God Hates Us All
6. Explosion
Johnny thought long and hard about Matt's proposal. Matt had also filled Syn in on his plans, and Syn, being the crazy bastard that he is, immediately agreed, and set about procuring the required equipment needed to wage war on the fundamentalists responsible for Val's murder. On the one hand, Johnny had absolutely no inclination to harm, let alone kill anyone. Death, to him, was a scary thing in itself without having someone hurry up the process a bit. On the other hand, though, there was Val... a sweet, innocent woman whose only crime was to be married to someone that the fundamentalists hated. A loving, carefree soul who was grabbed by monsters and killed because she, like billions of others, chose to live a life free of oppression. Johnny had wanted to hurt the bastards as soon as he got ahold of them, if the cops didn't get them first... but not even the police could keep them in jail. There had been much mutterings amongst law enforcement circles about doing something about the fundamentalists, in particular The Right Hand of The Holy Trinity (known from hereon in as Right Handers), about luring them to a desolate area of the county and locking them in prison camps, but the Governor, under prodding from lobbyists, had passed a temporary law that anyone who was found to have premeditated crimes against the fundamentalists would be thrown in jail straight away. However, it didn't seem to be stopping Matt and Syn... Johnny decided to help them, but not actually take part in any potential deaths.
It took 3 days for Matt and Syn to get hold of all the ingredients needed for the bomb. The bomb itself weighed roughly 75 kg, packed with racing fuel, fertilizer and enough shrapnel (nails, glass and metal) to fill a SUV back tray. The bomb would be transported by Johnny to the church, where Matt would scope out a location. Matt knew that this particular church had a basement smack bang in the middle of where everyone congregated for service... all he had to do was place the thing in the stairwell of the basement. He anticipated that the blast would bring down the whole church on top of everyone. First, though, the night staff had to be taken care of.
The young church helper yawned. It was nearly 3am in the morning. It had been quite a day; his hero and mentor, Michael Yahweh, had posted the video of Valary being burnt alive to a secret website viewable by all of Michael's followers. They in turn had spread the video to other fundamentalist cells within the US. A huge videoconference had ensued, celebrating the death of "the blonde demon" as they referred to Val; prayers were recited, congratulations all around. Yahweh had assured them that murder is forgiven in the eyes of the Holy Trinity if the Right handers deem the victim to be a threat to Christianity. The young helper laughed at memories of the video, watching that girl burn as she begged and screamed to be let go; surely she is in Hell right now, he mused. And I will be rewarded when the end comes.
"Excuse me?" a male voice said, jerking the helper from his thoughts. Snarky, annoyed, the helper turned to the pest in the church. He glared at the strange man's tattoos. "I'm sorry sir, we do not let people like you into our church" the helper said, sniffing with disdain. "people like me? My good man, I only wanted to make a donation" stated the short man with the Mohawk and covered in tattoos. The helper's eyes lit up at the mention of money, immediately changing his attitude "of course my brother, right this way, to my office". The helper nearly wet himself with excitement at the huge wad of cash in the short man's hand. He bustled into his office, the short man on his heels. The short man dropped the cash on the desk, which the helper promptly counted. $20,000! The helper was already calculating what he was going to spend it all on when, next thing he knew, he was hurtling face first towards the cabinet, smashing his face through the wood. Pain immediately exploded in his head as he was lifted to his feet... coming face to face with Val's husband, M. Shadows.
Matt picked up the helper by his throat and pinned him against the wall. The helper tried to scream, only to be punched in the mouth for his trouble. Hard. Spitting out teeth, gums and blood, the helper started to lose consciousness. Matt let go of his throat and let him breathe for a bit. Johnny smirked as he shoved his "donation" back into his pocket. "Now you fucking faggot, you and me will be having a bit of bonding time while we set up our party favour to you guys" Matt snarled at the helper, by now bound and gagged on the floor, "Syn? How are our guests holding up?" The man named Syn appeared like a puff of smoke, a bound and captive girl in each arm. Smirking, Syn threw them to the floor as if offering them as a sacrifice. The girls stared at the 3 assailants, terrified beyond their wits. "I found them kneeling on their beds praying" Syn announced, "they must be new recruits. They have the bare essentials, and they both look like they've been beaten a few times". Matt and Johnny studied the girls. Both looked about 18, 19, the classic examples of kids who had spent their lives either on the street or living with dipshit boyfriends. The kind of people who put food in their mouths by prostituting themselves. "Dude, untie them" Matt said, "and lets hear what they have to say for themselves". Syn picked up one girl, Johnny picked up the other. Johnny found the most comfortable couch in the office for them and sat both girls down.
"What's your name?" Johnny asked the taller of the 2 girls, who had black long hair. "Eleanor" whispered the girl, looking at Johnny with fear and... sadness? Sympathy? Johnny was curious. "Why do we find you here?" Johnny asked. Eleanor took a deep breath, knowing that Johnny wanted details. A lot of them. "Me and my sister Gabrielle here, we used to live in the slums. We were born there". "Interesting, interesting" Johnny murmured, "continue". "Our father died in jail when Gabrielle was only 1 and a half. I myself was 4 at the time. Our mother, if you can call her a mother, spent all of her time high on smack on the couch. From what I remember, she used to sell smack out of the back window and that's how she fed her habit. But her supplier got shot dead by rival gangsters, so her supply ran out. So she turned to selling me and Gabrielle to this really bad man... I don't even have to tell you what he made us do to him so mom could get her smack money. That went on for years. I was 16 when mom kicked us out... I had already left school, so I turned to selling my body to keep my sister in school." Johnny was sympathetic, "Go on" he told her. Eleanor shuddered before continuing, "We met a man one night who offered us a free room, all the food we could want, all for nothing. All we had to do was turn our life over to this man called Michael Yahweh".
Matt stood there in shock. These poor girls had lived a life in hell. So ol' Mikey is looking for fresh prey, huh, Matt mused. Eleanor fixed Matt with a stare. "You're Matt Sanders, aren't you?" Matt looked at her in shock, "how did you know?" "Master Yahweh told us that you were the Devil. He showed us a video of him sacrificing a woman by burning her alive, said that he needed to burn all of you to be saved by God. Is that woman your wife, Mr Sanders?" Matt looked at her. "yes, that is my wife" he said. Eleanor looked at him with sympathy, "Master Yahweh was bragging about her burning at the stake, I screamed at him that he was a murderer and" Eleanor pulled up her shirt at the back, "he attacked me".
It was Syn who first spoke, "why don't we keep them with us? Keep them safe until this is all over." Matt and Johnny agreed. "Johnny, get these girls out to the truck, and stay with them" Matt ordered, "me and faggot-face here are gonna have some fun" kicking the church helper on the ground. The helper gazed, terrified, at Matt's murderous expression... and at the silenced automatic in Syn's hands. Matt leaned down to the helper, whispered "How would you REALLY like to do a service for your God?", ripping the gag off. The helper spluttered for a few seconds, "wh-wh-what do you mean?" "I mean, how would you like to be a man of Christ, a man of the people, a hero?" Matt whispered, "would you like that?" "Oh yes sir, please tell me, what do I need to do?!" exclaimed the church helper. Matt and Syn smirked to each other, "well it sorta goes like this..."
9:00am. Saturday morning, the Great Church of The Right Hand of The Holy Trinity. Ordinary townsfolk stared at the churchgoers in disgust. The churchgoers leered at the townsfolk, shouting abuse at them. A crowd of 400 filed their way into the church, taking their seats. Doors usually stayed open until 10:00am because that's what time Yahweh usually arrived... it was just that his followers had to be there at 9:00am, sharp. It was just the way it was. How could anyone question the great Michael Yahweh?
Matt adjusted the wireless receiver on the wheelchair. The receiver was connected to the bomb crafted by Matt and Syn. "Godspeed buddy, see ya in the next life" Matt whispered to the terrified, naked man in the wheelchair. The man was screaming, muffled- his mouth was sown together. So were his eyelids. Syn pulled out a small bottle of what looked like water and started pouring it over the man. "Now this has gotta be better than being a lowly church 'helper', right?" Syn sneered. "MMMMHHHMMM MMHHHMMM MMHHHHHHHHHHHHMMMM!!!!" The church helper moaned, tears mixing with the fresh gasoline. "See you in Hell, motherfucker!" Johnny kicked the chair down the ramp, as Syn threw the match at the gasoline trail, very quickly catching up to the man in the bomb-wheelchair. The guys watched him catch alight and start screaming all the way to the church, watching him bowl over some redneck who was dumb enough to stick his head out the door. "Rest in Peace, Val" Matt whispered, no longer smiling, as he pressed the "call" button on his mobile. It was linked to the bomb.
It was 9:45am, and everyone inside the church was seated. Silence gave way to a strange sound... one of the church ushers looked outside the doors, thinking Yahweh was early- and was knocked with full force by what seemed like a mysterious large fireball. The fireball sped into the church with decreasing speed. People started rejoicing, thinking that Yahweh was making a grand entrance... but one churchgoer wondered aloud, "fireballs don't scream, do they?" That was the last thing anyone could ever think as the world around them blew up in a flash of fire, smoke and explosive force.
It took 3 days for Matt and Syn to get hold of all the ingredients needed for the bomb. The bomb itself weighed roughly 75 kg, packed with racing fuel, fertilizer and enough shrapnel (nails, glass and metal) to fill a SUV back tray. The bomb would be transported by Johnny to the church, where Matt would scope out a location. Matt knew that this particular church had a basement smack bang in the middle of where everyone congregated for service... all he had to do was place the thing in the stairwell of the basement. He anticipated that the blast would bring down the whole church on top of everyone. First, though, the night staff had to be taken care of.
The young church helper yawned. It was nearly 3am in the morning. It had been quite a day; his hero and mentor, Michael Yahweh, had posted the video of Valary being burnt alive to a secret website viewable by all of Michael's followers. They in turn had spread the video to other fundamentalist cells within the US. A huge videoconference had ensued, celebrating the death of "the blonde demon" as they referred to Val; prayers were recited, congratulations all around. Yahweh had assured them that murder is forgiven in the eyes of the Holy Trinity if the Right handers deem the victim to be a threat to Christianity. The young helper laughed at memories of the video, watching that girl burn as she begged and screamed to be let go; surely she is in Hell right now, he mused. And I will be rewarded when the end comes.
"Excuse me?" a male voice said, jerking the helper from his thoughts. Snarky, annoyed, the helper turned to the pest in the church. He glared at the strange man's tattoos. "I'm sorry sir, we do not let people like you into our church" the helper said, sniffing with disdain. "people like me? My good man, I only wanted to make a donation" stated the short man with the Mohawk and covered in tattoos. The helper's eyes lit up at the mention of money, immediately changing his attitude "of course my brother, right this way, to my office". The helper nearly wet himself with excitement at the huge wad of cash in the short man's hand. He bustled into his office, the short man on his heels. The short man dropped the cash on the desk, which the helper promptly counted. $20,000! The helper was already calculating what he was going to spend it all on when, next thing he knew, he was hurtling face first towards the cabinet, smashing his face through the wood. Pain immediately exploded in his head as he was lifted to his feet... coming face to face with Val's husband, M. Shadows.
Matt picked up the helper by his throat and pinned him against the wall. The helper tried to scream, only to be punched in the mouth for his trouble. Hard. Spitting out teeth, gums and blood, the helper started to lose consciousness. Matt let go of his throat and let him breathe for a bit. Johnny smirked as he shoved his "donation" back into his pocket. "Now you fucking faggot, you and me will be having a bit of bonding time while we set up our party favour to you guys" Matt snarled at the helper, by now bound and gagged on the floor, "Syn? How are our guests holding up?" The man named Syn appeared like a puff of smoke, a bound and captive girl in each arm. Smirking, Syn threw them to the floor as if offering them as a sacrifice. The girls stared at the 3 assailants, terrified beyond their wits. "I found them kneeling on their beds praying" Syn announced, "they must be new recruits. They have the bare essentials, and they both look like they've been beaten a few times". Matt and Johnny studied the girls. Both looked about 18, 19, the classic examples of kids who had spent their lives either on the street or living with dipshit boyfriends. The kind of people who put food in their mouths by prostituting themselves. "Dude, untie them" Matt said, "and lets hear what they have to say for themselves". Syn picked up one girl, Johnny picked up the other. Johnny found the most comfortable couch in the office for them and sat both girls down.
"What's your name?" Johnny asked the taller of the 2 girls, who had black long hair. "Eleanor" whispered the girl, looking at Johnny with fear and... sadness? Sympathy? Johnny was curious. "Why do we find you here?" Johnny asked. Eleanor took a deep breath, knowing that Johnny wanted details. A lot of them. "Me and my sister Gabrielle here, we used to live in the slums. We were born there". "Interesting, interesting" Johnny murmured, "continue". "Our father died in jail when Gabrielle was only 1 and a half. I myself was 4 at the time. Our mother, if you can call her a mother, spent all of her time high on smack on the couch. From what I remember, she used to sell smack out of the back window and that's how she fed her habit. But her supplier got shot dead by rival gangsters, so her supply ran out. So she turned to selling me and Gabrielle to this really bad man... I don't even have to tell you what he made us do to him so mom could get her smack money. That went on for years. I was 16 when mom kicked us out... I had already left school, so I turned to selling my body to keep my sister in school." Johnny was sympathetic, "Go on" he told her. Eleanor shuddered before continuing, "We met a man one night who offered us a free room, all the food we could want, all for nothing. All we had to do was turn our life over to this man called Michael Yahweh".
Matt stood there in shock. These poor girls had lived a life in hell. So ol' Mikey is looking for fresh prey, huh, Matt mused. Eleanor fixed Matt with a stare. "You're Matt Sanders, aren't you?" Matt looked at her in shock, "how did you know?" "Master Yahweh told us that you were the Devil. He showed us a video of him sacrificing a woman by burning her alive, said that he needed to burn all of you to be saved by God. Is that woman your wife, Mr Sanders?" Matt looked at her. "yes, that is my wife" he said. Eleanor looked at him with sympathy, "Master Yahweh was bragging about her burning at the stake, I screamed at him that he was a murderer and" Eleanor pulled up her shirt at the back, "he attacked me".
It was Syn who first spoke, "why don't we keep them with us? Keep them safe until this is all over." Matt and Johnny agreed. "Johnny, get these girls out to the truck, and stay with them" Matt ordered, "me and faggot-face here are gonna have some fun" kicking the church helper on the ground. The helper gazed, terrified, at Matt's murderous expression... and at the silenced automatic in Syn's hands. Matt leaned down to the helper, whispered "How would you REALLY like to do a service for your God?", ripping the gag off. The helper spluttered for a few seconds, "wh-wh-what do you mean?" "I mean, how would you like to be a man of Christ, a man of the people, a hero?" Matt whispered, "would you like that?" "Oh yes sir, please tell me, what do I need to do?!" exclaimed the church helper. Matt and Syn smirked to each other, "well it sorta goes like this..."
9:00am. Saturday morning, the Great Church of The Right Hand of The Holy Trinity. Ordinary townsfolk stared at the churchgoers in disgust. The churchgoers leered at the townsfolk, shouting abuse at them. A crowd of 400 filed their way into the church, taking their seats. Doors usually stayed open until 10:00am because that's what time Yahweh usually arrived... it was just that his followers had to be there at 9:00am, sharp. It was just the way it was. How could anyone question the great Michael Yahweh?
Matt adjusted the wireless receiver on the wheelchair. The receiver was connected to the bomb crafted by Matt and Syn. "Godspeed buddy, see ya in the next life" Matt whispered to the terrified, naked man in the wheelchair. The man was screaming, muffled- his mouth was sown together. So were his eyelids. Syn pulled out a small bottle of what looked like water and started pouring it over the man. "Now this has gotta be better than being a lowly church 'helper', right?" Syn sneered. "MMMMHHHMMM MMHHHMMM MMHHHHHHHHHHHHMMMM!!!!" The church helper moaned, tears mixing with the fresh gasoline. "See you in Hell, motherfucker!" Johnny kicked the chair down the ramp, as Syn threw the match at the gasoline trail, very quickly catching up to the man in the bomb-wheelchair. The guys watched him catch alight and start screaming all the way to the church, watching him bowl over some redneck who was dumb enough to stick his head out the door. "Rest in Peace, Val" Matt whispered, no longer smiling, as he pressed the "call" button on his mobile. It was linked to the bomb.
It was 9:45am, and everyone inside the church was seated. Silence gave way to a strange sound... one of the church ushers looked outside the doors, thinking Yahweh was early- and was knocked with full force by what seemed like a mysterious large fireball. The fireball sped into the church with decreasing speed. People started rejoicing, thinking that Yahweh was making a grand entrance... but one churchgoer wondered aloud, "fireballs don't scream, do they?" That was the last thing anyone could ever think as the world around them blew up in a flash of fire, smoke and explosive force.
10/8/13