Fate's Destiny

By Kyle S. Taylor

As God has grown wary with mankind's downward spiral into sin, one final attempt is made to determine mankind's worth; one final test administered to see if redemption for the human race is possible.
Winston, a man who has lost his faith; Ann, a woman with only a callous view of the world; and Sheldon, a boy who desperately needs to be loved. They are chosen as mankind's last hope. But what demons lurk within the souls of these three individuals? And are they brave enough to confront these challenges?
The three of them must dig deep within themselves to overcome their greatest fears as they stand trial for the sins of humanity, the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
No courtroom, no jury, and only one chance to get it right. Mankind’s future rests in their hands. If only they knew they were on trial to begin with...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kyle S. Taylor
• Release date: Oct 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310138690

Kyle S. Taylor

A native of Baltimore, I have a B.A. in English/Journalism from Morgan State University in Baltimore. I have a professional background in print journalism as well as communications. I also freelance part-time, and have had articles appear in numerous newspapers such as The Catholic Review, The Baltimore Sun, The Baltimore Afro, The Baltimore Times, The Daily Record, and The Baltimore Business Journal. I have a passion for writing and look forward to publishing more of my work on here.

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Fate's Destiny

By Kyle S. Taylor

Copyright 2009 Kyle Taylor

Distributed by Smashwords

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Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Interlogue

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Epilogue

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Prologue

She sat back, gazing at Her creation in dismay. The frown She wore upon Her face spoke of great disdain. For all Her omniscience, She still could only wonder how it all went so wrong. Over the centuries, She bore witness to the rise and fall of numerous civilizations, observed countless wars without merit, and saw an infinite number of senseless murders. Yet not even Her vast ocean of knowledge could come up with an answer—not even a tide of insight nor a wave of a clue.

Man, Her greatest creation, was not living up to his potential. He was becoming overly obsessed with sin, more so than ever. Every day, somewhere in the world, people were being slaughtered like cattle; jealousy and envy led thieves to rob their fellow brothers and sisters with little abandon; and women were selling their precious bodies in lustful pursuit of money and earthly possessions. This was not what She envisioned on that fateful day when She breathed life into dirt, when She removed his rib and gave him a mate. This was not how it was supposed to be.

She was tempted to simply destroy everything again, but this time there would be no second chance for Her followers. As painful as it was for them, it was doubly so for Her to sit back and destroy Her own creation. It still remained a mildly tempting option, however. A last ditch, final resort option—but an option nonetheless.

Sending a messiah again seemed just as illogical. All clichés are birthed from truth, and the more things change, the more they stay the same echoed in Her mind. She knew if She sent another savior the exact same thing would occur. She was not interested in watching history repeat itself.

Deeply sighing, She massaged Her temples, deliberating on how to rectify this situation. Rising from Her throne, She paced along the clouds, each soft, pillowy step buoying Her body as well as Her hopes. An idea was forming in Her head, one that could possibly ease Her eternal migraine and give Her a reason to smile once again.

Instead of annihilating them or saving them from themselves, She would let them decide their own fate—though not without guidance. She would reach out to them—a drastic case of divine intervention—and try to instill some redeemable form of goodness in those wicked souls running amuck, try and steer them in the right direction.

But were they even worth the trouble? The lot of them, falling prey to greed and lust, worshiping materialism, and taking for granted Her love for them while disregarding the value of their own lives simply to live in the moment. Why bother helping this lot who refused to help themselves?

She suddenly stopped Her pacing, closing Her eyes as doubt crept into Her head. What if this didn't work? What if these humans, these mortals, were beyond the point of saving? What if, dare She think, this beautiful race of people that She put so much into was nothing but a colossal failure of immeasurable proportion?

If this didn't work… Well, in Her mind, there was no room for if. There couldn't be. It simply must work. She would put the ball in their court and let them decide what to do with it. If the ones chosen succeeded, then maybe, just maybe, the human race could actually be saved. If they failed, the human race would be doomed. Not even She knew the ending of the story. She would allow them to choose their destiny, divine intervention or not.

She opened Her eyes and knew what needed to be done.

* * *

What more could He ask for? Never in His existence had He felt so powerful, so invincible, so invulnerable. He needed not even send any of His minions to cause further turmoil, for Her creations were playing for His team without even knowing it. Those who resisted needed only a slight shove in the right direction before they willingly bathed in the waters of sin, all the while ignoring She who made all possible.

The irony that the flaws in Her creations were fueling His strength was not lost on Him. Like all beings with power, however, He yearned for more of it. He needed it; He simply must have it. He either forgot or chose to ignore that this same lust for power is what led to His Fall eons ago.

His plan was a simple one: allow the mortals to delve deeper and deeper into sin so that they would essentially become His pawns. He would use them against Her in the inevitable war. She, He mused, would be responsible for Her own demise, another irony not lost on Him.

The wheels were already in motion, but His patience was wearing thin. He felt as if He had waited long enough and decided to expedite the situation with one of His own. It was time to put His plan into motion and lay claim to the throne that He felt belonged to Him.

He stroked His goatee, amused with Himself for hatching such a scheme so quickly. The fire in His eyes flickered with glee as He cracked a sinister smile. His time was at hand.

He would decide His own fate, and the mortals would help Him while being none the wiser.

Chapter 1

Same crap, different toilet. Just another day in my life, Sheldon thought to himself as he walked home from the bus stop.

Sheldon's house was only about a ten minute walk from his bus stop; some days, however, it seemed much, much longer. This was one of those days.

Sheldon was tired, and walking in 20 degree weather wasn't helping. His book bag was weighing him down, his boots felt like a ton of bricks on his feet, and the unforgiving wind was beating his face like a piñata. All of this made it easy to ignore the people hustling and bustling beside him going about their business—the little kids gleefully running around happy to be home from school, and the exasperated parents yelling at them to stop running so far ahead of them. Even the neighborhood junkies straggling around who came too close to Sheldon didn't get the expected evil eye. Sheldon ignored all of this with one goal in mind: getting home and passing out on his bed.

His desire to get home still made it impossible not to notice the usual landmarks typically in plain view throughout his neighborhood—it wouldn't be a normal day if he didn't see the sidewalk and gutter littered with cigarette butts, empty beer bottles, and crack vials.

However, it wasn't any of those things that suddenly put Sheldon in an even fouler mood, for they were everyday fixtures. In fact, if Sheldon didn't see those things while walking down the street, only then would things seem unusual.

No. It was actually another familiar sighting which made him dread taking another step forward—from afar he spotted the gold sedan belonging to his mother's boyfriend parked outside their house, which meant its owner was probably inside. This also meant another night full of arguing and yelling, his usual lullabies.

Hey Shel! What's up with you man!

Sheldon looked in the direction