APOCALYCIOUS: Satire of the Dead (37 page)

Her expression was still defiant as Mick continued. “I love you Mia, I want whatever makes you happy. Ever since we were kids I loved you and none of this stuff matters to me without you.” He hadn’t shed a tear since that day back in 2012 when he had eaten his last bowl of Cap’n Crunch, but he felt the emotion rising today and it showed in his face. Mia rushed into his arms, not wanting to see that. She held him tighter than she had ever done before and whispered into his ear. “I love you too, Mick. Today, we will start our own kingdom, M’Lord,” she said lightening the tone.

              “You’re retarded,” he whispered back into her ear as she giggled and cried at the same time.

             
                                              
Chapter 41 - Regeliel’s Spiel

             
Regeliel stood and retrieved Mick and Mia from the kitchen. He walked in on their embrace and started to back away when Mia saw him. She pulled away from Mick and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled at him. “It’s OK Sir Regeliel. What did you need?”

             
“M’Lady, Nan and Sir Death Wagon have something important to discuss with us. The tone was grave, I fear.” Mia nodded and took Mick’s hand in hers as she led him out to the dining hall. They took their seats beside each other. Regeliel sat back in his chair and Nan sat at the chair closest to Death Wagon. They all looked at the long haired man wearing a Cannibal Corpse concert tee shirt and black denim jeans. He wore a Colt 1911 strapped to his hip and a long black guitar case sat by his right leg. Death Wagon stared with unabashed distrust for the knight.

Death Wagon looked to where the knight sat. “What’s your story, mister? I don’t think you’ve told them everything, have you?” he asked accusingly and gestured to
Nan and her family with a sweep of his tattooed arm.

The knight shook his head slowly. “Alas, you speak the truth Harbinger.”

              Death Wagon retrieved a corded medallion from his front pocket and held it out for the knight to see. “Does this look familiar?”

             
The knight’s face went slack and he reached out for the circular silver amulet. His fingers clutched it. “…Yes…I remember it. Where did you find this?”

             
“Parkersburg. It was alongside of a pile of decapitated kids in the street where you left them to rot, you sick bastard.”

             
Regeliel’s eyes flashed angrily and he raised himself to his full seven feet and pointed at Death Wagon “Those were my squires…my sons! You have no right to question my integrity, boy!” boomed the knight’s voice that echoed through the labyrinth.

             
Bodie stood between the two and though he was a big man, he still had to look up to see the knight’s eyes. Daniel stood behind Bodie, ready to back his friend’s play. Bodie raised a hand, fingertips a fraction of an inch from Regeliel’s chest. “Relax, now. We’re all friends here.”

             
Death Wagon stared back at the knight, his 1911 in his grip and angled up at Regeliel’s head. “I won’t hesitate to put two in your face, big man.”

             
Mick stepped in front of the raised automatic. “Death Wagon,” he said sternly, “this is my house, not yours, and you will follow the rules of this house. So put that away and let’s hear what Regeliel has to say.”

             
Mick turned his head toward the knight, raised an eyebrow and awaited the knight’s response. The knight’s face flushed in embarrassment at leaving the fallen unburied.  His expression became sorrowful as he thought of his three young friends that had fallen in Parkersburg and slumped back into his chair. “I cannot remember everything…some things are still hazy…” he said.

             
“But you can remember
something,
now can’t you?” challenged Death Wagon, although he had lowered the pistol, he still held it at his side ready to use it if he thought it necessary.

             
Sir Regeliel scanned the room and studied his friend’s faces.

             
“What is it Reg?” asked Mick.

             
“I ventured to your land to find help for my people; the lads of Parkersburg were training to come with me…they were such good lads. I have cursed myself a thousand times over for their deaths. Sir Death Wagon is right, it was my fault.” replied the knight somberly.

             
“Who are
your people
, Reg?” Mick asked.

             
“We are called Nephilim,” said Sir Regeliel, he appraised Mick with knowing eyes, “Ah; I see that you know of us, Sir Mick. I am not surprised”

             
Mia clutched Mick’s side and looked at her man. “Mickey, what is Nephilim?”

             
Mick grimaced. “They’re offspring of fallen angels.”

             
“What? Like demons?” she asked. “Is this some of your Bible stuff?” Mia wanted to remind Mick that when they had first met Regeliel he thought the knight was off his rocker, but now that the giant was quoting scripture Mick had conveniently forgotten those fears of insanity.

             
Mick nodded. “How ‘bout it Reg, am I correct?”

             
The knight looked shocked “No M’Lord! The Nephilim are not descendants of the fallen ones. We are the offspring of angels and men, not demons and men. Yah gives us all a choice and I have chosen His path.”

             
Who the hell is
Yah
?” asked Daniel completely confused.

             
“God,” answered Mick absently.

             
Mia watched Mick’s face. He stared at the knight enraptured and she could take no more.

             
“Mickey, why would God,
if there is a God,
would He let all this happen?”

             
Mick blinked at her, surprised. “What?”

             
“You heard me. I get so tired of hearing you talk about God. So tell me, Mickey just where exactly
is
this
God
of yours?”

             
Mick sighed. If there was ever any contention in their marriage it was this; God and religion.

             
Shocked, Regeliel asked, “M’Lady, you do not believe in Yah?”

             
Mia’s sharp gaze softened somewhat. “No, Sir Regeliel, I don’t. I don’t mean any offense to you, but I believe in science not magic.”

             
“You do not believe me?” asked the knight looking crestfallen.

             
“Regeliel…you were driving a van when we met you, not riding a horse.”

             
“I liked that van,” said the knight with a wry smile. “Besides, M’Lady, there were no horses in that hamlet.”

             
“Do all knights drive Chevy vans?” she asked pointedly.

             
“Only I, that I know of,” Regeliel answered, but didn’t seem to be all that offended. “What if I can prove it to you?”

             
“Proof would be nice,” she admitted “How?”

             
“What if I took you to the Plane of the Ark?”

             
Death Wagon ushered Nan behind him. “I think you need to stay away from us. You aren’t taking
anyone
anywhere; so why don’t you get your shit and leave?” 

Nan
pushed his arm aside and stood in front of the knight. “Death Wagon, you put that gun away. Sir Regeliel is a friend.”

             
“It’s alright M’Lady. He is just trying to protect you.”  The knight gestured for everyone to sit at the table. “Because this affects everyone here, let me tell you my story. Please, I beg you.”

             
The six of them resettled in their seats. Daniel looked at Bodie and said “C’mon, man, let’s get outa this nut-house; we really don’t need this shit.”

             
Bodie held up a hand. “Let’s hear the man out; if, for nothing else than I haven’t heard a good story in a while.”

Daniel settled back into his chair. “OK, man but this had better be damn good.”

              Sir Regeliel began. “My world is another dimension that overlaps this one. When I crossed over I changed in form and appearance.”

             
“What did you use to be, then?” asked Daniel irritated.

             
“My true Nephilim form is not what you see before you.”

             
“Which means what?” asked Bodie

             
“We are diverse, but my clan is giants.”

             
“Giants, huh?” asked Daniel, rolling his eyes “Hey Bodie, Reg here is a Giant.”

             
“I do not blame you for your disbelief but if you crossed over into my dimension you would all change as well.”

             
“So we would all be giants, huh?”  Daniel asked and then gave a fake cough into his fist, “Bullshit.”

             
“Dude, shut up and let the man talk for a minute, would ya?” asked Bodie with minor annoyance.

             
Sir Regeliel replied. “It is actually a valid question.”

             
“Fuckin’-A right it is,” Daniel interjected.

             
“The truth is when you cross over you don’t know what you might change to. It would be based something along personality traits, but no one knows for sure until after they cross.”

             
Bodie looked at Daniel. “So Danny would probably be a chick.”

             
“And you'd be a giant penis,” Daniel said and glowered.

             
“No, no nothing like that, you would still be you…essentially,” explained the knight with a puzzled expression on his bearded face.

             
“That big word at the end is the part that bothers me, baby,” Bodie said good-naturedly.

             
“Yeah, me too,” agreed Mick. “It really bothers me because; I think Sir Regeliel is asking us to cross over to his dimension, not just to show us. Am I right Reg?”

             
“I would be in your debt, my friends,” answered the knight.

             
“Why do you want us to cross over with you, Sir Regeliel?” asked Mia, momentarily forgetting her atheistic arguments.

             
“Because his
kind
started this shit and he wants us to finish it!” Death wagon interjected.

             
Mia looked crossly at the long haired musician. “How do you know that?”

             
Death glared at the knight, “Call it a hunch, why don’t you ask
him
?”

             
Mia shot the knight an uncharacteristically suspicious glare and demanded, “Did your kind do this to my world?” Her mind was flooded with pictures of her father chasing her mother through their living room and sinking his teeth into the woman that bore her. She shivered at the memory.

             
Regeliel dropped to a knee with a clatter as metal armor banged against concrete. He slammed a gauntleted fist to his steel covered chest. “Never, M’Lady, this I swear. The Lich…” he paused trying to find the right word for them, “…the
sorcerer
is Nephilim, but he is not my kind. My clan serves The Path.” His eyes swam as he blinked back tears.

She’d never heard of The Path before, but she figured it had something to with Yah or God or whatever else He was called. “A Lich? I’ve never heard of that before.”

Regeliel smiled wanly. “A Lich is a Nephilim that doesn’t die; instead they trade their mortality for knowledge of the blasphemous magic of ‘The Fallen Ones.”

             
“Hey, if this dude is so damn powerful why doesn’t he just kill us instead of going through this whole elaborate scheme of creating a bunch of zombies? Who is he Dr. Evil?” Daniel asked.

             
“He doesn’t
create
anything, my friend, and he wants humans to die at the hands of other humans so he can shame them and show Yah that he can make
His
creations destroy each other,” Regeliel explained.

             
“That is the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard,” Daniel said, and looked over at Bodie who shook his head, amazed at his friend’s lack of tact.

             
Mia’s earlier fury was forgotten and her expression became pained as she saw how her accusation had cut her friend. She pulled away from Mick’s side and moved to join the knight. She knelt beside him and ran a hand over his war ravaged cheek. “I am so sorry, Sir Regeliel, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I know that you are a good man.” She lightly smoothed his scarred forehead with her fingertips.

             
“I don’t mean to break up this Hallmark moment, but what
exactly
is waiting for us in this other dimension?” asked Daniel.

             
Bodie looked at him and said, “Go easy, baby.”

             
“Quit calling me baby, you sound gay.”

             
Regeliel and Mia rose together, again composed.

             
“For me, it is my wife and my clan, but there are many other clans, other races that could be destroyed if we do not help them.”

             
“What other races are we talking about here?” asked Daniel

             
“My dimension is called the Ark. It is called that for a reason.”

             
“Which is…?” asked Mick

             
“The Gatherers, the Anunnaki, brought remnants of Yah’s wonders to the Ark before the Great Flood of Genesis took place. There are great wonders to behold in The Ark.”

             
“So how are
we
supposed to stop a dead sorcerer?” asked Mick.

             
“With Yah all things are possible,” Regeliel said.

             
“How ‘bout instead of all that faith bullshit we just fire a nuke into the gate?” Daniel asked.

             
“Nuke?” the knight asked confused and looked to Mick.

             
Mick shook his head. “It’s nothing, Reg. We aren’t doing anything like that.”

             
“Why not?” Daniel said and shoved another piece of bread in his mouth; crumbs and gravy streaked down a long goatee that was twisted together at the end and was held in place by a small rubber band.