His hand on hers was rough and callused, squeezing to almost the breaking point as he pulled her after him. She nearly stumbled and fell on the damp grass, but kept running. They had only moments before the guards would notice their disappearance, and the security cameras would already be notified on the disturbance. At last they reached the wall that encompassed the entire facility, pressing their backs to it as they caught their breath.
Andrew reached into his duster and withdrew a folded up tarp, shaking it open and tossing it over the barbwire on top. He cupped his hands and she stepped into them, grabbing onto the top of the wall as he lifted her. She crawled on top and offered him her hands in return, straining as she hauled him up with her. She spotted the guard who had been monitoring her running towards them in the darkness with his taser raised.
“Freeze!”
Andrew grabbed her hand, shouting, “Jump!”
They leapt from the wall just as he fired, missing them by mere inches. They hit the ground and rolled down the grassy hill that led to a single street where an unmarked car was already parked, the engine running.
Andrew helped Catalina to her feet, ushering her inside the car before climbing in himself. The driver slammed on the gas the second their door closed, gunning it down the narrow passageway to the gate of the psychiatric hospital, where the guards had already been knocked out and the divider lifted.
“Where’s Gabriel?” Andrew asked, turning around in his seat to look out the back windshield.
“He’s waiting for us two blocks down the way at the helicopter pad.”
“Fantastic,” the Seer said with biting sarcasm, withdrawing the gun holstered on his waist and taking the safety off.
“That gives us roughly five minutes to get the hell outta dodge before the demons bring down the hammer.”
A long howl cut through the air, raising the hairs on their arms with its chilling sound. The car screeched to a stop, throwing both passengers against their seats. Catalina struggled upright first, looking out to see what had stopped them. There, at the bottom of the street leading onto the city block, was a throng of hellhounds—each of them over six feet long and four feet tall, with steam pouring off their shaggy, matted fur.
The driver glanced back at Andrew with an apprehensive expression. “You were saying?”
“Well, no one ever said this was gonna be easy,” he replied, counting the number of hellhounds and calculating how many shots he had in his magazine.
The driver nodded to the spot beside him. “Lift up the seat.”
Andrew handed Catalina his gun and tore off the removable leather interior on the right side of the backseat, pleased to find two automatic shotguns and a box of shells in a secret compartment. He took them both out, handing one to Catalina and opening the box of ammo.
“You know how to use one of these?”
“I’m acquainted with handguns, not shotguns, but I’m a fast learner,” she said, holding her hand out for the shells.
He smiled, though it was grim at the edges, and handed them to her. “Aim for their heads. Don’t hesitate. Shoot straight, Cat.”
She nodded. “I shall.”
“Ready?” The driver asked.
Andrew readied his first shot, nodding to him with a determined smirk.
“Let’s get some.”
The car lurched forward at maddening speed. Both passengers rolled down their windows, taking careful aim. The hellhounds raced towards them, mouths open, fangs glistening, their roars slicing through the air. When they were only feet from the car, the Seers opened fire, immediately taking out the closest two beasts. The blessed bullets ripped through their furry hides. The beasts exploded into black ash.
One jumped up on the hood and the driver swerved, making the creature slide off and hit the pavement. Andrew whirled and shot at the ones closing in from behind, taking out another three. Catalina focused on the ones ahead of them, wounding two and killing another. Both seers took aim at the final two blocking the street as the car barreled closer. Just as they fired, the car hit a pothole, making them miss. Only one hellhound went down. The other dove for the front tires, puncturing one before the car ran it over.
“Shit!” The driver made a hard right onto the street. The entire car began to shake violently from the ruined tire.
“We can’t make it there like this. I can probably get you one more block, but that’s not a promise.”
“I’ve got a back-up car waiting not far from here. Think you can get us there?”
The driver nodded, weaving in between cars. “Or die trying.”
“Perfect choice of words there, Mr. Sunshine,” the Seer said, reloading his shotgun as best as he could in the wildly swerving vehicle. Already he could hear the distant wail of sirens. He prayed that they were sending human policemen and not one of the fallen angels. He was armed for bear, not demon.
“Stop right up here, we can cut through the alleyway to the other car.” Andrew pointed to an empty space just outside of a barbershop.
The driver raced through another intersection and screeched to a halt. Catalina opened her door and got out while Andrew paused to give further instructions.
“Now unless you want to be Alpo, I suggest you arm yourself and get the hell out of here. Thanks for your help,” Andrew said.