Enemy Among Us

Chapter 20

Laney

We had finally arrived at our office building. My feet ached and I'm not going to lie, I was ready to give up but this monster was hurting my friends and I wasn't just going to quit while they all suffered. I looked at Anaiya and her sister. They must be suffering the most to have to take on their own mother and lose friends due to her, to be considered dangerous just because they are partial demons due to their parents. They held determined expressions as they continued to press on. Anaiya had lost her husband and best friends to her mother while Leilani had to watch her sister suffer unable to really do anything for her, like she was watching her family fall apart through a window. As we stopped at the entrance, Leilani looked back to make sure we were all still here. I looked over at Eli who was talking to Gabby and Savannah. We were still here but Gavvy was only physically here. Eli walked over to me. "She's going to need time and a lot of therapy after this." He sighed, there were bags under his eyes. I looked up at the sky to see it had gotten dark but there were so many street lights that were scattered randomly around that it didn't look so dark. Our office, on the other hand, was pitch black on the inside. There was an eerie, dark aura around it.

"Alright!" I looked up to see Anaiya taking her coat off and putting a new case in her gun. She then set out her hand as dark particles started to form into weapons. She handed them to us. "You'll need to defend yourselves. Everytime you use it, you will absorb the abilities of whatever demon you'll slaughter in here. And don't be fooled by their appearances. They've taken on the appearances of everyone we hold dear to us. They know all of our weaknesses including Leilani's and mine.so don't drop your guard no matter what." I was nervous, they knew everything? Do we even have a chance? I shook my head of those thoughts and nodded to Anaiya who was watching me. I could tell she knew I was scared but I wasn't going to let this fear control me. I looked at Leilani only to see she had changed shape. Her hands were huge black claws and a tail with the sharp end of a dagger had formed. Her horns have shown. She really was the spawn of a demon. Anaiya handed her gun to Savannah since Gabby was too unstable to wield one. Anaiya had begun to change shape too. She was much bigger than her sister suddenly and her colors were red and blue but she ultimately just looked like a bigger version of Leilani.

They were taking this seriously and they were going to risk their own lives to save ours. Anaiya whistled as the giant hellhound howled before taking off somewhere deeper into the woods. Leilani and Anaiya opened the doors together and allowed us to step in. "everyone is to stay together. If you get separated then summon us, you'll know how the moment you do end up away from us which will definitely happen." It must have been one of her mother's tricks. We all nodded and followed Anaiya as she led the way down the dark corridor. Leilani making sure to stay behind us.

Eli

I've never seen Anaiya like this, to take up the form she hates so much just to defeat her mother. I watched her as she led the way. Determined to destroy something that she loved but couldn't forgive for everything she put them through. Both of them. I looked back at Leilani who was following behind us closely, listening for any assailants. We all stopped when they both came to a complete stop. They heard or sensed something. "What is it?" I whispered in my best attempt to stay as quiet as possible. "Everyone grab a hold of each other." We all hugged close to each other, holding onto each other's arms. There was a blast of cold air, it was like being caught in a tornado. I opened my eyes to see that my surroundings began to change, I was still holding onto Laney's arm tightly. I made sure not to let go as she gripped my arm tighter. Someone was trying to separate us forcibly because the wind only got faster and stronger. Anaiya let out a loud roar as my vision came back to me, I could see we were still in the building. Her roar drew out the creature that was causing this because it fell from the ceiling. Anaiya leapt forward, catching the demon as she ripped the head off of its body. We all froze as Anaiya stood there panting, blood dripping from her hands. It was like looking at a beast but this beast was our friend. She looked back at us.

"Let's keep moving." we started walking again but we were still shocked from what we saw. We knew Anaiya was serious but this is something else. She's letting her anger control her and we know she'll probably kill her mother. I looked at Laney as she nodded. I nodded back. We had to find a way to strip her mother of her power so we could detain her. "That wouldn't be so smart to get in Anaiya's way." I flinched as I looked up at Leilani who was hunched over between me and Laney. The girls were in front of us thankfully. "How did you..." I whispered as she shook her head. "My abilities contain me being able to read minds. I wouldn't try and stop Anaiya, I am physically able to stop her but here." She handed us a book that was written in latin."You'll be able to strip our mother of her abilities by simply reading the very last page." I nodded and tucked the book into my jacket, making sure it was hidden in the large pocket on the inside. Leilani slowed down as she continued surveying our surroundings. We started to climb the stairs to the building. Anaiya led us all the way to our boss's office. She forced the door open. Her anger was even more apparent than before.

"Well look finally arrived." We all stepped around Anaiya who was at first blocking the doorway. My eyes widened. Our boss had changed. Really changed. Her skin sagged and her body was contorted. "That greed really suits you." Anaiya walked over to where our boss was suspended against the wall before tearing the vines apart, knocking Mr. Ross to the flower. Anaiya dragged him over to us and set him up. "You'll never defeat her. She'll kill you all before you even get close to her." Laney shot him in the head, didn't even flinch. I looked up from the corpse of our former boss to her. "We'll see who really gets to live." I knew Laney, that must have set her off. I wasn't comfortable with the idea of this but he was willing to sacrifice us all for whatever it is he wanted more of. I couldn't be upset with Laney or Anaiya. They were much stronger than I was when it came to these things. We exited the building to find some of our fellow agents outside. They were dirty, run ragged by the monsters that lurked in these woods. "There's more of them!" someone screamed as they all suddenly pointed their weapons at Anaiya and Leilani. "STOP!" Laney stepped forward in an attempt to block the onslaught of bullets that were to be shot. "They're on our side! They wish to help stop their mother because she's caused them to suffer much more than we have now." They slowly lowered their weapons but were obviously still cautious.