by Len du Randt
‘Snacks will be handed out to those who wish to have something to nibble on,’ Victor said. ‘They’re quite tasty, I can assure you.’
People in the crowd chuckled.
‘I would like you all to have fun today,’ Victor said and raised his hands. ‘Let the ceremony commence!’
The six storeys cheered as one and all stood up, clapping, shouting, and stomping their feet as they displayed their visible and audible approval of their God.
Uniformed waiters walked through the people with gold and porcelain trays, handing out elaborately cooked delicacies to the spectators. The people thoroughly enjoyed the tasty bits, but might have felt distinctly queasier if they had known the origins of the morsels served to them.
Shortly after, Pope Alexander IX delivered a powerful speech, and placed a crown of pure gold on Victor’s head. He also handed him a golden sceptre decorated with some of the world’s most expensive diamonds and other precious stones. He then kissed Victor’s hand and knelt down before him. Everyone in the crowd knelt down too. After a short prayer to Victor, Antonio stood up and pointed to him. ‘All hail your God and Sovereign Emperor,’ he cried out.
All Hail! The sixty thousand people cheered as one.
The coronation was followed by signing of documents from every President and leader on the African continent, after which, a commentator took the microphone and shouted, ‘Let the games begin!’
The crowd cheered as doors on the arena floor opened up, and a few frightened Jewish men and women were led to the centre of the arena. Some of the men and women were severely beaten, and all were shackled. Two of the women were carrying babies in their arms.
The cheering died down, but when the lions were released, the crowd exploded into applause. Some swore at the Jewish prisoners, while others placed bets on who would be the first—or last—to die.
The seven lions surrounded the huddled men and women, and then moved in for the kill. The crowd loved it and cheered as the men, women, and babies fell victim to the merciless predators.
Five more rounds like this continued and then the announcer declared a ‘special’ event.
‘Those who tried to enter here today without the Shield,’ he shouted into the microphone, ‘will now be made examples of.’
The crowd cheered as men and women were led to the centre of the Arena. They were tied to one another on their left and right hand sides, and when the lions were released, the spectators cheered and laughed as these people tried to get away as one unity. They fell over one another, pulling down others with them.
The lions showed no mercy, and neither did the crowd. Their cheers drowned out the screams of those being mauled by the animals.
After the events, the people were dismissed. Everyone left for their homes, talking excitedly about some of the deaths that they had seen. Some bought videos and DVDs of the day’s events. Others bought t-shirts. Some bought ‘victim burgers.’
All in all, everyone had a good day.
- - -* * *- - -
‘They what?’
‘They killed them, Mary. All of them!’
Mary couldn’t believe the news that her husband was relaying to her. She sat down. Her eyes darted about nervously. ‘How? Why?’
Malcolm took his wife and held her tightly. ‘Why, Malcolm?’ she cried. ‘Why them? What did they do to deserve that?’
‘They didn’t do anything wrong, Mary,’ he said softly. ‘But this is how Satan is to rule the last few years.’
‘But there were babies,’ she said through her sobs. ‘Innocent little children.’
‘I know,’ Malcolm said. He felt powerless. Tears brimmed in his eyes as he held his wife even tighter. ‘I’m...I’m just glad that Angie doesn’t have to go through this.’
‘Me too,’ she said, and then pushed herself away. She wiped the tears from her eyes. ‘But those were other people’s Angie’s. It’s not fair.’
‘It’s the times that we live in, my love. We have been warned, but we chose to ignore the warning.’ He tried his best to sound reassuring, but he knew that he only fooled himself.
‘Then I have to go to those in danger and warn them before they meet the same fate,’ Mary said after she composed herself.
Malcolm didn’t understand. ‘Where do you want to go to, Mary?’
‘To Al Jalil,’ she said. ‘I have to warn Nasreen and Kassim.’
‘You cannot do that,’ Malcolm said louder than he had intended to. He lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘It’s suicide, and you know that! You will surely die.’
‘We’re already dead,’ she said, her expression showing that she had already made up her mind. ‘And if I don’t go, many others will die too. I have to warn them; lead those to Christ that can still be won.’
‘I refuse!’ Malcolm said, trying to make his voice sound as authoritative as he could manage. ‘You will not go!’
‘My love,’ she said, her voice soft and calm. ‘Don’t you see? I’m not doing this because I want to, but because I have to.’
‘No,’ he protested. ‘I refuse! Let someone else go.’
‘You know as well as I do that there is no one else.’
Malcolm couldn’t answer. He opened his mouth to say something, but choked. ‘I...I don’t want to lose you, Mary...’
His wife embraced him lovingly. ‘You won’t lose me, my dearest husband. I will be back shortly, and if not, I will surely see you in just over three years, next to our son, daughter, and our loving Lord, Jesus Christ.’
‘Don’t go...’ he pleaded, but he already knew in his heart that this was something the Lord had called her to do. ‘Please...’
‘I love you, and I always will,’ she said, ‘but this is something that is bigger than both of us. This is something that I’m doing because of my love for you. I have to go. Please don’t hold it against me.’
He didn’t answer. He just held on to her. She held him tighter.
- - -* * *- - -
You’re a child of the Devil! A son of Satan!
Daddy! Don’t hurt me! I’m sorry!
I’ll teach you to do something like that again! Come here!
Don’t hurt me, Daddy!
Come here, you little spawn of Lucifer! Let me show you how it’s done properly!
No, Daddy! Stay back!
What the—?
Stay back, Daddy!
No! It cannot be! It...it’s impossible! Stay away from me! Don’t touch me! Don’t!
‘NO!’ Victor shouted as he jerked awake.
‘I’m sorry, Supreme Excellency,’ Ryan said and removed his hand from Victor’s arm. ‘You had a disturbing dream, and I thought it best to wake you.’
‘You thought well,’ Victor said and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘What time is it?’
‘It’s almost time for dinner, my Lord.’
Victor sighed and sunk back into his lofty couch. ‘Do you know what I want to do to those who refuse the Shield?’ he asked as he wiped perspire from his forehead.
‘Please tell me, my Lord.’
Victor took a few heavy breaths. ‘I want to kill them, Ryan. I want to kill them all.’ His voice picked up pace, and the words came out with a hiss. ‘I want them to suffer and bleed. I want their suffering to be slow and painful; keeping them alive just long enough to regret the day that they were born.’
‘That’s good, my sovereign Lord,’ Ryan said. His attention was focused on every word that his master was uttering.
‘I want the rebel Jews and the terrorist scum impaled on stakes. I want their heads chopped off and delivered to their families.’
‘They deserve it, my Lord,’ Ryan encouraged.
‘In fact,’ Victor said, ‘I want their entire families wiped out too in the most gruelling manner possible.’
‘Excellent, my Lord.’
Victor sighed and stared out the window into the darkness of night outside. It was pitch black except for the occasional flash of lighting in the distance. ‘Why are t
hey doing this, Ryan?’
‘I...I’m not sure I understand what you mean, my Lord.’
‘I offer the people of this planet hope. I offer them security, protection, love, peace and stability. What do they do? They throw it back at my face. Why?’
‘Because their hearts are filled with evil, my Lord.’
‘Correct, Ryan. They are filled with evil. And once this evil is plucked out; once this cancer is removed from our planet, we can start living the way that I intended us to live when I created the world.’
‘I will help you uproot this evil, sir,’ Ryan pledged. ‘I will go to the four corners of this Earth with you and slay as many of them as required to achieve your goal.’
‘Go to the four corners of the Earth...’ Victor repeated. A sinister plan was being born. ‘I like that.’
‘We can build the most powerful Empire this world has ever seen, my Lord; and once you rule over all, we will achieve perfect peace and harmony.’
‘Yes,’ Victor said after a moment of thought. ‘That is what we shall do: we will conquer the world for peace.’
- - -* * *- - -
Trevor knocked softly on René’s bedroom door.
‘Come in, Trev,’ her voice sang from within.
‘Whatcha doin’?’ he asked as he entered the room. He had never really gone into the room after she unofficially moved in, and for a moment he thought that he was in another apartment.
‘I’m packing,’ she answered and hummed a tune as she continued doing so.
‘I can see that,’ he said. ‘But where are you going?’
‘I’m making my pilgrimage to Al Jalil. We’ll be heading out to Jerusalem first, and then head on to Al Jalil from there.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Yeah. A few friends of mine and I are making the trip together. It’s going to be great fun, and I might even get to see our God in the flesh.’
‘But what about your job? Where will you stay? What will you eat?’
René stopped packing and smiled at her concerned friend. ‘My friends have people on that side. I will do odd jobs for some Shield Credits, but I have saved up for a rainy day.’
‘That’s it?’ Trevor asked. ‘You’re leaving?’ The reality of being alone again struck him hard. ‘Just like that?’
‘It’s not like I was going to live here forever, Trev,’ she said and walked toward him. ‘You know that.’
‘I know...it’s just...so sudden; almost unreal.’
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. The two of them embraced and for a moment time stood still. ‘I will be back,’ she said. ‘I’m going for two years max, and when I come back, the two of us could have a massive party, if you’d want to.’
‘I want to...’ Trevor said softly and hugged her tighter.
‘I’ll be back,’ she said as a tear rolled down her cheek. ‘I promise.’
- - -* * *- - -
Andrew didn’t hear the pounding on his door at first. The pounding became louder, but it was only after something struck hard and heavy against his door that he jerked upright. He ran down the hallway when the door crashed open and armed N-Force officers piled in, machine guns aimed and ready.
‘What’s this?’ Andrew asked, bewildered, and still not fully awake yet. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Are you Andrew Parker?’ one of the officers barked and shone a flashlight in his face.
‘I am,’ Andrew said and tried to shield his eyes from the intruding light. ‘What do you want?’
‘You are under arrest for acts of terrorism against the Empire,’ the officer said as another cuffed him. ‘Please come with us.’
‘You cannot do this to me,’ Andrew protested. ‘I—I have rights!’
‘Please remain quiet and come with us,’ the officer said and walked out of the apartment.
‘I’m not a terrorist,’ Andrew protested as he was being led down the corridor. Some neighbours stuck their heads out from their doors to see what the commotion was about. Andrew saw one of the elderly ladies that he usually bought some groceries for. ‘Tell them I’m innocent,’ he shouted in her direction. ‘Please, missus G, tell them that I’m not a terrorist!’
She didn’t say anything. She merely closed her door.
- - -* * *- - -
‘Talk pig!’ the N-Force interrogation officer spat in Andrew’s face. ‘Who do you work for?’
‘No one,’ Andrew said, still convinced that he wasn’t a terrorist. ‘I told you that already.’
‘Who do you work for?’ the man growled, ignoring Andrew’s remark.
‘I work for myself,’ Andrew said. ‘I have my own little clothing business.’
‘Who is your leader?’
‘What leader?’
A smack against Andrew’s ear sent a sharp stabbing pain to his brain.
‘Who is your leader?’ the interrogator asked again.
‘I follow no one other than Jesus Christ,’ Andrew said.
‘So you admit to being a terrorist?’
‘I never said that,’ Andrew protested. ‘I’m a Christian, not a terrorist. I believe in love, not war.’
‘Will you accept the Shield of Victor for your protection?’
‘No,’ Andrew said. He started realizing how futile his situation was.
‘No?’
‘No.’
‘You make this hard only on yourself, Mister Parker,’ the interrogator said and nodded to someone standing behind Andrew. Immediately a hard object struck the back of Andrew’s head, and he fell forward to the ground.
‘Come now, Mister Parker,’ he said mockingly. ‘Do you really wish to go through this?’
Andrew didn’t respond. He just got back up. He swayed a little from the dizziness.
‘Do you confess that your leader, Jesus, is a terrorist leader and a fake?’ the interrogator asked. ‘Do you also confess that Sovereign Emperor, Victor Yoshe is the true, living Lord and Saviour?’
‘No...’
Another blow to the side of his head sent him crashing into some chairs.
‘Pick him up,’ the interrogator said, and two guards rushed in and jerked Andrew to his feet. Blood streamed down the side of his head, and he was starting to lose colour in his face.
‘And now,’ the interrogator said as he cracked his knuckles. ‘Let us show him what we really do with terrorists.’
- - -* * *- - -
‘I’m reporting to you live from Pretoria, South Africa,’ the GMN newsreader shouted excitedly at the camera. ‘What we are witnessing here today is the second public crucifixion since the reinstitution of this form of execution by Lord Yoshe.’
A large crowd had gathered outside the building where Andrew had been continuously beaten and tortured the previous evening, and spat at him as he painfully tried to make his way down the path that the N-Force officers had cleared for him. His legs lost their strength, and he crashed into the ground.
‘Get up, punk!’ an N-Force officer yelled at Andrew and hit him across the back of his neck with a nightstick. The crowd loved this and cheered their approval at the officer as he struck Andrew again and again.
Trevor flinched as the guard kicked Andrew in the face. Ouch! He thought to himself. That had to hurt! He didn’t shout and cheer with the rest of the crowd, but he did feel some sort of satisfaction in watching Andrew suffer. He justified it by the suffering that Andrew had put him through by not taking the Shield when those relentless invisible creatures stung him nonstop. Now it was Andrew’s turn to suffer.
The officer allowed people to pelt Andrew with heavy—and sometimes sharp—objects, while he kept mocking and taunting the terrorist.
‘Let your Jesus save you,’ he yelled and then slammed a huge fist into Andrew’s face. ‘See? There’s no one here but you, pig!’
Yeah, Andy, Trevor thought. Where’s your Jesus now? If he shows up, I might just convert.
Two N-Force officers flung Andrew’s limp body to the ground next to the wooden c
ross and then proceeded to lift him onto the cross and spread his arms along the beam.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Metal drove through flesh as the guards pounded a heavy steel pen into Andrew’s arm. A faint scream escaped his lips with each pounding.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The crowd stopped shouting and cursing as the pens were nailed into his ankles. Two minutes later, the officers lifted the heavy cross, and it snapped into position, instantly dislocating both of Andrew’s shoulders. A ghostly silence hung in the air for a few seconds longer and then the crowd exploded into cheers and laughter. Trevor caught himself cheering with them.
That’ll teach you to make me hurt like that for nothing!
‘Where’s your Jesus now, hatemonger?’ an N-Force officer taunted.
Andrew struggled to breathe. He was weak, and the pain in his arms prevented him from pulling himself up even slightly.
Trevor picked up a rock. He wanted Andrew to feel the stinging pain that he had to endure for five months. He pulled his arm back and was about to throw the rock when their eyes locked for a brief moment. No words of hatred or revenge came from Andrew. Only saddened eyes, filled with blood and tears, but yet full of love and forgiveness.
Something inside Trevor snapped and he dropped the rock. He looked at Andrew one last time, and then broke free from the crowd, fleeing as tears stung his eyes. He ran as fast as he could manage, crying loudly. Finally, he stopped and dropped to his knees.
‘What have I done?’ he cried as people in the distance cheered. ‘I’m sorry, Andy...I’m so terribly sorry...’
There was one final burst of cheers before everything quietened down.
- - -* * *- - -
‘He is dead,’ the N-Force officer announced, much to the satisfaction of the crowd. ‘We will cut off his head and impale it on the main street so that everyone can see what we do with terrorists around here.’