by Bane, Lucian
The heavy steps stopped just outside the boathouse and Sade quickly felt for something that could cut Bo loose. His frantic blind search produced loud clanging as he knocked things over. Too late to worry about noise, he needed to find something now and get the fuck out. Engaging that psycho needed to happen never if possible. Because he was sure about one thing—Karma had it in for him. Whatever he wanted, Karma denied. He wanted death? No can do. He wanted life? He wanted Mercy? Bo? A fucking chance at happiness? No can do. He had to be smarter than Karma for once. On his self-destruct missions, Karma played the role of his straightjacket. What would she play now that he was on a survival mission?
Sade crouched down, making his way back to the rear of the building, his hands gliding desperately through the dark as he went.
The front door scraped along the floor just as Sade made it to the back. His hands slid over the wall, and metal clanked. Stilling his shallow breaths, he felt at the objects and worked at freeing one.
“Johnny?”
Sade nearly gasped in shock that he’d found a knife. He waited for a few seconds to see what the man’s intentions were, what direction he was moving in.
“I just wanna help you, son,” he finally said. “That’s all.” He gasped several times and then chuckled. “I see you found your friend? Are you going to help set him free? Of course you are. Be careful with that treble hook—it’s a one-way street. But without a doubt, a tool of mercy,” he whispered, sounding reverent as he got closer. “I have the tool to remove it without too much damage. But he really needed that wound, son.” His voice broke with empathy. “His beauty blinds him. This will help him see.”
Sade angled his head, still unable to discern where he was in the dark. Just closer.
“God has shown me he has great plans for all of you. Aren’t you excited about that?”
With those final hissed words, Sade grabbed hold of a shelf with both hands and pulled with all he had, sending shit crashing to the floor. Sade spun and slipped out the back, sprinted down the pier, and went straight into the water. “Hold this!” He handed Mercy the spear contraption and sliced the fishing line carefully with the knife.
“He’s coming!” Mercy tapped her hand rapidly on the pier. “I think he’s coming!”
“Fuck! Bo, can you swim?”
He nodded, the whites showing all around his eyes.
“I got you,” Sade put his hand on the back of his head. “We’ll swim under the pier back to the boathouse.”
Sade took the spear gun from Mercy and held the knife between his teeth. He went from post to post beneath the pier, making sure they stayed close behind him. Fucking pier was three times longer in the back of the boathouse, making the trip agonizing.
Erratic footsteps clonked just ahead, accompanied by light singing just ahead of them. “Father Abraham… has many sons…. Many sons has Faaaaather Abraham. I am one… and so are you… sooooo let’s all praise the Lord!”
Gunfire blew a hole in the pier ahead and Sade halted them, his heart racing.
Abraham worked his way toward them, shooting craters in the pier with every step and cheery whistle.
Sade signaled to Bo and Mercy that they stay put then he swam his way toward Abraham. When he was close enough, he went under the water and swam far enough to get behind him. He surfaced slowly, his heart booming in his ears.
“Johnny? That you?”
Sade swam away from the pier, putting himself in the open. “Father?”
Abraham jerked around and Sade shot the contraption. The man roared and Sade swam hard as gunfire ripped through the water around him. Swimming behind him, he jumped back on the pier and yanked the knife from his pocket. He gave a roar and ran at him.
Abraham spun and gave Sade his target. In one swing, he sank the blade as hard as he could into his upper torso, the momentum sending them both into the water. Abraham yanked the knife from his chest and Sade power swam back to Bo and Mercy. “Go, go!” he yelled shoving Mercy onto the pier then launching Bo up next.
“Johnny!” Abraham roared. “I’m coming, I’m fucking coming,” he growled, coughing and splashing water. “Father is very. Very. Upset! You shot me, Johnny! You stabbed me! The Lord has protected his servant! And shall pour… his wrath on you!” His words cracked and wailed as Sade prayed he’d bleed out quickly.
“His car,” Mercy cried, running toward the boathouse.
They raced to the ugly vehicle as fast as Bo could run, and got in it to the surprise of a lifetime. Fucking Batmobile. Sade looked around frantically at all the gadgets and equipment springing out of the dashboard and doors.
“No fucking keys,” Sade said, looking and feeling around.
“Hot wire!” Bo bobbed a trembling finger at the steering wheel.
Sade fought with the panel under the steering column only to discover more electronics. Fuck. “We’ll go back to the house. I stabbed him in the chest and shot him with a fucking spear. That should at least slow him down.” Sade slammed the butt of the spear gun into every electronic he could get to, praying it damaged something important. He felt around for the hood latch not expecting to find it. But there it was, the old fashioned lever on the left.
He pulled it and the deep metal plonk sent Sade racing to the front of the car and opening the hood. He blindly felt around and yanked every wire he could reach.
“Hurry, hurry,” Mercy whispered next to him.
Sade gave one final glance at the eerily quiet boathouse and the three of them ran up the road toward the house. He’d only been to the lake once when he purchased the place years ago and didn’t remember how far it was from the home.
Not ten steps in and Bo’s harsh breaths drew his gaze. He was limping with stifled grunts, black hair clumped over his forehead now furrowed in seven kinds of agony. The sight of that giant hook in his mouth with the three spikes sticking out his cheek made him sick. The entire side of his face was swollen, making Sade worry that the sick fuck poisoned it.
Sade lifted Bo’s arm and put it around his neck. “Mercy, help me. We’ll carry his weight.”
She quickly got under his other arm and they half ran the entire way back, keeping a constant eye behind them. Fucker had to be too injured to do much, if anything. But with the bends in the road, Sade didn’t feel safe. Felt like he could hear Abraham’s lusty breaths right behind them.
Seemed like an hour passed before they finally made it to the clearing that came with the view of the house. Sade’s body ached and his lungs burned as they hurried to the backyard. Eyeing the darkness all around, he wished again he’d gone there more often. He barely knew the place.
“What was that?” Mercy whispered as they set Bo down at the back door.
Sade listened and finally heard it. Somebody was in the house. He put his finger to his lips, praying it was Kane while he pointed to the corner of the house. They all made their way to the side and stopped. With the house on piers, they didn’t need to duck at the windows but he couldn’t see inside them either. Sade led them slowly to the front corner of the house, Mercy right behind, nails biting into both his shoulder blades.
Another vehicle sat in the yard, right in plain sight. Sade’s heart raced as he stared at the older El Camino, waiting for something vaguely familiar to pop into his mind about it. The fact that they parked in the open said they weren’t trying to hide. Could it be some kind of property maintenance he didn’t know about? Surely not at this hour.
“Who is it?” Mercy whispered.
Sade shook his head and turned to face them. “Here’s the plan. I’m going to sneak in and figure out how many people we’re dealing with. Hopefully, just one. If so, I’ll distract them while you both enter the back way, go upstairs, and grab the bag and guns.” Mercy nodded while Bo darted his wide eyes around. “Stay put while I go look.”
Sade made his way to the car and hid next to it. First thing he needed to know was if the keys were in it, and if not, could it be wired. Problem was, he didn’t have sh
it for a single tool.
He peered inside the car window and saw the door was unlocked. Glancing at every part of the house he could see, he carefully lifted up on the handle and opened it. Sade pulled the door and froze when it creaked loudly. He eyed the house again for signs of movement, especially the edge of the house for that psycho. He didn’t know how, but he was pretty sure that fucker would round the corner any minute.
Once in the car, Sade looked around, the remnants of smoke mingling with sweet and sour odors. The smell of an overworked liver. Maybe they were older. He felt around under the seat for anything that might serve them in some way. He pulled out a metal something and realized it was a long screwdriver. Fucking miracle.
The door to the house slammed and Sade quickly got out of the car and laid on the ground, looking for feet. Dark boots headed for the car. Shit. Sade waited to see exactly what direction they were taking to the vehicle. When it was obvious they were coming to the driver’s side, he hurried on his haunches to the rear. Were they leaving? He couldn’t let that happen.
The driver door opened and the car bounced a little with the person’s weight. Sade lowered back to the ground, waiting.
“No, I didn’t,” Sade heard them say. “I checked everywhere. Looks like there was a struggle, a trail of blood and a blue truck in the yard shot to shit, that’s it.” The deep gravelly voice said he was a big man. Or a skinny dude with half a lung. “No. His car’s not here. Well I don’t know what to tell you. Wait here? How long?” Whatever the answer was to that made the man sigh. “I’ll have a look around the place, maybe they’re still here. Yeah well they don’t pay me enough to go that far. I know that too. I’m just saying if I find that sick fuck with his dick cut off and shoved up his ass I won’t be heartbroken.” He paused a moment. “I know that,” he spat. “I know that too. Yes, I get it, find them. No shit asshole, that’s my job.” More silence before his voice boomed, “Well tell the moron you can’t clean if there are no bodies to fucking clean!”
Cleaners. Sade’s stomach clenched. Was the cleaning job connected to Abraham? The maniac didn’t seem the type to work with others while running his own kook factory. His operation was its own world and domain. But if not Abraham, who was supposed to kill them? Had to be him.
Sade waited in the silence, not sure if the phone call was over yet. The flick of a Bic lighter, the smell of smoke, and the door opening answered that. Back to watching the ground under the car, the man’s large feet headed back to the house after the car door clonked shut.
Sade crawled back to the driver’s side and his breath caught when the size twelve boots stopped half way to the house. They shifted and aimed in the direction of Mercy and Bo. Shit. Sade’s mind raced with possibilities as he waited to see what he’d do. When they headed in their direction, he felt along the ground and picked up a rock. He darted up long enough to throw it hard toward the opposite side of the house.
Back to watching the large feet under the car, the rock hit something metal and Sade again held his breath as the feet paused. Crouched, Sade made his way to the front of the car, peeking around it. Finally a visual. The man was burly and tall, another fucking mammoth.
No doubt he was armed too. Sade needed his weapons. Did the dude find their bag in the closet upstairs was the question. Gripping the screwdriver tight in his hands, he debated. He could chance trying to kill him, but that could go seven kinds of wrong, putting Mercy and Bo at risk. At least he seemed to be alone. He needed the guns first.
The second the man disappeared around the corner of the house, Sade made the dash to the other end. Pressing his back against the wall, he took Mercy’s hand and held it tight before giving them the news in barely a whisper. “No keys in the fucking car. I think he’s alone, probably armed. He’s here to find dead bodies—my guess ours. So we get the guns and the keys to his car and get the fuck out of here.”
“We can take ‘em,” Bo whispered around his swollen mouth.
“I’m not fucking risking it!” Sade hissed. “He’s probably armed and I’m not getting anybody killed if I can fucking help it. I want you and Mercy to hide under this house while I go find the bag. Do not come out until I return. You both fucking understand me?”
“Got it,” Mercy nodded and turned to Bo. “You and me. Let’s do it.” She pulled him down to the ground and Sade peeked around the front of the house. At seeing the guy looking down the driveway, Sade ran to the back door and entered. Ducking down, he hurried to the stairs in a crouched position. Glancing at the front windows, he realized half of the staircase was visible to them. Sade counted to three then shot up on all fours.
Hurrying into the dark bedroom, he felt his way to the closet. Breathing heavily, he searched every inch and came up empty. Fffuuuuuck!
A bang below shot him back to the door. Opening it a crack, he listened. Where was the fucking bag? Had the dude found it? Taking the screwdriver out of his back pocket, he slowly made his way to the stairs, hearing steps. He was in the house. Fuck.
Crouching low, Sade made his way down the stairs very slowly. He froze and crept back up when the dude carefully headed into the downstairs bedroom with his gun raised.
Once the dude entered the room, Sade had a split second to decide if he should make a run down the stairs or back up and leave out a window. Not remembering any safe way to the ground from the second floor, he quickly ran down and raced for the kitchen.
“Freeze motherfucker!”
Sade dove behind the couch and gunfire exploded behind him, tearing through the wall above his head. Another shot followed as he quickly crawled around the couch.
Glass shattered with an oomph and a barrage of thuds came with Mercy’s distinct grunts. Panic shot Sade up in time to see her roundhouse kick the gun from his hand. All three of them dove for the weapon at once, the giant hitting the floor first. Sade was right behind him with a body slam. He pummeled the meaty hand covering the gun with his fist, but the dude was latched on. Sade pinned his hand to the floor. “Get something!” he roared, fighting to keep him down.
“I ain’t your enemy,” he huffed and grunted.
“Who the fuck are you?” Sade slammed his forehead into the man’s head, aiming for his temple.
“Move!” Mercy yelled.
Another shatter of glass came, followed by Mercy’s face hitting the floor. Sade flipped and pulled the guy onto his body as a shield.
“Johnny!” a muffled voice roared. “Hold him still, I’ll get that maggot!”
Sade’s vision swam and his muscles weakened. He peered up at a man with a black mask and his stomach turned as a metal pipe slammed down onto the man covering him.
“Get off of my servant!”
Oh God. Abraham.
Sade fought the haze tugging at his brain and muscles while the man’s body jolted with blow after blow.
“I got you. Father’s got you.” The words sounded far away behind the gas mask. Chloroform. Odorless, tasteless. All around them.
Abraham kicked the dude off and the room spun as Sade’s feet were lifted and he was dragged across the floor.
“Don’t worry, I got you. Redemption is here, son.”
Sade waved his lead weighted arms, hoping to grab onto something, anything.
“You were dirtier than I thought. That was all my fault, I’m far too optimistic and empathetic, always have been. I just believe in the goodness in people. That light. You know that light I’m talking about?”
Sade’s hand latched onto the edge of something, but one tug ripped whatever it was from his fingers. He blinked and looked around, struggling to clear his cloudy vision. Mercy. She slowly rolled onto her side. Fuck. Get up. Run.
A strangled roar split the air behind them and Sade’s legs hit the floor as Abraham crashed into the wall. More animalistic screaming followed with repeated sounds of hitting. Sade barely managed to turn onto his stomach. He finally looked up and his adrenalin surged.
Bo. Bo swinging something at the now fallen mo
nster. Abraham rolled left and right, shielding his head. The gun. Sade fought to orient his mind as he dragged himself in the direction he remembered.
“Sade,” he heard Mercy gasp.
Behind him, the whacking slowed and something shattered on the floor. Soon there was another clatter just as Sade’s vision went darker. More chloroform. Fucker had endless glass vials of it.
Chapter Three
Mercy slowly pried her eyes open.
“Mercy!” a voice cried, sounding relieved. “Finally, something goes right!”
That voice. Stark terror sent her heart pounding hard. Abraham. That sick Abraham. She managed to look to her right and blinked until her vision cleared a little more. But what was she seeing? Several people were there. Laying? Or was she laying? She didn’t feel like she was laying. She gave up for a moment and closed her eyes, pain spearing her head that felt bloated. She assessed the damage in her body. She’d been hit in the head and drugged with the same thing from before.
“All of you are awake right on time,” he said with a calm excitement. “The ceremony is all set, I was just waiting for my children to wake up.” He chuckled like an excited boy. “I can’t perform a cleansing while you’re asleep, now can I?”
“Mercy.” The croaked voice shot fear through her and she jerked her head toward the sound.
“Sade? I’m here.”
“Mercy,” he barely whispered again.
His desperate tone made her heart hammer her chest. “I’m here, I’m here.” That’s what she meant to say, but sluggish blather came out. “Here,” she fought to say, “Here!”
“Mercy,” he gasped, sounding heartbroken before croaking, “Bo… where…” he grunted several times, his breath coming faster. “Mother… fugger you….”
“Now, now, stop that,” Abraham chided softly. “Stop using your strength for silliness. Bo is fine, he’s with us. As is our new friend. Our rude intruder. Or so I thought that at first, but that’s not at all what he is,” Abraham said, his voice muffled, moving around like he was busy doing things. “He shall serve as the sacrifice. I’m rather glad for that since I wasn’t fond of using your Bo. See what I’m saying, Johnny?”