Chapter
1 – One Last Day
There’s a strange peace before the
storm we’re about to create. My new friends and I sit in a restaurant eating
what could be our last meal, talking, joking, and acting as if we’re not about
to openly purge this city that my guardian angel led us to. I turn my eyes to
my reflection in the nearby window and look into my red, orange, and yellow
eyes as I see a man I used to be infatuated by, then completely disgusted with,
and now tepidly accepting of. My brown hair has been kept together as well as
it can be, and my red shirt, black jacket, black pants, and shoes are as clean
as they can be for a man on the run. Tanith looks a bit better.
Her grey skin, grey eyes, and
black, long-sleeved shirt, skirt, and thighighs boots are kept well, and
there’s not a speck of dirt or blood in her white hair. As for Terah, he always
looks like a homeless man with his big dark green jacket, scarf, shirt, baggy
pants, and heavy-looking boots, while his green eyes and lack of arms are the
only things that make him stand out. We don’t change our appearance much since
we’ve been on the run when we started destroying cities and towns where the
demons and their cultists reside. In total, we’ve destroyed three cities and a
handful of settlements on the way here to Detlef, where my guardian angel says
our journey may end.
“Enjoy the peace now while you can,
and keep your mind off your task, for now, my friend. It’s all going to end
soon,” my guardian angel says.
Each of us sees our guardian angel,
while they are invisible to each other and the people around us. My guardian
angel is a flaming armored soldier, with a horned hood, three red eyes, two
crimson swords for arms, and a cloak made of fire. We all take on the
appearance of our guardian angels when we use our powers, which will be soon,
but I shouldn’t think about that now. Turning my eyes back to my friends, I see
Tanith helping Terah eat his food and drink his coffee.
Terah tilts her head a bit as she
asks me, “Is there something wrong, Thaddeus?”
“Nah. I just think this is all
weird,” I say.
“You’re just starting to realize
that after everything we’ve been through?” Terah asks with a laugh.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it? Weeks ago,
all I could think about was the next thrill, the next girl or guy dressed as a
girl I’d be with, and what get-rich-quick scam I could get away with. Tanith
was obsessed with pleasure, and you were obsessed with power.”
“Those obsessions still bother us.
We aren’t over them yet, but I understand what you mean,” Tanith admits. “When
I wake up, I still find it hard to believe this isn’t a dream, and that I’m not
stuck as a sex toy in Exquista Caro.”
“You would mistake this for a
dream?” Terah asks.
“Yes. Living like this is a million
times better than always itching for a fix of sex and drugs like I was before.”
Terah sighs and says, “I guess
you’re right, and I can relate to you both, now that I think about it. It’s
freeing not to always be looking behind my back and worrying about sucking up
to powerful people, so I could keep what I had and get more.”
“We’re not going to be free for
long. We’ll either die or be locked away in prison forever for what we’ve done
and are about to do,” I remind them.
“What did you say before, Thaddeus?
As long as we’re doing the right thing, that’s all that matters?” Tanith asks.
“She’s right. Remember and find
peace in the fact that we are doing God’s will because at the end of our lives,
that will be the only thing we will be judged for,” Terah says.
“Thanks for the reminder. I
appreciate it.”
“Say, why don’t we go to church?
Spend some time there to obtain some true peace, especially since we’ll be
facing a demonic threat soon?”
“That’s a good idea, Terah. Let’s
do it, before we get started.”
Going to the nearest Catholic
church, we go to it to find it mostly empty. Noticing people lined up at the
confessional, Terah and Tanith go up to it, while I stay and pray. Given that I
grew up in a for-profit denomination of Christianity, I’m unable to partake in
the sacrament. I’m also pretty sure that my baptism was invalid, now that I
know what a real baptism should be like from Terah and Tanith, who received all
the sacraments. At this rate, I don’t think I’ll be able to receive any of them
and will only be baptized through desire.
“Do not worry for your salvation.
Continue doing as God wills, and you will have it,” my guardian angel reassures
me.
Thank you, my friend. I continue
praying, and watch, and am surprised by how long my friends have to wait in
line for confession. From what I know, it’s supposed to take only a few minutes
for people to confess, but it feels like an hour passes before a person
finishes their confession, as if they’re conducting therapy sessions. The smell
of strong perfume turns my attention to a woman who walks into the church and
kneels by me. She’s dressed with a veil over her face, makeup, long skirt,
long-sleeved frilly shirt, and heels, all of which are colored pink and red. I
watch her pray with her eyes closed until she opens them and turns her
attention to me.
With a smile, she says, “Aren’t you
Thaddeus?”
“Huh? Yeah. I am,” I admit in a
whisper.
“I’m a big fan of yours. I was
surprised to see that you’re a wanted criminal. What are you doing in a place
like this?”
“Giving honor to God, before I have
to get back to work for Him.”
“Aren’t you afraid someone will
report you to the police or Dominion before you do your work?”
“No. This is the life God gave to
me, so it’s what I have to accept.”
“That’s what I always liked about
you. You’re a fearless man who’s always willing to do what you think is right,
no matter the risks.”
“Thank you for the compliment,
but…uh…”
The woman moves her face close to
mine.
“Can I get one kiss from you before
you leave?”
“I…uh…I guess I don’t see the harm
in it.”
I move my face close to hers,
intending to kiss her on the cheek, only to be surprised when she grabs my face
and kisses me on the mouth for a good long while.
“On second thought, you shouldn’t
leave here, or at least, shouldn’t leave without me, Thaddeus. I love you, and
I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“I…”
“Thaddeus, that woman is a man,” my
guardian angel says.
The words wake up my head from its
infatuation so that I can clearly see the truth about the man. I didn’t notice
it before, but now that I see it, based on a better view of the man’s
shoulders, hands, and face. I’m also now realizing that the man’s voice was
only slightly pitched up, and I wish that I recognized this sooner.
Immediately, I push away from the
man and say, “Who are you really?”
“As I said, I’m a fan of yours and
would like nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. I know the
kind of person you’re into and dressed this way because I know you’d be
attracted to me.”
Knowing that there’s only one way
this man could have known to find me here, there’s no doubt in my mind that
this is the work of demons. Without a second thought, I pray to activate my
powers, transform, and stick one of my crimson swords through the man’s neck.
“Never meet your heroes,” I say
before taking the sword out.
Looking over to Tanith and Terah,
who just got out of the confessional, I tell them what happened, and they
transform as everyone in the church either hides or starts to flee from it.
“I’m both surprised and not
surprised at all that this is how the demons start to go after us,” Tanith
says.
“I know, and I’m sorry for my
failure to resist my temptations,” I say as I cross myself. “May God forgive
me.”
“Don’t dwell on your sin now while
the enemy is already attacking us. I’m sure God has forgiven you because of the
circumstances, so let’s strike back before they can attack us again,” Terah
says.
“You’re right. Council of
Punishment, let’s get to burning.”
Exiting the church, I follow my
guardian angel’s lead, and we fly to our targets’ destination. We fly into
high-rise buildings and underground basements to burn and punish everyone in
the area, especially where cultist activity is occurring. With my powers, I cut
people apart with my crimson arm sword and burn them with supernatural fire
that reduces most to ash while sparing the somewhat innocent. Tanith freezes
and burns people with her blue flames, and Terah uses the green lightning
emanating from his body to shock and burn people and to take control of some of
them, turning them to our side or making them simply kill themselves. No one we
face is a match for us. In fact, most try to run in fear, while a few beg for
mercy, which they don’t get.
“Beg to God for mercy, not us,”
Terah says.
After burning and killing at
several locations, I take a look out at Detlef to see the many fires we’ve
started and the damage we’ve done to the buildings. It’s like a series of
missiles has struck the city, like it’s a warzone. Sure enough, the police and the
local hero associations come after us.
“Execute these people as well. Most
of them are on Hell’s payroll,” my guardian angel says.
Will do. The Council of Punishment
engages law enforcement in a one-sided battle. Their attacks with guns, robots,
and superhuman powers of all kinds do little against us when they’re able to
hit us. Not long into the fight, I begin seeing doubles of every foe I’m facing,
and then start seeing myself as the double.
“This is it, Thaddeus,” the doppelgangers
say in my voice. “After this, your usefulness to God will be up.”
I start praying while trying my
best to focus on the fight at hand.
“He’s already let you sin in His
own house. What makes you think He won’t let it happen again? What makes you
think you won’t be thrown away and damned with the rest of us after this? You already
know this day will be your last.”
“Tanith, Terah!” I say.
Turning around, I see Tanith
burning herself with the blue flames coming out of her left arm. She says, “I
know! I’m trying to deal with it!”
“Pray and let your fighting be a
prayer to God,” Terah suggests.
Together, we pray and battle until
the battle around us is over and temptations fade away. Detlef is in more ruins
than before, with even more fires burning the city, destroyed buildings, and
dead and unconscious bodies in the streets. This is our God-given work. This is
what true justice and doing the right thing look like, and we’re just getting started.
