Page 114 of Malachi
“If you don’t shut up, I’m going to have to use this gun, and trust me, you don’t want that,” the man barked right back.
“Yeah, Levi. Better back off. The man might fuck you in the ass with the pistol. That’s not your jam, I know, so… best to listen to the man,” Gideon snickered.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, man?” Ollie whispered in a harsh tone, turning to look at our youngest brother with pain-filled, accusatory eyes.
“What’s the fucking point?” Gideon shrugged. To anyone who didn’t know him, he would sound like he’d simply gone crazy. I knew my brother, however. I could hear it. That pain that had nestled itself so deep inside of him, it had taken hold and spread out through him like a cancer.
“Lay off it. We all need to get the hell out of here. We need to get to our wives,” Ollie urged, desperation tinged so heavily in his words that I could scarcely ignore it.
I had to do something. Anything was better than kneeling here on the ground while we waited to hear what the fate of our women would be.
With a resigned sigh, I stood slowly.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Elder Shepherd snapped. I paused, but he still had the gun trained on Levi. My eyes shifted slightly, catching Levi’s gaze. He nodded once, a small almost imperceptible movement, but it was all I needed.
“Just a little cleanup,” I answered simply. With hands held up in a non-threatening display, I moved over to Elder Taylor’s body. I reached down slowly. No quick movements.
His body was beginning to cool to the touch, making bile rise in my throat as I shifted the body, flipping him over onto his back and laying him prone.
“What are you doing?!” Elder Shepherd shouted again. I was gaining attention from the other Elders still gathered.
“He deserves better than this. This man may not have been here for his entire life like most of us, but he was an Elder, regardless. He deserves better than to be left laying face down in a pool of his own blood. Don’t you think?” It was a wildcard move, a Hail Mary pass, but I couldn’t continue to do nothing.
It was a grotesque display. The hole in the man’s head was larger than I had thought. I should have known better. I had hunted enough in my life to know better, but this was no rifle wound. This was from a pistol, and a serious one at that, to cause such damage. Blood covered his face, but his eyes were open, giving a shocking appearance.
“Turn him back over,” one of the other Elders barked the order at me.
“No. He deserves the respect of not laying face first in blood,” I argued carefully.
“He said,turn him back over,” Elder Shepherd hissed. This time, he moved. The gun swiveled, now pointing at me. My eyes stayed locked on the dead man in front of me, but I was acutely aware of the risk I had just taken.
“I said no,” I said slowly, my words cautious and calculated.
“Are you deaf, boy?” he spat at me.
“There it is,” Gideon chuckled beside me.
“Excuse me?” the Elder asked, turning his gaze to my brother.
“There’s the psychopath gene. You’re all known for it, you know. You Elders. All of you following the fucking Reverend around like goddamn sheep. That’s what you all are. Sheeple. Fucking classic,” Gideon basically giggled.
“I swear to God, I will pull the damn trigger, boy,” Elder Shepherd spat, his voice taking on a tone of evil that I had never heard from him.
“Oh, please do. Please. Fucking. Do,” Gideon taunted. The kid was going to get us all killed.
“Gideon, no!” Ollie exclaimed as Gideon stood, stepping towards the gun.
I saw Elder Shepherd’s eyes widen in surprise, then narrow with resolve. Time seemed to slow as my eyes zeroed in on his finger, tensing on the trigger. My heart stopped. I was about to watch my brother die.
In that frozen moment of time, Levi sprang into action, making good on the opportunity I had given him by getting Elder Shepherd to move the gun away from him. He had only been a few feet away, and as Gideon stepped forward, Levi dashed forward and grappled with the arm holding the gun. The deafeningBANGof the pistol going off rang through the room, but Levi had managed to throw Elder Shepherd’s aim off enough that he missed Gideon. The sound of glass shattering came from behind me as Levi and the Elder went down, wrestling for control of the pistol. I was just starting to run towards them to help, when —
“EVERYBODY FREEZE!”
In a flash, the room filled with FBI agents shouting at everyone to get down, pointing their own weapons everywhere. Faced with that kind of threat, the rest of the Elders all surrendered almost immediately. It felt like in the space of two breaths, it was over.
“Let me through!” Levi screamed. I turned my head, seeing him rush at the officers who were still filing in through the single entryway.
“Get on your knees!” an officer barked at him, pulling his piece up.
