held in his hand. It wasn't the first person who had died for him, and it wouldn't be the last.

-His attention was diverted when his people began crying out in a panic. It didn't take Jason long to discover the cause. He looked up and spotted two figures with wings flying overhead. Jason raised a hand up to the sky and concentrated on not being seen. He focused on wanting all of his people and the camp to go unnoticed with all of his will. As before the demons went on their way.

-Jason's charges let out sighs of relief but he wasn't satisfied. He had seen patrols of the gargoyle creatures and the occasional wanderer but never just two of them flying together. And there was something about their silhouettes that didn't look right to him. As they flew away Jason watched them and tried to focus. He wanted to get a better look at them and he got his wish, much to his surprise.

-His vision zoomed in on the two creatures. For a moment Jason thought he was flying towards them but the lack of momentum on his part made his stomach queasy. He pushed the nausea out of his mind and looked at the two creatures flying toward the dark castle. Jason had thought it strange that two demons were flying alone. He thought it even stranger that they were both women.

-One of them had tanned skin with black leathery wings like the gargoyle demons. Jason could see a sword hanging from her hip and a black leather jacket and pants covering her body. Her companion was the complete opposite. The woman almost looked like an angel. She had white feathery wings and golden hair with a circlet around her forehead. Her clothes looked like white robes and she carried what looked like a spear.

-Jason's vision pulled back to normal and after a slight dizzy spell he saw the two female creatures continue on their way. He had heard that the dark lord surrounded himself with demon women that were as beautiful as they were cruel. Jason had thought they were nothing more than stories but it seemed that now he had seen them for himself.

-Jason had killed every monster that had challenged him but he wasn't as confident about taking on demons that looked like humans. Truth be told he would much rather have the lovely ladies on his side. He smiled to himself at the thought of wooing them away from the dark lord. He would save the world, kill the bad guy and get the girls.

-"Everybody pack it up," Jason said, "we're going after them." Jason hopped off of his rock and began moving in the direction the demons had gone in. His people quickly broke camp and followed after their hero. The heavily armed men formed the outside of the little caravan and the women and children stayed in the middle.

-The group moved through the dark territory as quietly as they could. Jason felt confident that he could take on any demon that attacked them but if he spent the whole time fending off attacks it would take forever to reach his goal. He wasn't exactly sure where the dark castle was but thanks to the two female demons, he now had a clue.

-After hours of marching, the small band reached a large body of water. Jason could see the far side but there didn't seem to be any way around it. The shore was covered with large bowl shaped objects about ten feet in diameter. They were black and green and resembled stone but there was an organic quality to them that puzzled Jason.

-"The dark castle must be on the other side," Jason said to himself, "no wonder I haven't been able to find anyone who knows where it is. The damn thing is on the other side of a fucking river."

-"But if that's the case, how do the demons get over on our side?" One of the men asked. Jason turned around to look at the man. It was a good question. Jason turned back to the water and nodded. Man had a point, there had to be a way across.

-Jason was about to have his men scout the shore when a huge dome shaped island rose out of the water several feet from the shoreline. It was about a square mile around and covered with green algae. Jason moved along the shore to see behind the land mass and saw dozens more all lined up and leading to the other side of the water.

-"Well that answers that question," Jason said. There was the beginning of a stone bridge extending from the shore that connected to the closest mound. Jason and his followers began to use the crossing to make their way across the river. When Jason set foot on the island he realized that under the slimy green plant matter it was as solid as stone.

-"Get off of there," a girl cried, "demons are coming across!"

-Jason turned to see who had spoken. There was a small figure standing on a hill facing his people. Jason turned back, his eyes focused along the bridge and sure enough he spotted a large group of high level demons heading their way.

-Jason knew that he could take on the demons but it would result in the deaths of several of his people. No good leader would take on a fight that would result in losses when he didn't have to. He turned around and quickly led his people over to the girl that had warned them.

-They huddled behind the small hill and Jason used his power to shield them from the demons' sight as they rushed by. There were dozens of them, all massive, fearsome and grotesque creatures. They rushed by in a stampede and then spread outward after getting off of the bridge. They all passed the humans without noticing them and once they had left the land bridge they had crossed receded back under the water.

-Jason made sure the creatures were gone and then double checked where the islands had once been. They were gone as if they had never been there. With a defeated sigh Jason turned his attention to the girl that had warned him. She was clearly not one of his but she had just saved him a great deal of trouble.

-She was a small girl in her early twenties covered in a dirty robe. She looked half starved but didn't seem to carry herself like a weak person. Despite her tiny stature she looked Jason in the eye with an inner strength that he liked right away. She didn't seem timid at all despite her conservative wardrobe.

-"Do you know how to make that bridge reappear?" Jason asked the girl.

-"No," she answered, "it only appears when demons cross; they seem to summon it somehow."

-Jason looked back at the water; he was discouraged but wasn't giving up. He grabbed one of the bowl shaped rocks and put it into the water. Much to his delight the thing stayed afloat. He looked to his people and they quickly followed his example. Each boat carried about ten people. Soon five boats were ready to make their way across the river. Jason turned to the girl that had saved them a great deal of trouble.

-"You're welcome to come with us," Jason said, "I'm Jason, the demon slayer. We go to put an end to this and kill the dark lord."

-The girl seemed to regard him with scrutiny for a moment, unsure what to make of him. She thought it over and then gave a bashful smile. She took Jason's hand and he helped her into his vessel.

-"What is your name?" Jason asked.

-"I'm Sarah," the girl said, "nice to meet you."

-The small landing party began to row their way across the water quietly. They paddled using their bone swords and even their hands. There were no gargoyles in the sky and no demons on the far shore that Jason could see. It seemed like they were in the clear. Then something bumped one of the boats.

-At first the people in the boat looked around but quickly calmed down, thinking that they had hit a rock or a floating log. That changed when something erupted out of the water right under the boat and lifted it into the air. Jason saw the massive head that held the boat in its jaws far above him. It bit down on the boat and it cracked as its occupants jumped into the water. Unfortunately not all of them made it off before the boat gave way and the creature bit it in half, devouring several people.

-Once the debris fell away Jason finally recognized the gigantic beast. He was staring at the head of a huge turtle. At least it resembled a turtle as much as any of the demon beasts resembled their original forms. The beast's large yellow eye twitched and looked right at Jason. He realized the monster could decimate his tiny fleet without much trouble. He was the only one who could deal with the threat.

-Jason grabbed his blade and leapt into the air for the monster. He reached an inhuman height and then dropped down on top of the beast's flat head. He plunged the blade down into its skull and the creature swung its head back in protest, sending Jason flying helplessly through the air.

-Jason saw the turtle monster's head fall lifelessly into the water before he hit it himself. He felt relieved that he had managed to kill the beast before it had eaten any more of his people but once he looked down he felt his heart jump into his throat.

-Far below him at the bottom of the river Jason saw dozens of the giant behemoths. The garage sized faces all stared up at him and at first Jason felt his blood run cold. He knew there was no way he could take on all of those horrible creatures and even if he could they would kill all of his people.

-Jason stared down at the beasts and realized that they all had their eyes closed, they were sleeping. Jason felt relieved, until one of the turtles woke up and looked at him. It opened and closed its mouth excitedly as it began swimming up towards Jason, eager for a meal and Jason finally understood the mystery of the water.

-The turtles lived under the river and came to the surface when the demons needed to cross. Their shells formed the islands that Jason had seen and even more than that, they provided the boats the humans had used. Like any turtle, the beasts must shed their shells in plates which washed up on shore. It was the perfect system, the turtles act as a bridge and set up ambushes for any humans hoping to cross.

-None of this knowledge provided Jason with a way to avoid the beast as it came up to meet him. Jason knew he couldn't out swim the creature and it was approaching fast. Before he could come up with a plan of action the animal opened its massive maw and engulfed him.

-Jason was consumed by darkness and pulled by a powerful current. He drove his sword upward in a desperate attempt to stop himself from being swallowed. The blade embedded itself into something and then there was daylight again as the monster opened its mouth. Jason could see that he had driven his sword up through the roof of the animal's mouth and into its brain.

-He dislodged his weapon and swam out of the turtle's mouth and towards the surface before another one of the guardians decided to try and eat him. Jason broke the surface and spotted the remaining vessels still afloat and rescuing the survivors of the destroyed boat. Sarah helped him out of the water and they all made it the rest of the way across the river.

-They landed on the beach and Jason had hardly gotten the humans off of the boats when he heard some of them start to scream. Jason turned to see what was the matter and saw his people pointing up at a large rock. Jason tightened his grip on his sword when he saw what was at the top of that rock. He saw a giant white wolf with a large woman on its back and both of them were glaring at him with murderous intent.