Fire (3)

A roar of fantasy level proportions echoed from behind the group, shaking he very earth that they tread on. The ground cracked slightly under the pressure of the roar, as if a small earthquake had just occurred. As this happened, the group fell into a slight disarray as the members attempted to stay on their toes.

"The noise has stopped." Ben commented.

"Yeah, no sh*t." Liam slapped him.

'Hmmm... this is definitely not normal. A roar with the scale of magnitude could easily awaken any sleeping demon within a 10km radius, so why don't I hear anything else? Demon behaviour dictates that noise will attract demons, but I don't see any dust clouds from a demon swarm anywhere. It's almost as if this place is near empty.' Simon contemplated to himself as he observed his surroundings.

'Simz, I think we should find a place to hunker down for a while... this doesn't feel right." Michelle suggested as she kicked the ground softly. Michelle seemed much more nervous and anxious than her usual self when Simon looked at her, which is a stark contrast from her outgoing and flirtatious personality. This made Simon feel a chill down his spine, knowing that the situation didn't look bright.'

"Hey... where's Sienna and James?" Jack worriedly asked. "They were here just a moment ago... where did they go?!" Jack started to breath heavily as he looked around for footprints.

"F*ck! Help find them, we can't lose anyone!" Simon commanded.

The group started their search with little to no clue of where the pair had gone. As they walked amidst rubble and fallen buildings, they only found long dead corpses of people from a bygone age. The group didn't even manage to encounter a single demon during their search, also putting them on edge.

"This can't be right! Those two can't just disappear out of nowhere! That's not possible." Liam spoke up.

Michelle kicked the ground yet again, letting out a tear as she thought about her sister. "Dammit! If that James did anything to her... I-"

"Relax, James wouldn't do that. And we will definitely find them, just breath." Simon said as he massaged Michelle's shoulders.

"I think I found something." Ben coldly spoke as his body shivered in front of the group.

Pointing at a fresh mound of human corpses, Ben fell to his knees and let out a cold sweat.

"Aa-rh... Those... are... dead.. bodies?" Liam said as his body shiver from top to bottom, while he faintly pointed his finger at the mound before him.

"What happened here?" Tyrone frightfully asked.

"Blood Devil Ascension ritual." Simon stated.

"They are gathering sacrifices to birth a devil. Those bodies belong to fellow students, you can still see some remnants of their Haven insignias. But don't worry, these aren't Sienna or James." Simon shivered as he said this.

"This is the cruelty of the demons, never forget this scene." Simon reminded them.

'Never forget.'

"But where are the demons now? We haven't seen a single one since the roar." Sam asked.

"I don't know, probably gathering around the devil candidate."

"Doesn't it bother you that Sienna and James could end up like these poor bastards?" Michelle said tearfully to Simon. "You say it will be fine, you say that we shouldn't worry, you tell us that demons are cruel. But why don't I feel any soul to what you are saying? You aren't the Simon I know."

"Then who is the Simon you know?" Simon sarcastically responded.

"The Simon that actually cared..."

Flop

Michelle's body landed on Simon's arms as she fainted from the exhaustion caused by the sudden disappearance of her sister and James, but more or less caused by the disappearance of her sister.

"She fainted." Simon announced calmly.

"We still got seven, what do we do, boss?" Liam asked.

"We need a hidden shelter to call home for the week, after that, we can continue looking for Sienna and James." Simon instructed.

"I don't know, boss... the scent's already cold, but we can't just let if get colder." Liam responded.

"We need to find shelter, otherwise we will not be able to survive the night." Tyrone spoke up.

'Dammit! James, Sienna... why did you have to disappear like this? It's been 3 hours, and we haven't found a single thing? Please just tell me this is some scheme to get alone time, please just don't be hurt.'

"I feel like we are not alone." Mark quietly commented as he drew his sword.

Tap tap tap

"Well hello there, I see you guys seem in a pickle" a cheerful figure spoke.

"You wouldn't possibly be from Professor White's lecture right?" The figure asked.

"F*CK OFF! Where is Sienna and James?!" Liam shouted as he drew his weapon.

"Somewhere nearby, enough so that if you dare to strike, only bad things will happen to them."

The figure walked closer, revealing its face in the now dim light of the evening.

"Richard Walker?" Samantha murmured.

"Yep, it is I!"

"And I come with a proposal! Hand over your leader and we will give back those two serfs. 2 for 1! What a great deal, correct?"

"Not happening." Tyrone answered.

"Nup"

"No way."

"Hmmm... you seem adamant in having your friends die. But that's okay-" Richard quickly motioned to what seemed to be a wrist communications device.

"Stop! I will go." Simon spoke up.

"Great! Now come along, I won't bite~"

"No, Simz... don't leave... I didn't mean it..." Michelle groaned.

"Don't go, that guy isn't normal."

"He might go back on his word."

"Don't go."

"Don't worry about me, I will be fine." Simon smiled as he walked off.

'Save your worrying for the dry cleaner, this outfit won't ever be the same once I butcher these pests.'

'Bugs need to be squashed.'