Face pale with terror, Adam's shaky hand moved to switch on the bedside lamp. Images of Fire and Brimstone, and writhing figures, - men, women and children all - screaming in pain as flames consumed their bodies, flowed through his mind. Eyeballs exploded, and liquefied flesh oozed into fiery lava pits, leaving nothing but a collapsed pile of charred bones on the ground before moments later the victim's human form was resurrected in its entirety, and subjected to the same agonising fate again. Over and over, ad infinitum.
"DO YOU DESERVE TO BURN?"
The Pastor stared at him and Eve, feverish gaze darting between the children seated in the front row next to their Uniformed father and oh-so-sweet-acting Mary, pointing the Crucifix at each in turn.
"DO YOU?"
The question screamed at one child, then the other.
"OR DO YOU DESERVE TO BE SAVED?"
"Hell for you, boy." David twisted his arm, and painfully pinched the sensitive flesh above Adam's elbow, the previous day's misdemeanour neither forgotten nor forgiven, but the boy knew not to protest. Or, even worse, to plead to his Step-Mother for assistance.
Father O'Malley, a friend of David's and Police Chaplain, approached from the pulpit.
"REPENT YOUR SINS AND LOVE AND OBEY THY FATHER, OR YOU SHALL BE TORTURED FOR ETERNITY."
The Man of God frothed at the mouth and screamed at Adam and Eve in front of the entire Parish, continuing even as the boy cried and cowered away in abject terror. A man who was meant to be loving, and care for his flock. A man who.....................
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Adam's head struck the wall of the trailer with a harsh thump, eliciting a grunt of pain, but at least it brought an end to the memories before the howl of denial escaped his lips, further scaring Eve, and allowed him to avoid having to think about what the same Priest had later done after David had offered Adam up as an altar boy on his fifteenth birthday. Where the phrase, In Service of The Holy Father, assumed an entirely new meaning, and no amount of soap had been able to cleanse the vile taste from his mouth.
Panting and puffing, he returned to reality, and wrapped his arms tightly around Eve, as always feeling guilt that she endured the same nightmarish memories as he. For as much pain and abuse as he'd suffered, it was his little sister's that most pierced his heart, and encouraged the relentless mental demons to never rest. Not only what he knew, but the depravities Eve couldn't bring herself to fully reveal after they'd reunited. Maybe if they'd unconditionally loved David, as he'd demanded, things would have been different, but then how can you love and respect one on command who has done naught to earn either?
If there really were such a thing as Angels, why didn't Eve have wings? Adam clasped a hand over hers, and ran a palm lovingly up and down her back, admonishing himself to remain strong for his sister. "Too much power, we can't let him." He repeated her words, and flicked his gaze back to the television, fearful that the channels might have changed by themselves when he'd looked away, and David would be there on the screen shaking his head in mocking contempt at Adam and Eve. Then her next comment penetrated his consciousness and the expression on his face when he returned focus to her was one of disbelief, as if she were crazy. "Kill him?" Thunder cracked outside, and Adam jumped a foot in the air, expecting the ceiling to cave in and crush them to pieces where they lay.
However, it didn't, and as Eve crawled up his body and his touch drifted down her skin, the spark in her eyes ignited a confidence in her elder brother. "Murder him, eviscerate him, cut God's fucking head off and feed it to the dogs." Excitement and glee lit up Adam's features, mostly in surprise that he'd actually uttered the words aloud, before his countenance sobered. "Do you think we could, but how? He has his army, and would turn us to dust before we even got near. Unless." Adam's brows furrowed in concentration, the last word barely audible.
Leaning forward, he tugged on Eve's arm, bringing her closer, and peered into her deep-brown eyes. "Do you recall that movie we watched one time, Evie? The Wizard of Oz." Whispering, he cupped her chin and caressed her cheek. "Sometimes when I have a good dream, that's what I dream about." A light smile caused the corners of his lips to curl upwards as he recalled one of the few pleasurable events from childhood. "That God is like the Wizard, all booming voice and scary threats, but once you get close, you discover he's actually nothing but a pathetic little man, terrified of his own shadow."
Shrugging, Adam sighed, and kissed the tip of Eve's nose, then her forehead, "Maybe that's just wishful thinking, but we're not helpless children any more, and if we took out his minions first?" The very same blue-uniformed minions who, after a few too many beers at David's poker nights lured the teenage Adam down to the basement and forced him to perform acts condemned in the Bible, but apparently condoned by The Lord for certain of his Acolytes. "Weaken his defences and make him frightened of us, before we confronted him." Kissing Evie's nose again, then her mouth, Adam Magdalene lightly bumped his head against his sister's. "If it doesn't work, we're destined for Satan anyway."
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