AN ABHORRENCE
The Reign and Indignation of God
"And they shall go out and look at the dead bodies of the people who have rebelled against me; for their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."
—Isaiah 66:24
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DECEMBER 5TH 2039
4:44PM
KEYSTONE, COLORADO
Esteban was on his last few prayers when the girl began to cry once more.
He was almost amused by this. For a moment he wondered if she were, at one point, a child of God, and whether she knew automatically when prayer was about to cease. He dismissed the thought quickly. If she were wise she would be paying attention to everything he did.
Every word he uttered, in prayer or out.
She was trying to hold the tears back and it was almost more shameful than crying altogether. A sinner being sent to Hell was a time for rejoicing in God's beauty and praising those who worked to rid the world of sin. It was a time for prayer and a time for praise and fighting back sadness was an affront to what he stood for.
Esteban finished his prayers louder than before, as if he could drown out the sound of her sniffling. In his last moments of prayer he silently asked for grace from God. He begged for the strength to resist killing her.
They would head back to their makeshift chapel soon—he was certain the package had been delivered and their targets were on their way—and if the girl insisted on her continued disrespect he would just demand the Volturi boy to put her under once they arrived. He didn't want to have to hear it anymore than necessary. Esteban's contact told him that she could not be harmed. The boy's gift was harmless, as far as he knew.
It was not time yet, but not long after he wrapped his last prayer and all of his disciples lifted their heads in unison, the buzzing static of the radio was interrupted by a distorted voice.
"They are moving."
That was the signal. It was time for the test.
In ten minutes, Esteban would take the girl and the loan and return back to the chapel where thirty-four more bodies currently waited: seventeen of his disciples, the gifted boy, and sixteen children of God. He would leave behind the prisoner, destined for death if all went correctly, and perhaps by this time next week, he would be able to gift three more of these children of God with his mark, and rename them as disciples ready to serve.
The promise of ritual and prayer, of mass and communion, invigorated him. His chest burned and his mouth flooded with venom and he shouted, "O Jesus, great God, present on the Altar, I bow down before you. I adore you."
The disciple holding onto the radio flipped a switch and the static turned into a constant, annoying buzz. They approached the large device positioned several yards in front of the condemned and placed the piece upon it. There was a screech of feedback for a moment before they adjusted the position, and then suddenly the harsh noise sounded much preferable in comparison. They stepped away, mumbled a quick prayer on bended knee, and when they turned back toward Esteban he smiled kindly toward them.
"May those who mislead and lie fall victim to the most fiery of punishments Hades offers thee. For death will not be the end of their suffering, and it shall last forever more, eternal in all. We thank Him for the power he has gifted us, and trust that He shall serve justice tonight."
A chorus of 'Amen' echoed back to him. One more switch on the piece was flipped.
The girl's attempts at stifling her tears grew louder.
Only eight more minutes until Esteban could drag her back and smother her noise. When all was said and done, he prayed he would be allowed to kill her, too.
A/N: Apologies for the late post. On Monday you'll get the last chapter of act 2.