Chapter 4
From the
gathering crowd one man stood out. He wore a pin stripe suit, as did two other
men on either side of him. Their suits were perfect; free of stains, wrinkles,
flaws. Unlike the others, as they walked, the droplets of rain did not absorb into
their clothes, or even touch them. As they moved the rain made a path for them,
moving out of the way and then returning to their original positions.
The man
standing in the middle was tall, with the height at about seven foot, he had
broad shoulders. Through the sleeves of the suit it was obvious that his arms
were large and muscular. His legs, like tree trunks, walked with heavy steps.
His being, his entire person, radiated a strong, intimidating aura. His face
was covered with scars; with two more prominent, one running the length of his
face cutting through his left eye; and the other running through the middle of
his face, perpendicular to the other.
The men at
his sides were small, in comparison, but large on their own. They stood around
six foot, with much smaller, thinner bodies. It would be hard for anyone to
easily be compared to that monster of a man. There was no doubt that he was
stronger than them.
It did not
take Felix long to notice the three that so greatly stood out. He could see their
faces, their demented smile. Looks of pure evil, like rabbid beast looking at
their poor prey.
They looked
each other in the eyes, the man opened his mouth, “Well kid, you sure did make
a mess, didn’t you.” His voice was deep, rough, the world seemed to shake under
it. A commanding presence engulfed Felix. That man scared Felix to his very
core.
###
“Who… who
are you?” Felix asked, his voice cracked, Rose could feel that his hands were
shaking in hers, as she held them.
###
“What’s
wrong?” She asked, but Felix could not answer, what could he say? I’m afraid.
###
“Who am I you ask?” the man started, “Well it would just be a waste if I were tell you.”
“Who am I you ask?” the man started, “Well it would just be a waste if I were tell you.”
###
“But why…
why would it be a waste?” Felix asked, but he already knew the answer.
###
“Because you,
your girl, and all those people,” He pointed toward the crowd standing in front
of the alley, “will all die.”
###
As he
finished his words Felix out burst, “But why? I can understand me, but why
Rose, why them?”
###
“It’s
because they saw something you shouldn’t have shown them. There is nothing
wrong with what you did, but letting others see it is.”
###
“But I did
it to save her, they were going to…” But he stopped.
##3
“It does
not matter. Your good intentions will lead to her death, your death and the
death of so many innocent people. I do not care to know the circumstances that
led to it, I simply do not care.” His voice was stern, his face emotionless.
###
Felix
dropped to his knees, “Why though? Why are you doing this?”
###
“Because
it’s my job, it’s all of our jobs.” His arms were apart, gesturing to the
crowd, that was, then, fully around them. “We are messengers of God, we do as
he commands.”
###
“Like
angels? You mean for real?” Rose asked, looking through the crowd, she did not
see any wings, any halos, she only saw darkness and despair.
###
“No woman,
we are not angels, we are messengers.” Came from the man standing to the right.
##
“He is
right, we are no more than you, humans.” Said the one to the left.
###
“Then who
are you?” Rose asked, disregarding the fact that Felix had asked the same
question moments before.
###
“As our
commander…” The man to the right started only to be cut off.
###
“Shut your
damn mouths, no one has given you two permission to speak!” The one in the
middle, the taller one, yelled, “Kids,” he said as he looked at Rose and Felix,
“if you’re dying wish is to know who I am, then I will tell you. But pay
attention, for I will not repeat myself. I am Michael of Hope, your names,
however, hold no meaning to me.”
“So you’re
here to kill us,” Felix laughed, “well I guess if I kill all of you, we should
be okay. And if God wants us dead, screw him! I’ll kill him too!” Felix looked
into Michael’s eyes. He no longer stood in fear, he was not going to let Rose
die, even if it meant that he would have to die. “Rose, run!” Felix let go of
Rose’s hand. With a flick of his wrist, bodies were thrown in either direction,
creating a path through the crowd. Rose began to run but…
Michael’s
hand rose and with his index finger extended, he pointed at Rose. What the hell is he doing? Is he telling
them to stop her? He started to yell, “Rose!” but it was too late.
A beam of
light, approximately half an inch in diameter shot pass Felix’s head. He could
feel it hit Rose, but could not bring himself to turn around.
###
Tears
filled his eyes.
###
“Well, you
did say you were going to kill all of us, didn’t you? Maybe this will give you
some incentive to stop saying things that are just ignorant.”
###
Felix
turned to see Rose lying on the ground, blood starting to pool around her head.
He ran to her, only to see the extent of the damage. Her neck was split open,
blood flowed in a consistent stream, but she was not dead. Felix desperately
placed pressure on the wound.
Blood
covered his hands.
###
Rose opened
her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a gurgling sound. Her
mouth started to fill with blood.
###
“Don’t die!
Please don’t die!” His tears fell to Rose’s face. She was looking at him, her
eyes yet to be glazed over. He looked into her eyes. She coughed, covering
Felix’s face with specks of blood. As they looked into each others eyes, Felix
said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” With solemnity he leaned over and kissed her on
the lips. He looked into her eyes, they were empty, devoid of life, but her
lips, her mouth, she was smiling. And again he said, “I’m sorry.”
“You should
be sorry, you’re the reason she’s dead.” Michael said, but Felix ignored him
and continued to look at Rose’s body. “It’s a shame though, her dying like that,
I was aiming for her head, you know.”
Felix did
not care for the Michael’s words, he did not care what was happening in the
world, his world, the most perfect being, was gone.
###
He felt his
surrounding, he could feel everything, the concrete and bricks of the
buildings, he felt the bodies of the hooded people, he felt Michael’s body. All
these things, they did not feel pleasurable, they did not warm his being, all
they did was itch. They annoyed and made him itch.
He stood up
and turned to Michael, they were apart by about fifty feet.
“I Michael
of Hope, leader of north forces of the holy army, hereby sentence you to death
on the grounds of heresy in the form of practicing the demonic arts and murder.
In the name of all that is true, in the name of the holy family and the great
church aswell as the safety of all those in this world, you shall die.” His
words did nothing to catch Felix’s attention, “Now kill him!” Michael yelled.
The hooded
people rushed Felix, encircling him. They closed in, Felix did not move, he
stayed in the same spot, by Rose’s body. He would stay by her side until the
end, it was the least he could do for not being able to save her. Felix braced
himself, he would not budge and he would not let anything forther happen to
her.
The people
to his flanks, both those in the hooded cloaks and the still frozen
pedestrians, flew toward the buildings behind them. An invisible force pushed
them back. Some hit the concrete and brick walls, their bodies crushed by the
others. They popped like balloons. Broken ribs tore through the flesh of their
sides. Their abdominal walls ruptured, intestines and other organs were
liquefied and fell to the ground. Skulls crushed under the force, eye popped
out of their sockets, blood ran from every orifice. The outer most corpses were
twisted and fell apart.
Some hit
the plane glass windows of shops. The broken glass slashed through their flesh.
From the windows, the bodies continued their journey to the back of the various
shops. They continued until they hit any solid wall, there they would be
crushed and torn apart like the others.
And some,
even, hit frozen cars, being pushed until their bodies collapsed, the frames of
the cars twisted around them. The cloaks they were filled with blood and
liquified organs, even pourous the cloth, it held for a moment before releasing
its contents.
Those
remaining to his front and behind him were ripped apart, leaving only piles of
mangled flesh and pools of blood. Much like the two men in the alley, but with
more mercy, those in the hoods were killed instantly. The magnitute of death
made no effect on Michael, his men or Felix. It was remorseless, no one cared.
Though the
blood flowed through the street like a river, it bypassed Rose’s body, merely
going around it. Felix made sure that no other depravity would befall his
beloved.
“My God!
How is he this strong?” The man to Michael’s right asked.
“It’s not
hard, right now instead of using physical strength, he’s sacrificing some of
his life force. It’s not too uncommon, however, when most people do it, their using minute, this
kid seems to be going all out, months or even years. I would do such thing. My
strength is great enough to never need to rely on such pathetic techniques.”
Michael reply, paying omage to is own stregth. He was truly strong, enough so
that the desplays of power Flix was showing.
Felix
started to walk toward them. The buildings on either side of him started to
crumble, cars twisted and pedestrians, still frozen, were ripped apart. The
city would burn along with its sins. The senseless killing did not faze him,
those people would show him no mercy or even assurance or kindness in even a
lesser situation.
“Stop it!
You are involving people that would otherwise be spared!” Michael yelled, Felix
was then about twenty-five feet away.
Woothless as he was Michael was a man that took his job with the utmost
seriousness. His job was to kill the witnesses to Felix display of power, and
to protect those that are otherwise innocent.
Even with
the obstreperous destruction surrounding him, Felix still heard what Michael
had said. The noise was deafening, truly, the skyscrapers collasped, cars
exploded. On eitherside of him the destruction was great, smoke and dust
billowed into the sky.
“You know,
that’s the second time today that someone has asked me for something, right
after denying Rose and my pleas! How does it feel?!” Felix yelled, as he
continued his approach, the buildings fell behind him, and the bodies still
twisted and contorted, until finally being ripped a part.
And still,
the falling rubble and flesh continued to land everywhere, except for on Rose’s
body.
The two men
at Michael’s side ran at Felix. They were fast, but Felix was faster. In an
instant their bodies lay on the ground. Their bodies were cut in two, across
their mid sections. Their innards were spread across the pavement, but, even
so, they were not dead. Felix walked to the man that had been at Michael’s
right. He stomped on his throat, collapsing the airway and severing the spinal
cord from the brain. He then walked to the other and did the same.
“What I
said doesn’t sound so ignorant now, does it! Look around, you caused this, all
your men are dead!” Felix yelled, as if he make a frantic point to Michael.
“And so
what if I caused this, it means nothing to me. I have lost nothing. But you,
you have lost the one you cared for, and you have insured that you will not see
her again in the afterlife. You have damned your soul to Hell by killing so
many innocent people. But of course I could be wrong, you might see her in
Hell, she did look like a dirty whore.” His words facetious, he said them with
a smile, but with that Felix was blinded be rage.
The ground
beneath him buckled and gave way, the buildings on either side of him collapsed
on themselves. With each step the ground compressed even further. How dare he say that, he’s fucking dead! Felix
thought as he continued to walk toward Michael. His body started to feel heavy,
he did not know why, and he did not care.
Michael,
however, could see what was occurring. Felix’s skin was hardening, cracking and
then falling off. He crossed his arms, “Well it looks like this is about over.”
Felix was aging at an alarming rate, years, decades, and even centuries. He was
using his own power to move his body like some grotesque marianate.
It was at
that moment that Felix noticed what was happening, but he did not care, he was
then in front of Michael, he only had to last a little longer. Long enough to
make some progress towards his revenge. His anger manifested its self in the
form of a red aura around his body.
Felix’s
fist flew toward Michael's face, Michael made no attempt to evade. It hit
square. The asphalt behind Michael exploded from the force, but he stood there
as if untouched.
“What?”
Felix asked in confusion. I hit him as
hard as I could! It was a powerful hit, no structure could have survived
it. It was more force than what was used to cause all the other destruction.
Michael
smiled, he grabbed Felix by the hair and slammed Felix’s face against his knee.
Felix’s left cheek shattered, lumps of flesh, fat and muscle fell to the
ground.
“Do you
really think you can hurt me? You might have killed those fools and the rest of
my pawns, but do you really think you’re a match for me? Yes, you are quite
strong, and maybe with a millennium of training you might be a match for me. If
you would have just let me kill you and that whore of yours, you might…” Felix
grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the ground.
“You shut
your God damn mouth! You can insult me, you can spit in my face, but you will
never mention Rose! And you fucking will never speak about her like that!”
Tears ran from his eyes and down a bloody mass that was once his cheek. “You
could have left her alone, I would happily had given my life for hers!” He fell
to his knees, as Michael stood up.
“Do you
really think that getting my suit dirty and messing up my hair would hurt my
feelings?” He looked down at Felix. “You, kid, are pathetic.” Michael kicked at
Felix’s head.
Felix
raised his hand and caught Michael’s leg. He held it like a vice.
With a
swift blow, Felix punched Michael in the stomach, his fist plunging deeper and
deeper, sending Michael flying. His body skipped across the asphalt, like a
stone across a lake. Stopping when it hit a frozen car, the passengers and
driver were crushed as the car’s body crumpled and closed around them. Michael
opened his eyes to see Felix walking toward him, he held his side. From the
punch, many of his ribs were broken. He looked at Felix, his body now
deteriorating at a much higher rate. The hand that had just punch Michael was
just a bloody nub.
“You came
here… you came here to do what? To kill an innocent girl that did nothing but
get covered in the blood of her assailants? To take the life of a boy that did
nothing but save the one he loved? Rose and I, we were thrown into this world
with nothing! We were all each other had, and you killed her! Hell, you didn’t
even give her the decency of a painless death!” Felix raised his left hand, the
only one remaining. Particles of dust, blood and other trace material
circulated in his palm. “Though you have caused me so much pain, you will die a
painless death.” A sphere formed in his hand and shot toward Michael.
Michael
stood up, “That’s what you think!” He reached out, catching the sphere in his
hand, he squeezed and destroyed it, causing a small explosion. “You sacrifice
your life just to break a few of my ribs.” Michael, with great speed, rushed at
Felix, standing in front of him. They stood facing each other. Felix’s skin
continued to harden, crack and fall off, his hair fell out; the clothes he
wore, fell to pieces and his arms broke off, hitting the ground and shattering.
Michael placed his hand on Felix’s head. “You must feel so weak, so helpless,
so insignificant. And you are! You are weak, you are helpless and you are
insignificant!”
Is
this all I can do? Is this all I am. I’m sorry Rose. Felix regretted so much. He
regretted not telling his father how much he loved and cherished the lessons he
taught him and the time they spent together. He regretted not telling his
mother how much he loved her the day she committed suicide. He regretted not
seeing her off. He regretted being weak, but, most of all, he regretted not
being able to save Rose.
“I love you
Rose.” It was all he could say, it was all he wanted to. He had lost everything
and in the end he died alone.
Michael
pushed down, destroying Felix’s body, crushing it and turning it to dust. The
petrefied remains scattered in the wind.
Shadows
engulfed Michael and he was gone.
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