Infinite Testament (31 page)

The next night, X stands in the center of the dome-room,
deep beneath the Russell Corporation tower. Wearing his blue robe, he faces
ten of the other disciples, who stand scattered around him. Bruce and
Mikey are missing. But he knows where they are. Bruce is bringing
him the man who killed Sara Ixley. Who that is, exactly, he doesn’t know,
but he can’t wait to execute him and deliver justice.

X faces his blue-robed disciples and says, “The return of
Jesus Christ is near. With yesterday’s global blackout, it is apparent:
The Second Coming is upon us! It is what we, the Xlympians of Christ,
have prepared for. Jesus will continue his mission through us and we will
have a special place in Christ’s Parousia. It is what the angel has
promised. Now, my brothers, let us pray, as we have always done, for the
return of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Chad Kane, the principal at Bruce’s school and the man
Bruce often butts heads with, smiles and nods at X’s assertions. Chad
firmly believes, as all the members do, in the Xlympians of Christ. As he
listens to X preach about the coming of Christ, he is filled with enthusiasm.
The disciples form a circle around X and stand in position: hands outstretched
above their heads with their feet crossed. Standing in the Christ-like
pose, Matt, Lisa’s ex-boyfriend, chants in prayer with the rest of the
disciples.

X peers around, waiting for Bruce to arrive.

Earlier in the day, Bruce sits at the kitchen table
of his home,
with the front door in clear view. The sun came up
in the morning, despite some concern it had vanished for good. With the
light shining into his house, Bruce calmly waits for Kristen to come
home. He hears the sounds of birds chirping and kids playing
outside. With the world having a second chance, there is a feeling of
hope in the air unlike anything Bruce has ever felt before. To know he
had once died due to his failed attempt at disbanding the Xlympians puts more
pressure on him to get it right the second time. And this time, he has a
better plan. One that doesn’t include Mikey.

Kristen struggles to walk through the front door. Her
arms are filled with bulging shopping bags. Panting, she glances at
Bruce, “Hey, honey.”

“Shopping?” he asks.

“Picked up a few things at the grocery store. What
are you doing?”

“Waiting for you.”

Kristen kicks off her shoes and walks toward the
kitchen. Bruce stops her. “Could you come here a sec?”

“Why, what’s up?”

“I’ve just been thinking.”

Kristen sees Bruce’s face deep in thought. Something
is wrong. Kristen gently drops the grocery bags to the floor and pulls
out a chair across from Bruce. “What’s on your mind?” she asks as she
sits down.

Bruce suspiciously looks at Kristen. Ever since last
night, he’s wondered: could she really be the one who revealed his plan to
X? It’s unlikely, but he has to figure it out. “I know we’ve gone
over it before, but what exactly happened when you went missing?”

“Bruce,” Kristen says frustratingly, “I told you
already. I don’t remember any of it.”

Bruce frowns. “There’s nothing you can think of?”

“I’m sorry, Bruce. You know what I know. I came
back here with stitches on my scalp and a terrible headache. I must’ve
run into something.”

Like a pile of bricks, the truth falls onto Bruce and
crushes him. The thought makes him sick, but for the first time, he
understands what happened to Kristen. She isn’t the one who
snitched. Mixed with relief and horror, Bruce smiles. “I
know. I’m sorry. I love you.”

“I love you too, Bruce. Now let me put these
groceries away.” Bruce nods and Kristen stands from the table.

“Do you remember Sara Ixley?”

Kristen looks at Bruce with surprise. “Of course I
do.”

“She didn’t kill herself. Someone else did. I
figured out who it was.”

Kristen is mystified by Bruce’s statement. As she
picks up her grocery bags, she asks, “Why are you telling me this? Who
killed her? And how did you figure out such a thing?”

“I just did. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have just thrown
that on you.”

“Who killed her? And what are you going to do about
it?”

“I’ll tell you who did it later. But there’s someone
I know, a good friend of mine, who is going to take care of it.
Tonight. He’ll be really happy when I bring the killer to him.”

Kristen nervously says, “You’re worrying me, Bruce.
Don’t do anything stupid.”

Bruce smiles at her and confidently nods.

X finally spots Bruce, shoving a man whose
head is covered
with a hood.
X holds his hand to
his disciples and yells, “Quiet!”

Bruce holds the man’s arms behind his back as he struggles
to free himself. Bruce shouts, “I found him. The man who killed
Sara Ixley!” The disciples look with curiosity at Bruce. X waves at
the disciples, signaling them to take their positions against the dark
wall. They obediently listen and scramble to the outer wall.

Bruce guides the hooded man next to X in the center of the
dome room. X eagerly waits for the disciples to retain their
positions. He smiles at Bruce and says, “Thank you, my friend.”
Bruce nods.

Finally, X rips the hood off of the man. And staring
back at him is Vince Kane. Chad, his brother, steps forward in
shock. “Vince?” he asks himself. There’s no way Vince could have
killed Sara Ixley. No. Way. Chad is overwhelmed with concern
for his brother.

X asks, “What is your name?”

“Vince.”

X gazes uncomfortably close into the eyes of the man he
believes killed Sara. Bruce carefully watches X to make sure he doesn’t
do anything rash.

X asks, “You killed Sara Ixley?”

“Yes. And I killed you too.”

BAM.

A gunshot blares and X falls to the ground. Vince had
hidden a gun under his baggy shirt and shot X.

X, on the ground, holds his stomach in excruciating
pain. Bruce utters, “Nice shot, Vince,”

“Wasn’t that hard,” Vince says in return.

The 10 disciples instantly charge from the outer
wall. Bruce pulls a gun from his blue robe and extends it toward them.
Back-to-back, Bruce and Vince hold their guns toward the halting
disciples. The ten now circle around and stand mere feet from them.

Bruce announces, “It’s over! In case you dumbshits
haven’t heard, Jesus is dead! And he isn’t coming back! So every one
of you have a choice. You come with us, peacefully, and we leave this
place, forgetting all about the Xlympians. Or we kill you. You’ve
all been responsible for the murder of the entire world. I don’t forgive
something like that. You want to be a martyr? Let’s do it!”

“Nice,” Vince whispers over his shoulder.

“Thanks,” Bruce whispers back.

Chad, from the circle of disciples, stares at Vince, who is
pointing a gun at him. His heart breaks at the sight of his brother
destroying his 2
^nd
family. “Why are you doing this, Vince?”

Vince sympathetically gazes at his brother. “X was
going to destroy the world. We weren’t going to let that happen. I
know you think this is devastating, but this
cult
has done nothing but
brainwash you. Come with us. Please.” Chad heeds his words
but has trouble accepting them. He stares ahead, weighing his options.

Ryan, a disciple who Bruce originally stabbed in the neck
with X’s staff, charges toward Bruce. Bruce takes aim at his forehead and
fires. Ryan’s head blasts backwards and his body slides lifelessly across
the ground. A disciple shouts, “I will never give up on God!” Two
more disciples race toward Bruce. BAM! BAM! Two more
disciples slide across the metal ground. Dead.

“Anyone else want to die for God?”

Chad surrenders and holds his hands in the air, fearful for
his life. He looks at Matt, who takes note and raises his hands in the
air with him. Chad looks at the bodies of his fallen friends. Would
it be cowardly for him to avoid their fate?

A disciple with his hands in the air and steps forward and
says to Bruce, “Kill me. I do not…” BAM. He falls to the
ground. Bruce frowns. He takes no pleasure in murdering men.
“I am not here to play games! You want to die, I will grant you that
wish!”

Vince looks at his brother, Chad. “Come with us,
Chad. This cult has murdered innocent people in the name of God.
You don’t want to be a part of that.” Chad’s feelings of hopelessness are
magnified. It’s true: he has been a part of things he isn’t proud of.
He lost himself somewhere along the way. How could he join his
brother? A bullet wound, he figures, is something he probably deserves.

Vince pleads, “We haven’t always gotten along, Chad.
Growing up, you were Mom and Dad’s favorite. You were the football
star. Mr. Popular. I strived to be liked by anybody. I
despised you for that. But none of that stuff ever mattered.
Because through all our disagreements, you’re still my brother. And I
know you’re a good person. We’re going to Los Angeles. You can come
with me and Natalie. I came here today for
you
. You can be a
part of our family. So come over here and join us.” Behind the
barrel of a gun, Vince reassures his brother. Chad looks at the disciples
to the right and left of him. They sneer at the thought of
betrayal.

Chad nods at Vince and walks toward him.

“Traitor!” they scream. “Scum!”

Chad joins Bruce and Vince at the middle of the
circle. Bruce and Vince keep their guns pointed at the still-defiant
disciples. Bruce, looking over his shoulder, forces a smile at his
nemesis. “Good to have you, Chad.”

Chad smiles, but to him, his entire life is falling
apart. After a spinal cord injury ended his short-lived football career,
he was a man in shambles. Football was all he ever loved. When his
ability to play was taken away, it was like he had lost everything. It
wasn’t until Matt, a former Michigan State quarterback himself, invited him to
join the Xlympians that he finally found happiness again. Now, it’s like he’s
losing everything all over again.

Chad glares at Vince and mumbles, “You shouldn’t have to do
this.” He tears Vince’s gun from his hands, prompting screams from
everyone in the room. The disciples yell in joy, hoping he will kill
Bruce and Vince. In the most excruciating move of his life, Chad aims the
gun at the disciples. And fires.

Before anyone knows what happened, three more cult members
are dead. A massacre of seven people lies around them. All that are
left standing now are two: Matt and Sean. Chad hands the gun to Vince and
falls to his knees, agonizing in his actions. “Matt is my friend.
And Sean is the only truly good man in the Xlympians.”

Bruce lowers his gun and faces Matt and Sean. “It’s
over. Are you with us?”

Sean, the youngest of the cult members, nods. He’s in
his early 20’s, still a college student. He’s physically toned and highly
athletic. His involvement in the Xlympians is an unfortunate story and he
is the only member who can lay claim to no wrongdoing. Bruce could see
the fear in his eyes; he could see light in his eyes. “You don’t need to
worry, Sean. You’re with us now.”

Matt stares wide-eyed at Chad, stunned by his ultimate act
of betrayal. At this point, he has no choice but to go along with them.

Vince stared at Matt. He was playing an intense
game of chess with the Michigan State quarterback.
Bruce was with
Kristen at the other end of the kitchen, engaged in a lively game of beer
pong. They were all at a party at Lisa’s apartment only a week after
Stephen and Bruce met her at the theme park.

Vince stared into Matt’s eyes. And moved his
bishop. “Check,” he proudly declared. Matt sat upright. A
look of confusion bounded over his face. He had not anticipated Vince’s
move. He glared into his eyes. “Interesting move.”

Bruce pinched the ping-pong ball in his hands and lined it
up with the cup resting at the other end of the table. It was the only
cup left for the other team. Nail this shot and he and Kristen would
win. With a swift release, he sent the ball soaring through the air.

Vince took his hand off his queen. “Checkmate,” Vince
said, smirking. A fire grew inside of Matt as he stared in disbelief at
the chessboard.

A small splash of water flew up as Bruce’s ping-pong ball
landed cleanly inside the opponents’ cup. He jumped ecstatically with
Kristen and celebrated. He pointed to Vince. “Did you win?”

Vince nodded.

Bruce tossed a celebratory fist in the air, prompting
giggles from Kristen. Playfully, he chanted, “Mi-chi-gan!
Mi-chi-gan! Mi-chi-gan!” Vince joined in the taunting of the
Michigan State locals. “You can’t beat us at football, you can’t beat us
at beer pong, and you can’t beat us at chess!”

Bruce and Vince laughed mockingly. “Hey, Vince,”
Bruce announced, “Michigan State sucks!”

Matt had just about enough. He leapt out of his chair
and threw his hands into Bruce, shoving him backwards. Bruce pounded
against the wall as he fell backwards. Matt exclaimed, “You wanna talk
shit, say it to my face!”

An emboldened Vince whipped Matt around and clocked him
square in the nose. Matt’s head pitched back from the strike.
Stunned, he retaliated and threw his fist forward.

Just in time, Bruce pulled himself off the ground and
plowed through Matt’s back, tackling him to the ground at Vince’s feet.
Bruce winked at Vince. “Thanks, buddy.”

At the doorway of the kitchen, several members of the
football team rushed to Matt’s aid.

The fight was on.

Matt walks toward the group of Bruce, Vince, Chad,
and Sean.
All around him are the bodies of his friends, his
family in Christ. Vince hugs his brother. “Thank you, Chad.”