Jesus turned to me and started laughing, “DD it’s not an insult to think of me as a man. I am a man. I’m also God. Being God didn’t make me any less of a man than being a man made me any less a god. Also, yes, I did all the things every other man did, I ate a lot of hummus, and so I definitely broke some wind in my day. Do you think a bunch of men would follow me around if I was so completely different from the rest of humanity? We were a group of men sitting out under the stars many nights joking and teasing each other. Some of my happiest moments on Earth were when my apostles quit seeing me as God, and started seeing me as a friend. Frankly, those are still my favorite moments. I love when one of you stops groveling like I’m some pompous jerk, and starts considering me as a good friend.”
“Will Grim be okay?” I asked.
Jesus shrugged, “That’s up to him. It’s also up to all of you. If you treat him like a monster, then he’ll probably become one eventually. If you treat him like the man you all love, then he might be a little different, or he might not, but he’ll be a whole lot less likely to be that monster you are all so afraid of.”
I felt myself get frustrated, “Why can’t you just answer the question? Will Grim be okay or not?”
Jesus smiled, “He has free will. He has the choice to take whatever path he chooses. Yes, I know what path he will take, but I have to respect that he has the option to change his mind. I know it isn’t much comfort for you, but this needs to be Grim’s decision.”
Grim looked at Jesus, “I’m sorry that I didn’t do better, but I have a chance to fix this. I have to take it. That is if you are okay with it. I don’t want to go against your will.”
Jesus smiled, “I was really hoping you’d choose this, but I wasn’t going to force you. I want those people saved as much as you do. Now, I don’t want to hurry you, but the longer we wait here, the more opportunity Lucifer has to change his plans.”
“So Lucifer is The Darkness?” Grim asked.
Jesus nodded, “He is the power behind the myth. He’s opportunistic, and that’s why he showed up at the last moment. Lucifer knows how close he came to winning over one of you, and so he was going all out.”
“What do you mean, close? Katy’s joined team evil.” Niki snorted.
“Yeah, and as soon as we fix this, I’m going after her head.” Grim growled.
Jesus’ face grew sad, “I wish you wouldn’t.”
“What? Why? She betrayed all of us. She’s working with Satan. I mean, if that doesn’t earn you a trip to the big dirt nap, then what does?” Grim growled.
Jesus sighed, “If you kill her, then she’ll never have the chance to see the error of her ways. She’ll never have the chance to repent. If she dies before she can come back to me, then she’ll be condemned to hell. I don’t want that for anyone. I won’t tell you what to do, but please understand that as far as I’m concerned, the devil hasn’t won her yet. He just has her for now. There is always the chance that she could someday change her mind, repent, and return to my family.”
“Will she?” I asked hopefully, and I realized that even though she had betrayed us, I still worried about her. She was still family to me, and when I looked around at the spark of hope in everyone’s face, I realized that they all had the same feeling. We were all angry with her, and we all felt betrayed by her, but we still loved her.
Jesus shrugged, “That depends on her. I certainly hope so. As long as you love her and don’t give up on her, then she has a chance. It’s amazing how people influence you. If you are surrounded by loving people that care about you, then you almost always flourish, but surrounded by hatred and evil…nothing drags a person to hell faster than being surrounded by people that don’t love you.”
I thought about what he said. If not for my mother’s sacrifices, I’d never be where I am today. Then I looked around at the others. Grim’s stepfather had done everything in his power to make sure that he felt loved, and then spent his free time making him into the soldier he is today. Grim wouldn’t be the amazing man he is without the love and care of both of his parents. Niki was the same way. Danika owed a lot of her freedom to her father caring enough about his daughter to let her go find a life out in the world. From what I knew of werewolves, her father had to have taken a lot of flak for letting her go. He was probably catching all kinds of hell now that she was planning on marrying Niki. He was a loving father that was putting his daughter’s happiness priority over his own comfort. He was actually risking his position as the pack leader by letting her do this. I only wish my father was half the man that Danika’s was. Penny’s mother had given her life to save her daughter. If that wasn’t love, then what was? We were a strange family, but we were all products of the families we came from. If we had been raised by different people, then this could have all been very different.
Jesus put an arm around me, “What you’re thinking is absolutely right. You know, people give my mother a lot of credit for raising me, but my father had just as much a hand in my upbringing as she did. I had the benefit of choosing my parents, and it was no coincidence I chose a man with a heart big enough to love me in the face of all the world’s sneers. Growing up, there wasn’t a day that went by that my father had to hear how I was a bastard, or that my mother had been a loose woman that slept around. My father didn’t listen to the whispers, and he loved us both wholly and completely. I chose my parents, but I still say I was blessed by two loving parents that cared about me as a son. They didn’t spend their time thinking about me being God. I was their boy, and they weren’t afraid to let me know every day that they loved me. How different would things have been if I had chosen a woman that cared more about her appearance and status than her children? How different would things have been if the man that was to be my stepfather had been someone that wouldn’t accept me? What if he saw me as an insult to his manhood instead of a child? What if Joseph had been so hardhearted that he chose to have my mother stoned for adultery, instead? How different would the world have been?”
It was a shocking thought. If Joseph had been a different man, then Mary would have been killed, and Jesus might never have been born. All the things that have been influenced by the birth and life of Christ that we just take for granted wouldn’t exist, or they would be so incredibly different that we might not even recognize them. When you thought of Jesus, you couldn’t help but think of Mary. She’s all over the bible. You might even think of Jesus’ brothers, but Joseph is almost an afterthought in the story. He loved Jesus as his own son, and almost nothing is said about him. It was kind of sad.
“He didn’t raise me for the notoriety. He raised me because he loved me. He loved my mother. All the talk about how families should love each other, everything good and loving about husbands, wives, and raising children are not just theoretical concepts. I saw them every day growing up from my mother and my father. I chose them as my parents, but they didn’t have to love me. My mother could have refused me, knowing all the sneers she’d receive in her lifetime, and all the jokes at her expense throughout history. Joseph could have turned his back on Mary and I. He could have had her stoned if he was a hardhearted man. I was truly blessed by a loving family.” Jesus’ voice swelled with the same pride any child has when they talk about how much they love their family.
Grim stepped up, “Well, we need to stop wasting time. Penny, I know this isn’t anything resembling romantic, but right now we need to do this. We have to save those people.”
We all wanted to argue, but everyone knew he was right. Penny asked for somewhere safe and secluded to bring him over. Enoch led us to a cave. It was cold and bleak, but Penny said it would work for her needs.
“Will it hurt?” Grim said nervously.
“Yeah, it’s going to hurt a lot. You’re going to die. When you get close to death your body will try to fight me off. It’s just like how when you are drowning, your body eventually starts trying to breathe, and since you’re underwater, you suck water. It’ll be similar here. The closer you g
et to death, the more your body will try to fight to survive. I’m sorry, but it’ll hurt, and you’ll probably hurt yourself trying to escape.” Penny said sadly.
Grim paled a little, “Danika, will you be okay? Will this affect our bond?”
“I…I don’t know.” Danika sniffled.
“Well, keep telling your inner wolf that I’ll be fine, and it’s just temporary. Now, I have a request.” Grim said, and we could all tell he was afraid.
“What? Anything you want.” Niki said.
“I know it’s a lot to ask, but as Penny is changing me, could you all stay with us? I’m scared, and I don’t know that I can do this on my own.” Then he looked at Jesus, “Can you stay with me, too? Please?”
Niki hugged her brother, “I promise I’ll be here. I can’t say that I can watch the whole thing. I might have to turn away, but I’ll stay with you. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
We all agreed, and then turned to Jesus. He smiled and said, “I’m always with you...even when you can’t see me. I’ll be here. Just have faith.”
“Okay.” Grim took a steadying breath, “In the immortal words of Optimus Prime...transform!”
That sweet, lovable bastard; even in his last few minutes he was trying to cheer us up. Penny laid him down so that she’d have an easier time changing him. She held him tenderly, “I love you, and please forgive me.”
“Forgive you? Baby we’re going to be together forever. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I’m scared to death, but in a way this is the happiest day of my life.” Grim sniffled and then gave her a tender kiss.
Penny took one long sigh and then looked at us, “When this starts, don’t interrupt. If you try to interrupt, then my fangs could release the other venom and he’ll bleed to death. I might not be able to save him at that point. Does everyone understand? Once I start this, we cannot stop.”
After we all assured her that we wouldn’t interfere, she leaned down to bite.
“Wait.” Grim said.
“Did you change your mind?” Penny said nervously.
“No. Would it bother you if DD held my hand? I could use the extra support, and she is part of us.” He asked. Grim’s voice sounded a little panicked, and with good reason.
Penny smiled sweetly, “If she’s willing, then I think we could both use the extra support.” She turned to me.
Oh, crap. Why me? It felt like they were asking me for permission to let Grim die. I looked at Penny, and then back to Grim. I love them both, and this was something I’d talked with them about, but now it was about to happen, and I felt like running off and hiding. Grim and Penny needed me, though, and as much as I wanted to run away, I stepped forward and held their hands. My stomach rumbled. “Sorry, I’m stressed. When I’m stressed I get hungry.” Right now, I could eat a whole cake and follow it up with a gallon of ice-cream. This situation better improve soon, because at this rate, I’d end up eating until I looked like Honey Boo Boo’s mom.
Penny leaned forward and then bit down. I felt Grim tense, and then relax. Penny drank deeply. Grim made little grunts of pain as her feeding continued. After a few minutes his grip started weakening, and it wasn’t much longer before he let go of my hand and started trying to push Penny off of him. Penny tightened her grip and kept drinking him down. Niki and Danika both started crying as Grim fought harder and harder, but eventually his fighting got weaker. He got slower, and eventually, he stopped moving.
“Is he…dead?” I asked.
Penny withdrew from his neck, “No. He’s still alive, but he’s right at the edge of death. It’s time for him to drink me in. DD, could you please hold his head up? It’ll make it easier for him to drink me in.”
I hurried to lift his head up. He was so pale. I saw water dripping onto his forehead, and I realized that it was my tears. I’d been crying the whole time. Penny lifted her wrist to her mouth, but then seemed to change her mind. She then stuck her tongue out and bit down. A large chunk of it fell to the floor beside Grim, and blood started seeping out of her mouth. Penny leaned down, and gave Grim a deep kiss. As she kissed him, her blood ran into his mouth. It wasn’t long before I saw his mouth and throat moving. He was swallowing down every drop. My stomach lurched, but I didn’t let go. They needed my help.
Grim’s body kept drinking even as his body began to spasm and jerk. He was dying. Niki fell to her knees and started crying. Danika held her and gently rocked her, but she looked just as upset. Cassie was crying, and Samuel held her, whispering that everything would be alright. I kept praying he was right. I looked up at Jesus. He watched us all with tender eyes. Then he looked at me, “You’ve really come a long way.”
“I never thought this would be my life.” I said nervously.
“Would you change it?” He asked.
I looked down at Penny and Grim. “Not even for a second.”
Chapter 34
After Penny finished, I let Grim’s head rest in my lap. He was limp, and clearly dead. I tried to ignore the urine soaking through his pants, and the stench from his bowels evacuating. It just seemed wrong to leave him in this condition, but I didn’t want to let go of him long enough to clean him up.
Danika and Niki both were sobbing, and Jesus walked over to them. “Come with me for a while. It’ll be a few days before he rises, and you girls look like you could use a little time to clear your heads. I promise Joseph will be fine. Enoch, could you help me show them around? Maybe you could take us to your game room so they could have a beer and relax. They’ve all had a rough day. Cassie, Samuel, would you like to come with us?”
Enoch nodded and started to lead everyone away. Jesus stopped and looked back at us, “For the record, he made the right choice. Now take all the time you two need, and when you’re ready, I’ll come back and take you to Enoch’s for rest. I promise you that Grim will be safe here, and I’ll make sure that you’re back with him before he wakes. You two need rest as much as they do.”
“I’m not leaving him.” Penny said, and her voice was like steel.
“I understand, but at least get some rest. You need it. DD, if you want to stay, as well then I’ll make sure you have food and maybe a cot to sleep on.”
I nodded. I just couldn’t leave either of them. Penny was so fragile right now, and it might sound stupid, but having her there was the only thing holding me together.
“Most men have a hard time finding one good woman that loves them, and somehow Joseph has found two. He’s a lucky man.” Jesus grinned and walked out.
Penny looked up to me, “Did I do the right thing?”
“Jesus said-“
“No…I mean do you think I did the right thing? Do you hate me?” Penny’s eyes pleaded with me.
“No I don’t hate you. You did what you had to. Grim made this decision. Jesus says it was the right one. I get the feeling he’s never wrong. So you did the right thing. Like they say, right and easy are rarely the same. I don’t hate you for changing him. I love you regardless of what happens with Grim, just like I love Grim regardless of what happens with you.”
Penny kissed me, “Oh, thank God. Do you think he’ll forgive me?” Penny said and her eyes turned guiltily toward Grim’s lifeless body.
“Why would he need to forgive you? He asked for this.”
“When I was changed it was the worst day of my life. I never forgave my father for what he did to me. I’m worried that Grim will feel towards me the same way I felt towards my father.” Penny said sadly.
“You poor misguided girl, do you think you did to Grim what your father did to you?”
“In a way, yes, I made him a vampire just like my father made me.”
“No, your father raped you and abused you. That’s nothing like what you did to Grim. You love Grim, and he knows it. He loves you. Just think, when he rises you’ll be able to be together forever.”
Penny squealed, actually squealed with delight. Then she looked at me, “You know he loves you, right?”
“I.
..I know he likes me.” I said nervously.
Penny shook her head, “No, he loves you. When I was drinking him I saw every thought and feeling he had. He loves us both so much.”
“Well, if you knew that then why are you worried about how Grim feels about you?” I sputtered.
“I know how he feels, but I know how I felt about being changed. I’d completely understand it if Grim woke up and couldn’t stand to look at me.” Penny’s words were nervous.
“When Grim wakes up, he’ll love you every bit as much as he ever did. The only problem is that his wang is going to be vampire fueled. He might just hump us to death.” I laughed.
Tension melted away from Penny’s features, “Yeah, but what a delicious way to go.”
We kissed again and then Penny said, “Can we please get him cleaned up? I don’t know that I can handle him smelling like this for the next three days.”
It took us a long time to get him cleaned up. It only got harder as rigmortis set in. “Is that normal?” I said looking at Grim’s erection.
“Yeah, he basically walks around like that most of the time.” She laughed.
“No, I mean he’s dead, and it is stiff. Is that normal?” I asked.
Penny snickered, “How would I know? I don’t go around fucking corpses. Maybe it’s normal, but I have no idea. It does look a little smaller, though. That is kind of weird, but I wouldn’t complain if his weenie went on a diet. A little less girth and length wouldn’t be missed.”
“Oh God, what happens if it just shrivels up and falls off before he rises? What if somehow you just turned him into a Ken doll?”
Penny laughed, “Then, he’ll be very sexually frustrated, but he does have ten fingers and an amazing tongue. So I think we’ll be just fine. Besides, he’s not going to be a Ken doll. That’s just stupid. It does look smaller, though. I’m not really sure what’s going on with that.”
“Well, as long as it doesn’t get much smaller. I kind of liked feeling so full, but I wouldn’t complain if he was a little smaller so that I wasn’t so sore afterward. Oh God, this means he’ll have venom draining into him all the time, won’t it? He’s going to be rock hard all the time.” I felt my thighs quiver at the thought.
Midnight Squad: The Ties That Bind Page 58
