Sheriff Madsen’s last look was one of shock as he stared down the bullet that lodged between his eyes. He died unable to comprehend the fate that had befallen him.
Free from the now deceased Sheriff’s grasp, Billy came running towards me, he grabbed hold of me violently, and in my weakened state, nearly knocked me to the floor.
“It’s about humanity being created in God’s image, wasn’t it?” I asked. “You prefer them being in your image.”
“Would that be so wrong?” Gabriel asked. “Why would humanity choose a god that has abandoned them? He’s allowed them to be led to the slaughter and you tell me they would rather choose death over freewill?”
“So you’re a god now.”
“Don’t presume to understand me, reaper,” the angel retorted. “What I’ve done here will be repeated around the world. You talk of freewill, as if it’s some grand ideological victory, that every man, woman and child on this world should be afforded.”
“It’s not perfect, but it’s a start.”
“You’re right,” he replied. “It’s not perfect… but I can be the one to perfect it! Don’t you see, Horace? I was put on this earth for a reason… one which I will continue to uphold long after your bones are dust in the ground. I’ve cleansed these people of their sins… and for that they will worship me.”
“With no freewill, what would be the worth of that worship?” I asked. “Take away a man’s virtues, good or bad, and you take away his very essence. I’m not often in agreement with your God, but I’d say that was something we’d agree on.”
Gabriel stared at me with unbridled rage. I could feel his gaze upon me, fixed and unmoving, as if he was trying to set me ablaze with his mind.
“You’re as strong as what, ten men?” the angel asked after a minute of silence.
“…More or less.”
“I’m as powerful as a thousand men,” he continued, “I’m not just another angel… I’m the angel… and I’m going to lift humanity far above its station and see them through the darkness that’s coming.”
“You and every other conqueror to ever walk the face of the earth,” I said. “The thing about conquerors, though, is that someone always comes along to triumph over them.”
“And you think you’re that person?” Gabriel said contemptuously. “Don’t ever think you can stop me.”
“Maybe I can’t stop you,” I replied, my revolver once again pointed towards Gabriel and his virgin sacrifice. “Maybe I’ll never be able to, but I know someone who can.”
I raised my gun above both the angel and shimmering cross, I could see Gabriel’s eyes widen when he realized what I was attempting, but before he could stop me, I pulled the trigger.”
“What have you done?” Gabriel screamed as dust floated down through a bright ray of sunlight, from the tiniest of holes directly above him. “I would’ve shown you the truth about your past! You’ll continue to be an unknowing pawn in the Devil’s plan! Without me… you’ll be nothing!”
“I’ll take that chance,” I said. “I have to look out for this boy because nobody else, man or angel will.”
The light intensified, energized by the glowing cross until it enveloped the entire church. Then, suddenly, the cross exploded scattering dust and debris across the room. The girl nailed to it crumpled to the ground
“I’ll have your head for this!” Gabriel cried. “You’ll burn in Hell for this!”
He moved with superhuman speed and agility, his body becoming a blur as he sped forward me. He was inescapable.
“Burn!” the angel screamed as his hand gripped my face. His nails dug deep and straight to the bone, carving furrows from my right temple to the side of my chin. “Smolder like the mongrel you are!”
I winced in agony as my wound erupted in a fire unlike any other, blue and ice cold to the touch. I dropped to my knees, bound down by a power beyond my control, and begged, for the first time in my life, for a quick death.
In what I appeared to be my final moment, Gabriel’s fingers recoiled from my face as a blast lifted him. I could barely see from the blood in my eyes, but what I did see, would haunt me for the rest of my days.
He was more helpless than I ever imagined. He flew backwards and high into the air, siphoned of his power and struggling to move. His arms and legs were outstretched, as if the very air around him was pulling him apart.
Gabriel wasn’t a god, even he had his limits in the eyes of his lord who could end wars, cure plagues, or obliterate the denizens of Hell with but a single thought. Yet he chose to abandon his creations and allow them to find their own way in life, whether it be salvation or damnation. Perhaps, that was truly the meaning of freewill. Whatever it was, it was more complex than either the falling angel or I would ever truly understand.
“Help me,” Gabriel cried. “You… you need me, Horace… Horace... Horace!”
He was torn asunder by the power of his lord, bursting into thousands of small embers that were sucked back up through the small hole in the roof my bullet had made.
I crumpled to the ground, a smile stretched across my face and all too sure I was going to die. At least it was with honor and a promise kept
Billy clung on tightly and sobbed uncontrollably. He had seen more than any child should, things I didn’t have to witness until I was older and more mentally prepared.
If it was all so easy for his almighty god, why had he waited to intervene, to suit his higher purpose? It was both awe inspiring and horrific, that a being could wield that much power and choose not to use it to help the plights of man. Not a particularly loving god, if you ask me, and if he was, then he moved in a far too complex pattern than I was able to decipher.
As quickly as the brilliant light had engulfed the church in its cleansing aura, it subsided and the darkness crept back. When the blinding pain fled my body, I picked myself up and clutched at what I expected to be the charred remains of my face. I was shocked to find my wounds healed with only scars remaining, five in number and stretching down the right side of my face.
He could’ve healed me completely, yet he chose to give me a reminder of the ordeal that would last a lifetime, one more sinister than it first appeared, that his power was supreme and not to be trifled with.
For as much as I wanted to hate the fallen angel, I couldn’t, I might not have agreed with his methods, but I couldn’t find fault in his convictions. The monsters and creatures of the night were growing in number and threatening to take back what they claimed rightly belonged to them—the world of man. The angel’s weren’t on our side, and I just watched the only one I knew burned away.
“Goodbye, my misguided, old friend,” I said, staring up at the ceiling. “You were right about one thing, I don’t have of the answers but I know a demon that does, one that I must find. I guess I have you to thank for that, Gabriel… even in your death the fight will go on, I can assure you of that.”
Chapter Sixteen
Duster and a Gun: Reaper
Gregory Blackman
You Might Not Like the Answer
I couldn’t bring myself to accept what had happened. I wanted to count today as a victory, but an angel had fallen, another lost warrior in the fight for our right to live in this realm—no matter how misbegotten his views had become.
I combed my fingers through Billy’s hair, and told him that everything was going to be okay. He looked up at me as if to tell me that he wasn’t having any of it. I knew that was the one thing no man was guaranteed, and he knew better than to believe a single word of it.
Something was approaching from the confessional but with Gabriel and the glowing cross destroyed, I didn’t know what to expect. “Stay back, boy,” I said; pushing Billy behind me, “I don’t know what’s coming through there… and I can’t protect you properly if you don’t get behind me.”
A man emerged; it was Billy’s father, covered in a thick layer of grime and barely able to stand.
“Don’t look,” I said, turning around and dropping to a kne
e to face the young boy. “I need you to keep your head down, and whatever you do, don’t look up no matter what you hear.”
Billy looked back at me, blinking rapidly as he no doubt tried to interpret the sights he’d seen today. I had traveled the world, seen sights no man should ever lay eyes on, and what I’d seen today was something not meant for human eyes. Something we’d never understand, and probably for the best.
I left Billy, hunkered down behind some of the debris and approached his father. I wasn’t worried about the boy, or my own wellbeing, but of what I’d do to the father.
“My boy,” Mr. Godwin croaked. “Is my b-boy safe?”
“He’s safe,” I said, “Billy’s quite the survivor, no thanks to his old man. A kid like that will do all right in the world, whether he’s with his pa or not. I told you before to give me one good reason to let you live… now I want your answer.”
“I don’t d-deserve his forgiveness,” he said. “He ran from me… both my children… they fled when they realized what was h-happening to the town. They said it was changing… for the worse…like the Sheriff. At first I didn’t want to believe them… thinking it to be n-nothing but silly superstition. I soon found out that I was wrong—.”
A coughing fit brought Mr. Godwin to a halt; he clasped his chest as he grimaced. After a minute or two, he steadied himself and tried to continue the conversation.
“They rounded us up,” he said. “He infected us. The first stage… that’s what the Sheriff called it. He said that it’d take our worries away. For those that failed to embrace this there was always the second stage—.”
The coughing started up and soon Mr. Godwin was heaving uncontrollably, black corrosive bile poured from his lips. It singed the floorboards, sending smoke swirling up into the air.
“I’ll be damned,” I muttered in disbelief as I watched the bile seep through the cracks of wood. He was rejecting the infection.
“When you brought the boy home I could barely recognize him through the haze,” Mr. Godwin said. “The Sheriff took my boy... my only son… how could I just let that happen?”
“You could’ve fought.”
“I’m weak… selfish… contemptible… a man who knows his limits lives longer… isn’t that right?”
His voice trailed off as Billy approached the virgin sacrifice that Gabriel had nailed to the now crumbled cross. He ran his fingers through her hair, sobbing quietly, still refusing to speak.
“I-I don’t believe it,” Mr. Godwin blubbered. “Selena… my daughter… is that you?”
The girl was lying on the floor still unconscious from her ordeal. Billy nodded his head in agreement as he wiped tears from his eyes.
“She fled in the night with Billy and a dozen others,” he said in somber reflection. “They tried to get me to come but I was just a scared man… no one ever returned… I thought I lost them both. My god, I’m so sorry. I’m so pitiful… please… just don’t kill me.”
I thought about his request, debated with pistol in hand; whether I should end it all now or let him wallow in his own misdeeds and shortcomings.
“My wife died in childbirth,” Mr. Godwin sobbed. “I resented the boy… I’d only loved one person... and he took her from me. It didn’t matter if it was his fault or not.”
“Shut up! No child’s better off without his father,” I said with thoughts of my own childhood. “When the boy’s ready, he’ll come to you, and when he does you’d better be willing to lay down your life for him.”
I holstered my weapon and looked back towards Billy, who was now standing overtops his sister and staring back at the two of us. I rose to my feet to comfort him, but realized it wasn’t me he needed by his side. He had his family back, no matter how fragile it may be.
“Get help” I said to the boy’s father, “You might not deserve them… but maybe one day you will.”
* * * * * *
I kicked down what was left of doors and exited the church. Dawn was spreading across the valley and the air was fresh. Townspeople stumbled from their homes and into the street, shaking their heads, trying to piece together the missing fragments in their minds. More than that, however, I saw the glimmer of hope in their eyes, the dark haze that had taken over them was gone.
The bartender at the tavern was apologetic for his actions and drinking heavily. A reaper doesn’t need to look far for enemies, so I accepted his peace offerings eagerly and purchased supplies for the road.
At the stables Betsy greeted me enthusiastically as I packed the wares I’d purchased and led her into the street. I looked towards the Sheriff office, where I had taken down the two thugs. They had been tended to, their bodies wrapped in sheets and lying by the side of the road. There wasn’t any question these people had been through a kind of hell, and while they seemed to regret their losses, they also accepted it as penance for their unholy union.
I still didn’t have a clue as to what Gabriel had intended for these people, but I feared that I would soon find out firsthand. He mentioned a war… well no one in the world knew how to wage war like the reapers. I’d round up as many of my kind as I could find, hunt down the Abaddon and then go after those who started this eternal crusade. They may have started it, but we’d finish it, or die trying.
“Excuse me, Mr. McKidrict,” said a subdued voice behind me. “I know that I’m the last man you’d want to talk to before leavin’, but Billy won’t stop talkin’ about saying goodbye to you.”
“Y-yeah, I’ve got something I’d like to say to him too.”” I said, turning around to face the boy’s father. I was flustered, not one for goodbyes. But I wouldn’t tell the boy lies.
“I-I wanted to thank you, M-Mr. McKidrict,” Billy said tugging at my duster. “You’ve saved me and my f-family.”
The boy hadn’t spoken more than a few words since I’d first met him. He’d found his voice, maybe he’d find some peace and happiness.
“It was not I who saved them,” I said softly. “Without you to guide me to the tunnels we never would’ve made it this far.”
“What about the old man?” Billy asked. “I n-never got to thank him; he did so much for me.”
“He knew, I believe it was one of the only things he still did know to be true.” I replied.
I cupped the boy’s face tenderly and stroked his hair. He would grow into a fine young man with what he had and move on from there. That’s all anyone could really do when faced with the impossible. Keep on truckin’, like my father used to say.
“He had a name,” Billy said, “The old man, I mean.”
“Yes, I’d imagine he did,” I said.
“No… I m-mean I knew his name,” he answered. “He still remembered it by the time we arrived at the creatures den.”
“What was it?”
“His n-name was Samuel Anderson,” said the young boy.
“Well, then I guess I owe a lot to Mr. Anderson,” I replied. “He used what little life he still had in him to make sure we got through this.”
“Can I ask you something?” I asked, taking off my Stetson and letting the warm breeze wash over me. “How did you and your sister become separated on that night you fled Janestown?”
“I-It happened all so fast,” Billy faltered over the words.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.”
“No… it’s not that, sir,” said Billy after a moment. “We must’ve gotten ten miles from town before it came… with sweeping black wings that loomed above us.”
Billy paused again to find the strength necessary to keep on going.
“We scattered like ants,” he continued. “Selena tossed me to the ground, where I prayed for our safety. I didn’t pray hard enough, though… b-because when I looked up, the monster had flown off with her… I… I never thought I would see her again.”
The boy was referring to the Abaddon, straight from Hell and ruler of all he surveyed. The beast was intelligent and mean with a hunger that could never be quenched. He could’
ve slain them all, shredded them with his claws, yet he chose to lead them as hostages for me to find and drop the virgin with Gabriel to be used for some purpose. Were they working together? Was their another layer of this puzzle yet to be solved?
“Then the others came,” Billy continued. “The ones wrapped in black and shrouded in darkness. They took us away… I never even had time to grieve for my sister.”
“You’ve got to be strong, Billy.” I said, wiping the tears from Billy’s cheeks. “Your sister needs you to help keep your father on the straight and narrow. Can you do that?”
Billy blushed and nodded his head in agreement. He was going to do a lot of growing up in the coming months. I wanted to give him something to remember me and reward his survival in the face of such horror. Hopefully, it would lift his spirits.
I pulled out my right hand and flashed six silver coins in the palm of my hand. I waved my hand around in a display of showmanship and dazzled the boy with blur of pink and glistening silver.
“See these?” I asked, holding out the coins. “Now watch this.”
I launched the coins high into the sky and quickly drew my revolver. I took a second to steady my aim and fired off all six rounds in rapid succession. I didn’t need to wait to see the results; the sound was more than I needed.
Billy stood in awe as the coins came raining down around him, each one with a perfectly round hole in the center. He happily picked them all up.
“These are a reaper’s calling card,” I said, exaggerating the truth. “They are yours to do with you as you please but they are worth their weight in gold as a friend of mine so keep them safe.”
“Am I e-ever going to see you again?” Billy asked with dewy eyes.
“Not if I do my job,” I admitted, standing up and dusting off. “My path is not meant for others to follow. It’s a lonely journey and few are meant to tread upon it. I have a hard road ahead of me… and I need everyone back home to do their part and that includes you, Billy Godwin. More than you’ll ever know.”
I turned and mounted Betsy and urged her on, anywhere but here. It wasn’t that I disliked Janestown, or the townsfolk that had tried to skewer me alive. It was that I liked Billy too much.
Reaper (#1, Duster and a Gun) Page 9
