Chapter Twenty-Four
New Life
Back in the hideout, the other Disciples watched as Solomon sat there hugging his knees and sobbing softly.
Chastity and Lamia stood close by and continued to watch him.
Solomon has spent a long time sitting there sobbing over his predicament and over Angela and how he had shouted at her in anger, and now he was started to regret his words.
"Why me…" he moaned "Why me…?"
Ravage, Rex, Samson and Regan watched from a distance.
Regan looked up at Rex and pulled on his sleeveless jacket.
"Will he be alright Rexie?" she asked.
Rex looked down and stroked Regan's golden curls.
"He will be," he reassured the child, "I hope he will be; this is a big change for him, he has had to leave his old life behind."
Regan looked sad and she blinked a few times as she tried to remember her old life.
"What happened to me?" she asked looking up at the Doberman and he sucked in a breath at her question.
"What was my life?" Regan asked.
Samson sighed.
"We'll tell you when you're older, sweetie." He said to which Regan looked crestfallen and disappointed.
Rex looked at Samson and bit his lip, he knew only too well what had happened to Regan and why she had to be mutated, and because of what had happened over a year ago to the young girl, she had no recollection of what happened.
"Why me?" Solomon wept over and over as he rocked back and forth "Why me?"
"We asked ourselves the same question Solomon." Lamia said in a gentle tone, "We all asked, 'Why Me?'"
"What lead us to our fate were through no fault of our own, but through the actions of bad people." Chastity said, "We all suffered at the hands of sinners."
Solomon looked up from his knees and he looked at the Dove and Eel in question, wiping his tears as he did so.
"We are what we are because of what sinners did." Lamia said, "I was murdered by my family because I refused to go through a forced marriage."
"I ran away from home after beating up my abuser after he murdered my mother and tried to frame me for the crime." Chastity said.
Solomon's mouth dropped as he listened, and he looked at Rex, Samson, Ravage and Regan.
"We were mutated by Diablo after we were fatally wounded by racist pigs." Samson said gesturing to himself and Rex.
"And I chose to become a mutant so I could escape a cult." Ravage said.
"Who…. who are you people?" Solomon said in a stuttering voice "What happened to you all?"
"It's a long story." Samson said, "You best get comfortable."
"I'll make some drinks." Ravage offered "You want to help kid?" he asked Regan who gave a smile and nodded.
Meanwhile Angela had run all the way back to her house, her tears flowing as she thought about what Solomon had said to her.
She could feel her heartbeat in her ears, her stomach felt like it weighed a ton and her throat hurt like she had dry swallowed a large peach pit.
After fleeing the hideout and away from Diablo, she never stopped running until she made it to her house then sneaked back into the house and up to her room.
As she passed the large clock in the hallway, it was four 'o' clock in the morning, and she knew her parents would still be asleep.
She wanted to scream and cry but she forced herself to stay quiet as she knew if she made a sound her parents would investigate, and they would see she had sneaked out, so she bit her lip and made it to her bedroom.
No sooner was she inside, than Angela threw herself onto her bed and screamed into her pillow before bursting into heartbroken sobs.
The emotions within her felt like a nuclear bomb had exploded and destroyed her, it was like that day she was called into the principal's office and told that Nigel had been killed in action.
The absolute worst day of her life, but now this was on the same level, hearing such words of anger from her friend, the one who had kept her together at High School after Nigel's passing.
She hadn't stopped to think that maybe he was saying such words because he was devastated about what had happened, all she knew was that the one other person who understood her and had looked after her after Nigel's death was furious with her and blamed her for his mutation.
Angela screamed again into the pillow and sobbed harder unsure if she could get to sleep or even keep herself together for work in the morning.
Unknown to her, Diablo after he had followed Angela back to her house from a distance to make sure she got back safe, hovered outside her window and saw her sobbing on her bed.
He felt guilty over what had happened and wished things had been different.
He thought he had a friendship with Angela going after they had found out how much in common, they had, but now it looked like it was over before it had even begun, and he knew that before long, he and the Disciples would have to move on to continue their purpose in life.
"Maybe it would have been better if she and I hadn't met that day." He thought "Then this never would have happened, but at the same time, whether we had met or not, would the fire still have happened?"
He pondered this for a long time as he continued to watch Angela through the window making sure he kept out of view.
The Raven sighed again, and he wondered if this was how Monalisa had reacted after he (Diablo) had spoken his harsh words to her after his mutation and after he had betrayed Mutopia.
He still harboured guilty thoughts over that, but he knew he had to follow his heart and if Monalisa and Jake didn't follow him, then that was just the way it had to be.
He watched Angela again for a while, then he decided to return to the hideout as he knew it was be dawn before long and he wanted to check on Solomon.
Back at the hideout, Solomon blinked as he listened to the stories of the Disciples over drinks and snacks.
Ravage offered him a choice of beverages and Solomon reached for the stronger stuff and he had a shot of whisky which helped make him feel calmer.
"…And that's who we are." Samson concluded "The Disciples of Diablo."
"Punishers of Sin." Ravage smirked.
"And delivering justice to those who were denied." Lamia added.
"So, you were the people who went missing on the news?" Solomon asked, "And you destroyed the Straight Truths Baptist Church in Chicago."
"Uh huh!" Ravage nodded "And boy am I glad we did, after all the abuse I went through with them!"
"And you're responsible for the attacks on the Nazi's near here, and all that other stuff mentioned in the news?"
"Yes, we are!" Rex said, "And I can confirm that what happened to you in that house fire we saved you from, it was no accident!"
"What?" Solomon turned to the Doberman "No accident?" he asked.
Rex shook his head.
"No." he said, "When I went in there along with Samson to find you, I smelt petrol and I saw broken glass from where a window had been smashed."
Solomon's jaw dropped.
"No…" he gasped "You mean…?"
"Hate crime!" Ravage growled "Among other things! I remember how my parents forced me to go to picketing outside houses where those they despised." He shuddered as memories came to him.
Solomon looked down and shook his head.
"No…" he said quietly "Mum? Dad…? We were murdered. All because of what we are?" he looked up at Rex and glared.
"You were able to determine that?" he asked.
Rex nodded and tapped his nose.
"With a nose like mine, I was able to find out a lot!" he said, "And we will find those responsible, once Diablo returns after seeing the girl home."
As soon as Rex said that Solomon remembered Angela.
"Oh, my Moses." He said "Angie…" he thought of her heartbroken expression when he shouted at her in anger over his mutation.
"Oh Angie…I'm so sorry…"
He then felt Chastity's hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry." She said, "You were angry, and one does say things in the heat of the moment."
Solomon looked down guilty.
"I blamed her." He said, "I blamed her for what happened, but it wasn't her fault, she wanted to save my life."
"We all say things in anger kid." Rex said, "I'm sure she will forgive you."
"That is if I see her again." Solomon murmured as he looked at his hands "Because of what I am now, I cannot go outside, I cannot go to her without being seen."
"Don't fret friend." Ravage said, "When the boss returns, we will discuss what can be done to help fix you and Angela's situation."
"You sure?" Solomon asked a ray of hope rose in his belly.
"You have our word." Samson said fervently "And we will find those responsible for the fire and we will make sure they pay dearly."
"That is if the police haven't already apprehended them." Chastity suggested "And if I know the police and crime solving, they will find out the fire was started deliberately, and they will stop at nothing to find the perpetrators."
"And we will help you get used to this new life, we all had to go through the same process." Lamia said.
"And with a new life, you need a new name." Rex said.
"A new name?" Solomon asked.
"After we mutated." Chastity said, "We were re-born, so we left the old human life behind and choose a new name to go with our new bodies."
Solomon was quiet as he processed all the dove had said.
"We will give you time to think." Samson said, "You don't have to make a decision now."
So Diablo has seen Angela home from a distance, but he feels guilty and sad for what happened, meanwhile Solomon has learnt about the Disciples, who they were and what they do.
And what name will Solomon choose now he's been reborn as a mutant? If you want to guess go ahead in the comments, otherwise you'll find out in the next chapter!