Moonlight Crusade: Chapter 3, Part 1

Kyle is now a vampire and must come to terms with it. Meanwhile, Kyrios prepares to move forward with his plan

Ursula gave Kyle a small office she had converted into a bedroom. It consisted mostly of a semi-comfortable bed and a desk. Like most rooms in the church, the windows were covered with steel shutters to prevent any sunlight from getting in. An antiquated lamp on the desk was on, bathing the room in a sickly light.

He currently lay on the bed, but he had missed his chance for sleep. Now, his brain was operating at full speed.

Why had God allowed this? Why hadn’t he stamped out these monsters long ago? Sure, Ursula seemed nice, but the rest were, indeed, monsters.

He desperately tried to avoid closing his eyes, because when he did, he saw his butchered friends lying in that hotel room. He had heard about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Now, he knew full well what it felt like. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. Every gory detail assaulted him again and again, repeatedly coming around like a carousel of horrors. He was breathing rapidly, his heartbeat a ball bouncing between two surfaces only inches apart.

His friends were dead. He was a vampire. But the hardest thing of all was having to abandon his family. It crushed him beyond words to have to do that. They were the rock on which his life was built. Ursula had promised him strength, but right now, he couldn’t imagine ever being strong enough to cope with this.

He thought back to the Trivial Pursuit game earlier. He heard Jerry’s words as his friend sang to the tune of Queen, only this time, they were twisted. God is truly awful, anyone can seeeeee. He instinctively tried to banish that thought, viewing it as heresy, but a part of him welcomed it. After all, God had allowed his life to be so thoroughly annihilated in the course of just a few hours.

But this wasn’t really unprecedented, was it? God had done the same with Job. Just said to the Devil, “Yeah, go ahead. Job’s all yours.” Maybe the Lord would replace Kyle’s whole life when this was over. So sorry, Kyle. Just had to prove a point to someone and you were just the lad to do it with.

He managed to push the thought out of his mind, but it was replaced once again with the image of his dead friends, their body parts lying around, their blood choking the carpet.

* * *

The other shahid milled about, looking for clues as to where Kyle Falconer had gone. Chloe stood next to Kyrios in the abandoned garage as he held the steel shutter and examined it. This was Ursula’s work. It had to be.

“Apologies. He… escaped,” Chloe said. Her left arm hung limply; her body hadn’t finished repairing itself yet. There was a gash across the top of her robe which extended from right arm to left shoulder also.

“It makes no difference,” he replied. “No matter where he goes, he can’t escape the fate I’ve set for him. By now, his faith is shattered. He saw firsthand what God will do to protect his children: nothing.

“I’m more concerned about our plans. Ursula has him now, and if they figure out what our agenda is, they may do something to oppose it.”

Chloe remained silent. There was nothing she could add that he did not already know. She would go along with anything he said.

The shahid known as Mikhail came up to him. “Shouldn’t we be more concerned with Guide? If they find out what we’re up to, they’ll sanction us,” he said in his Russian accent.

“You all knew the risks when you decided to follow me,” Kyrios said. And they had. Except for Chloe who was his slave and had no say in the matter. “All of us have been hurt by Christianity. That plague must be eradicated by any means necessary.”

“Yes, but your doll letting kid escape poses unnecessary risk.” He stared icily at Chloe. She showed no reaction to this.

“You fail to see the potential of soldiers like Kyle Falconer. When faith is broken, it becomes just as strong going the other direction. He and others like him will come to fight against God with everything they have. And with the shahid strength I’ve given him, he will do much damage.”

“If Guide doesn’t find out and put a stop to it,” Mikhail clarified.

“Do not question him.” The petite Frenchwoman, Amalie, stood stern-faced behind Mikhail.

“I am simply saying we should not take on needless risk so close to operation.”

“Enough,” Kyrios said. “Everyone, fall in line.”

All the shahid lined up in front of him with their arms behind their backs. The exception was Chloe who remained by his side.

He continued. “Chloe, what is our mutual goal? What is the one thing that binds us aside from the spoiled blood of Christ?”

Without hesitation, she said, “Annihilation.”

“The rest of you,” Kyrios said. “What do we exist to accomplish?”

“Death and rebirth,” they said in unison.

He nodded, satisfied. “Good. Never forget our mission. All right, let’s move out. We can’t stay here now that Ursula knows our location.”