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

strike him on the chest, knocking him to the ground whilst the rest of the crate would flatten his head. It was an awful way to die. Would anyone be able to identify him, what with his face smashed?

The crate was a foot away when Karen barged into him. Her shoulder slammed into his rib cage as she tackled him to the ground and out of dangers way. Alex hit the ground, Karen on top of him. Her skirt had hiked up to her thighs, revealing her red panties that were now rubbing against his waist.

She climbed off him quickly and pulled him to his feet. Alex winced as he felt pain in his ribcage. The area was bruised, but he wasn’t complaining. Better a bruised or broken ribcage than his head smashed.

“That’s not a demon. It’s a fucking Krumier,” Karen growled. “I need your head in the game, Alex,” she added, as she turned to face the creature with both blades. “Otherwise we’re going to die.”

Alex turned to face the beast somewhat slowly. He felt dizzy. His head ached. There was a bump to the left of his temple. He must have hit it onto something hard when Karen rugby tackled him.

Alex promptly forgot all his pain as he stared at the beast. There seemed to be more moonlight shining into the warehouse now. The beast stood unencumbered by shadows or darkness.

“...fuck,” Alex muttered, as he appreciated how beastly the creature was. It had a thick green tail. Its legs were pure muscle, green and scaly. It had dinosaur feet. Four toes, each with long claws on them. It was the same with its hands. Four fingers, sharp black talons extending from the tip.

But it was the head that was most frightening. Much like a crocodile, the jaw was long. It had many teeth. They were all sharp and visible as it snarled. The eyes were yellow.

“What’s a Krumier?” Alex asked.

Karen didn’t respond. She was focused on the beast. Her pale skin was a ghostly white. Little beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. Alex wasn’t an expert on the reading of facial expressions, but it seemed plausible Karen was afraid. It was a sobering thought. How terrifying must this beast be to strike fear into Karen?

Alex reached back and felt for his long sword. The firm leather grip, the heavy weight of the sword, it gave him some comfort. He held it before him with both hands, hands that shook as the beast roared.

And what a roar.

The night’s silence shattered and so did Alex’s brief moment of confidence. His hands wavered as his eardrums felt like they were about to explode. The beast charged. It was quick, much quicker than any crocodile he had ever witnessed. With its claws out, the Krumier could have sliced them both in half with a single slash. And Alex stood still once more, frozen to the spot, waiting for it to happen. And once more, it was Karen that saved him.

She slammed her shoulders into his and once more knocked him to the ground and out of harms way. She then slid sideways, out of the beasts reach. Facing it from the right, she slammed both her blades into the creature, one at its back, the other in its stomach.

Karen’s blades and the blades of all Demon Hunters were incredibly sharp. It should have cut through the beast like it were made of butter. But it failed to even scratch the skin. Karen’s legs faltered as she stepped back, her blades by her side, she stared at the beast, her eyes glazed. The beast swiped at her with its right arm. Karen remained rooted to the spot, frozen in shock. The strike connected well.

It was like swatting a fly.

Alex’s mouth opened into a soundless scream as Karen’s body flung across the warehouse floor and crashed into another wooden crate, denting it. Her body slumped down in a heap onto the floor where it remained, unmoving.

The beast turned to Alex and roared another deafening roar. Alex should have been afraid. The beast stood at ten feet in height with skin impenetrable by the sharpest of blades and a body of pure muscle. It had numerous teeth numerous and sharp. The yellow eyes showed hunger.

But he wasn’t afraid.

He was angry. He tried not to think the worst had happened to Karen, but another glance showed her body remained slumped in its previous position. A rage he didn’t know he possessed filled inside him. The longsword in his hands, it no longer wavered.

They charged at the same time, beast and Demon Hunter. The distance between them quickly disappeared. Alex ran with his sword by his side, the tip dragging across the hard floor. The beast held its arms out like a bear coming in for a hug. A roaring bear with sharp talons.

Alex swung his sword at the same time as the beast closed its arms around him. He struck first. Its heavy longsword connected well, managing to even knock the beast back. But Alex was caught by the beast’s trailing right arm.

It was like being whacked by a brick wall. He was swept off his feet and thrown into the air. Unlike Karen, he didn’t smash into a crate. He landed on the hard warehouse floor.

He wondered if it made a difference, if it was the reason he was able to climb to his feet. The bone in his left arm had snapped in half. His arm hung limply by his side. The searing pain shot to his head. He blinked rapidly, trying to spot the beast and at the same time, trying to rid the bright lights that circled his head. He took a deep breath and waited for his pounding heart to subside. With effort, he raised the sword with his right arm, readying to attack the beast.