Hellbound Second Advent

by Decoyar Brown

  Peter did not know how to respond. He had fathered many children, but because they were born from mortal women, he outlived most of them. He never dreamed one of his children would live to see this century.

  “Which boy is it? What’s his—?”

  “It’s Claudius. He was born two centuries ago,” Gedulah sounded perturbed.

  “The second one or…?”

  “Yes, the second one. I’m still not able to find the other.”

  “I’m not looking.” Peter sounded somber.

  “Figures…I can’t believe you didn’t recognize your own flesh and blood. That sounds like you, bro.” Gedulah laughed again. “Don’t worry. I have a feeling he will be looking for us very soon. After he helped you, I’m certain Garrison will be furious with him. I will send him to one of your estates. You guys can catch up when you get back from Jerusalem.”

  Peter nodded before he departed.

  “What were you thinking, Claudius? You know outsiders are not allowed here!” Garrison screamed at his son.

  Claudius had his head down. Nathan and the other all stood around him and Dawn.

  “Why didn’t she return home? Doesn’t she have family members she can stay with until her place is repaired?”

  “Father, she just wanted to—”

  “I don’t want to hear it. Outsiders are not to learn of this place,”

  Dawn pulled herself closer to Claudius and held his gloveless hand. She felt sorry for getting him into trouble.

  Garrison said, “Talia, show the young lady to a comfortable room. For the time being, she will stay here.”

  When Talia approached her, Dawn thought how oddly she dressed. She was wearing fishnet stockings, a short black skirt, and a blouse that showed her pierced belly button. She wore mascara, eye shadow, black lipstick, and a hooped ring on her lower lip. She also wore black contact lenses. She looked at Dawn from head to toe and said, “Follow me.”

  “Give me the glove,” Garrison demanded.

  Claudius put his gloved hand behind him, looked away from his father, and backed away.

  Garrison walked toward him, but Claudius kept backing up. “Boy, give me the glove.”

  Claudius reached his hand out to him.

  Garrison grabbed it and began to peel the buttons apart. He had a fearsome look on his face.

  “Father, I don’t think this is fair. I mean—”

  “I know what is best for you. You went against us and intervened with our goals. How could you help our enemy? How could you kill the death broker after all that we taught you? After what we agreed upon.”

  “Father, you think I was just going to stand there and let innocent people lose their lives? Those people don’t—”

  “Listen, boy. Your opinion—”

  “No, Father. You listen.” Claudius stepped toward Garrison and pulled his hand away.

  Nathan looked at Michael in shock. He could not believe Claudius was standing up for himself. Michael looked over at Wong and smiled. They were not allowed to intervene without Garrison’s approval.

  “I’m tired of you not valuing my opinions. Each time I try to speak, you cut me off. You’re not being fair. I cannot be a part of this anymore. I never wanted to be a murderer. It is just not me.” Claudius walked toward the door.

  Garrison said, “Son? Claudius!”

  Claudius slammed the door behind him

  Garrison slammed his hand down on a wooden table. “Nathan!”

  Nathan ran over to him. “Yes, my lord?”

  “Get the glove from Claudius—now!”

  Nathan smiled after he was given the order. “With pleasure.” He knew Claudius wouldn’t hand the glove over willingly. Nathan was comfortable with that. He had been waiting for another chance to challenge Claudius.

  Chapter 11

  Settling the Score

  “That vigilante is the cause of that disaster in Times Square.” Commissioner Windslou paced in his office as Ella and Sam stood before his desk. “Hundreds of people lost their lives. The media is driving me up the wall with this thing. What am I supposed to tell their loved ones, huh? What am I supposed to tell them?”

  Sam said, “Chief, he was helping those people. I saw it myself. As you can see on the TV footage, he was fighting those monsters that were attacking the people.”

  “I don’t give a damn! Ever since he showed up in New York, things haven’t been normal. The fire at the orphanage, the Chinatown eruption, and the Eastern Hotel explosion—and now this. Isn’t it obvious that those were his fault? Come on!”

  Sam said, “Chief, we have no evidence to lead to him being connected to all this. But we—”

  “But he’s a witness,” the commissioner said. “We can bring him in as a witness. And the fact that he is taking the law in his own hands makes the odds against him. Someone has to be held responsible for this.”

  “The people look up to him as a hero. The media will drive us insane if we held him responsible.” Ella defended Peter.

  “Damn the media! The mayor is on my back like a monkey. I have to do something.”

  The room was silent for a brief moment. The commissioner continued to look through the window. Only a few people were walking outside. The gloomy day made everyone uneasy.

  Another detective burst through the door. “Chief, this is urgent!”

  “Damn it, Stevenson. Couldn’t you knock first? You scared the bejesus out of me. You know how jittery everyone is going to be after what happened two days ago.”

  “Sorry, Chief. A call just came in about a school being attacked in Brooklyn.”

  Ella’s heart dropped. “What school is it?”

  “I’m not sure, but I know it’s a Catholic school.”

  Ella rushed out of the office to use the phone at her desk. She had a feeling it was her son’s school. She had hope he was not in danger again.

  Sam followed behind her.

  After a short conversation, Ella sighed in relief. Her son was safe. They did not say what happened, but she had a feeling it was the same thing that had happened at the first attack. She called the bishop’s office and found out that he had been killed in the altercation—and they took a special kind of book. Ella asked why was the book so valuable, but the bishop’s followers had no idea. A lot of people were killed—and the attackers were not human.

  Placidly, Peter walked down the stairs at the Newark subway station that evening. All the attention was on him. People were staring at him, but he was not bothered by it. He paid for his ticket, walked to the standing area. He looked around to see if anyone who shared his interest would approach him; he was looking for the man his brother told him to look out for.

  Peter could still feel the pain in his wrists. He had never thought Father Davis would betray him. He was the last person he thought to watch out for.

  Everyone was looking at the TV monitors behind him. The news footage showed him fighting against Minosa and the Naraka Knights. They also showed Claudius helping him defeat the demon. Some of the onlookers were petrified, and some seemed to be in awe of Peter’s talent.

  Peter saw a little girl looking up at him with delight in her eyes, she was about five years old. He smiled at her and she shied away to stand behind her mother.

  The little girl pulled on her mother’s arm to get her attention. The mother looked down at her as the child pointed at Peter and the television screen. “Mommy, it’s him.”

  The mother gasped in excitement when she saw the Demon Slayer. She walked over to him nervously and shook his hand.

  “My daughter was fascinated by you from the first time she saw you at the hotel when it exploded. She has been looking forward on meeting you.”

  Peter looked down at the child and reached his hand out to her. The little girl held a few of Peter’s fingers because his hands were too big. She smiled at him and he saw admiration in her eyes.

  Peter stooped down. “What is your name, little lady?”

  The girl said, “Sarah.”r />
  “Well, nice to meet you, Sarah. My name is Peter, and I have a present for you.”

  Sarah burst with excitement. “Really?”

  Peter rubbed his hands together to build up the suspense and reached a fist out to the girl. He opened it and a lollipop was in it.

  The little girl gasped. “How did you do that?”

  “Magic.”

  “You’re going to spoil her,” the mother said.

  Peter patted the little girl’s head, stood up, and smiled at her mother. Everyone noticed his actions and began to draw closer to him. Peter did not know how to handle it. To these people, he was an icon.

  The Demon Slayer felt a presence and looked around. He saw a frail man in an old brown shirt and black slacks. He looked like he could be homeless.

  The man turned to walk in the shadows, and Peter knew he had to follow. As he walked past the people who were infatuated by him, some gently grabbed his hands or clothing. They tugged on him, but he was able to get free. He ran past the train that had come to a stop and walked down the stairs that led to the bank.

  “Terrence, I presume?”

  “Yes. So you are the Demon Slayer? A lot of commotion surrounds you,” Terrence said. “I was trying to not intervene.”

  Peter walked closer. “My brother told me to meet you here.”

  “Yes.” Terrence smiled. “Your brother is an interesting individual—so full of life and always cheerful. Come to think of it, you both look alike—but you don’t share the same personality. A gloomy aura surrounds you.”

  “Oh yeah? Unlike my brother, I’ve experienced a lot of desolation. Seeing your family and children slaughtered can change a man.”

  Terrence’s eyes were bright after his story. He felt abashed for picking on him “Come with me, I have much to tell you.”

  Claudius led Dawn through the dark tunnels, looking back often to make sure she was doing fine. She was still a little shaken up. Claudius tried to explain what was taken place, but she was still in shock.

  Dawn had a difficult time seeing in the darkness though her guide had a flashlight in his hand. She felt unclean and uneasy being around this much grime and foul odder. She had not taken a decent shower in two days and wished she could go home to do so.

  “Claudius!” A voice rippled throughout the tunnel.

  Dawn and Claudius halted and looked at each other in confusion. Claudius focused and heard footsteps around the corner. He could tell it was one person heading in his direction.

  “Claudius?” the voice was getting closer.

  “Who is it?” Dawn asked.

  Claudius shrugged. “Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand again and picked up the pace.

  Dawn rushed behind him.

  “I know you can hear me, Claude. Stop being a coward and come to me.”

  Claudius stopped. He looked at Dawn and anger surrounded his face. He saw that she had apprehension in her beautiful dark-brown eyes. Claudius looked back and saw a flashlight peering around the corner.

  Nathan shined his flashlight at two sets of footprints in the mud. He heard an echo of words and continued his pursuit. He knew they had to be close. “Bring me the glove, Claude, and I might let you walk away.” Nathan began running.

  “Dawn, go on ahead. The exit is around the corner. I will go talk to him for a minute.”

  “No. I’m not leaving without you. You led me this far. I won’t travel the rest on my own.”

  Claudius frowned. He wanted her out of harm’s way. He wouldn’t forgive himself if she got hurt.

  Dawn had a feeling Claudius and Nathan were going to do more than just talk.

  “Just move to the end of the tunnel. I will try to talk to him. We’ve known each other for years. There is no reason to be scared, okay?” Claudius rested his hands on her shoulders and smiled. After she moved in closer to hug him, he kissed her on the cheek.

  Dawn smiled, nodded, and began to back away. She turned with the flashlight in her hand and kept looking back every three steps.

  “Claude, there you are. I’ve been looking for you,” Nathan said as he drew closer.

  “Nate, why are you following me? Does my father know of this?”

  Nathan laughed. “Know of this? He sent me personally to get the glove. He couldn’t control you forever, you know. You were his secret weapon when he found you. Why do you think he created the antibiosis weapons? He created them because he knew if plan A didn’t work, he still had plan B.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You still don’t get it, do you?” Nathan shook his head. “Don’t you find it weird that you’re the only one with unnatural abilities? You can create flames from the palms of your hands. Jump farther, run faster, and heal from fatal injuries in less than a day. And you age slower than us. Who knows—you might be a hundred years old.”

  “How do you know this? Why do you—” Claudius paused. He did not know what to say, his breath suddenly left his mouth.

  “I know who you really are. Your father is one of the fallen … one of the fallen angels. The angel who gave you the glove knew who you were. Why do you think he gave the glove to you? He knew you were the enemy, but he still gave the glove to you. You think I didn’t know that? You think I believe the glove fell from his possession when I was unconscious? How naive do you think I am?”

  Claudius looked down at his gloved hand. The orb in the palm began to shimmer.

  Nathan noticed the glow. “That’s all I want. Just give me the glove—and you can leave. The Order will not pursue you any longer.”

  Claudius glared up at him. “Do you remember when Daniel died last year—and you made it seem like it was my fault? You told my father I was the cause of that. I beat you to the brink of death because you blamed me for it—and it was all your fault. To this day, did you ever tell him or anyone else the truth?”

  Nathan giggled and looked up at the ceiling. “You beat me to the brink of death? Come on, Claude. You got lucky. You only had the advantage because of your abilities. I’m only human.”

  “Yeah, but you also had your armor on—the same way the angel beat you a few days back and the man who chopped your arm off. You’re pathetic, Nate. You train daily and work on your physique and still you lose to your opponents. I wonder why my father selected you to be the leader of the knights? Maybe because he feels sorry for you.”

  Nathan began to unbutton the top of his uniform. “Well, it’s a new day. Things change. Let’s see what you got, tovarisch.” Nathan pressed the activation switch on the chest of the antibiosis, and the alloy slowly covered his body. He charged at Claudius with his hand covered in a white energy.

  Claudius prepared himself by igniting his hand with flames.

  Their hands collided, and Nathan pushed down on Claudius because he had a height advantage. Nathan pushed Claudius down and squeezed his hands. He smiled after seeing him down on one knee. Slowly, the flame began to be consumed by Nathan’s white light. Nathan could see the pain in Claudius’ face after he closed one eye.

  Claudius smirked at Nathan.

  Nathan gasped as he felt the young man’s strength increasing.

  Claudius fought the rage from his knees to stand up.

  Nathan focused and created a replica. The clone emerged and punched Claudius in the face, sending him in the wall. The brick was dented from the strong blow.

  Claudius smiled and stood up. You wanna play that game?”

  He focused his energy into the orb, and a huge humanoid arm with a sword formed on the right side of his body.

  Nathan gasped and created two more copies to defend himself from whatever attack Claudius was going to throw at him.

  Claudius motioned for his hand to chop down, and the flaming figure he created chopped down with him. Two of the clones stood in front of Nathan to protect him as the arms attacked. The clones jumped to stop the blow, but it knocked them away. They collided with Nathan and sent him twenty feet away. He fell in the disgusting water and rolle
d backward.

  Claudius said, “See what I’m talking about? I only used a ounce of Bolverk’s power and you’re already eating dirt.”

  Nathan pointed behind Claudius and said, “Not so fast!”

  Claudius looked back and saw a beam of white light racing toward him from Nathan’s clone. He used the centaur’s arm to block the projectile, but it knocked him through the wall.

  Nathan rushed toward the opening and saw that Claudius was hanging onto a broken pipe. “Like I said before—things have changed. It would’ve been easier if you had handed the glove over to me.”

  Claudius tried to hold on to the pipe. A sea of darkness was below him. He did not know what was waiting for him down there—and he did not want to find out.

  Nathan charged his hand with a ball of white energy to shoot him down.

  Claudius was scared. He was beginning to slip, unable to hang on much longer. His gloved hand slipped off the pipe, leaving one hand holding on.

  Nathan aimed and was a second away from shooting him down.

  From the glove, Claudius formed and shot a tentacle at Nathan. The tentacle wrapped around his left leg, and he slipped as Claudius pulled him.

  Nathan clung to the wall with his feet dangling.

  To scare Nathan, Claudius pulled him off of the wall. The bricks crumbled and one of Nathan’s hands slipped off.

  “Are you crazy?” Nathan hand began to slip as Claudius climbed up on him. “Let go—or both of us will perish.”

  Claudius climbed to his back. “Yeah, right. I should let go, right?” He was about to blast Nathan into the darkness after he climbed above him. Claudius’ hand began to glow with fire.

  “Claudius, wait. I have a confession to make.”

  Claudius looked down at him. “I’m listening.”

  Do you remember the night the dogs attack your girlfriend?”

  “Yeah…why?”

  “It was Talia. She created them.”

  Claudius gasped. “What? Why would she try to harm her?” the flame died in his hand.

  “Your father ordered the hit. He wanted her out of the way so you could focus on what he had given you to do.”