CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO- 100-1000 Real Quick
Warning: Violence and what I'd consider disturbing imagery
"I didn't want to!" Chris quickly yelled from behind us. I was too shocked to say anything in response. "Guys-- my mom found out. She-- one of the church people recognized you and came up to her and... I... She told me she was gonna send me to this weird boarding school if I didn't help. And-- well-- I'd get to do my band." He was sounding increasingly more nervous, stumbling through his explanation. "I didn't want to, I swear! I-- it was my mom and-- uh-- I had to!"
"Just a few minutes ago." I cut in slowly. "How-- you were-- with the band, you were acting so normal." I couldn't wrap my head around it. How could he look so relaxed and happy when all of this was happening behind that smile?
"Well-- uh, all those acting classes, ya know?" Chris nervously ran his hand through his hair. "I would never sell you out. My mother knew everything. She, well, she told me to get you here somehow. And I did."
The betrayal felt sharper than I was expecting. Xavion must have seen the pain on my face, because he grabbed my hand and squeezed it, as if trying to push some of his strength into me.
Meanwhile, the angel was slowly approaching from the edge of the garage. "It's the nature of demons, Fallen 4392. To lie and deceive. And, humans influenced by them are quick to do the same. The fact that you're surprised by this outcome is the real shock."
"We're doing this to help you, Ishy. I swear. That demon is dangerous." Another voice urged. I'd been too focused on the angel. I swiveled my attention to the far left, where Renee was peeking into the garage. Her father was behind her, tapping his foot and chewing his lip in impatience.
"Fuck off." I shook my head, taking a step in front of Xavion to protect him from their judgment.
The angel physically winced. I saw his nostrils flare as my soul darkened slightly. He was staring at it with razor-sharp focus. Or, perhaps he was glaring at how I moved to protect Xavion. "This situation is tricky. They are all too far past the point of saving."
A sob sounded from behind us. I jumped and whirled around. Behind Chris was a woman, standing in a doorway that led into the rest of the house. I recognized her immediately as Chris's mother. She was crying, holding a hand to her heart.
The angel kept talking. "Unfortunately, the demon has been feeding off of this man for what looks like years." He cocked his head towards Grant.
"Feeding?" Xavion asked, incredulous. "Even if I did 'feed' off of humans, I would not choose Grant, he's gross."
"The child, Christopher," the angel's face turned soft. "He is an impressionable youth. There may be hope for him yet."
Chris winced. "Look, I get why you're all so worried about him. But-- I mean, I've spent some time with him. With all of these guys." He gestured to us. "They're not as evil as you're making them out to be."
The angel scowled. "Christopher, you do not know of what you speak. The demon has tricked you-- all of you. But, you are far too blinded by his charm to see it."
"Christopher! Come here, get away from that thing-- you've had to be around it for far too long." Chris's mother gestured wildly at her son, trying to coax him into the house.
Chris winced and took a step towards her.
I couldn't distinguish why, but I felt a sharp rage in my chest. "Why introduce us to your band? Why play a few songs for us? Why the Hell didn't they just attack us when we first showed up? What was the point of that?"
Chris looked back at me, his eyes wide. "I-I don't know. I guess... well. I like you guys, I wanted to hang out with you for real... at least once, ya know?" I opened my mouth to tell that no, I didn't fucking know. But, he continued on. "Plus-- this is kinda dumb, but my mom was adamant on Xavion being this crazy, deranged person that was pulling all the strings. But, I didn't believe it. And, well, I wanted to see you all again and make that judgment for myself."
I felt Xavion turn towards Chris-- he had previously been staring down the angel with ferocity. "Well?"
Chris snorted. "You're definitely dumb, ugly, and deranged. But, well, you're not much of a trickster. All of your plans seem to go awry. I don't think you'd know how to pull a string if it was glued to your hand."
Xavion rolled his eyes, turning back to face the angel. "Wow, thanks for that."
Chris frowned. He looked at the angel before puffing out a breath. He turned away from his mother and walked in front of us. He kept moving forward until he stood in front of the angel. "Look. These are just normal guys, really. I think you should just let them be. They make some dumb decisions. But, I mean, we all do. Hell-- I made a dumb decision by convincing them to walk into your trap here."
"I have never made a dumb decision." The angel said, regarding Chris with an uninterested gaze.
"Wrong. You decided to put that outfit on this morning." Xavion shrugged.
Grant snorted. "You also decided to trust the same 11-year-old that we did."
I felt a grin crack on my face. "You also didn't duck when that chair came flying at your head."
The angel's jaw clenched. "All a part of God's plan."
"Well, by that logic, me throwing this at your face is God's plan?"
"Wha--?" Before the word even completely left his mouth, a drumstick smacked directly in the angel's face. Chris's mother let out a gasp of horror as the drumstick bounced off and sailed a hair's width away from Chris.
"Damn," Xavion muttered. "Nearly a double-kill." I turned to glare at him and found amusement dancing in his eyes. In his other hand, he held the drumstick's counterpart.
Chris scoffed. "I'm trying to help ya, here!"
"You're also sorta the reason for this." Grant shrugged.
Chris huffed, "Yeah... yeah. I'm really sorry."
"Do not apologize to the demon or those under its influence." The demon grabbed Chris's arm, making the kid wince and try to jerk away. The angel tugged Chris out of the garage. "Please, for your own safety, stay back and let me deal with them."
The angel reached for the gun-- the real one. And pointed it above my head, directly aimed at Xavion. He ducked behind my back and the angel rolled his eyes before moving his aim to Grant. Grant's eyes widened and his back straightened, as if yanked by a string.
"Is-- Is that necessary?!" Renee squeaked.
The angel's jaw clenched. "Unfortunately, I must rid all of those tainted by the demon. This includes both this human and Fallen 4392."
"What'd they do?!" Chris cut in. He swiveled to his mother. "Mom! You said the demon would just direct them home!"
"The only appropriate home for a demon is death." The angel spoke as if reciting some sort of lyrical poetry. "And, those tainted by them must be relocated to Hell."
"That's bullshit," Chris said, matter-of-factly. "All Xav did was exist. And all Grant and Ishmael did was exist next to him."
"Are you defending the demon?" The angel asked, losing focus on Xavion to raise an eyebrow at Chris.
Chris's mouth curled in. "Yeah. He's really not all that evil. You should try to get to know him before you massacre everyone."
The angel's mouth softened, frowning. His eyes seemed to shine with disappointment. "Do you truly believe this demon to be anything other than evil?"
"Yeah? No?" Chris scowled. "I dunno, you worded that question weirdly."
The angel's soft expression hardened. "Do you think the demon can possibly do any good?"
"Sure." Chris shrugged.
"Are you willing to listen to reason?"
"You're the one who won't listen to reason! You can't really think that that idiot over there," he thrust a finger at Xavion, "is the embodiment of evil? Look at that face."
Xavion peeked his head out from behind me to wink at the demon.
The angel frowned, lines forming on his perfectly smooth face. He looked over at us, and I assumed he was looking at me. Until his eyes went past me and locked on someone behind me. "It would appear your son is past saving, Ms. Malinky."
Chris's mother left out another cry. She walked forward, keeping a wide berth around Grant, Xavion, and I. She stopped near the angel and grabbed her son by the arms. "What do you mean, exactly? Should he go to confession? Or will he need something... more strict?" She asked, fear evident in her eyes. "How do I save my baby?" Her voice was breaking now, more tears running down her red cheeks. "Please, help us."
I scowled from my place. "Chris doesn't need any help." I snapped. "He's barely even had contact with us. Xavion has done nothing to taint him-- so he doesn't need to be 'fixed'. Really-- the only one here that's ever made a deal with him was me. Grant and Chris are innocent." I tried to convince them, but the angel spoke to Chris's mother, as though my voice fell deaf to his ears. It felt like the early days with Renee and Grant, when they would always talk as though I wasn't there. It boiled my blood.
"Christopher has been in contact with the demon. There's no way of knowing exactly how far its influences have driven. Even killing the demon may not be enough to free Christopher."
"I don't need to be free." Chris rolled his eyes. "Dude, no offense, but you sound absolutely crazy."
"There's only really one way we can ensure that Christopher's soul finds its peace within Heaven."
Father John walked closer to the angel, making me jump. I had forgotten Renee and him were lurking in the corner, watching this interaction. He frowned. "Angel from above, with all due respect, are you sure there isn't another way?" He asked, his voice hesitant.
"What must we do?" Chris's mother asked, hopefully squeezing her son's shoulders.
"He must be eliminated." The angel explained, his voice dull and bored.
Chris's mother's eyes widened and I felt my heart stop.
"He's just a fucking kid!" I yelled, feeling more of that anger bubbling up.
Meanwhile, Chris's mother began yelling, crushing Chris to her chest. "You--You said it wasn't too late! You said it wouldn't come to that!"
"I was unaware of the full circumstances."
Father John gulped. "Ms. Malinky, this is the only way. Please, be strong."
"There has to be something we can do!" Chris's mother cried. "Anything!"
"Your son does not have the wish to be saved. Therefore, he is a lost cause."
Chris's face screwed up in anger. "Fuck yeah, I don't wanna be saved! Your idea of 'saving' is my idea of Hell!"
The gun moved quickly, switching its focus from Grant to Chris in the blink of an eye. Chris's mother seemed to move even faster, shoving Chris to the floor as the gun fired off. She fell backward, the blood bursting from her chest and splattering over the angel's white robes.
He glanced down at his robes and sighed. "Pity. This was my favorite outfit." He looked back to Chris's mother as she laid there, coughing up blood. "She was a good lady, too." He sighed, looking slightly troubled. "At least she'll be able to be with her son in death."
Chris was staring at his mother in horror. "Mo--" The next gunshot fired straight through his skull. I couldn't tear my eyes from the gruesome scene as I watched the bullet bloom from the other side of his head. He flopped over immediately, immobile, as his mother let out a jarring, gurgled cry.
I could barely make out the choked word: "Ch-Chrisss--"
I was stuck in place. Caught between fear, grief, and sheer fucking rage. I couldn't figure out which one to latch onto. I didn't even register that Xavion had pushed past me until he was tackling the demon to the ground. He had gotten his own gun out at some point, because he now had it jammed in the angel's throat, pointing up towards his brain. The angel wasn't going down without a fight, as he fought the gun away from his throat and had his own pointed at Xavion.
Renee had run over to Chris and his mother, obviously trying to see if either of them were able to be saved. Grant had run over to help her at some point.
I saw Grant gently lift Chris up, and his head lulled back in a loose way I'd never seen before. The blood was starting to pool from both of them. I felt something building in my throat before I suddenly hunched over, vomit spewing from my lips. I had never thrown up before, but I quickly learned to dislike the taste coating my tongue and the way my throat burned.
I looked up to see Father John helping the angel. Pulling Xavion away and knocking the gun out of his grip. When Xavion reached for it, Father John kicked it. It slid right into my pile of vomit, making me feel the need to puke again.
"Ishmael! Grant!" Renee yelled, looking as Father John pinned Xavion to the ground as the angel was finally able to stand. "Let's get out of here!" She urged, grabbing Grant's arm and gesturing to me with her other hand.
"We can't fucking leave him!" Grant jerked out of her hold.
The angel had the gun pointed at Xavion. When Xavion tried to jerk away, Father John held on tighter, ensuring he couldn't.
"We have to! There's nothing we can do! He's a demon. It's better this way!"
There was no way that life without Xavion was the 'better' way. If loving him was a sick trick he created, I'd love to be tricked over and over and over again.
The angel cocked the gun-- the same gun he used to murder two innocent souls just a few seconds ago. The same gun he was about to use to eliminate one of the best things about this fucked up world. My body finally settled on one emotion: anger. Sheer, wrath-filled, boiling hot anger.
I flung myself down to the gun at my feet, paying no mind to the gross, warm vomit covering the left side of the barrel. I had never shot a gun, but I'd seen Xavion do it enough times to take a confident guess.
I aimed it as best as I could and held my finger down on the trigger.
"Ishy! What in God's name are you doing?!" Renee yelled, quickly shoving Grant out of the way to reach me.
She wouldn't make it in time. I was already releasing the trigger.