Remy walked by himself through the untended, overgrown grass towards the Superdome. Raimond was the first to follow, giving Beth a kiss goodbye before he went. Gus followed too, leaving Sasha under Beth's protection. Karina followed shortly after. Others picked up whatever weapons they had salvaged and followed after Remy’s example, starting their journey through the tall grass. Even those that had never before left the safety of New Sodom's walls found some fight in them that they never knew they had. The very young, the very old, and the very injured all stayed behind with Beth. In total, 93 people began the march towards the Superdome. They didn't know the numbers they were up against, but they all knew that it was substantially more than 93. They walked at a casual pace as none of them were in a hurry to get to where they were going. They didn't even speak to each other. They only looked to what was ahead.
The Superdome rose up like a giant in the distance with the setting sun falling behind it. They walked straight into its mouth undisturbed. This was a beast that kept its teeth on the inside. The Heirs of Salvation surrounded them from all sides. They had men on the field and men in the stands. They even had snipers as high up as the cheap seats. Every one of them had their sights pointed down at the wet backed arrivals from New Sodom. The Sodomites instantly knew that they were hopelessly outgunned and froze on the spot. There was no way that they could possibly win.
Remy alone continued to walk forward, unfazed by the gravity of the situation. He locked eyes with Daniel Blanc who had taken his position at the end zone with a group of his followers. Conspicuous among them was a young boy and his mother who looked as though they would rather be anywhere but there. Three giant crucifixes rose up out of the ground behind Daniel Blanc. Nailed to each one was a member of the patrol team that had gone missing before the flood. They cried out in agony as blood dripped from their wrists and feet onto the touchline. Their suffering did not shock or upset Remy. He had already accepted all the hurt that he was going to take.
The other 92 Sodomites were not spurred into action by the sight of their friends crucified either. If they moved, they were all dead, so they stayed where they were as Remy strode for the centre of the field. Some of them thought that Remy had lost his mind. Some were sure that they had lost their own as well for following him into this madness. Everyone had lost their damn minds.
Daniel Blanc gave an amused smile at Remy’s approach and moved to meet him with his Confederate greys flowing out behind him as he walked. He spread his arms out wide in a welcoming gesture. Remy met him with a cold stare in return.
“So, this is the famous Remy Laveau that I've heard so much about. I was almost expecting you to have the mark of the beast on your forehead such are the tales of your evil. You must think yourself pretty great, but looking at you now, you don't seem so great to me. In fact, you seem quite small. I guess we are all small compared to our creator. I hope that this is a humbled man that I see before me and not the devil of New Sodom.”
“Where is that God of yours?” asked Remy. “By my count he's late.”
“He's coming. He doesn't work on the clock of heathens like The Voodoo King. We have some business to conclude before he arrives.”
“That we do.”
Daniel waved his hand around at the stadium.
“As you can see, we have the better of you, and you are not a man that believes in miracles. I could have you all shot right now, and that would be the end of it.”
“So why don't you?”
“Too easy. Faith requires sacrifice. If I am to assure myself of an honoured place in the next life, I must first test myself against you as one champion against another. I've heard that you carry a rapier in that cane of yours. Are you a swordsman?”
“The holy men I've killed seem to think so.”
Daniel drew his sabre and let Remy absorb it with his eyes.
“This gentleman's uniform came with a gentleman's weapon. How about we settle this matter like gentlemen? My steel against yours.”
Remy hocked and spat in Daniel's face. This was followed by the sound of a thousand itchy trigger fingers tensing. Daniel raised his hand to halt them all.
“You ain't no gentleman,” said Remy. “You a son of a bitch. But if saying yes gives me a chance to kill you, then yes is what I'm saying.”
Remy drew his blade and held it in a fight ready pose. Daniel laughed as he dabbed away the spit with a handkerchief. He tossed the handkerchief when he was done, and before it hit the ground, he thrust forth with a shout of,
“En garde!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Remy parried the initial thrust of Daniel's sword and countered with a swipe of his own. Daniel pulled his head back just in time, but Remy still managed to nick his cheek. Daniel touched at the blood and looked at it on the fingers of his white gloves with shock. A cheer rose up from the Sodomites as Daniel begrudgingly nodded in Remy’s direction.
“You're not without skill. I have been searching for a worthy opponent for quite some time. Let's see what else you can do.”
Daniel snarled and aggressively pressed his attack. Remy was forced to focus on defence as Daniel struck high and low. With each successful block that Remy performed, Daniel grew more frustrated. He started to take more risks with his attack and struck from unusual angles. Remy began to see openings in Daniel's guard and used one for a counter attack. He ducked under one of Daniel's swipes and slashed him across the thigh. Daniel grunted in pain and backed away to catch his breath.
“This Armageddon thing not going the way you thought?” Remy teased.
Daniel gave a hand signal to his men back at the end zone. On his instruction, they set the crosses on fire. The captured Sodomites screamed as the flames rose up to devour them. Remy shuddered at the sound of those screams as Daniel Blanc closed the distance and used the distraction to his advantage. He thrust for a killing stab, but Remy raised his rapier at the last possible moment and deflected. The parry was not strong enough to avoid damage entirely as Remy took a wound to his side. It was his turn to back away and catch his breath. He could feel the heat from the three burning crosses that mercifully screamed no more. Their orange glow covered the battlefield and made it an image of Hell. The combatants became dark silhouettes, parrying and thrusting in front of the flames.
Daniel pressed his advantage and came at Remy once more. Remy blocked one stab but took another to the arm. Before he could back away, Daniel spun behind him and slashed at his back, cutting like a whip. Remy dropped to his knees as the blood freely flowed. Daniel moved in quickly to stab him through the neck, but Remy rolled out of the way, and onto his butt. Daniel marched him down with his sabre raised high, and Remy responded by kicking up into Daniel’s stomach as he lowered himself to strike. It bought Remy just enough room to get back up to his feet without consequence. Remy could feel his strength starting to leave him, while Daniel still looked as fresh as when they started. He decided to make one last push, using everything that he had left. He just hoped that it would be enough to make a decisive difference.
Remy went on the offensive for the first time and caught Daniel by surprise. He hurriedly raised his guard and tripped over his own feet while backing up. Remy rained steel down on him while he was grounded, but Daniel desperately knocked everything aside until there was an opening to roll back up to his feet. Remy continued his assault, backing Daniel up towards the end zone and The Heirs of Salvation. His strikes were crude compared to Daniel's, but they were strong and effective.
Salvationers parted like the red sea and made room for the combatants. They came together in front of the lead burning cross, their swords locked together in an X. Daniel Blanc gnashed his teeth and growled as if he were about to devour Remy and feast on his flesh. He had a deranged look in his eye.
“Get on your knees,” he screamed. “Get on your knees and accept the judgement the Lord has sent for you!”
Remy pushed against him, using the locked swords and his superior strength to push Daniel's h
and into the flames. Daniel screamed and tried to push back as the flames licked at his fingers, but Remy pushed with everything he had and would not let him free. Daniel held on for as long as he could, but eventually, the burns forced him to drop his sword.
Daniel cradled his burnt hand and ran as Remy came after him with his rapier. A Salvationer stepped into Remy's path to buy Daniel some time, and Remy ran him through without a second thought.
“Where is that gentleman you promised, Daniel? All I see is a coward running from his death.”
Another Salvationer stepped into Remy's path and got slashed across the throat for his trouble. Daniel used the time to double back and stagger to his sword. He could no longer hold it in his good right hand and had to make do with his weaker left. Remy came onto him and aggressively battered down onto the sabre blade. Daniel could not hold him off and took a thrust right through his shoulder. Remy retracted the crimson blade and looked for the killing blow on the unguarded Daniel Blanc, but before he could land the strike, he felt a bullet explode through his leg. He instantly dropped to his knees and grunted with the pain.
“Coward!” he shouted at Daniel, not even looking at the shooter. “You no good son of a bitch! I really hope that I'm wrong and that there is a Hell because a coward like you deserves to fucking burn!”
Daniel laughed and shambled towards Remy with his sabre raised.
“You think you have the right to judge me? Only God can judge me, and all of this is done in His name. He will forgive me.”
“Go ahead then. Finish sucking His dick and get this over with. I go back to the void and become nothing, as I was before. Soon we all become nothing. That's the great joke of it all. All of this was for nothing.”
“Defiant to the last. I really do pity you for your lack of faith.”
Daniel raised his sabre high with intent, but before he could bring it down, someone jumped on his back. Tracey screamed as she produced a knife that she had taken from one of the Salvationers Remy had slain. Daniel tried to shake her off, but she gripped onto her husband tight as she repeatedly stabbed the knife down into his chest. The Salvationers had their guns pointed but were reluctant to open fire in case they hit Daniel. They moved to pry her off instead. Tracey held onto Daniel for dear life, but the hands pulling her away were too many. They roughly threw her to the ground and readied their guns. Tracey turned towards Sam with tears in her eyes.
“I'm so sorry, Sam. Be free. Get out of here and be free. Get away from this monster.”
They silenced her with a hail of bullets.
“Mom!” Sam cried.
“Whore!” Daniel shouted as he spat a snowball of blood onto the touchline. His feet did a chicken dance as he tried to stay standing, but not even his faith could stop the inevitable. He dropped and made a touchdown. Remy laughed loud and long. He laughed with all of his soul.
“You're coming with me, Daniel. God will not witness us. We're going into nothingness together. Leave me alive just a moment longer than you so that I can see the look on your face when you find out.”
Daniel was smiling as the blood trailed from his mouth. He raised a weary arm up towards the sky and pointed his finger. The angels were coming.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Their wings blotted out the sky. Hundreds of angels descending from the heavens. Remy had never seen so many in one place before. They wore chest plates of gold with moulded pecs and moulded abs. They wielded great broadswords that were as large as their bodies and swooped down upon the Sodomites, lopping off heads without ever touching the ground. The Sodomites that kept their heads ducked low and fired their guns, but their bullets were useless. The angels laughed haughtily and collected more heads on a second pass. Remy helplessly looked on as Karina's head was severed from her neck in one clean slice. Gus and Raimond soon followed, their lifeless heads rolling along the artificial grass. Remy could see the shock that was frozen on their faces at the moment of death. The moment they had been building towards for the last two years was all over in the blink of an eye.
The archangel Michael landed by Daniel Blanc's side. He touched Daniel Blanc on the forehead, and the blood retreated back into his body. The rapier and knife wounds disappeared. The burn on his hand was no more. He stood as a new man, fully healed, with a radiant smile upon his face. His skin glowed as he turned towards Remy.
“Goodbye, Remy. You should have begged forgiveness while you still had the chance.”
A bright spotlight struck Daniel Blanc, and he ascended up into it. He was flying without wings, laughing a joyous laugh all the way. Similar spotlights hit the other Heirs of Salvation, and they all rose up into the heavens together. Murderers, paedophiles, and rapists all forgiven in the eyes of the Lord. The Heirs of Salvation were gone, and all of Remy's friends were dead. Remy stood as the only living human in a field of angels.
The angels landed in a circle around Remy, and the archangel Gabriel stepped out of their number. The smug look on his face drove Remy into a rage.
“No way! There's no fucking way! I call bullshit. I call bullshit on each and every one of you feathered bitches!”
“Only a fool does not believe what his eyes tell him is true. You are a fool to the last, Remy Laveau. We did warn you. We gave you every chance to renounce your sinful ways, yet here we are, at the end of it all, and there you are, alone and without a friend.”
“No. I reject you. You have no right to come here. This is my home, not yours. I will fight to drive you out of here.”
Gabriel gave a pitying shake of his head.
“Look around you, Remy. You've lost. You lost before we even came. There is only one thing left to do. Kneel before me and accept your judgement. Do at least that much and we may yet show mercy.”
“Like you showed mercy to my friends? My mother? Princess? They say that God works in mysterious ways, but there isn't anything mysterious about it. He's a prick, and I want none of his mercy.”
Remy raised up his rapier and bid Gabriel to come forward. Gabriel looked almost sad.
“Very well, Remy. I will damn your soul without mercy just as you would have it.”
Gabriel didn't run, he flew. He flew in a straight line right at Remy. Remy tried to strike him with his rapier, but Gabriel was moving much too fast, and Remy was forced to get out of the way. Gabriel hit at the rapier with his broadsword as he passed and it snapped like a twig under the broadsword’s might. Remy threw the now useless serpent head pommel into the dirt and limped towards Gabriel with his fists up. Gabriel spun in mid-air and roundhouse kicked Remy right in the ribs. Remy was violently lifted up into the air from the force of the kick and came crashing down twenty feet away from where he started.
Remy could feel the broken ribs stabbing into his lungs, and he knew that his death was close. A thousand times he had imagined this moment, and not one time did it play out like this. He couldn’t let it be the end. He refused. He was determined to kill at least one angel before he left this world. If he could do at least that much, he would die a happy man knowing he had stained New Orleans soil with their blood. If only he could make his body comply with his will. He had waited so long for the chance he now had, and he was squandering the opportunity with a body that was too weak to act. Remy willed his pain to go away with every ounce of mental strength that he had. He willed for just enough strength to kill his enemy. Just enough strength to wipe that smug look off of Gabriel’s face. Remy wished for it harder than he had wished for anything in his whole life, despite knowing how futile it was. But his body did not seem to know what he knew. It listened, and it answered his call. On the command of Remy's most urgent thoughts, his ribs healed themselves. They cracked back into place one at a time, and he found that he was suddenly able to breathe easier as the puncture to his lung rapidly healed. All his injuries faded, including the ones that Daniel Blanc had inflicted on him. All because he willed it so.
The host of angels looked uncertain for the first time and flickered out of existenc
e like a computer glitch before returning to their previous positions. Remy started to laugh as he got back to his feet and faced Gabriel.
“And what, may I ask, is so funny?” Gabriel demanded as he floated towards Remy. He pointed the tip of his broadsword right at Remy's throat.
“Have you ever had a dream where you know it's a dream?”
There was a look of panic on Gabriel's face at that moment. He looked to kill Remy as quick as he could, but Remy caught the blade of the broadsword with his bare hand. The blade should have sliced right through the meat and taken his fingers, but there was not a drop of blood to be seen.
“This can't hurt me anymore.”
Remy snapped the blade in half with his bare hand and punched Gabriel as hard as he could. This time it was Gabriel who rose high into the air and crashed twenty feet away.
“You were actually dumb enough to come inside my head, weren't you?”
Remy clicked his fingers, and the host of angels disappeared like they were nothing. It was just Remy and Gabriel in the middle of an empty Superdome. Gabriel got to his knees and wiped at his bloodied nose. Remy noted that they bled, just the same as he did. Gabriel put his hands together as though he was about to pray to God, but instead he spoke to Remy and grovelled.
“Remy, let's not be hasty. We can talk this out. How would you like an audience with God Himself? I’m sure you have lots of questions for Him.”
“You still don't get it, do you? In here, I am God.”
The ground shook with a violent earthquake caused by a giant step. Another step and another earthquake, followed by another. The giant footsteps were moving closer.
“What is that!?” Gabriel demanded in a genuine tone of fear.
“I call upon Baron Samedi to accept my offering. One false archangel.”
Giant skeletal hands gripped at the side of the Superdome. A top hat the size of a building rose up, and underneath it was the giant skull of Baron Samedi. He puffed on a tree-sized cigar and blanketed the stadium with his thick smoke. Gabriel rose up out of the smoke and tried to fly away, but Baron Samedi picked him out of the air with his bony fingers and plucked his wings as if he were no more than a flying ant. Baron Samedi removed his cigar and opened his mouth wide. He lifted Gabriel and dangled him above the pit that was his open mouth.
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