The Spider and the Dragons
Chapter 2: A Holy Man Among Demons
I own nothing
A few days had passed since Juri's imprisonment in Arkham. so far, the doctors hadn't made any progress with her. Some of the more cynical of the staff would say that it was no surprise. But her imprisonment had sparked something: more patients being brought in from elsewhere. Somehow word had got out about Juri's imprisonment and others decided to just ship off their more troublesome patients to Arkham. The latest one was a preacher from Montana.
His name was Joseph Seed, he had started a cult in Hope County Montana. This cult was highly militaristic, with many members brainwashed to the point their only thoughts were fighting for Joseph's vision. Like many cult leaders Joseph claimed he had received messages from God, that a great collapse was coming, and it was his duty to lead the people to a new Eden. However, he was arrested for kidnapping, murder, and multiple other crimes, most of his cult was either arrested or killed, his brothers and sister among the latter. However, this did not stop his preaching; in fact, his preaching was why he was sent to Arkham, he would rile up the other patients with his talks of a coming apocalypse.
Currently Joseph stood in the corner of the cafeteria, a bible in his hands as a handful of patients listened to his sermon. "And there will come a great flash of light, the lands will be scorched, the seas will boil, and all who reject the word of God will perish in this blasted hell as the Devil rises to claim the Earth as his, the souls of the lost his subjects and slaves" he preached. "But those that remain faithful will be delivered to paradise, where there will be no pain, no sickness, no anger, no sadness, everything wrong with this world will be naught but memories as we bask in the Lord's glow." Arkham security didn't do anything to stop Joseph from preaching, most of Arkham's patients didn't care about things like Gods, afterlives, or souls. So, there was no need to worry about Joseph inciting a massive riot.
Meanwhile Juri, Yang, and Crona simply ate their meal, uncaring of the rantings of a mad preacher. "What a blowhard" Yang said as she ate her eggs and bacon "tell me about it, I've never seen someone chew the scenery like this guy" Juri replied. Crona was silent, unlike the other two who had looks of indifference he aimed a glare at the small congregation. They noticed this look "what's with you Crona" Yang asked. Instead of answering he stood up from the table and walked towards the small group.
Joseph saw Crona approach "you have something to say young man, I can see a great amount of contempt in your eyes" he asked. "What's the point" Crona asked "what's the point of prayer and belief in some higher power, for years my mother tortured me, and I prayed to every God I could think of to save me from my hellish life. But all I ever got was silence, what good is a god if it looks down on us and does nothing as people starve and butcher each other." Nearby a guard talked into his radio "Crona and Seed are having some kind of religious debate, looks like it could get ugly" he said, ready to intervene. Joseph didn't seem to be affected by this "God may seem cruel and indifferent, but he only wants us to be stronger, if he were to hold our hands we would become weak and vulnerable to the evil within this world" he countered.
"And what evil is that; the Devil, there are people all over the world who could be him" Crona asked "Hell my mother could be the Devil in human form for all we know." "Is it the politicians and corporations that grow fat and rich on the backs of the 99%? Is it beings from other planets that would rather kill all humans for their own agendas and beliefs? People go on about evil like it's something that can be defeated; but it simply can't, evil permeates everything, it's part of our very existence, how can you fight something that's apart of you" Crona asked.
Again, Joseph was unfazed by this as he approached Crona. Crona got ready to fight but Joseph simply put his hands on his shoulders, looking dead in the eye. "You are right Crona; evil is everywhere, it cannot be truly defeated, but I know that it can be fought. God gave us the strength to fight, gave us the ability to choose if we are evil or good, and I know that when the end comes he will welcome his children with open arms. When the time comes the wicked will truly be punished, the so-called heroes will be cast down like the false prophets they are, and we will be welcomed into an eternal paradise."
Everything was silent for a few seconds before Crona scoffed "whatever, keep living your deluded fantasies" he said before shrugging off Joseph's hands and returning to his table. "you have suffered greatly Crona, you may have forsaken God, but he has not forsaken you, I look to you and I see forgiveness, perhaps even a messenger" the last part he said to himself. Crona simply ignored Joseph, who returned to his congregation.
Later that night Joseph slept in his room and dreamed.
Joseph stands on a hill overlooking Gotham as it burns and crumbles. A great roar is heard, and Joseph turns to it, a dragon glowing like the sun flies past him before unleashing a great wave of flames, melting concrete and burning everything else to ash. Gunshots are heard, Joseph looks down and sees the people of Gotham butchering each other with whatever weapons they can get their hands on or just with their bare hands. Watching this savage battle is a pitch-black dragon, it roars which sends the peoples' frenzy into unimaginable heights. He feels the Earth shake and see's a giant purple spider, it stabs it's fangs into the Earth and cracks form like glowing purple veins, as if the ground itself had been afflicted by some horrible venom.
He sees parts of the world consumed by violence just like in Gotham, he then sees ships flee the Earth hoping to find sanctuary among the stars. The dream ends when he sees a man engulfed in burning light as he screams in pain and sorrow.
The three beasts he saw remained on Earth, rebuilding alongside those left behind.
AN: hey everyone, hope your 4th of July was good. Sadly, my week could be much better, two days ago my dog Eli died. He was a good dog and was kind and loving. He had been sick for a while and one day I found him dead in the living room. At least now he won't suffer. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, far cry 5's ending was a real gut punch. I think Joseph really did have something on his side. Read, review, all that. But leave a flame and I'll toss you in Arkham.