Infinite Testament (32 page)

Matt stands in front of the hugging brothers. As they
separate, Vince says to Matt, “Come with us. We’re going to Los
Angeles.” Matt stares at him, emotionless. He wants nothing more
than to clobber Vince, just as he had years ago at the party.

So he does. Matt swings his fist through Vince’s face
and rips the gun from his hand. “I’m not going anywhere.” Matt puts
Vince in a chokehold and points the gun at his head.

Bruce instinctually points his gun at Matt.

Matt screams, “Put your gun down or Vince is dead!”

Chad and Sean look with horror at the unfolding
scene. Bruce hesitates. He can take the shot. He can kill
Matt. But if he misses, Vince will die. He could never forgive
himself for that.

Bruce places the gun at his feet.

Matt demands, “Now kick it away!”

Bruce obliges and the gun slides across the metal floor,
far from reach.

“You just killed all of my friends. Goodbye,
Bruce.” Matt slowly points the gun toward Bruce, who raises his hands in
the air. Bruce’s eyes dart around for a solution.

An unknown voice rings out. “Wait.” A
previously lifeless blue robe rises from the ground. As he stands, the
man pulls back his hood. The face reveals to be X, who smiles, nearly
amused by what has transpired. “Put the gun down, Matthew.”
Everyone looks in amazement at X. Matt disparagingly lowers his
gun.

X turns to Bruce. “Did you really think it would be that
easy?”

Bruce can’t believe his eyes. X took a bullet into
the abdomen at point blank range. But somehow he’s fine. X casually
leans over and picks up his staff. “I should have known not to trust
you. You would even lie to your wife?”

Bruce says, “You kidnapped Kristen. You put a
microchip in her brain. And you watched me on a monitor somewhere…”

X looks at Bruce in astonishment. How did he figure
that out? When Kristen was taken, she was out cold the entire time.

Bruce yells, “That chip was for monkeys you sick fuck!”

X smiles and reveals the truth. “The procedure was
not done by a human. It was done by an angel. And it is he who
watched you.” X twists his staff, revealing a blade at one end.
“But I suppose I should be thankful you figured it out because now I get my
wish: a rematch.” X furiously twirls his staff. It whizzes by,
spinning through his fingers like a vicious fan blade. X grips the staff
with both hands, prepping himself for combat.

With Vince in a chokehold, Matt scuffles away while Chad
and Sean step aside.

Bruce taunts, “Wow Ronnie, you’re a lot better with sticks
than you were in high school. This should be a familiar lesson for you.”

Bruce followed through on a punch on a Michigan State
football player.
The scene in the kitchen was chaotic. There
were dozens of green and white letter-jackets fighting Bruce and Vince.
While Vince became a punching bag, it was nearly impossible to lay a finger on
Bruce.

“Stop!” Kristen screamed, stuck in the middle of the
flailing bodies. A brute player picked up a chair to throw at
Bruce. Kristen punched him in the stomach. The man flinched and
diverted his attack to Kristen. When he spotted her, he halted.
Kristen demanded, “Get out!”

Bruce threw his fists around, pounding any fool who came
close enough. Suddenly, a lone person emerged to face him. The
action seemed to flow around this figure, leaving them to stare at each
other. As Bruce examined his face, he noticed it was none other than
Ronnie Russell. Of course.

X lunges toward Bruce and thrusts his bladed staff at
him.
Bruce darts aside and manages to grip the staff with his
left hand. X reacts by whipping the staff around toward Bruce’s face,
causing Bruce to punch himself in the face. As he stumbles from the hit,
X shows off and spins his staff with both hands.

Chad looks at his brother, who is stuck in a chokehold by
Matt. He looks at Bruce’s gun, lying on the ground several yards
away. There’s no way he can get to it. Matt would shoot him if he
tried. Vince glares at Chad and shakes his head, discouraging him from
going for it. Instead, Vince blows his head back and crashes into Matt’s
face. It’s a bold move: the gun in Matt’s hand fires as he
stumbles. Luckily, the gun had staggered with him and barely averted
shooting Vince’s head.

Vince lunges forward, grasps Matt’s hands, and throws them
high into the air. Matt repeatedly shoots the gun and the sound of
bullets clanging metal echoes above them.
Click. Click.
The
gun is empty. Vince and Matt ferociously stare into each other’s
eyes as their hands struggle high in the sky.

Vince held his own. Barely.
He
was fighting several football players after all. Two players grabbed
Vince’s arms and held him in place. He struggled and fought, but he was
stuck. In front of him, Matt emerged, smiling deviously. Vince
glared at him as he tried to catch his breath. Matt wiped blood from his
lip and looked at it with disgust. “Do you know who I am?” he shouted
over the chaos.

“Future football bust, right?”

Matt’s face contorted and he thrust his fist into Vince’s
stomach. Then did it again. And again. Matt gave Vince a
beating he would never forget.

At the other end of the brawl, Bruce stared at
Ronnie. “I should’ve expected to see you here,” Bruce said. “I
can’t get away from you.”

Bloodlust lingered in Ronnie’s eyes. He smashed a
bottle against the kitchen counter and waved the sharp glassy remnants in front
of Bruce. “What?!” Bruce exclaimed in surprise. Ronnie was taking
the fight to a whole new level. He didn’t just want to hurt Bruce, he
wanted to
kill
him. Bruce always knew Ronnie was crazy, but he
didn’t realize the severity of it. Ronnie was
dangerous
.

Ronnie swung his deadly weapon at Bruce. Before it
was able to slice him open, he gripped Ronnie’s hand and halted it
mid-swipe. Bruce slammed his hand on the counter. “Next time you
want to do something stupid like that, remember this.” For all the years
of aggravation, Bruce smashed his hand again. “Learn your god damn
lesson!” Bruce cracked his fist into Ronnie’s face.

Their fight was over as quickly as it started.

Bruce waits for an opportunity to strike, but for now
,
he can only dodge X’s jabs with his staff. What makes it particularly
difficult is that X switches the blade from end to end, so essentially, Bruce
has to avoid the staff altogether. The two tussle like dancers; X jabs
and Bruce avoids.

Chad runs toward Bruce’s fallen gun, but what he sees
horrifies him: Sean already has it and is pointing it at Vince and Matt, who
are tangled up with each other. Chad rushes toward Vince and Matt and
forcibly separates them.

Matt shouts at Chad, “Traitor!” Chad responds by
rocking Matt to the ground with a shove.

Chad shouts, “Shoot him!”

Sean freezes; he isn’t a killer. He points the gun at
Matt. Points it at Vince. How is he supposed to know who the actual
good guy is? Sean had barely gotten to know Matt, but at least he
knows
him. Chad’s brother barged into their meeting and started killing everyone.
Sean peered at X, who was deep in battle with Bruce. There’s something
odd about X; every time Sean he had peered into his eyes, he saw nothing but
darkness. Same with Matt. Perhaps X and Matt
are
the
villains.

Sean has a choice. He knows it. And the only
way to make the choice it is to look into his heart.

Sean points the gun at Matt. And pulls the
trigger.
Click
. The gun malfunctions; it’s broken.
Click.
Click.
Vince and Chad lose their breath at the disappointing sight.

The fight had dissipated.
Kristen had
yelled with all her might and kicked everyone out of the apartment. All
that remained were Bruce, Vince, and a giant mess. Natalie emerged to
comfort Vince, who had been thoroughly beaten and bloodied. Kristen
glared at Bruce, but understood the situation wasn’t entirely his fault.
“I’m sorry,” Bruce said.

Kristen nodded. Bruce looked at beaten-up
Vince. “Thanks for sticking up for me, Vince.”

“No problem,” Vince said as Natalie held ice to his face.
“I’d go to battle with you any day.”

Bruce smiled. Vince had come a long way from the
corner of their dorm room doing nothing but math homework. Bruce walked
across the kitchen to face him. “I always got your back, Vince.
You’re a good friend.”

Bruce held out his hand. Vince grabbed it and they shook
hands.

Firmly.

Matt has had enough. He easily pounds Chad in
the side of the head,
temporarily knocking him out
.
He
turns to Vince and tackles him, pinning him to the ground. If he can’t
shoot him, he’ll break his neck. Matt grabs Vince’s head and tries to
twist it. Vince grips Matt’s wrists, preventing him from killing him, but
only by delaying him.

X swipes his staff at Bruce’s feet, tripping him onto his
back on the metal floor. X hovers the blade inches from Bruce’s
neck. Bruce looks up at X, who is standing over him, smiling. The
look in X’s dark eyes is the same he had seen at Lisa’s party when X broke a
bottle and attempted to kill him.

Bruce turns his head and looks at Vince, who is feverishly
preventing Matt from killing him. Bruce reveals a peaceful smile to
Vince, secretly telling him that no matter what, everything is going to be
okay. But Vince doesn’t feel it; their ends are near.

At base of the tunnel, Mikey runs in, only to see the dire
situation at hand. A terrible feeling overcomes him: they’re going to
fail. Again. He’s too late. Mikey sprints toward X to stop
him from killing his father.

“Any last words?” X asks, totally unaware of Mikey’s
presence.

“Yeah,” Bruce utters. “I have a plane to
catch.”

Before X can comprehend those words, Bruce grips the staff
and twists it, causing the blade to disappear from his face and pop out the
other end. Bruce jams the blade up through X’s jaw. The blade
pierces through his tongue and tips into the roof of his mouth. Bruce
jabs the staff and forces it further through, penetrating his brain.

Bruce stands up to face him. X is frozen and stares
at Bruce with wide eyes, now full of death.

Upon seeing his dad’s maneuver, Mikey switches directions
and runs straight toward Vince, who is on his stomach struggling with
Matt. In Mikey’s hand is a dagger, one he is fully ready to use.
With Matt gripping his head, Vince stares at a sprinting Mikey.

“Duck!” Mikey yells.

Vince pulls his head, with all his strength, away from
Matt’s grip and drops it toward the metal floor. Mikey sprints through
and punts Matt in the face, slamming a numbing jolt into his face. As
Matt’s head launches backwards, his teeth crumble to the back of his throat and
he limply falls off of Vince. Wasting no time, Mikey digs the dagger into
Matt’s chest. And plants it there. Mikey lets out a savage scream,
finally free from the burden of his fate.

Bruce glares at Mikey, not pleased that he was forced to
kill another person. He hoped he could keep Mikey away from such
brutality. But the insanity of the cult and the blindness of their
members forced their hands. There’s an inherent danger when a man
believes he’s on a mission from God. A sense of reason, a sense of reality,
simply disappears. The Xlympians were common men. But they became
the most dangerous group of men in history. So as Bruce stares at Mikey,
the dark truth settles in: they have killed, slaughtered. But they had no
choice.

X, who had fallen to the ground, rolls his eyes and finds
himself in a state of delirium. A sharp pain pounds in his head. He
grips his hands on the staff and slowly pulls the blade down from his
brain. It travels down, through his sinuses, through his nasal cavity,
through the roof of his mouth, and out of the bottom of his jaw. A
smothering of brain fluid, mucus, and blood spills from his brain to his mouth,
washing around his tongue and providing the most disgusting mix he’s ever
tasted. X struggles as he lifts himself off the ground. The fluids
pour from the hole in his jaw and drip to the floor as he rises, looking like a
brain-dead zombie. There are only traces of life left in his body, but
it’s enough to do what he needs to do.

“Dad!” Mikey yells, pointing at X.

It’s too late. X lifts his staff and is about to stab
Bruce.

Bruce turns to see the hideous sight of Ronnie: eyes rolled
back into his head and fluid pouring, like a waterfall, out of the bottom of
his jaw. Even worse, Ronnie’s staff is high above his head, about to
thrash into him.

Suddenly, a knife soars, spins its way through the air, and
launches itself into Ronnie’s back. Ronnie can’t handle any more.
He drops his staff, falls to the ground, and collapses onto his face.

Bruce looks into the distance and sees Mr. Ixley, standing
at the end of a throwing motion. Confusion abounds Bruce. Mr. Ixley
walks towards him and says, “Your son is a lot like you. He doesn’t
listen. He came to me and said you needed help. You didn’t want
it. But you got it.”

Bruce embraces Mr. Ixley. “Thank you,” he whispers.

Bruce, Mikey, Vince, Chad, Sean, and Mr. Ixley stand
silently staring at each other. With the gory mess surrounding them, a
horrible feeling dwells within. They huddle together and Sean stands
solemnly, staring at his old friends, wondering if he made the right
choice. Bruce approaches him. “I’m sorry. The Xlympians once
caused the end of the world.”

Sean nods. “I know.”

Bruce staggers in surprise.

Sean says, “I don’t understand. But I believe you.
When the sky went dark, something happened. I got this feeling.
That I had to get out. That the Xlympians were on the wrong side.”
Sean’s nervous eyes grip with Bruce’s and struggle to remain steady.