Thou Shall Not: A Dark Ten Commandments Anthology

by Michelle Brown

  "I only have $50. Can I get anything for that?" I ask him along the way.

  "This is all I have for that amount." He hands over a typical looking silver revolver.

  "Does this come with bullets?"

  "$5 for a box. 2 for $9."

  "How much for one? Bullet I mean. How much is one bullet?" I ask him.

  "I'll throw it in with the purchase," he takes a bullet out of one of the boxes and hands it over.

  I hold the cash out to him and he takes it, then I'm out the door. I hope those fuckers are out of the alley. I can use that for cover and get this over with right here, right now. I don't see them when I turn the corner, so I duck into the dark space.

  As I kneel and begin saying my prayers, I hear a rustling to my left. One of the trashbags is moving — fucking rats. I close my eyes and try to concentrate on my thoughts as I rub my thumb over the hard metal in my palm.

  I'm interrupted by the rustling noise again. Turning my attention on the trash pile once more, I realize that it's moving too much to be coming from a rat, so I stand and walk over to it. I kick the bag to the side gently and find the source of the noise.

  As I gaze down at the child, digging through the trash for scraps of food, I am hit with such a wave of sadness. This poor, wandering child. He can't be more than five years old. Where are his parents? How did he get here? How long has he been here? He is sickly with a rash all over his body. His puffy, red-rimmed eyes look up at me. His face is filthy as are his hands. The cheese he is eating is covered in mold. But, his white blonde hair and blue eyes are shining as if he were wearing a halo. I can see him clear as day, despite being in the shadows.

  "Hey, what's your name?" He doesn't answer me, he just holds his cheese up as if he's offering it to me. His motions seem toddler-like. As if he's lacked proper development.

  "Where are your parents? Mommy? Daddy?" The child turns his head and looks further into the alley.

  That's when I see them. Two of the people who were here just a few minutes ago when I walked by, but now they're a little further down the alley using more trash bags as cushions. The woman has a needle sticking out of her arm, the man is failing to find a vein in his.

  Infuriated, I march over to them.

  "Is this your child?" I ask firmly.

  The man looks up at me, still able to pay a little attention since he's not high as a fucking kite right now.

  "What, man?"

  "This child!" I turn and hold a hand out to the boy who is watching me, the moldy cheese still in his hand. "Is he, yours?"

  The man looks past me at the boy.

  "Oh, Matthias, get out of the fucking trash!"

  Matthias; a Gift from God.

  "He's hungry, you idiot. He needs food. I'm assuming you just spent everything you had on drugs.

  "Man, get the fuck out of here. You're ruining my high."

  It's as if God were here, standing right in front of me. All of a sudden, my plan is clear. The metal in my hand grows heavier and I know now why he sent me down this path. It wasn't to kill myself at all. It was to save Matthias.

  "You don't deserve to call him yours!" I shout at him, raising the gun.

  "Woah, what the fuck, dude?! You want him so bad, fucking take him," the ingrate says.

  With a pull of the trigger, the gun goes off and blows a hole straight into his head. He slumps over onto a pile of trash beneath him. A perfect reflection of what his life has become. Moving over to the woman, I remove the needle from her arm. This boy is going to need his mother.

  I walk back over to Matthias and hold him tight as tears roll down my face. I look up to the heavens and thank God for his gift and for lighting my path; for showing me my destiny.

  Chapter One

  5 Years After The Enlightenment

  The church that I presided over for years crumbled to nothing. Forgotten by the Archdiocese and condemned by the city, I took it over and Clara, Matthias, and I started rebuilding. It's been a tough few years, but success doesn't come without hard work.

  When I got Clara and Matthias home to my house that night, five years ago, I knew that I had a long road ahead of me. I cared for Clara as she went through withdraw. Then, I held her accountable for raising Matthias the way she should have been doing all along. They both have come a long way, but I can tell that she isn't happy. She isn't a believer. That just won't do, being the wife of The Savior. You will not survive the purge until you are one with God. And you won't be one with God until you surrender your life to him; to me.

  Since then I've been praying to God, waiting for him to guide me further down the path that he has laid out for us. I've tried gaining followers but it's been arduous, to say the least. Then, He came to me in a dream a few months ago and told me that my efforts haven't gone unnoticed and to remain steadfast in my search. He went on to explain the three tasks that we're all required to complete before any of us are worthy.

  First, they must learn the word of the Lord. They must renounce all evil and sin. They must pray for strength to survive each task in order to become worthy.

  Second, they must confess each of their sins. They must repent, and pray that they will be forgiven.

  Last, and the most crucial task of all, they must bleed their sins away. It is up to me to open them up to the Lord, draw their sins from them, and heal their wounds with my divinity.

  Now that I know exactly what needs to be done, I can't waste any more time dealing with this godforsaken woman.

  I bring the belt down over her back once more and she whimpers in pain; her legs giving out underneath her. I grab her underneath her arm and hoist her back up. She spoke out against me again. This time it was when I was getting ready to punish Matthias for reading when he was supposed to be praying. I look over at him, kneeling down, hands folded in prayer, watching me punish his mother for her transgressions. The look on his face is brave, but I know he is scared. He knows that his punishment comes next.

  "Clara, have you been reminded of the vows you took when I brought you into this church? Are you ready to renew them today?"

  No answer. Another strike; another mark across her back.

  "Poverty." Strike.

  "Chastity." Strike.

  "Obedience!" Strike. Strike. Strike.

  She falls to the ground again, this time on her hands and knees.

  "Are you ready to pray for forgiveness and for God to help guide you down the path to righteousness?"

  No answer. I lift my belt to strike her again, but she finally speaks.

  "Yes, father," she is barely able to get her words out.

  "Come to me," I say to her and she crawls over, kneeling at my feet. I grab her by the chin and bring her gaze to me. "Do you need to go through the purge again? Have you forgotten the sacrifices I've made for you; for Matthias?

  "No, father," she pants.

  "Are you ready to receive the Holy Spirit?"

  She swallows her discomfort.

  "Yes, father."

  "Come, receive the Holy Spirit," I command her.

  She lifts my robes. I place them over her, covering her head, as she latches on to my cock. I look over to Matthias, who is glancing up at me with his hands still folded together nicely.

  "Son, once you become a faithful disciple, it will be your responsibility to do these things. To teach our followers what happens when you stop believing or speak against my word. It's a very, very important role and one you must not take lightly. Do you understand me?"

  "Yes, father," he answers immediately with aspiration in his eyes. He's such a good boy. Perhaps I will go a little easy on him this time.

  "Of course, I am the only one who can deliver the Holy Spirit in this manner," I smile at him.

  When Clara is finished, I shoo her away, back into the corner where she will stay for the rest of the week, naked and with only bread water to eat.

  "Matthias, come to me," I command.

  The boy stands up and walks over to me. I nod to him and he kne
els down before me. I place my hand on his head.

  "Why are you here?" I ask him.

  "Because I have sinned, father."

  "Tell me your sins."

  "I was reading when I was supposed to be praying."

  "Go on," I command.

  "I spoke out against you when my moth—when she was arguing with you, father."

  "And are you sorry for your sins? Are you ready to be absolved?"

  "Yes, father," he casts a glance toward Clara just for a split second. He's come a long way, but I still have a lot of work to do before he will break free of these feelings he harbors for his piece of shit mother. She is of no consequence to him.

  "You're to receive ten lashings today — 5 for each transgression. When you're done, you'll receive the Holy Spirit. Remove your shirt and brace yourself against the wooden post over there."

  "Yes, father."

  I take a glimpse at Clara as Matthias readies himself for his repentance. She looks at him with pride, but also with fear. I know what she is afraid of; she doesn't want this life for herself but especially not for her little boy. She is going to do whatever it takes to break them both free of me. But that is never going to happen.

  "You cannot change the will of God, Clara, for the Lord works out everything to its proper end—even the wicked for the day of disaster."

  CLARA'S MOST RECENT punishment seems to have been received well. It's been a month and she hasn't been in any trouble since that night. Her and Matthias traveled out to the city with me today. There are a lot of people here who are in need of my guidance. Just like Clara and Matthias were on the night that God brought me to them.

  "Excuse me, child," I say to the man laying on the cardboard box on the sidewalk outside of the corner market. I crouch down next to him as he opens his eyes. The stench of him is enough to make me puke.

  "Whaddaya want, man? I was having the best dream. My Betsy took me back—she—she loved me again."

  "I can help you, child. I can make your dream become a reality. Come with me and I will show you the way of the Lord. Through him all things are possible. I will provide you with food and shelter along your journey."

  "You're a quack, go away," he says as he lays back down.

  "Son," I say, motioning to Matthias. "Tell him of my goodness. Tell him of my charity."

  "Sir, when father found us, I was a child digging through the trash. I was diseased and without food or water. He took me in and taught me how to speak, how to accept God into my life. She was a drug addict willing to do anything for her next fix. Father helped her through her withdraw. She died, but he brought her back to life and now she is on the path to righteousness. I was there, I saw it for myself."

  The man looks at Matthias skeptically, but he can't deny that he feels power and light emanating from my little gift from God.

  "All I'm asking is for you to come and see. No one will force you to stay. At the very least, you will get food and shelter for a few days."

  The man can't argue with that and he agrees to come with us.

  We walk through the city for the rest of the day, trying to recruit additional followers but we are unsuccessful. I am extremely unhappy with the outcome but I don't let it show in front of our new parishioner. He doesn't need to see what should only happen behind closed doors; the anger, the outcome of disappointment. There is only one person who sees that side of me regularly and I am going to enjoy taking my aggression out on her this evening.

  "HERE IS THE BATHROOM you will use. This is the only bathroom down here and it will be shared by you and the other parishioners."

  We're down in the old crypt underneath of the church. Matthias, Clara, and I worked hard to clean them out and turn them into rooms for our parishioners to stay in.

  "Where is everyone else?" He asks me, fueling the rage that started building earlier, once more. I smile and take a deep breath.

  "We're still building our community here at Invictus. If you work hard and show us that you want to and deserve to be here, you can become one of our founding members."

  He stands there blinking at me as if he has no idea who he is in the presence of. He'll know soon enough.

  "And, here is your room," I say leading him to the first room on the left. The rooms are thick concrete; some are larger than others. I wanted to make sure that we have rooms large enough to hold two beds—a double and a twin—for any families that we have living here. Other rooms, like Hector's, only have one twin bed and room to kneel in prayer. Only one room has its own bathroom. I am not sure who will receive that room yet; probably Matthias. But, I may need to reserve it for unruly parishioners who need to stay locked in there for a more extended period of time, depending on their transgression.

  "Inside you will find the robes you will wear. You'll start with black robes. Once you go through the purge, you will graduate to Gray. When you've finally been absolved of all of your sins and given yourself over to me, then you will be worthy of the White cloth."

  He stares at me with a look of bewilderment on his face.

  "I'll let you get settled in. Dinner will be served in the hall at 7 PM sharp. If you're not there by then, you don't eat. Understood?"

  "Um, yes," he finally says after a moment.

  Turning, I walk to the steps that lead up to the main floor and take them one by one. I motion for Matthias and Clara to follow me and we leave our first follower behind.

  Chapter Two

  Hector has been here for a week now. I was just as skeptical of him as he was of me when he first arrived. I think he thought he was still dreaming. I thought he was going to bail as soon as I let him out of my sight. But if you give a poor man a bed and food on a regular basis, he will do anything to keep from going without again.

  We're going back into the city today. I heard about a fire that took hold of a few row homes in the city — people who no longer have food and a place to stay. Forced to stay at the horribly overpopulated shelter in the city, they'll be desperate for somewhere else to go.

  I park the van in front of the shelter and the four of us walk in through the front door. There is a horrible smell in the air, like rotting meat and body odor. A woman smiles at me as we enter.

  "Hello, how can I help you?" She asks.

  "Hello ma'am. I am from Invictus. We have a church located off of Highway 138 eastbound in Bluebell. I heard about the fire that tore through the set of row homes earlier this week and I wondered if I could meet with the survivors? Pray with them, offer any sort of comfort that the church may be able to provide them."

  "I would have to ask them first to see if anyone is interested. You can all follow me to the conference room down the hall and I'll go around and see who would like to meet with you."

  "Thank you, ma'am."

  We follow her to the conference room and wait to see if anyone will take us up on my invitation.

  "Father, how come we didn't wear our robes here?" Hector asks.

  I am in a typical Priest's uniform; all black with a white collar. Matthias, Clara, and Hector are all in street clothing.

  "It's less unnerving to sinners. They tend to shy away from the formal attire that we wear at the church."

  He shakes his head in understanding and a moment later I see a woman poke her head through the doorway of the conference room.

  "Please, come in my child. Do not be afraid."

  She enters the room with two scared children stuck to her from behind. She has them take a seat on the floor in the corner and she pulls out a chair for herself. Following her is a young couple. They're wearing wedding rings, but they can't have been married for very long. There is a single man followed by a single woman. Then a family of five.

  "Welcome everyone, welcome. Today is both a sad and a happy day. You've all lost things that you cared about deeply. I feel your pain and suffering. I too, once lost something very precious to me. I lost family, friends, parishioners. I hated God and cursed him for everything that he took from me. I was so angry
and finally I found myself at a crucial point in my life. I was ready to give everything up and say goodbye. But then, God spoke to me and I realized that all I really lost was my way; my path in this life. I renewed my faith in God that night and he cast his light down upon me. He breathed new life into me and set me on a new path.

  "That path has led me to each and every one of you. I want to give you all a chance to follow me on this journey. Join us and together we will find salvation. Join our church and you never have to worry about not having a place to lay your head at night. You never have to worry about having food in your stomach each day."

  I look around at the people in the room before me. Some of them are intrigued. The woman who came in by herself looked at me like I had three heads and then walked out of the room.

  "Matthias, Hector, tell these people your stories."

  Matthias goes on to tell them about the night I found him. He tells them his whole spiel about his mother. Hector tells them that he only came with me for a bed to sleep in, but in the short amount of time that he's been with us, he feels a sense of pride and sense of self that he hasn't felt in decades.

  At the end of it all, everyone else remained except the family of five.

  "I invite all of you back to the church where we will celebrate with a welcoming feast for everyone."

  "Mommy, what about Gabriel?"

  "Shh... honey, he didn't want to come."

  My ears perk up at the sound of the angel's name.

  "Come here, my child." I kneel down so I am down at the little girl's level. "What is your name?"

  "Mary Grace," she answers and it is music to my ears.

  "Mary Grace, such an absolutely beautiful, heavenly name. Where is Gabriel? Maybe I can talk to him?"

  She reaches out and takes me by the hand.

  "Clara, Hector, help the others into the van. I will be right there."

  I follow Mary Grace down the hallway, my hand still in hers. We enter a boy's dormitory and I see him immediately. She releases my hand and runs over to him.

  "Gabe! We're going to live somewhere else now. You have to come with us! You just have to!"