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

Satan threw Alex against the wall, then pressed his foot down on Alex’s chest as he laughed deliriously. The devil then stepped back and opened his mouth wide. It was like a whirlpool. It sucked in everything in its way. Including Alex. Karen watched in horror as Alex’s body lifted off the ground.

Satan was going to swallow Alex whole.

But she was wrong.

Satan suddenly stopped sucking everything in. He then did the opposite. He breathed out. Except, what came out wasn’t the air and debris he had inhaled. It was fire as red as those seen from the torches in the Red House of Satan. The flames engulfed Alex and for a few moments, his body disappeared from sight, covered in red.

When Satan finally stopped, when the flames subsided, Alex’s body was a burnt corpse. Karen dropped to her knees. Her chest thumping, she gasped for breath, trying to fill the sudden void that had appeared inside. But breath as hard as she did, nothing filled it.

Satan turned away from Alex’s burnt body and walked down the rubble in her direction. His form began to change. His red skin gave way to the perfect tan of before, as did the rest of him. He shrunk in size, his horns disappeared into his head and his eyes reverted to black.

When he stood over Karen, he was a normal looking handsome young man, if somewhat tall.

“I don’t think I caught your name,” Satan smiled down at her charmingly.

“Go fuck yourself,” she muttered.

Satan reached down and grabbed her by the neck. He pulled her to her feet. Karen gritted her teeth as her body shook in pain. She held back a cry. She wasn’t going to show him any pain. With his other hand, Satan’s finger trailed down her chest. His nails looked perfectly normal, but it was sharper than any blade she’d experienced. It tore through her chainmail bra with ease. His hand continued to trail down her body. It didn’t even hesitate as it came to her panties.

Satan took in her naked figure. “I think I’d rather fuck you.”

Karen brought both of her hands down onto Satan’s arm. It was a solid strike. But it did nothing. She punched Satan on his cheeks three times, then struck his nose before going for his eyes. His face was incredibly hard. It was like punching a meter-thick plate of metal armour.

“Are you done?” Satan asked.

“I’m not,” a voice said from behind.

 It was Alex.

He wasn’t burnt at all. On the contrary, his body was brand new. It had a factory glow about it. His skin was perfect. All of it. Satan’s fire had burnt Alex’s clothes. He stood with the longsword in hand, completely naked. Karen’s heart skipped a beat. Despite her predicament, her lips spread into a wide smile.

“This is different,” Satan stared at Alex with intrigue. He let go of Karen and turned. “I guess we start our duel once more?” Satan asked. The devil stayed in his human form but two blades of black slid out of nowhere. “Do you even know how to kill me?”

“I thought I’d start with slicing your body into little bits and see how that worked out,” Alex said, a steely determination in his brown eyes.

Satan grinned. The battle began. Alex was faster than Satan, much faster. He was a whirl as he slashed with his fiery longsword. Alex moved back and forth at the exact right times, stepping in to strike, stepping back as Satan struck. It was too easy. His sword hit its target every time. Satan’s body was crisscrossed with long cuts where little dots of blood spilled.

Satan slowed, but Alex did not. The devil roared in anger as he slashed with both blades. Alex blocked them with the longsword, then kicked Satan in the chest and knocked him to the ground. Before the devil was able to rise, Alex drove his sword into Satan’s chest once more.

“We’ve been here before, Lucifer,” Satan said with a tired smile. “You can’t kill me. You don’t know how to kill me. You’ve never been able to do it.”

“It’s Alex, actually. I might not know how to kill you, but I do have another plan.”

“You want to negotiate?”

“No,” Alex replied flatly. “I was thinking I'd throw you back down the pit you crawled out from. The portal’s still open, isn’t it?”

For a brief second, Karen thought she saw fear in Satan’s face.

“You’re a little shit if you do that,” Satan said darkly. “I could take us to heaven. I know the way. We could do my plan and kill the angels. We could end God!”

From Karen’s position on the ground, it seemed like Alex was contemplating the suggestion. There was a glazed look in his eyes. After a brief moment, his brown eyes shone through crystal clear. “You’re going back to hell, Satan. Back to your little prison.”

Alex pushed his sword further into Satan’s chest until the handle came up against the flesh. Alex pushed the devil back towards the pit. Satan dug his heels in. But he was weak and no match for Alex. Karen watched in astonishment. Alex was doing it. He’d brought the devil to the edge of the pit.

With a swift move, he pulled his sword back. Blood spurted out from the gape in Satan’s chest. Alex raised his foot and kicked Satan on his nose. The devil fell back into the pit. The ground began to vibrate. The area around the pit started to cave in.

Alex turned and ran towards Karen. He picked her up gently and holding her against his warm chest, he ran towards the road as the ground continued to shake.

Epilogue

Alex sat on his bare buttocks on the cold hard pavement. His back rested against the trunk of an old oak tree. Karen sat