No Need for Heroes: Chapter 2 – Sacrificial Lifestyle

Chapter 2 – Sacrificial Lifestyle

Between active combat and funerals, Novus is unsure which he finds more uncomfortable. First, there’s active combat which speaks for itself. On the other hand, there are the funerals that he must attend the next day that is attended by relatives and friends of the people he’s killed or couldn’t protect. Sometimes he and the other Sorrows are yelled at or awkwardly thanked for putting the criminals to rest. It’s especially awkward when the family of a child is at a funeral. Many penitents come to cry over the bodies of the deceased young and amplify their prayers to God to ask for mercy for the innocent and repentant and justice for the guilty.

At one funeral, a widow who lost her family to a murderer throws over the casket of the person who killed her family and repeatedly beats and yells insults at the corpse until the Sorrows get her to stop and throw her out of the church. Novus is among them and can’t help but look at the grieving widow while she walks away. Sensus puts his hand on Novus’ shoulder.

“Don’t worry about her. We won’t charge her with anything and there are many programs and charities to take care of widows and victims of crimes like her,” Sensus says.

“But it’s not going to be easier for her and there will be more like her,” Novus says.

“We can only do so much. Just think about how your actions have prevented more people from ending up like her. It’s what I like to do so things don’t look completely bleak.”

The widow is on Novus’ mind for the rest of the day and even enters his dreams. He sees many women like her dressed and veiled in black crying and wondering why he couldn’t save their loved ones. This dream makes him wake up in a cold sweat the next day and confident that being at the funerals is worse than active combat because at least he has the chance to prevent the deaths of innocents during combat. Because of this, he asks Lt. Sterner in his office when he’s going to be deployed again since his squad was taking mostly attending funerals while the other Sorrow squads took their turns.

“What? Tired of going to funerals and not doing anything else for the rest of the day?” Lt. Sterner asks.

“I wouldn’t say that. I just want-” Novus says before Lt. Sterner raises his hand.

“I understand completely how you feel. I try to take part in as many assignments as possible not just because working behind this desk is boring and dealing with the politics of law is a constant test of my patience, but because I want to prevent as many tragedies as possible. In other words, I want to see fewer innocent people in coffins at the funerals we attend. Can I tell you a story?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Back when I was younger and a rookie like you, my brothers tried to get more money for my family because we weren’t making much because of the jobs we were given and we lived in a small house. Instead of doing volunteer work, they involved themselves with criminals thinking they could help me in my job by getting rid of other criminals. Still, they eventually became corrupted by doing many things with the excuse that they served the greater good. Do you remember in history class what one of the main lessons was particularly the one that’s related to their excuse?”

“The ends never justify the means.”

“Correct. My brothers thought they could steal and kill from whoever they thought deserved it never minding the fact that they eventually killed workers and officers who were just doing their jobs and were in the way of them getting money. I had to shoot them myself during a plot of theirs that had multiple gangs go to war with one another. They thought they could eliminate a majority of their competition at once and didn’t think about the civilians that would be caught in the crossfire. I’d like to think that their souls are in Purgatory because they told me they were sorry when they died. Every time I go out there, I have them on my mind and try to remember that criminals are still people in the same way that our patron saint did and that I’m doing them a service by ending their sinful ways before they can continue to harm themselves and others.”

“Thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate it, sir.”

“Don’t share it with anyone else. I only share it with people I trust and after your recent actions, you’ve earned it, rookie. You’ve also earned my permission to go out on an assignment rather than attend funerals for the rest of the week. You’ll be joining an Inflamed Penitents squad. They’ve had another one of their members put in the hospital for a week, so you’ll have to help them until they make a full recovery or whatever passes for an acceptable recovery in their minds. You won’t have to do as they do. In fact, they’ll probably throw themselves at whatever dangers are coming for you, so just do your best.”

“Yes, sir.”

Novus travels to the nearby station where the Inflamed Penitents stay at. This station looks more like a monastery than his own station and is decorated with even more pictures depicting events from scripture, events from the lives of saints, and allegorical pictures of God. Along certain walls and rooms are words of wisdom from both scripture, the saints, and Church dogma written over again and over again. Going into the chief of this station’s office, Novus meets the lieutenant he is reporting to. The man is dressed similarly to his peers except with a ranking stitched into his uniform that denotes his rank. He wears a gas mask unique to the Inflamed Penitents with stitches around the mouth. His entire outfit is crimson and gold and his chest has a golden bird in the center of it, a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Private Novus,” the man says as he stands up and shakes Novus’ hand.

“The pleasure is all mine, Lt. Parma,” Novus says with a slight bow of his head.

“It’s a good thing you got here so early. I was worried I was going to have to do some actual desk work. It would’ve been a good penance, but still, if I wanted to do penance I would’ve been in the adoration or prayer room or volunteered to go on a retreat. Now, I can leave the work to our penitents who will ‘gladly’ do it. Let’s move out.”

“Already? Some matter needs our deployment right now?”

“There’s always something going on in this city that needs our attention and a problem that can be solved with our added help.”

Novus and a squad of Inflamed Penitents are deployed to a food production facility that has been threatened and a possible bombing may happen. Going over there and securing it, Novus and the other officers are glad to find that everything seems fine for now.

One of the young workers approaches Novus and asks, “How did you become an officer?”

“The same way that everyone gets their job. I went to school and was judged by a spiritual director to get this job.”

“I got this job the same way too, but I wanted to be an officer. Can you put in a word for me to get me out of here?”

“It wouldn’t do much since I’m a rookie. Even so, you’d have to retake their tests and be evaluated by a spiritual director again. Why? Do you really want to be an officer that bad?”

“I do. It’s what I’ve wanted since I was a kid. It would also give me the right to shoot some of these criminals that have been ruining this city.”

“You don’t need to be an officer to do that as long as you can prove the other person was a criminal through evidence or trustworthy people.”

“Is that so? I’ve been told I’m not allowed to do that while I’m at work or at least that’s what the boss and the others say. I know a fair amount of people who were planning on blowing up this place and haven’t been able to do anything about it.”

“Reporting it to us is the best thing you could do. Were you the one who told us about the threat?”

“I was one of them, but it’s been a while since I put in the request. I’m sure you guys get a lot of them since the reward for exposing traitors and criminals is high. I told the rest of my friends and family to send in requests thinking that you’d have to pay attention to them if you got many requests for the same place.”

“Well, we’re here now to help. Could you point us in the direction of the suspects?”

“I will, but if I do, will that mean I can be reevaluated so I can get a different job? I’m not saying that I don’t appreciate the job that I’ve been given. It’s just that it’s not exactly a job I look forward to going to daily if you know what I mean.”

“You’ll have to ask my lieutenant. If anything, you’ll receive a reward for your help in saving lives. First things first, you must direct me to the suspects.”

“Yes, sir. They should be this way. Follow me.”

Following the young worker, Novus comes across a group of workers that immediately panic and call their friends to attack and initiate their plan. Thankfully, Novus and the Inflamed Penitents quickly put an end to their plans before any of the explosives in the facility can go off. After the short-lived gunfight is over, the Inflamed Penitents remove all the explosives from the facility while Novus and the clean-up crew remove the bodies of the criminals.

The young worker from before meets Novus outside the facility as he is leaving and asks, “Don’t forget about my reevaluation!”

“I won’t!” Novus says as he leaves with the Inflamed Penitents.

“He wants that as his reward?” Lt. Parma asks.

“Yes. He told me he’s always wanted to be an officer. He was the reason I was able to find the criminals.”

“Hmm. I’ll get his name and I’ll give him what he wants and a monetary reward in addition to it. Most people who get reevaluated for a vocation don’t always get what they want, but I hope that he does.”

The next day comes and Novus and the Inflamed Penitents are called to investigate the sewers where weapons, drugs, and possibly chemical weapons are being manufactured and sold. In addition, it is rumored that there’s a prostitution den in the sewers and a place for women to get abortions. Going down there, they find that their intel was correct and a gunfight ensues. During the fight, the Inflamed Penitents charge as close as they can to the enemy and cover Novus as much as possible to the point of shielding him when a chemical grenade is thrown. Lt. Parma is the one who saved him.

“Lieutenant! Are you okay?” Novus says.

“I’m fine! Our armor is specifically made for these fights. Keep pushing forward!” Lt. Parma says.

Eventually, the underground lab and marketplace are cleared out along with the prostitution den and abortion facility with no survivors to speak of except for the children who were being trafficked in the market. The usual clean-up happens except the prostitution den and abortion facility is burned down by the Inflamed Penitents who use flamethrowers to burn the buildings and every corpse in it to ash.

“I’m sorry that your Sorrows won’t have any bodies from these places to use in their funeral tomorrow. They’ll have to settle for a sign that says, ‘For the undignified scum of the sewers’. You understand why we have to do this, right?” Lt. Parma says.

“Yes, sir,” Novus says while not really knowing why they have to burn the bodies with the building other than not wanting to give the worst of the sinners a proper burial.

While back at the station the next day, Novus notices that Lt. Parma is dealing with back pain.

“Are you okay, lieutenant? Is there anything wrong with your back?” Novus asks.

“It’s fine. There’s no chemical damage to it. It’s just that the force of the explosion hit me like a sledgehammer,” Lt. Parma says.

“I’m sorry you got hurt for my sake.”

“What’s there to be sorry about? You didn’t do anything wrong and I wanted to throw myself in danger for you. It’s what the Inflamed Penitents are known for after all since we follow the example of God and our patron, St. Pertinax. Have you heard the story of him throwing himself at a mob while he was off duty?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“While he was off work one day, he saw a mob causing trouble, and even though he was off and unarmed, he did what he could to save lives and hold off the mob until the police arrived. By the time they did, he was half dead but still alive and made a full recovery a month later and immediately went back to throwing himself in danger for the sake of others. He was always okay with suffering for others no matter the cost since he thought that since life is suffering, you might as well make something of it. It’s also why we stitch up the mouths on our masks. You should never complain about the suffering you are going through because it is a test by God to improve and show who you really are.”

Before he can respond, the two are told about a mob starting a fire at an apartment building. Lt. Parma gets up as if he isn’t in pain and runs out the door faster than Novus. At the crime scene, many protesters are throwing molotovs and using homemade flamethrowers on the building and the police that are trying to stop them. Now on the scene, Novus and the Inflamed Penitents execute every pyromaniac they see. Since there are people still in the apartment, the Inflamed Penitents run in with Novus following behind them, but Lt. Parma stops him before he can enter the scorching hot building.

“Your armor can’t handle the heat. Take care of the rest of the pyromaniacs and everyone who comes out,” Lt. Parma says.

“Yes, sir,” Novus says.

Doing as he is ordered, Novus cleans up the rest of the pyromaniacs and helps the escaping inhabitants of the apartment building as they leave. Firefighters arrive and do their best to quell the flames and head in to save more civilians. One after another, the Inflamed Penitents and firefighters leave the building with families in tow covered by fire-proof blankets. After a little while of waiting and making sure everyone is here, the officers notice that Lt. Parma is still in the building. Before they talk to him over the radio, they see him come to one of the windows on the second floor of the building holding a child in a fire-proof blanket. With the lower floors burning, Lt. Parma jumps out the window, lands, and rolls on the ground. Thankfully, both he and the infant are fine.

For the next few days, Novus joins the Inflamed Penitents in days of penance and prayer where they spend most of the days in the adoration hall with some even flagellating themselves for their sins and the sins of others. During the time that Novus has been with them, he’s only been eating white bread, small fruits, and vegetables and drinking warm water. Some meat, fish, and wine are served on Sunday, but not enough to completely fill him. He eats even less on days of penance with only a smaller-than-usual meal at the beginning and end of the day. While he is starving, he isn’t sure if this or praying at funerals is harder to do.

Eventually, the Inflamed Penitent officer who was in the hospital returns back to the station. This allows Novus to go back to his own squad. Lt. Parma and the rest of the officers of this station thank Novus for his help and gift him with one of their masks. As soon as he gets back to the Sorrow’s station, he has an early dinner until he’s full. Lt. Sterner visits him while he is eating.

“So, how did you like being with the Inflamed Penitents?” he asks.

“It was…interesting. They’re definitely devoted in their penances and being sacrificial,” Novus says.

“Did you know that many of them are repentant criminals and monks? They’re quite a crowd of characters.”

“They also use chemical weapons if they need to. Have you seen them use it?” Sensus says as he butts into the conversation.

“I’ve seen them use flamethrowers. When do they use chemical weapons? They don’t seem the type of people to use them,” Novus says.

“They use them outside of the city and in the ruins and only in very specific situations when push comes to shove.”

“I disagree with the use of both flamethrowers and chemical weapons, but I can’t say that the Inflamed Penitents aren’t trustworthy people, so I’ll leave it at that. Are you ready to get back to work with us, rookie? We got a big job tomorrow,” Lt. Sterner says.

“Yes, sir,” Novus says ready for anything that isn’t a day of starving.