Exorcist Servant: Demon Hunter

Caleb sat on the stairs leading to the second floor, covering his face with his hands.

How could things go so wrong, and when did things go wrong?Is it when Ben and Melanie get mixed up in "Fist of God"?When Ben died?Was it when Starkweather didn't catch the demon?Or when he made his own decision and stepped into the abandoned house where the ashes lurk?

Starkweather...

Caleb wanted to blame him, and blamed him.Because someone has to come out and take the blame, right?And it has to be SPECTR's fault, because...

Because God, they are just ordinary human beings, and ordinary people are not omniscient and omnipotent, they only try to do the best they can.John - Starkweather, damn it, don't think of him as "John" - is also doing his best, because he cares about other people.Whatever else there was, Caleb knew that for sure.

Caleb heaved a long sigh.In fact, he should have known that his abilities were limited, and he shouldn't have gone to that abandoned house.If there was any way to travel back to the past, he would put his past self in a closet and lock it up, call SPECTR, and then run in the opposite direction of the abandoned house as fast as possible.

Or, fuck it, just leave this shit up to Melanie and her friends, or Fist of God, whichever.If he didn't fall off the damn floor, they'd just let Ben rest in peace and send the ashes to some unlucky ghost to keep possessing.Maybe it will be lodged in some dead body.

Of course, it's another family's turn to wonder what happened to their loved one's dead body.Is he too selfish to think of passing this tragic incident on to other families?

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

Caleb blinked.The words that Hui said sounded very reluctant, the first time he heard Hui's voice was a little uncertain. "What are you talking about?" Caleb said aloud.Since it was just the two of them in the room, there was no need to have a mental conversation.

"I took your brother's body and it hurt you. I didn't choose your brother's body on purpose. He was dead and out of this world, not like you. I don't understand why you are in so much pain, But...I'm sorry."

How many people did Hui get on before him?How many of you have ever seen the dead body of their loved one get up and walk around with a zombie walk?

"I never walk the zombie walk."

Caleb's laugh startled them both. "No, no. You don't walk like a zombie, I hope."

The phone rang.

The sudden ringing of the bell made Caleb jump.So far, Starkweather has used his cell phone to make and receive calls.Judging by Caleb's experience living here for a few days and the absence of any photos of the apartment, the agent doesn't appear to have any life outside of work.Who called him the landline?

The phone was automatically connected, and the recordings of the answering machine were all produced by the original factory, not personal recordings.A pre-recorded robotic voice instructs callers to leave a message after the beep.

"Kay, Caleb?" It's Melanie!Caleb paused to go upstairs. "Are you there? I—I think something is chasing me, and it's trying to kill me."

***

Caleb jumped down the stairs, a leap beyond human ability that sent him straight to the phone.He grabbed the receiver and asked out of breath, "Melanie?"

"Caleb!" It was indeed Melanie, but her voice was high and thin with fear. "Oh, thank God I found you!"

"How did you know the number?"

"I know the address of this house—and I reversed the phone number from that address. I'm in trouble, Caleb, real trouble. You've got to help me!"

His brain was pounding along with his heartbeat. "Where are you, can you come over?" And then he'd call Starkweather and tell him Melanie was on her way to the apartment, and get Starkweather to send a police officer if necessary she.Keeping her safe is more important than anything else.

"I don't know where I am. Dave's dead. We did something wrong - it's not... not yours..."

"It wasn't Ash. I know that. It's the same demon that killed Ben and Dave. Starkweather thinks you joined the Fist of God, and now this demon is after you. Starkway Is Se's deduction... right?"

She falters, "I... oh, I think so. We thought we were after it, but it's been after us, and it's now after me."

us.Caleb gripped the receiver tightly, the plastic phone crackling in his hands.He took a deep breath and let go of the phone.Fortunately, the parts in the phone didn't seem to be broken in his hands, and he could still hear Melanie's trembling breathing on the other end of the phone.

All right.Melanie is in "Fist of God," but she's still his sister-in-law.Even though she knew he was possessed, she still asked him for help.He can't abandon her now.He asked, "Tell me where you are. I'll call Starkweather and ask him to take a team there as soon as possible."

"No! I'm in a 'Fist of God' safe house. I've been here since your... accident. You can't expose it to them, Caleb. What we're doing isn't legal. "

He didn't care, at least not yet. "Okay. Just tell me where you are."

She quickly gave an address, at least the street on the address sounded familiar. "Okay. I can't—I can't get over by myself. Don't argue, okay? Listen, if I leave the apartment, Starkweather will know, and SPECTR will come for me, like any other demon. You Just stay there honestly, I will call him and convince him to let me leave this apartment for a while."

"Okay, but I... wait, what's that?"

Except for the sound of her breathing, there was only silence.Caleb asked, "Melanie? What happened?"

"Oh God," she whispered, "I think it's right here. I—"

She screamed and the phone was hung up.

"Melanie? Melanie!"

Nothing at all.There is only silence.The air was dead.

No, no, the devil wouldn't come to Melanie just now.Melanie wouldn't die in her own blood like Ben and Dave did—

Caleb took a deep breath and calmed down.Think, he wants to think.

Well - he had the address, and Melanie knew how to fight demons.If she can hold out for a while, Starkweather can get there in time with a squad of magicians.

He spent a few precious seconds looking for the slip of paper with Starkweather's cell phone number on it.Eventually he found it behind the couch, dialed the number hastily, and waited for an answer in what seemed to be an endless ringing.

"Hello." The agent's voice in the automatic reply was soft and thin, "You are calling Special Agent John Starkweather, please leave your name, number and..."

Caleb closed his eyes, and he didn't want to hear the rest of the automatic reply.

Melanie is in danger and may be dead.Either Starkweather's phone was out of signal service or he just wouldn't answer any of his calls.

Ash began to stir around the corner.A strange hunger crawled through Caleb's veins. "The demon is nearby," said Ash.

Caleb is no demon hunter.He's not Melanie, and he's not Starkweather.Hell, look at how his first attempt at demon hunting ends up: he himself is possessed and probably dying, and the demon he's trying to stop is out there killing people.How could he think that he could still save people?

But if he doesn't help her...who will?

"Starkweather," he said into the phone, wishing there was some other way, any better way, to handle this, "Melanie just called, she's in trouble. Of course you won't answer my goddamn phone. I won't let her die, understand? Of course, I see what you mean. Once I leave, I'm outlaw and you have to catch me. But I There was no choice, I'm sorry."

Why the hell is he apologizing?He's doing something right, something only he can do, isn't he?Why should he care if a SPECTR puppet fails him?

But he does care.Cares more than he thinks.

He left the address of the safe house that Melanie said.If that demon killed him, someone had to know where to find his body, or Melanie's... no, he had to believe she was alive.

Hui poked him: "What are we waiting for?"

Caleb put the handset back on the phone and walked to the door.He wished he had a weapon at hand.Such as a gun, a knife, or something else.

"We don't need weapons."

In fact, this sentence did not comfort him at all.Caleb paused, reaching for the doorknob.Once we leave, we will be hunted. SPECTR will not let us go.

"I have escaped many pursuits." Hui assured him.

right.But according to the memory fragments that Caleb glimpsed, Ash possessed a lot of corpses one after another in many pursuits.It is impossible for him to abandon his physical body as gracefully as Hui, which is a luxury.He has only one body.

Caleb's mouth was drawn into a tight line and he opened the door.

***

When John turned on the red lights on the car, Sean immediately stepped on the gas pedal.Sirens blew, lights flashed.Sean asked, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," John said, even though he wasn't quite sure.Damn Caleb, couldn't he have picked a better time to confess to him?

Judging from the voice information, Caleb did not have many choices at the time.He was in a meeting and his phone was off when Caleb called him.When he sensed that the barriers in the apartment had been broken, he hastily excused himself from the meeting and found the voice message Caleb had left behind.

Under such circumstances, he has only two choices: one is to launch a manhunt, which may cause Caleb to die or be imprisoned; the other is to rush to the place Caleb said with his trusted partners, and hope This way no one will find fault.

How to choose is not as difficult as he imagined.