The Devil's Apprentice by Patrick Stewart (polar express read aloud TXT) 📕

There was a sudden jolt to Alex’s body. It made him forget about his lack of a soul. The sword in his hand flamed red and blue. Alex dodged under Satan’s strikes and made a run for it. He jumped over half broken walls and ducked under metal rods sticking out of standing pillars as the devil pursued him.

Alex slid down a tilted wall. At the bottom was a standing corridor. Alex dove into it and ran to the end. Coming out on the other side, he waited for Satan to follow with baited breath.

“He’s not going to come through the corridor,” Lucifer said indignantly.

“Why not?”

“For starters, he’s too fucking tall to fit in.” 

 It was a good point. One Alex understood just in time. Satan wasn’t walking in through the corridor. He was walking over it. Alex dived back into the corridor just as Satan appeared on the other side.

“Seriously, Lucifer?” Satan roared. “You’re going to behave like a little fucking mouse?”

Alex’s sword was flaming red and blue like never before. He could feel the power radiating from it. All he needed was one good stab in the right place. The heart? Did Satan have one?

The corridor suddenly shook. Stumps of concrete and ceiling boards came apart as cracks appeared on the wall. Satan wasn’t going to follow him in, even if he could. He was going to break the damned corridor. Alex managed to dart out just as the ceiling collapsed.

The chase continued. Alex ran up a tilted wall. Satan followed after him. Once at the top of the wall, he searched frantically for his next place to run to. There was another wall that had fallen on its side. Beyond that was the rubble that led to the ground. Alex jumped onto the wall, then ran slowly, pretending to tire.

His plan wasn’t great.

Wait for Satan to catch up to him, and then catch the devil by surprise.

He could hear the devil behind him. Every step was thundering. Alex waited for the right moment and just when he was certain Satan was going to grab him by the scruff of the neck, he turned and slammed his sword towards the beast.

Satan stopped in his tracks. He wore a grin and had a sparkle in his eye. He hadn’t spotted the flaming sword, but when he did, his expression changed. His lips tightened and his eyes widened. But it was too late to move out of the way.

The sword plunged into Satan’s stomach and penetrated his seemingly impenetrable skin. Satan’s eyes bulged as he dropped to his knees. His hands grabbed the protruding end of the blade and tried to pull it out. But Alex held it in place firmly.

“That shouldn’t have been possible,” Satan said. “You’re supposed to be weak.”

With effort, Alex pushed the sword in further until he felt it exit at the other end. Satan closed his eyes as his breathing became heavy and haggard. Alex expected the devil’s life to flow out. He wondered if demons had souls. If so, what would happen to Satan’s soul? Would it return to hell, or would it go up towards heaven? The latter was a real possibility. Guilt was what weighed the soul down. Satan did not seem like the guy who felt guilt. He was much too entitled for that.

As the moments passed, Alex began to realise that Satan was not dead, nor was he dying. The devil suddenly opened his eyes. They were red with anger. Satan grabbed Alex by the arm. There was immense strength in his grip. Despite the sword still being buried deep inside him, Satan climbed to his feet. He lifted Alex off the ground as if he weighed no more than a cushion.

“I’ve fucking had enough of you,” Satan growled.

He threw Alex towards the fallen wall like a ragdoll. Alex crashed into the wall headfirst. His limp body lay on the hardened cement. His ribcage hit an exposed jagged brick. For a moment there was silence, then his head exploded with a ringing noise. That was followed by pain shooting up from every part of his body.

It was too painful to open his eyes, so Alex lay there with them shut. He felt for Lucifer, wondering if it was still there. He couldn’t feel the energy that signalled Lucifer’s preference. His body felt weak. Like he was a hundred-year-old man. He was hurt. He could feel blood seeping out of him. It was sticky. The pain began to fade. It was replaced by a drowsiness.

Alex could hear Satan approach. The devil had thunderous steps. The ground shook beneath him. As the devil wrapped his hand around Alex’s neck, he felt oddly calm. Death was close, but he wasn’t afraid. Alex opened his eyes as Satan pulled his limp body off the wall.

“It didn’t have to be like this, Lucifer. We could have worked together, you and I. We could have gone to heaven and murdered a thousand angels in a single day. That would have given God something to think about,” Satan bent his head back and roared in laughter. “Could have fucked a few angels too,” he added as an afterthought.

Satan slammed Alex’s body against the wall and released his grip around his neck. Alex slid down the wall and landed on his bottom. “I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve died, Lucifer. You used to be so magnificent before. But look at you now, barely clinging on to this body. Another inevitable death.” Satan placed his enormous foot on Alex’s chest. “Don’t bother coming back. Don’t further tarnish the memories of our great battles. Battles that shook the earth. We took on armies of angels. We brought God to his knees, even if just for a second. But this,” he stared down in disgust at Alex, “this is beneath you.”

Satan