"We're here," Ryder said, parking the truck on the opposite side of the street from the mansion.

    The mansion was a beautiful shade of cream and it was gigantic. The mansion was separated from the other house by a few yards on each side. There were many tall trees surrounding the mansion. There was a small forest behind it and Ryder suspected that they might’ve gotten lost in the forest. But Saanvi doubted that all of the people got lost in the same forest.

    She thought something else happened to them but she couldn’t figure out what.

    They got out of the truck and walked to the mansion. The front yard had beautiful flowers around a small pond on their left.

    They walked up a few steps to the front door. The two black doors rose above them. Right behind them were two pillars holding up a balcony above them. The pillars had detailed carvings of birds and flowers.

    The mansion was the most beautiful thing Saanvi and Ryder have ever seen.

    Saanvi knocked on the door and they waited. After a minute of waiting for a reply, there was no answer.

    She knocked again. Still no answer.

    “Wouldn’t the owner be inside?” Saanvi asked, turing to Ryder. He just shrugged his shoulders.

    Saanvi turned back to the two tall black doors and slowly opened them.

    The inside of the mansion was probably more beautiful than the outside. There was a white marble floor and cream walls, the same colors as the outside walls. There were two staircases on opposite sides of the large entrance that swirled inward and met in the middle.

    Behind the staircases was an open area with a pool table and huge windows that covered the entire wall. The windows let the sun shine through making the whole area light up.

    The ceiling rose high above them and a beautiful crystal chandelier hung from it, in between the staircases. Saanvi turned her head around her to see a hallway to her left and another to her right. The house looked like a palace.

    "Hello?" Saanvi called. Her voice echoed through the house. No one answered.

    "I don't think anyone's home," Ryder said, stepping inside.

    "Really?" Saanvi replied sarcastically. "I thought there was a whole parade of people who answered my call." Ryder rolled his eyes and they continued walking into the house.

    "Hello?" Saanvi called again. "Is anyone here?"

    CRASH!

    There was a crash coming from the hallway on Saanvi's right. On instinct, they both pulled out their guns.

    "What was that?" Ryder asked after a moment of silence.

    "I don't know," she whispered. Saanvi's eyes lit up as she thought of something and she said, "Why don't you go check?"

    "Ha. Ha," Ryder said sarcastically.

    "What? Are you scared?" She teased.

    "No," he said unconvincingly and continued, "Fine. I'll go check. If anything’s there, you better not let me die just cause you hate me."

    She laughed and said, "No promises." They had their guns raised in front of them as they slowly walked to the source of the crash with Ryder in the front. 

    They continued to walk down the long and dark hallway as they made their presence known. "This is the police! Is anyone in here?!" Ryder yelled as they walked closer and closer to the sound.

    They passed many doors but none of them were the source of the sound.

    CRASH!

    "This is the police! Is anyone here?!" Ryder asked again as they stopped next to a door. “I think the sound’s coming from this door,” Ryder whispered to Saanvi.

   "Might just be an animal," Saanvi suggested. Ryder nodded in agreement and they cautiously entered the room.

    The room was a modern kitchen, and it looked well maintained. It was a long room with a big crystal table at the end with four black chairs surrounding it.

    The kitchen had black painted cabinets and drawers and a black and white marble floor. There was a clean kitchen island in the middle of the room with red and white roses in a crystal vase.

    They walked farther into the kitchen moving their guns to where ever they looked.

    They didn't see anything, but as Saavni turned around to scan the room once more, she saw what had made the noises.

    Saanvi elbowed Ryder hard in the ribs and covered his mouth before he could complain about how she might've bruised him. Saanvi pointed to the right of the room in between the island and the wall. There was something that had its head stuck in a pot. Ryder's mouth dropped open.

    It looked so much like a human but also didn’t. It’s body was shaped just like a human but it was all black. They had never seen an animal like this.

    The creature was on its knees struggling as it tried to tug the pot off of its head with its four fingered hands.

    It shook its head over and over, while using its hands, until it freed itself from the pot. It shook its head and slowly turned to look around the room. It looked to its left, toward the table.

    Don’t look over here. Don’t look over here, Ryder begged.

     It snarled, showing its yellowed razor sharp teeth.

    The creature had bright red eyes with black pupils placed on its thin face and long red horns on its head that stood out from its all black body. The creature's body was smooth and black so it could blend into the shadows of the house and all you would be able to see was it’s red horns and eyes. It's horns swirled inward like Magnificent’s and the tips were so sharp that they could impale anything. It stood on its two legs just like a human and was seven feet tall.

    The creature looked like a demon.

    The demon walked toward them. Ryder and Saanvi slowly stepped back until they backed into the kitchen counter behind them.

    "W-what is that?" Ryder whispered.

    "I don't know," Saanvi whispered back.

    He slowly raised his gun with his shaky hand, he said, "S-step back, or I will be f-sorced to shoot!"

    "I don't think it understands you," Saanvi whispered, turning her head to face him.

    "You're right, but I was just w-warning it so it can't get m-mad at me when I do shoot," Ryder said, not taking his eyes off of the demon.

    "I don't think that's how it works," Saanvi laughed despite being terrified out of her skin. The demon shrieked. It was loud ear-splintering shriek. They both screamed and shot the demon.

    The bullets went into its pitch-black skin and it shrieked even louder.

    They stopped shooting as they had to reload, but as they reloaded, the demon just stood there. Staring at the bullet holes in its body. Breathing deeply.

    After a few seconds of standing there in silence, the bullets somehow pushed themselves out of the demon's body. The bullets dropped to the floor making clinking sounds as they crashed into the black and white marble floor.

    After all of the bullets popped out, the demons skin pushed itself together to close the wound. The bullet holes closed up by itself, healing the demon. It looked up to see Saanvi and Ryder's confused faces and it seemed amused by their reactions.

    Ryder stared at the demon's body and said, "What the fu-"

    The demon shrieked and ran toward them. It was fast but they were able to escape its deadly claws. Saanvi ran to the left into the corner of the kitchen counter, barely avoiding the demon's claws as they reached for her throat. Ryder ran to the right and to the table on the other side of the room.

    It looked at Saanvi who it was closest to. The demon ran toward Saanvi as she screamed and put her arms over her head.

   Ryder shot the demon and it stopped in its tracks, only a few feet away from Saanvi. It turned around, toward Ryder and growled. Ryder shot the demon again and didn't stop this time. The demon shrieked as he kept shooting. It slowly walked to Ryder with no rush.

    Ryder shut his eyes tight as he shot the demon. He didn't want to see how close it was getting. Soon her heard the click of an empty chamber.

    Ryder opened his eyes and searched his waist for another full chamber to reload but he had none.

    "Shit!" Ryder yelled as he threw his empty gun to the marble floor. He looked around the kitchen for a weapon to use. He saw a block of knives but it was too far from him, so instead he decide to go through the kitchen drawers around him. Ryder went through the ones on his right and found a set of knives. Ryder picked up the longest and sharpest one.

    Ryder swung it back and forth in front of him as he yelled, "Come at me! I dare you!" The demon backed away for a second then sprinted toward him. Ryder closed his eyes and swung the knife.

    The knife connected with something and Ryder slowly opened his eyes. The knife was deep into the demon's throat but not all the way through. The knife was halfway through its throat and Ryder looked at its wide eyes. He smiled and slowly pulled the knife through the rest of its throat making a long and deep gash through it.

    The demon’s eyes widened so much Ryder thought they were going to pop out of its skull. The demon clutched its throat as it took a few wobly steps backward. Black blood poured through its fingers. The demon clutched the kitchen island as it fell onto its back. Its body shook as it choked on its blood. After a few moments, the demon stopped shaking. It laid on the floor, not moving.

    "Is it dead?" Saanvi asked, breaking the silence. She slowly walked toward Ryder, keeping a big gap between her and the demon.

    It wasn’t moving and looked dead. Ryder slowly approached it and kicked it in its side, just in case. It didn’t move and he kicked it once more. Harder this time. It didn’t move.

    "It’s dead. Let's go," Ryder said.

    As Saanvi and Ryder were quickly walking out of the kitchen, they heard loud and raspy breathing from behind them. They slowly turned around and saw the demon gripping onto the corner of the kitchen island, trying to hold itself up. The demon clutched its throat where Ryder had cut it.

    Saanvi saw the demon’s black blood drip down its hands and arms and onto the white kitchen counter. There was a big puddle of black blood that rolled over the island and down to the floor.

    Soon, the wound healed itself just like it had done before, with the bullet wounds. The demon stood there for a moment, looking at its bloody hand. It then turned to them and its red eyes narrowed to slits. It growled.

    "Oh shit. We need to go. We need to go now," Ryder said as grabbed Saanvi's hand and pulled her through the kitchen door. The demon roared.

    They ran through the hallway as fast as their legs could carry them. Saanvi turned around and saw the demon running after them. It was running on all fours, and it was catching up.

    Saanvi yelled, "It's catching up!" She ran in front of Ryder and pulled him out of the hallway to the front door.

    Before she could make it to the door, something dropped from the tall ceiling, right in front of her.

    Saanvi screamed. It was another demon.

    "There's another one?!" Ryder yelled as he grabbed her waist and pulled her away from it.

    The demon from the kitchen caught up to them and skidded to a stop behind Ryder.

    Saanvi looked at the demon in front of her. It was a little taller and thinner than the one behind them. But otherwise, it looked exactly the same.

    Saanvi looked at the door behind it. If they could just make it past that one, they could make it out. "We just have to get through the one in front of me," she said.

    "How?" He asked, still clutching her waist with one arm as he held the knife with his other. Ryder quickly looked back and forth between the demons, ready for them if they pounced.

    "I don't know, but if we are able to push this demon back far enough from the door, then we might be able to run out. Take care of the one behind you then come and help me push this one away,” Saanvi explained.

    Ryder nodded and let go of her. He ran to the demon from the kitchen, swinging his knife back and forth. The demon walked backward, away from him. It's eyes never left the knife.

    Saanvi shot the demon in front of her two times before she had to reload. The demon tried to sctrach her face. She was able to dodge, but she fell onto her butt. The chamber slid a few feet away from her. Saanvi looked at the chamber and the demon. She slowly reached for the chamber when the demon ran to her. Saanvi rolled out of the way as the demon slammed its hand where her head was. It created little cracks over the marble floor and Saanvi gasped as she thought of what would've happened to her if she didn't roll away in time.

    The demon got up turned to her. She rolled over and grabbed the chamber and slammed it into her gun. Saanvi rolled over again to face the demon just as it ran to her.

    Saanvi shot the demon in the head three times. It fell backward, and clutched the wall to keep itself from falling. It rubbed its hand over its head and looked like it was ready to collapse.

    "Ryder! Let's go!" Saanvi called, turning to look at him. He had cut the demon on its arm making it drip black blood onto the smooth, white marble floor.

    "I'm coming!" He called back as he pushed the demon to the ground.

    Saanvi and Ryder ran to the front door when the demons started to get up. The one Saanvi had shot clutched its head as it used the wall to lift itself up. The other demon from the kitchen clutched its arm and rose.

    "Oh no. Run faster," Ryder said.

    "Wait," Saanvi said. She stopped running and looked at the demons.

    "Are you crazy?! We have to get out of here, now!" Ryder tried to pull her away, but she shook him off and pointed to the demons.

    "Look." The demons slowly dragged themselves away from Ryder and Saanvi. It seemed as though they were scared of them... Or something.

    "Ha!" Ryder laughed, as the demons dragged themselves into the hallways. "That's right! You better run!"

    "I think something’s wrong. Why would they try to run away after they tried to kill us?" Saanvi asked.

    "It's because they're scared and realize they can't beat us," Ryder said, smiling.

    Saanvi slowly looked around the house. She had an uneasy feeling about it. "No. I think something's wrong."

    All of a sudden the ground started shaking. The crystal chandelier sounded like a loud wind chime as it shook violently, threatening to fall.

    Saanvi clutched the wall behind her, holding herself up as Ryder fell to his knees. It soon ended as quickly as it started.

    “What was that?” Saanvi asked, letting go of the wall.

    "An earthquake. What else?” Ryder said, getting up. Saanvi rolled her eyes and he said, “Whatever. Let's just get out of here and tell Chief about this place," Ryder said, reaching for the doorknob.

    "Umm. R-Ryder?" Saanvi stammered, tapping his shoulder.

    "What is it, Saanvi?" Ryder asked annoyed as he slowly turned around.

    "L-look," she said, pointing in between the staircases. There was a creature standing still in between the staircases.

    Ryder saw the creature and dropped the knife. "Holy shit."

    The creature looked like the demons they've seen but this one was much, much bigger. It was as tall as the ceiling. It's red horns scraped the ceiling above it even as it bent its back. Its red horns and eyes were a darker shade of red than the others and it looked like blood.

    "T-t-that is a v-very big demon," Saanvi said as she slowly backed up, into the wall.

    "That's no demon," Ryder said. "That's the Devil himself."