Chapter Fourteen
Duster and a Gun: Reaper
Gregory Blackman
Trust No One
I had only choice left now and it certainly didn’t lie in the Rusty Nail tavern. I ran past the Sheriff bowling him and the townspeople over through the tunnel and into one of the crude basements. I only hoped the boy was still safe, something I knew wasn’t likely the case.
I made my way up another spiral staircase that was situated at the end of the cellar, illuminated by a light from up above.
I climbed into a small closet, the light wasn’t in the room, but shone through a stained-glass pane in the door, two dancing cherubs under a soaring white dove, barely visible through a coating of dirt.
“Whenever there’s a crazy cult on the loose, the first place to check is always a church,” I mumbled to myself.
I emerged from a confessional booth into the chapel, the same grunge covered every inch of the place. It stood two stories tall with a sweeping balcony that ran across the end wall. There were a dozen pews on each side of the aisle, chopped to pieces and barely resembling what they once were. The entire church was boarded up from the outside, it should’ve been as dark as the catacombs I crawled out from but there was a bright light that flooded the room with its glowing aura, coming from the most unlikely source.
Behind the altar and raised from the floor stood an enormous glowing cross with a crucified Jesus. I’d never seen such a statue so I moved closer to investigate the mysterious source of light. As I moved near, I noticed the figure nailed to the cross wasn’t a man, and it was certainly no statue. There was a woman nailed to the cross, barely breathing and not coherent enough to notice my presence.
The woman, a girl, barely in her teens with golden locks that curled down her naked body glistening with sweat and nails pounded into her flesh, it was a sickening sight.
“Ma’am,” I said, “Can you hear me?”
“I’m afraid she cannot,” a familiar voice said from behind me. “I’ve kept her heavily sedated while I take the blood I need.”
I turned to face Gabriel, his white suit shining like a beacon in the bright light. He walked towards me with a grin stretched across his face.
“I know enough about virgin sacrifices,” I said with my pistol raised and pointed towards the helpless woman. “Kill the offering and the curse usually stops.”
“You’re a very learned man, Horace,” replied Gabriel, “This woman was given to me by another… one that understands the need to reshape our destiny. I hope you are smart enough to know when to back down.”
Before I had time to pull the trigger and end the woman’s life, Gabriel sent me hurtling across the room with but a flick of his wrist. I struck hard against the barricaded front door. I was determined to show no weakness and staggered to my feet. Every bone in my body was on fire, a rush of searing pain that shot from one nerve to the next in rapid succession. Still, I stood my ground and refused to flinch as I stared down the angel.
“Don’t be a fool, reaper” he said, “You need me far more than I need you, but if you persist in messing about in my plans, I’m going to have to remove you from this realm.”
“What exactly do I need you for?”
“I know what happened to you, Horace, what happened in those two years that’s gone from your head.”
“You did something to me? I’ll… I’ll…”
“You’ll do what?” the angel asked with a sneer. “Shoot me? We both know that isn’t going to do you any good.”
“Don’t be so blinded by your own ego,” he continued. “Your coming here wasn’t by accident. You were led to this very place, Horace, by creatures that wish to see my work undone.”
“And what work would that be? Turning helpless townspeople into senseless slaves isn’t exactly God’s work.”
“Shortsighted, too,” Gabriel said with a disapproving snort. “My creations don’t kill, rape, pillage, one another, they simply exist to serve the Lord to the best of their ability.”
“And lose their freewill in the process,” I said with my pistol raised once more. “I might not be able to finish you off, but I’ll take your precious offering with me.”
I charged towards Gabriel, my duster billowing behind me as I fired off five shots in the angel’s direction. As expected, he managed to catch all the bullets with his hands, dropping them one by one. As the last bullet hit the floor, I lunged at Gabriel and tried to tackle him to the ground.
“Wrong move,” the angel said as he grabbed me by the throat. “Yet I’m a loving angel… a merciful angel… and I’ll give you one more chance to contemplate the gravity of your situation.”
Gabriel hurled me down the chapel again, the doors cracking as I smashed into them once more. The pain was excruciating, it was a hopeless battle that I waged, one not meant for a mortal such as I. The larger than life angel was invincible, at least to anything I could do to him, but I had to try. I was nothing if not a man of my word, after all.
“This one’s for you, Gabriel.” I said as I slowly rose to my feet. I tried to stabilize myself and I was bleeding profusely, barely able to see as the blood streamed down my face. I knew my end was near.
“Say you were able to kill her… wouldn’t I just find another?” he asked mockingly. “I mean, really now… face it, Horace, you’ve lost this one. Concede now or it’ll be the death of you.”
“We both know that won’t happen.”
“Yes, I believe we do,” the angel began with a hand pressed against the woman’s cheek. “Tell me, why do you think you were left alive by the Abaddon?”
“Some villagers found me, gravely injured and close to death. They saved my life.”
“Oh, that’s right,” the angel said with a laugh. “The villagers and their pitchforks… what demon from the echelons of Hell’s lowest circles wouldn’t be frightened by the sight? Do you really believe that, reaper?”
“I believe it more than your sudden turn from the light.”
“Then I’m sure you believe yourself strong enough to defeat it, as well?” Gabriel asked. “You’re a bigger fool than I thought. A beast born from hellfire is far beyond the vampires and ghouls that you stalk. You’re out of your league, reaper, and the beast’s been toying with you from the beginning.”
“Put the gun down,” he continued. “You’re not going to be shooting anyone; you don’t have it in you, not anymore.”
He was right. I didn’t have it in me to end this right here and now. This woman, whoever she was, hadn’t asked for any of this. I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger again.
“Do the other angels know of your plans?” I asked.
“You’d be surprised how little my order knows of this realm,” Gabriel said. “Like I’ve told you before, humans concern them very little.”
“Well then, aren’t we lucky to have you on our side?”
“More than you know,” he replied, brushing off the obvious sarcasm in my words. “In the coming months you’ll be very fortunate to have my assistance… should you choose to accept it. But no one must know of my involvement… though it would appear my enemies have learned much.”
“Who would these enemies be that you keep talking about?”
“The dark ones that stole two years from your life,” Gabriel said. “The Rapture is real, Horace, and it’s coming very soon. But unlike the stories told to children, there’s no one coming to whisk the mortals off this realm. Nothing but death and destruction lies in wait and unless we work together, all your trials will have been for naught.”
The sound of struggling came from the closet I emerged from. “Didn’t think you’d see me again, did ya?” asked Sheriff Madsen as he carried something into the chapel. “Well I knew I’d be seein’ you again, so I thought I’d bring along a little friend.” Wrapped up in his arms was Billy Godwin, covered in grime and struggling to get out.
“Thanks Sheriff, for saving me the trouble of having to find your tired old ass,
” I said with my gun drawn. My hand trembled in the air; it had never felt heavier, more alien.
“Children, please,” Gabriel jested. “We’re all on the same side here… working for the same outcome.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” I scoffed.
“Listen to the master, or I’ll put a bullet in you... right between the eyes.” the Sheriff added.
“I don’t often find myself agreeing with the help, but he’s right,” the angel said “Lower your weapon Horace and join us. Fulfill what you were put on this world to do… triumph over Hell itself.”
“And what makes you think I’ll do that?”
“The boy,” Gabriel replied glibly. “You’ll do it to save the boy.”
The way I figured it, I was out of options. I could go down blasting away, drop the Sheriff and end up with me on the floor again, coughing up a lung and bleeding out all over the floorboards while Billy went to an early grave, if he was lucky.
My second choice was to give up and the boy would live. I could continue on with my fight against the forces of Hell, and at the end of the day, that’s all I was ever any good at.
I’d never gone back on my word before, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say these circumstances had me toying with the notion. I wanted so badly to go down fighting, but even though I could scarcely admit it to myself, I just wasn’t able to go through with it. I wasn’t that kind of man anymore.
What other choice did I really have in the matter?