The Church

by Wisdom King

  With a nasty scorn on his face, he shot daggers at Dennis with his dark eyes. His face was covered in dried blood and he too was naked. James had him chained to the wall to keep low and tamed, but even he could see that it only made him angrier and all the more dangerous.

  Dennis took three long strides to get to Kane. He stopped just a few inches from him and crouched. Kane looked at him like an angry dog, ready to bite. Clarke felt the blood drain from his face as he watched the two. James too was watching, albeit less frightened than he was. The way he stood there, you’d think he’s just watching the game.

  “Did you actually think you can get away with this?” Dennis said, “We’ve been watching you since the day you came in here. I must say, I was really impressed by how you managed to smuggle in that gun of yours.”

  Kane said nothing.

  “But what good did it serve you, uh?” Dennis scoffed, “you’re sitting there, hands behind your back, much like the ones you used to bring back to your stupid headquarters, and I’m here, free.”

  “That’s what you think,” Kane mumbled with a ghost of a smile dancing on his lips.

  James laughed walked over to him. He stood a few inches from him and looked down on his body before kicking him hard in his chest. Kane wheezed and coughed while his mother yelled out in protest.

  “QUIET!” Dennis yelled at her.

  “We could have killed you easily, you know? But we didn’t because our God is merciful, and so are we.” James said, “Yet here you are – still an insolent slug, refusing to swallow that pride of yours and embrace our mission.”

  “God doesn’t forgive murderers and hypocrites last time I checked,” Kane said with a pained cough. The two brothers just laughed.

  “Moses killed a man and God forgave him. Paul was persecuting His people and still, He forgave him. God forgives sinners like us, Kane. You’re no better so don’t act all high and mighty.” Dennis said, “All those who accept Him are free from eternal damnation.”

  “So that means you can do whatever the fuck you want in this world and still have a place in the next?” Kane said, “no offense, father, but you don’t really strike me as the type to accept any God but yourself.” Kane said with a smile. Annoyed, James kicked him again.

  “You’re missing the bigger picture here, Kane – is it alright if I call you that?” James said as he crouched in front of him. Kane averted his gaze from Dennis and directing his glare at the Bishop snarling at him.

  “What we do here is our business and the Lord’s. Those who dare interfere have to be – how do I put this delicately?” James said.

  “Taken care of.” Dennis finished for him. He got up and walked over to a door on the other side of the room. Meanwhile, James was still busy staring at Kane.

  “Is this the Lord’s work? Is this what your God taught you? Cruelty? Animosity towards anyone who dares to disagree? Come on, James. You can do better than that.” Kane smiled. He looked way too pleased with himself that Clarke wondered for a second if he’s really taking the whole situation seriously.

  “BLIND!” James suddenly yelled out. His face was red all over and saliva sprayed over Kane’s face as he spoke. “That’s what you are, Kane. Blind! We are here to vanquish the enemies of Christ, no matter what it takes. The country is falling apart. The world is falling apart. This is exactly what happens when you turn your face away from God...someone has to stop them.”

  Kane said nothing.

  “All we want...is to be heard,” James mumbled. “The only way we could do our mission of spreading His influence is if our worthless government listened to us. The ridge between the two bodies shouldn’t exist. They have to collaborate and work together to make the world a better place. And the only way they would hear us if they saw us as a threat...which, as of now, they don’t.”

  “What do you mean?” Kane said, visibly baffled by what James told him.

  “You’ll find out soon enough...” James said with a smile. “In fact, you might even get front row seats to the action.”

  James stood up and walked over to Clarke who was trembling visibly in his seat. He grabbed him by the collar and dragged him over to the two people tied up against the post. He let go of Clarke’s collar and walked over to Kane.

  “A man with your talents is better off fighting the good fight with the good guys.” James said, “I’m offering you a deal – you can either help us in our goal to bring the rain down on our enemies...or you can just sit here, rot and die. No one will ever find you. No one will ever hear you. No one will ever, ever dare help you. What do you say?”

  Kane just smiled at him. His teeth were stained with blood, making him look more menacing than he had before.

  “Do you actually think I’m that easy, James?” Kane said, “come on, you can do better than that.”

  To his surprise, James laughed.

  “Well, you’re right. I actually can.” James said as he turned to Clarke. “Hit her.”

  Chapter 27

  Kane tried his best to hide his shock as his eyes switched back and forth between the two men. Clarke stood frozen in his place, not knowing what to do. James walked back to the counter he leaned on earlier and paused there, his eyes shifting back and forth from Clarke to Kane himself.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” He said nonchalantly. He crossed his arms over his chest and examined his fingernails. Meanwhile, Kane’s mother was beginning to panic. She backed away from Clarke and kept her legs close to her chest. She was looking at Kane with a hopeful expression like she was expecting him to magically save her. Kane felt his heart sink to his stomach. If Clarke was just as cruel as the brothers, she stood no chance.

  “I don’t get it...why me?” Clarke said, backing away. As he did, he knocked over a lab trolley carrying a couple of equipment. A look of utter confusion was etched on his pale face as he looked at James, casually leaning against the counter. “I NEVER DID ANYTHING WRONG!”

  “Never did anything wrong?” James said, furrowing his eyebrows. His face slowly turned red in anger and Clarke immediately regretted his decision to disobey. “YOU HELPED THIS MAN! YOU KNEW WHAT HE WAS UP TO AND STILL YOU HELPED HIM!”

  “If I hadn’t gone to the shed that night and saw you helping him, I wonder how far you’d go...all in the name of your selfish desires?”

  “Selfish desires?” Clarke mumbled. “All I wanted was a home. Is that too much to ask?”

  “THIS IS YOUR HOME!” James yelled, infuriated by his bold statement.

  “NO, IT’S NOT!” He yelled with tears pooling in his eyes.

  “He never did anything wrong, James. This shit is between you and me. Don’t involve the boy.” Kane said. Clarke looked visibly relieved as he said that because James attention was temporarily averted from him.

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” James said.

  “I don’t fucking care.”

  “You should be a little more careful,” James said as he kicked Freddy over and over again. His cries of pain reverberated throughout the lab.

  “Stop!” Kane said. He felt boiling hot rage build up in the pit of his stomach as he watched James mercilessly kicked Freddy on the floor. He was writhing in pain and although his back was facing him, Kane knew that Freddy was crying. “They never did anything wrong. I’m the one you want.”

  “I know that,” James said as he rounded the pole and faced his mother.

  “But seeing as they matter to you so fucking much,” He said as he kicked her, “might as well hurt them instead.”

  In his rage, Kane made a futile advance towards James. The skin on his wrist broke and burned and tried to pull his hands from the drainpipe. He pulled and pulled, but neither the pipe nor the zip tie would budge. He watched in remorse as James slapped and kicked his mother right in front of him. And for the first time in a long while, he felt powerless.

  “I finally found it.” James’s hand stopped mid-air as Dennis reappeared in the room and he had a gun in his hand. He held it h
igh for everyone in the room to see as he walked casually towards the group. A hint of a smile was dancing across his lips. His eyes searched each face inside the room. His smile widened when he caught sight of Clarke’s pale, terrified expression.

  “I waited so long for this,” Dennis said as he pointed the gun at Clarke’s face. The muzzle was only a few inches away from the tip of his nose. “The only reason we kept you alive this long is that, for some stupid fucking reason, James thought that you’d change.”

  He paused, took a deep breath, and clicked the safety off.

  “But, of course, you never did.” Dennis whispered, “I am so disappointed in you. After all that we’ve done for you – we gave you food, shelter, clothes...and this is how you thank us?”

  Kane was appalled. In the beginning, he thought that the two were only trying to intimidate him. They made a poor attempt on scaring him by dragging Clarke into the mess. Yet, as he listened the righteous indignation burning in Dennis’s voice, he slowly realized that he was facing a much bigger enemy.

  “They are so convinced that they’re right...and everyone else is wrong...”

  Clarke never mentioned to him that he was ungrateful. He never struck him as the type that doesn’t know the words “please” and “thank you.” Clarke was a victim but neither of them saw that even if they’re the ones perpetuating his misery inside the place. All they saw was a pawn – a useless servant who should be relieved of duty. The only reason they kept him alive was to scare Kane.

  “Please...I never did anything wrong...” Clarke wept. Tears were streaming down his face as he fell to his knees. “I’ll do what you want...please...I just wanted to go outside...”

  “Atta boy!” Dennis said, patronizing him. He rubbed his dark hair and pulled him up. Clarke kept his watery eyes locked to the ground as nervously got back up on his feet. Suddenly, Dennis slapped the gun on his chest and made him grab it. He held the gun with a shaky hand and looked at Dennis in confusion.

  “Now, shoot her.” He whispered as he grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to face the woman weeping on the ground. “You don’t have to kill her. Just shoot her in the foot. Nice and easy, uh?”

  “No...” Kane said as he fumbled around with the zip tie on his wrist, looking for the tip of the tie.

  “I can’t do it...” Clarke said as he looked at Dennis. His hands were visibly shaking as he watched his eyes go dark. The smile on his face faded and he reaches down his back and pulled out another similar gun. Without batting an eye, he pressed the muzzle against Clarke’s head, making him close his eyes.

  “Please...I can’t...I don’t want to...” Clarke wept. The cool exterior he tried so desperately to hide behind is long gone. All that’s left now is this sad, lonely, and terrified ghost he truly was deep inside. He flinched as Dennis clicked off the safety and pushed the gun further down his head, making him back up a little.

  “I never asked if you wanted to.” He said. “Nobody cares. All I need you to do is shoot her in the foot, or if you’re feeling lucky, you can try giving her a little kick in the shin. Whatever floats your boat.”

  Kane can now practically feel rage course through his veins. The fog in his head was now masked with a more urgent feeling. Dread was beginning to settle in as he tried his best to grip the tip of the zip tie with his free fingers. He fumbled around silently as he watched Clarke slowly raise his gun and aim at his mother’s leg. She was trying to say something but with the tape over her mouth, all they could hear were incoherent cries of fear.

  “Please don’t let me do this...” Clarke whispered to no one in particular. James only raised his eyebrow at him in boredom and Dennis eagerly watched him put his finger on the trigger. “I’m so sorry...I don’t want to hurt you. I – “

  His sentence was abruptly interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. It was followed by another, two seconds later. The third knock came three seconds after. Complete silence fell over the room and every eye was turned on the door. As this was happening, Kane finally got a hold of the tip of the band and pulled it slowly, tightening the zip tie around his wrists.

  Finally, Dennis broke the silence when he sighed and dropped his arm, much to Clarke’s relief.

  “That’s probably Dave. Open the door.” He said, calmly.

  “No, Dave’s dead. He’s back in the warehouse.” James said. Valdez was already in front of the door and ready to scan his card. He paused and looked back at the two brothers.

  “Then, just open it and check who it is then for fuck’s sake.” Dennis exasperatedly said before pointing the gun at Clarke again. The two prisoners were screaming as loud as they could as Valdez scanned his card and opened the door. Neither James nor Dennis made an attempt to quit them as they did. No one but the members and the staff is allowed inside the estate. The idea of a stranger within the vicinity of the estate itself is already comical on its own.

  Valdez slowly opened the door, just a few inches wide so the person outside would be able to see the interior of the building. From where Kane was sitting, he couldn’t hear the words that were being exchanged but everyone in the room could hear the anxiety dripping from the tone of the man’s voice. Finally, Valdez turned around. His face paler than ever.

  “It’s the cops. They’re at the gates.”

  Chapter 28

  The whole room fell quiet.

  James looked down on the two prisoners in front of him. He could hear a faint voice, calling him from afar. Everything around him started to become foggy and unclear and there was a ringing in his ear that got louder and louder with every breath he took.

  “What went wrong?”

  The ringing was ominous as if it was coming from the inside of his head. His vision became blurry and all he could see were flashes of blue and red, spinning and spinning right before his eyes. He felt his breath go short. His lungs were giving in to anxiety. Suddenly, the world started to spin.

  “James!” He heard someone yell. His head snapped up and his eyes met Dennis. His emerald green eyes were full of worry. For a moment, he forgot why he was there and why he was suddenly so worried. Slowly but surely, he regained his composure. The ringing in his ears started to fade and the clouds in his vision were beginning to disappear.

  “Why are they here?” Dennis asked.

  “I don’t know,” James thought as he walked out from the room, with everyone else screaming after him.

  “NOW’S MY CHANCE,” Kane thought as he tightened the zip tie even more. He kept his face straight as the edges of the brushed against his open wounds. His mother was still screaming from the top of her lungs in hopes of catching the attention of the police right outside the gate, but it was all in vain. The room was basically sound proof, and even if it weren’t, they were too far from the main gate to be heard.

  Clarke dropped the gun to the floor. His eyes were firmly fixed to the ground and his sobs became less audible. Agitated, Dennis pushed the gun against Clarke’s head, trying to intimidate him.

  “Just shoot me already.” He whispered. Kane looked back and forth between the two of them. Dennis was completely baffled at the sudden change in Clarke. Moments ago, he was begging for his life, now, he’s completely willing to die.

  “What?” Dennis said. Even Valdez himself, who was standing by the door away from all the action, was completely lost. Kane looked around at all the faces. All eyes were on Clarke now.

  Perfect.

  With a quick, brute force, he pulled his hand against the drainpipe.

  The lock gave in and the tie broke and slid down from his wrists, freeing him.

  “Okay, if that’s what you want,” Dennis said nonchalantly as if he was just waiting for Clarke to give up. He grabbed Clarke by the collar and dragged him over to Kane. He made him face Kane and kicked the back of his knees to make him kneel in front of him. Kane locked eyes with Clarke. There was no hint of emotion in his cold blue eyes that time. Tears were streaming down his cheek but not even the slightest hint of sadn
ess could be seen in his face.

  “Clarke, you’ve done your time here on earth...and in this life, you served the Lord to the best of your abilities,” Dennis said. He was standing right behind Clarke and aiming the gun directly at his head. “Now, your time has come to return to Him. I hope he still accepts you as a son after all the sins you’ve committed. Treason, conspiracy, homosexuality – “

  “You raped him,” Kane said, interrupting his speech.

  “ – lying, disorderly conduct, murder, and many others.” He continued, “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

  “I never did anything wrong...” Clarke whispered. A single tear ran down the side of his face.

  “If you say so,” Dennis said as he placed his finger over the trigger.

  “WE SAW THEM DOWN THE road, heading this way,” the man said. James recognized him as one of the guards posted in the main entrance. At this time, they usually survey the grounds, searching for unwanted visitors which they almost always promptly took care of.

  He was brisk walking towards the main entrance, yards away from the lab. James struggled to keep up with the young man but his fatigue was quickly overpowered by the overwhelming feeling of anxiousness as they neared the gate.

  There was an eerie silence outside. The majority of the people are already in their bunkers and some of the guards were just lounging around, minding their own business. But at the sight of James’s infuriated face in the distance, they all straightened up.

  “Did anything happen, sir?’ The man said, looking back a James struggling to keep up. “I get that we got to forward this kind of information directly to you but I don’t see why we should if it’s the cops. For all we know, someone could be in trouble right now!” He laughed.

  His smile quickly faded when he saw the look James was giving him.

  “You’ll be in trouble if you don’t stop asking questions.” He said in a menacing voice that sent chills down the young man’s spine.