FicWad

-Ross scanned the open area, his rifle aimed along his line of sight. Even in the pitch black of the rainy night, his night-vision goggles revealed everything to him. There were a few low-level demons scurrying around, but they were small fries. Ross and his men were after bigger prey.

-The five enhanced soldiers were held up in a cave under a small cliff. It was raining hard and cold as hell outside, but they didn't care. Their armor kept them warm enough, that and their anger. Jason had sent them out on a hunting mission, back when there had been twelve of them. Ross and his men had been ambushed by a large group of higher-level demons. They had been organized and vicious; Ross and the others had barely survived, but now they wanted revenge.

-They had chased the remaining demons to their current location, but nightfall had impeded their efforts. Ross and his men were tired, but they weren't giving up. Ross continued to scan the area as his men waited for his order. A flash of lightning forced Ross to close his eyes. He opened them again to find a demon's face right in front of him.

-Ross barely had time to register what he was seeing before the thing opened its wide mouth full of spiny teeth and lunged for at him. Ross raised his weapon just in time as the monster bit down on it. The creature tried to pull its prey out into the open, but Ross let go of his rifle to avoid that fate.

-His men were on their feet in half a heart beat, weapons ready. The creature disappeared back the way it came before they could fire a shot. It ran up the side of the cliff, and dropped Ross' rifle a few feet in front of the cave's entrance. It was clear that the demons knew where they were, and that they were trying to lure them outside to finish them off.

-"Orders?" one of the soldiers asked. Another lightning strike hurt Ross' eyes and revealed his features. The jagged scar that went down the right side of his face appeared only for a moment before the darkness reclaimed it. He lifted one of his goggles so that one eye could see in the dark, and the other would not be blinded by the lightning strikes or the weapons fire that was soon to come.

-"Kill them," Ross said angrily as he pulled out his side arm and eyed his riffle. He looked at his men and pointed to his unveiled eye. They all nodded followed his example. Ross readied himself; fighting with one eye seeing light and the other seeing dark was going to be an interesting experience.

-Ross shot out of the cave with his right hand reaching for his rifle. The moment he grabbed hold of it, he turned with his pistol pointed up above the cave entrance and shot the demon that was less than two feet away from him. The creature had moved for Ross the moment he had left the cave, just as Ross had thought it would.

-As the beast cried out and fell to the ground, Ross could see that the cliff was covered with its friends. Dozens of nightmarish creatures snarled down at Ross. There were far more than he had expected, but he didn't care. He lifted up his rifle and sidearm, pointed them both at the monsters, and opened fire as the beasts descended upon him.

-Ross managed to drop four of the beasts before they were on the ground and in front of the cave. Ross ran away from the cave, firing behind him to slow the monsters down as he moved. The creatures all came down and ran after him, ignoring the cave and the men inside of it.

-The four remaining soldiers came out of the cave; two of them aimed their weapons up at the cliff to make sure that there were no more creatures waiting for them. Seeing no threat, all four men spread out and opened fire on the creatures that now had their backs to them. Nearly a dozen of the dumb beasts screamed and fell with the first volley, but that got the attention of the rest of them.

-Ross turned around at the sound of gunfire and added some of his own. He held down the trigger on his riffle and killed every demon that his men missed. Within moments, the remaining demons were all laying in a pool of their own putrid blood. The creatures moaned and flopped around; slipping on their own spilled intestines.

-Ross shouldered his riffle and stepped over the dead beasts as he walked over to his men. As he walked thought the blood bath of body parts and organs, one of the demons quickly rose up and lunged at him. Ross dropped his rifle and grabbed hold of the demon's upper and lower jaws with both of his hands. The demon had no arms left, but its unnaturally large mouth was filled with sharp teeth that threatened to bite Ross' head off.

-The muscles in the large soldier's arms bulged as they struggled against the monster. Ross scowled at the disgusting beast as the stench from its breath wafted over him and invaded his nostrils. He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the monster, its teeth piercing his palms. In a burst of rage, Ross tore the demon's lower jaw off and struck it across the side of the beast's head. The monster fell to the ground and convulsed in death.

-Ross sighed and picked up his weapon as his men walk over to him. They put down any demons that were still alive and looked to their commander. They had avenged their comrades and made a large dent in the demon population. Ross looked at his men with satisfaction. "Let's go home."

-About an hour later, Ross and his men stood before the large gates of the human city. They heard the tower guards shouting to each other, and the gates opened for the weary soldiers. Ross' unit entered the city, and Ross dismissed his men as he went to report to Jason.

-Ross found the hero of the human race sitting at a campfire with Sarah and several other civilians. Ross recognized the old man named Jenkins sitting next to Jason. He looked as thin and frail as a toothpick, but his mind was sharp, and he always had good advice. He was one of Jason's top advisors, and he carried a lot of respect, even from the soldiers. Ross told Jason all that had happened, and Jason nodded and patted Ross on the shoulder. He ordered the soldier to go and get some rest, so Ross nodded and took his leave.

-Jason watched Ross leave and let out a depressed sigh; seven dead soldiers was the heaviest loss they had taken yet. Despite how many new recruits Jason was getting, it still wasn't enough. It had been two months now, and still his army only numbered just over two hundred strong, even with the demon soldiers. If he wanted to defeat Jeffery, he was going to have to do better.

-As Jason continued to mull over his strategy, Sarah stood up and stretched her arms. Jason had forgotten that it was time for her team to go on patrol. He had never had a problem with her staying human, but with recent events, he was having second thoughts. He stood up and faced her.

-"Why don't you let me make you stronger," Jason asked, "You know it won't harm you, and I don't want you getting killed." He held out an offering hand, but Sarah was reluctant.

-"I like myself the way I am," she said with a coy smile as she backed away form him. She was focused entirely on Jason and didn't watch her step. Sarah tripped over a scrap of firewood and fell on her back with one hand landing in the fire itself. Her right hand was in the flames for only a second before she pulled it out and covered under her left arm, but Jason knew that she must have been burned.

-Jason tried to help her, but Sarah quickly got up and waved him off. She ran off to her tent, and Jason tried to go after her, but Jenkins stopped him. The old man put a hand on Jason's shoulder and shook his head.

-"Leave her be," Jenkins said, "She is very proud and doesn't like to admit weakness of any kind. Send out the next squad in her place and talk to her in the morning."

-Jason sighed and nodded; he knew that Jenkins was right. He walked away to tell the next squad on the roster that they had been bumped up. He knew that they wouldn't mind; all of his soldiers loved going on patrol and killing demons, despite the risk involved.

-Jenkins watched Jason leave and then looked at Sarah's tent. He knew she wouldn't want to see Jason, but a neutral party wouldn't be too objectionable. He made his way over to her tent and entered without making a sound. He saw the girl standing with her back to him, unaware of his presence. She looked at her burned hand, and Jenkins watched as it healed right before his eyes.

-"My god!" Jenkins said in shock. Sarah looked over her shoulder, startled by the uninvited guest.

-"Oops, you weren't supposed to see that," Sarah said with a childish smile. Jenkins looked at her restored hand, then up to her smiling, carefree face. The implications of what he had witnessed raced through his mind, but before he could do anything, a long red tail shot out of Sarah's armor and wrapped around his neck.

-The thin tail tightened around Jenkins' neck as Sarah walked over to him, smiling kindly. He tried to cry out, but Sarah's tail was squeezing his old neck far too tightly. He gripped the tail with his weak fingers, trying to loosen it enough for him to breathe, but to no avail. He opened his mouth to try and let out a whisper if nothing else, but Sarah put her hand over his mouth.

-She took hold of the back of Jenkins' head, and snapped his neck effortlessly. Jenkins lost all feeling in his body as he heard the loud pop. As everything went dark, he realized his fears were true; Sarah was a demon.

-Jenkins went limp and Sarah released her grip on his body. Her devil-like tail disappeared back into her armor, and Jenkins dropped to the ground. She dragged his body and hid it under her bed until she could think of something more permanent. As soon as she stood back up, Jason entered her tent. She smiled at him without missing a beat, and walked over to him. She could tell by the apologetic look in his eyes that he hadn't seen her hiding Jenkins' body.

-"I'm sorry," Jason said, "I just worry about you."

-"You don't have to," Sarah answered, lifting up her hand and showing him she wasn't hurt, "see? It wasn't as bad as you thought." She leaned forward and kissed him. Jason embraced her and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Besides, I can take care of myself."