The Salvation Shark, Chapter 62

Jesse

I follow the screams to the abandoned church at the end of Quick St., and find the angel about to gut Becki Murphy. He looks up when I toss Lucifer’s sword into the first pew.

“And who are you supposed to be?” he asks, stepping to the edge of the dais with a twisted, serrated dagger in his hand.

“You’re going to kill her?” I ask.

When the angel says, “Yes,” Murphy whimpers a little. “She has been deceived, and I must purify her soul to find grace. That was my command.”

“No,” I command. “No more are to die.” I slump down into the pew near the middle. “I’m sick of all this.”

“She is the Devil’s concubine! She has entered into a pack with him unwittingly.”

“Only one more is to die, and that’s me.”

The angel looks shocked.

“I didn’t ask for this. It’s too much to take. I may have the soul of God, but I’m still a man.” I shake my head. “Lucifer will stop once I’m gone.”

The angel narrows his eyes.

“I can't do this!” I scream, my words echoing through the temple. “I’m just a man! I have fallen to temptation more times than I can count. I’m supposed to be free of sin, but I’m not! I can't condemn a world of sinners when I can’t even break free of temptation. When Lucifer comes for me, I’m willing to let him take me.”

The angel takes a deep breath through his nose, looking me up and down and taking an uneasy step in my direction. “There are rules the world must follow...”

“And I couldn’t even follow them." I lean forward and rest my head on the pew. "What does that tell you about my rules?” In the periphery I see the angel moving closer. “I wasn’t here. I was so far removed from their existence that I couldn’t see what life was like.” I jab a finger to the air. “But Lucifer, he was down in the trenches. He knew what people wanted. What good is Heaven to a man that can’t feed his family? I can’t give that to him, all I can do is say, ‘It’ll be all right when you die.’ That’s an awful long time to wait when your children are crying. All he has to do is turn off that conscience button, turn off my voice. I didn’t know the human condition, I didn’t know what to give them..”

“I’ve heard that before,” the angel says.

“I want to go home.” I point Becki, struggling against the leather thongs binding her to the alter. “Cut her loose, let her go. She can burn in fucking Hell for all I care. She’s just another one of his people, born and bred. She is a prostitute, and she was willing to be a murderer. Cut her loose and let her live her life.”

“But...” Becki whimpers.

"I told you to cut her loose!" I shout at the angel, he must obey. I get up and approach the dais. “What is it?” I ask. “What reason could you have to justify entering a pact with Satan? How is it all right for you to do these things and not be damned to Hell as per my commandments?”

“I just wanted to save my family,” she whimpers.

I touch her face and in the span of a second I see her history. “The television was more of a caregiver than either parent. Everyone was tense and yelling all the time You thought it was your fault. The only time you even thought they liked you was up on the stage.”

“I just wanted them to see me sing!”

Her words hit me like a bullet, and I’m almost spun around by them, so pure, so honest. She knew it was Lucifer. She knew who I was, but she still entered this pact with him, because she knew it was the only way to spare them from Hell. I can see the course of events being fed to my brain by some unseen presence. She knew that her parents would never repent their sins in time, she knew if she didn’t help Lucifer, they would suffer in Hell for an eternity.

The angel saws the cords through, freeing her hands. She pulls her shirt tight over her stomach.

“Child,” I say. “I saw you when there wasn’t even any flesh on your soul. Seeing you without clothes is no big deal” I grab her shoulder and stare into her eyes. I can see all her sins, all the torment. There is a pleading in her eyes, begging for my forgiveness, but it isn’t just for her... “I can’t,” I say. “I can cleanse you, but I can’t cleanse them unless they ask me and mean it.”

She falls to her knees and begins to sob. “They’ve done bad things, but I love them. I don’t want them to go to Hell. I’ll do anything, please, just forgive them.”

“You can save them,” I say. “Go to them. They have been blinded by the world, blinded by all of Lucifer’s temptations. You are the only chance they have.” I stand up straight and look around. “We have to get you out of here though. I can feel him. He will be here soon.” I tell the angel,“I need you to cover us. Hold him off so we can escape.”

The angel watches, unsure. “Changed your mind?”

I look at his smug face. “For the moment,” I sigh. I put an arm around Becki and lead her toward the door. “I know somewhere we can hide.”

“And where might that be?” Lucifer asks, striding majestically from the vestibule. "Where could you possibly hide from me? Ask Becki. I'm tenacious.” He leans over and picks his sword up from where I dropped it. He runs his finger over the blade. “You killed Mephis, huh? What a disappointment.” He shakes his head.

“Be gone, Lucifer,” I command, but he just smiles at me.

“My Lord,” he says sarcastically. “You think you can come here and boss me around? I don’t think so.” He pokes me in the chest with his long, slim index finger. “This is my world, sweetheart. Every one of these people are mine for the taking. Every one of them.” He points to Becki. “Especially that one. Why don’t you get out of my way and let me have what’s mine.”

“Belongs to you?” I say boastfully. “You tricked this girl. You offered her what only I can give...”

“But you wouldn’t!” Lucifer booms. “You would have left her for dead! I intervened and sent her back your way. You were going to call up your faithful and forget about the rest. How’s that for love? She had to go to Mr. Anton Lazarus for salvation. Some Savior you are!” He throws his head back and laughs at me. “Now, if you’ll all excuse, Messiah, my flesh puppet and I have some business to attend to."

“Why don’t you just do it? Take that fucking sword and ram it through my stomach! Do it, Lucifer, kill me!” I scream, slapping my hand against my gut. "I dare you."

He smiles wickedly. “Not my style.”

“You have to bring a human down with you?”

“I don’t bring anyone anywhere. They come with me of their own free will. Do you remember Free Will, Lord?” he shoves me aside and goes to Becki, ruffling her hair. “You gave these beasts Free Will–the same will you punished me for using–and you let them make their own decisions. Are you now saying you are retracting that will and blaming all the bad on me?” He rolls his eyes. “You are so Gen-X. Blame, blame, blame, that’s all you kids know how to do these days. 'It’s not my fault, my parents didn’t love me! 'It’s not my fault, it was the television and the video games! Backi in our day, you'd get put on a cross for that!” He pounds his fist on the alter. “Don’t blame me for people doing bad. I may open the door, I may point the way, but I don’t force anyone to do anything.” He sits on the alter and kicks his heels against it like a child. “Come here, Becki, dear. Time to do your job.” He picks up the serrated dagger and turns it over his hand, pursing his lips and smiling. He puts it inside his suit jacket and pulls out his gun.

“Kill him!” I scream at the angel, who yanks is gun from his jacket and opens fire. I grab Becki’s arm and drag her away. As we get to the vestibule, all I can hear is Lucifer laughing.

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