by Roy Bright
He stops and turns towards Father Keel. “You knew all along? You knew all of this?”
He smiles at him and shakes his head, “No, son, I didn’t know all along. The Archangel came to me about four years ago and explained it all and the importance of this little scene we find ourselves in today. He made sure that I kept you in the vicinity as best I could, that I kept you in work with the few little bits of protection jobs that I could throw your way. The tattooist job was my way of a thank you, by the way,” he winks at him, “I know you liked those damn comics and well, I threw that one your way so you could be paid in the manner you thought the loophole worked and receive some kick ass tattoos in the process.”
Father Keel smiles, wide and wicked and Judas laughs, “You crafty old git,” he says, causing all three to laugh together.
After a few seconds, Judas sits back down and turns towards Gabriel. “There is so much I cannot comprehend, Gabriel, but one thing that still bothers me is the line that kick-started this conversation, reclaim our world.”
“Yes, very astute, Judas, it is an important sentence indeed. As I said, we see all things at once except now, the timeline stops here. We are also at the mercy of human choice, another area that will dilate the timeline. In the original visions, none of this devastation had happened. The Taken, the demons roaming freely amongst man, none of this was in the original. That is because Lucifer had never gained access to Charlotte’s whereabouts. You see, he is unable to see her, she just doesn’t appear on his radar and in effect he is blind to her. He also cannot touch her during her final phase of Awakening and even if he could see her, it is only at the very moment of her time of birth that he can embrace the child and absorb her. This was a very powerful weapon in our arsenal against the forces of darkness. In the original timeline, we put you into play and you protected her in secret until she reached her Awakening. We were sure that the block, or barrier if you will, around the final scenes was due to a massive build-up in Lucifer’s energy as he tried to get a fix on her location, and for that we needed our greatest human warrior to ensure he didn’t. In short, you.”
He looks at Gabriel, puzzled, “So, what went wrong?”
“Free will and choice is what went wrong. Father Mallory was another of the keepers of knowledge much like Father Keel here. Unfortunately, the old coot didn’t just want acceptance into paradise; he wanted eternity on earth and a seat at the council of evil. He betrayed Charlotte to Lucifer and in doing so, completely tipped the scale in the Dark One’s favor. So much so, that over the last twenty-four hours, he is convinced that he is going to win and has, in short, waged war against humankind. The hour is dark indeed, Judas. You are the only one who can protect the child and to do so, we are certain that you will have to face Lucifer and battle him yourself, face to face.”
He stands, “Are you fucking insane? You want me to go hand to hand for a few rounds with The Morning Star, with Lucifer? That’s your fucking plan?”
Gabriel shakes his head, “I know it seems crazy, Judas, but—”
A voice booms out of the darkness of the entrance to the church that causes all three men to focus their attention on its origin. “Seems crazy? It is fucking crazy.”
A figure steps out of the shadows and laughs. The laugh is so loud that it wakes Gary, Abi and Charlotte and they all sit bolt upright.
Gabriel stands once again and Judas adopts a defensive posture as Lucifer steps forward, suave, wearing a black suit and long black overcoat.
He talks in a calm and soft voice. “If you want my opinion gentlemen, put all your chips in and bet on red.” He laughs once again, and then turns towards Gabriel. “Gabe, so nice to see you again after all these years my brother, how’s the family, the kids? Oops, they ain’t doing too well are they? Seems they have a bit of a discipline problem at the moment, and are currently roaming the streets ripping out everyone’s guts.”
He looks at him with despise, “Lucifer, you seem to be getting better at disguising your foul odor from me. Be gone, Devil, you have no business in this place.”
Father Keel stands, defiance dominating his posture. “Get out, you are in the house of God and you’re not welcome here.”
Lucifer bursts into a rage, focusing his attention on the priest, his face contorting into his hideous creature form, his eyes burning the deepest red. “Silence, you fucking dog or I will devour your worthless fucking soul right here.”
Judas moves between them, and points at Him. “You so much as move a muscle and I will cut off your fucking head, Devil.”
Lucifer roars with laughter once again, laughter so terrifying it causes Charlotte to grab hold of Abi as both girls stand rooted to the spot in terror.
“Ten seconds ago you were pissing in your pants about facing me and now you intend to… cut off my head? Shut up, Iscariot, you, pathetic fool, you are no match for me, lowly dog.”
Gary draws his weapons.
This causes Lucifer to laugh with even more vigor and direct his attention towards him. “Ah, the busy little detective. Running around crime solving, trying to absolve himself of the blame for the death of his little boy.”
Judas calls back to Gary, “Don’t listen to him! He is the King of Lies and only wishes to turn you against yourself, just don’t listen to the prick.”
Lucifer snarls at him, “Don’t ruin my fun, you pathetic Jewish pissant.”
Gabriel strides forwards. He throws his trench coat back and up and it transforms into brilliant white glowing wings.
The light is blinding, causing Lucifer to shield his eyes and he recoils at the sight.
Gabriel bellows at the King of Demons, “Enough, Devil! Enough of your parlor tricks. Revert and deliver your ultimatum, then we can be done with you.” The light disappears and Gabriel is once again wearing his coat.
Lucifer reverts to his smug human form and slow-claps. “Wow, Gabriel; that was, impressive, even stopped me in my tracks. Phew!” He laughs, “Shit got a little out of control there for a second.” He laughs again. “Okay, fair enough. Let us not bother with the clichéd ‘turn everyone against themselves and each other’ bollocks. To be honest, I don’t have time to invest in the character development with that one.” He laughs for a third time, but this time his laugh is less menacing, more humanlike. He becomes playful and excitable. “Tell ya what, I’ll cut to the chase and get this over with so I can go back to my fantastic penthouse with a view, and watch as your world ends, tearing itself to fucking pieces and my reign begins.” He beams a smile at them all, taking his time to show each person how much he is enjoying this moment and then walks backwards. “Okay, here is how it is. None of you will make it out of here alive, I will have one of my stooges bring me the girl and, well, let’s see… err, I guess I win.” His smile is now wider than ever. “Unless one of you, kind individuals would be good enough to walk her out of here and up to my little domain at Tonada Corporation that is?” His smile is so wide now that all of his teeth stand out brilliant white like a cheesy car salesman making the deal of a lifetime with a wreck of a car. He doesn’t even wait for an answer before clapping his hands together and declaring, “Nope, no takers? All-righty then, I guess my guys will see you outside shortly for a good old scrap.” With that, he strides to the main doors whistling, then lifts his hands up as though conducting an orchestra and pulls them towards himself.
Both doors sweep open, causing them to thunder against the inside walls as they crash into them. He passes through the archway and the doors close behind him the same they opened.
Gabriel tuts and shakes his head. “Overdramatic, pompous arsehole,” he declares before turning back towards Judas but he isn’t there. Instead, he is already at Charlotte’s side and on one knee comforting her. This causes Gabriel to smile. He dusts down his coat and join him at her side.
Judas cups her face with his hands, “Sweetie, don’t cry, I have told you that nothing will happen to you whilst I am around. I will keep you safe and that horrible creature will not harm a single
hair on your head. Do you believe me?”
She nods and he wipes the tears from her eyes, and then looks up just as Gabriel approaches.
He smiles at her and drops down to her eye level himself, “He is right, child; with Judas you are strong and invincible. The power of divinity that channels through you both is the most powerful we have ever seen, it is almost as powerful as His gifts upstairs.”
Everyone looks towards the ceiling where Gabriel is pointing, all except Charlotte who smiles at him. “It’s you! You are the voice in my head. You are the one who has kept me safe, told me where to go, told me what to do. You are the one in my head.”
“Yes, child, it is me, I have been the one talking to you all this time. When you heard the voice in your head at night scared in your dormitory, when you felt lost and alone and no one was around to hear you I was there, gently talking to you. You are very special to us, Charlotte and you will be very special to the world also.” She smiles at him and he stands and moves back to address everyone. “Okay people, listen up because we are almost at the final act now. Lucifer is here, his people are here and under no circumstances must he be allowed to take this child. You are in this moment by design, by a plan. A plan’s conclusion hidden from us for the time being, but a plan it is nonetheless. Nothing is by chance and you all have a role to perform. In short, Detective Cross, Miss Colter, you must help Judas by keeping Charlotte safe whilst he, the most powerful human being alive, keeps you all alive. That is your calling and that is your mission.”
Gary and Abi nod.
Abi then shakes her head and asks, “Wait, who are you?”
Without breaking stride Gabriel rambles, “No time to explain - Archangel Gabriel - Protector of the Earth - Voice of God - any other questions?”
Abi shakes her head as though to say, sorry I asked.
“Judas, listen carefully,” he says, placing his hands on his shoulders. “The power between you and Charlotte is immense but you must learn to control it. You have already done so in small doses: the motel, the police station, the fall. All of these things are you two becoming one with the Great Light. As Jesus said to you all those years ago, you will carry the Great Light to usher man into a new dawn. Charlotte is the Light and you are the Protector, here to help her carry the message along to others. You must remain symbiotic, together; it is the only way we can win this war.”
Judas nods, smiles and takes hold of her hand. He feels an immense surge of power run through his body and is forced to take deep breaths to control it. He closes his eyes and images flood through his mind at vast speeds. Memories, places, people, voices, all colliding at high velocity creating a cyclonic wall of sound. All at once, it stops, and he opens his eyes. He turns to look at Charlotte who is in turn looking at him. She smiles and he feels charged and ready for battle.
Gabriel claps his hands together. “Good, well done, you two. You are ready. It is time. I am sorry, my friends, but I cannot interfere, it is forbidden for me to do so; well, directly at least. Please don’t ask why, it is long- winded, very convoluted and pretty much total bullshit and we do not have the time for such things.”
Everyone laughs.
“All that is left is for me to do is to wish you very good fortune. Do not let us down people. What’s left of the world is counting on you all.”
He turns in a circle, his trench coat swirling and enlarging like a cape. Then, he is gone.
Emerging from the sacristy, Father Keel walks towards them. No one had noticed him slip away but he now returns and he is carrying a large single barreled shotgun with a small bag slung over his shoulder, hanging down by his left side.
Judas steps forward, “No, no, no, Father, I cannot allo—”
“Don’t you dare, young man, don’t you dare.” He says, cutting him short. “I have lived a full life and served my purpose up to this point but my new calling is to protect that child with you all, be that for five seconds or five years. So stop your jibber-jabber, boy and let’s make a plan.”
Gary steps forward, “He’s right, you’re gonna need us all. So what is the plan?”
He looks at each one of them, then down at Charlotte and smiles.
She smiles back; she knows what he is thinking, she knows the plan. In the last joining, they had created an unbreakable symbiotic bond: what he knows, she knows, what she sees, he sees. She nods in agreement.
He turns towards the group. “I will fight whatever is outside and then we find transport and head to the Tonada Building and face Lucifer once and for all.”
“Are you serious?” Gary says, shocked. “We are supposed to be getting as far away as possible from him, what possible reason could you have to take Charlotte to him?”
Abi also voices her concern, “I’m with Gary, Judas; this plan is madness.”
He reasons with them. “I know it seems that way, but this is what we must do. This won’t end with Charlotte turning seven as previously thought. I understand it all now. Gabriel told me that man’s intervention has changed the game by a choice made. The only way we can stop this is by stopping Lucifer and to do that we must go to him.” He sees the despair in their eyes. “Look, I feel your pain guys, and I know this seems like total and utter insanity but believe me, it is the only solution to the problem. As Gabriel said, the remaining members of the human race are counting on us to end this nightmare. We cannot let them down.”
Gary and Abi begin to speak causing Judas and Father Keel to join in, trying to calm them. All four are arguing between themselves, speaking over one another as the volume crescendos.
Charlotte interrupts them with a maturity that silences everyone.
“Please, do not fret yourselves over me. As each moment passes I know what my role and purpose are. Believe me, I have no desire to throw my life away needlessly but I am constantly being told that others will need me more than I need myself, so where Judas is going, I will follow. It is the right thing to do, and I know that when I am with him, no harm will befall me, even if the light goes out and the hour is at its darkest, he will pull me back.
We can succeed; we will succeed because not to do so will mean the end of everything and I do not wish to live out my remaining days granted to me, should that be the case, thinking we should have done more. I will follow Judas; I would be honored if you would all follow me.”
Her speech is so powerful that it takes a good few moments before anyone speaks.
Gary breaks the silence. “You are the bravest and most incredible person that I have ever met, Charlotte and I will see this fight out with you to the bitter end.”
She smiles, “Thank you, Gary.”
Abi bends down to her eye level, “Ain’t no way on God’s green earth I am letting you out of my sight, baby girl.” She kisses her on her cheek and once again feels the divinity creep over her and she smiles.
Judas looks at his unorthodox group, “You couldn’t make a movie about this if you tried.” He nods and takes a deep breath. “Okay, people, here comes my Hollywood moment… it’s show time.”
He walks over to the pews where he had been sleeping and picks up his swords then heads for the door.
His unorthodox band follows.
Forty-One
Sunday 11 November 2012, 07:15
Judas stops as he reaches the entrance to the church.
Gary looks at him puzzled, “What is it? What’s wrong?”
He sighs. “I’m gonna need you all to hang back a while and keep Charlotte safe.”
Charlotte steps out from behind Gary, “No, Judas, we have to do this together.”
He kneels in front of her, “We will, sweetie, I promise, but I have to clear the way first and I cannot be at my most effective if I am worrying about whether you are safe or not out there whilst I fight. I need you to stay in here with Gary, Abi and Father Keel.” He strokes the side of her face then looks up at the others, “It is an important thing that I ask of you all, you must keep her safe, or all this will be for nothing.”
>
Father Keel steps forward, “He’s right, guys, if he is to be at his best we must allow him to be so, to fight without fear or worry. We are relatively safe in here. Most of the lesser demons and the Taken won’t have the strength to set foot on consecrated ground but trust me, kids, if Judas isn’t left to his own devices outside, the higher-ranked ones are gonna storm this place and we will have our hands full keeping them out, but at least he won’t have to worry whether we are all dodging blows out on the street. If things get too rocky here, he can fall back and give us some respite. Besides, when we open that door, I am sure you will all want to stay in here.”
Gary shakes his head, “No! I am going out there with you, and we are getting this done together. The Father and Abi can keep this place defended. It’s almost fortress-like locked down for demolition as it is. We can do this in half the time and be on our way.”
Judas looks at Abi and then Father Keel. Although reluctant to do so, they both nod in agreement. He stands and turns back towards Gary. “Okay then, let’s see what’s behind door number one.”
Father Keel cocks the shotgun and it makes Abi jump. “For the love of God, Father, that was my last nerve end and you just removed it.”
He laughs. “I’m sorry, my dear, but I like to have my weapon ready, if ya know what I mean.”
She does know what he means and she shakes her head, “Ugh, gross.”
Judas steps forward and pulls the large door handle on the right hand door. With the locking mechanism broken from the force of the impact it suffered from Lucifer’s exit, it swings open with ease. He steps through the arch and onto the top of the steps. It is raining; raining as hard as on the day Gabriel gave him his mission. He closes his eyes and looks up to the sky. Rain bombards his face like miniature explosions. He opens his mouth and water pats into it. Opening his eyes, he wipes his face and looks ahead. The streets are littered with the Taken. None move; all are silent. The only sound that can be heard is the rain, as it beats hard against the ground.