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

being freed, they could prevent a war and save millions of lives.

Alex grabbed her arm. “After we save Chrissy.”

Karen nodded. “Do you have a plan?”

Alex did, actually. It was a terrible plan. Despite that, he still shared his terrible plan. “We try to sneak out with her. If someone stops us, we fight while she makes a run for it.”

Karen smiled. “That’s a horrible plan. I like it. Let’s go.”

The crowd seemed less energetic as they passed it. Even the DJ at the far end seemed bored. He stood away from his gear and leant against the wall, his fingers glued to his phone. Once at the door, Alex and Karen stepped inside before closing it behind them.

Chrissy had her arms up, hands curled into fists. She was ready to fight. Alex smiled. The girl was much tougher than he’d given her credit for.

“Alex?” she asked.

Nodding, he pulled the mask off. Karen did the same. Chrissy ran at him and flung herself into his open arms.

“There’s a fair few more here than just your girlfriend,” Karen muttered.

Alex was about to say Chrissy wasn’t his girlfriend. He decided against it. They had more important things to talk about. Karen was right. It was one thing to try and sneak out of here with just Chrissy in tow. It was a completely different thing with all the other girls.

Karen didn’t seem fazed. She drew her blades out and sliced open the cage doors. Somewhat roughly, she pulled the naked girls out by the hair and began to tear apart the rope that bound their tender flesh. After freeing four girls, she paused to look back at Alex.

“Oh… yeah, right,” Alex mumbled as he hurried to join her.

He was gentler when he freed the girls, and definitely conscious of how naked they were. As the mouth plugs came out and the blindfolds were pulled off, the girls began to make noise. There was a lot of movement as some of the girls scurried into the corners of the room. A fair few screamed too.

Karen calmed them down sternly, but swiftly. She told them in no uncertain terms that if they didn’t keep their little lips pressed together, and their tears far up inside their eyes, they would die horribly painful deaths. Demons would devour their bodies. The devil would own their souls. They would be in a fiery hell for all eternity. They would be at the whim of Satani, the woman so vicious and fearsome, she imprisoned Satan.

Alex wasn’t sure what the plan was anymore. They couldn’t sneak out with this many girls. Karen didn’t see it as a problem. For her, they’d just skipped a step.

“So… let me see if I’ve got this right… we attack the demons while the girls make a run for it?” Alex mumbled. “All of the demons?”

Karen nodded. “It’s like before, remember? We try to sneak out with Chrissy, but if we get caught, we fight the demons while she runs. Now, we just skip out the bit about trying to sneak out and just start with fighting the demons.”

Alex didn’t like the plan at all. Fighting the demons was Plan B. It was a terrible plan. But it was okay because it was Plan B and he’d stuck all his hopes on Plan A working.

This was now a suicide mission.

Karen didn’t seem bothered much. Maybe it was because she’d lived for a thousand years or more, Alex thought bitterly. She’d probably seen and done everything. It occurred to him then that he’d never actually asked her what it was that she gave up her soul for. What did she need so badly to be willing to give away her soul to the devil?

Alex wouldn’t have done it. There was nothing in the world the devil could have offered him to tempt him to give away his soul. It didn’t matter in the end, he thought bitterly. Satani didn’t ask. She simply took.

Karen had her hand on the door knob. She looked back at him. “Ready?”

Alex nodded. He had his long sword in hand. Suicide mission or not, there was no other way but to face the demons beyond the door. He’d take down as many of the bastards as possible.

Karen opened the door and charged out, both blades in hand. She froze in the middle of the room. “Where the hell is everyone?” she asked, bewildered.

The room was completely empty. Not a single demon nor human remained in the room. It was silent too. The DJ was gone.

“How long were we in there?” Alex asked, bemused.

Karen shrugged. Her lips spread into a smile as she put her blades away. “I guess it’s our lucky day.”

Yeah, it sure was, Alex thought. He couldn’t believe it. It seemed too good to be true. That was the problem… it shouldn’t have been this easy.

Chrissy placed a hand on his shoulder. “Alex?”

He looked back at her pretty face. There was worry in her eyes.

“My sister,” she said.

Alex frowned. He didn’t even know Chrissy had a sister. “What about her?”

“He’s got my sister.”

“Jamie?” Alex said. “Jamie has your sister? She’s here?”

Chrissy nodded earnestly. “He told me to bring her along. He said she could do with a night out once in a while.”

Alex already hated Jamie. Everything about the guy seemed to piss him off. What was wrong with staying at home?

“I thought it was a good idea at the time,” Chrissy continued. She spoke frantically, her voice high pitched. “Emily’s really shy. She’s eighteen and never had a boyfriend,” she added. “Or a girlfriend,” she said as an afterthought.

“Your sister’s a virgin?” Karen asked, alarm in her voice.

Chrissy frowned. “She might be… there’s nothing wrong with being a-”

“Fuck,” Karen cursed.

Alex raised an eyebrow. He wondered if this