Page 43 of Serendipity

I kept my snarky comment to myself, and walked to the spot he indicated like a good little girl. I wasn’t an idiot. I owed these guys. If it wasn’t for them, I would be dead right now, my baby too. Or worse, they would have cut it from my body and raised it up as some kind of Second Coming.

Cain and Sol settled in their chairs, and Judas banged the gavel. Then he sighed heavily.

“Yesterday, we fought a very different enemy. Saw things we never thought we’d see. Some of you may have had your very belief systems shattered. It is hard to be faced with the idea that those

fairytales your mother told you to make you be good are actually true.” He held himself with such confidence. Such assuredness. It was hard to imagine Judas scared of even the Devil himself.

He could sip tea with the Devil, but a kiss from me sent him running for the hills. I wasn’t going to take offense to that.

“So today, I wanted to do something different. For the first time in thirty years, I’m going to let you leave the Club, break your vows, without reprisal. Now is the time. Hand in your cut, your weapons and we will send you on your way with understanding and a handshake.”

A small gasp crossed my lips when two men stood, shrugged off their cuts and left them on top of the table. Judas' face turned down as he stood, sadness weighing down his shoulders as he reached across the table to do exactly what he promised. He shook their hands, as did every other man around that table. It was a solemn shake, the kind of embrace you’d do at a funeral for a friend.

When the door closed behind them, Trigger stood and relocked it. That was it.

I knew that that decision had probably seemed too easy to me, but those men had cut their identity out of their life, and it probably felt like cutting off a limb. Because of me. Because of my drama. I couldn’t help the guilt that snuck up and threw a shadow over me.

“Anyone else? Remember, this offer only lasts until the end of this Church. Afterwards, abandonment of the Club will be treated with the same rules as before.” He paused, and there were a couple of sweaty faces but no one moved. “Okay. It’s been decided that every man who remains should reswear to the Club. We’ve also added a code of silence in the Charter. What happened yesterday… you can’t tell anyone about it. Not your wives. Not your priest. Not your side piece. It won’t be me enforcing the rule if you break it. The people-”

“Fucking angels. They were fucking angels, Pres,” someone interrupted.

Judas nodded once. “Yeah, they were. And they will break every bone in your body and drag you to Hell themselves if anyone runs their mouth about what happened yesterday.”

There were a lot of pale faces around the room, and I didn’t blame them. I felt shaky too. Trigger seemed to know what was needed. He went and got a bottle of tequila from the side board and passed it to the heavily bearded guy on his left. Then he went and got a huge fucking knife. The thing had a bone handle, inscribed with some kind of demonic runes up the side. Where the hell had they gotten that?

Trigger handed the mean looking weapon to Judas. Judas sliced his palm, letting blood drip-drip into the neck of the bottle of tequila, turning the golden liquid the color of the sunset. Judas handed the knife and bottle to Cain, who repeated the process. Then Goliath and Solomon. Trigger was next, then the bottle and knife moved around the room. Most of the men remained macho and stoic, a few winced as the knife ran over their flesh. Shots had the dude next to him cut him with the knife and dripped the blood into the bottle. When one of the Prospects ribbed him about it, he glared.

“So I don’t like looking at my own blood! I like looking at yours just fine and I’m happy to make you bleed out that big fucking honker on your face, Paulie.”

When the bottle and knife got to the Prospects, Judas held up his hand. “You guys deserve to become patched members. You held your own yesterday, protected what we hold sacred, and that is good enough for me. But, you can leave now free of retribution. You aren’t tied to the Club yet. But if you do this, it’s for life. It’s a bond tighter than that of marriage. Of mother and child. We are bonded for life, and you only leave when you retire out, or when you die. Today aside, there is no out.”

Both Stevie and Paulie looked nervous, but neither left. I kind of felt proud of the Prospects. We’d bonded the last time we were in this room together. Stevie slid his eyes to me. “Nah, I’m good. I wanna patch in. I want to be in Damnation for life.” A small smile curled Judas’ lips and he gave a

nod. “You Paulie?”

The other Prospect didn’t have Stevie’s eloquence. “Yeah. Patch me in.”

Solomon was grinning like a proud Mama, and even Goliath had a contented look on his face. Not a smile, but not his normal scowl either. May as well be a cheesy grin from the Enforcer.

“Give me your left hands.” They both held out their hands, though Paulie stopped to think about which one was left for a beat, and Judas grabbed the knife from the table. He sliced both their hands, and Paulie bit his lip at the pain. Guess he hadn’t had twenty years to dull himself to the sensation like the rest of the members.

“Paul Joseph Hutchins, do you swear to uphold the values of the Club?”

Paulie nodded. “I do.”

Judas ran the knife along his palm again, the first cut having already healed but I hoped no one else had noticed that fact. He reached out and grabbed Paulie’s bleeding hand with his own in a handshake. “May you ride into Damnation with your Brothers at your back. Welcome to the Club.” He turned to Stevie. “Steven John Hutchins, do you swear to uphold the values of the Club?”

I had no idea that Stevie and Paulie were related. Brothers? Cousins? Stevie nodded. “I do.”

Judas repeated the handshake and the oath. Then he handed them both the bottle of tequila and they dripped a drop or two of blood into the liquid that was now ruby red.

Judas took back the bottle and looked around the room. “Today is a day to celebrate. To strengthen the bonds of Brotherhood that are so important to us all. We have lost two members, but have gained two more. Each and every one of you is important to me. I take your blood into my body, making us more than a Club. It makes us kin.”

With that, he sucked back a swig of the tequila and I resisted the urge to dry heave. Gross. Paulie looked like he wanted to throw up, and given where most of these guys had been, god knows what diseases they had. Eesh.

The bottle went around the room once more, each of them drinking a swig of tainted tequila until it was back at the Prospects again.

They each took a swig, and Paulie looked like he wanted to puke, but he kept it down.

---