"The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion. The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the Red Death."
– The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allan Poe
Stone had expected a platoon of The Committee’s guards to arrest him at the city limits. Instead, his welcome-home party consisted of enthusiastic soldiers including many of the wounded who had survived the Chaktaw assault on the northern perimeter earlier that day.
While they represented only a tiny fraction of Thebes, the crowd would carry their enthusiasm across the city. This day's victory would join with the renewed spirit at the training facilities and the story of a destroyed Geryon Battleship to create a wave of momentum. More disillusioned, unfocused soldiers would change into willing warriors.
Of course, more people would wonder, who is this man? He resembles their Trevor Stone. Perhaps he would let them believe he was a resurrection, or maybe he would share the story of his own world to more than the select units Nina said knew his true origins. Only time would tell how to handle that thorny issue, but he would choose whatever solution would best serve the cause of victory.
After returning the armada of vehicles to the motor pool, Trevor, Nina, and Johnny slipped into a sedan to return to their dormitory. As they drove along the dimly-lit streets, Trevor's mind turned from the long term to more immediate concerns.
"I expect to hear from The Committee soon."
Nina, driving the car, answered, "We could hide you for a while. I know some places you could stay where they won't find you, at least until we think of something."
Trevor glanced at Reverend Johnny. His friend rode in silence, staring out at the passing scenery. Trevor felt him seethe with disapproval.
He ignored the Rev for the moment and said to Nina, "I'm not hiding. Let them come and get me. If they want a confrontation on this, I'll give it to them; nice and loud and for the whole city to hear."
"They're cowards, Trevor, but they're not stupid. I'd be surprised if they allow you any sort of platform. But honestly, they're probably so shocked at this that it'll take them a day or two to figure out what to do. "
He did not respond directly to her. Instead, he waved at the city around them and said, "Look at this. Everything is dark. It's like a big tomb around here."
"Regulations," she said. "After dark The Committee must authorize any external lighting. They don't want to attract attention."
"That has to change. No more defeatism. That's what today was about."
That finally drew Reverend Johnny into the conversation.
"Today was about reversing defeatism, is that what you are saying?"
Trevor replied, "I suppose you don’t approve of the warning I left behind. I did it for a reason."
"Yes, of course. I’m sure you have lots of reasons for all that you are doing here. Justification is in great supply, I see."
"I did what I had to do. What I always do. You see how things are here, Rev. You see these people with their backs against the wall. If we don’t strike back, we’ll be dead."
"No, Trevor. If THEY don’t strike back they will be dead. This is their world, not ours. We are interlopers. We should not be here."
Trevor ignored the substance of Johnny’s rebuttal and repeated, "I did what I had to do."
The other man seized on that idea. "You always do what you have to do, don’t you?"
"Yes."
"Today was no different. Brutal. But no different. Right?"
"That’s right, Rev," Stone looked out the window as if he wanted nothing more to do with the conversation he started. "I did what had to be done for the sake of all of us."
Nina jumped in, "Our boys needed to see something like that today, you know?"
Johnny ignored her. "And you feel no remorse over today’s carnage? Not a hint of guilt?"
"Why should I? They’re aliens."
"Yes, of course, they threatened humanity."
"Yes."
"They could have overrun us."
"That’s right."
"So you had to hang their bodies from crosses."
A military vehicle passed going in the opposite direction. Its heavy engine rumbled through the cabin of the sedan as it trucked by.
"It was…it was a warning."
"Right. A warning to all those who would oppose Trevor Stone."
Trevor’s eyes grew wide and he shot, "How dare you! Those were alien bastards who were one good attack away from wiping mankind off this planet! Can’t you understand that?"
"I understand how much pleasure you took in your work today. Look at you; you’re still covered in blood. Your hands are red. You have not even paused to wash them. You enjoyed it, Trevor. You enjoyed killing them without mercy."
"How many of our enemies did you slaughter without mercy, Reverend? If I recall correctly, you’ve had your own uses for crucifixes in the past."
Johnny did not stumble. Nina’s eyes glanced in the rearview mirror and studied the Reverend apprehensively.
"Yes. I have taken great misery to my enemies. I have visited death to them in countless ways. I have been overcome with blood rage on many occasions."
"You see. No different."
"I agree, Trevor. No different. What I saw today was as horrific as the vengeance I visited upon those who killed my family. Congratulations, you were able to summon such darkness for your victims even without losing your wife and daughter. Why, it seemed second nature to you."
Trevor did not know how to answer Johnny. He did not know why he felt an overwhelming desire to find — justification — an answer.
"I did what I had to do."
"Yes, yes, I’ve heard that excuse already, Mr. Stone. Tell me, now that you have shown how far you feel you have to go, tell me how more than a year of retrospect has played on your conscience. Tell me how you feel about New Winnabow."
"How I…how I feel about…what does that have to do with anything?"
The Major asked, "Who’s New Winnabow?"
"Trevor Stone unleashed an army of his personal avenging demons onto a town that interfered with our military plans; a town of human beings who had refused passage to our forces on the grounds that they were pacifists. Trevor labored to reach an agreement, but when they showed their stubborn pride he visited great destruction unto them."
Trevor ringed his hands.
Nina said, "Sounds to me like it was justified. You have to do what needs to be done. It’s a war and all, you know?"
"I am not surprised by your opinion on the matter. And indeed, Ms. Forest, I share your evaluation to some degree. But for my friend Trevor Stone, it was a decision he did not make lightly. It was a decision that struck a blow to his very soul. He never-"
"They deserved it."
Silence for a moment, and then he went on, "They were stubborn. They were unreasonable."
Trevor stared out the window at the hiding city.
"You must feel a great burden lifted from your shoulders. In some ways, I am thankful for that," Reverend Johnny spoke soft to his friend and leader.
"What? What do you mean by that?"
"You have been absorbed in guilt ever since you made that decision. But now, now you are absolving yourself of that guilt. Throwing away your conscience makes things easier, of that I am sure."
"You’re talking nonsense."
"I second that," Nina added.
The Reverend spoke in barely a whisper; a whisper laced with sadness, as if Johnny spoke of a deceased friend. "This world is having a strange effect on you, Trevor. It is bringing out a side of you that you had previously kept in a cage. I remember when you were saddened by the idea that your life would be one of killing and destruction. Now it seems as if you are embracing your fate with welcoming arms."
"Reverend, I’m trying to remember that we’re friends. I think-"
"We’re here," Nina interrupted as she pulled the sedan to the curb outside the hotel.
"Trevor," Nina turned in her seat to speak. Johnny grunted, opened the side door, and left his friend and the Major alone inside the car.
"Here," Nina handed Stone a key card. "This is for the penthouse on the top floor. It was…it was your room at one time."
"You mean his room. The other Trevor."
She nodded. "It’s yours now. That is, for as long as you’re here. You’ll find some clothes that should fit you. Try them on."
"Clothes? I figured I’d shower and change into a new battle suit. Seems like that’s all I’ll be wearing for a long time."
His tone suggested that perhaps the Reverend’s words had scored a hit or two in Trevor’s psyche. Nina did not seem comfortable with that.
"Hey, no, we’re not all about fighting around here. Put something sharp on. After what happened today, well, it’s party time."
"Party time? Is that your way of saying The Committee will be sending someone over to arrest me?"
She shook her head. "I told you, they move real slow. And they’re cowards. I don’t know…after what happened today I don’t know if they’ll have the balls to stand up to you. The most they’ll do is send you a memo."
"I guess I’m making more impressions, huh?"
She smiled. "Just put something cool on. When you’re ready, c’mon down to the front entrance. I’ll have a car waiting for you."
"A…party?" He was not sure she had been serious.
"Yeah. I mean, I told you, the Trevor Stone I remember fought hard and partied hard. I got to believe you guys had a lot more in common."
"A lot… more? What have we had in common so far?"
Her deadpan stare served answer enough.
Trevor got out of the car. The sedan pulled away.
He surveyed the city without lights. The only illumination nearby came from a small band of soft bulbs outside the main entrance to the tall hostel. Johnny stood near that entrance, his eyes staring into the distance.
Trevor approached his friend and tried to paint on a big smile.
"Hey, yeah, there’s a party tonight, praise the Lord."
"A party? I shall pass, Trevor. I do not feel in the mood to celebrate."
"Jesus Christ, Johnny, will you just let it go. Will you just give me a break?"
"I love you, Trevor," Johnny said it frankly. "You gave my post-apocalyptic life direction and allowed me to contribute to mankind’s salvation, but that salvation is a world away. This place is not where we belong. I fear it is a world where you in particular do not belong."
Trevor realized he could not be angry with Johnny. At least not for long.
He absently rubbed the penthouse key card between two fingers as he collected his thoughts. "There are answers here, Rev. I can almost…I can almost see them. Like images behind stained glass. They’re there. I just need more time to make them out."
"Are you sure of that, Trevor? Are you sure you think there are answers here? Or is that just another excuse to remain? Another excuse not to find a way home."
"These people are human beings like us. The same species. The same bodies. A different Earth but still, their Earth. Their home! You would have me leave them to die when I might be able to help?"
"Yes! You have responsibilities to your people back home, Trevor. To your son. To Shepherd and Stonewall and our Jon Brewer! What is happening without you back home? Maybe the lesson here is that you are an important symbol, even if you’re stuck behind that desk you hate so much."
Trevor shook his head, "I might be able to find out why I failed here."
"You can’t undo that failure! It’s not your fault that some other man that looked like you made choices different from the ones you made. This is one place-one Earth-where you are not responsible."
Stone insisted, "I can make a difference here. I can feel it."
Johnny paused, huffed, and with a sharp edge in his voice berated, "Yes, it is so simple and easy for you here. Why, I think you prefer having your back against the wall. Just like it was for us in the early days, kill or be killed. So simple. Why, you can justify just about anything when you are fighting for your very survival. But Trevor, you are fooling yourself. Your responsibilities back home may not be as simple, but they are as real."
Stone deflected, "I can’t leave these people. I can’t abandon them."
The Reverend scolded, "I know why you can not leave them. You have everything you want right here. You can lead the battles from the front lines like Alexander the Great. And all the time you think you have the woman who was stolen from you. But, Trevor, she is not who you think she is. She is an echo of the Nina you knew."
Trevor pinched his nose and bit his lip.
Johnny pushed, "You know that, don’t you? That’s why you indulge your passions so intensely. You are hoping that the physical will take you to the places your heart cannot go with her, because you do not love this woman, you only wish you did."
"It’s been a rough day," Trevor jumped. "For both of us. Tomorrow morning…tomorrow I’m going to wake up and forget we had this conversation. In the mean time," Trevor wagged the key in the air. "I’ll be staying in the penthouse. You’ve got the room to yourself."
"Ah, I see. No doubt this world’s Emperor’s old room? Why Trevor, you’re just sliding right into his life very nicely. Must be a good fit."
Stone refused to take the bait. He had had enough fighting for the day. Nina was right; it was time to blow off some steam.
"Good night, Johnny. I’ll see you tomorrow."
"I suppose so."
Trevor walked inside the main entrance. Reverend Johnny waited behind. He craned his neck to stare at the sky. The stars blinked on and off as strands of clouds passed over head.
He waited for several long moments as if hoping the crisp February night breeze would cleanse away his foul mood.
"Reverend?"
He looked to the shadows. He did not need to see her face to know it was Ashley.
Johnny made sure no one watched and joined her in the darkness.
"Ms. Trump."
"Actually, it’s Corporal."
Johnny answered, "I fear, Corporal, that I am not affording Trevor the protection I had assured you. This place has a grasp on him."
She did not seem surprised.
"It’s not your fault. This is a cursed place. Thebes…" she glanced around at the tall, dark buildings. "…it feels more like a grave every day."
"Well perhaps it will bring you some solace to know that Trevor beat back an attack from the Chaktaw today and wiped out their entire force. It was, admittedly, a bold move that will alleviate some of the pressure on your city."
"That’s why I’m here. Word of the victory is spreading through the ranks. The Committee is held up in the Operations Center trying to decide what to do."
"Do you fear for Trevor’s life?"
"No. I don’t think they’re going to do anything. They sense that the officers are turning against them. It didn’t take much. I mean, it shouldn’t take much. I don’t know, I just don’t know," confusion chased away her words.
"I’m sorry," Johnny put a consoling arm around her shoulder. "I forget how difficult this must be for you."
She took a deep breath. "Now I’m going to show you how difficult it really is, Reverend. If they find out I’ve talked to you, I would be in trouble. But what I do now, well, when they find out they will kill me. But there are some of us who no longer believe in this great cause."
"The great cause? The war you mean?"
"When our Trevor died, there was a civil war."
Johnny knew that. "Yes. From the power vacuum that ensued."
"It wasn’t only about leadership. It was about this war. It was about whether or not it should still be fought at all. Some of us have grown weary of this crusade. We want it ended."
"That does not sound possible, my dear. I’m afraid the invaders did not come seeking peace, they came only to bring destruction."
She hesitated. His words obviously struck a cord.
"Reverend Johnny, I’m going to tell you something. You’re not going to believe it, so I’m going to show you. Then you’ll believe. Maybe it’s the only way you can save your friend. Maybe it’s the only way I can keep the same mistakes of cruelty and inhumanity from happening again. Maybe it’s…maybe it’s the only way I can help the Ashley of your world; and her son."
She produced a handful of items from her jacket pocket.
"This is the ignition key to a small ground vehicle. You’ll find it parked around the corner. As far as any one is concerned it was requisitioned by the Second Logistics regiment. Take it. When you’re done, park it where you found it and lock the keys inside."
"I can not fathom why I should need a car."
She held up a combination security badge and key card. The photo was of another black man but with a beard, perhaps a slight resemblance to Johnny but by no means his doppelganger.
"This key opens a maintenance entrance on the south side of Building One Dash One in the industrial sector. It looks like a big cathedral. You’ll find a map inside the car that will get you there. I’m guessing you can be sneaky. Take a look around."
"Please tell, Ms. Ashley. What am I looking for?"
Her eyes glazed and she spoke with a sense of doomed resolve.
"You are looking for the truth. The truth about the legacy of our Trevor Stone."
– Trevor found the penthouse in good order and recently cleaned. Before rifling through his twin's belongings, he took a hot-warm-shower, finally scrubbing away the blood of his enemies. Away it went in a whirlpool down the drain.
After drying off and slipping into a robe, he let his curiosity guide him from room to room. However, he found almost no personal belongings. In fact, he did not find any signs of his old self until he found a box of photographs. The pictures showed him-that is, the other Trevor-posing with soldiers on the battlefield during better days.
The other Trevor was identical. Same hair, same build. Looking at the photos gave him the weirdest feeling. The feeling of seeing things he should remember, but did not.
As he dug deeper, he found other photos hidden at the bottom of the collection. They were pictures of Trevor and Nina.
Explicit pictures.
Had it not been his face on the body of the man in the pictures, Trevor would have felt himself a peeping Tom. Instead, he found himself intrigued by the lengths to which his other self and the Nina of this world had gone to…well…to get to the physical places they wanted to be.
With the penthouse so orderly and thoroughly cleaned, he found it hard to believe these photographs had been left behind by accident. He wondered if Nina wanted him to find them.
Regardless, he turned his attention to the closet, flipping through the clothes inside. Eventually he found slacks and a shirt that straddled the line between casual and formal.
He put them on, grabbed his recently requisitioned winter jacket, and rode the elevator to the main floor. As promised, a car waited at the curb, driven by an anonymous chauffeur who explained his instructions to take Trevor to "a club" on the west side of the city.
A few minutes later, Trevor stood outside a short but wide building in what might have once been a commercial district. While the blackout remained in force, he spied a dim red neon and heard muffled music trying to escape through the front doors.
A guard eyed him suspiciously but did not intervene as he walked inside. He found something he had not seen since before Armageddon: a dance club, packed with people wearing civilian clothes similar to what he would have expected in similar clubs in the old days back on his Earth.
Ironically, the place felt like an alien environment to him. Flashing lights, beating music, short skirts, and colorful drinks…it all seemed out of place and, given the doom pervading the city, rather macabre. He would have felt more comfortable walking into a Devilbat den.
He paused inside the main entrance to allow his eyes and ears to adjust, and then moved forward, stopping first at a coat and weapons check before entering the main hall.
When they had been a new, young couple, he and Ashley visited the local clubs on occasion. Loud music, hard drinks, shouted conversations, and an over abundance of flirting. This one appeared no different, except for being on a parallel universe.
Along one wall stretched a vast bar showcasing a rack of liquor bottles and mixers. In front of the bar, stools occupied by the younger survivors of this world’s humanity.
Normally soldiers, technicians, and maintenance workers, they had traded in their battle suits and overalls for skirts and slacks, jewelry and high heels.
Tables lined the other walls and he saw some sort of booth, most likely home to the club's DJ.
Blue, green, yellow, and red strobe lights flashed across the dance floor where a few people moved to music that might have qualified as 'grunge' to Trevor's ear.
He looked around for Nina. She had to be-well there she was but it was only her pony tails that gave her away. She sat on a stool with her back to the bar holding a drink and wearing a white outfit highlighted by a very short skirt and black stockings. The Nina of this world did not leave much to the imagination.
She spoke with a green-eyed, brunette woman standing next to her wearing some kind of suede dress. They chattered, smiled, and laughed.
This other woman looked familiar, but he could not quite remember.
Nina’s hand touched the girl’s shoulder as they shared a thought, the brunette's hand casually-or deliberately? — brushed Nina’s crossed legs.
He watched.
Who was she?
The green-eyed brunette saw Trevor looking at them. Nina followed her friend’s gaze and when she saw him she smiled. A shark’s smile.
Nina said something to her companion, stood, and walked to Trevor while the green-eyed girl stayed behind and sipped from a frozen drink.
"Hey, glad you could make it," Nina said as the music pumped and the lights flashed red and green over her face. "His clothes fit you, I see," she felt the shirt. "Guess you two are alike in a lot of ways."
Trevor found himself looking along the bar at the brunette.
"Oh, yeah, that’s Jolene. You remember Jolene, don’t you?"
Trevor vaguely remembered the girl from somewhere, from something that happened a long time ago. Something to do with his getting over to this world.
"She’s…she’s a friend. She wants to hang out with us tonight. She’s a lot of fun. What do you think? Do you think that would be okay?"
As she spoke, Nina maneuvered Trevor to an open bar stool. He sat down.
"Yeah, a, sure," a voice said from his lips but it seemed a far away, distant voice.
"Oh good!"
She looked at the bartender and raised a finger then pointed that finger at Trevor. The bartender went to work on a mixed drink.
"That’s great," Nina repeated. "I was sure that’s what you would think. I knew you’d think that was a good idea."
He projected a calm demeanor but underneath felt a tremor as images played through his mind.
"Well, here’s something else for you to think about," Nina stepped in between his legs as he sat on the stool. She pressed against him. She put her mouth to his ear, almost kissing him.
"I want you to think about…" she spoke slowly, deliberately."I want you to think about two pair of lips…all over you…kissing… and stuff."
He did not move. Not on the outside.
"I want you to think about this; before this night is over you’re going to have us- the two of us — any way you want. Anything you can think of…we’ll do it. I bet you’re just full of ideas."
She pressed tight against him.
"But before all that…before that…I’m going to let her fuck me… while you watch."
She stepped out from between his knees, accepted a drink from the bartender, and handed it to him. Somehow he kept his hand from shaking.
"You sit here, relax, enjoy your drink and you think about that while I go play."
The music beat on. Nina twirled around and strolled over to Jolene. The brunette reached out and took her by the hand and the two girls moved to the dance floor.
Trevor held his drink and watched.
At first they danced harmlessly, like any two girls would dance. The lights flickered around them. The bass shook the room…he felt it across the floor and up the legs of the stool and into his spine.
He watched.
Then they danced closer. An arm over a shoulder. A hand on a hip.
Nina turned her back to Jolene and the two swayed as their eyes found his.
Jolene’s hand moved…slowly…along the curve of Nina’s body.
He sat…
…and watched them in the glow of the candles in the penthouse bedroom, listening to purrs of encouragement, whines complaining of a tease, moans for teases fulfilled.
He watched as Nina turned her head on the pillow and looked back at him. Looked back at him while she shivered and groaned from what was being done to her. Her eyes closed and her neck strained…her eyes opened and her mouth exhaled a gasp of gratification
After a while…after Jolene had done everything she could think to do to the passive Nina…after Nina had cried out more times then he could count…after a while Trevor decided he did not want to watch any more.
Then he was with them. For all the things they had already done, he thought of more to do. Nina had been right. He had lots of ideas. He did not even know from where those ideas came. And they did them all. Eagerly. Cravingly.
He gave instructions. "Yes…there…like that…now to her…"
Nothing was forbidden. They refused no command.
Three bodies twisted and turned amid the sweat of their lust; a ball of carnality. Everything explored. Every dark fantasy indulged.
And he could not get enough. It became an addiction. Each gratification only brought the burning desire for more. Each satisfaction brief before he demanded something new.
Finally, the last act came not from satisfaction but from pure exhaustion. By that time he had become a dark shadow, a demon of a man whose most forbidden dreams of lust had been dragged to the surface and set free.
He collapsed between the two weary women who, like everything else on that world, belonged to him.
– Despite directions, Johnny lost his way several times. Part of the problem revolved around the size of Thebes but, in truth, he conceded that whoever laid out the street plan for the city did so meticulously; no dead ends and almost every road wide and long.
Indeed, city seemed almost pre-fabricated. Neighborhoods lacked character and appeared nearly identical. For the first few minutes of his trip, the Reverend thought he might be running through an old cartoon with the same houses and buildings scrolling in the background because the animator lacked the ink to pen more variety.
At the same time, he contended with a steering-wheel-mounted automatic transmission, a design he had not experienced before.
On top of all that, he found it difficult to focus. His mind raced with fear and energy ever since Ashley shared the secret of Thebes; a secret he could not believe to the point of his first reaction being to think poor Ashley of this Earth to be mad.
Nonetheless, despite the obstacles and his state of mind, Johnny found the industrial zone. Once there, he sought out the largest building of the city, not in height but in acreage.
Ashley’s twin proved correct, the building's design made Johnny think of a Cathedral from back home, but one constructed without any sense of soul or inspiration. Instead of stone, metal served as the primary building block, sculpted into towers on each of the building's four corners that acted as supports with any style appearing incidental. He spied exposed struts beneath the metallic skin, giving parts of the structure a half-finished or, perhaps, hastily-constructed feel.
A long vousoir framed a pair of imposing doors dominating the building's front. Johnny spied skid marks on the concrete there suggesting the doors served as loading docks.
The area smelled of combusting fuels and burning electricity. A sooty film seemed pasted on the entire neighborhood and while the exterior lights were blacked out, rays of interior light escaped through a few small, frosted windows.
As per Ashley's instructions, the Reverend parked on a quiet, vacant street just off the building's south wall and across from a side entrance.
He did not see any sentries as he exited the car and approached the maintenance door with the key card provided by Ashley. With no nearby light source, he had to search with his fingers to find the slot, which he did. When his card slipped into the hole, a small green light flashed once and he heard a bolt unlock.
Unbeknownst to the Reverend, a small camera watched him open the door and walk inside.
He entered a dimly-lit maintenance area that smelled like oil and chemicals. He nearly slipped on a grease stain but managed to steady himself with a hand on a nearby rack of shelves filled with an array of pipes, valves, and tools.
Three different exits led away from the room. He chose one at random, pushed open the metal door, and transitioned into a tight passageway. As he moved along, he realized that Ashley had led him to a maze of what might be maintenance tunnels. The corridor he traveled felt like a 'back-stage' passage meant to bypass the main areas of the building, maybe for workers, or security, or perhaps these halls were once used to aid in the construction of the entire building, the way scaffolding is used on the exterior for such purposes.
In any case, the tunnel discreetly channeled him behind offices and shops, out of sight from guards and workers. However, he needed to move carefully for what the tunnel offered in access it subtracted in lighting. On several occasions he banged a knee, elbow, or shoulder and needed tremendous willpower to suppress curses of pain.
As he dove deeper into the complex, he grew conscious of a hum permeating the building. A hum not unlike one would expect from machinery. It was low but constant and, at times, felt as much a vibration in the walls as a sound in the air.
After a while, he heard voices and calls. The hoots and orders and complaints of workers in a factory. At one point he gazed through a ventilation duct into a small workshop where maintenance personnel inspected ordnance such as artillery shells and rifle rounds. At another he saw a bank of seamstresses putting the final touches on battle suits and uniforms.
Not long after, Johnny was forced to find refuge in a supply closet while two laborers enjoyed a smoke break. He was not sure if they smoked cigarettes, cigars, or something more potent, but the fellows took their time and savored their puffs.
After clearing that hurdle, he exited a side corridor and crossed a metal catwalk hanging from the ceiling above a variety of chambers. Here he saw his first clue that Ashley spoke the truth. Below him, scenes of brutality. He flinched at the crack of whips and grimaced as forlorn moans found his ears.
However, he could not stop. One of the guards below need only glance upwards to find him spying. Therefore, Johnny proceeded forward with care not to rattle the metal bridge below his feet or otherwise attract attention. If discovered, not only would his life be endangered, but so would the life of Ashley if, in fact, her words proved true.
Ahead, the skywalk ascended a ramp toward an open archway. As he passed through the opening, a light wind blew across his face, the coolness of which contrasted sharply with the hot, moist workshops he left behind.
As he entered the open space, he had a feeling akin to walking from the vomitory to the seating sections of a sports arena. Not just any arena, one of the super-sized fields like "The Big House" of Michigan football or Camp Nou in Barcelona, except with a vaulted ceiling overhead.
Tiered rings circled the area, tasked with some arcane industrial purpose. They resembled bleachers lined with valves and vents flapping open and shut releasing steam and vapors. More walkways as well as safety railings lined the complex between those tiers
Johnny moved out from the ramp and across the concrete terrace. The valves and steam vents whistled and clanked open and shut behind and above.
In front of Johnny stood a short railing overlooking the heart of the building; the heart of Thebes. He walked to that railing in measured steps, fearful of the sight Ashley warned of; fearful of what it meant about these people, about the Trevor of this world.
He reached the railing and took hold with both hands, staring out at the immense area in front and below him.
His eyes adjusted, taking the sight below and breaking it into digestible pieces but even so, the consequences of this truth threatened to overwhelm his sense. His hands clenched the rail with great force, his eyes widened, and a sharp cold sweat broke out across his body. Try as he might, Reverend Johnny could not even muster an Old Testament passage to capture the moment.
The truth about the legacy of our Trevor Stone.
Johnny tore himself away from the sight only by forcing his mind to action; the action of finding Trevor. The action of taking him away from this cursed place.
He turned to hurry away, to escape, but stopped as Director Snowe and two soldiers blocked his path.
Snowe's stoic expression did not change. The man did not flinch — not even a little- as he drove a blade into the Reverend’s gut.
The victim offered a weak gasp unfitting for a man so big and strong. Reverend Johnny’s voice and vengeance once sent the minions of Voggoth running in fear, his machine gun had cut down demonic Wraiths at the polar ice cap and his hands had smashed Viking skulls at Five Armies. He had dispatched dozens-hundreds-of humanity's enemies with energy, confidence, and zeal. Yet he died with barely a sigh, hardly more than a whimper, all with stunned shock carved on his face as if he gazed upon Medusa.
He collapsed to the ground not from the jaws of a monster or the guns of an alien army, but at the hands of a man.
Reverend Johnny’s eyes saw no more.