behind which there was only darkness. The door was ajar just enough for one person to squeeze through.
Shepherd, like the others, tried to peer into the darkness beyond the door and listen, but there was only a puff of cold air. The draft grew stronger and began to extinguish the electric lights on the ceiling and walls as if it were blowing out candles.
– Witchcraft,» the novices whispered, turning on their phone screens.
Max didn’t touch the cameras, but he dispersed a chilling stream of air from the people who stood in front of the lenses and blocked the angle of view.
– We will stand to the death,» the old man shouted. – To the death! God is with us, not with them! – he tried to put more confidence in his voice. – Shoot any evil that comes through here. They will be many, they will frighten you, but «…fear nothing that you must endure. The devil will cast you from the midst into prison to tempt you, and you shall have tribulation ten days. Be faithful to me unto death, and I will give you the crown of Life…,» the old man quoted the Revelation once more. – And when they come in here, I will fulfill the prophecy,» he held up the detonator, showing his finger on the button. – We will fulfill the prophecy! – the old man emphasized the «we» and shook his hand.
But this time people reacted weakly. Their faces expressed fear and incomprehension, and their bodies shook with cold.
– Jesus! – suddenly shouted the old man. – Jesus! – He pointed his finger at the door, from behind which appeared the luminous figure of a man in a white shroud. Long dark hair, untrimmed beard, a humble yet serene smile. And the eyes of the Son of God radiated the light of heaven. The pastor’s hand slipped off the detonator button.
Two women appeared behind him. The dim light of the phones made it impossible to see them. But it was evident that they had come to defend Christ, and Christ was being shot at. The first, a flexible, swift and incredibly strong woman with two bare short swords, instantly rushed forward, shielding the Savior with her body. She screamed with every swing of her sword, and like a tenacious spider she jumped on the crowd of men with weapons, moving around their necks, knocking their heads off, piercing their throats. In doing so, the spider woman tried to stay between the armed men and the Living God. When she was shot at, she did not try to dodge and went under the bullets herself. The killing force immediately threw her several meters away. She cried out in pain, and fiercely roared and attacked again.
Christ was coming to the shepherd. The Savior looked only at the old man, and did not care at all about what was happening. As if a ghost walking through the crowd, he slowly and confidently stepped barefoot on the cold concrete floor, smiling blissfully.
Another woman walked beside him, firing her pistol continuously, hitting the heads of all those who were aiming at Jesus, and shouting something from time to time. Those who were aiming at this woman were ignited and burned alive before they could fire. And in a few moments the room became as bright as day from such fires. Their screams filled the entire space and echoed monstrously off the walls. The smell of smoke from burning flesh hit the nose of everyone present.
Suddenly, God was hit. A bullet entered his right shoulder, sprinkling the shroud with blood. Christ cried out in pain through clenched teeth, stopped, grasped his shoulder with his other hand, and stopped glowing. The old man was frightened. «You can’t kill God, can you?» he whispered, and looked around. His men were dying all around him, and the witches were carrying out the Coven’s judgment. His hand reached for the detonator again.
But a miracle happened. Christ began to speak first. You could see it in the Messiah’s moving lips. And then he began to radiate divine light again. He straightened up and spread His arms in a cross. Holes were clearly visible on his palms, another stigmata appeared on his shoulder at the place of the shot. The shroud was white again, cleansed of blood. Once again God smiled on the preacher. And once again it was good.
When Christ approached the shepherd, the woman protector stood with her back to the Savior’s back and continued shooting. The shooting was subsiding. The soldiers of Jesus were victorious, finishing off wounded enemies on the floor.
The Messiah waited until the shots had ceased completely and held out his hand to the preacher. With a feeling of great bliss expressed on his face, the old man took Christ’s hand and obediently walked with him toward the door. He smiled and shone with God. The kingdom of heaven awaited them ahead.
– Holy shit! – Tamura shouted as they stepped out of the bunker. Fuck! The most retarded plan in all the universes! Ruta, bitch, not only do you look eighteen, but you have the brains of a chicken. Bitch, that hurts so bad! – she fell to the granite floor, stripped off her weapon, her tight exoskeleton suit, and crawled out of her web. – I’m all blue! – Her face twisted in pain. The witch examined herself. – Three of my ribs are in shreds, one rib pierced me from the inside.
A nurse walked over to her and opened the first aid kit. Tamura took a pack of painkillers from her and injected three semi-automatic syringes into her stomach at once.
– I’ll give you a medal. Uh-huh?! – Eira walked up to Tamura and held out her cloak. – For bravery. Don’t yell like a gypsy at the train station. It worked. I really didn’t know what the hell happened.
– Fuck you! – The narcotic component of the anesthetic began to take effect, and the witch injected herself with another dose, rolling her eyes in anticipation of another wave of euphoria. – I’m going to kill you both someday. Somebody give me a cigarette!
The SWAT team made a final sweep of the armed fanatics and led the others out of the hall. Weeping and moaning filled the school building. Not only had the mission failed, but no one realized what had happened.
– You did good, Tamurach,» said Ruta, who had just arrived. – I trusted you with my life, and you did a good job. I did get shot. In the shoulder. And I have a date with a boy tomorrow.
– That’s okay,» Tamura smiled and injected herself with another dose. Eira immediately took the packet of painkillers away from her. – You can put gum on the hole and it’ll be fine,» Tamura laughed through her coughing. – Just don’t pick at it with your finger. You’ll get sand in it. Does he know your age?
– Shepherd was taken in,» the albino reported to Eira, «I gave him a horse dose of sleeping pills, put him on a bus and sent him to Coven with a platoon of fighters,» she finished her report and showed her tongue to Tamura, who was quite intoxicated.
– Good. I’ve called the buses, they’re on their way. Let’s get the kids out and get Boudicca in,» Eira commanded into the radio and turned to Ruta. – Can you tell me what happened in there?
– We got fucked in all our asses, so what’s there to tell? – Tamura stood up, wrapped herself in her cloak, and lit a cigarette.
– I didn’t ask you,» the commander cut her off and turned to the young witch again. – What did the old man see when he shouted «Jesus»?
– Did he see Christ? – Ruta smirked. – The others saw the three witches, whom the old man followed willingly, smiling. I almost lost control when my shoulder got punctured. But that’s okay! Stagnum, skill, skill and willpower allowed to finish the operation. Listen, Kombat, can I not get a medal, but a bonus? I want a red car.
– We’ll decide tomorrow. I’m on television in the morning – she looked at the surprised
