Post by The Circle Television Network on Oct 17, 2016 8:22:57 GMT -5
The Knight Estate
Trinity Hills, Empire City
Chapter X: Condemnation…
Brandon nervously paced back and forth in front of the television as he watched Empire City tear itself apart. All he could do was pray that Anka had gotten to Stacey before the woman who helped burn down his church got to her first. He sat down and watched as the news reports aired several special reports…causing his heart to sink, especially as it related to Rave’s attack on the prison…right where Stacey had gone!
Brandon stood, almost as if he had been yanked to his feet by some unseen force. His heart beat so hard within his chest that he thought it might suddenly stop. “My God in Heaven… what can I do?!!” Stacey had gone to the Penitentiary as part of her investigation into the burning of Madison Chapel…but he had known all along that the culprit was not confined there. It had all seemed harmless…until the woman who had killed Jacob Phills…the one that meant to kill him had gotten wind that getting to Stacey Jordan was the key to getting to him. Anka had gone to watch over her…but he had no way of knowing if she would get there in time. After watching the special report…it seemed that the task had been made that much more difficult.
Brandon fell to his knees as he crossed himself. “Forgive me Father, for I have bore false witness and endangered the life of one of your children…if it be your will…I swear that I’ll make this right.” He stood up and ran out of the room, grabbing his coat as he dashed for the door.
Before he could walk out, he felt the hands of his sister grabbing him, and turning him around, even as he reached for the door.
Daria stared at him. “Where are you going? Can’t you see that Empire City is coming apart at the seams?!! Martial Law has been imposed…you can’t just head out into the streets!!”
Brandon was frantic, “Daria… I have to get to the penitentiary… I have to get there and find Stacey!”
Daria arched her brow at her brother. “Stacey? As in Stacey Jordan?”
Brandon pulled away from her. “I don’t have time to explain it all right now…but to make a long story short…she’s there because of me…and now someone is going to try to use her as bait!!”
Brandon opened the door, but Daria put her hand against it to slam it back shut. “Brandon…if you know it’s a trap…why would you go running it to it?! Besides, haven’t you heard…that place is a war zone right now! You wouldn’t get within ten miles of it!”
He stared at his sister. “I have to try… this is all my doing…and I have to do what I can to put it right.”
Daria sighed. “If I let you go…it would be like signing your death warrant…all in the name of some foolish cause. I can’t do that…”
“Daria…if you had seen what I have…you’d know that this is providence…divine providence! I have to go and I can’t let anything…or anyone stop me!” He stared at his sister, needing her to understand and get out of his way.
What had he seen? The guardian angel that she had been told about? This was the reason that Daria had not told her benefactor of her brother’s whereabouts. Curiosity had stayed her hand…or at least her tongue. Now, she sensed that her brother was hinting at the very thing that she wished to know about…and if she wished to know more…she’d have to help him, for the moment at least. “Alright…I’ll take you where you want to go.”
Brandon shook his head. “NO!! I cannot ask you to do that!”
“You don’t have to ask me…I’m your sister.” Daria called for her own coat and directed her manservant to ready her car. She looked back at Brandon. “We will go out together…where I can keep an eye on you.”
Brandon shook her head. “Daria…I have already put one person at risk here tonight…I won’t do it to you as well!”
She smiled. “Don’t flatter yourself. I have no intention of taking any risk! I have a very good life…and I have no desire for it to end here tonight. I intend to take every precaution!”
Gateway Park
Empire City
Martial Law…it was a joke to every superpowered criminal that heard it. The powers that be within Empire City had imposed that measure thinking that it would keep its citizens safe…taking them off the streets and out of harms way. In truth…it had only made it all the more easy for those with villainous aims to see right where their prey would be and right where their so-called protectors were. No one knew this better than Reaver and Vixxxen. They had used the chaos all around them as a distraction as they carried their hapless bait to a place that would maximize the impact.
Reaver stood back and admired the handiwork done by her and her partner. “Well done Luv! This ‘as to be one of th’ bestest ideas that you’ve ever come up wit’! Wit’ th’ big dust up going on everywhere else… this should draw out a select group…”
Vixxxen stood beside her and nodded. “Very select indeed. I think our priest will be drawn here like a maggot to rotting meat.”
Reaver added. “And as soon as he shows his face…I get to send ‘im into the bleedin’ here-after…just like I did to ‘is lil’ birdie!”
Vixxxen smiled viciously as she leaned against Reaver. “Yes…and I haven’t had a chance to properly thank you for that…” Vixxxen planted a deep and lingering openmouthed kiss on her. Their tongues intertwining and probing one another.
“HALT!! You two!! What are you doing here?!!”
Vixxxen and Reaver held up their hands to block the guard’s bright light as it shown in their faces. Reaver spoke up. “What does it look like you stupid Drongo?! I’m busy feelin’ up me soddin’ girlfriend!!”
The guard stood there, in stunned silence. He was flabbergasted and his duty was temporarily forgotten. “Errr…I-I…am going to have to…ask you for s-some identification…now…” The guard paused as he looked up at the massive 100 foot tall statue and his mouth dropped open as he reached for his radio. “OH SUPERIUS!!”
Before he could make his call, his voice and his life were both cut short as his throat was pierced by three sharp barbs, thrown by Reaver with deadly accuracy. The man gagged as he fell to his knees, dropping his radio and his weapon, blood pouring from his mouth. Reaver bit her lower lip as she ran her hands over herself, obviously getting some sort of perverse satisfaction from the man’s suffering.
Vixxxen snapped her finger, causing a flame to erupt there, which she promptly blew in the man’s direction, instantly engulfing him, and ending his suffering in short order.
Reaver turned to Vixxxen, with a pouty look on her face under her mask. “Spoiled sport!!”
Vixxxen smiled as she turned back to the statue and smiled. “No…I just don’t want the authorities sweeping this under the rug. We need to make sure that the priest gets this message…and pays us a visit. First we call the news hounds…then we wait.”
A long and vicious smile traced its way across Reaver’s face. “You see Mate…that’s why I love you so much…you’re so bloody smart!”
Vixxxen stepped over the burning body of the guard. “And let’s not forget how hot I am…”
Reaver chuckled, “Never Luv… never…”
Centerville Exit
Empire City
The armed guard stuck his head into the back window of the limo and looked around, his eyes falling on Daria. “I’m sorry…but you can’t go any further…you’re in violation of martial law! Citizens are suppose to be off the streets! I’m sorry…but I’m going to have to place you under arrest!”
Daria leaned forward and stared at the man. “Soldier…do you think that Colonel Greenwood has the time to stop what he’s doing to come down here and personally chew your ass out for detaining me?!”
The young solider looked at her curiously, the mention of his superior obviously working on him. “Ms…”
Daria pointed to the rifle he was carrying in his hands. “My name is printed on the side of that firearm…it’s Knight…as in Knight Enterprises.”
His demeanor changed immediately, but driving through the roadblock was still out of the question. “Ms. Knight! I’m sorry…but I still cannot allow you to pass. There is an intensive military operation going on right now…and for your own safety…I can’t allow you to pass! I could lo…” The solider paused as he heard his radio blaring with activity…
"CHOPPER DOWN!! I SAY AGAIN, CHOPPER DOWN!! ALL UNITS BE ADVISED WE HAVE A CHOPPER GOING DOWN…HIT BY FRIENDLY FIRE!!!"
The man stepped back as he looked into the air, making sure that it wasn’t coming down on his position. Satisfied that he was safe, he turned back to the limo and its occupants. “I’m sorry…but I absolutely cannot let you pass!! It’s far too dangerous…” He stepped back as he directed some of his men to assist in getting the vehicle turned around.
Daria sat back and rolled the window up. “Looks like we will have to find another way in Brandon…Brandon?” She turned and found her brother staring at the video screen. His eyes looked hauntingly wide in the glow. “What is it?”
Daria looked at the screen and saw a special news report. Video from the broadcast showed an image of the statue of Superius with a huge banner hanging from it reading:
WE OFFER THIS SACRFICE IN THE NAME OF SUPERIUS, LET HER BLOOD OFFERING DELEIVER US ALL FROM EVIL…LUV!
Hanging just below the banner, a lone figure dangling by a length of chain. Daria turned up the volume on the news broadcast from special correspondent Pam Dawson…
…we received the call from an anonymous source minutes ago! Apparently the person tied to the statue is wired with explosives… either affixed to a timer or possibly a remote detonator, though no one has claimed responsibility for the act. The woman, has yet to be identified and…
Brandon reached over and turned down the volume. “We have to get to Gateway Park Daria…WE HAVE TO GO THERE NOW!!” He turned back to the screen. “That’s Stacey…and the person who has her will kill her if I don’t go there!”
Daria narrowed her eyes. “How can you possibly know that?! It could be some random crazy trying to add to the violence and chaos!”
Brandon stared at the banner, the last word in particular. ‘LUV’ There was only one person that he had heard using that term in that way…the woman that had attacked him in the church…the one that had butchered Jacob…and the one that had gone after Stacey. He reached for the door handle. “If you don’t take me there now…I’ll find my own way!”
Daria grabbed his shoulder and held him. “ALRIGHT!! We’ll go there…but if what you are saying is true…this is an obvious trap. We can’t just go marching in there…we won’t be doing ourselves any favors!”
Brandon turned to his sister. “I don’t have a choice…I have to go…I have to put my faith in God’s hands and pray that He will guide me…”
Daria groaned as she told the driver where to go. Even though she wasn’t so sure about the faith her brother was putting in his invisible God. This little excursion promised to have an…explosive conclusion…if nothing else.
The Veil
Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth…
Anka turned to face The Archangel Raphael as he stood before her, his entire being bathed in ethereal light. He stood over her, his expression one of remorse, for his task gave him no joy. His voice was soft and soothing as he spoke to her in Aramaic. “Anka…you must go from this place…you cannot linger in the veil.”
She smacked his hand away, her eyebrows knitted closely together betraying the rage that she felt. “GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF ME!!” She roared back, forgoing the formality of speaking in the ancient language. “You have the nerve to speak to me like this?!” She pointed back towards the light, which shone dimly in the distance. “WHY RAPHAEL?!! Do you know why He hates me?”
Raphael responded, “The Lord God does not hate…you know this to be so Anka. You have a part to play in His plan.”
She laughed, but it was tinged with a sorrow that ran far too deeply to hide. It soon turned to sobs and she sat down and covered her face. “How long Raphael? HOW LONG!!” She looked up at him with tears streaming down her cheeks from her reddened eyes. “This isn’t a plan…THIS IS PUNISHMENT!! HE MAKES ME SUFFER FOR A PAST SIN THAT ANYONE ELSE WOULD HAVE COMMITTED IN MY PLACE!!”
Raphael knelt beside her. “No Anka…He has not cursed you…He has blessed you. Above all other mortals, He favors you and entrusts that you will do what must be done in His Holy name.”
She looked back towards the light as she pulled her knees up into her chest, rocking back and forth. “My mother…my father…”
Raphael nodded towards the light, “They wait for you on the other side…when your task is done…”
She shook her head. “NO!! They called to me…they wanted me to go with them NOW!! They told me to run into the light!!” She glared at him. “There is no plan Raphael…they know it…and you know it! I denounced Christ to spare my life…to save my family…and now He keeps me from them…He keeps me from peace and even death!!”
Raphael sighed. “You speak of transgressions centuries past Anka. God forgives…and so does The Christ. You are forgiven…and granted great power. Do not allow your imagination to get the better of you in this place. The veil is meant to ease transition, from one life into the next.”
This time she laughed and it was filled with malice. “Ease transition? What transition is there for me? I am forced back to that stinking cesspool over and over...AND OVER!! FUCK YOU!! If He had compassion…He’d send me down…ALL THE WAY DOWN TO HELL AND LET THIS NIGHTMARE END!!” She moaned and the sound she made was filled with such anguish that even Raphael was forced to turn away. “Let me dieeeeeee…PLEASE!!!” She grabbed him. “Send me to Hell…send me!! Just end it…you can do that for me. Don’t…just send me back again!”
Still unable to look at her, he closed his eyes. “I cannot Anka. I serve His will…and that is not His decree. You must live…until such time as your mission is complete.”
She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Mission? What mission Raphael? Tell me!! I’ll do it…whatever it is!!”
Finally he turned to her, able to look her in the eye. “It doesn’t work that way. You know that. You must go back…especially now…”
She stared at him strangely. Never before had he been so adamant, not that he had to be. She was going back, and she could not prevent it. She had fought with him before…attempted to evade him…but it did not change anything. In this place, he was lord and master…only the kindness of his heart prevented him with dealing more harshly with her. Only now, she felt that he was doing what he could to tell her that she was closer to winning her release than she had ever been. “The Priest? Is it Brandon?!! I HAVE TO PROTECT HIM? HELP HIM!! YES?!!”
Raphael stood up, and Anka scrambled up as well, wiping her face and suddenly filled with anticipation. He turned to her with a melancholy look upon his face. “Anka…I did not say that protecting the priest would be your way into paradise. Only that you must go back because of the…”
“You don’t need to say it…I understand! You can’t tell me what it is.” She cut him off, suddenly filled with excitement and the feeling that she was getting closer to winning her freedom. “Just send me back…do it now while I’m ready to go…HURRY!!”
Raphael wanted desperately to tell her that she wasn’t entirely correct, but that wasn’t the way that things worked. Besides…it wasn’t often that she didn’t put up a fight when her soul was cast back into her body. “Very well…” He put his hands on her and instantly she was bathed in the same light that surrounded him. “…go back Anka…it is not yet your time…” The light slowly consumed her, seeming to dissolve her away to nothing. Raphael’s hands dropped back down to his sides and he stood there alone in silence, with a pained expression on his face. “Forgive me, as I send the lamb once more unto the slaughter…”
He glanced up as if he had been spoken to, then he shook his head. “No…I do not ask your forgiveness…” As he lowered his head, a single tear rolled down his cheek. “…I ask it of your child, Anka…for she is doomed to fail you Father…she is doomed to fail us all…it has been so ordained…”
"Even as I feel myself slip away…out of the void…or Veil…whatever it’s called. I feel myself falling down…through space…through time…through the air. The further I get from Heaven…the greater the anger and malcontent within me grows. I have been denied peace for longer than I care to count by a God that I find to be bitter…and petty…"
"I feel it in my very bones, even though Raphael denies it, God despises me and this is His way of punishing me. I have suffered for a long time…longer than I believe I should have, but then again…how long has Judas suffered? Is my crime on par with his? I think not…"
"I don’t know…and I don’t care, because my suffering is almost at an end! Brandon Knight is the key to my salvation. I know it…even if Raphael refuses to admit it! I have been sent to aid him…to protect him, so that he can bring God’s word to the people of Empire City! And whether I agree with it or not…I will do whatever it takes so long as it gets me what I desire most in all the world…"
"I look down and I see my ruined body there and I loath to return to it…but return I must. Though, even as I do…I feel the rip and tear of my flesh once more…but not like it was the first time…"
"It’s worse…"
"I want to scream…as I settle back in…I finally do…"
Penitentiary for the Criminally Super Powered
Centerville, Empire City
The entire scene was in chaos as soldiers and various armored vehicles were firing on the prison. Explosions rumbled and the screams of men were drowned out all around…all except one, and it pierced the ears of all for miles around…
“ARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
Anka sat up and grabbed her chest, and though it was made whole again…she could still feel the ravenous claws that had ripped it to shreds before. She staggered to her feet, bare-chested and blood spattered.
In the distance, the last solider in a small squad making their way into a drainage pipe paused as he looked at her and blinked his eyes, wondering if what he was seeing was real. The man stood there watching as the…angel…knelt down over the body of a fallen prison guard…it’s wings stretched out gloriously.
From inside the drainage pipe, one of the other men called out to him. “McCarthy!! Get your ass down here! We’ve gotta move!!”
He lingered for a moment longer, then looked up and crossed himself before heading into the drain.
Anka looked down at the dead body of the prison guard that been with Stacey, but her body was not with his. She had been taken…and if that was the case…then that at least meant that there was a chance that she was still alive. She reached down and stripped off the guard’s armored vest…even though it had done him little good. She put it on to cover herself before she lifted up into the air.
Even as she did, she watched as the building she had come from was under heavy siege from all manner of military hardware. Their shells and bombs harmlessly bounced off whatever protective shield was now erected around it. Whoever…or whatever it was…this…Gaia person…she had released a scourge upon Empire City, yet that was not her concern at the moment.
A bright flash appeared over the prison, causing her to narrow her eyes. She watched as a tank fired a shell that veered off and up into the air. It collided with one of the combat choppers. She watched as the smoking wreckage fell from the sky and crashed several hundred meters away.
All around the fighting continued…yet no one moved to the crash site. After a moment of indecision, she glanced up and sighed, then spread her wings and headed off towards the downed aircraft.
She came down in the middle of a deserted factory district, right next to the flaming wreck. She could hear the screams of at least one person inside…a survivor. She braced herself as she raised a single wing, using it like a shield against the heat as she pushed her way towards the man, who was being burned alive without a doubt. She peered in and saw the pilot, he was a bloody mess and flames were licking at him…burning his flesh.
“HOLD ON!! I’M COMING!!!” She shouted to him as she tried to reach him. The heat was intense and it was then that she noticed that the ground was riddled with ammunition and all manner of unexploded ordinance. She worked harder to get to the man, even as she could smell his flesh being burned from his body.
As she worked to get to the screaming man, she heard the radio transmissions from the pilot’s radio and it caused her to pause…
“GET SOMEONE DOWN HERE NOW!! WE’VE GOT A POLICE DETECTIVE TIED TO THE STATUE OF SUPERIUS AND WIRED WITH EXPLOSIVES!!!”
There was a quick burst of static, followed by a very curt reply…
“ECP…clear this frequency! This is a restricted channel, copy?!!”
“DAMN IT!! WE NEED HELP DOWN HERE!!!”
“I repeat, ECP…clear this frequency! This is a restricted channel! You will have to deal with the situation on your own, how do you copy?!!”
Anka stood there for a moment and looked at the struggling pilot as he tore at his helmet and flailed around, howling in pain…flames filling the cockpit. The man stared at her, frozen in a moment of silence, only the crackle of flame to remind them of their surroundings. She turned away, almost nonchalantly, as she spread her magnificent wings and rose into the air. She made a beeline straight for Gateway Park.
She had a life to save tonight…
Behind her in the distance she heard a chorus of explosions rock the factory district. She narrowed her eyes and flew faster. Nothing would keep her from her mission…NOTHING!
EPISODE CREDITS
CAST (In order of appearance)
Father Brandon Knight … Trace VanReardon
Daria Knight … Missy
Reaver … Melissa Reeves
Vixxxen … Katie Anderson
Gateway Park Guard … Conrad Shultz
Solider at Roadblock … Derek Moltz
Pam Dawson ... Kara Zooey Ayers
Detective Stacey Jordan … Nina Stokes
Anka … Kenzi Grey
Raphael … Phoenix Chambers
McCarthy … Randy Fallwell
Doomed Pilot … DubbleFC
Directed by … DubbleFC
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … CTN Television Studios
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Pedos Candy
Trinity Hills, Empire City
Chapter X: Condemnation…
Brandon nervously paced back and forth in front of the television as he watched Empire City tear itself apart. All he could do was pray that Anka had gotten to Stacey before the woman who helped burn down his church got to her first. He sat down and watched as the news reports aired several special reports…causing his heart to sink, especially as it related to Rave’s attack on the prison…right where Stacey had gone!
Brandon stood, almost as if he had been yanked to his feet by some unseen force. His heart beat so hard within his chest that he thought it might suddenly stop. “My God in Heaven… what can I do?!!” Stacey had gone to the Penitentiary as part of her investigation into the burning of Madison Chapel…but he had known all along that the culprit was not confined there. It had all seemed harmless…until the woman who had killed Jacob Phills…the one that meant to kill him had gotten wind that getting to Stacey Jordan was the key to getting to him. Anka had gone to watch over her…but he had no way of knowing if she would get there in time. After watching the special report…it seemed that the task had been made that much more difficult.
Brandon fell to his knees as he crossed himself. “Forgive me Father, for I have bore false witness and endangered the life of one of your children…if it be your will…I swear that I’ll make this right.” He stood up and ran out of the room, grabbing his coat as he dashed for the door.
Before he could walk out, he felt the hands of his sister grabbing him, and turning him around, even as he reached for the door.
Daria stared at him. “Where are you going? Can’t you see that Empire City is coming apart at the seams?!! Martial Law has been imposed…you can’t just head out into the streets!!”
Brandon was frantic, “Daria… I have to get to the penitentiary… I have to get there and find Stacey!”
Daria arched her brow at her brother. “Stacey? As in Stacey Jordan?”
Brandon pulled away from her. “I don’t have time to explain it all right now…but to make a long story short…she’s there because of me…and now someone is going to try to use her as bait!!”
Brandon opened the door, but Daria put her hand against it to slam it back shut. “Brandon…if you know it’s a trap…why would you go running it to it?! Besides, haven’t you heard…that place is a war zone right now! You wouldn’t get within ten miles of it!”
He stared at his sister. “I have to try… this is all my doing…and I have to do what I can to put it right.”
Daria sighed. “If I let you go…it would be like signing your death warrant…all in the name of some foolish cause. I can’t do that…”
“Daria…if you had seen what I have…you’d know that this is providence…divine providence! I have to go and I can’t let anything…or anyone stop me!” He stared at his sister, needing her to understand and get out of his way.
What had he seen? The guardian angel that she had been told about? This was the reason that Daria had not told her benefactor of her brother’s whereabouts. Curiosity had stayed her hand…or at least her tongue. Now, she sensed that her brother was hinting at the very thing that she wished to know about…and if she wished to know more…she’d have to help him, for the moment at least. “Alright…I’ll take you where you want to go.”
Brandon shook his head. “NO!! I cannot ask you to do that!”
“You don’t have to ask me…I’m your sister.” Daria called for her own coat and directed her manservant to ready her car. She looked back at Brandon. “We will go out together…where I can keep an eye on you.”
Brandon shook her head. “Daria…I have already put one person at risk here tonight…I won’t do it to you as well!”
She smiled. “Don’t flatter yourself. I have no intention of taking any risk! I have a very good life…and I have no desire for it to end here tonight. I intend to take every precaution!”
Gateway Park
Empire City
Martial Law…it was a joke to every superpowered criminal that heard it. The powers that be within Empire City had imposed that measure thinking that it would keep its citizens safe…taking them off the streets and out of harms way. In truth…it had only made it all the more easy for those with villainous aims to see right where their prey would be and right where their so-called protectors were. No one knew this better than Reaver and Vixxxen. They had used the chaos all around them as a distraction as they carried their hapless bait to a place that would maximize the impact.
Reaver stood back and admired the handiwork done by her and her partner. “Well done Luv! This ‘as to be one of th’ bestest ideas that you’ve ever come up wit’! Wit’ th’ big dust up going on everywhere else… this should draw out a select group…”
Vixxxen stood beside her and nodded. “Very select indeed. I think our priest will be drawn here like a maggot to rotting meat.”
Reaver added. “And as soon as he shows his face…I get to send ‘im into the bleedin’ here-after…just like I did to ‘is lil’ birdie!”
Vixxxen smiled viciously as she leaned against Reaver. “Yes…and I haven’t had a chance to properly thank you for that…” Vixxxen planted a deep and lingering openmouthed kiss on her. Their tongues intertwining and probing one another.
“HALT!! You two!! What are you doing here?!!”
Vixxxen and Reaver held up their hands to block the guard’s bright light as it shown in their faces. Reaver spoke up. “What does it look like you stupid Drongo?! I’m busy feelin’ up me soddin’ girlfriend!!”
The guard stood there, in stunned silence. He was flabbergasted and his duty was temporarily forgotten. “Errr…I-I…am going to have to…ask you for s-some identification…now…” The guard paused as he looked up at the massive 100 foot tall statue and his mouth dropped open as he reached for his radio. “OH SUPERIUS!!”
Before he could make his call, his voice and his life were both cut short as his throat was pierced by three sharp barbs, thrown by Reaver with deadly accuracy. The man gagged as he fell to his knees, dropping his radio and his weapon, blood pouring from his mouth. Reaver bit her lower lip as she ran her hands over herself, obviously getting some sort of perverse satisfaction from the man’s suffering.
Vixxxen snapped her finger, causing a flame to erupt there, which she promptly blew in the man’s direction, instantly engulfing him, and ending his suffering in short order.
Reaver turned to Vixxxen, with a pouty look on her face under her mask. “Spoiled sport!!”
Vixxxen smiled as she turned back to the statue and smiled. “No…I just don’t want the authorities sweeping this under the rug. We need to make sure that the priest gets this message…and pays us a visit. First we call the news hounds…then we wait.”
A long and vicious smile traced its way across Reaver’s face. “You see Mate…that’s why I love you so much…you’re so bloody smart!”
Vixxxen stepped over the burning body of the guard. “And let’s not forget how hot I am…”
Reaver chuckled, “Never Luv… never…”
Centerville Exit
Empire City
The armed guard stuck his head into the back window of the limo and looked around, his eyes falling on Daria. “I’m sorry…but you can’t go any further…you’re in violation of martial law! Citizens are suppose to be off the streets! I’m sorry…but I’m going to have to place you under arrest!”
Daria leaned forward and stared at the man. “Soldier…do you think that Colonel Greenwood has the time to stop what he’s doing to come down here and personally chew your ass out for detaining me?!”
The young solider looked at her curiously, the mention of his superior obviously working on him. “Ms…”
Daria pointed to the rifle he was carrying in his hands. “My name is printed on the side of that firearm…it’s Knight…as in Knight Enterprises.”
His demeanor changed immediately, but driving through the roadblock was still out of the question. “Ms. Knight! I’m sorry…but I still cannot allow you to pass. There is an intensive military operation going on right now…and for your own safety…I can’t allow you to pass! I could lo…” The solider paused as he heard his radio blaring with activity…
"CHOPPER DOWN!! I SAY AGAIN, CHOPPER DOWN!! ALL UNITS BE ADVISED WE HAVE A CHOPPER GOING DOWN…HIT BY FRIENDLY FIRE!!!"
The man stepped back as he looked into the air, making sure that it wasn’t coming down on his position. Satisfied that he was safe, he turned back to the limo and its occupants. “I’m sorry…but I absolutely cannot let you pass!! It’s far too dangerous…” He stepped back as he directed some of his men to assist in getting the vehicle turned around.
Daria sat back and rolled the window up. “Looks like we will have to find another way in Brandon…Brandon?” She turned and found her brother staring at the video screen. His eyes looked hauntingly wide in the glow. “What is it?”
Daria looked at the screen and saw a special news report. Video from the broadcast showed an image of the statue of Superius with a huge banner hanging from it reading:
WE OFFER THIS SACRFICE IN THE NAME OF SUPERIUS, LET HER BLOOD OFFERING DELEIVER US ALL FROM EVIL…LUV!
Hanging just below the banner, a lone figure dangling by a length of chain. Daria turned up the volume on the news broadcast from special correspondent Pam Dawson…
…we received the call from an anonymous source minutes ago! Apparently the person tied to the statue is wired with explosives… either affixed to a timer or possibly a remote detonator, though no one has claimed responsibility for the act. The woman, has yet to be identified and…
Brandon reached over and turned down the volume. “We have to get to Gateway Park Daria…WE HAVE TO GO THERE NOW!!” He turned back to the screen. “That’s Stacey…and the person who has her will kill her if I don’t go there!”
Daria narrowed her eyes. “How can you possibly know that?! It could be some random crazy trying to add to the violence and chaos!”
Brandon stared at the banner, the last word in particular. ‘LUV’ There was only one person that he had heard using that term in that way…the woman that had attacked him in the church…the one that had butchered Jacob…and the one that had gone after Stacey. He reached for the door handle. “If you don’t take me there now…I’ll find my own way!”
Daria grabbed his shoulder and held him. “ALRIGHT!! We’ll go there…but if what you are saying is true…this is an obvious trap. We can’t just go marching in there…we won’t be doing ourselves any favors!”
Brandon turned to his sister. “I don’t have a choice…I have to go…I have to put my faith in God’s hands and pray that He will guide me…”
Daria groaned as she told the driver where to go. Even though she wasn’t so sure about the faith her brother was putting in his invisible God. This little excursion promised to have an…explosive conclusion…if nothing else.
The Veil
Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth…
Anka turned to face The Archangel Raphael as he stood before her, his entire being bathed in ethereal light. He stood over her, his expression one of remorse, for his task gave him no joy. His voice was soft and soothing as he spoke to her in Aramaic. “Anka…you must go from this place…you cannot linger in the veil.”
She smacked his hand away, her eyebrows knitted closely together betraying the rage that she felt. “GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF ME!!” She roared back, forgoing the formality of speaking in the ancient language. “You have the nerve to speak to me like this?!” She pointed back towards the light, which shone dimly in the distance. “WHY RAPHAEL?!! Do you know why He hates me?”
Raphael responded, “The Lord God does not hate…you know this to be so Anka. You have a part to play in His plan.”
She laughed, but it was tinged with a sorrow that ran far too deeply to hide. It soon turned to sobs and she sat down and covered her face. “How long Raphael? HOW LONG!!” She looked up at him with tears streaming down her cheeks from her reddened eyes. “This isn’t a plan…THIS IS PUNISHMENT!! HE MAKES ME SUFFER FOR A PAST SIN THAT ANYONE ELSE WOULD HAVE COMMITTED IN MY PLACE!!”
Raphael knelt beside her. “No Anka…He has not cursed you…He has blessed you. Above all other mortals, He favors you and entrusts that you will do what must be done in His Holy name.”
She looked back towards the light as she pulled her knees up into her chest, rocking back and forth. “My mother…my father…”
Raphael nodded towards the light, “They wait for you on the other side…when your task is done…”
She shook her head. “NO!! They called to me…they wanted me to go with them NOW!! They told me to run into the light!!” She glared at him. “There is no plan Raphael…they know it…and you know it! I denounced Christ to spare my life…to save my family…and now He keeps me from them…He keeps me from peace and even death!!”
Raphael sighed. “You speak of transgressions centuries past Anka. God forgives…and so does The Christ. You are forgiven…and granted great power. Do not allow your imagination to get the better of you in this place. The veil is meant to ease transition, from one life into the next.”
This time she laughed and it was filled with malice. “Ease transition? What transition is there for me? I am forced back to that stinking cesspool over and over...AND OVER!! FUCK YOU!! If He had compassion…He’d send me down…ALL THE WAY DOWN TO HELL AND LET THIS NIGHTMARE END!!” She moaned and the sound she made was filled with such anguish that even Raphael was forced to turn away. “Let me dieeeeeee…PLEASE!!!” She grabbed him. “Send me to Hell…send me!! Just end it…you can do that for me. Don’t…just send me back again!”
Still unable to look at her, he closed his eyes. “I cannot Anka. I serve His will…and that is not His decree. You must live…until such time as your mission is complete.”
She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Mission? What mission Raphael? Tell me!! I’ll do it…whatever it is!!”
Finally he turned to her, able to look her in the eye. “It doesn’t work that way. You know that. You must go back…especially now…”
She stared at him strangely. Never before had he been so adamant, not that he had to be. She was going back, and she could not prevent it. She had fought with him before…attempted to evade him…but it did not change anything. In this place, he was lord and master…only the kindness of his heart prevented him with dealing more harshly with her. Only now, she felt that he was doing what he could to tell her that she was closer to winning her release than she had ever been. “The Priest? Is it Brandon?!! I HAVE TO PROTECT HIM? HELP HIM!! YES?!!”
Raphael stood up, and Anka scrambled up as well, wiping her face and suddenly filled with anticipation. He turned to her with a melancholy look upon his face. “Anka…I did not say that protecting the priest would be your way into paradise. Only that you must go back because of the…”
“You don’t need to say it…I understand! You can’t tell me what it is.” She cut him off, suddenly filled with excitement and the feeling that she was getting closer to winning her freedom. “Just send me back…do it now while I’m ready to go…HURRY!!”
Raphael wanted desperately to tell her that she wasn’t entirely correct, but that wasn’t the way that things worked. Besides…it wasn’t often that she didn’t put up a fight when her soul was cast back into her body. “Very well…” He put his hands on her and instantly she was bathed in the same light that surrounded him. “…go back Anka…it is not yet your time…” The light slowly consumed her, seeming to dissolve her away to nothing. Raphael’s hands dropped back down to his sides and he stood there alone in silence, with a pained expression on his face. “Forgive me, as I send the lamb once more unto the slaughter…”
He glanced up as if he had been spoken to, then he shook his head. “No…I do not ask your forgiveness…” As he lowered his head, a single tear rolled down his cheek. “…I ask it of your child, Anka…for she is doomed to fail you Father…she is doomed to fail us all…it has been so ordained…”
"Even as I feel myself slip away…out of the void…or Veil…whatever it’s called. I feel myself falling down…through space…through time…through the air. The further I get from Heaven…the greater the anger and malcontent within me grows. I have been denied peace for longer than I care to count by a God that I find to be bitter…and petty…"
"I feel it in my very bones, even though Raphael denies it, God despises me and this is His way of punishing me. I have suffered for a long time…longer than I believe I should have, but then again…how long has Judas suffered? Is my crime on par with his? I think not…"
"I don’t know…and I don’t care, because my suffering is almost at an end! Brandon Knight is the key to my salvation. I know it…even if Raphael refuses to admit it! I have been sent to aid him…to protect him, so that he can bring God’s word to the people of Empire City! And whether I agree with it or not…I will do whatever it takes so long as it gets me what I desire most in all the world…"
"I look down and I see my ruined body there and I loath to return to it…but return I must. Though, even as I do…I feel the rip and tear of my flesh once more…but not like it was the first time…"
"It’s worse…"
"I want to scream…as I settle back in…I finally do…"
Penitentiary for the Criminally Super Powered
Centerville, Empire City
The entire scene was in chaos as soldiers and various armored vehicles were firing on the prison. Explosions rumbled and the screams of men were drowned out all around…all except one, and it pierced the ears of all for miles around…
“ARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
Anka sat up and grabbed her chest, and though it was made whole again…she could still feel the ravenous claws that had ripped it to shreds before. She staggered to her feet, bare-chested and blood spattered.
In the distance, the last solider in a small squad making their way into a drainage pipe paused as he looked at her and blinked his eyes, wondering if what he was seeing was real. The man stood there watching as the…angel…knelt down over the body of a fallen prison guard…it’s wings stretched out gloriously.
From inside the drainage pipe, one of the other men called out to him. “McCarthy!! Get your ass down here! We’ve gotta move!!”
He lingered for a moment longer, then looked up and crossed himself before heading into the drain.
Anka looked down at the dead body of the prison guard that been with Stacey, but her body was not with his. She had been taken…and if that was the case…then that at least meant that there was a chance that she was still alive. She reached down and stripped off the guard’s armored vest…even though it had done him little good. She put it on to cover herself before she lifted up into the air.
Even as she did, she watched as the building she had come from was under heavy siege from all manner of military hardware. Their shells and bombs harmlessly bounced off whatever protective shield was now erected around it. Whoever…or whatever it was…this…Gaia person…she had released a scourge upon Empire City, yet that was not her concern at the moment.
A bright flash appeared over the prison, causing her to narrow her eyes. She watched as a tank fired a shell that veered off and up into the air. It collided with one of the combat choppers. She watched as the smoking wreckage fell from the sky and crashed several hundred meters away.
All around the fighting continued…yet no one moved to the crash site. After a moment of indecision, she glanced up and sighed, then spread her wings and headed off towards the downed aircraft.
She came down in the middle of a deserted factory district, right next to the flaming wreck. She could hear the screams of at least one person inside…a survivor. She braced herself as she raised a single wing, using it like a shield against the heat as she pushed her way towards the man, who was being burned alive without a doubt. She peered in and saw the pilot, he was a bloody mess and flames were licking at him…burning his flesh.
“HOLD ON!! I’M COMING!!!” She shouted to him as she tried to reach him. The heat was intense and it was then that she noticed that the ground was riddled with ammunition and all manner of unexploded ordinance. She worked harder to get to the man, even as she could smell his flesh being burned from his body.
As she worked to get to the screaming man, she heard the radio transmissions from the pilot’s radio and it caused her to pause…
“GET SOMEONE DOWN HERE NOW!! WE’VE GOT A POLICE DETECTIVE TIED TO THE STATUE OF SUPERIUS AND WIRED WITH EXPLOSIVES!!!”
There was a quick burst of static, followed by a very curt reply…
“ECP…clear this frequency! This is a restricted channel, copy?!!”
“DAMN IT!! WE NEED HELP DOWN HERE!!!”
“I repeat, ECP…clear this frequency! This is a restricted channel! You will have to deal with the situation on your own, how do you copy?!!”
Anka stood there for a moment and looked at the struggling pilot as he tore at his helmet and flailed around, howling in pain…flames filling the cockpit. The man stared at her, frozen in a moment of silence, only the crackle of flame to remind them of their surroundings. She turned away, almost nonchalantly, as she spread her magnificent wings and rose into the air. She made a beeline straight for Gateway Park.
She had a life to save tonight…
Behind her in the distance she heard a chorus of explosions rock the factory district. She narrowed her eyes and flew faster. Nothing would keep her from her mission…NOTHING!
EPISODE CREDITS
CAST (In order of appearance)
Father Brandon Knight … Trace VanReardon
Daria Knight … Missy
Reaver … Melissa Reeves
Vixxxen … Katie Anderson
Gateway Park Guard … Conrad Shultz
Solider at Roadblock … Derek Moltz
Pam Dawson ... Kara Zooey Ayers
Detective Stacey Jordan … Nina Stokes
Anka … Kenzi Grey
Raphael … Phoenix Chambers
McCarthy … Randy Fallwell
Doomed Pilot … DubbleFC
Directed by … DubbleFC
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … CTN Television Studios
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Pedos Candy