Sanctuary part 2

“Get up!” Ethan shouted, trying to be heard above the blaring trumpet sound.  He started to rise, then stumbled back to the weeds and cracked pavement as the street seemed to lurch up to meet him.  The small brick building next to him simply collapsed on itself without warning.  His group slid and lurched away from the wreckage, up against the wall of the opposite building trying to keep out of the spreading dust.  The ground brick billowed into the street, and colored the bright light a bloody red.

“Did the sound do that?” Lilly yelled into Ethan’s ear. It’d only been seconds, but the sound of the trumpet hadn’t let up in what felt like an hour.  It was hammering his senses and making him dull.  A stark shadow fell over them suddenly, as something massive stepped between them and the light.

A creature approximately the size of a monster truck simply stepped through the small building and into the street.  The sound and light washed over it and heated its hide dull red.  Embers fizzed and lept over rhino-like skin that did not burn away like the lesser creatures’ had.  Heavy hooves dug grooves in the softening asphalt of the overheated street as the arch demon settled.  It took in a great breath, and roared defiance at the light.  Everyone in Ethan’s group cringed at the sound and tried to disappear into the decorative landscaping on their side of the street.  Ethan looked across to the front of the church where the pastor stood silhouetted before the blinding light.  The man did not shrink from the monster.  He held his Bible before him – and stepped forward.

The response was instant.  The sound of one trumpet became a thousand, and Ethan clamped his hands over his ears.  He felt the sound pressure in the trapped air in his lungs, in the bones of his face.  He saw windows shatter in a dozen cars.  The pure, brass-horn sound seemed to fill the world.  It was glorious and furious and it blasted the flesh from the demon’s bones in fiery shards.  When the when the charred skeleton finally collapsed the trumpets died and the light flickered out, leaving afterimages in Ethan’s eyes and ringing in his ears.  The entire event had lasted maybe thirty seconds, maybe a minute, but Ethan was exhausted.  Just then the pastor went limp and slid bonelessly to the steps.

“Lets go see if he’s alive,” said Lilly, and stumbled into the street, picking her way around and over bodies and piles of ash toward the church.  Ethan wasn’t worried, but he quickly stuggled to catch up to her.