The Deal Read Online Free PDF Page B

magic
bullet in my hand would be able to give me that extra boost. Unfortunately, it did not give me super-human speed, but I was
able to make good enough time that when I rounded the corner I
could see the old dragon just a few feet away from the receptionist
area.
    Another few feet beyond that lay the entrance
to the hospital and freedom into the world that would make a
mockery of me if I even dared to recant what had happened to me
that night.
    Desperation began to creep in
again as I continued to give chase. There was simply no way I was
going to catch Argatol unless some god-like creature was able to
magic up a pair of rockets strapped to my shoes, which by the
way were not designed to be chasing demons
with.
    Then an idea popped into my head and I glanced
down at the hand holding the bullet. It was literally a long shot,
but since I was now officially out of options it seemed perfectly
viable considering everything else that had happened.
    Argotal was just a foot or less away from the
corridor entrance which would give way to the waiting area and the
doors leading to the ambulance bay and his freedom.
    Now was the only chance I had.
    As small rivulets of sweat
cascaded down my forehead and dripped from my chin, I raised my
right arm, as if I was going to pitch a baseball. With every ounce
of strength, I could find, I threw the bullet at the running
demon.
    To my surprise, the bullet
raced through the air at lightning speed, just as fast as if it had
been fired from any gun. I prayed my aim was good enough to at
least slow the harbinger of death from reaching the ambulance bay.
How I was going to stop him if I couldn’t regain the bullet was
something I would have to deal with as it happened.
    Argatol let out and enraged scream as the
bullet thumped into the back of his head. Even though the beads of
sweat dripping into my eyes made my vision blurred, I could see
blood and bone fragments splatter in all directions.
    The sheer velocity of the bullet had merged
with the running velocity of the demon which meant Argatol was
still moving forward even though I suspected it was not out of his
own free will.
    I heard the homeless guy sitting
three rows back in the waiting area cry out in alarm as Argatol
crashed headlong into him and before they both
went sprawling to the floor.
    Breathless I slowed my pace to a quick walk. I
glanced over at the reception desk expecting to see the old nurse
cowering in fear, but to my surprise she was still sitting there,
small specks of bright red blood dashed across her brilliant white
uniform.
    There was no time to wonder why
she hadn’t reacted to the whole incident, my one, and only
thought was making sure that I had finally got my
target.
    When I cautiously reached the fallen man and
demon, I noticed that the old homeless guy had been knocked out
cold, a brand new bruise beginning to show on top of his
head.
    Mancini, or Argatol as he was really known,
showed no signs of breathing at all. But if he was a creature of
the undead then that didn’t really count for much. I was going to
have to double check.
    Remaining cautious I reached down, grabbed the
shoulder of the wrinkled and abused body the demon had been using
as a host, and slowly pulled him over so he was laying on his
back.
    The bullet had really done a number on him.
Where his pompous and arrogant face had once been was nothing more
than a gaping black hole from which the inner matter of his skull
continued to ooze out into the waiting area.
    Next to him lay the small piece of
shaped gold which had caused all the damage. After realizing just
how powerful it was, I quickly scooped it up and stuck it into my pocket.Somewhere in the back of mind, there was a
small voice of reason which suggested that I should maintain
ownership of it until a later date when it could become useful
again.
    As I was starting to straighten myself up
again, my attention was still on the gaping wound where old
Mancini’s face had been when I felt an