by John Stone
Not long ago, Damianos would've laughed at the man's ramblings if he hadn't proven to be an absolute monster. Damianos kept his gun aimed on the bearded man. He wanted a reason, any reason to take the shot. If the psycho didn't want to answer to him, he'd happily have him answer to God.
“Frankly, I don't think God would like you very much.” Damianos said.
“I am his Apostle! His warrior and I will strike down all those who would bring evil to his creation! I am an archangel that will cast the evils away into the pit! I cast you sinners into Hell!”
The “Apostle” exploded out of the pile of cloth, a knife in his hand. Again, Damianos wanted to shoot him dead for all of the deaths, and Carlo's maiming. It's what the man deserved for callously murdering and claiming it was for a righteous cause. There was nothing Damianos was annoyed by more than killers blaming someone else for the atrocities they committed themselves. God was not a valid reason to kill innocent people.
The “Apostle” drew closer and Damianos felt his fingers tighten on his trigger. It would be so easy—feel so good—to do it.
In the end, though, Damianos decided a leg wound would be enough.
A bullet flew into the air and hit the “Apostle” in his thigh, causing him to trip in front of Damianos. John grabbed the knife and pinned the screaming man to the floor, cuffing his arms behind his back, neutralizing any threat that he posed.
“No! You can't judge me! Only God can judge! Only God!”
**
“You are all sinners! You have no right to this life you have been given! Sinners! Devils! You are all devils!”
The car ride had been a long one. The “Apostle” relentlessly shouted from the backseat of the car, writhing and contorting violently, like a wounded animal in a cage. He looked far more like a beast than a man.
“We're devils? You murdered a whole lot of people...six couples, if I'm remembering correctly. Thought that was against the Bible. Thou shall not murder innocent people, or what not? Didn't think it was something that got the divine approval from your lord above.” Damianos said, trying to turn his disdain and urge to shoot the man into sarcastic daggers.
“Murder!? No! God asked me to punish them! To punish those adulterers for their sins! Adultery is a sin! It is a grave sin indeed! Those sinners—those devils—had to be punished as Lucifer was for their corrupted beings! They deserved it all! From 666 to infinity, I would have purged the beasts! Removed their feet so they could never again walk the Earth in peace!”
“You'll never walk the Earth in peace from this point on either, you know that right? You'll have even more time to converse with God. Yippie.” Damianos said with a chuckle to himself.
“Hell doesn't scare me! I have already repented for my sins! There are no more to punish! I have been forgiven for any transgressions in my life! Heaven waits for me! Heaven waits for me!”
There was no point in arguing with someone who supposedly had God backing him.
Damianos decided to just let the man keep rambling on in the back, ignoring his almost incoherent screams. He was happy knowing that some of the living victims were being rescued and cared for as they drove. He'd never look at a shoe box the same way but at least, there wouldn't be any more with missing feet inside.
“Thanks for being my legs all week.” Damianos said to his partner.
John just gave his usual thin smile while he drove. With a slight nod that said “you're welcome”, he hummed to himself. John Avers was a good partner because he was very efficient at covering up any worry or doubts he had. It was a false air of confidence and that kept him calm and collected during any case. It was only in rare moments such as now that peeked into him having to cope with what he had seen.
Damianos didn't blame John for being a bit rattled. Very few cases in their past had compared to the brutality of what they had just witnessed. Almost as disturbing as the actual deaths had been the idea that religion, faith, and God had motivated such violence. It wasn't a new idea at all, having been present to many atrocities throughout time. It was just horrifying to come face to face with such evil acts in the name of so-called God.
It was impossible to deny that the case had certainly been a long and grueling one. Damianos wasn't really one for religion or faith but he was thankful that it was all over.
Most of all, he was thankful to have both his feet—even if one of them still hurt like hell.
Thank You
I hope you enjoyed ‘Foot Race(Horror Suspense novella)’ and would love to know what you thought about it. If you have a moment to spare, I would appreciate it if you could leave a review of this book at Amazon. Your opinion goes a long way in helping others decide if a book is for them.
A review doesn’t have to be long: Amazon requires only a few words to publish it.
Also, if you can, please help other readers find this book by recommending it to friends, readers’ groups and discussion boards.
Thank you so much.
John Stone
Author of ‘Foot Race(Horror Suspense novella)’
Booklist
A list of other horror suspense books published by John Stone:
http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Spirits-Thriller-Mystery-Supernatural-ebook/dp/B00H1FBFLU/ref=sr_1_26?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1429889928&sr=1-26&keywords=ghost
http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Thriller-Mystery-Supernatural-Spirit-ebook/dp/B00JDJ07C0/ref=sr_1_19?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1429889858&sr=1-19&keywords=ghost
http://www.amazon.com/Renovations-Horror-Suspense-novella-Damianos-ebook/dp/B01621S386/ref=sr_1_46?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1443809247&sr=1-46&keywords=horror+suspense
