The God Killers
Page 8
Natalie was on her back on her bed, wearing the long t-shirt and boxing shorts that comprised her usual sleepwear. Just as Father Hurley had described, she was strapped to her bed, each limb tied with rope to the nearest bedpost. Her pupils were dilated to the point that her irises were almost invisible, and she glared at the people entering the room.
Father Hurley guided Florence out of the room immediately. “They need their space to do their work, Florence.”
“But I—” Florence began to protest.
“Give them their space, and your niece will be back to normal before you know it.”
The door was shut, and the three men were left alone with the demon who was squirming on the bed. Cipher began to set up his recording equipment while Han and Father Hurley watched Natalie’s eyes glow orange on the Third Plane—a sure sign of a demon.
“Gotta give my compliments to Satan this time. She picked a hot bottle for the message,” Han commented as he began to take out another cigarette. He stopped when he saw Father Hurley shooting him a wicked stink eye. “Fine. I’ll wait.”
“Okay. We’re ready to record,” Cipher announced. “Get her talking, Father.”
“The power of Satan commands thee,” Father Hurley immediately said to the demon. “Deliver your message and leave.”
The demon obeyed and began babbling in a language so complex that no human could possibly discern it with the ear alone. The vowels and consonants and other unholy, guttural sounds came in a rapid-fire succession that was impossible for any normal human to speak; the complex message finished unfurling in less than a minute.
“We got it,” Cipher declared, then started to pack up his equipment. Cipher and Father Hurley had been through the routine dozens of times together in the past. Possession was how Satan sent messages to the resistance on Earth. Demons would take control of an unsuspecting human; the victims were referred to as “bottles,” as they contained messages from a parallel dimension. A mole inside the Church, like Father Hurley, would have to get to the victim first and record the strange speech before representatives from the Vatican appeared on the scene and quashed it.
Everything appeared to be going according to plan, just as it always had in the past, until suddenly, Natalie died.
Father Hurley noticed it first: The orange glow of the demon’s eyes faded completely, and Natalie was completely still. “Boys,” Father Hurley began, “did she just die?”
Cipher and Han both looked up at the girl and saw the same, horrifying sight.
“Holy shit,” Han whispered.
Cipher moved to the girl quickly and put his ear close to her mouth to listen for a breath; there was none. He put his hand on her heart to feel for a beat; again, there was nothing. He stood up straight, as though he’d just had iron injected into his spine. “She’s dead,” Cipher said.
“We can’t let this happen,” Father Hurley responded.
“Why not? Let’s get out of here before her mother finds out and we get the blame,” Han replied in an urgent whisper.
“Florence is her aunt, not her mother,” Father Hurley corrected, “and she’ll call the police before we even make it out the door if we don’t do something.”
“Father Hurley’s right, we can’t let her die. If we do, they’ll come after all three of us for murder,” Cipher replied.
“They’re coming after all three of us anyway! The longer we stand around talking about it, the less of a head start we get!” Han responded in a half-yell, half-whisper.
Cipher stood silent for a moment before nodding. “We better get out of here.”
“What’s the matter with you boys?” Father Hurley nearly yelled, clearly angry. “Have you forgotten why we’re fighting? What is the point of saving humanity if humanity acts in its own interests? Have you forgotten the goodness in the souls you’re trying to save?”
“Who gives a fuck about goodness?” Han snarled. “I’m just trying to survive.”
Father Hurley’s shoulders slumped in dismay. “Have you forgotten your own goodness?”
Cipher stopped once again and regarded the desperate look on his old friend’s face. The war had been so long and difficult. Every man in the room had lost so much, and they’d seen the worst the universe had to offer. Nevertheless, Father Hurley was right. What was the point of saving humanity if there is nothing humane left in it?
“I’m sorry, Father,” Cipher replied. “You’re right. We’ll save her.”
“What? How?” Han replied, disbelieving.
“Pull the paddles out,” Cipher said.
“You’re wasting time,” Han whispered harshly.
“Pull the goddamn paddles out!” Father Hurley shouted. “I’ll deal with her aunt.” Father Hurley slammed the door behind him after leaving the room.
Han reluctantly pulled the defibrillator out of his bag and began uncoiling the wires, and Cipher untied Natalie’s wrists. “Can you start CPR?” Han asked Cipher.
“Of course,” Cipher answered as he positioned Natalie’s head so her airways would be open. He then pinched her nose and began to blow hard into her mouth.
“Don’t bother with that,” Han said. “It doesn’t work. Just push on her chest. Breaths don’t work.”
Cipher began repeatedly pushing down on her sternum.
Han attached a wire from the defibrillator to Natalie so he could measure her vitals. Cipher watched him impatiently. “You know this is a waste of time, right?” Han said.
“We have to try. How long till those paddles are charged?”
“You watch too many movies. They don’t charge. Why would equipment that is used in an emergency need to charge?”
“Then why aren’t you fucking shocking her?” Cipher demanded, shooting Han the coldest look he could muster as he continued to pump down on her chest.
“With my magical defibrillator? Because it would kill her for sure. She’s already in asystole. You need to keep doing CPR, and I need to give her a shot of epinephrine,” Han said, already filling a syringe.
“Will that bring her back?” Cipher asked, panting as he continued to push down hard on Natalie’s torso.
Han administered the epinephrine and shook his head. “No. Nothing’s gonna save this chick. I’m just trying to make you happy.”
“This is serious, Han! We have to save her!”
“I’m doing everything I can, but she’s in an asystole state.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“In layman’s terms? She’s fucked. Her heart has completely stopped.”
“So was mine, and you brought me back, didn’t you?”
Han rolled his eyes. “When we stopped your heart, I’d lowered your body temperature and taken every possible precaution to increase the chances of bringing you back. Her chances of survival are less than 2 percent, Cipher. We’re wasting time.”
Cipher continued panting and pushing down on Natalie’s sternum. “Han, we have to get her back.”
“Why? Because Father Hurley tugged on your heart strings?”
“Because we’re the fucking good guys, you fuck!” Cipher replied in a harsh whisper, cognizant that Father Hurley was still dealing with the girl’s aunt outside.
“Trying to be swell guys in white hats won’t help us get her back, Cipher,” Han said coldly. “We know that better than anyone. And, by the way, the epinephrine didn’t work. She’s dead...completely gone.”
Cipher stopped pushing down.
“I’m sorry, man. I told you it wasn’t gonna work.”
Cipher panted heavily as he stood and regarded Natalie. Her body was no longer functioning, but Natalie still existed. He knew she was caught in the tunnel between Earth and Heaven, just as he, Han, and Father Hurley had been before her, walking slowly toward the white light. “We can’t let this happen.”
“There’s nothing we can do. We can’t circumvent the laws of science,” Han replied.
Suddenly Cipher’s eyes lit up. “Yes we can!”
&nbs
p; “What in the hell are you talking about?”
Cipher was already removing his shirt. “I’ll go get her.”
“Cipher, it’s over. Let’s go. She’s dead.”
“We don’t have time to argue about this,” Cipher replied as he pushed Natalie to the side and lay down on the bed. “Kill me.”
“What? No way! You were under just twelve hours ago. There’s no way your heart can take that much trauma so quickly after last time. I won’t be able to bring you back again, man.”
“Han, she’s dead because of us. It’s our job to save her.”
“You’ll die trying. I guarantee it.”
“My father came back. Your sister came back. That means whatever that sick fuck does to them up there, it’s not the end. They continue to exist for eternity in agony. Good people like your sister come back twisted and evil. We can’t let that happen to this girl. For fuck’s sake, Han, give me the paddles before He gets her.”
Han, shaking his head and muttering protests under his breath, pulled the gel from his bag and began coating the paddles. “This is suicide. It’s been great knowing you, you idiot.”
“As soon as I’m under, bring us back. I’ll have her with me.”
“I can’t believe I’m killing my best friend—again.”
“Don’t be a fucking drama queen. Just give me the paddles again the second you know I’m under, you pussy.”
“Thank you. You just made this easier.” Han put the paddles onto Cipher, shocking him and knocking him unconscious almost instantly. Han then rushed out of the room and found Father Hurley and Florence sitting together in the living room, Father Hurley’s hands clasped sympathetically and reassuringly over hers. “I need anything you have that’s frozen,” Han said urgently.
“Oh...okay,” Father Hurley said, smiling an extraordinarily awkward and insincere smile. He turned to the girl’s lunatic of an aunt. “Don’t worry, Florence. This is all completely normal—just a part of the process. I shall be right back.” He stood and walked briskly to the kitchen where Han had emptied out several bags of frozen peas and corn into his arms. “What the hell is going on?” he whispered to Han.
“It’s not my fault,” Han replied.
“Oh no. I hate it when you say that.” Father Hurley followed Han into the bedroom and found Natalie and Cipher lying motionless. “This looks very bad.”
“It was Cipher’s call. I told him she was long gone, but the idiot insisted on going in after her.” He rushed to Cipher’s side while Father Hurley discreetly shut the bedroom door. Han dropped the bags and hooked Cipher up to the defibrillator sensors to measure his vitals. “He’s almost gone,” Han said. “Help me pack these bags around both of their bodies. We’ll have a better chance if we keep him as cold as possible.” Father Hurley joined Han in packing the bags of frozen vegetables around the torsos of Cipher and Natalie.
“Okay. He’s definitely in.”
4
Cipher opened his eyes in the tunnel between Earth and Heaven and saw the white light far off in the distance. He began to move toward it as quickly as he could, knowing that time was of the essence and that Natalie had a major head start. Déjà vu, he thought as he felt the familiar sensation of walking through water or quicksand; his movements were slow and awkward in the distortions of the tunnel.
Quickly, however, the white light began to move toward him, and it became brighter and brighter as he desperately struggled toward it. It wasn’t long before he saw Natalie, transfixed by the orb, walking slowly in its direction, uncertain but also drawn to its warm welcome, like a moth to a flame.
“Natalie!” Cipher yelled out as loud as he could. Even though he seemed to be very close to her, there was no telling how sound would travel in the gateway. The distortions were so unpredictable that it could be carried directly to her and sound as though he were right in her ear, or it might be carried away, as if in a wave, and she wouldn’t hear a sound at all.
Natalie’s reaction suggested that it was something in between. She stopped moving briefly and seemed confused.
Cipher screamed out her name again. “Natalie! Stop!”
This time Natalie turned slowly and saw Cipher moving toward her. This frightened her, but she didn’t run. She held her arms up to protect herself as he neared her and crouched slightly into a defensive posture. “Who are you?” she asked.
“My name is Cipher. I’m here to take you back!”
“Back where?”
“Back to life!” he shouted as he grabbed her hand and began to lead her away from the white light.
“No!” she shouted, yanking her hand away from him. “I want to be with my parents! I can hear their voices and I want to see them again. I want to be with them again!”
Cipher made a decision on the spot. “Natalie, I’m so sorry. You seem like a really nice person, but we don’t have time for me to persuade you.” With that, he head-butted her as hard as he could, stunning her. He knew he couldn’t physically knock her unconscious on that plane, as it wasn’t really her body before him, and the laws of the physical universe didn’t apply. Still, he was able to confuse her long enough to hoist her onto his shoulder and begin putting as much distance between himself and the white light as possible.
“What are you doing, you psycho?” Natalie shouted as Cipher ran from the light. Before he could respond, she watched in awe as angels, their faces twisted into revenge-starved expressions, blasted majestically out of the white light; she instantly knew it was a good thing that she was headed in the opposite direction. “What the fuck are those things?”
Cipher froze and lowered Natalie to the blackness of the tunnel floor.
Natalie turned from the horror of a dozen incensed angels to see an even more frightening sight: God, glowing, magnificent, and pissed was blocking their path.
5
“Andrew Marlow...again?” God’s voice boomed, rolling through the tunnel, “You may be the stupidest example of an extraordinarily stupid species.”
“Is that…is He…” Natalie was not able to finish speaking, as she was too dazzled by the extraordinary light and size of the being before her.
“Natalie. Meet God,” Cipher replied, contempt dripping from his lips.
“I was sure that I would have a very long time to torture you on the mortal plane before I would have the pleasure of tearing your very essence apart in Heaven. How ever did you manage to get yourself killed without giving me the pleasure of being the cause of it?”
“This is the most vivid nightmare I’ve ever—” Natalie began to say, rubbing her eyes as though she could make it all go away.
“It’s not a nightmare,” Cipher replied tersely. “Hold on to my arm,” he commanded. “Whatever you do, don’t let go.”
God waved to His angels to stop as they made it within striking distance of the human duo. “Leave them be,” He said to them, studying His prey. “Who is this woman?”
“Don’t speak to him,” Cipher whispered to Natalie.
“Obviously, she must be extremely important if you were willing to die trying to save her. Is she your mate? Pathetic.”
“This isn’t real. This is a nightmare. God cannot be like this,” Natalie told herself as she shut her eyes tightly.
“I will tear her apart in front of you before I kill you. I will devour her soul slowly and make you watch as I suck down every last drop of her.” God reached out to grasp Natalie, but Cipher moved in front of him and used his left hand—the hand that he had used to stab God with the Spear of Destiny and that had been coated in divine blood—and punched God across the chin. The blow had an enormous impact, as the giant, monolithic figure recoiled, His jaw rocking back as he stumbled backward and fell onto His back. A shower of millions of bright sparks illuminated the black wormhole as the angels looked on in confused awe.
Cipher looked on in awe as well, his mouth hanging open as he gazed at his black, smoldering fist. “I just punched God in the face,” he whispered to himself. Be
fore he had time to process the enormity of what had happened, he noticed his form was beginning to warp. “Grab on to me!” he called back to Natalie.
She wrapped her arms around his as a seam opened in the side of the tunnel, just as before.
God was already standing again and began to rage when He saw that Cipher was about to escape His clutches on that plane yet again. “No! You will not get away this time!” He was upon Cipher in an instant, brutally attacking his soul, burning him with His touch at the same time that He ripped and shredded the rippled form as it slipped through His fingers and away from Him.
Cipher screamed out in pain before all went black.
When he opened his eyes, he called out in agony. He wasn’t sure if it was the physical pain of just having had his heart restarted that was causing such agony, or the spiritual pain of just having had his soul mutilated by God. His chest was still smoking, his skin burnt beneath the paddles. “What the fuck?”
“Sorry, man,” Han said, relief in his voice. “That was the twenty-first time I gave you the paddles. I burned right through the gel and didn’t have any more. Father Hurley wouldn’t let me stop though, even when I thought you were dead for sure.”
“Oh my,” Father Hurley uttered in astonishment.
Cipher turned his head slightly to see the priest looking down at Natalie, his face filled with both shock and awe. Then, he saw why the priest was so amazed: Natalie was waking up.
“Holy shit,” Han said. “It actually worked. You brought her back.”
“What is that unholy sound?” Florence demanded as she burst into the room, her face filled with torment over the fate of her niece. “Oh my God!” she shouted, crossing herself as she regarded the spectacle before her.
Natalie was dazed but stirring, while Cipher remained almost unmoving, his chest burnt and smoking as he lay, shirtless, next to Florence’s niece. Han stood there with the paddles in his hands, still slightly stunned, while Father Hurley straddled Natalie, trying to rouse her awake. Florence was speechless as she balled her hands into fists and launched toward her niece, knocking Father Hurley aside.