by Karl Morgan
“I do remember that too,” Mary gasped. “What do you think the dream about Bill means?”
“First, I know Bill would never harm you. Since Princess Maggie is another version of you, I have to imagine your dream of the beating actually happened to her and your connection to her made it real to you too.”
“Faith, I think she’s been crucified.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” she said.
“We have to help her!”
Faith dropped her head and continued, “I don’t think that’s possible right now. The emperor imprisoned your father in that reality and almost killed him and my father. You have to know that can’t happen, but it did.”
“So, Gaius has won? I can’t believe we are conceding to that monster.”
“No one is conceding anything, but there is more going on here than the emperor. It is impossible for a single being, demon or angel, to do what the emperor has done. There is some other force at work here, manipulating the emperor and those horrid enforcer creatures.”
“I guess that makes sense. If my father or grandfather did not create this crazy multiverse, then someone else had to. Do you have any idea who could do such a thing?”
Two versions of both Dom and Lou walked into the room and stood around Mary’s bed. Two of the men wore bandages around their heads. “We know, Mary,” one of the Doms said. “It was the demon Moloch, another of your brothers. We have been discussing him since Faith brought you back. We found him when we went to rescue these two who were being beaten by him.”
“I guess this proves my point about the multiverse being phony,” she smiled. “Do you think he is the one who created this mess?”
“That seems likely,” the injured Dom replied. “Neither Lou here remembered him, which is odd since he is their son. When I went to rescue my brother, I felt his presence. Then I summoned him and he attacked us. Only the intervention by Faith saved us. I honestly thought we might die there.”
“How could any of you die? That goes against everything I’ve ever known or believed.”
“Mary, many of my children have died at the emperor’s hand,” the injured Dom continued. “That is a fact that leads to only one possible answer. While I can accept that Lou and everyone else could be split among many incarnations throughout this false multiverse, that doesn’t work with me. It is not possible that Moloch is now the only true immortal left. I must be as well. No demon or angel can rule the universe and be superior to God. There must be an immortal, omniscient and omnipotent version of me out there somewhere.”
The other Dom explained, “And that version must be in the real universe, not this silly construction.”
“But why does He sit back and allow this to happen?” Mary asked.
“That is an excellent question for which we have no good answer,” Faith interjected. “I think you and Bill need to find him and discover why he ignores us.”
“Do any of you know where Bill is?”
“No, but perhaps you can think of him when you step through that door next. We will let you rest now, and as soon as you are ready, it will be time to end this.”
Bill and Dom rushed down the wide boulevard. They could see a massive swarm of enforcers attacking a large auditorium. The entire building was covered with the writhing mass slowly ripping off the stones from the walls and tiles from the roof. A single white enforcer stood at the highest spot on the roof, exhorting his companions to break through and get inside. “Focus on the white one, Dom!” Bill shouted as he dived into the mass of creatures and began hacking away at them. Dom took to the air and flew up the side of the building, slashing and slicing at the wall of hideous creatures. He landed on the roof and was instantly enveloped in the monsters, all trying to gnaw away at his flesh. He spun quickly, slicing them to ribbons and continued forward, running across the bodies beneath him.
Bill was buried again. His sword had become a dagger and he used both daggers to stab and slash the closest enforcers. But something was terribly wrong. He felt himself sinking into the mob which has only been a few layers thick. Now he seemed to be dozens of feet under the pile, and kept slipping down.
Dom jumped through the air and chopped the head off the white enforcer. All the others stopped momentarily. Then they jumped him, some fighting, others eager to eat the flesh of their fallen leader. The roof collapsed and Dom and the mob of enforcers fell downward into the open cavernous auditorium. After a few seconds, they landed on the basketball court. Dom hit his head on the floor and passed out. Most of the enforcers died on impact. Two demons jumped out of the stands and began chopping away at the surviving enforcers with axes. Within minutes, it had become silent.
Bill struggled against the mass of enforcers on top of him, but was now unable to move. He kept telling himself he was immortal and an angel, trying to convince himself that he would live through this nightmare. Suddenly, he fell downward out of control. A few enforcers fell alongside him. Looking up, he could see a door close. He realized he had slipped through another doorway to yet another reality and wondered where he might end up. And still he continued to fall.
Seventeen and One managed to pull Dom from underneath the mass of dead enforcers. They carried him over to the stands and set him down gently. Twenty-three, a doctor, came over to offer his help. “Who do you think he is?” Seventeen asked.
“Lucky to be alive, I’d say,” Twenty-three said as he checked the man’s pulse. “You know, I could have sworn he had wings as he fell. Now he looks just like a normal man.”
Sandi walked over and joined them. “Dad, it looks like those things are preparing for a second assault. And pardon me for being graphic, but we can see those things eating their dead.”
“Eating their dead?” One said as he shuddered in revulsion. “I’m not sure we can stop them again. If it hadn’t been for this man, we might already be dead.”
Dom opened his eyes and asked, “What happened? Is it over? Where’s Bill?” He looked around and noticed everyone except the young woman was identical to Bill Watson. “I take that last question back. Where is the Bill I came here with?” He began to sit up and Twenty-three held down his shoulders.
“I think you should just stay flat. You fell a long distance and frankly are lucky you aren’t dead.”
Dom touched Twenty-three’s face and smiled. “It’s okay, son. I’m fine.” Twenty-three released him and he sat up. “Which one of you came with me?”
“I’m sorry, but all of us were already here, and no one else has shown up,” Seventeen replied.
“My daughter, Faith, and that Bill Watson rescued me. Have all of you been here a long time?”
“I just left Bill not long ago in Las Vegas,” Seventeen replied. “Faith sent me back here to try to find a way to disrupt the construction.”
“Help me up,” Dom said and the men pulled him to his feet. “We have to go find Bill!”
“Sir, I don’t think that’s wise,” Sandi noted. “All those monsters have moved back several blocks. We could not see anyone else out there, and those things will likely attack anyone who goes outside.”
“Sandi, I appreciate your concern, but we must try to find him,” Dom argued. “He is the key to this whole thing.”
“How do you know my name?”
Seventeen turned to Dom and asked, “What did you just say?”
“I said Bill Watson is the key to everything.”
“Key. . . Keystone! That’s it!” Seventeen shouted.
“What are you talking about, son?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name. What can I call you?”
Dom shook his hand and said, “Dom Emmanuel, it’s a pleasure to meet you, and all of you. Please continue.”
“Dom, you see, it isn’t logical that someone could just create all these false membranes and have them be stable. I doubt anyone but G . . .” His eyes glazed over and he stared at Dom for several seconds. He blinked twice and asked, “You’re God, right?”
&n
bsp; Dom winked at him and said, “I suppose so, Son, but apparently, there seem to be quite a few versions of me about, not unlike all of you. Please continue.”
“Well, you see, it isn’t possible for there to be many of you. People like me can be cloned by an advanced culture, but there is nothing more advanced that you!”
Dom patted him on the shoulder, “But there are.”
Seventeen chuckled and said, “My colleagues would think I lost it, but somehow you have to be the one maintaining these membranes.”
“So you’re saying this is my fault?”
“No! It’s not like that, but maybe. I mean perhaps there is a real version of you out there somewhere who thinks nothing has changed, but another has built the membranes and forces or encourages you to support them.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Dom began, “There is a real me out there somewhere in one of the false realities, and someone is forcing him to support all of this. Frankly that seems preposterous. What proof do you have?”
Seventeen replied, “I doubt he is in another false reality. He is omniscient and would know the difference. However, he could be in the real universe. Possibly he is drugged or asleep and believes this is just a dream.”
One of the Bills standing watch turned and shouted, “They’re attacking again!”
“Everyone come here and join me!” Dom demanded. Then he turned to Seventeen and said, “Your theory makes no sense, but since we are all here and I have seen other versions of me, I say we act on this.” Soon, all the Bills were standing all around Dom. “All of you are my grandchildren. I have faith in each of you and will protect you from harm. Now please close your eyes and pray with me.” A few moments later, he said, “Now open your eyes.” All the Bills and even Sandi had become angels. “Do not fear the enemy! We are invincible if we stay together! Now open the doors!”
The throng of enforcers was only ten yards from the building when the doors opened and a hundred sword-wielding angels charged out to attack them.
Bill Watson landed hard on a stone floor and passed out. Five enforcers landed around him with their blood splattering around the small room.
Chapter 17
Bill woke to the sound of a woman crying. He opened his eyes to total darkness. He sat up and felt bolts of pain shoot through his head. He felt the back of his head which was wet with blood and had a large bump. “Hello?” he whispered. There was no reply but he could hear labored breathing and moaning from someone nearby. His mind immediately went back to the Place of Desolation and he feared for Mary. “Mary, is that you?” When there was no reply, he got on his knees and began to feel around. He put his hand on a dead enforcer and felt its body squish flat, with gore running between his fingers. He vomited and crawled away.
He continued crawling in the dark until his head bumped into a wall, with more lasers of pain through his head. “Ouch!”
“Brother, have you returned to watch me die?” Mary’s voice coughed.
“Mary, where are you?”
She coughed again and whispered, “Exactly where you left me, nailed to a cross, you bastard.”
One hundred miles above him, Julius and Asmodeus jumped to their feet, went to the elevator and began their descent.
Bill used the wall to climb to his feet, and then walked slowly along the wall. “Mary, I would never hurt you, you have to know that!”
She groaned in pain and said, “Dear Gaius, always the saint. Spare me your bullshit and leave me alone! Let me die in peace!”
Bill was an angel again, and the brightness of his form filled the room with light. On the opposite side of a small metal bed, a woman hung on a cross. Her face was beaten and swollen until almost unrecognizable. Large pools of darkening blood gathered below her on the floor. The enforcers who had fallen with him were dead. Four were smashed on the floor. The fifth was impaled on one of the bedposts. Bill hurried around the bed and looked up at her. “I am going to save you, Mary.”
She coughed up blood and began to cry. “Please brother, please just go.”
“I’m not your brother.”
She forced her eyes open and then they opened very wide at the sight of an angel in front of her. “Please take my soul to heaven or hell, anywhere but here. Let me die now.”
The door behind him flew open and the two demons stormed in with their axes at the ready. When they saw the angel, they froze.
Bill turned and smiled at them. “Julius and Asmodeus, you both know this is an abomination. I am here to end this now.”
“You know we must fight you. If not, Gaius will crucify us as well,” Julius replied. Bill nodded and they charged.
Bill pushed outward with his arms and the two demons flew backwards out the door and it slammed shut. He could hear the demons trying to break back in, but turned to Mary, who was still crying. “Be well, sister. This nightmare is over now.” Bill turned back to the door and waved his arm. The two demons found themselves back in the control room, pounding on the exit door.
The spikes began to recede into the cross and Maggie’s body slowly descended into Bill’s arms. She looked up at him sweetly and smiled. He kissed her lips very softly and then they exploded in a massive fireball that destroyed Cell One and its elevator shaft. The nearby rock became molten and filled the burning void.
Bill and Maggie suddenly appeared in a hospital room. He was human again and carried her over to an empty bed and set her on the mattress.
“Who’s there?” said a familiar voice.
Bill hurried over to the door and switched on the lights. His sister Mary was lying in the second bed. He smiled and went to her bedside. “Mary, what happened to you? Are you okay? Please don’t be alarmed, but I’ve brought Princess Maggie with me. I swear I won’t let her harm you.”
Mary grunted in pain but managed to climb out of bed and rushed over to the other to look at her friend. “My god, what did that bastard do to her!”
“I’m afraid she had been crucified and placed in a hidden prison deep under the imperial palace. I tried to heal her as well as I could.”
Maggie opened her eyes blearily and stared at Mary. “Bestie, is that you?”
“Hi, Mags. You’re safe now, okay?”
Faith rushed into the room when Mary’s monitors stopped. She froze in place at the sight of Bill Watson and began to cry. She rushed into his arms and hugged him tightly.
The morning sun shone through the window in the hospital room. Bill had been treated for his head wound and was asleep on the small couch. Dom Emmanuel had done his best to heal everyone, but was surprised how limited his abilities had become. He sat on the single chair watching Mary, Maggie, and Bill sleep. Faith walked into the room and gave her father a cup of coffee. She kneeled next to him and whispered, “What do we do now? We have accomplished everything we had intended, but things are definitely not normal.”
“Continued existence in this sham reality is not an option, Faith,” he replied in a hushed tone. He noticed Bill’s eyes had opened and said, “Good morning, Bill.”
Bill yawned, sat up and stretched. “Good morning to you both. How are the girls?”
“They’re much better,” Faith noted.
“Yes, but it is unfortunate that I was not able to do more. You know this is a new experience for me.” He stood, walked over and sat next to Bill, putting his hand on his knee. “You should know that your family is back here and they are safe. You may return to them now if you wish. You have done so much already.”
Bill sighed deeply and said, “That would be nice, but I don’t think it’s a viable option, Dom. As long as this construction continues, we will be under threat. I am also finding it difficult to understand who would be so evil to do all of this.”
“Morning,” Mary said as she climbed out of bed and took a seat on the chair Dom had vacated. “Bill is right, Grandpa. The only way any semblance of normalcy can return is by destroying the construction.”
Faith stood and said, “I’ll go get everyon
e some coffee.” She walked out of the room.
Dom replied, “It is Moloch, one of Lou’s eldest sons. None of the Lous I’ve talked to remember that name. Obviously they have had their memories changed.”
“But why would he do all this?” Mary asked.
“It’s the oldest story in the book; the unquenchable thirst for power. With the various versions of Lou and me trapped in the construction, he is the ultimate ruler of the universe. I’m not sure how he did it, but here we are.”
“I think I have an idea,” Bill began. “Dom, I think there is a version of you and of Lou in the real universe. That’s why your abilities are limited; most of the power remains with the originals there.”
“But why would I allow this to occur? That would make me more evil than Moloch.”
“Another Faith and I encountered two versions of you trapped in an illusion in one of the constructions. The illusion was so real that they both believed they were identical twins named Bret and Brad who just hung out at an outside bar. It turned out that both of them had white enforcers inside them, controlling their thoughts.”
“Well, I suppose it’s possible that a weakened version of me could fall into that trap, but why would the real me do that?” Dom argued.
“That version is not the real you. The sum total of all the Doms in all the constructions plus that one is you. It makes sense that Moloch would make enough copies and false worlds so it would work.”
“So, if that’s all true, what exactly is your plan?” Dom asked. “You have to know that you and your sister are also split among the false realities. If either of you attempted to stop him, you would be too weak to stand any chance of success.”
“I have to have faith that you and Lou created us to be strong enough to win.”
“No, I cannot allow that,” Dom replied. “If you fail somehow, all will be lost and Moloch will rule forever. We have to have another plan. Mary, what do you think?”
“Frankly, I don’t think Moloch is that smart,” she noted. “He’s been making too many mistakes.”