Pandora’s Tears

Chapter One

-- Demons

Date: 13th August, 2011

‘Lieutenant, behind you!’

Assault rifle raised, Drace spun to face the charging demon. With a twisted roar that was almost human, the creature smashed into him and together they slipped in the mud, crashing to the ground. Everything dissolved into madness. A flash of pale flesh; a clawed hand raised to strike; dark eyes full of… of what? Sadness?

A gunshot exploded through the air. The demon shuddered and stopped its thrashing. Pinned under the dead weight of the corpse, Drace struggled to free himself. His trapped arms jerked uselessly.

Breathing was hard. Either way he turned his head he was greeted by only more mud. All he could smell was the damp earth.

The monster was dragged off him by an unseen helper. Breath hoarse and head thumping, Drace remained sprawled in the mud for a few moments. The cold slime plastered across his skin made him shiver despite the warmth of the newly risen sun.

‘Lieutenant, you okay?’ someone asked.

Drace raised his head against its wishes. ‘Yes Private,’ he coughed, ‘I’m fine.’

The Private offered his gloved hand. Unsteady, Drace gripped it and climbed to his feet, careful not to slip. He retrieved his gun from the dark sludge.

He turned to the demon’s body, its pallid skin dirtied by blood and dirt. It had once been human - a young girl, probably no more then fifteen years old. But the thing sprawled on the ground before him was no longer human. He rolled her over with his foot, so that she lay on her back, her pale eyes gazing upwards. Corruption had overtaken her: each of her limbs were longer than a human’s and her hands had become distinct claws. Her flesh had turned pale and scabbed, her hair black, her teeth needle sharp. But most of all, she had lost her sanity.

But hadn’t Drace seen a spark of humanity in her eyes before she was killed?

‘Sir, all hostiles have been neutralised,’ Sergeant Janus said. ‘We sustained no casualties.’

‘How many attackers were there?’

‘Six in total, sir. That bitch was the last one.’

Drace grunted. ‘Who shot her?’

‘Private Barvd, sir.’

He would have to make sure he put Barvd forward for promotion - repeatedly he proved himself to be a resourceful and skilled solider. It was not at all surprising it had been Barvd that reacted fast enough to help him.

‘Sir,’ Janus said, ‘do you think those were the ones? Do you think we’re done here?’

‘I’m afraid not. The report said there were at least two dozen demons, but there are only six corpses here.’

A nearby town, Great Wyncote, had reported numerous attacks from the demons. As a response, the British Army dispatched Drace’s small platoon to deal with the problem.

They spent their days in the countryside, wandering up and down steep hills and marching through woodland. Dark bushes and trees constantly surrounded them, with only the occasional barb-wired fence, wooden signpost or crudely made stair-set to hint at a human presence.

Although it was summer-time the recent heavy rain had turned much of the ground into thick mud, and so the going was slow.

Drace sighed. It was tedious work.

‘Alright,’ he shouted reluctantly, ‘let’s get moving - we still have a lot of ground to cover!’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~-|-~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sergeant Janus sat alone in the dark corner, watching the other soldiers devour their meals. The village hall was filled with the echo of their voices as they chatted and joked together.

After their first encounter no more demons had been found. Still, Janus was sure they’d find the monsters’ hiding place sooner or later - there was only so much countryside for the beasts to hide in.

At first, Janus had been confident the assignment would not pose much of a problem. As strong and fast as the demons were, they did not have guns. But he hadn’t imagined they could be so elusive - the platoon had been searching the countryside fruitlessly for almost three weeks, and only that day had their first encounter.

The endless searching was incredibly boring.

He took a swig of his canteen. The whisky tasted almost sweet after the hard day’s work, marching back and forth in the poor conditions outside. And although - technically - he wasn’t meant to be drinking, there really was nothing to stop him. As long as the Lieutenant didn’t find out, he’d be fine.

The village hall had been lent to them by the local council, and within it they set up tables and bunk beds and all the equipment they’d need whilst on the assignment. The hall wasn’t particularly large, and it was a tight fit to get everything in. The poor lighting meant it was perpetually dim, and it smelt like wet soil, but it had been home for the past three weeks, and was certainly better than some of the shit-holes they’d put up with in the past. It was growing on him.

The little red light on the radio-set he had sat down on the bench beside him lit up, and the set cackled into life. ‘Sergeant Janus? This is Lieutenant Drace. Pick up.’

Janus sighed, lowered the brown flask that hovered inches from his lips, and picked up the radio. ‘This is Janus. What is it Lieutenant?’

‘I’d like you to come up to the Governor’s building,’ Drace said. The annoyance that tinged his voice gave Janus a bad feeling. ‘The Governor has set a little task aside for you…’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~-|-~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Drace was not impressed with the Governor of Great Wyncote: he was a pompous little bastard. No matter how Drace articulated his argument, the Governor refused to be swayed, and instead repeatedly insisted he was doing the right, moral thing. Eventually, Drace caved in, and conceded to his plan.

There was a polite knock at the door, and in stepped Janus.

The Governor leaned forward from behind his oversized desk. ‘Ah, hello. Welcome Sergeant. Do sit down.’ Drace noted his voice was devoid of its earlier hostility.

‘Thank you, sir.’ Janus dropped himself into the nearest leather-coated chair, so that only Drace was left standing.

‘Your Lieutenant and I have just been having a discussion, and we’ve come to the conclusion that a small selection of your platoon should patrol Great Wyncote. The number of demon attacks isn’t giving out I’m afraid - we have had an attack almost every week for the past two months - and a small presence of soldiers would really help to keep our town safe.’

‘And I’m afraid, Janus,’ Drace said, ‘that you’ve been elected to lead these patrols. You have your pick of two Privates to take with you.’ He didn’t want to lose three of his men - especially not his Sergeant, his second in command - to the patrol, but he didn’t have a choice. The Governor had pulled rank on him.

‘But-’ Janus began.

‘You have your choice of two Privates to take with you,’ Drace repeated.

‘Yes sir. I believe Petterson from Charlie One, and Barvd from Charlie Two, will both prove helpful on this assignment, sir.’

‘Very well.’ Drace turned to the Governor. ‘I assume we are done here?’

‘Yes yes, this is most satisfactory. Thank you for your help, Lieutenant.’

Drace nodded to the Governor, turned on the spot, and marched to the door. As he went, he heard Janus clamber from his chair to follow.

Outside, in the cool night’s breeze, Janus said, ‘Sir, why do we have to have a patrol? Are the town guard not doing their job properly?’

‘They aren’t getting the chance,’ Drace sighed. ‘The Governor has the majority of them posted in his private residence as personal guards, so there aren’t enough left to protect the public.’

‘Is that legal?’

‘Technically, no. But there’s nothing that we can do about it. I’m afraid we have no choice but to agree to his demands.’ He paused, and sniffed the air. ‘Janus… what’s that I can smell on your breath?’

Janus grinned at his Lieutenant. ‘Spearmint chewing gum, sir. You want one?’