Lightning Doesn't Strike Twice!

Chapter 33

"Wakey, wakey! It's time to get up," Josh said, shaking Evan. 

"Jeez, my head, what are you doing here?"

"I'm guessing I've been passed out for a few minutes then, and we need to find the other demon." 

"Josh came in and saved me when you got taken out," Beck replied. 

"So, are you two together Evan asked when he saw Becky and Josh holding hands." 

"You could say that not only are we together, but something about her helps me control my inner demons. Let's say I nearly died without her." 

"Oh, really. That is interesting," he said with a bit of confusion. "So, did we kick the bad guys' ass then?" 

"Yes and no, one down and one to go! We now have to find what we think might be a rat the demon was after." 

"Oh yeah, it's coming back to me, and I almost forgot." 

"Getting your lights knocked out like you did, I don't exactly blame you."

An earthquake shook the ground, and it caused some of the buildings to crumble around. 

"Quickly get over here! This one's strong,"{ Josh yelled to the others as he pulled Becky towards him and out of the way from danger. 

They ran down the street away from the large, crumbling buildings. Dust erupted in the air as chunks of the buildings fell off and crashed to the ground. The rubble instantly crushed any nearby cars, trees, or buildings.

"All right, I'll check the Soursense to see if we can find that creature on our. He's got to be here causing this earthquake." Becky advised. 

"What is that?" Josh said, looking at Becky's device. It looked like a cell phone." 

"This device allows us to pick up demons' essence and levels within a 20-mile radius."

"It also allowed us to locate you when you picked up Kaysi. We were just a bit too late getting there." 

"Yeah, I'm sorry; sometimes, controlling the demon within me is hard. I was following my father's orders." 

"It's okay now. However, I will let you know that Kaysi has not completely recovered. She's out of the hospital, but she has amnesia, so her memory is still bad." 

Evan added. "It's so bad that she can't remember any of us—just basic things. The doctor hopes it will return in time. But we have to be very sensitive about her condition, or it could cause her to backslide." 

"I'm sorry, it is probably because of the injuries she sustained while we were fighting. I will do my best to find a way to make it up to you guys. I promise."

"Man, Josh, I've never seen this side of you. Something about Becky does change you, doesn't it?" Evan smiled. 

"Well, I tried to ignore some of my feelings out of pain and obedience to my father. That is not going to happen again." 

"It says that there is another demon nearby," Becky said as the scan was completed on the soursense. 

"Ah, Ha," Josh said in excitement. "I bet you that's what caused the earthquakes initially. We thought it was the snake causing the earthquakes when it went after the rat, but it's been the rat all along." 

"Hey guys, are you okay? Micah appeared and came running over. The earthquake was pretty powerful. I'm guessing you have not discovered the demon yet because that earthquake was quite strong." Micah asked. 

"Hold on, is this guy the one behind all of this? What is he doing here? With a scowl directed toward Josh, she spoke."

"Becky stood between Josh and Micah." 

"Stop. I'll tell you more later, but he's on our side now. Also, he destroyed one of the Demons, who almost killed me, and it nearly cost him his life! To fill you in, there is one demon left that we were chasing after. We think it is a rat that the snake demon was hunting." 

"So there were two demons, I see. And I still don't trust this dirty dog. She growled, not removing her eyes from Josh as she looked past Becky, staring intensely at him."

"I understand why you guys hate me, but I have changed my ways. I know it's not going to come very easily, but I will do my best to make it up to you all." Josh said as he hung his head. 

"Yeah, say that to Kaysi, who you beat with an inch of her life." 

"She has not recovered her memory. You can do your best, but there is no way I'm forgiving you. You're permanently on my shit list. In the meantime, let's find this demon before it causes any more earthquakes." 

"The best place to look for it is through a hole it might have dug. We must act quickly, so we should divide and search for the same area. When we find it, we inform the others where to go. A tip is most likely to have the most destruction." 

Evan directed everyone. "All right, that sounds like a plan. Becky, you and Josh can take the north side. James and Micah can take the west side, and since we're already on the south side, I'll take the east side." 

"Make sure to announce it to the rest of the group if you find it."

"Not to intrude on your plan," James said, but before we head out to find the demon, I think it would be a good idea to arrange a meeting place in case any of our cell phones malfunction.

"Good idea, Evan! You see that big tall building right there that's fallen over in the rubble? We'll meet back there." 

"So all we have to do is head to the north side and look for a giant hole," Josh asked Evan. 

"Yes, the soursense allows us to know the demon's location, but it doesn't allow us to pinpoint within a short distance. It will, more or less, give us a proximity to the demon. Once we're at the location, we have to do a bit of searching to know the exact position." 

"I see, so it's not like the group will be far away." 

"No, if anything, it will still be within a close distance that everyone will hear you. 

We still have to be careful because some of the fallen rubble will still be shifting and loose. Also, we must be cautious of broken pipes as a gas leak might be nearby."

"With all this debris from the disaster, there could be people still trapped in some of these buildings. The emergency response hasn't had a chance to come through and check on anyone. I know we're looking for the demon, but I think we should also be checking for survivors," Becky added. 

"That's not a great idea as we don't have any equipment. Josh questioned with worry, "Our main objective needs to be getting this demon so it doesn't destroy anything else." 

"I understand, but if I find a person, I'm not going to hesitate to save them." 

"It's always been who you are, Becky. You saved me. All right, I guess I can't fight it. Lead the way, princess, he said with a bow."

"Thankfully, the destruction seemed to be limited to a large building and a couple of others that were crushed. Other than that, most of the structures are still standing." 

"I suggest we start by working our way through the smaller buildings and work our way back toward the large one last, as that is our meetup point." 

"Well, Becky, it's the weekend, and most of these are business shops that should be closed, but I will still check anyway. 

"I know who that shop right there belongs to. It's an old shoemaker. He is an old fella who doesn't come to work on Sundays. He is a continuous churchgoer, never missing a day in 13 years."

"I talked to him once, and he told me the only day he missed was for his wife's funeral." 

"Oh, I see; so you've been down this part of town before then?"

"Yes, my brother and I used to go on play dates when we were little. We would go to the downtown park with my brother and the maids, who would let us ride our bikes when we came from the nearby house."

"Since my brother never tied his shoelaces, his finest Sunday shoes were ruined when he caught them on the bike one day."

"Ironically, the maid caught up to the shoe shop owner that day as he was leaving to attend his wife's funeral, telling him she was frightened of losing her job if she did not have the shoe patched." 

"He had sympathy for her and consented to mend it. He told us he had barely enough time before leaving for church. 

"While mending the shoe, he told us that, being a devoted Christian, he usually does not come to the shop on Sundays. He believed it was a divine appointment because he had a rough day. He said he was happy to see us on such a terrible day; it made him feel better." 

"Oh, that was so sweet of him to go out of his way and help you guys." 

"Yes, so thankfully, he's not there today, but it sucks that his shop got hit."

"The damage isn't too bad, at least; it only took out one of the outer walls. The rest of it can be repaired—once the area is safe." 

"It will take some time for the construction crews to clear all the debris before they can start, though. There is no room for them to bring in trucks to clean things up right now." 

"It's kind of scary seeing the end of this disaster. It reminds me of when I was in elementary school and two planes hit the Twin Towers. We all went to the library to witness this historical life-changing event. Our teacher thought it would be good for us to learn something. It was scary seeing all the devastation."

"At least you know what happens whenever there is devastation! It unites the people within the nation." 

"I see, so you're over here trying to denounce the evils of Truth and Love," Becky laughed. That's my old Josh, I remember! (Dorky and silly.) It's Nice to see you back to normal," Becky smiled. 

"Meow, Josh said as he laughed, pawing at the air. "That's right"! 

"I feel better to see that things might finally be able to go back to normal. There seems to be a bit of tension in our group. I just hope that they all can accept Josh's apology and that Kaysi makes a full recovery, Becky thought silently to herself." 

"Now that we have cleared these other buildings, it is time for us to move on to the next one. Come on. With everyone expected to be heading over, the large one in the center should be all that remains. We will check it out while we wait. Be very careful when we go in here; these buildings are unstable."

"I don't know if you remember this, but the first time you appeared, you burnt down a building we were in, so I've already had my fair share of the dilapidated crumbling buildings I survived." 

"Oh God! The first time I wasn't exactly myself was the first day that my father infused the demon within me."

"It was the same demon that attacked you all before. Maybe that's why I kept following you guys; something inside me was trying to keep my humanity." 

"Well, it's a good thing that you've got control over it now."

"It appears that this office building was deserted. The name on the sign here says Star Capital, which indicates that this location was formerly an old corporate bank building. Perhaps they filed for bankruptcy or were bought out, similar to the majority of the local companies." 

"Oh yeah, this place was moved to Indianapolis a few years ago. I saw something on the news about them going to a larger corporate building when they joined up with another banking group." 

"Oh, this place has been abandoned. So we'll head back out and meet up with the others." 

"Since we ended early, let's see if they could use any of our help." 

"All right, turn around and head back in the same direction; I will follow you," Josh said as they stood on a narrow path."

"Another smaller earthquake began to shake the building." 

Josh shouted. "It must be a delayed aftershock." 

"I thought we were in the clear," Becky yelled back.

"We need to find another way out. This exit looks like it's going to collapse, Becky said to Josh, looking up at the doorway that was barely being held together." 

"You dummy, you say that, but you're still in the way. Josh pushed Becky out of the way as the door entrance caved in." 

"Josh, are you okay Becky shouted through the dust clouds as the rumble finally stopped? She could not see Josh."

"Yes, I'm okay. I just got my leg caught under the beam; it seems jammed, and I can't free it. You need to get out of here before another earthquake comes." 

"NO, WE need to get out of here before this building collapses," Becky argued. "I'm not leaving you, you big idiot. We just got you back, and I saved you already once. I will do it again." 

"Yeah, now I saved your butt again. So we're even you don't have to feel guilty so try to get out as soon as possible." 

"No, I have to agree with Becky, you idiot. You don't leave any man behind." 

"Micah, you're here," Becky cried. 

"Yep, it's me! Evan and James are behind me, so we need to work together to get this beam off you, correct? 

"Everyone grabs hold. If all of us lift, he can slide his leg out. If we work together, we should be able to free him, but we have to move quickly before the rebel shifts anymore."

"RIGHT! Everyone shouted at once!"

"Ready on the count of three. One... Two... Three... Lift!" 

"Everyone lifted, and Josh was able to free his leg." 

"Agh- My leg is broken. I can't stand on it."

"Now that we have you free, James and Evan can carry you out of here," Micah added. 

"Alright, let's all get out of here as quickly as possible." Josh sighed in relief together. 

"Jesus, brother, you must been working out. You weigh a ton," Evan joked. 

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment, though, coming from you," Josh smirked through his agony. 

"So, how'd you get yourself in trouble this time?" Evan asked. 

"Well, he saved my butt again. Ironically, I think that makes us equal."

"Okay then. We will head out from here to find a clearing where we can put him down and check his ankle." 

James spoke up. "There is a bench over there, and even if the structure falls any further, it will be fine. We're out of its path." 

"I got an A in science and health. Let me check your ankle out," Evan said with a Crooked Smile. 

"I don't think I trust you with that "look on your face." You could break it further.

"Oh, you big baby, then let me have a look at it. Do you think you broke it?" Becky asked as she pulled his pants leg up. 

"Oh my, Becky, I'm feeling a bit shy right now." Josh batted his eyes. 

"HA," you are the same guy who enjoyed stripping down to his boxers and jumping in my pool in the summertime. Yeah, right, nothing embarrasses you," Becky teased. 

"Oh, I see, Becky. It's no wonder you have had a crush on him since you were little." Micah taunted Becky. 

"It's not "that" like we were just kids; we're not thinking that manner." 

Everybody laughed - as Becky had a bright red face. 

A disturbing hiss came out from the rebel of the big bank building. 

Beck asked in fear to turn around. "Did you guys ever find that hole?" 

"No, not one of us did," Micah replied, turning around. 

"That means the hole might have been underneath the building," Beck said as she slowly turned around to look behind them. 

The giant rat demon had come out from underneath the rubble. The building had shifted, and the falling debris must have disturbed it. 

"I think we just came across the" "rat's nest," James said in a shaky voice.