Dead Set Part 17

“I knew you didn’t care about me,” Gabriel spat.

“Bullshit,” Christian screamed. “Because of what they did to you, I became something I never thought I’d be: a killer. I took the life of everyone in that place in grief of what they did.”

“You lie again, Father. Death killed those men as a sign of good faith towards me.”

“You’re as gullible as your mother if you think he did anything for you without gain for himself. Now, I’m going to send you to meet her in the Afterlife. Maybe she can talk some sense into you.”

Dead Set Part 16

“Revenge for what,” Christian asked of Gabriel.

“You left Mom and I to die, so you could save Samantha! You put her safety over mine and it cost me everything, so I’m going to take her away from you. If I had to lose everything, then so will you.”

“You’re not going to touch her.”

“Why not, Father? I know you care nothing for her. You don’t care about anything except for your death.”

“You don’t know anything. You proved that by trusting Death. And what’s with the priest? What the hell is going on?”

“None of that matters anymore,” his son screamed as he pulled a gun.

Christian began laughing. “What do you think that’s going to do to me? I can’t be killed.”

“It’s not meant to kill you.”

The gun went off, the bullet hitting the eternal in the chest. Upon impact, the bullet exploded into a cloud of gas. The force of the blow made Christian take in a deep breath of the sleeping gas. Within seconds, he was out. Gabriel picked up his father’s slumbering body and headed out the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the case of money that the priest had given him. No, he thought, this is payment enough. Then he left the room, leaving the unconscious priest alone with his money.

Dead Set Part 15

DS arrived home to find a message waiting for him on his computer. He clicked a few buttons in order to decipher the encryption. The message was short and simple: FIND AND KILL THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE POLICE MURDERS. How had they found out so quickly? And how was he going to accomplish the impossible? They left him with no choice. He had to find a way to get Christian to disappear, but how?

Thinking it over, he decided that he had to convince Christian to leave the area. He knew that he could be killed just showing his face to the eternal, but he had to do his job. Now, he just had to find him. I need some sleep first, he thought. After laying down in his bed, the task at hand overwhelmed him until he finally fell asleep.

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Dead Set Part 12

“An impressive power,” Death commented. “Too bad it has no effect on eternals, Life.”

“Says you,” Christian retorted.

“He’s right,” DS chimed in. “I’ve tried to use it on both of you, but it didn’t work.”

“You’ve tried to do that to me before,” Christian asked the assassin. “How many times?”

Dead Set Part 11

Christian awoke without knowing how he got where he was. The last thing he remembered was Death laughing at him. He sat up and began thinking about what Death had told him. As an Eternal, he was obligated to perform duties, like Death had said, but he hadn’t done any for centuries. When did everything become so complicated, he asked himself. They’ve always been that way.

“Oh, you’re up,” he heard his daughter say.

He looked at her. It hurt him to see the concern on her face. Why did she suddenly care? “How’s Bethany,” he asked her.

Dead Set Part 10

 

Darkness surrounded him. He looked around and saw nothing except for emptiness. Suddenly, a flash of light momentarily blinded him. When his vision finally cleared, he saw a man and two doors. The man he knew, but hadn’t seen in a long time. The doors were still a mystery. They stood, staring at each other for a long time. Neither of them wanted to be the first to speak. This went on for what seemed like an eternity, which was saying something considering who these two men were.

“Christian,” the other man asked, breaking the silence. “What an apt name for one who has been doing a lot of killing lately. I am beginning to think you’re after my job.”

Dead Set Part 9

Samantha opened her eyes. She couldn’t remember where she was. Looking around, she realized that she was still in her living room, lying on her couch. That’s when she saw her father holding Bethany. Getting up, she almost stepped on DS. His face carried a look of pain. Samantha wanted to get her daughter away from Christian before she confronted him. “Bethany,” she said as she walked over to them. “It’s time for bed.”

“But I wanna stay up with you and Grampa,” she begged.

“Now,” her mother commanded.

Dead Set Part 8

“Who the hell is that guy, and why did you set me up like that,” DS demanded.

Samantha looked down at the man’s arms, still clutching her shirt. “Are you going to let go of me?”

DS, apparently unaware that he was still holding on to her, let go. “What did you get me into,” he asked again, defeated.

Samantha looked into his eyes. She didn’t want to set the meeting up in the first place. Feeling bad about doing it, she decided to tell him the truth. “His name is Christian. I set up the meeting for him because he rescued Bethany from that bank explosion. And…”

“And what?”

Dead Set Part 7

Whiting found himself handcuffed, sitting in the back of a squad car. With all of the changes in his life lately, this one seemed to be the worst. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember anything that happened after he left the police station. What did I do, he asked himself. All became clear when Peppers walked up to the car and opened the door. Grabbing Whiting by the shirt, Peppers pulled him out of the car. He slammed the reporter up against the hood.

“What did I do,” Bradley honestly wondered aloud.

“What did you do,” Peppers mocked in disbelief. “You just exploded my damn partner, you bastard!”

Dead Set: Part 6

A slow, throbbing pain woke Father Michaels from his fitful sleep. His eyes opened, adjusting to the stinging light. Then, as he tried to rub the haziness from his eyes, he realized he was strapped to a bed. He looked around at his unfamiliar surroundings, thinking he was in a bad dream. It appeared to be a hospital room. Panic almost swept over him, but he retained his senses. Calling on his closeness to God, he found the strength to stay calm. “Hello,” he called out. “Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?”