0 comments/ 2253 views/ 1 favorites Stigmata Martydom Ch. 01 By: Tarone_Lover Chapter 1: Genesis The lab was dark and dank. It sparked and crackled as an old man wearing a white lab coat fiddled away at his latest contraption. It resembled a sphere the size of a basketball, it was grey in color. He finds pride in it as its completion grows closer and closer, he holds it up to illuminate its presence in the moonlight. Its bright silvery glow separates its existence from the rest of the blackened room. There's a shift a sudden change in the wind, and smell in the air; the smell of light flowers? The man turns around to look where the smell came from. He turns slowly to an opened window to take a look and as he approaches he makes out a figure in the darkness of the alley. He stood as still as possible. "Who goes there?" yelled the frightened man. No response. His pulse quickened, his heartbeat grew faster and faster as he approached the window to get a better look. He knew it was a person but why? Why would they not answer him? Why would they not move? The smell of flowers grew stronger and stronger and the old man grew more terrified. "Leave me alone." He screamed. He backed away from the window abruptly, but it was too late. As he backed up he bumped into something behind him, no it was someone behind him he knew it. He scrambled across the floor as his hands searched franticly for the glasses that fell from his face. In the mean time all he could do is stare blankly into the now blurry room. He grabbed his glasses and placed them back upon his face.... There was nothing. He felt like such a fool. He simply backed into his own desk and tripped. He laughed at his jumpiness. "Good evening doctor" whispered a voice from behind. He turned quickly in shock. There WAS someone in his house. "Who are you and what are you doing in my house?!" he yelled. A Hooded figure stepped out from the shadows and greeted him. "I am an acolyte of the faith; the only religion left in the land and by proxy the rulers of this shattered and cold world. You have created an abomination." The hooded figure says with a feminine voice. She begins to quote from memory. "Anyone who creates machines to obstruct the view of god must be cleansed from this earth, mercilessly." She removed the hood to reveal her face. She was a beautiful girl, early to mid thirties maybe. Her messy curly brown hair was tied in a bun and her scowl chilled the poor scientist to the bone. "But this is the key. With this I will restore man to his former glory." The scientist said. "Any such creation that violates the will of god is an abomination that must be cleansed from this earth as god did in his first revelation." The woman replied coldly. Suddenly the woman's skin began to crawl. You could tell that little by little something was taking over her, consuming her. Her skin was no longer visible, plated blue armor began to materialize slowly, bit by bit, covering her from head to toe. Her hands became giant blue claws, her feet covered in a two toed foot with a back toe. A shell covered the whole of her back. And her face began to transfigure into that of a beetle. A large horn protruded out of her head that was nearly a foot long. She lunged at the scientist, her claws set to slash him in half but he ducked under one of his work tables and the work above was smashed save for his device which he cradled like a little baby in his arms. He ran to the next room as the insect like demon smashed the table and followed after him. The demon was hot on his tail as he fled from area to area as she tore through his lab and his entire house. He ran into a cobblestone street with brick houses on both sides and smoke billowing out of the chimney tops. His heart raced faster than it ever had before as he ran faster and faster. Nothing was going to harm his creation. Nothing was going to destroy all the years and effort he put into his life's work. "Why are you chasing me young miss. I have no quarrel with you. I have done no ill thing." The scientist screamed as he continued running—his breathing becoming heavier. "You must be exterminated; such is the will of the Faith." The giant demonic beetle shouted as it lurched through the street when it was suddenly stopped by a burst a flame which temporarily blinded it. "Nobody kills a man in my neighborhood," said a strange man entering the street. "It isn't right to attack someone nearly twice your age. I will see to it that you end this nonsense here and now." As the creature regained its sight it saw the man. He was tall with short black hair and wearing a grey bowler hat with a long jacket and trousers. The man looked especially odd with a pencil moustache, his brown eyes brimming with fury. "A fool like you has no place to judge the will of the Faith." The demon replied. The man threw his right arm forward sending several fireballs at the beetle demon which proved pointless very quickly as they had no effect. "Enough you filthy fire starter!" the demon screamed as it brushed the ash off of its armor. "I can make these flames hotter than the fires of hell which frightens you so. Now let that poor old man go!" The stranger said putting his arms forward as he prepared to fire upon her again. "It will take a lot more than your little embers to harm my exterior," She said as she swung her right claw and slammed the stranger into a brick building. Thinking that the fool was taken care of she turned her attention to the scientist who seemed to cower in a dark back alley. "Please don't, please I'm not a bad person I don't want to die, I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" The claw of the beast came down and looked poised to deliver the fatal stab when the mysterious stranger from before leapt on the back of the monster and grabbed the large horn. The demon then began to thrash wildly shaking its head this way and that trying to throw the stranger off. The beetle's shell opened and a giant wings jutted out of the demon's back destroying the walls of the alley way. The stranger gripped the monsters horn even tighter now as he knew what was coming. The demons wings quickly flapped faster than even a humming bird, lifting the two off the ground and into the sky. "Give up you wretched demon! You don't stand a chance." The stranger yelled. Jets of fire erupted from the stranger's feet propelling him off the demons face and into the air allowing him to hover. "Didn't think I could fly did ya?" The stranger smirked. "I'm tired of your antics little firefly" yelled the demon. She charged forward horn first in an attempt to skewer the stranger. He dodged by creating a burst of flame from his right arm which pushed him out of the way simultaneously blasting the demon. The demon turned around quickly and pushed at the waiting stranger again. This time he wasn't going to run. He wasn't going to back down. He pulled his arms back feeling the heat gathering in his arms. They ran like hot fuel down his arms and into his hands where flames grew quickly getting bigger and bigger as he waited to prime his attack. The demon flew closer the horn aimed at his body. The stranger fired his arms foreword and could feel great streams of fire bolting out of his hands and heading straight towards the demon. It grew to such hot intensity that the flames turned white. Yet the demon rushed through it barely phased and ran the stranger through with her horn. "Looks like you're not as hot as you thought you were," the demon laughed as she said it. Blood spurted out of the strangers chest and trickled down covering the demons face. The stranger smiled though, the demon saw this and grew angry. "What's so funny?" She asked. The stranger laughed "It's about to get really hot up here." Suddenly the man's body began glowing blue. The stranger grabbed a hold of the demons horn and held it tightly. "Now don't go or you'll miss the fireworks." Then every cell of his body erupted in a blue flame. The explosion was large and intense snatching the demon in its epicenter. The scientist looked up from the alley too scared to move from his spot too afraid of what was going to happen. He watched in horrified amazement as the large explosion lit up the night sky and for a second it was like it was daytime. Then it cleared and the stars became visible again. The man breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he thought that the nightmare was finally over. Suddenly from behind the scientist there was a large crash. The debris and smoke washed over the scientist's shoulders as he turned around to investigate the matter. The smoke cleared to reveal that the demon had crashed into the ground. It slowly got back up and shook the dust off and looked at the scientist, its eyes cold and menacing. "That's one nuisance out of the way, now for the other." The demon said looking at the scientist who crouched frozen in fear. The demon mercilessly stabbed the scientist, grabbed the machine and reverted back to human form. She knelt by the dying man grabbed the necklace around her neck which held a small spearhead and held it between her hands as she began to pray. "May you find repentance in the life after this one. And May god's love always shower over you. Amen." And so she walked away carrying the machine of mysterious purposes. And as she walked, Benjamin slowly woke up from one of the most disturbing dreams he had ever had. Benjamin thought to himself as his eyes flared open from the long nights sleep. His face was covered in sweat. He felt his way for the other side of the room and slowly looked out the window at the early morning sun dipping just under the buildings. "Brother," the voice in his head suddenly rang out. He tried to discount it; his brother had been dead for over a year now and he had been hearing his voice in his head for the last six months. It was an odd feeling knowing that you were possessed by fallen angels. That's what the Faith called this anyway "possession" hearing voices meant you were becoming a demon and that you were trying to bring down society. He put on a shirt and headed down the stairs into the kitchen and sat down at the breakfast table. His mother was cooking over the fireplace making the usual eggs and bacon. She's a fantastic cook. Benjamin thought. His mother was in her mid thirties and had straight brown hair that was tucked in a bun. She looked plain in her older years but at one point she had been quite the catch. "How did you sleep dear?" she asks as the puts some of the freshly made eggs and bacon onto his black plate. "Oh it was weird. Weird as existence I would say. You mind turning on the radio for a bit? They're about to do a reading of War of the Worlds and that was always Tom's favorite when he was alive." She smiled at Benjamin. "You're a fine brother, and yes I'm sure if he's still with us he'd enjoy to listen to it at least once more." She turns the nob from station to station. She stops for a minute on one with music laid with heavy trumpets and trombone. "Hello my children," A man's voice says over the radio. It sounded suspiciously serene and calm. "I am Albert Danesworth your current high priest of West Kingston and it is my pleasure to speak with you today. We face a grave enemy, not a physical one that we can fight in full force. But rather one that exists in the mind, the seeds of rebellion are being sewn by these people "possessed" by fallen angels who would bring down the sanctity of god and all his children be turned to heathens to perish in the flames---" Benjamin mom turns the knob she's grown tired of hearing a man prat on about "possessions" or "curse's". My father used to say it's what you do that makes you who you are, not how you're born. The voice was on every station and as my mom turned the knob it only got clearer. "They're growing in number, more and more each day. People born with powers reserved for god only. Can you imagine? A child with the power to hurl lightning bolts. It's incredibly unsettling. My children it is the duty of all to deal with these angels who have fallen from gods good graces. If you see an individual who may be a fallen or that you suspect. Contact a local member of the Faith to deal with the issue. Do not try and take these individuals yourself. Remember they are everywhere they could be in your home even as I speak to you." "Are you a predator? Or are you a soldier? " said a voice. Like insects moving around in his head, these voices plagued Benjamin to no end. It had been getting worse and worse as each day passed. He tried to ignore them, hoping they would simply go away... but they weren't. Stigmata Martydom Ch. 02 2. In the middle of the woods a man stood with an axe preparing to cut enough firewood to protect him from the coming cold of winter. He was a tall man with long thick hair that had been slicked back, and he wore a heavy coat, long pants, and boots to match. Winter was definitely here and all the wildlife had moved to warmer climates or hibernated. With food being scarce he would have to go into the city of West Kingston and buy some food and supplies. Maybe some dried pork or other various food items which have a habit of not rotting on a moment's notice. He went inside got his pack, and stuffed it full of various items one would need on a short train trip into the city. As he handled the money he looked upon his coins as he put them into his bag. Written around the coins was 'May the creator watch over you.' It was quite odd staring at it. "Yeah, watch over you" Said the man. There it was written right on the money, control on a level that they can say 'hey, we own you.' He looked up in disgust then put the money into the bag, then slung it over his shoulder and headed out of his cabin and into the mid morning. The sun shined on his skin and his long brown hair and stubble. He was kind of built and in his late thirties. The birds and various other animals though scarcer during these winter months, were still going about their daily lives while the man walked silently and solemnly through the forest until he arrived at the outskirts of the train station and the small town that existed to serve those who were in transit from one big city to the other. It was nice to see the farms that lay off in the distance. He suspected that they grew some kind of wheat but now with the winter now in full swing it would be impossible to grow anything. He noted that it resembled a barren wasteland but still organized. Like the land was nothing more than a dead slave to which it's master would inanely summon to do tasks which it could not complete. He walked past the empty tracks, there was only one train parked and it was headed towards the opposite city to which he needed. He needed to get to the city of West Kingston. It wasn't the largest city but it was full of the supplies which he needed. And West Kingston always had a habit of being free of unwanted attention. The man walked out of the forest and onto the train station platform where he could buy his ticket. He slowly approached the window and knocked on it. An old man lifted the blinded window and smiled softly. "Name and destination stranger?" "My name is Henry; I need a ticket to West Kingston." "Sounds good it's four copper pieces for a ticket." Henry reached into his pocket and pulled out the money and then handed it to the old man. And then exchanged it for a ticket. "The train arrives at one thirty, now remember trains like to leave exactly on time, so know where you are around one twenty-five." Henry took this into consideration, and sat on a bench waiting for the train to come. Whipping out a whittled pipe he had made. And began to smoke a little of what could best be described as the kind of drug that was his own secret recipe. It was mellow and not the kind of thing to dilute the mind but a stronger reliever than your average herb and it lacked some of the nasty after effects. Plus the smoke would fill the air with a luxurious aroma. Which left him smelling quite good when he hurried onto the train. He found a car and sat in one of the seats and looked at the clock and of course at exactly one thirty the train left the station. Henry found himself dosing off and soon fell asleep entirely "WEST KINGSTON!" the conductor shouted waking Henry from his sleep. He got out of the train and the sun was cascading an orange light on the whole of the small city. As Henry got out of the train and headed down towards the market street. He was reminded of a younger and much stupider age. The West Kingston market was like a bazaar that you would find in older Middle Eastern countries. The streets were lined with shop after shop each person trying to sell to whoever was passing by. The main staple of West Kingston was fishing and farming. West Kingston was a city born as a port for fish and a center area where many farms took their goods for sale. This would have everything that Henry needed for another portion of the long winter. He went and bought meats and any fruit or vegetable that wouldn't spoil quickly. Even thought this was the dead of winter some farms from the south were less affected by winter. He finished up and headed away from the market area which lay towards the east of the city and headed towards the western area close to the docks. Henrys visits to west Kingston were usually short but he always had at least one reason to stick around longer. He walked down a street, turning a corner walking onto the boardwalk he looked ahead and saw a small building with a sign hanging blowing in the wind. The bars name was Ramona's and it had been one of his favorite bars since as long as Henry cared to regale. It was a small bar at the corner of a street. Henry looked up at the now darkened sky and smiled as he walked into the bar. It was busy tonight as he looked around at the various people who seemed to be enjoying their night out. He sat on a bar stool in the dimly lit area and waved his hand at the closest barkeep to bring him a bit of whiskey. He saw two men sitting at the far end of the bar wearing what seemed like military uniforms more closely resembling that of S.S. uniforms only their clothes were off white they both wore necklaces with small spearheads attached they were drinking, members of the Faith. Henry had to be quiet, they may be two thugs but they could end up having an undesirable impact. He raised his hand and asked for another shot of whiskey. It came some seconds later by a pretty blonde bartender. He shot the drink back tasting bitterness, and then burning in his throat that was followed by a warming sensation in his chest. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw the flaming red hair of a beautiful woman. There she was, Ramona. She was in her late thirties and you could begin to see the signs of aging and the impact that a hard life has on a person. She looked at the two thugs with horrid disgust but she still served them drink after drink. A thug may be a horrible thing, but money is money Henry reminded himself. That had always been Ramona's logic. They had once been lovers not so long ago. But something had happened between them and he wasn't sure if things would get better. He wondered if they could still talk. And yet a part of him wanted to look over. And soon he found himself doing just that. His eyes caught a look of disgust on her face, which quickly turned to surprise when she caught a glimpse of Henry's face. "Bartender hand us another drink and be quick, we're on a mission." One of the thugs shouted. "Some kind of underground newspaper has been talking nonesense about the Faith and they've been going on for too long." Henry dared to look at her again and Ramona shot him a look followed by her voice penetrating his thoughts "get out, get out while you still have the chance." Instead of heeding these words Henry felt a mad resolve wash over him. He reached into his pocket and began to grip his switch blade. He held it in secret and was ready to act if the thugs got out of hand. "That's interesting isn't it?" Ramona said to the thugs. "Well we always look forward to supporting the cause. God knows the Faith needs all the help it can get with all these rogues running around." "You're darn right!" the other thug said with a smile. "They think they are so much better than everyone else. They think that they don't have to abide by the law. Don't you know that god rules this land? That god can heal this land if he is able to consolidate all people into his divine hand." The two men cheered and clinked glasses before washing down their large pints of beer. "Oh speaking of which we were warned to be on the lookout in west Kingston for somebody." The second thug then unsheathed a large sword and held it in the sky in one hand and held a poster in the other hand. "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN!" the second thug shouted. He got up with a drunken stupor and walked around the bar. Henry was wanted by the Faith he had done something's in his past that he wasn't quite proud of and as soon as Henry saw the parchment his mind immediately leapt into action. Could it be me? How do they know where I frequent? Henry was ready get the drop on the drunken fool. Henry turned his head and the thug was now standing over him waving the poster. "My good sir have you seen," Henry turned to stare at the man holding the poster. With a sudden sense of drunken awareness the man recognized that Henry was sitting at the bar looking up at him with nonchalant eyes. "It's you Hen-" Henry moved with lightning quick speed and the switch blade left Henry's pocket almost as fast as he returned it. The man stood there midsentence with his neck completely cut and bleeding everywhere before he collapsed onto the ground flat as the beer that Ramona only dared serve these Faith thugs and now a paranoid ex-boyfriend. "My god! You killed him!" one of the customers shouted as they all began to run out of the bar screaming. Immediately all the people at the bar tripped over themselves except for Henry who poured himself a drink of whiskey then shot it back. Then the room was empty except for Ramona and the second drunken thug standing there with an angry look on his face. Thinking quickly Ramona grabbed the thug by the back of his head and bashed his face into the mug which had been drinking from. "Filthy asshole," Ramona said focusing her attention directly on Henry. Her face staring directly at Henry her eyes seemingly piercing Henry's soul and making him feel like a little boy who had gotten caught eating desserts before dinner. "So you had to go and kill him. You had to come to this bar!? Well you are you as dumb as ever aren't you? No don't answer that, you are. You've just been in the woods smoking some of your own herbs and trying to become one with nature or some stupid crap that you're always talking about right?" Henry was at a loss for words. The situation had went and past so suddenly. He knew he shouldn't have stayed around in an urban area the way he had but something had been calling to him something still was calling to him. He wasn't sure if it was Ramona or if it was something else. "Um you look very pretty Ramona," was the only thing Henry could say trying to smile even thought he was filled with terror, more of what Ramona would do to him and less of what the Faith might think about this whole incident. And he knew about five seconds later that, that was the absolute wrong thing to say in a situation such as this. Her slap came fast and hard. "I'M PRETTY!? YOU START A FIGHT IN MY BAR; GET THE FAITH HOT ON YOUR TRAIL! AGAIN! AND ALL YOU CAN THINK TO DO IS TRY TO FLIRT WITH ME!? OR GIVE ME SOME IDIOTIC COMPLIMENT!? I MEAN MY GOD I THOUGHT YOU WERE DENSE BEFORE BUT I MEAN THIS JUST TAKES THE CAKE, YOU KNOW THAT?" Henry looked down at the dead body then back up to Ramona. "Well I should be going now don't you think?" He said with a slight air of defeat as he began to walk out of the bar. "No, wait stop," Ramona said tugging his arm back. "Look I'm just pissed off I mean come on that was stupid. That doesn't mean I'm going to abandon you. It's not like you won't be able to make it out there with the faith running around. Come on, this building has a basement that no one knows about, you can stay until things calm down enough that you can actually walk out of here without someone trying to crucify you." She led him to a backroom where Henry began to look up and down at the skimpy dress she was wearing. It was unlike her she usually wore pants, but she knew how to make money so she would sacrifice her comfort if it would make a few bucks. Henry took some clothes from a closet that was in the room. Then he followed Ramona up to the second floor which was used as a small apartment for Ramona. Once at the top she grabbed some money from the bar vault. Then they both went back to the backroom where she opened a secret passage in the floor that led to the basement. It stunk, but there was food and water. 3. There were always shadows crisscrossing Benjamins dreams. He could never escape them but he knew that they were there inside his brain smoldering him. Tonight he saw a grimacing face that smiled a dark and evil smile. Slowly more emerged he could see fire red hair and yellow eyes glimmering like pieces of amber. The emerging figure had straight hair that came down covering his eyes but the bright yellow still shown through like a demonic light. He wore on his head an old bowler had curved down making his whole thin face seem all the more demonic. "Kill them," the creepy looking man said. Benjamin could see more of the emerging figure from the shadows. The man was wearing a black suit with a black blazer; in his hand he held a large hatchet. "Kill them all. I'm going to spill your guts and take over this useless sack of meat. I should be in control, me!" He continued ranting as he walked closer and closer. The man's black blazer was blowing in the wind showing off his button up shirt. His pants came into view now they were black as night with overall straps now coming into focus as he walked closer and closer. A long tie hung around his neck blowing from side to side. His face continued to smile as he moved closer and closer. "What's going on?" Benjamin asked with fear in his voice. The red headed monster kept moving towards the boy faster and faster not breaking his stare at Benjamin. Soon the crazed demon was running as fast as he could. "I'm going to kill you," he said as he began to laugh madly. He was now only a few inches from Benjamin still laughing he pulled the hatchet back getting ready to swing. The hatchet came down and Benjamin closed his eyes as he tried shield himself. He heard a clang. He opened his eyes and there was his older brother Thomas with a sword in hand blocking the mad man's assault. "You again! Why must you always interfere you useless trash." The demon shouted. "Ben, go now. I'll hold him off as long as I can. You are weakest in your dreams. Quickly you need to wake up. I'll hold him here. But you must live brother." Tom was twenty three, his hair was long and brown; he wore a long trench coat and had grey pants that matched his coat. His shoes were shined to perfection. Looking at his brother with amazement he smiled and turned and ran as fast as he could. What was going on? One minute it was a normal dream and now this nightmare monster shows up. And the man or creature always had a habit of coming through his dreams and was once again back trying to kill him. His dreams were getting worse this was the first time the monster had gotten so close as to nearly end his life. And why was his brother in his dreams? He had always had memories of what his brother looked like before he left home. But never something that looked so recent. It was like he wasn't looking at a memory. It was like it was really his brother. Things were getting too weird for him to understand. His mind was reeling he had to wake up he had to wake up for god sakes if only he could just wake up. He blinked his eyes and he was in his dark bedroom. He could hear the sounds of the city bustling all around him. Sirens were blaring; someone was after someone in an ever turning nonsensical cycle. Welcome to West Kingston he thought the land that doesn't sleep. "I'm going to get you, you filth. Mark my words before the end of this month you'll be mine. And then oh the fun and havoc we'll be able to have." The mad man's voice screamed in his head. It was louder than ever. And he couldn't do anything to shut the voices up they were getting worse and worse. And at times Benjamin felt like just committing suicide in order to a leave this horrible pain racked in his brain. He lit the candle next to his bed and headed down the stairs. The day was early but he had recently taken an apprenticeship at a local printing press. He changed into some work clothes and headed out of the small house into the early morning air. It was his job to get in to sort through the latest stories and help decide which would get in or not. But these voices they wouldn't leave him alone. It was like there was some big battle going on inside his brain and he couldn't get the two sides to calm down even for a bit. His mind was whirling. Quickly he thought go to the local tea shop and grab a piece of bread that'll at least get your mind on something tasty rather than the war of the mind that was happening right now. Then he would get to work and concentrate you can drown out these voices with the concentration needed for work. But god just think about something think about something you can drown out the voices now if you just concentrate hard enough, you can drown out those voices you can, Benjamin thought. He crossed the street and burst out into a run. Yes that's it if I keep running I can get the voices to stop. Oh dear god just please stop for god sakes shut up. Benjamin ran up to the tea shop across the street and slammed open the door. He entered and tried to act casual as if nothing was the matter as he walked up slowly to the man behind the counter. Benjamin smiled and ordered a bagel and was reaching into his pocket when he heard the voice of the mad man ringing in his head again this time stronger than ever. "You filth, it should be me out there enjoying all the fruits of life you take for granted." The mad man said from inside his head. "No don't listen to him. Keep calm brother we've got it under control." His brother spoke. And then Benjamin felt his brain begin to split in two. He looked at the portly man who was at the counter making the bagel and naming off the prices and trying to desperately. Yet he could feel his mind reeling and a scream swelling to the top of his lungs and then he burst like a firecracker. "WHATS GOING ON HERE!!!" Benjamin shouted at the top of his lungs while the man at the counter stood shocked with a bagel in his hand. "I'm sorry I had to raise the price recently." The man said clearly on the verge of tears. "Would you still like the bagel?" the man now said breaking into tears. Benjamin looked down embarrassed and frowned as he raised his head. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm not having the best of days lately." Benjamin said as he paid for the bagel then exited the building. Just outside hung a wanted poster with a bearded man's face on it. The poster read like this. Wanted: Henry Grace Crime: Murder Note: the man is highly dangerous enemy of the faith. He's known to have healing powers able to heal any wound. Caution suspect is armed and very dangerous. May god be with you. The faith is always protecting you. Stigmata Martydom Ch. 03 4. Ben stared at the poster awestruck. He held the poster in his hand as he slowly walked down the street. Where was he, this man who could heal any wounds? He had to get to work; the newspaper archives might have some information on this man. He headed to the printing press. It was a few blocks away in the brick covered city. The sun was beginning to come into full dawn lighting up the sky with both majesty and beauty as it did. He saw the small building that was right in the middle of the city. It was nearly identical to all others of the square brick buildings lining the area of the small business district the only thing that set it apart was the large painted on letters which were fading now that read: The West Kingston Tribune. He went inside the building. It was filled with machines hustling and bustling forming newspapers which were going to be printed soon and sent off by random paper boys. He headed past the machines to a backroom that was marked Editor in chief. Benjamin walked inside closing the door behind him and looking at the small office to which there were simply two desks and a giant mound of papers. There waiting for him was an old man. With a balding head, white hair, and spectacles held around a chain. He smiled as he looked at Benjamin. "Well it's good to see that you can show up on time my boy. Now this is still your first week so I'll give you a little rundown about being an editor's assistant." The old man named Eugene said. Benjamin smiled not letting on that he would use this day of work to secretly scour through the mound of papers to find anything he could about a man named Henry Grace, or someone who was known for having healing powers. The old man was a kind old soul he seemed so gentle that even the toughest man couldn't help himself but stop and kindly say 'hello' and 'can I help you across the street sir,' and as much as Benjamin would love to do nothing more than sit and chat with the master of the press he knew that there was more pressing matters to attend to. As they sat down at the two desks, Eugene handed him a stack of papers and told Benjamin to look through them and decide which ones would work best for the paper. Then Eugene would look through those Benjamin had selected and select his own then put them in some kind of order. "Be quick now you have to read fast if we wish to get this paper out on time ya hear?" Eugene said with a smile as he began to look through the order for how the paper would look tomorrow. The stack Benjamin would be looking through would be used for the days long after that. As Benjamin looked through the stories he held to the idea that most didn't have much to do with anything really? Here was something to do with economics. And here was a story about the latest big pie eating contest that West Kingston held annually. Everything was monotonous over and over yet again each useless story after another with no discernable end in sight. Until finally he hit a headline that looked most promising. "Murderer still on the loose in West Kingston." Benjamin scoured the paper with his eyes, it read like this. 'Be advised. A former man of the faith known as Henry Grace is currently still at large. He is a known Fallen with healing abilities. I have personally been seeking clues as to find about the masterminds whereabouts and motives. I have discovered on January 17th not one week ago a man named Henry Grace entered a bar where two loyal soldiers to the faith were enjoying a few drinks of fine apple cider and teaching others about the impact that choosing god has had on their lives at large. When a drunken Henry Grace apparently slashed one of the men, and slammed the others head into a beer mug and left the premises running like a coward into the dark of night. Witnesses report that the man was drunk with rage and like an out of control animal. Ramona, the owner of the bar, had this to say. "yes I was there the whole time he was mouthing off and then out of nowhere he whips out this switchblade and well at that point I ran." 'What we have here is a terrible tragedy. And we should always be reminded of what happens when you let idiots carry weapons. Maybe the faith should act on this,' Said the local head of West Kingston church Harry Buckhannon. "We should all be reminded of the ever growing threat that the Fallen present to our society. Through my research I have found out that there is a hefty bounty on his head. And this has attracted many a bounty hunter to our small city in order to try and seek their own personal fortune." There you have it folks a personal message from the West Kingston Post to you. Be wary and on the lookout.' Benjamin gripped the small article and smiled. A bounty hunter eh? They should be coming from all over. Benjamin thought. They will all probably start off at this bar "Ramona's" and from there I could follow them to their destination. Benjamin smiled; he had finally found a solid lead as to what he was going to do. He continued his work knowing full well when the night came the bar will have to have at least one bounty hunter looking for fortune. He picked up another article that probably wouldn't make the news because it happened in East Kingston but he couldn't help but read the title followed by the article. 'Rock man robs bank. Then claims he's been falsely accused because of skin condition.' 'The East Kingston National Bank was robbed on January the 15th. Faith officers saw what appeared to be a large grey skinned rock man emerging from the bank and crashing his way through the city at a brisk jog while police kept up the pace. They failed to injure the man because he proved impervious to most weapons that they used. Lead detective Lenko says that it could have been his rock hard skin that made these weapons so useless against the burglar. They then chased him on horseback all the way out of town and onto his small farm. There they kept chase until the man ran into his house and shut the door behind him. The faith officers too scared to cause more trouble from the great giant simply knocked on the door and waited for him to politely answer the door. I interviewed officer Pennywise who was there at the scene of the action for more on this event. "Well he answered the door he did and he seemed very pleasant as well. He said 'hi how you doin, what can I help you with?' And I was like 'yes you can you can kindly return the money you had stolen from us.'" "Ah, what happened next officer Pennywise?" "Well at this point he looked quite confused and he looked around and said. 'Money what money? I don't see any money here unless you count my dear little dog he's my pride and joy he is and he just happens to be named copper.' I turned to a fellow officer and whispered in his ear. And the man looked confused and asked why he was being bothered today when he was sitting here playing with his dog and counting sheep and all that. And I said 'Look here we have multiple witnesses that put a giant rock man at the bank and you match the description perfectly. In fact I personally chased you all the way here just to talk to you' well as you can imagine the man got quite flustered at this and quite mad as well." "What did the man say then officer Pennywise?" "Well he started to yell he said something like. 'What are you talking about I match the description? Just because my skin isn't like yours? I don't see you going and picking up people with dark skin and putting them at scenes of the crime then saying 'hey you did it because you look just like that guy would you?'" "Would you ever do that Officer Pennywise?" "Well no that's just wrong, and besides I do have darker skin so I don't see why I would be seen as racist." "Why not Officer Pennywise?" "Well because that wasn't the case and that was the man! We followed him we did. I don't see why there's a point in arguing that when it's the fact that he did rob the bank. We saw him we chased him. But yet he prats on about how he didn't do it." Well there we have the good officer Pennywise a man simply trying to get by on a meager salary having to deal with a man who's as hard as a rock. And has an alibi as strong as a new born bunny. I hope this serves as just another shining example of how the faith needs to come down harder and sooner on these Fallen so that they don't think that they can go around breaking whatever laws they don't like and using their powers to do whatever want. Benjamin handed the article to Eugene with a smile. "Sir I'm not sure if this can go in. but I personally found it very entertaining and readers might do the same." "Ah good work lad." He skimmed his eyes reading it and delighted Benjamin by smiling. "Oh don't you love it when someone actually shows the faith up for the cowards they are." He smiled and patted Benjamin's scruffy brown hair. "You'll be a fine editor someday my boy. A fine editor, oh did I ever tell you about my son?" "No sir, I don't think you did?" Benjamin said looking through some more articles. "Oh well he'd be about twenty three. He was a bright lad brilliant boy but he saw something one day. Connor that was my sons name, he was gifted like this rock man. And he was all fine and good until one day he just. Well it's probably not good to talk about it. You remind me a bit of him personally. You don't quite have his good fashion sense. But not everyone does." "No sir, I guess not everyone does." The two of them spent the rest of the day working and joking until it was finally ready for Benjamin to call if quits for the night. Benjamin went home and quickly ate dinner then headed down to the boardwalk where the bar Ramona's was. It was raining that night when Benjamin snuck into the bar Ramona's. It was not that hard to do considering that the place was unusually busy. This was probably due to the fact that this place had become quite famous because of the recent incident. The owner of the bar seemed to have mixed emotions about all the people inside her establishment. Benjamin searched the corners then found a booth in the back. He tried to be inconspicuous, then he turned his attention to seeing if he could find a bounty hunter. He peered throughout the dimly lit building and he could see that several of the patrons were the bounty hunters he was looking for. One wore an ordinary shirt and had some kind of axe that looked old and rusty. His eyes searched and he soon found a man in a long tan trench coat and brown fedora. The bounty hunter was smelling everything around him. Then the bounty hunter turned and started looking very oddly at the older woman who tended to the bar. The woman looked just as odd, but with a triumphant grin the man pointed to a wall and with greedy eyes whispered in her ear. She soon backed away dropping a glass she was pouring then shook her head. But the man smiled anyway and jumped towards the back wall. The man quickly ran to the door that led to the back room of the bar and swung it open and went through quickly. Benjamin leapt up from his own booth and ran for the backroom. Benjamin was hot after the bounty hunter determined not to lose sight of the man who could help him find Henry Grace. Benjamin went into the room and saw a secret passage which had been opened and led to a basement. He went down the stairs and stood at its base. The strange man was standing right in front of him with a grim smile on his face. "What's this, a wee pup wants to join the hunt with the big dogs?" the man asked mockingly. "I...I...I..." was all Benjamin could stammer out. Then like a bolt of lightning Henry appeared from the darkness and struck the stranger in the side knocking him into a wall. "Get out of here kid this aint your fight!" Henry shouted as he was thrown into the air by the stranger with the trench coat. Henry and the stranger then began a fist fight in which neither one gained ground but with each throwing devastating blows to one another. Trench coat removed a small war-hammer from his belt and looked ready to smash it into his opponent. But Henry was too fast and knocked the hammer out of his hands. It flew wildly and before Benjamin could make any moves to try and duck. He was hit with the wooden end of the hammer and then his consciousness left his body in an enveloping blackness. 5. Benjamin jerked awake his head was not in any pain. He got up and surveyed his surroundings. He was in a room with nothing in it and everything was white. The walls had no form and it seemed as if there were no walls at all merely an endless white room that was pathetically lonely. Slowly he moved his limbs he was sure that there had to be some damage to his body after taking a hit like that. He found that this movement came quite easy to him. He stood up and began walking though where he could go in an endless white he didn't know. He began to break into a run trying to get anywhere but this never ending white but found that it was impossible; there was nothing and no one. His mind was racing now move away from here anywhere but here he thought to himself. After he couldn't take it anymore He collapsed on the ground his mind heavy with an overwhelming sense of loneliness and exile. His mind wished so badly for something anything that wasn't white and endless something besides himself to prove that he wasn't alone in this pitiful existence. He looked up again this time there was a man, he was wearing a bowler hat and had long brown hair. His smile was warm and pleasant and as he edged closer the name seemed to form easily in his mouth and he shouted across the endless plain. "TOM, THOMAS IS THAT YOU!?" The figure smiled and kept walking. He was wearing a pair of green trousers and had a matching suit. His tie which hung down to his belt was a bright red and the whole outfit had a comic effect but was very warming. "Yes, Ben it's me. It's good to see you again little brother." Benjamin got up from the ground and broke into a sprint. Benjamin was dead he thought to himself. That was the only way he would be able to see Thomas. He reached Thomas who held his arms out to hug. Benjamin began to cry as the two brothers hugged for the first time in ages. Benjamin began to sob as he held his brother close and there was a small silence as Tom let Ben get this pent up emotion out of him. "Why'd you have to die? Why'd you leave us?" "Ben, there's something I have to tell you. But you have to keep an open mind and listen to what I have to say." Thomas said sullenly. Benjamin looked up and nodded. "Ben, I'm a Fallen. I kinda have this ability to see what's gonna happen before it does. Two years ago I had a vision of the faith finding out where I was and what I was. They wanted to use me as a weapon to seek out and crush other people who were different like me. I saw two paths, the first led to the death of you and mom. But I would be spared and killed later on in duty to the faith. So I chose the second path, where I did not fight and all of you were spared. But my death was unavoidable. And I didn't want to make things any worse for the people I love." "You're a Fallen?" Benjamin asked coldly. "Yes I knew ever since I had dreams where I could see events that just had this way of coming true." "So why are you here? Am I dead? Where is here? Is this just another hallucination? And if that's the case why are you a hallucination inside my head? Why is it though that you feel so real?" "To put things simply this isn't quite a hallucination. And no you're not dead. Somehow when I died I was able to take refuge in your mind." Benjamin turned his head and saw another figure walking up out of the white beyond. Benjamin backed away from Thomas to look at the approaching figure. The person was built whoever they were. With odd hair that was tied back into a ponytail. As the figure slowly walked up with powerful deliberate steps Benjamin could make out the clothes. They greatly resembled a seventeenth century general. There was a blue overcoat and pure black vest. His pants were pure black as well as his nylons and heeled shoes. as the man came closer it was clear to see that the man was on in the years probably around sixty or so. The wrinkles mixed with ancient battle scars that made the man seem all the more wise and powerful. His hair was long white and was the color of pure ivory. The man approached Benjamin and put his hand on Benjamin's shoulder. "We are souls trapped inside your own soul. We are in a sense trapped here by your powers. You are a vessel to which we can live and survive. It's a mixture of a haunting and a symbiotic relationship. For as long as we are here we can assist you. If you die we die. Am I making any sense?" The old man said plainly. "I think," Benjamin said slowly. "But I swear this isn't real though, I know that this is certainly one of the weirdest dreams I've had to date." Benjamin looked around and with an odd smile he began to speak again. "I must ask if I'm in a severe hallucination where the demons of my mind try and use odd logic to persuade me into falling deeper into my insanity. Yet I am curious of one thing. Where is the red headed demon that seems to stalk my dreams?" Suddenly a black void came sputtering up from the whiteness to the right of Benjamin and the red headed man rose up from the darkness with blood shot eyes and a dark sinister smile. "So boy, you think you're better than me?" he pulled up a broadsword from the void and hoisted the massive blade over his shoulder. "Personally you don't stand a dogs chance at beating me." "Put a muzzle on this beast and send him back my boy. Remember this is your mind and you have control over it." The old man said with a smile. Benjamin turned his body too face the smiling demon. "Come on boy bring it on I'll be sure to cut you down to pieces." The demon said. But with a wave of Benjamin's arm the red head was flung foreword from where he stood and landed on an invisible wall face first. He slid down and landed in a heaped pile. The man got up slowly and brushed the dirt from his suit and looked up smiling. "Oh now you're going to get it. I'm gonna really mess you up now little boy." "You see my boy," the old man said laughing. "Now please if you could find a way to shut him up for a little while I would greatly appreciate it." And with another wave of Benjamin's arm the red headed man's body became chained and his mouth became covered with a large muzzle. The old man smiled and clapped his hands in delight. "Very good, you see now I ask you if you were insane would you be able to control your hallucinations in such a way like that?" "I don't know," Benjamin said. "Are you insane? And if so would that means that you know you can control hallucination? And if you claim to be a sane hallucination in an insane person's brain wouldn't that be quite contradictory." "Ah how clever of you my boy. No I don't think I can solve that puzzle. But I take it for now you don't want to comprehend that idea for the moment. So I'll leave you to it and allow you to return to your world. So long my boy." And like that the white void skewed back away and Benjamin woke up in a dark forest with a bright fire around him. He looked over and there was the man from the wanted poster. There was Henry Grace. "Well it's about time you wake up. Here I was wondering what in the world was going on." "Oh, where are we? And what happened to the man in the trench coat. What the happened to me?" "Well you were knocked out and I beat the crap out of the guy and then I dragged you out into the forest and built this fire and boom here we are. Heck I don't even know why I picked you up except for the fact that I had an odd feeling about you. What's your name anyway kid?" Stigmata Martydom Ch. 03 "Benjamin sir, Benjamin Grant," Benjamin said looking at him "Oh well that's rather of interesting. What are you cooking?" Benjamin said eyeing the pot then looking at Henry then eyeing the pipe in his hand. "What are you smoking?" "Oh this it's my own herbal remedy. If you want one you can have one." Henry said handing Benjamin his pipe. "I'm making some stew kid. You should have some. But why the hell were you trying to find me anyway. I suspect you're not a bounty hunter or else you would have tried to enter that fray that me and ole trench coat had earlier." "Well sir," Benjamin said taking a puff off the pipe and then started hacking and coughing. "Holy cow what is in this!?" "It's my own kind of plant I've been growing, it's supposed to be easy to smoke and have a strong affect. I take it this is your first time ever smoking something?" "Yeah," Benjamin said. "But getting back to your question, I read on your wanted poster that you had healing powers. I wanted to see if you could heal me. I don't know what's wrong with me but I've been hearing a lot of voices lately and having these weird dreams." "Voices eh, sound's to me like an auditory hallucination. That's interestin come over here." Henry said patting the dirt. And Benjamin who was very eager to cure his problem walked over and knelt down next to Henry. Henry then held Benjamin's head and a green aura came from Henry's hands and went around Benjamin's head like two lines of pure green energy circling fast round a track in opposite directions. The trains moved faster and faster and then stopped. And the aura returned to Henry's hands and slowly Henry lowered his hands then went back to facing the fire. "Sorry kid, you don't have a disease. I can cure even mental problems but you, you aint got a problem." Henry said sorrowfully. "What?" Benjamin stammered out in confusion. "Then what is it? What's wrong with me then?" "don't know what to tell ya kid." Said Henry. "These voices you been hearing, you ever had a talk with them? Maybe figure out why they're there?" "I remember when I was passed out," Benjamin stammered. "I saw my brother and an old man that said they were spirits. But I thought that couldn't be true. My brother that is to say while I was passed out said he was this gifted Fallen. He was always treated special he was going to do great things someday. I was just Benjamin the little brother, the person with a normal life, who was going to be an editor." Henry pulled two bowls from a bag laying beside him and scooped out some stew for them to eat. Henry handed him a bowl with filled stew. "Eat this kid, but Your brother was there right? Well at least that one is obvious he's inhabiting you're body trying to help you out you know, protect the little bro." Henry said assuring Benjamin. "Yeah, his name was Tom and he was the best," Benjamin said. "He was always looking out for me. Even said back in that dream world that he gave his life to make sure me and the rest of the family would be safe from the faiths wrath." "Hmm that would incite a lot of hate don't you think." Henry asked. "I know I'm not too fond of them but that's because I was once with them. Never knew a Tom though." "You were part of the faith? How did you get involved with them?" "The faith goes around finding Fallen they have all their scouts out there looking for odd activity and then they go back and report them. The faith will then decide if they are useful as a weapon then they send what they call 'retrievers to go and get them. The Fallen are then taken to the central church are then given a choice. Become an acolyte of the faith, or die." "Wow, that's pretty brutal, so I take it you joined them?" Benjamin asked. "Not at first, but I realized that was a mistake. They tortured me for three days straight. I was forced onto a stretcher. And from there they could whip me, bash me, and all sorts of others things on top of forcing my bones away. Finally I broke down and I joined them. Didn't know that someday I'd regret making that decision but I did maybe would have been better if I just died I don't know anymore." "What did they make you do?" Benjamin asked quietly. "Maybe some other day kid, but not today. Right now what we have to do is decide what the hell are we going to do? I mean I'm still on the run and I need to get back to my cabin. But they might have already known about that. And now you've been associated with me. If there's anything the faith likes less than deserters it's those who help deserters." "Well I know I want to get the guys that killed my brother. And are taking others and putting families through the same kind of mess. No, no one deserves this kind of pain." Benjamin stood up looking at the sky. "It may be against gods wishes but damn it I need to tear this world apart I'll have to but no one deserves that kind of pain, NOBODY!" "Sounds like you got a strong resolution. But it's gonna take a lot more than two guys to bring down a whole government." Inside Henry was smiling. He had been looking at a chance to take down the faith. Now someone who was willing to help him do so was right in front of him. "Yeah were going to need to find others. That should be our top priority. Don't you agree Henry?" Henry knew though that everything needed a plan. That he would have to think of a possible way to do things. "I don't even know if we should be doing this?" Henry stammered. "Do you have any ideas what your can do? Holding souls inside your brain? Is that even useful in a fight?" "I think so the souls said they'd help me give me use of their powers?" "Are all the souls that speak with you Fallen?" "I'm not sure. But I'm sure they'll be able to help me somehow. Or you could train me in combat readying us for when we take down the faith." "Alright determination. It's been so long since I've seen someone who has it. But you've got conviction I think maybe we could make a plan." The two sat and ate and discussed how they would go about this new plan. Benjamin felt a strong rush of adrenaline in his body probably the greatest it's been in his life. And he felt it swell over him. We're going to bring down the faith and free the world he thought.