The Wrath Walker (The Wrath Series Book 1) by Matthew Newson (fun to read .txt) 📗

smile on it. As I went to pull the trigger, I felt the cold steel of the barrel of a gun pressed hard against the back of my head, and the unmistakable sound of the hammer being pulled back.

“Drop the gun, or I will end you where you stand.”

Chapter Twenty-ThreeBrandon Farmer

The Holy Anointed Church

“I MEAN IT BRANDON, drop the gun and put your hands in the air. If you pull that trigger, I will pull mine, do you understand me?”

Lizzie.

My heart still did that flutter when I heard her speak, even though she had a gun on me, and sounded like she fully intended to use it. I guess in all the excitement I didn’t hear her when she entered the room with me pointing a gun at her pastor, fiancé, and his friends.

“Thank God you’re here, babe. He just came in here with a gun and started going on about some crazy weird conspiracy theory about all of us being evil and wanting to destroy the entire city. The man has clearly lost his mind.”

Of course, Scott would lie and make the situation worse, but I needed to stay calm and explain to Elizabeth what was really going on. I hoped to God she’d believe me and not kill me.

“Elizabeth please, you have to listen to me. I know what this must look like to you but trust me in this.”

“Put down the gun, Brandon,” Elizabeth said softly.

“You don’t understand. These men are not who they seem to be. They are Satanists, and what they are planning to do tonight is going to cause this entire city to be destroyed by the wrath of God.”

“This is the last time I’m going to tell you, or I will shoot you, Brandon. Now put the gun down,” she said more forceful than before. “You have already killed at least two men that I know of, and I can’t say that I blame you. Those were evil men who did nothing but hurt others. These men here are good and decent, and the only thing they’re guilty of is acts of selflessness and works of charity for others. Don’t make this worse for yourself.”

“I didn’t kill those men, I already told you that. Wrath did, and he and his brothers are going to destroy the entire city unless we stop these men right now.”

She pressed the barrel of the gun so hard against the back of my head, she pushed me forward.

“I swear if you say another word about your imaginary friend, and you don’t drop the gun, I’m going to kill you right here and now. You have until the count of three, and then I will shoot.”

She couldn’t be serious. It was me...  We had a serious history together.

“One.”

“What am I? A child? You’re going to count to three and kill me, because that is what you’re going to be doing, Elizabeth. You are about to commit murder, and I know you won’t be able to live with yourself after that.”

“Two!”

She was really going to kill me if I didn’t stop and put down the gun, and the city would be doomed in my death.

“Okay. You win!” I raised my hands and she quickly grabbed the pistol from me and patted me down. She found and took the extra bullets from my pocket. “These men are going to kill me, you know that, right? They’re probably going to kill you too.”

“Sounds like you have angered a lot more people with your stunts than just me. You need some real help, Brandon. Too bad they don’t have sanitariums anymore.”

“Yeah well, you’re the second person who’s told me that today, but it’s true, they are going to kill me. They are going to sacrifice me because of my love for justice, and the city will fall into perpetual spiritual darkness when I’m gone and then it will be destroyed.”

She pulled my arms down and turned me around. I looked her square in the eyes as she locked the hand cuffs on my wrists.

“Elizabeth, wait.”

“Enough Brandon, you’re lucky I’m not cuffing you with your hands behind your back.”

“Lizzie please,” I said in a way that caused her to stop and gave her a moment of pause. I stared directly into her eyes like I used to do when we were together, and I wanted her to know I was serious about something. She tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes, and I could tell I had started to get through to her.

“Will someone please fill me in on what happened here this evening, before I take Mr. Farmer downtown?” She turned to Phillip and the others at the table.

Phillip chimed in first as Scott got up and walked to Elizabeth. She stood in between us, and I knew I could still take Scott, even with my hands cuffed.

“You see Elizabeth, Brandon showed up here about twenty minutes or so ago at the side door, the same one I’m sure you used.”

“I did,” she replied.

“I didn’t lock it because Brandon started making some wild accusations about me that he said his friend in a red suit told him. I believe he called him Wrath. Brandon had also come in a few times in the past several days telling me about this man, and how that man had killed Ron and some of the Amaras.”

“He told me the same stories,” Elizabeth said to Phillip.

“Anyway, after that he started making these outlandish claims that I was a Satanist, or some such nonsense like that. He pulled the gun which you now have and walked me back here to the meeting I was having with the elders of the church. I silently prayed that God would send someone to save us from Brandon’s insane delusions and thank the good Lord he did. You got here just in time because I’m positive he was about to shoot me. I hate that it had to come to this, Brandon, but maybe you can find