Nathan ran off to join up with Talia. She disabled her worms from devouring Peter since the demon was about to end his life.
Claudius walked under Minosa’s tentacles and looked up at Peter. Claudius felt a chill from Peter’s glare again. It was similar to the angel that had given him the glove. He now noticed that the man and the angel share similarities. ‘How strange, could it be him?’ Claudius rushed off to join up with the others.
***
Peter felt his life being sucked out of him as Minosa wrapped a tentacle around his upper body. He felt helpless after the demon raised him upwards to its mouth, ready to throw him into darkness. He saw that the she-knight stopped attacking him and walked away. Then he saw the knight who he had severed earlier. He seemed to be unarmed with his hand still in tacked.
'That's impossible, how did he...' He closed his eyes and flinched from pain as the demon pulled him toward its mouth. He wanted to defend himself, and then he remembered his sword. He opened his eyes and looked around for the Redeemer; he saw it still sticking into the ground. He saw the kid he had saved earlier was walking toward the knights. Peter was heartbroken after he realized he was with them.
Steadily, Peter felt Minosa’s grip tightening. Peter closed his eyes, flexed his muscles, and reached for his pistol. But he couldn’t move, he had lost most of his strength, and his hands were squeezing against his body.
Minosa’s grip loosened suddenly, and Peter felt himself falling. He opened his eyes, grabbed a tentacle, and swung to the ground.
Peter dropped to his knees to catch his breath. Then he heard Minosa cried out. He looked upward and saw the creature erupted in a blaze of fire. ‘What the…?’
Peter heard footsteps walking toward him and saw the young man with a glowing glove on his right arm. His other hand was covered in crimson flames.
“Seems like you could use a hand,” the kid said.
Peter stood up and he was a bit light headed.
“Stand back.” Claudius reached his hands out and aimed them at the demon. He began to tense his body, and he screamed.
Peter felt the temperature increased and he backed away slowly. He gasped after he saw a centaur forming above the young man. The figure’s head formed first and then horns, a humanoid body, and horse’s limbs.
‘That’s Bolverk,’ Peter thought.
The young man threw his hands back over his shoulders, shouted a battle cry, and threw them forward. The outline galloped toward Minosa. Its vile tentacles swooshed toward the centaur, and it burned them away.
Minosa retreated down the hole, and the centaur followed. A spark of flame lashed out of the hole toward Peter and Claudius. They shielded their faces and heard Minosa scream as the centaur connected. They rushed to the hole and looked down.
Minosa was covered in flames and hollered when its flesh burn away. Out of anger, the demon threw a tentacle at Claudius.
Claudius jumped to avoid being hit but it collided with a telephone pole. The pole fell toward Claudius, and he failed to see it.
“Move, kid!” Peter jumped up and pushed Claudius out of the way. The pole landed on Peter and knocked him out instantly.
Chapter 10
Keep Thy Enemies Closer
Peter awakened to find that he was not in Times Square any longer. He opened his eyes and realized he was on his knees wearing his leather pants and boots. The room was dark, and he could not see anything—even with his heightened senses. He pulled his arms but could not get free. He was attached to two four-foot towers. His arms were chained to the towers. As he tried to get free, Peter felt a sharp pain. He saw a small tube with a sharp needle attached to his wrists. His blood was being sucked into a glass cylinder in the center of the towers. There was a large circle with magic and alchemy symbols on the floor. His arms were numb. He tried to stand, but his legs were shackled to the floor. He looked ahead and noticed movements in the darkness.
“Who’s there?” Peter whispered.
But no one answered.
Peter got furious and shook the chains to get their attention.
A spotlight suddenly came on above him; he looked away from the bright light. He looked ahead and saw four hooded men in dark robes working on a strange cubicle that was the size of a telephone booth. Two was on the outside and two was inside with drills and other forms of tools.
“What’re you guys doing? What is that?” Peter asked.
Still they did not answer.
Peter banged the chains again and roared in anger. He hated to be ignored. Then he heard footsteps coming from the left. He looked up and saw someone familiar walked into the light with him. “ Father Davis? What’s going on? Who are these people?”
The priest rested his withered, old hand on Peter’s, and then gently pulled the chains.
“Hurry, let me out of here…” Peter desperately waited to get free.
But the Father simply moved away from his arm and walked behind him.
Peter was confused, “Father?” Peter felt his cold hand on his upper back.
The Father rubbed his shoulder and analyzed the tattoos on Peter’s body. “These art on your body—what do they symbolize?”
“What does that have to do with anything? What’s going on?” Peter demanded.
“First tell me about them …”
The Father and Peter remained silent for a moment. Peter knew something was not right with him. In anger and frustration, he looked down and shook his head. “They’re markings of the fallen ones … markings of the fallen angels.” The tattoos were markings of sigils, and other religious signs.
Father Davis peered at him for a moment. He gave Peter a perjury look as he walked around to face him. He reached in and grabbed Peter’s chin. He looked keenly into his eyes, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. “Really? The tattoos seemed symbolic. Like the mean something…special.”
Peter looked away and tried to move his head.
The father stood up, rested his hand on Peter's scalp, and pushed it down to look down his back.
Peter grunted from being uncomfortable.
The Father looked at Peter’s backbone and noticed two extra bones sticking out under a layer of skin. “These were where your wings were?”
Peter nodded.
“I’m curious about why God took your wings. Why did you fall from God’s grace, Peter? Why did you turn away from him?”
“It’s complicated. I answered your questions. Now it’s time for you to give me an explanation about why I’m here. Why am I shackled? And why do you have a telephone booth set up in here?”
“Remarkable, isn’t it?” Father Davis turned away from Peter and looked at the small cubical. “I’ve been working on it for years, and it was hard to complete. But now, it’s finally finished. I call it the Life Extractor.”
“What does that mean? What’s going on?”
“Peter, Peter.” The Father shook his head and scoffed. “Or should I call you Gevurah.”
“You know I don’t like to be called by that name.” Peter lurched forward, but the chains held him back. “What’s going on, dammit?” Peter's voice echoed in the darkness like an angry dog's bark.
Father Davis was silent for a moment, and then he walked toward the Life Extractor. He told the men in the robes to go to the control room on the second floor. The control room had a glass wall that pointed out toward the area Peter and Father Davis were in.
Father Davis walked into the booth and looked up at the small lights inside. “For years, I’ve known you—and I was curious about how I aged and you managed to remain the same. I never believed that angels existed until I saw you forty years ago. I’ve read in text of your onslaught in the twelfth century. I’ve read that you slayed demons I never dreamed were real. I’ve read about angels and demons, but I thought it was all a myth. Dante Alighieri wrote a fairy tale because he was scared and in prison. The Divine Comedy was one of my favorite poems, but I never believed in it until I met you. I’ve seen the thi
ngs you’ve done. I must admit that leaping off of tall buildings, instant rejuvenation, and boyish good looks make me a bit jealous. I’ve lusted for a chance to be youthful again. I will use the Life Extractor to drain your remaining angelic powers. With it, I can regain my youth. I also have a surprise in the basement of this church. I’ve built an effigy of Christ.”
“What? What are you talking about? What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense.”
The priest laughed. “The effigy is over ten stories tall. We’ve been working on it for centuries. My ancestors started the project after Christ passed away. We could not clone him because we did not have the technology to. Artificial intelligence will help us fight the demons on Judgment Day. With your blood, we can put the finishing touches on it.”
The priest ordered the men to turn on the machine. A buzzing sound came from the room. The small towers Peter was shackled to began to tremble and they levitated a few inches.
“What are you doing?” Peter roared.
“I’m not sure if you will survive the procedure. I remember you told me that there were times you wished you could die from all the pain and sorrow you caused to others. Guilt has made you weak. You walked away from near-death situations without seeing a doctor or visiting a hospital. You took for granted what we humans wish we could have—the ability to heal from life-threatening diseases and to not endure pain for a long time. Now your wish might come true.”
“I thought of you as a friend, and this is how you—”
“A friend?” Father Davis laughed. “A friend? I remember you saying that you don’t consider me a friend. I’m your advisor. Don’t you remember saying that?”
Peter remained quiet for a moment.
The vibration increased slowly.
“You and Crouzer were plotting this all along. All those innocent people lost their lives. I can’t believe you were a part of that.”
“I did not know Gabilon was attempting to do what he did yesterday. I was not a part of that. We were following you for days, trying to find the right time to strike. Luckily, the demons helped us without even knowing about our scheme. The young man was forced to leave you after the monster attacked him again. That was our chance to snatch you up from the streets, but he defeated the demon and absorbed him.”
“Absorbed?” Peter asked. “What do you mean?”
“He had a strange device on his hand—or so I’ve been told. One of my followers told me.”
“That’s who I saw on the corner of Forty-Second Street. He was following me.”
The machine began to vibrate even more. Peter’s blood in the cylinder began to boil.
“Yes. The day I informed you about Gabilon was the day we were planning to capture you, but we weren’t prepared. You got to the temple sooner than I thought.”
“Really?” Peter felt a sharp pain throughout his body. More blood was sucked out of him. “That was why you were so jittery.”
“Yes. You’re a hard man to track, Gevurah. And a hard man to study.”
A glass slid down to cover Father Davis inside the booth. The Life Extractor began to get louder.
Father Davis raised his head as the power infiltrated his body.
Peter screamed as more blood was sucked out of him. The boiling blood in the cylinder began to evaporate, and the magical markings began to glow under him.
As the blood evaporated, it began to turn into energy, transporting into Father Davis. The priests in the robes watched in awe. The vibration got louder, and Peter screamed,
Peter collected himself and fought through the pain. He began to mumble. ‘Father in heaven, you see what’s in my heart. You see the good that I’m doing to repent for my sins. I’ve saved thousands of people in your name—with your sword. Father, I pray to you and ask that you help me. Don’t let my life end like this. Grant me the strength to break these shackles. Heavenly Father, I pray to you.’
The vibration began to lessen in the booth, and the whooshing slowly depleted. The men in robes began to press the buttons on the controller as they were confused to what had happened. The glass was fogged up, and they could not see the priest inside it.
But then, an explosion growled above them and shot them backward. Smoke filled the area, and the rocks crumbled. The priests in the robes peered through the broken glass wall they were behind.
“Father, are you okay?” One of them asked as he coughed from the dust in his lungs.
Then, they heard footstep heading in their direction from the darkness. They tried to make out the person as he or she walked closer. The sound of rocks and building fragments cracked under the individual's feet.
“Well, well. What are you all up to?” The voice was filled with insolence.
The hole in the roof shone a light in between them and the darkness. They peered through the dust to see a man with spiky orange hair, a white and blue leather coat, leather pants, and boots walked into the light. He had a large double-edged battle-axe on his back. In the chaos, he had a smile on his face.
Gedulah looked around and wondered what was going on. He saw that Peter was shackled to two towers and walked over to him. The angel ripped out the tubes and chains away from him.
Then, the glass behind Gedulah opened, and the father walked out.
“What are you doing?” Father Davis asked. “The procedure is not finished.” He dashed towards the stranger after he saw him picked Peter up off the floor.
When the old man got close enough, the angel gave him a sidekick in his chest, sending him flying into the booth. The chamber was dented. Broken glass flew out to fall around him as the chamber screeched. He was knocked unconscious immediately.
The men in robe saw the power from the angel's kick and retreated through the back door.
“Hey, Gevurah. Wake up.” Gedulah shook him.
Peter opened his eyes slightly. “Brother … Gedulah. What are you doing here?” He fought to get to his feet and pushed his brother to the side. Peter fell on all four and tried to comprehend everything that was happening.
“This is the thanks I get after saving you?” Gedulah asked as he spun around slowly. He looked at the damage he created in admiration.
“What happened to the priest? Is he alive?” Peter sounded concern.
They looked in the direction of the Life Extractor to see his fate.
“I think your friend is done for—or I just knocked him unconscious.” He giggled.
Peter wobbled over to the machine and pulled the priest by the neck of his robe. Peter noticed he looked forty to fifty years younger. His wrinkly skin seemed to have tightened and only a little grey remained on the side of his head.
“Is he dead?” Gedulah asked.
Peter shook his head.
“What a strong old man. I thought I kicked the wind out of him.” Gedulah walked over to Peter and asked, “What were they doing to you? What’s this device?”
Gedulah rubbed the base of the booth to see what kind of material it was made of. He walked around to study the booth to learn more about it. The design was out of this world. “Whoa! Now this is some high tech stuff.”
“He was using it to rob me of my life. It’s a machine that grants him eternal youth.”
“Luckily I came in time, huh?” Gedulah folded his arms across his chest.
“I could’ve managed. I was about to make my move and then you showed up.”
Gedulah shook his head and scoffed. “Really? Make your move, huh?” He walked over to the corner, and picked up Peter’s coat. He handed it to him.
“But anyhow, I got a present for you, bro.”
Peter found his gold and black pistol in his coat and looked at his brother to see what he had for him.
The angel extended his hand, and a shimmer of electricity began to spark in his palm. A small echo of thunder was heard in the room, and out of thin air, Peter’s sword appeared in Gedulah’s palm.
“The Redeemer? Thank you for summoning it.” Peter put his coat on, tucked his pisto
l in his waistband, and threw his sword on his back.
“The Redeemer is a great sword. One of the finest weapons forged by God. How could you lose it?”
“I was knocked unconscious. How was I supposed to keep it safe?”
Gedulah laughed at Peter’s answer.
Peter got his clothes and boots back in place and prepared to leave.
“Before you go, I have a favor to ask you.”
Peter stopped in his tracks. “I’m listening.”
“I need you to take a trip to Jerusalem.”
Peter turned to him. “Jerusalem?”
“Gedulah put his hands in his pants pockets. “You’ve heard about the Kabbalah, right?”
Peter nodded.
“They’re raising an army to help us fight the demons. You will learn more about them when you get to Newark. A man will be waiting for you in the east tunnel of the Newark subway station. He will assist you with getting to Jerusalem.”
“This should be interesting.” Peter sounded sarcastic.
“You’re telling me. I saw the way the antibiosis knights kicked you around. You need all the help you can get. What if all five were present?”
“All the help I can get? Who said I needed any help? I’ve been fighting this war alone for a long time. And now you want to help?”
“You prayed for assistance, didn’t you? Now you got it—and you still are not grateful.”
Peter held a gaze at his brother. He was a bit embarrassed after the response. To change the subject Peter asked, “What’s the man’s name who I’m supposed to meet?”
Gedulah walked over to the opening in the roof and looked up at the early morning sky. “His name is Terrence. He will find you when you get there.”
Peter walked away.
Gedulah said, “By the way, how did it feel to see one of your sons again?”
Peter’s heart skipped a beat, and he froze.
Gedulah laughed at his action.
“What?” Peter asked when he turned.
“Yeah. He’s all grown up. Did you hear how he defeated Minosa? I did give him the Glove of Xerox to help him out.”
Hellbound Second Advent Page 10