Chapter 94
Fury
"Thanks for the coffee." Nick smiled to Beatrice. The girls had come back in, with Mary having dragged Grace back to her drawings and Abbie sitting cross-legged between her mother and Nick. Derrick sat silently, his eyes occasionally flitting towards the door.
"It's nothing. I'm just glad I could actually talk." Beatrice ran a hand through her hair. "It seems so long since I could actually… talk normally with someone similar to my age."
"I always say it is good to talk, even in the most strenuous of situations. We really ought to be going though, find out how Joshua is doing."
"Okay." Beatrice nodded and stood up along with Nick as Derrick got Grace from Mary's room. "It really has been nice to talk about things not related to… to everything. Goodbye then, Nick."
"Goodbye." With a nod of his head, Nick left the room followed by Derrick and Grace.
"They are nice people." Grace said as they walked down the corridor.
"You wouldn't have thought that their lives have been havoc." Nick sighed. "I'm glad she's okay though. I was worried about her, if I'm honest."
"Beatrice is a strong woman." Derrick crossed his arms. "It's gonna take a lot more than that to take her down."
The trio descended the stairs all the way to the ground floor.
"Do you think they are okay?" Grace asked nervously.
"I'm sure they are fine." Nick answered. "I mean, if they failed, then it would be our turn, but nothing bad has happened thus far." Nick shrugged as he opened the door out into the soaked street. "Who knows, maybe they really did succeed." Nick smiled at Grace before turning his head and freezing.
Walking down the sidewalk towards the apartment building were the easily recognizable figures of Dorothy, Detrikov, Dominika and Joshua. Dorothy seemed silent and shocked, seemingly helped along by Detrikov whose expression was set in stone. Dominika walked beside them, spinning a silver ring around her finger. Finally Joshua made up the rear and he looked a mess. He was absently cradling his hand, his nose looked certainly broken, his lip was split open and his left eye was a swollen mess of blood and purple bruised flesh.
"That… can't be good." Derrick muttered, looking over Nick's shoulder to the small group. Noticing no response, Derrick glanced down to see Nick staring hard at Joshua, his fists clenching and unclenching. "Hey, Earth to-"
"Where are they?!" Nick suddenly demanded, walking swiftly towards the group. Detrikov came to a halt, the others following his movements. Nick moved straight between the three and stood in front of Joshua. "Where are they? Where is Chloe? Jeremy? Lukas? David? Where are they!?"
Joshua didn't respond, didn't even seen to acknowledge Nick's presence. Nick curled his lip and grabbed a hold of Joshua's collar, pulling him close.
"Joshua, where are they?"
"…dead…"
"What?" Nick fist's clenched even harder into his hands, nails splitting his skin.
"I said they're dead!" Joshua growled. "All of 'em, dead!"
Nick's jaw seemed to lower for a moment, his mind racing. Four? Dead in one go? That couldn't be right… that couldn't… that's not true. This is some kind of sick joke, this is… Joshua wouldn't… A spark seemed to ignite in Nick's mind, his thoughts going over all the promises Joshua had made, all the claims, all the speeches. The spark turned into fury, and before he knew it, Nick had swung his fist back to punch Joshua. Just as he thrust forward, his arm was suddenly grabbed.
"Now's not the time." Derrick said quietly. "He's already been through hell. He didn't just trip and get those injuries. I'd be willing to bet somebody's gone to town on him."
With a brief glance at Dorothy, Detrikov stepped forward. "David. They had an… argument. It ended with David falling."
"He didn't fall!" Joshua snapped. "I pushed him because he pushed me past my breaking point! I killed him!"
Nick's eyes widened even further as Joshua giggled lowly and started tapping his fingers together. So much was going through Nick's head, so much fury, so much pain, so much sadness… he wanted to explode, he wanted to beat the hell out of Joshua but something, perhaps his cop instinct, perhaps his human instinct, stopped him. Instead, Nick stumbled backwards and wiped his mouth, managing to croak, "What happened?"
Seeing as the others were in no fit state to speak, Detrikov spoke out for them. "We got off to a bad start. Lukas wasn't skipped, and his death surprised us. Joshua didn't get the chance to get in. Then Chloe and Jeremy got trapped and fell… Joshua got in that time, but the wall prevented him from getting in that time. I figured it was too late so I got him to go to David and Dorothy – try to save them. He did, but he and David had… a bad argument and well, you heard it from his own lips."
"…so… so it failed… huh…" Nick felt his throat go dry. "The plan… it failed… do you… do you have anymore?"
"Yeah! I got a damn plan! Let's all just jump off a goddamn cliff and save Death the damn effort!" Joshua snarled, before giggling again. "Hell, why the hell not? We can all hold hands and sing as we jump off… it'll be wonderful and pretty…" Joshua grinned.
"I think you've already jumped off the deep end." Derrick grunted.
"No. We don't have any more plans." Detrikov provided.
Letting off an audible groan, Nick looked to the sky for a moment, before grunting, "Follow me," and setting off without an explanation. Knowing exactly what Nick was doing, Derrick motioned for the rest of the group.
"Come on. You guys may have fucked up, but Nick knows how to solve it."
The man stood up from his kneeling position and stared at the cross, his eyes narrowing under his wire-rimmed glasses. He stepped forward and placed a finger on one of the nails – where the blood was still dry.
A nail had been hammered into each hand and foot, a crown of thorns placed upon her head.
Smiling to himself, the man turned towards two cages, their doors open. One cage was blackened with soot.
"Will you save the mother who abandoned you or the brother you raised? To me it's a simple choice."
"…Never should have rescued your mother…" The man muttered to himself just as the sound of large doors opening was heard. A single pair of footsteps made its way towards him, echoing off the abandoned churches walls. The man smiled but didn't turn around. "So… My murderer comes to me once more."
Gerald Myers turned around, pushing up his wire-rimmed glances as he stared at Nick. Nick stopped walking and simply stared at Gerald, taking in the small man with the wire-rimmed glasses and thinning hair. Gerald put his hand out to Nick.
"I appreciate our last meeting was… not the best of greetings. How are you, Nicholas?"
Nick narrowed his eyes and simply slapped Gerald's hand away. Gerald tutted.
"That is not polite. What do you want?" Gerald asked, turning towards the cross. "In fact, that is a foolish question. I know what you want. You want to know how to defeat Death. My answer?" Gerald smirked. "I am not going to tell you." Gerald turned around, noticing Nick's expression. "Are you really surprised? Unless your memory has disappeared," Gerald tapped his forehead. "You shot me. Did you really think I'd just answer you as simple as that?"
"No… I didn't." Nick said quietly. "Although you will tell us."
"And what makes you think that?"
Nick simply crossed his arms as the large wooden doors opened again. This time it was Derrick and Detrikov walking forward. Gerald just laughed.
"Is that Vladimir? You appear to missing an arm. And who is this? Somebody new I'm sure… But do you think just by bringing in some big guys to threaten me is going to work?" Gerald pushed his glasses up. "I am not going to say a word."
"It isn't those guys you need to be worried about." Nick motioned with his hand and Derrick and Detrikov stood aside, revealing Joshua. It was obvious Joshua hadn't been told, as his eyes widened in shock.
"…Oh…" Gerald's smile faltered slightly. "Isn't this a lovely meeting, Joshua? How has it been since your brother's death? I do hope you're okay… ahh… mind my words. You just lost your mother, didn't you?" Gerald chuckled. "Isn't it funny? I caused your family so much pain, but your mother-" Gerald didn't get to finish what he was about to say as Joshua flung himself forward with a feral scream of pain and anger. Gerald barely had time to respond to the attack before Joshua tackled him to the floor and rained fists down on Gerald, not even holding back. Gerald's glasses snapped under one fist, a piece of glass carving a slice down his cheek. At this, Derrick stood forward and pulled Joshua back, who was panting.
Gerald was flat on his back, face already starting to turn into a painting of red and purple. His chest slowly rose up and down and his eyes were blinking rapidly. Nick approached and crouched down. "We aren't playing games here, Gerald. Tell us."
A small smile appeared back on Gerald's face. "That is not going to… to happen."
Nick sighed and motioned for Derrick to let go. Derrick obeyed, allowing Joshua free from his grasp. This time Joshua stepped towards Gerald silently. He glanced towards the wooden cross, noticing that there was still a table with nails and a hammer on it. Joshua's head turned towards the metal cages and a feral grin appeared on his face. He bent down and grabbed Gerald's collar, lifting him up on the floor.
"Heh… looks like you've been the one beaten up." Gerald croaked. Joshua didn't respond but pushed Gerald against the cross, lifting him up with surprising strength. "W-What are you-" Gerald's eyes widened and his voice was lost as Joshua motioned for Detrikov. Detrikov silently walked over and took over from holding Gerald up by his neck. Joshua grabbed a nail and the hammer. "W-W-Wait, you don't need to…" Joshua grabbed Gerald's arm, placing it against one branch of the cross. He placed the nail on Gerald's palm and with one ferocious strike, drove the nail hard into Gerald's hand. Gerald screamed in pain as blood dribbled down his hand.
"…I wonder if Jennifer screamed…" Joshua muttered, grabbing Gerald's other arm. "I wonder if she screamed when you… you put her up against this cross." Joshua positioned the next nail and prepared the hammer.
"No! No, wait! Wait!" Gerald shouted. Nick quickly stepped forward and grabbed the hammer from Joshua, preventing the strike. Gerald let out a breath of relief. "F-Fine… Fine, I'll tell you what you want to know… I'll… I-I'll tell you… on one-one condition."
"You are not in the position to ask that." Joshua sneered.
"Fine." Nick put a hand on Joshua's shoulder. "What is it?"
"Let me live…" Gerald gasped. "Let me live and I'll tell you what you want to know."
"What makes you think-"
"Fine." Nick repeated, interrupted Joshua. "You tell us the answer, and if I judge that you aren't lying then we'll let you go."
Gerald glared into Nick's eyes before nodding. "O-Okay… now, now let me go." Gerald said to Detrikov. Detrikov just nodded and let go of Gerald's collar, allowing Gerald to fall to the ground, his hand ripping through the nail. Gerald screamed in pain again, falling to his knees and clutching his hand. "F-Fuck you!"
"Oh… I'm sorry." Detrikov grunted with no hint of apology.
Gerald barred his teeth before standing up and leaning on the cross. "You want to know what you got to do to defeat Death?" Gerald smirked, still cradling his hand. "You can't defeat him."
Joshua started forward with a face of anger.
"Wait, w-wait, wait!" Gerald put his good hand up. "That's not to say there isn't an equivalent plan!" Gerald took a few moments to regain his breath as Joshua backed up. "T-There are three key things… The first, two people have to willing to sacrifice themselves."
At this point, Grace and Dorothy had come in, after waiting outside. They listened just as closely as the rest of the group.
"That's the first…" Gerald wiped his mouth and looked at the survivors. "Second… the first of those sacrifices has to be a member of the list, a-and has to willingly let themselves be killed… You have to be willing… finally…. F-finally the second sacrifice has to go into Death's domain… and once again has to be willing… to replace Death." Seeing the reactions of the survivors, Gerald managed to smile once again. "That's right… you can't defeat Death, but you can replace him… It'll mean that death won't stop completely, but you can stop the lists and stuff like that… pure power…" Gerald straightened up. "So… there you go. Two sacrifices and you got to be willing… now… I'll be going…"
Gerald pushed through the survivors. When he was halfway down the aisle, Nick called out to him. "If you go anywhere near Beatrice or her daughters, the deal is off."
Looking at Nick, Gerald just nodded. "I don't care to see them again anyway." Gerald turned back around and started walking towards the door. The survivors watched carefully just as a blur ran past them.
Having just a moment to recognize Joshua with the hammer, Nick put his hand out. "No! Don't!"
At Nick's shout, Gerald turned around just in time for Joshua to take a mighty swing. The head of the hammer slammed into Gerald's forehead with enough force to dent the skull. Gerald somehow still stayed up, stumbling back in surprise as blood dripped from his mouth. Joshua let out another feral scream and slammed the hammer atop of Gerald's head, knocking him to the floor. Joshua fell to his knees and swung again, and again, and again.
Blood splattered on his face and chest but Joshua didn't stor. Tears ran from his eyes as he slammed the hammer down repeatedly.
Thunk.
Derrick held Grace close, keeping her from looking at the scene. While Derrick didn't exactly know the man, he knew about what had done, especially to Joshua. To Derrick, this was exactly what he deserved.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Dorothy winced at each sound, only able to imagine what Joshua was doing. While she was still numb from David's death, she realized the implications of what Gerald had said and her rational mind was racing.
Thunk.
Detrikov watched with a stern expression, his arm crossed over his chest. Gerald was the reason that Gregory was dead. Gerald had been into his mind and screwed it up. To see him being treated like this… To Detrikov, it wasn't nearly enough.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Dominika watched with wide eyes, still absently spinning the silver ring. Luckily she had no dealings with Gerald but knew what he had done. Still, it was hard to watch, but somehow, she was unable to turn away.
Thunk.
Nick, admittedly, was disappointed. He was disappointed that the rage had come to Joshua, but he understood. Gerald had done so much to the young man, killed his brother, broke Joshua and Lisa apart, was responsible for Richard's first death… While not agreeing with the actions, Nick wasn't about to stop it. They had gotten the answer, as unpleasant as it was.
"You killed my brother! You killed my mother! You killed so… so many!" Joshua cried out as he beat the hammer down. "I don't care if my mother brought you back! You told us what we wanted to know, and now you get to die you… you…" Joshua suddenly dropped the hammer and stood up, panting, looking down at the remnants of Gerald Myers. His head was a mulch of blood, brains and gore. There was no way to recognize what had once been a human head. Joshua suddenly laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. He continued to laugh as he turned around. Nick stepped forward.
"Are you… alright?" Nick asked quietly.
"Alright? No! No, I'm not fuckin' alright!" Joshua managed to quell the laughter. "You heard him! Two sacrifices. All of you guys, at least you get a choice of who gets to kill themselves!"
"What do you-"
"Come off it Nick!" Joshua put a hand on his forehead. "One person has to get to Death's domain. And the only person out of this group to do that is me! I'm going to be one of the sacrifices! I'm going to die! Or at least, my body is! I am not alright!" Joshua suddenly grinned again, patting Nick on the shoulder and looked at the other survivors. "Give it a day! That'll be as long as it takes for me to get ready. Who the hell knows if this is going to work? If it does, then only two of us'll die. If it fucks up… well, we'll all die anyway. So spend tomorrow as if it's the last day on Earth! But either way… for me and somebody else… it sure as hell is gonna be!"
A/N:- Thanks to PrincezzShell101 for the review! So, Gerald's return was quick, but there was no way he was going to survive the moment Joshua got his hands on him. I had planned for him to live and come back later… but I want to let the inevitably of Joshua's sacrifice be the main focus of the coming chapters.. That's not to say other people won't die though… oh yes, I said other people. Death ain't done quite yet.
'Till next time!