Stigmata Martydom Ch. 01

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.