Killing Angels

by Michael McGovern

  Gus Hansen stood at the front of the convoy, sharing a drink with the other men assigned to the lead Humvee. Gus had the important task of manning the .50 calibre turret that the Humvee carried. The hard liquor inside the flask helped to quiet the nervous anticipation he felt for the battle ahead, but there was one thing that he was craving even more. He patted his pockets and found them to be empty, much to his dismay.

  “Shit.”

  “What is it?” asked Chad, the Humvee’s driver.

  “I left my cigs behind. Do you have any on you that I could smoke?”

  “Sorry, Gus. Can’t stand the things.”

  “That’s alright. I guess this flask will have to do.”

  Gus made small talk and cracked jokes to lighten the mood until he noticed a visitor that had come to say goodbye; his adopted daughter Sasha. She clutched her teddy bear, Mr. Winks tightly to her chest.

  “You didn't say goodbye,” she said in a scolding tone.

  “You're supposed to be at home with Old Betty,” said Gus as he lowered himself down to one knee to be closer to her level.

  “And you're supposed to say goodbye.”

  “No point saying goodbye when I'll be right back, little darlin'.”

  “Promise?”

  Her big eyes were full of water that threatened to become tears. Gus smiled at her.

  “Do you remember the day we met?”

  Sasha's face went pale at the memory, but still, she nodded as Gus proceeded to remind her.

  “You were scared and lost, and the bad men wanted to take you with them. Do you remember how many men there were? Count them.”

  Her lips moved silently as she counted the men on her fingers.

  “Four.”

  “That's right. Four men. Do you remember what I did to them? How easily I took care of four men?”

  She nodded as the colour returned to her face.

  “You could count all your fingers and all your toes and not even that many men could stop me from seeing your sweet little face again.”

  Sasha jumped and hugged Gus tight around the neck with a planted kiss on his bearded cheek.

  “Take Mr. Winks for luck,” she said as she held out the bear. Gus teared up a little himself.

  “Sure thing, darlin'. I'll take really good care of him. I promise. You run along home now. You'll give Old Betty a heart attack if she finds out you're missing.”

  Nancy finished writing down the name of every person that was going to battle. She set down the clipboard with a shaky hand and grabbed a Polaroid camera instead. She climbed up on one of the ammunition tables and used it as a platform to get an elevated angle over the crowd of people ahead of her.

  “Hey everybody! Get in the picture,” Nancy shouted down the line. Everyone moved to oblige, proudly displaying their deadly hardware with a smile.

  “Say, fuck the government!“ Nancy commanded.

  “Fuck the government!” they all replied as she snapped the picture. She knew that for some of them it would be the last photograph ever taken. She shook the picture and blew on it until all of their smiling, happy faces appeared.

  “Beautiful. You all look beautiful,” said Nancy as she tried to keep her voice from cracking with the emotion of the moment. Remy Laveau climbed up on the table beside Nancy while everyone's attention was turned that way. She used it as an excuse to make a quick escape, while Remy addressed the people in front of him.

  “We've built a good community here. We look after each other. We care for each other. We love each other. I love all of you from the bottom of my heart, and I would die for every single one of you because you are the best of what this world has left. I hope that it doesn't come to that. I hope that we all have many happy days together. But first, there is some business to take care of. A payback long overdue. There are creatures that live in the swamp, and they believe that their atrocities against our people will soon be rewarded by a divine power that will be here in six days. We're going to drag them out of their swamp, and we're going to execute them all. We'll make sure they never get to see their precious Judgement Day.”

  Raucous cheers rose up from the crowd. Remy raised his arms up to quiet them all down.

  “Not everyone here in New Sodom can fight with us today, but they have been wronged just the same as those who do fight. This day has been long in the making, and it belongs to us all. I make a promise to those of you who have to stay behind. One man will make it out of the swamp alive to face our own judgement. That man will wish he was dead because our judgement is far worse than any God's. That man will be our former Governor, Tom Barnes. I will drag him here kicking and screaming, and I will lay him before your feet, a broken man. Everyone will see how far that wretch of a man has fallen before he dies. This I promise. Now, let's get this fucking show on the road!”

  People whooped and hollered, and got into their vehicles. Cormac shouted over at Gary Chambers as he passed by his Corvette.

  “Yo, Gary! You're riding with me. The others are sick of hearing me talk, so you'll get the pleasure of having me all to yourself.”

  Gary smiled warmly at Cormac as he climbed into the passenger's seat of the Corvette.

  “I’ve never been in a car this nice. I can’t wait to tell Wanda all about it.”

  Karina Katana climbed into the passenger seat of Darnell's Dodge Challenger. Darnell was already behind the wheel and didn't quite know where to look. Karina's body paint on this day was tribal themed. Her skin was chalk white all over, with a giant, red smear across her eyes and brow. Darnell opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out, so he looked out his window instead, searching for something to say as if it could be plucked out of the air. It was Karina that spoke first.

  “About last night...”

  “It's cool. Don't worry about it.”

  “Are you sure? It seems like we should talk about it.”

  “Was last night incredibly weird? Of course. You've obviously got some shit that you're dealing with, and I know that everyone who has gotten to this point is a little messed up in some way. It comes out strange sometimes. If you really want to talk, you can do it when you feel like it, and I'll listen, but only when you feel like it. I'm not going to force it out of you just because things got weird. As for you and me, I'm willing to wait. I think you're worth it, but don't let that go to your head or nothin'.”

  “Really? You'll wait for me to stop being weird? That could take a while. Not like it's the end of the world or anything.”

  “I told you. I'm an optimist. Though I would appreciate it if you didn't beat the shit out of me in future. My face is too pretty for cage fighting.”

  “I'll try not to,” said Karina with a smile. “I've got plenty of other people to beat the shit out of anyway.”

  “That you do. Now, how about you pick out some music to get us hyped up for beating the shit out of those people?”

  Karina bounced in her chair excitedly and squeed with joy.

  “Really? I get to pick the music?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  Karina selected a CD from the wallet and put it in the player. The Rolling Stones 'Sympathy for the Devil' began to play. Darnell laughed at the choice.

  “It's like that, is it?”

  “Track two is 'Losing My Religion' by R.E.M.”

  “Jeez. What's track three, 'Knocking on Heaven's Door'?”

  “That's track seven actually. Track three is 'God's Away on Business' by Tom Waits.”

  “This is going to be a long trip.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Princess sat in the passenger's seat wearing a camouflage dress with laced up combat boots.

  “This shit ain't exactly regulation, but it looks good,” she said as she applied war paint under her eyes in the rear-view mirror. Remy Laveau kept his focus on the road ahead, occasionally glancing out to the side to see if there were any looming dangers worth his attention. Princess studied his profile and admired him. She had grown quite fond of him over the
past two years, and though she had seen him fuck everything under the sun, they always found time to fuck each other. That was about as romantic as it got in New Sodom. She had come to think of it as more than lust and dared hope that it might be something more for him too. Remy noticed that Princess had been staring at him.

  “What is it?”

  “I was just thinking about whether we would have had a chance when things were normal.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Things have been good and everything, but sometimes I can't shake the thought that I only get your attention because of the way things are. That I'm a piece of strange for you to cross off your bucket list. If I had made a move on you back when you were still doing your little magic act, would you have gone for it?”

  Remy thought about the question and took his time thinking it over, leaving Princess in silent suspense as she waited on the answer.

  “I've always been straight,” he finally said. “Never considered myself curious. I would have said no.”

  “So, what is this thing that we have? Because at times it feels pretty passionate. Like nothing else that I’ve ever felt before. I know that you feel it too. I’ve seen how you lose yourself to me.”

  “I thought the thing we have was obvious. It's sex. Nothing more than that. We can't afford to have attachments when we don’t know what tomorrow brings.”

  Princess looked away from Remy and turned her gaze out the window with a look of disappointment.

  “Oh, I see.”

  Remy reached out and put his hand on Princess' thigh.

  “I don't regret a single moment with you, Princess. If there is anyone who could have turned me back then, it's definitely you. But it's just fun, that's all. Try not to overthink it.”

  “Fun?” Princess sounded hurt by the word.

  “Isn't it? I mean, you give the best damn blowjob I've ever had.”

  “Wow, you really know how to make a girl feel special.”

  “What is this Princess? Why are you making this emotional all of a sudden? It’s not like we’ve been exclusive. I still like the touch of a woman sometimes. You've watched me fuck enough of them, and I've watched you fuck other guys. Sometimes we've even watched each other doing it at the same time.”

  “Are you saying I’m not enough woman for you?”

  Remy sighed and shook his head with frustration.

  “I don’t mean it like that… just, you weren’t born with the right equipment to be a woman in the way I need you to be a woman.”

  “So, I'm really nothing more than great head to you?”

  “You know you're more than that, Princess. Fuck! Why do you have to do this now?”

  They drove in silence as Princess chewed on her bottom lip. There was lots more that she wanted to say, but she swallowed the words. There were some things that she didn’t want to hear spoken aloud for fear of where those words would lead. She loved Remy Laveau, but he didn’t love her. She knew that fact in her mind, but as long as it was never spoken, she could go on pretending that she didn’t. She shook the thoughts loose from her head and reset herself with a smile.

  “Sorry, I just... my imagination runs away from me sometimes,” she said. “I've been thinking too much, and I always get into trouble when I think too much. Don't worry about it. It’s all water under the bridge. As far as I'm concerned, you can fuck all the bitches you want as long as I get my share.”

  Princess reached over and grabbed Remy's belt buckle.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You said it yourself, I give the best damn blowjob you've ever had. A girl wants to share her gift.”

  “It's not exactly a good time.”

  “Honey, it's the perfect time.”

  A thunderous explosion rang out, and Princess' hand came away from Remy's buckle. The lead Humvee was flying through the air and crashing into the trees by the side of the road. A black cloud of smoke rose up from a giant crater in the road where the Humvee used to be. The convoy came to a sudden stop in front of it.

  “That was Gus,” Princess shouted, her eyes wild with panic.

  Shots were fired from the cover of the trees and bullets ripped apart those sitting in the first few cars. They were dead before they even had a chance to react. The idle cars that they left behind were now a roadblock that the convoy couldn’t pass on the narrow path.

  “It's an ambush,” said Remy in frustration. “They knew we were coming.”

  “We have to help people,” said Princess, looking towards the hail of gunfire up ahead.

  “They're as good as dead, and we will be too if we don't push through.”

  Remy grabbed the walkie talkie from the dashboard and addressed the convoy.

  “All cars turn to the side of the road and get to cover. I want all the trucks driving through to ram those cars up ahead. We need to clear a path.”

  Remy followed his own instructions and parked with the engine running as he came under fire.

  “Duck your head, Princess. We're getting out your side.”

  Remy could hear bullets punching holes in the car's body as he and Princess fell out onto the road and took cover behind it. Remy looked down the road and saw other cars rushing to follow his instructions as fast as they could. One by one they all got to cover and started to return fire on an enemy they couldn't yet see. A lot of them took bullets to the head for their efforts and fell still by the side of the road.

  “We're sitting ducks out here,” Remy shouted as he let loose with an AR-15.

  The trucks that Remy had requested came thundering up the open space, supported by the rear Humvee. It provided cover by firing its .50 calibre turret into the tree line. It rained wood bark and leaves as the trucks made fast progress and smashed the dead cars out of the way. They kept on driving, pushing forward through the wreckage, leaving space for others to follow. The Humvee stopped and lingered for a moment, providing cover as everyone rushed back into their cars. Remy skidded back onto the road and hit the gas as hard as he could. Others followed after him, while some never got the chance to get going as their brains splattered against the windshield.

  “I'm going to kill every one of these motherfuckers,” said Remy as the sound of the engine roared in his ears.

  The ambushers emerged from their cover and started to give chase. They were driving police bikes and police cruisers, and every one of them had their sirens blaring as they closed the distance.

  Cormac's Corvette was in pretty beat up condition, but he still managed to get it moving forward and eating up road. He could hear the sirens closing in behind him.

  “What is the point of those sirens?” asked Cormac.

  “For psychological effect,” said Gary. “They want you scared.”

  “Well, fuck that. I'll give them something to be scared about as soon as I find a chance to turn this car around.”

  Gary took off his glasses and put them in his pocket as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

  “It's okay to be scared,” he said. “My wife used to get scared all the time. Especially after the angels came. They would whisper in her ear and ask things of her. But she would always tell them no because she felt that the things they were asking her to do were not very Christian.”

  A police car got into range and smashed the back window of the Corvette with a bullet. Cormac ducked down, but Gary didn't even flinch.

  “Gary, I know we're only getting to know each other and everything, but do you really think that this is the best time for your life story?”

  Gary continued as if he didn't hear a word Cormac said. As if he didn't hear the gunfire coming from behind.

  “I didn't really understand what she was trying to say. Isn't it up to God to decide what is Christian? The angels started speaking to me instead.”

  Gary's hand lowered and touched at the handle of his knife.

  “They told me that her mind had been poisoned by Satan. That she had to die so that she could be saved from further corruption. If I ga
ve them my blind obedience, they would keep a place for her in spite of her sin. But they needed a demonstration of my faith and loyalty. Everyone has to be tested in their own way, or so they told me.”

  Gary started to openly weep as he told the story. Cormac was fast growing concerned, but he was far too busy with his eyes on the road and trying to dodge bullets to give the words much thought.

  “Shut the fuck up, Gary. We can talk about this later. You can cry on my shoulder, whatever the fuck you like.”

  “I thought that God was testing me as he did when he told Abraham to kill his son, Isaac. I expected someone to stop me, but no one did. I killed my wife, and now my only hope of seeing her again is to have faith that the angels are right. That what I did, I did for a purpose.”

  Cormac took his eyes off the road for the first time and looked at Gary with a dawning realisation.

  “Wanda,” said Gary. “My wife's name was Wanda.”

  Gary stabbed Cormac in the neck, and the car veered to the side of the road. Gary grabbed hold of the steering wheel and tried to turn them back, but Cormac punched him right in the nose, and the car veered once more. Cormac reached up and pulled the knife out of his own neck. Blood poured out in a hot waterfall. He was certainly dead, and he knew it, but he was determined to take Gary with him before he went.

  Cormac initially stabbed for Gary's chest, but he saw Gary moving out of the way and changed direction mid-swing to bury the knife deep into Gary’s thigh. Gary screamed in pain as the car roughly bounced along the grass by the side of the road. Cormac felt that he was starting to lose consciousness. He focused his groggy eyes out ahead and spotted a tree in the distance. He accelerated towards it before passing out and slumping his body over the wheel. Gary pulled the knife out of his thigh with a pained grunt and grabbed the steering wheel once more, just in time to narrowly avoid the tree. He reached down and unbuckled Cormac's seat belt and opened the driver's side door. The door smashed into a tree and was violently ripped from its hinges, leaving a wide-open space on the driver's side of the Corvette. Gary shoved with everything he had, and Cormac's body tumbled out of the speeding car. He fell under the wheels and became a speed bump as Gary quickly slid into the driver's seat and took full control of the vehicle. He directed the car back onto the road and drove up beside the police cruiser that had been shooting at him just moments ago. He made sure that they could see his face as he nodded to them. They nodded back. Gary signalled that he would follow their lead, and they drove on ahead to continue their killing spree.