Lucifers Child / Benjamin Allsopp

1

13:00 June 13^th 2007

            Scott was 19 on the day his platoon found itself in the ghost town. Just 19 years old when he took his first steps into the unknown. Little did he know his life was about to change forever. Fieldbrook was a small ghost town on the Cornish border; even the phantoms had left. It was a routine mission to discover the depths of the enemy’s secrets. Word had travelled through the ranks of a new ‘super weapon’ was in the enemy’s possession; a ‘super weapon’ which had the British scared; fearful of what might happen if this was ever to be unleashed into the world…but it had already been unleashed.

            Scott scanned the horizon. Empty houses, empty streets, an empty town devoid of life. “I thought this was supposed to be a normal town…so that the Neos could merge in. Where is everybody?”

“How should I know, you idiot!? I’m in the same position as you Scotty boy; we ain’t in on the info. It’s a whole need to know basis thing, remember?”

“Need to know basis? But they lied to us; they said the Neos would be here…so where are they?”

“Look Scott, I don’t know whether you’ve noticed but we’re the same rank. I know nothing that you don’t know. Except I don’t feel right here; I mean it’s a ghost town. What good can we do here!?”

            Scott scanned the street for any

(undead)

dead bodies. He was spooked by all the

(silence)

emptiness. It felt like a graveyard. Scott hated graveyards.

            Edging forward, with the enthusiasm of someone at a wake, he swept the view in front of him with his rifle using the smooth arc of a trained killer; his uniform starting to become moist with perspiration and his new boots squeaking he checked behind him for the rest of the platoon. The stories of a demon lurking in the heart of Fieldbrook had begun to

(haunt)

spook him. At first they were passed off as old wives tales that the men spread between themselves to pass the time, but within the first step of this damned place the feeling of imminent death relentlessly attacked Scott’s mind. Feelings were unyielding and harsh when the wanted to be.

2

00:00 May 30^th 2007

            “Halt. Who goes there?” The dead of night at the Neos’ camp in Fieldbrook and there was something wrong. They had been warned by intelligence that the British would come, but so early? Could it be? The new boy on campus had been given the nightshift, purely because the veterans

(thought)

knew nothing would happen and they

(wanted)

needed to sleep through the night. This would become their undoing as most will be slaughtered in their slumber within a few minutes of the oncoming, brutal attack.

            “Hey! Who’s there? I sai….s-s-stop and identify yourself or…or I’ll shoot.” A click rang out through the peaceful night as the safety of the nervous rookie’s semi-automatic was shut off.

3

13:07 June 13^th 2007

            “Scott, check out the house on the left…the one at the end. I think I heard something.” As the newest private in the platoon Scott often found himself with the

(suicidal)

risky tasks and missions. He had no choice but to obey and pace into the darkness of the derelict house; against all of his primal instincts of survival. Something was not right about this town and in Scott’s mind, the sooner they find nothing the sooner he can hightail it out of this death-trap excuse for a habitable town. The troops stopped in seamless synchronicity; out of the corner of their eyes a light had jolted into vision. Scott stopped and swung his rifle, as if on a pivot, to face the new addition to the scenery. The commander gave the signal and the men moved towards the light in perfect formation. Scott ( as the cannon fodder up front) saw the source first; two pristine petrol pumps on some insanely clean black asphalt under strips of blinding white light. A petrol station.

            “Men…I want you all on high alert and in full attacking formation. Section one get your asses on the left flank. Section two…” the commanding officer stopped barking his orders; whispers radiated from the petrol station. They stopped. Sergeant Jack finished his sentence, “ move across the right flank. I want senses maximised boys. Move out.”

            “Sir, I think we can get through that building for a better position in…in case of an attack.” One of the privates’ whimpered nervously.

            “Stand down private. I give the orders, you carry out the orders. I don’t want to hear your suggestions. You’re not here to think.” The men travelled down the flanks cautiously and reached the pristine petrol station. The found nothing, but gained a rapid pulse and an edginess to rival a death row inmate in his final days. If there’s nothing here

(what)

who turned the lights on?

4

00:03 May 30^th 2007

            “Who…wh…who’s

(what’s)

there? What do you want? I’ll…I’ll blast you away! Identify yourself!” There was a pause, “P-p-p-please…for f-f-f-!” The Neos’ rookie night watchman continued to call into the night. His answer was a series of muffled snarls seeming to come from the deepest parts of something ghastly. The rookie squinted into the dark black night and recoiled in horror as something smiled its black toothed grin back at him. It had a terrible hunger in its eyes.

            The only saving grace, the rookie’s death was quick.

5

13:26 June 13^th 2007

           Scott took out his B&H, now in a crumpled packet with only two cigarettes and a Zippo lighter contained within, and popped one into his mouth before lighting the tip with the licking flame of his lighter. He took a long hard drag and puffed it out. “I still don’t like this; there should be someone round here. Even if they bailed out there’d be some sign of ‘em at least being here once.” A clear sense of unease had found its way into Scott’s voice.

            “Shut it and finish your break, we need the all clear before we can move on. Remember, the quicker we search the quicker we move on out of here. You’d like that wouldn’t you son?” asked the sergeant as he fervently glanced round for any sign of danger.

            Scott stubbed the cigarette out as he reached the filter and readjusted his helmet before picking himself up and moving towards the west side houses with the rest of his section, while the other section moved off to explore the east-side houses. Even though the door of every house was shut it seemed the people of Fieldbrook didn’t use their locks. They edged into and through each house with heightened levels of cautiousness because they were

(more scared than they knew was possible)

nervous about what they would find. Fieldbrook had turned out to be a real life Mary Celeste; apparently every one of the residents were accomplished magicians specializing in the art of disappearance. All their things were still laid out as if the residents were still here, engaged in normal nocturnal activities.

            “Hey wait up dudes, le’ me take a whiz” Scott called out. The unit of men stopped and rearranged themselves, relieved to get a break from the tension.

            Scott locked the toilet door behind him and lifted the seat. He undid his khaki trousers and pulled out his equipment.

6

00:08 May 30^th 2007

            The old hand Neos awoke in their basement complex to a sudden drop in temperature and a hole of blackness in the middle of their dark room. The hole moved a foot to the left with uncanny speed; it was now positioned at an exact equal distance from each of the five veterans in the room. There was no doubt in all of their minds what was before them, it was the thing that should not be; the very thing that they had laboriously created with all their

(crazed desire for ultimate power)

ingenuity. It was a case of be quick or be dead. They groped for their rifles and sunk to the ground, into the prone position almost harmoniously. They opened fire.

            The thing that should not be

(Lucifer, they had named it Lucifer)

flipped upside down and glided across the ceiling in a pirouette, putting the most distinguished ballet dancers to shame, before a single shot could rip through its

(Lucifer’s, its name was Lucifer)

body. Lucifer descended upon the first veteran with elegance and punched down with his fists together before pulling them apart as his spiked knuckles pierced into the flesh; the result was detrimental destruction to the soldier’s torso. Lucifer cart-wheeled gracefully towards the next man and stabbed through is bear skin into his heart before leaping into a forward roll, ripping through jugular veins of two more soldiers along the way. One man remained; he unleashed a barrage of metal into the bulk of Lucifer. The bullets tore relentlessly at his skin. He turned casually towards his attacker and appeared next to him. The fifth veteran, the last soldier of a whole town of men, was consumed.

7

13:45 June 13^th 2007

            Scott was shaking off his penis when he heard the shrieks. He snatched his weapon from its standing position against the wall and twirled round to face the door; his trained muscles automatically raised his gun so he could see down the shaft of the barrel.

8

13:42 June 13^th 2007

            Whispers carried through the air; carried through the walls of each house. They carried down through the floors and back up. In the 5^th house they stopped.

            “I just tried to radio Sarge an’ he ain’t answer…hey wait…you hear that?”

            “Hear what numbskull? Scoot takin’ a leak? Hahaha”

            “No…whispering. It’s like the whispering from the petrol station earlier.”

            “No…no I don’t hear it. You know why? Cuz it ain’t there. You need to see the shrink to get your head sorted out before you run with us again kiddo. Besides I’ve heard she’s pretty hot. Wanna go see her now or la…” From behind the arrogant soldier the air seemed to suck into itself and implode. In its place formed a tall stranger clad in nothing but his scarred skin.

            All but two of the soldiers were paralysed with fear, only able to gape in the stranger’s direction. A stream of hot urine poured down the youngest troop’s leg and into the cracks of the floor. The second youngest soldier shrieked in anguish and the arrogant one turned his head before collapsing at the mere sight of Lucifer. In front of the men was now a man shaped thing standing at around seven feet tall. Its arms were long and its misshapen pointed knuckles were in line with its indented kneecaps. The skin was loose but its body was thin and hunched back to attention. There were no genitals to speak of; only skin, crimson skin with rose coloured scar tissue over its whole body. A jet black aura appeared to engulf it. The head was thin with a pointed jaw and ears; no mouth for it consumed its victims in its thick smoke-like secondary form.

9

13:46 June 13^th 2007

            There was a clatter from behind the closed door of the toilet which awoke Lucifer from his momentary lapse of movement. He launched into each of the six stationary men before him, killing each in one flawless motion of his hands. He revealed his secondary, thick black smoky, state and made a single pass over four of the people in front of him before they hit the floor; as he moved away and returned to his

(almost)

human form the men were gone. The speed of this creature was amazing. There was not a speck of blood or flesh to acknowledge that the soldiers were in this room. Lucifer thrust the back of his hand into the face of the shrieking private, the ear-piercing noises ceased as he fell to the floor. Before Lucifer could do anymore he was distracted, his feast of almost the entirety of Scott’s platoon had tuned his senses to superhuman capabilities and he had heard the distinct click of a

(toilet bolt)

latch.

10

13:46 June 13^th 2007

            Scott jumped round, scared by the noise of the toilet seat behind him clanking as it fell to the toilets glistening ceramic surface. He turned back towards the door. The shrieks had just stopped and in their wake was a dull but prominent thud. He could only suppose that the person who was shrieking had just been knocked out with gargantuan force. Without much of a hesitation he unbolted the door as slowly and as quietly as was possible. He took a brief moment to congratulate himself on such a stealthy silent unlocking of the door before nudging it ajar, rifle at the ready.

11

13:48 June 13^th 2007

“Your weaponry will not harm me. It is feeble. It is human. I have consumed too much for such trivial arms to cause damage.” whispered Lucifer. He was speaking to Scott via Scott’s inner voice, through Scott’s mind. He was speaking telepathically. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending. Cast the shooter aside, cast it aside or else I shall come unto you quickly. Your death will not be a good one.”

            Scott did as he was told. There was a moment of silence as the demon in front of him poked through the banks of information stored in his mind. At the same time Scott could see into the thoughts of the demon. He wasn’t lying, there really was no fighting against this monstrosity; Scott knew that if he tried, he would die.

            “I sense a strong power coursing through your veins Scott. You could be useful to me, and I of you. With you I would never have to feed again, I could feed off your power. You could become the ruler of this world with me. Walk with me. Walk with me and we will reign over the Earth together,

With that, Lucifer turned and walked away. Scott followed by his side like a loyal spaniel leaving his two remaining brothers in arms collapsed behind him. He had a new brother now.