“Father Hauser, can you hear me? It’s me, Helena. To be honest, I hope you can’t, because you would probably be disappointed beyond words of me. The truth is… I’ve fallen in love with Xavier. I know he’s the Antichrist, and my worst nightmare is that this will all be some horrible trick he’s playing on me, but I’m done lying to myself about my true desires and I’m done letting other people tell me right from wrong. He’s the first person to ever really challenge me, to make me think, to make me feel, to make me strive… other than you of course. I’m ready to spend my life with him. I’m ready to change the world and use his powers to make it better.” She clutched his hand and dotted it with tears, tears of indescribable happiness. “I hope that when you wake up and Xavier and I get married, you’ll see it in your heart to give me away at our wedding.”
As expected, no reply came, and Helena gave a small laugh. “Just think about it.”
Helena and Xavier walked down the street back towards the school.
“So what exactly is the plan? How are we going to take control of the world?”
“You’ll see on the field trip.”
“You mean to Jerusalem? What are you going to do there?”
“The Church of the Holy Sepulchre: It was there that Christ was killed and then disappeared to return to Heaven. It was there that the power of God left this world. Christ died on the very precipice of a metamorphosis, when the powers of his miracles would evolve into true divinity and he would be able to rule the world. That metamorphosis was stopped when he died, but all I have to do is reach that spot and ultimate power will be mine. I’ll be able to start summoning my minions from Hell and raise an army to take over the world. No country will be able to withstand our forces, and once everyone surrenders, you and I will be the king and queen of the new world.”
“If that’s all it takes, why didn’t you do it earlier? Why not just go to the place where Christ died as soon as his body was removed?”
“I’ll admit, I could have done that, but that would be boring. I wanted to explore the world, see everything mankind had to offer. I wanted to watch history take place. I’ve lived for more than two thousand years. I’ve seen empires rise and fall, I’ve traveled the globe again and again, and I’ve done everything I wanted to. The world has stagnated and I’ve just about run out of places to go and things to witness. It’s time for me to settle down and realize my destiny. I came to this school simply because it would give me an excuse to go there.”
“Did you ever meet him? Jesus, I mean.”
“Yes, I met him. I was the one who met him in the desert, not my father.”
“What was he like?”
Xavier chuckled and looked up at the clear sky. “Let’s just say that even I admired him. He was a very wise and good man, an excellent nemesis for me. It actually saddened me when he was crucified, because I was denied my rivalry. “We are going to do a terrible thing to you–we are going to deprive you of an enemy.” Georgi Arbatov said that when he visited the United States in 1987. He really put it into words how I felt when Jesus died so pathetically. The Apocalypse would have been amazing, the war we could have fought. You could almost say it was his death that made me lose my interest in taking over the world. I didn’t see a point if I wouldn’t get to fight him for it.”
Helena walked over and kissed him on the cheek. “Come on, we’ll talk while we eat.”
They arrived back in the school just in time for lunch. They made their way to the cafeteria, packed with hungry students. As they got their food, Thane entered the building. He tried to put on a poker face, even though his heart felt like it would burst from his chest. He spotted Xavier across the room, feeling a cold sweat at the sight of him. With him was Helena. Wait, was she… smiling? Why would a hostage smile? Was this Stockholm Syndrome? Either way, it was time for him to act.
‘May God have mercy on my soul.’
Thane reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun, bought on the street. It was a cheap Chinese knockoff of an American model, but it would get the job done. He raised it above his head and emptied the magazine into the ceiling, filling the cafeteria with the echoing of gunshots. Screams came after as everyone ducked for cover. Students not seated merely fell to the floor like fainting goats.
Thane loaded a new mag and pulled back the slide. “XAVIER!”
Gun in hand, he moved towards Xavier and Helena, crouched down near the middle of the room.
‘Aw shit, I knew there was someone I had forgotten.’ “Helena, move back. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Wait, maybe we can talk him out of this!”
“That won’t work and you know it. Just stay back.”
Xavier stood up and faced Thane, showing no fear to the gun pointed at him. He had to admit, he was disappointed. Did Thane really think he could kill him with that?
“Who are you and what do you want with me?”
He had to put up a front that he and Thane had never met. It would be best if he didn’t blow his cover.
“Don’t give me that! You challenged me and here I am. I’m finally making my move. Everyone, listen to me! This man is the Antichrist! I can prove it!”
Hushed muttering flooded through the cafeteria. Thane was a legend in this school, but with his abnormal behavior and getup, he didn’t exactly promote an image of unfaltering mental health. Had he snapped? Had he gone crazy? But on the other hand, he was a junior exorcist, a prodigy at that. If anyone in this school had what it took to find the Antichrist, it has him. For him to go to such measures, there had to be desperation driving him. What was it that would cause him to make such a bold accusation? Was it possible… that he was right?
“I’m not the Antichrist!”
“You may have everyone in this school deceived, but not me! Everyone! It was here, the first time I encountered him that I saw the inhuman evil in his black soul! I saw his thirst for blood and the destruction of the world as clearly as you see me now! And it was here that I faced him one on one! This burn on my hand came from him destroying my rosary! He cursed me to keep me from spreading his secret, but I won’t be silenced!”
“Listen, just put the gun down. You’re not well. You need help. Don’t do something that can be fixed. There is still a chance for you to do the right thing and save yourself.”
“I am doing the right thing. This gun isn’t for killing you. It’s for proving who you are. At this range, no human being can possibly dodge, and as you just saw, this gun functions just fine. If I pull this trigger, nothing but an act of God will keep the bullet from piercing your black heart. You’ll either survive the shot or use your powers to deflect the bullet. Either way, you’ll be revealed as the unholy monster that you are. If I can’t kill you, I can at least let the rest of the world know that you exist. I’m willing to risk life in prison or death if it means giving mankind a chance.”
Xavier worked to suppress a maniacal grin. ‘Clever bastard! A brilliant sacrificial move! It’s a shame you’re only human, you would have made a wonderful nemesis. Damn you, God! Damn you for not making him the second coming of Christ! The war we could have waged on each other would have been a dream come true! For once, I can curse my strength. If I were weaker, he could have posed a true challenge to me.’ “Damn it, I’m not the Antichrist! If you pull the trigger, you’ll murder me, an innocent human! Do you want that on your conscience? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in jail and then go to Hell for killing?! Don’t turn this into a witch hunt!”