Squinting his empty eye sockets

and spitting doom tobacco,

Zolantos

launched the lasercopter’s

full array of acid missiles

and rapid-fire nuclear bullets,

incinerating great piles of demons

in exploding

blood rain.

The demons were infinite,

ever regenerating,

regenerating now,

regrowing limbs,

reconstituting heads —

but Zolantos was not a man

who wasted worry

on the Nineteen Hells.

Zolantos

handed his daughter,

Vaila,

the control spiral of the lasercopter,

checked the three barrels of his

Shotgun of Dawn,

and

leapt to the rescue of He-Thing,

lest the Linearity

claim the Omniverse

once again.

Zolantos —

blowing demons into the fiery air

with the enlightening

Shotgun of Dawn,

which enlightened with pain;

Zolantos —

kicking at the demons with his

dagger-sandals,

perforating throats with

cold zeal;

Zolantos —

spitting murder discs from his lips,

vivisecting the brains of demons

like a canoe splitting water;

And Zolantos —

as countless as the demons,

pulling He-Thing from the swamp of

hungry damnation

like an army of suns

obliterating night.

But,

the demons surged,

swallowing our heroes,

until,

once again,

the lasercopter swooped,

this time Vaila at its controls;

she was an inferior pilot to her father,

more prone to take unnecessary risks,

but this risk was very necessary,

and she flew the lasercopter

just over the heads of the demons,

pushing its sorcery-engines

to obscene limits,

as she tossed a smile,

and her auburn hair

caught the light

of the lasercopter’s

shimmering laser wings.

Vaila

unfurled the lasercopter’s rope ladder,

“Father!”she cried,

for time was limited,

they only had one chance.

Zolantos finally wrenched He-Thing

from the grip of the demons,

and,

as Vaila raced to meet them,

quickly holstered

the Shotgun of Dawn,

and caught the lasercopter’s

rope ladder just in time,

dragging He-Thing’s ruined form

behind him

by the ankle.

Vaila pulled back on the

lasercopter’s control spiral,

strangled the throttle,

and sent the sorcery-powered aircraft

rocketing back into the tunnel

from whence it came,

heading back towards the surface

of Infinia.

to be continued...