by Roy Bright
Whilst gloating, Balthazar has failed to notice that Judas has recovered. Charlotte’s presence has enabled him to do so at a rate the demon hadn’t accounted for and he holds out his right hand and calls to Gary who launches one of his swords at him. He catches it without so much as moving a muscle.
Realizing something is wrong, Balthazar turns towards him and roars then crouches, in order to allow his massive legs to propel him and Charlotte through the roof and into the floor above.
As he begins to jump, Judas streaks forward, cutting his left leg in half.
The pain sears through Balthazar’s body and he screams. The change in inertia from the removal of the leg sends the demon crashing forward and onto his side where he falls with a thud, grunting.
He loses his grip on Charlotte and she falls forward also.
Gary drops his gun and launches himself at her, grabbing hold of her backpack and pulling her into his arms. In his haste, he loses control of his balance and falls to the floor, twisting his body in the process to protect her. He too grunts from the awkward landing.
Balthazar tries to get up. He punches his right arm into the ground, attempting to use it to push himself to his feet and the ground shakes.
Judas flashes past him, slicing his arm clean off and the demon drops to the ground once again, smashing his face into it.
He turns onto his back and looks at his missing leg and arm. Panic hits him. They haven’t begun to heal. How is this possible? How could he, Balthazar, fail? Iscariot possesses power he has never experienced before, had never seen the Betrayer with such of this magnitude. He curses; he knows Judas has defeated him, for now. He turns to him and laughs. “You can send me back, Iscariot, but Lucifer will return me to this realm in less than twenty-four hours. He has begun to walk with you, has begun to bring his children forth, has begun to claim the weak and when this world belongs to him only his rules will apply. I will be back and will spend the rest of eternity ripping you apart piece by piece for my amusement.” He begins to cackle, his face contorted, insane looking.
Judas stands over him and draws in a deep breath. He looks over to Charlotte and Gary. She has a nasty graze on her forehead but other than that seems to be okay and she gives him the signatory thumbs up to confirm. He nods, looks at Balthazar, then drops to his right knee and stares into his foul yellow eyes, holding up his sword to the demon. Admiring it he proclaims, “You see this, you fucking scumbag. This is one of the Swords of Destiny. Anything I cut off with this stays cut off, anything I kill with this stays down there for a very long time. Twenty-four hours is enough for me, demon. I intend to keep that child from your Devil. He won’t get his hands on her as long as breath runs through my body and because of His curse,” he points upwards, “that breath will be here for a very long time.” He smiles. “Goodbye, beast, I won’t be seeing you for a long time, if indeed ever again.” Standing, he decapitates Balthazar and the demon withers to dust.
The room descends into silence.
Then, every cop around him erupts into a cheer, thankful that the horror is over. They embrace one another, celebrating still being amongst the living and then rush to their fallen comrades to see if any have survived this horrific event.
Captain Banks stands in front of him; he is breathing hard. The events he has just witnessed have taken their toll on him as they have on the other officers. He holsters his weapon and holds out his right hand.
Judas stares at it and then looks him in the eye. Nodding, he shakes the man’s hand. Everything that needs to be said is said in that one handshake.
Captain Banks surveys the devastation of his station, of his men and women. He turns back to him. “Ten minutes ago I saw a man put a bullet into his own head, empty his brains all over the wall behind him and then stand up without so much of a scratch and now… this. There isn’t a soul on this planet that could now convince me that heaven and hell do not exist and it is clear that humanity is in its darkest hour.”
Police officers have begun to gather around him and Judas. He motions to the rest of his surviving officers, “I can say with certainty, knowing what we all now know, that every man and woman in this room will do whatever it takes to help you and this brave little girl.”
The crowd of officer’s nod in unison.
“You have my support and the support of everyone in my team that is stood by you now. Whatever you need to get this job done, you just ask and it will be given to you.”
Judas looks around the room at each of the men and women of the West Babylon Police Department with admiration and he takes a deep breath. “Captain, I cannot ask any more of your people than has been already. We must now carry on alone. Thank you, each and every one of you. Please, attend to your dead then go be with your families. They will need your support whilst we try to fix this. All I need from you now, Captain, is transportation and some extra weapons.”
“You got it.” He snaps his fingers at two uniformed officers “Make that happen.”
Both men acknowledge and move off in great haste.
Gary is back on his feet and checking Charlotte’s head injury. She smiles at him indicating that she is okay.
One of the other uniformed officers helps Abi to her feet. He grabs a chair, turns it upright and sits her down.
Judas takes a moment to reflect and then turns to Captain Banks once more. “Make sure someone takes a look at her, please, she took one hell of a knock. Then find somewhere safe for her to go.”
“You ain’t getting rid of me that easy. I’m still coming with you,” she says, standing up.
He shakes his head and is about to offer a rebuttal when Charlotte interrupts him. “Judas, they have to come with us to the end. That’s what the voice said back at the motel. Not just that they had to come with us, but that they had to come with us to the very end.” She looks at Gary. “All of us have our part to play and must see this through if we are to defeat this evil.”
Judas throws back his head, closes his eyes and sighs. He opens them again and brings his head back down. He looks at her and shakes his head a little. “Well, if that’s what it has told you, then who am I to argue?”
Charlotte smiles and looks at Gary.
He smiles back. His smile wanes as his thoughts turn to that of Paul. He looks around the room realizing that in all of the confusion he hasn’t spotted his friend and he calls out his name. The other officers around him lower their heads and look towards the left-hand side of the front desk area. He walks over to where everyone’s attention has turned. As he clears past the partition he sees the bloodied form of his best friend lying on the floor and a heavy wave of despair washes over him. He drops to his knees beside him. Tears well up as over thirty-five years of friendship flash through his eyes. He holds a hand up to his mouth and a single tear flows down his cheek, hitting the wall of his fingers, sending it off into a new direction, tracing a path down the side of his hand. He wipes it and his eyes, then stands. Removing his jacket, he covers Paul’s bloody and damaged body in order to preserve some dignity in death for the man.
Other officers in the station follow his lead and begin to cover up their fallen comrades; the station room falls silent once again.
Judas whispers to Captain Banks, “If you have a precinct priest Captain, please, call him now. These men and woman deserve something said for them to guide them on their journey.”
He nods and pats him on his right shoulder.
Judas walks over to Charlotte and drops down to her level. He rubs his hand over her head wound.
“I’ll be okay,” she tells him, “it’s just a scratch.”
He looks at her and then wraps his arms around her and pulls her into him, holding her tight, as a father would his own daughter.
She puts her arms around him and squeezes back.
It has been a very long time since he has felt such love for another human being, but he does now, he does so in massive quantities. This girl is not only the most important thing to humanity, but
she is the most important thing in his life.
“I promise nothing will happen to you, Charlotte.” He says, hugging her even more. “I promise with every fiber of my being, nothing will happen to you.”
She holds him even tighter and says, “I know.”
Thirty-One
Dour, somber and hopeless.
The battle between Judas and Balthazar has left more than destruction in its wake; it has left many of the people who witnessed the titanic struggle lost, with the stark realization that events detailed and predicted in religious scripts are in fact, true. Even though their fallen comrades lay brutalized upon the floor, many people have fled, returning to loved ones fearing the end of the world is upon them having had their religious beliefs questioned or confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt. As the dust settles, an uneasy tension rises within the station. Many devout Christian police officers have begun to question, via covert and whispered discussions, the motives of the man they now know to be the betrayer of Jesus Christ. The defeat of Balthazar by his hands has had time to settle into people’s minds and adulation is making way for wariness and fear, after all, he is the man who betrayed the Son of God. The visible attitude of those remaining appears to be undergoing a change, as though an unseen force manipulates them, altering their states of mind, devouring their very being. A connection has formed between these people, a sort of hive mind, and they herd together one by one.
Judas has become aware that time is running out for them. Before long, the fear and prejudice will overwhelm sanity and reason, and that is when man is deadliest; when the Dark One’s hold will manifest itself, penetrating the weak of mind with his will alone and when then happens, it will become too dangerous for them to be here. He approaches Gary, as he senses the man shares his dread. They whisper to one another.
“Gary, you getting the same vibe here that I am?”
“Yeah, man, I’m beginning to think that you ain’t the favorite of one or two people. I’m thinking we grab ourselves a few horses and get the hell out of Dodge, man.”
“Couldn’t agree with you more, my friend. Let’s get our shit together, gather the girls and get the hell outta here. It’s gonna get intense in the next few hours and I want to be somewhere that I can control the situation. I am sick of these fuckers getting the bounce on us.”
“Agreed. Okay, I’ll get the gear and weapons. I’ll also have a word with the Captain and see what the situation is on that car. You grab the girls and as soon as we are ready, we will be out of here.”
“Sounds like a plan, my friend, sounds like a plan.”
The two men head off to carry out their assigned tasks, eager to be out of a situation that is threatening to boil over, the intensity of the mood within the station rising, as the minutes tick by.
Gary approaches Captain Banks who has also begun to notice that some of his colleagues, his friends now eye him with suspicion. He grabs the Captain by his left elbow and discretely leads him over to a corner of the room, out of earshot of the gathered mass, watching them. “Captain, Judas and I think things are getting a little, weird around here and we wanna be on our way. Any word on the vehicle?”
He leans into Gary and lowers his voice. “I think the two officers I sent have either left or are stood over there with that group, and by ‘weird’, I expect you are referring to what seems to be an alarming rise in cult-like activity?”
“Well, Captain, to be honest, I never thought of it like that but now that you mention it.” He surveys the room and understands why the man has used the term cult-like: The atmosphere within the station is very wrong; twenty or so police officers have gathered into one large group and are staring at the detectives’ side of the precinct; a divide has set in.
Pete and Martin also feel the tension and they move towards the Captain and Gary.
All of them sense the terrible gloom that is setting in all around and the air feels acrid with despair.
Judas hastens towards the girls as they have started to feel very scared indeed. He grabs Abi’s arm and whispers, “You and Charlotte must follow me; this place is not safe; we must leave, now!”
Charlotte looks at him, worried. “What’s wrong? What’s happening here?”
“Sweetie, we have to go. Grab your bag and Mr. Tumble and follow me, quickly.”
They do as he instructs and get to their feet.
Charlotte is very careful to ensure she has Mr. Tumble this time; she knows that they will not be coming back here ever again, under any circumstances.
All three make their way over to Captain Banks who has drawn his firearm and has it hanging by his side.
Pete and Martin stand just behind him. They too have their firearms drawn and their attention fixed on the gathering of people at the ruins of the front desk.
None of those gathered speak; all are transfixed on the Captain’s group.
Martin leans forward, “Captain, this shit is fucked up! What’s going on here? Look at them; they look like goddamn zombies, man.”
He chooses not to answer his detective; instead directing his attention towards Judas. “There is a door at the rear of this station by the holding cells that leads through to the precinct garage and then to the outside. In the garage is a pool of vehicles. You will have to find the keys in the garage office.
“Those of you leaving need to do so right now; I don’t think our people are our people anymore.”
He was right. The massing group at the front of the station seem lost to reason as they sway in unison.
Judas nods. “Lucifer has his influence in this room right now. The conflict and doubt in those people’s minds has allowed him to enter and they are passing it between each other. Something has happened, somewhere.” His eyes dart back and forth as though searching within his own mind. He stares at the ground, his head offering the faintest of shakes. He casts his mind back to the morning of the Angel’s visit where he had been returning to the alley following a night’s aimless wandering, and had bumped into a young woman at its entrance. He remembers noticing how she had a shimmering shadow of darkness attached her, a powerful one, much too powerful for what seemed a random soul; but had dismissed it as not his concern as at that time, prior to his mission, the business of demons in the world had not been his to worry about. Understanding hits, him. He looks up. “A reaper!”
“What?” Banks says, frowning.
“A reaper. Somewhere, a reaper has completed his assignment and ritual, unleashing Lucifer’s will. This is just the beginning. His influence will start to grow and spread further. Getting to Jersey is gonna be tough. Let’s all head to the door and secure the route as we progress. Captain, if you need to you must fire upon those people; they are never coming back to who they were. You understand that, right?”
He nods, “The next sixteen hours are priority and, as corny and cheesy as it sounds, you and Charlotte are our only hope. Get the hell out of here and do what needs to be done. Pete, Martin and I will cover and retreat as needed, giving you guys time to get the vehicle sorted.”
Martin looks at him in alarm, “What?”
Pete sighs. “Martin, we have to do this, no more talking, defensive positions right now, everyone out of here. We need to buy you time to grab the gear and the vehicles. I ain’t in the habit of throwing my life away so make it quick and we will secure the exit as we retreat. We are just about to kill people I know, so get out of here before we change our minds.”
Judas grabs Charlotte and Abi and ushers them through the rear door.
Gary has already begun to make his way to the weapon storage from where he had recovered the swords.
The group across the other side of the station have started to emit a humming chant and it is very disturbing. The chant had started low, muffled, but now rises in intensity, fever-like in pitch.
The men know this is a countdown and that those people will pour forth very soon. They make their weapons ready.
The chanting from the group has taken over the wh
ole room. At first, the words were indecipherable, but now, as the group reaches unison, they are clear, unmistakable. He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen, over and over they say, all the while swaying back and forth. He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.
Pete and Martin raise their weapons.
He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.
Captain Banks drops to one knee and raises his weapon at the pulsating throng, their voices growing louder, faster, but still they remain locked in unison.
He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.
Martin breathes in and out hard, anticipation and immense fear growing within him, eating away at his core. The words burn into his mind making him light-headed, and plummeting him into a dreamlike state.
He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.
Pete notices his partner has begun to sway also. Fearful that his friend will fall victim to the demonic chanting, he screams at him. “Mart! Martin! Focus. Drive it from your mind. Think of better things, think of Carol and the kids, man. Martin. Focus!”
He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen. He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.
There are no other sounds in the station now, only the chant exists.
Pete’s words are lost in the sheer volume of the group and he turns his attention back towards them.
Captain Banks shouts something at his team though it is in vain, as they cannot hear his words, and Pete shakes his head whilst pointing to his right ear.
He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen. He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.
The sound grows like a cyclone overhead, loud and fast.
He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen. He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.
It grows louder.
He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen. He will reign, he is risen, he will reign, he is risen.