Tears had already been falling down my face, but now they started up again for a whole new reason. Here was God. I stood up nervously, and I could barely look at him. He had to have known all the horrible things I’ve done. I stammered, “I-I-I’m s-s-s-s-s-“but before I could apologize he moved over to me and gave me a hug. “sorry.” I finally finished.
“I told you. You’re already forgiven. Now, will you please cut yourself some slack? People make mistakes. Hopefully, they get a chance to learn from them and move on. I didn’t do what I did to make you all groveling and apologizing all the time. Now, are you going to hug me back, or are you going to make me beg?” Jesus said playfully.
I wrapped my arms around him and started crying into his chest, “I’m sorry about everything.”
Jesus kissed me on the cheek and hugged a little tighter, “It’s good to have you back home, little sister.”
“Little sister?” I said dumbfounded.
“You’re my family.” Jesus then looked around at us all, “You are all my family. You are why I went to the cross. I didn’t do it to make you my servants. I have angels that serve me, so what could I possibly need with more servants? I have a hard time thinking up things for my angels to do, as it is. I came down so that you and anyone that accepts me as God can live in heaven as my family. You are all my brothers, my sisters, my mothers, and even my children.”
“That’s kind of confusing. Who knew heaven was just a bunch of inbred rednecks?” Niki snickered and then realized who she was talking to and looked really nervous, “S-s-s-sir, I meant nothing by it.”
Jesus laughed, and it somehow made the whole world just a little bit better, “Relax, I’m not angry because you crack a joke at my expense, once in a while. Just wait until the day you meet Peter and Paul. Those two pick at me almost nonstop. Just relax a little, but you are right. It is confusing, but when the time comes for you to be with me in heaven, then I promise it all will make sense. Between now and then just be happy to have a little mystery in your life. Knowing everything isn’t nearly as much fun as it sounds.”
“Yes sir.” Niki sputtered.
“Now, stop that. You act like I’m this angry guy that wants to stomp all over you every time you open your mouth. It’s like you think I’m an abusive husband and you’re afraid to open your mouth because I might go off at any second. I love you…all of you. Now please stop with the sir business and get over here. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all face to face.”
We all rose up and surrounded him except for Olli. Olli just glared at us all and seethed. “You say you love them, but what are they? Grim is a psychopath that’s killed over and over again, the vampire is a little bitch that spread her legs for her own father. What a fucking degenerate! She’s a killer and a pervert! The werewolf and the blonde are both fornicators, and homosexuals. The teenager is tramping it up. Sure, she's still a virgin, but how long will that last? Her father is an angry bastard that has almost as much hate in his heart as anyone I’ve ever seen. Sure, he’s been shocked into reevaluating himself for now, but how long will that last before he’s just another angry man ignoring his daughter? Then, there’s the last one.” Olli glared at me.” She’s the worst of them all. She’s responsible for so many deaths. She’s betrayed everyone. She even turned her back on you. You love this scum? I was right all along. They were never worth submitting to.”
We were in shock as Olli began pointing at each of us and listing every dirty thing we’d ever done. He even pointed at Enoch and called him a masturbating lackey. Jesus finally raised his hand, and Olli stopped. Olli was breathing hard, and was almost to the point of hyperventilating.
“I know what they are, and what they are is forgiven, and they are mine.” Jesus’ words left no room for argument. “Now, are you going to keep this charade up, or are you going to accept that you’ve lost any hold you ever had on them.”
“This isn’t over!” Olli screamed and then he melted into the ground. It was disgusting, but you just couldn’t turn away. When it was over, there wasn’t even a puddle. He just sort of melted, and then evaporated.
Jesus looked sadly at where Olli had been, “It was over before it began.”
“Who or what was that?” Grim sounded as shocked as any of us.
“He was my most beautiful angel once, but Lucifer has changed a lot over the years. I don’t think even he knows how far he’s really fallen.” Jesus said sadly. It sounded like that even now he cared for Olli…I mean Lucifer.
Chapter 33
“Why would the devil want to help us?” Grim asked.
Jesus shook his head, “What makes you think he was helping you?”
Grim stared quizzically, “But he fought with us. He put himself at risk with us.”
Jesus said sadly, “No, he helped make sure you made it to the trap, and once you were down there, he tried to persuade you to stay and fight instead of coming here. When that didn’t work, he followed you to here. He was never in any danger at all. You saw how easily he left from here. He’d have just done the same thing once he had you trapped.”
We just stood there, dumbfounded. We’d been played like chumps since we got here. Grim was taking it particularly hard. He was staring a hole in the ground. Jesus saw how upset he was and put an arm around the big man, “Don’t give up. He wanted to make an example of you. You could stay right here and wait until they drop the bomb. The chupacabra will put themselves between you and the blast. They’ll take the impact of the energy wave, and you should be fine. Then once it is clear, you could step out of the ashes. Lucifer wanted to make an example of you for generations to come. All you have to do to beat him is wait for the bomb to detonate. You’ll be the survivors of a tragic moment in history. You’ll beat Lucifer at his own game.
I watched Grim. He looked like he was about to cry. The big man took a ragged breath, “All those people will die.”
“You’ll live, and look at it this way; these are just more people you won’t have to kill. Isn’t that what you wanted?” Jesus’ words were cold, but his face was sympathetic.
“I don’t want them to die.” Grim said trembling.
“I don’t want them to die either, but out of respect for humanity, I won’t interfere with the choices and paths that people have made.” Jesus said calmly.
Cassie sniffled, “But so many will die! You could just snap your fingers and save them all. Don’t you love us?”
Jesus looked like he was about to cry, “I love you all more than you could ever truly comprehend. I love you enough to let you all make your own decisions. It isn’t easy, and I know it doesn’t seem fair. The fact is, that if I start rescuing everyone, then I’m taking your choices away. You think having me step in to save the day is a good thing, but where does it end? Do I save everyone, everywhere, all the time? Do I just save people from painful deaths? I could spend the rest of your life, and your great-grandchildren’s lives explaining why free will is more important than life, but the simple fact is this. Do you trust me?”
Cassie sniffled, and her head bobbed up and down, “Yes, but it’s kind of hard to, right now. Does that make any sense?”
Jesus smiled and gave her a gentle, reassuring hug, “Of course. I know how hard it is for you, and no, your mother didn’t suffer. She didn’t even know what happened. Sarah was with you, and then she was with me. She still loves you, and I’m sorry that people took her away from you too soon.”
I felt my lip tremble. Was my mother there? Did she just go to sleep with us, and then wake up in heaven? Did she even think about us anymore? Tears were building in me, and I was fighting to keep them from escaping. That’s when Jesus looked me in the eyes and said, “Your mother misses you every day, and she’ll be waiting on you when you finally crossover.”
I lost it right then. Tears poured out of me. Penny held me and gently rocked me in her arms. “Shh…shh…it’s alright.” Penny’s words were tender, and I felt love flowing out from her.
Then I
felt Danika and Niki holding me, and even Samuel, Cassie and Enoch were comforting me. The only person not with me was Grim. I looked over, and he was just crying.
“Grimmy?” I said nervously.
“I failed. People are going to die, because I was too stupid to just turn tail and run when I had the chance.” He looked at Jesus. “Take my powers, take everything I am; just don’t make all those people pay for my stupidity.”
Jesus raised an eyebrow, “What makes you think you failed?”
“My every instinct said we should cut and run, but I stayed out of misplaced loyalty toward Katy. I didn’t see Katy for the threat she was, I didn’t turn tail and run. If I had, then all those people wouldn’t be in danger right now. When that bomb goes off, Janine’s body will explode, and then Janine will be destroyed as well. I haven’t even been Death six months and I’ve already failed you. I don’t deserve to serve you.” Grim’s voice was determined.
“You’d give up your life to save all those people?” Jesus asked, and I had the distinct feeling that he’d already made up his mind towards something, and I was afraid of what the answer might be.
Tears ran down his face, and he sobbed, “They deserve better than this.”
Penny stepped in front of Grim, “Please, don’t take him away from me. I’ll do anything. Take me instead.”
Niki stepped up and put an arm around the little vampire, “No, take me.”
Danika kissed her fiancé, “No, take us.”
That just left me. I had sisters I might never see again, but this motley crew of misfits was also my family. I couldn’t imagine life without any of them. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, “Take me, too, if that’s what it takes.” My stomach was knotted in terror.
“You’d all give your lives to save a bunch of people that you barely know?” Jesus asked cautiously.
Grim looked him square in the eyes, “Isn’t that what you did?”
Jesus laughed, “This is why I wanted you as my horseman. Judgment day is the final option. I know it will eventually happen, but it isn’t really what I want. I want you all to come to me, but I can’t wait for people to come to me forever. Someday I have to make all of this final, and on that day, I’ll need you to carry out a horrible task. I don’t want these people to stare into the face of some uncaring monster. I want them to know that Death cares about them as a person. I want them to know that when their time comes, that Death thought their life was something precious.
Grim was crying, and the others just couldn’t seem to find the words. So I cleared my throat, and tried not to have a panic attack while I said, “Jesus, can you help us? We’re willing to trade everything that we are for them. Isn’t there something you can do?” Keep breathing DD, and for God’s sake, please don’t hyperventilate now.
Jesus smiled sympathetically, “As I said, I will respect the free will choices of all humanity. So I won’t directly act on this, but…I have given you everything you’d need to save these people. That is, if you really want to. You could always stay here and wait it out, but if you are determined to fight, then all you need to do is start using the gifts I’ve given you.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Jesus shrugged, “What are your problems?”
“They are going to bomb the hotel with all those people in it, zombies that want to eat us, the wave of energy that will be released when the bomb detonates, and of course how to rescue Janine from being imprisoned in that flash drive.” I rattled the list off as quickly as I could.
Jesus stretched and then said, “Okay, so do you have anything that might be able to handle the zombies?”
We all looked around hoping someone would have an answer, finally Danika snapped her fingers and said, “The chupacabras. They’ll eat zombies. I mean, they like dead flesh, and that’s what a zombie is…isn’t it?”
Everyone nodded, and then Niki said, “Okay, that handles the zombies, but how do we keep them from bombing everyone, and also how do we prevent the explosion from releasing all that energy and killing even more people?”
We pried our brains, but nobody could think of anything. Jesus watched us. It was frustrating because he probably already knew the answer, but he was letting us come to it ourselves. Finally in frustration I groaned, “Come on, help us out. It’s not like we can just magically move the building somewhere else before they try to bomb it.”
“That’s it!” Grim laughed. “We just need to move the building.”
“How exactly are you planning to do that?” I asked.
Grim’s face grew dark again, “Damn, I thought we had it. I was going to say we move the building to here, but I’m not powerful enough to swallow the whole building into The Black. Well, back to the drawing board.”
Then it just clicked. I knew the answer, but the answer was horrible, and it must have shown on my face, though, because everyone started asking me what I’d come up with. I looked Grim in his eyes, and I just couldn’t lie to him. “Grim, you said once that your power is limited because you are human.”
“Yeah, if I was more powerful, then I could…” Then he suddenly went pale. “DD, do you think it would work?”
“I don’t know, and please forgive me but, I’m not sure I want to find out.” I said nervously.
“What?” Niki asked.
Grim ignored his sister and looked right at Jesus, “Would it work?”
Jesus smiled, “Like I said, you have everything you need. You just need to put it together.”
“What? What is it?” Niki questioned.
Grim looked at Jesus, “But we don’t have the time.”
Jesus laughed, “Time isn’t exactly consistent here. An hour and a half back on earth could be three days, or even three weeks, if that’s what you really needed.”
My heart was in my throat, and I wasn’t sure if I should support him, or try and stop this. Then, I looked Grim in the eyes. The man had hope. He’d been thinking all he could do was kill, and here he was being given the chance to save so many lives. I couldn’t take that from him. “Grim, you do what you have to. We’ll support you the whole way.”
Grim smiled, and even his eyes lit up with joy. He leaned over and gave me a gentle kiss, “Thanks, DD.” Then he turned to Penny.
She looked at him, and I could tell she suddenly felt nervous. Grim leaned in and whispered into her ear. Her eyes got wide, and she looked terrified. Finally, he finished and she shook her head, “No, I can’t do that to you. You might not survive. I don’t want to live without you.”
“Do you trust me?” Grim smiled.
“Of course I do.” She answered.
“Do you trust that God has a plan for us?” Grim’s smile grew wider.
“I know he has one for you, but I’m not so sure about me.” Penny said nervously.
Grim kissed her, “Penny…baby if God didn’t have a plan for us both, then he isn’t God. The man upstairs loves us all, and wants what is best for us all. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. So, let’s do this. It isn’t the circumstances I would have hoped for, but if I wait around for perfect, then I’ll be waiting forever, and we don’t have that kind of time.”
Niki screeched, “Would someone please tell me what the hell you all are planning?”
Grim turned towards his sister, “You know I love you, right?”
“Y-yeah?” Niki said nervously.
“Penny is going to make me into a vampire. It’ll take time for me to change, but since time passes differently here than back home, I should have plenty of time.” Grim said nervously.
“What? No!” Niki screamed.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll be better than fine, actually. I’ll be able to be with Penny forever. I love her. I’ll wake up a vampire, and that means I should be able to use my powers more effectively. I’ll use The Black to pull the building over here, and that way, they can’t bomb it. Then we’ll send the chupacabra in to destroy the zombies. We can then rescue the people, and maybe
figure out how to save Janine. It’s our only chance. Please try to understand. If nothing else, it means I can be with Penny forever, and you know how much I love her.”
Niki looked at Penny, and then looked at Danika, “You love her just as much as I love my Pudding Pop.” Then she sighed, “Okay. Penny…is he going to be the same when he wakes up?”
Penny shrugged, “That’s up to him. He’ll have new instincts, and he’ll have impulses that are stronger, like sex, and feeding. He could be essentially the same as he is now, or he could be something very different when he wakes up.”
“Did becoming a vampire change you?” I asked nervously.
Penny walked around. Every once in a while she would stop, and she looked almost ready to answer the question, but then she would start pacing again. Finally, she sighed, “It did, but it didn’t. I know that really doesn’t answer anything. When I was human I was always afraid of everything. Becoming a vampire gave me confidence. I knew that no matter how bad something was, that I could survive it. My father was very abusive, and I was terrified of him. Once he made me into a vampire, I realized that if I could survive the things he did to me, then I could survive anything. My sisters both became very different after changing. My oldest sister became just as cruel and wicked as my father, and my other sister lost her mind. My mother was exactly the same as she’d always been. She loved us. I guess if anything, she became a little more protective of us.”
Grim stood there biting his lip. He was nervous, “So I could be me, or a drooling humping monster?”
Penny shrugged, “I’m sorry. I can’t guarantee what the change would be like for you.”
Everyone was tense. They were all trying to wrap their minds around what Grim was considering. Even Grim looked unsure. The only person that seemed to be handling it well was Jesus. Oh that sneaky…man? Is it even okay to call him a man? I mean he is God. Is it an insult to call him a man? Did he even do things like other men? Does Jesus get wood? Does he fart? If we played a softball game, would he scratch himself and then spit when he came up to bat?
Midnight Squad: The Ties That Bind Page 57