by RJ Pritchett
Courtney nodded and then looked at Rebellia. Her eyes widened, and she pointed to something behind her, “Watch out!”
The warning didn’t come soon enough. Rebellia was locked into a headlock by a pair of grizzly arms that crept up from behind.
“Get off of her!” Courtney shouted to the man that held Rebellia tight in his arms. Courtney ran around behind the man and kicked him in the bend of the knee. He grunted and loosened his grip just enough for Rebellia to reverse his hold. She grabbed one of his arms and pulled it over her shoulder. With all her might, she managed to slam the much larger man down to the ground with a giant thud. The man fought to reach his feet while Rebellia reached for the gun she had… Boom. Rebellia froze and so did the man. With a hole in his forehead, his body calmed.
“Take that, motherfucker!” Courtney shouted at the man.
“Courtney, what the fuck?” Rebellia said, reaching for her empty holster. “You took my gun?”
“I had to do something. He was trying to get up,” Courtney said, still aiming the gun at the man’s face, “and besides, he’s not really dead. People can’t die here, remember?”
“That’s not the point. A child your age shouldn’t be shooting people -let alone be handling a gun. That’s what Orion said. That’s why he entrusted me with the gun and not you.”
“What’s the big deal?” Courtney asked, handing the gun back to Rebellia who then holstered it, “I helped you out. Where’s the thank you?”
“… Thanks,” Rebellia said through gritted teeth while getting back to her feet. “Who is this guy, and why the hell did he attack me?”
“I don’t know, but we should bring him back to base,” Courtney said.
“This man is way too big for us to carry him all the way there,” Rebellia said, “if nobody comes looking for us soon, we might have to wait until he wakes up, so he can walk with us there on his own.”
“But what if he attacks us again? I think we should hurry up and go get Orion before this man wakes up,” Courtney said, touching the man with her foot.
The sound of footsteps vibrated against Rebellia and Courtney’s ears. The sound grew louder as the milliseconds went by. “What the hell?”
Rebellia reached for her gun at the sound of the sudden voice. She drew her weapon and pointed it directly at the woman that ran over to their position. She quickly lowered it when she saw who it was. “Who is this man?” Vivian asked, “Why’d you shoot him?”
“He attacked Rebellia!” Courtney said, “You should’ve seen it. He just came up to her and grabbed her from the back. Then put her in a headlock. And then I came, and was like ‘get off of her, you stupid punk!’ and then kicked him. That helped because after I kicked him, Rebellia-”
“So he attacked you and you shot him,” Vivian said to Rebellia.
“Yeah. That’s pretty much what happened,” Rebellia said, “except -I wasn’t the one who-”
“I shot him. I took the gun from Rebellia and then said ‘Boom! Boom! Boom!’ I don’t know how much times I shot him, but I made sure he ain’t get back up.”
“There’s only one bullet hole,” Vivian smirked while looking down at the large man’s lifeless body, “and I only heard one shot when I was walking.”
“Okay. You got me.” Courtney giggled, “but the next person that attacks us is really going to get it. I’m shooting them ten times.”
“There won’t be a next time,” Rebellia said, “you’re not using a gun ever again.”
“I saved you.”
“You didn’t save me. You assisted me, which I already thanked you for,” Rebellia said, trying her best to not raise her voice. “I was already reaching for the gun before you snatched it.”
“This man looks familiar,” Vivian said while looking down at the lifeless man, “like I saw him before.”
“When’d you see this man?” Rebellia asked, “I doubt he’s from home base.”
“No,” Vivian kneeled over the man’s body, “it’s like… he looks… Oh- I know where I know him from!”
When Rebellia’s eyes opened, she was alone. Not Rebellia, but Vivian. She sat in the center of the room and was in the midst of a conversation with Quentin, Sonia, Tobias, Daphne and Abraham who still hung to the wall by their wrists and ankles. “Scared you all, didn’t I?” Vivian said to them, “Don’t worry too much, but you can’t be too calm or he’s going to suspect something. He already suspects-”
“Fuck you,” Rebellia said, her anger still fuming inside her.
“You can’t be mad at me,” Vivian whispered, getting to her feet and turning to Rebellia. “I’m only playing the role that we both agreed on. I had to make him believe that I was against you. He already blames me for the explosion.”
“Where the hell is he?” Rebellia asked.
“Shh!” Vivian hissed, “he’s taking care of something right now, that’s why we have to plan something soon.”
“She’s gonna help us, Rebellia,” Tobias said smiling.
“Shh!” Vivian hissed again. “If y’all don’t shut the fuck up, I won’t be helping anybody.”
“You know you won’t be able to come back if you do this, right?” Quentin whispered.
Vivian paused for a second, “I’m done with this place. I’ve been here for way too long. Obviously, I’m here for a different reason than to kiss God’s ass and beg for forgiveness,” Vivian said, “I’m going with you just like I should’ve all those years ago.”
“I’m not leaving,” Rebellia said, staring straight ahead at the closed wooden door, “I’m not leaving until he’s eliminated.”
“That’s-”
“I don’t give a damn what you say, Vivian,” Rebellia said, “I’m not leaving until either he suffers the same pain he inflicted on me, or until he feels nothing at all for eternity.”
“See, that’s your problem. You’re reacting off of your own emotions instead of going with what’s best for everybody else. Now’s not the time to go for revenge. He got in your head and messed you up, you’re not really thinking the way you should. Remember, he can trap your body, but not your mind. You have to remember that because it looks to me like he’s trapped your mind along with your body. We need to get everybody back to your sanctuary first-”
“No! I’m not leaving until that bastard is obliterated!” Rebellia shouted out just before the door swung open. Vivian laughed as loud as she could.
“Well you don’t gotta worry about that, Sweetheart,” Vivian said between giggles, “the only way you’re getting out of here is if God calls you home.”
“She still crying about her little girlfriend?” Orion asked, walking by Vivian’s side.
“Not really, just threatening to destroy your soul over and over,” Vivian smiled, “she’s really something isn’t she?”
“Sure is,” Orion said, rubbing the side of his face with his glove free hands. His gloves were tucked into the right pocket of his lab coat, Rebellia saw. “I created a monster that would make Dr. Frankenstein shiver.”
“You know what? You’re right,” Rebellia said nodding, “at least in a way… You have created a monster. You had a hand in creating Rebellia because I became Rebellia to save the world from people like you...”
“Oh really?” Orion asked. “Tell me more.”
“I became Rebellia to open their eyes and ears to the sight and sound of propaganda. Hell, I even opened their noses, so they can smell the bullshit that you spew every single day. You continuously preach to people that they have to apologize to God for what they did wrong on Earth. Why must we apologize to God for playing with the cards we’ve been dealt? Not all people live a life where they can avoid sin. In fact, nobody can,” Rebellia said, shooting daggers at Orion again, “I’ve been studying you while I was here, Orion and I know you just as well as you know me. You have never taken a single breath of air on Earth. You never lived life, you were created into this world to try to tell humans how to be perfect although that’s not what being a huma
n means, but you don’t know that. You tell all of us that God forgives, that’s the same bullshit that we’ve all been hearing on Earth, but how long will Vivian have to wait for God’s forgiveness? How long will Quentin have to wait for God’s forgiveness? Shouldn’t he be more concerned with getting Faye’s forgiveness first? You don’t know because you’re not God. You’re just its puppet.”
Vivian opened her mouth to say something, but Orion calmly stopped her before she could get any words out.
Rebellia continued, “You call me a wannabe God, but you have been playing God this entire time. You refuse to allow people to make their own decisions. That’s why you resented Faye, Quentin and all the others that saw my idea as a saving grace from your way of running things. They made a decision that you didn’t agree with, so you continuously sent spies to watch us to see how happy we were without you. You sent spies to watch our progress, and although progress has been slow, it’s slowly coming together. You see it, that’s why you fought back this time. I knew Vivian and her little group were watching us this entire time, but they wouldn’t dare come to our sanctuary. Someone did come to our sanctuary once. You remember him? The guy you sent to spy on me? Well, he ended up coming to the sanctuary and I helped him find enough closure with his life. I let him speak at one of our bonfires and in doing so, I helped him move on to the next life and that is something you failed to do.”
“Oh really?” Orion said.
“What happened? You didn’t know?” Rebellia asked with a slight smile. “I thought you knew everything. What happened? Didn’t God tell you about what that guy did? You didn’t see it in the stars?”
“I knew he stayed, I didn’t know he moved on. Lucky him. He doesn’t have to be here, chained to the wall like you, saying whatever comes to mind until a reaction is triggered out of me.”
“Chaining us to a wall is proving my point. You want everybody under your control while I tell everybody to be free. I’m not a cult leader. I’m not even a leader. I never claimed to be a leader of the people in the guild with me. I just was one of the first people that entered your ‘school’ and saw through the smoke and mirrors,” she managed to use air quotes with her fingers, “You don’t know shit about shit. You are God’s puppet, a puppet that wants so badly to be a real God. You brainwashed Faye, Quentin, Courtney, Vivian, Henry, Gerald and all the other poor souls that followed you once upon a time, but it hurts your ego to know that you couldn’t brainwash me. I see through you, Orion. You can’t save anybody. If you’re such a savior, then why is Vivian still here after so long by your side? If staying under your guidance helps so much, how come after years… she’s still in the same position as she was when I left. Nothing’s changed. You are a fraud, Orion. Not a God.”
Orion smirked as he pulled his gloves out of his pockets. He chuckled as he slid his fingers into their slots, and he stopped when the pair of gloves were finally covering his hands completely. “Alright, Rebellia. That’s enough of you.”
“No,” Vivian grabbed Orion by the wrist to prevent him from advancing to her, “don’t let her get into your head, and it’s obvious that isn’t going to stop her.”
“Oh it can, and it will,” Orion smiled, “you see, Rebellia… I may not be a God, but I was entrusted with the power of a God to use on one special occasion. I was entrusted to only use this power when a soul is too damaged beyond repair. You’ve been here long enough, Rebellia and to be honest, you are nowhere close to being ready for God’s acceptance so-”
“You’re overstepping your boundaries as a server of God to speak for God and make decisions for God based on your own feelings, and not the feelings of the God you serve,” Rebellia said, “but if you’re alluding to what I think you’re alluding to, then go ahead. I’ve been ready for this for a long time.”
“You can’t do this,” Vivian said as Orion rubbed the palms of his gloves together, creating a few sparks between them, “stop it.”
“It must be done,” Orion said.
“What’s happening?” Daphne shouted, trying to break free of her chains again.
“Stop it, Or-” Vivian was nudged to the side by Orion’s shoulder as he walked closer to where Rebellia was hanging.
“Goodbye, Rebel-” Orion said before the gunshots were fired. Three bullets were aimed blindly so fast that Rebellia didn’t even notice she was hit until her surroundings started fading. She could feel the bullet going through her abdomen, right above where she wore Courtney’s fanny pack. The very last thing she saw before everything went dark was Orion falling to the ground face-first.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Faye couldn’t hide her disproval after hearing Orion’s answer.
“No. I’m not kidding you,” Orion said, “I think it would be best if she was trained in how to handle a weapon. After all, she did save Rebellia.”
“She didn’t save me,” Rebellia interjected, “she just shot him before I got a chance to. That’s it.”
“She’s a child, Orion. What the hell would she need with a gun? She doesn’t know the power a weapon like that can have,” Faye added, staring at the large man with goggles over his eyes. Those eyes were preoccupied with a small book he held in his hands.
“As she stated to me previously, she can’t really kill anybody if the people she’s shooting at are already dead,” Orion shrugged his shoulders, “I expect Rebellia to train her on how to aim, first thing in the morning.”
“I will not,” Rebellia said.
“Ah, Rebellia. Still rebelling. Living up to your name I see,” Orion said.
“If you want her to carry a weapon at all times, then you train her. I won’t have any part in this,” Rebellia said.
“Why are you two so upset about Courtney being entrusted with a gun?”
“She’s a child. She’s probably too young to know how precious life is… was. Entrusting her with a gun in this world at this time is asking for trouble. That’s the sort of power that someone her age shouldn’t have. You should at least let her wait a couple of years,” Faye said.
“I agree,” Rebellia nodded.
“Well… I disagree. I make the rules here, not the two of you. If Courtney wants to carry a gun, and she has good intentions that will only ensure your safety, she’s entitled to have one. She’ll have it until she shows that she’s not ready. I know she’s ready.”
“Interesting,” Rebellia nodded with raised eyebrows, “Okay, Mr. Rule maker. Let’s see how your plan works since you know everything.”
“I take pride in my knowledge,” Orion said with a half-smile spreading into a full smile.
“Aren’t you trying to get that little girl into Heaven?” Rebellia asked, “How would holding a gun help her case?”
“The weapon will only be used for emergencies,” Orion said, “I’ll be sure to let her know that.”
“Are you sure that she’ll use it strictly for emergencies though?” Rebellia asked, “I saw the look in her eyes when she shot that guy out there. That look was only in her eyes for a split second, but I know that feeling. It’s the same feeling that I had once upon a time. A feeling of power. A feeling of being untouchable at the moment. Adrenaline pumping, and a mixture of happiness, hunger, and a lack of remorse. But you weren’t there to see it. You weren’t there to witness the smile on her face when that guy laid there with her bullet hole in his head, the words she chose to say afterward. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for that… when the person doing and saying those things are mature enough to know that doing something like that is not a thing to take pride in. But you make the rules here, you’re pretty much playing the role of God here. So when it all falls down, I hope you’re strong enough to pick up all the broken pieces.”
Chapter 13 (Obliteration - To Liberation)
“Fuck Liberty, give me freedom.”
When her eyes opened, she squirmed from the uncomfortable position she was in. Her abdomen was hurting as it rested on someone’s shoulder. Somebody was holding her tight, keeping her f
rom freeing herself when she tried.
“Get the fuck off of me!” she said to the blind force that held her hostage. She couldn’t see because the moonlight was the only light source in the forest she was being held in, and the treetops limited even that.
“Shh!” someone hissed at her, “Rebellia, it’s us.”
“Daphne?” Rebellia said, recognizing the voice. “What the fuck? Let me go.”
“Quentin,” Daphne said, and upon hearing Daphne say his name, Quentin lowered Rebellia from his right shoulder where he held her.
“She’s awake,” Quentin whispered while lowering her to the ground.
“Where did that scream come from?” Rebellia whispered, looking around.
“Scream?” Quentin asked, “What scream?”
“I heard someone scream,” Rebellia said, still feeling a bit groggy, “it came from over there.” She pointed to her left and everyone that walked with their group paused. Some even exchanged looks the way Daphne and Tobias did.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Daphne said shaking her head.
“Me neither,” Sonia and Abraham said in unison.
Rebellia looked around at everyone that surrounded her. Daphne, Abraham, Sonia, Tobias, Quentin, Vivian, and a bunch of people from Vivian’s group of masked marauders.
“Where’s Orion?” she asked, scanning all faces and masks.
“We left him,” Vivian said as she stopped walking to look Rebellia in the eyes, “but we don’t have to worry about him anymore. I managed to take his gloves, and all of his people joined us, so he’s pretty much powerless. He won’t attack us.”
“I’m going back,” Rebellia said, “he’s not getting off t-”
“No!” Vivian bellowed.
“I have to-”
“We don’t have time for this, Rebellia!” Vivian said, pushing Rebellia a couple of steps back. Rebellia stumbled a little bit, still groggy.