Avenging Angels

"I think I'm about to be murdered." I say hollowly, leaning back against the seat.

"Get your ass up, we should go inside" She says, grabbing my shoulder and yanking me towards the car door, over the centre console which is awkward. My leg bumps against the gearstick, causing me to muffle a scream with my palm. Now that all adrenaline has left me, the pain is excruciating. The world blurs behind the shimmering veil of tears in my eyes, and I can't help but gasp and screech a little at it all. Kara drags me upright and puts an arm over my shoulder, and she starts to walk towards the front door to Blackthorn manor. It can't be more than ten metres- but with one non-functional leg, it takes a long time, and Claw and Shard are advancing very quickly. Once we get to the door, Kara bangs on the door, but I know it's unlocked. I open the door with a little too much force and it slams against the wall with a loud crack. I think the doorknob is dented, but I have far bigger problems right now.

I need my friends help, Claw and Shard are walking up the path to the door, weapons still levelled at both me and Kara.

"Kara, shut the door! Lock it!" I yelp. She moves swiftly to the door, slamming it and locking it. Without the support of her holding me up, I fall awkwardly to the floor, my hip smashing into the polished stone painfully. It hurts, and I cry out, unable to stop myself.

"HELP" I yell, twisting so I'm facing the stairs. I yell a couple more times, shouting myself hoarse, and I think I hear a clicking near the door- but maybe it's just a combination or fear and my overactive imagination.

And then it finally happens. A thundering above my head heralds the arrival of my comrades, weapons drawn and held firmly in the direction of Kara. It seems like Assault is prepared to shoot, so I quickly interject.

"Wait! She saved me. Don't shoot! Claw and Shard are at the door, and they seem very, very mad."

Assault looks like he doubts what I'm saying- but thankfully he doesn't argue. He shifts the barrel of his tranq gun towards the front door.

The door unlocks, and it shoves open, only to be held slightly open by the chain pulled across. That doesn't last long though- one of their lances is shoved towards the chain, the point catching in one of the links, and with a hard shove the chain rips free of the wall, dangling next to the now open door. The door smashes open, again crashing into the wall once again. But now, instead of the two men with weapons drawn that I expect to see here, both Claw and Shard are standing in the doorway, holding Ranger and Noir, tears streaming over the leather of their masks. Ash is there as well, standing behind them.

Ash steps between his partners, moving ahead of them to look at us.

Something is wrong.

"Our boys" Ash begins to say, interrupted by choking back a sob, "They're sick. Poison. Please, help us. We didn't know where else to go. Please... my boys. I'll give you anything."

I look to Assault, expecting him to take the lead. But no, I'm wrong. Rectified steps forward of the rest of us, grabbing Noir right out of the arms of Shard.

"Follow me" they say loudly, panicked. They run up the stairs, heading for their lab.

Claw and Shard follow, and so does Ash- and the rest of the Devils- and Kara. Isn't this just great- how the shit am I supposed to get upstairs. I shuffle over to the stairs and slowly climb step by step, levering myself up each stair. Once I've made it up the stairs, I shuffle down the hallway, slowly, slowly making my way to Rectified's lab. After I finally make it, I'm stuck outside the door. it's a hugely heavy fire door, and I can't open it from my position on the floor. I slam my knuckles into the door loudly, hoping someone will let me in. The door opens to Ash shoving on it- he's pretty slight, and the door is pretty heavy. He gets it open, and I quickly scoot through the gap. He frowns down at me, wondering why I'm not standing and walking around like a normal person.

"I think my leg is broken." I quickly explain.

"Oh shit- how did that happen?" He asks.

"Long story, deal with that after everybody is healed. What happened to Hunter and Noir? How can I help?"

In the gap before he replies, I stare into the room, where things are hella happening. Rectified is like a drill sergeant, ordering everyone around, except Claw and Shard who stand against the wall, staring down at their kids. I think Claw might be praying, hands folded together. Both the boys look deathly pale, and have rings around their eyes of darkness. Maybe that's normal though... kids that little aren't good at sleeping. As I watch, one of them, I think Ranger, heaves like he were to throw up. They both look so small, little kids in adult beds. Bodies reaches across the bed, she has to stretch far over to reach Noir. She has her hair tied back, and one of the boys reaches up to look at her ring, shining under the harsh white light. His hand falls back down, too exhausted to even make that small, simple action.

Rectified seems to be looking at a red liquid, peering at it through a microscope. I think it might be some blood from one of the boys. Other than them, the rest of the Devils flit around the room, trying to keep both the little ones as comfortable as possible for now, while we try to figure out what the issue is.