Categories > Original > Horror > The Quiet Ones
-All alone in the middle of nowhere, a large hulking demon lumbered around. Its wrinkled black skin blended in with the terrain of the Dark Territory, but its glowing red eyes gave it away. It walked around on all fours, lowering its head to sniff the ground. It grunted at the smell of humans, but it couldn't tell what direction they had gone in.
-The sound of gravel shifting made the beast lift its head and scan its surroundings. Its beady eyes narrowed with suspicion, but it could detect no movement. It noticed a small mound a short distance away and moved toward it cautiously. It placed its front right claw in the mound and leaned over it, its lower jaw split into three parts; the sides separated from the middle and each section was covered with pointy teeth, but there was nothing on the other side of the mound.
-Discouraged, the beast turned to move along when two figures burst out of the ground a few feet in front of it. The two bulky men aimed their large rifles at the monster and fired one shot each before the beast could react. A fist sized hole appeared in the side of the beast's stomach, and a large chunk of its shoulder was also blown off.
-The demon screamed out in pain and stumbled backward. Black blood gushed from its wounds, and its organs fell out of the hole in its gut. Despite the injuries, the beast steadied itself and lunged at the men.
-The two human attackers pointed their weapons at the beast and charged forward. Their rifles had long, curved bayonets on the bottom of the guns, and the men stabbed them into the sides of the demon, pushing it pack and pinning it against the very mound it had been investigating. The beast roared in anger and fought against them, but the two human men held it in place. The muscular humans cringed at the beast; they wanted to kill it, but their commander had other plans.
-The soldiers shifted to the side and made room for their leader as he walked up to them. The man stepped up to the beast as it snarled and spit onto the visor of his helmet. The man reached out and placed a hand on the demon's chest and it tried to bite his hand, but as it opened its mouth and its jaw split open, the thing threw its head back in pain.
-The creature's body began to change; its wounds healed and its bone structure changed into that of a humanoid. Its front claws turned into hands, its hind legs shifted so it could stand upright and its head took on a more human appearance as well. A suite of armor appeared on the beast, not as reinforced as the humans' but still effective.
-The man lowered his hand and the creature went limp for a moment. It raised its head and looked at the men; the two soldiers removed their bayonets from the monster's sides, and the wounds healed on their own. The demon took a step forward, looked at the man with the helmet and saluted him.
-Jason removed his helmet and looked over his newest recruit with a satisfied grin. He tossed the transformed demon a weapon of its own and began walking away. He pointed two fingers at the spot the demon had been sniffing around, and one of the soldiers walked over to the spot and dug up a small metallic ball. The device gave of a strong human scent and worked perfectly as bait for roaming demons.
-The newly drafted demon walked away to join the rest of its transformed brethren back at the human stronghold. The human soldiers followed after Jason, guns in hand, and headed for their next skirmish. Their weapons made short work of the demons, so short in fact that they were actually becoming bored.
-Jason led the two bulky soldiers back to their unit. He still preferred using a sword, but he did have an automatic pistol on his hip. It, like all the weapons he had distributed to his men, had an unlimited amount of explosive bullets that proved very effective against demons.
-Jason and his men marched to the base of a small cliff where the rest of their unit was waiting. Jason raised a hand, disarming the alarm of the dozen bulky soldiers that had readied their weapons at the sound of someone approaching. The men recognized their commander and lowered their guns.
-All of the men looked like they had been raised on steroids. Every muscle in their bodies was enlarged and strengthened to superhuman levels. Jason had made sure that he hadn't changed their minds or personalities, but simply having power had done that on its own. The men were aggressive, confrontational and bloodthirsty. They had spent their whole lives living in fear of the demons, and now they had been given a chance to strike back.
-The men stood at attention and saluted Jason. He gave a half hearted response, and the men relaxed. They patted their comrades on the backs and the men carried on as Jason found himself a comfy spot to sit down and wait for Sarah. She was on patrol with a squad of her own and would be back soon.
-Jason watched as his custom made soldiers talked and tended to their weapons. They all resembled their original human forms, but now they were able to go head to head with demons even without their weapons. All of the men were alerted to something at once and readied their weapons. They took defensive positions and prepared for an attack, but when they spotted a fellow soldier running over to them, they relaxed and lowered their rifles.
-Jason got up, concerned by the urgency that was evident on the female soldier's face. Jason recognized her as Jenna, the only woman that had volunteered to be made into a soldier. She had short cut red hair and wasn't quite as muscular as the men, but she still looked like a body builder thanks to Jason's efforts. She ran up to him and gave a salute. Jason nodded in acknowledgment, giving her permission to speak.
-"Sir," Julia said, "Sarah and the others have located a large contingent of demons. She requests reinforcements."
-"You heard her men," Jason said in a loud voice, "move out!"
-The fourteen soldiers grabbed their weapons and took off at a jog with Julia in the lead. Jason took up the rear as they all ran across the tainted earth until Julia led them to the edge of a valley. All of the soldiers stopped at the edge and stared at something that Jason could not see until he got closer. Down in the valley, Sarah's squad was being overrun.
-She had backed her team up against the base of a large cliff so they could only be attacked from one direction, but there were so many demons barring down on their position that it didn't matter. Jason could see at least fifty of the deformed beasts scrambling over each other to get to their human victims. For every creature that fell, several more stepped over its fresh corpse to take its place.
-"Double-time it!" Jason ordered. His men made their way down the cliff so fast that they were practically falling. They all sprinted in the direction of the battle with their weapons raised and ready, Jason included. The moment they got in range, the lead soldiers opened fire. Their shots hit their marks, and five demons cried out in pain as their bodies blew apart. Several of the creatures' companions took notice of Jason's group and roared in outrage, getting the attention of even more of the monsters.
-Jason drew his sword and rushed past his men as they fired short bursts at the oncoming horde. Any demons that the bullets missed, Jason swiftly cut down. With the demons flanked and taking fire from both sides, they didn't stand a chance. The beasts couldn't decide which group to attack, and those that did head for one side were quickly mowed down.
-Most of the demons went for Jason since he was the closest target and the only one not using a gun. The horrid creatures screamed, hissed and growled as they tried to overwhelm him, but using his powers to enhance so many humans had greatly improved Jason's abilities.
-He cut the beasts apart as though they were nothing. Finally only a hand full remained. Jason cut down one more, and the four remaining demons finally thought better of it and tried to run away. Jason took hold of his side arm and took all four of them down with one shot each.
-Jason holstered his sidearm and allowed himself a cocky grin. Sarah and her troops came out of their defended position and met with him in the sea of dead and dying demons. Sarah was covered in blood and demon parts, still wearing the medieval armor that Jason had made for her when they had first arrived in Europe. She sheathed her sword and smiled at him.
-"My knight in shining armor," she said. Jason shot her a smirk and shook his head; he still didn't understand why she refused to use a gun. When he had asked her she had simply said "Guns aren't as fun." But despite her choice of weapon, she still managed to hold her own with a blade almost as well as he could.
-"Any casualties?" Jason asked looking over her men and seeing that there were less than there should have been.
-"Yes," Sarah answered without remorse, "two men down, Ramirez and Jenkins were killed in the fight." Sarah delivered the bad news without loosing her friendly smile. Jason had seen it before; death just didn't seem to bother Sarah at all. She didn't seem to feel fear, or sadness despite how bleak things could be. Jason guessed that that part of her mind had simply blown a fuse. He had heard about people like her before, people that see so much death and destruction that it just doesn't faze them anymore. Every time he saw her, she always had a friendly smile no matter what was going on.
-"Police the bodies," Jason said to his men, breaking his gaze from Sarah. His soldiers shifted through the demon corpses. The dead were cut up and would later be turned into food, while the wounded demons were drafted by Jason. Nearly an hour later, five new demon soldiers helped Jason and his men carry a feast back to the human stronghold, which was fast becoming a real city.
-They all marched across the diminishing Dark Territory until they came to the stronghold. The human safe haven was surrounded by a circular wall fifteen feet tall that defended the occupants from demon attack. The only way in or out of the city were large gates at the front entrance. Even the ground surrounding the well defended fortress was returning to normal thanks to Jason. He had used his powers to purify the ground and drive off the taint left behind by Jeffery and his minions.
-The large gates opened, and the humans all cheered for their defenders as they came home with food. Women greeted the soldiers with kisses and hugs; men thanked and praised them and the soldiers smiled back and enjoyed every minute of it. For all of them, it was the first time they had been given a reason to celebrate for most of their lives.
-Several hours later, the sun went down and the party began. Jason purified the meat of the demons to make it safe for human consumption, and several new volunteers approached him, inspired by the undeniable victory of the soldiers. Jason happily recruited them and sent them on their way, but he knew that they day had also been a learning experience. Ramirez and Jenkins had been killed; his soldiers were not invincible. Still, had hadn't been a bad first day for his boys.
-Jason continued to endure the praise of his new people for several more hours before retiring to his tent. It had been a long day, and he was tired. He saw that Sarah enter her own tent which meant she wouldn't be keeping him company, but that suited him just fine. He hoped that it was her small way of grieving for their fallen comrades.
-Jason sat down on his cot, placed his weapons down on the ground, and got ready to go to sleep. He was about to lay down, when he heard something. It started very small, like the voices of people talking just outside his tent, but when the voices became louder, Jason knew that that wasn't the case. Jason recognized what was happening; the voices from the darkness were back.
-Jason had endured them a few times before, but this was worse. The voices grew louder and louder until Jason's head hurt. There were so many voices, so much noise inside Jason's mind that it was deafening. He clasped his hands over his ears in a futile attempt to block them out, but the voices would not be silenced. Jason dropped to his knees as the pain wracked his body, he tried to scream but all he could hear were the voices whispering so loudly in his mind that it was driving him mad. Just before he passed out on the floor, Jason realized that Jeffery must be behind the voices. He had found a way to attack Jason, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
-The sound of gravel shifting made the beast lift its head and scan its surroundings. Its beady eyes narrowed with suspicion, but it could detect no movement. It noticed a small mound a short distance away and moved toward it cautiously. It placed its front right claw in the mound and leaned over it, its lower jaw split into three parts; the sides separated from the middle and each section was covered with pointy teeth, but there was nothing on the other side of the mound.
-Discouraged, the beast turned to move along when two figures burst out of the ground a few feet in front of it. The two bulky men aimed their large rifles at the monster and fired one shot each before the beast could react. A fist sized hole appeared in the side of the beast's stomach, and a large chunk of its shoulder was also blown off.
-The demon screamed out in pain and stumbled backward. Black blood gushed from its wounds, and its organs fell out of the hole in its gut. Despite the injuries, the beast steadied itself and lunged at the men.
-The two human attackers pointed their weapons at the beast and charged forward. Their rifles had long, curved bayonets on the bottom of the guns, and the men stabbed them into the sides of the demon, pushing it pack and pinning it against the very mound it had been investigating. The beast roared in anger and fought against them, but the two human men held it in place. The muscular humans cringed at the beast; they wanted to kill it, but their commander had other plans.
-The soldiers shifted to the side and made room for their leader as he walked up to them. The man stepped up to the beast as it snarled and spit onto the visor of his helmet. The man reached out and placed a hand on the demon's chest and it tried to bite his hand, but as it opened its mouth and its jaw split open, the thing threw its head back in pain.
-The creature's body began to change; its wounds healed and its bone structure changed into that of a humanoid. Its front claws turned into hands, its hind legs shifted so it could stand upright and its head took on a more human appearance as well. A suite of armor appeared on the beast, not as reinforced as the humans' but still effective.
-The man lowered his hand and the creature went limp for a moment. It raised its head and looked at the men; the two soldiers removed their bayonets from the monster's sides, and the wounds healed on their own. The demon took a step forward, looked at the man with the helmet and saluted him.
-Jason removed his helmet and looked over his newest recruit with a satisfied grin. He tossed the transformed demon a weapon of its own and began walking away. He pointed two fingers at the spot the demon had been sniffing around, and one of the soldiers walked over to the spot and dug up a small metallic ball. The device gave of a strong human scent and worked perfectly as bait for roaming demons.
-The newly drafted demon walked away to join the rest of its transformed brethren back at the human stronghold. The human soldiers followed after Jason, guns in hand, and headed for their next skirmish. Their weapons made short work of the demons, so short in fact that they were actually becoming bored.
-Jason led the two bulky soldiers back to their unit. He still preferred using a sword, but he did have an automatic pistol on his hip. It, like all the weapons he had distributed to his men, had an unlimited amount of explosive bullets that proved very effective against demons.
-Jason and his men marched to the base of a small cliff where the rest of their unit was waiting. Jason raised a hand, disarming the alarm of the dozen bulky soldiers that had readied their weapons at the sound of someone approaching. The men recognized their commander and lowered their guns.
-All of the men looked like they had been raised on steroids. Every muscle in their bodies was enlarged and strengthened to superhuman levels. Jason had made sure that he hadn't changed their minds or personalities, but simply having power had done that on its own. The men were aggressive, confrontational and bloodthirsty. They had spent their whole lives living in fear of the demons, and now they had been given a chance to strike back.
-The men stood at attention and saluted Jason. He gave a half hearted response, and the men relaxed. They patted their comrades on the backs and the men carried on as Jason found himself a comfy spot to sit down and wait for Sarah. She was on patrol with a squad of her own and would be back soon.
-Jason watched as his custom made soldiers talked and tended to their weapons. They all resembled their original human forms, but now they were able to go head to head with demons even without their weapons. All of the men were alerted to something at once and readied their weapons. They took defensive positions and prepared for an attack, but when they spotted a fellow soldier running over to them, they relaxed and lowered their rifles.
-Jason got up, concerned by the urgency that was evident on the female soldier's face. Jason recognized her as Jenna, the only woman that had volunteered to be made into a soldier. She had short cut red hair and wasn't quite as muscular as the men, but she still looked like a body builder thanks to Jason's efforts. She ran up to him and gave a salute. Jason nodded in acknowledgment, giving her permission to speak.
-"Sir," Julia said, "Sarah and the others have located a large contingent of demons. She requests reinforcements."
-"You heard her men," Jason said in a loud voice, "move out!"
-The fourteen soldiers grabbed their weapons and took off at a jog with Julia in the lead. Jason took up the rear as they all ran across the tainted earth until Julia led them to the edge of a valley. All of the soldiers stopped at the edge and stared at something that Jason could not see until he got closer. Down in the valley, Sarah's squad was being overrun.
-She had backed her team up against the base of a large cliff so they could only be attacked from one direction, but there were so many demons barring down on their position that it didn't matter. Jason could see at least fifty of the deformed beasts scrambling over each other to get to their human victims. For every creature that fell, several more stepped over its fresh corpse to take its place.
-"Double-time it!" Jason ordered. His men made their way down the cliff so fast that they were practically falling. They all sprinted in the direction of the battle with their weapons raised and ready, Jason included. The moment they got in range, the lead soldiers opened fire. Their shots hit their marks, and five demons cried out in pain as their bodies blew apart. Several of the creatures' companions took notice of Jason's group and roared in outrage, getting the attention of even more of the monsters.
-Jason drew his sword and rushed past his men as they fired short bursts at the oncoming horde. Any demons that the bullets missed, Jason swiftly cut down. With the demons flanked and taking fire from both sides, they didn't stand a chance. The beasts couldn't decide which group to attack, and those that did head for one side were quickly mowed down.
-Most of the demons went for Jason since he was the closest target and the only one not using a gun. The horrid creatures screamed, hissed and growled as they tried to overwhelm him, but using his powers to enhance so many humans had greatly improved Jason's abilities.
-He cut the beasts apart as though they were nothing. Finally only a hand full remained. Jason cut down one more, and the four remaining demons finally thought better of it and tried to run away. Jason took hold of his side arm and took all four of them down with one shot each.
-Jason holstered his sidearm and allowed himself a cocky grin. Sarah and her troops came out of their defended position and met with him in the sea of dead and dying demons. Sarah was covered in blood and demon parts, still wearing the medieval armor that Jason had made for her when they had first arrived in Europe. She sheathed her sword and smiled at him.
-"My knight in shining armor," she said. Jason shot her a smirk and shook his head; he still didn't understand why she refused to use a gun. When he had asked her she had simply said "Guns aren't as fun." But despite her choice of weapon, she still managed to hold her own with a blade almost as well as he could.
-"Any casualties?" Jason asked looking over her men and seeing that there were less than there should have been.
-"Yes," Sarah answered without remorse, "two men down, Ramirez and Jenkins were killed in the fight." Sarah delivered the bad news without loosing her friendly smile. Jason had seen it before; death just didn't seem to bother Sarah at all. She didn't seem to feel fear, or sadness despite how bleak things could be. Jason guessed that that part of her mind had simply blown a fuse. He had heard about people like her before, people that see so much death and destruction that it just doesn't faze them anymore. Every time he saw her, she always had a friendly smile no matter what was going on.
-"Police the bodies," Jason said to his men, breaking his gaze from Sarah. His soldiers shifted through the demon corpses. The dead were cut up and would later be turned into food, while the wounded demons were drafted by Jason. Nearly an hour later, five new demon soldiers helped Jason and his men carry a feast back to the human stronghold, which was fast becoming a real city.
-They all marched across the diminishing Dark Territory until they came to the stronghold. The human safe haven was surrounded by a circular wall fifteen feet tall that defended the occupants from demon attack. The only way in or out of the city were large gates at the front entrance. Even the ground surrounding the well defended fortress was returning to normal thanks to Jason. He had used his powers to purify the ground and drive off the taint left behind by Jeffery and his minions.
-The large gates opened, and the humans all cheered for their defenders as they came home with food. Women greeted the soldiers with kisses and hugs; men thanked and praised them and the soldiers smiled back and enjoyed every minute of it. For all of them, it was the first time they had been given a reason to celebrate for most of their lives.
-Several hours later, the sun went down and the party began. Jason purified the meat of the demons to make it safe for human consumption, and several new volunteers approached him, inspired by the undeniable victory of the soldiers. Jason happily recruited them and sent them on their way, but he knew that they day had also been a learning experience. Ramirez and Jenkins had been killed; his soldiers were not invincible. Still, had hadn't been a bad first day for his boys.
-Jason continued to endure the praise of his new people for several more hours before retiring to his tent. It had been a long day, and he was tired. He saw that Sarah enter her own tent which meant she wouldn't be keeping him company, but that suited him just fine. He hoped that it was her small way of grieving for their fallen comrades.
-Jason sat down on his cot, placed his weapons down on the ground, and got ready to go to sleep. He was about to lay down, when he heard something. It started very small, like the voices of people talking just outside his tent, but when the voices became louder, Jason knew that that wasn't the case. Jason recognized what was happening; the voices from the darkness were back.
-Jason had endured them a few times before, but this was worse. The voices grew louder and louder until Jason's head hurt. There were so many voices, so much noise inside Jason's mind that it was deafening. He clasped his hands over his ears in a futile attempt to block them out, but the voices would not be silenced. Jason dropped to his knees as the pain wracked his body, he tried to scream but all he could hear were the voices whispering so loudly in his mind that it was driving him mad. Just before he passed out on the floor, Jason realized that Jeffery must be behind the voices. He had found a way to attack Jason, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
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