Justice

By Foster Evans

A supernatural thriller with people who have been reborn into angelic creatures. A council of these creatures that has been assisting human beings for centuries has an attack on one of its members. An FBI agent investigating a serial killer and a creature with no memory of his former life. Is there a link between them all and will the human race survive?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781458320186

Book preview

Chapter 1

A dust and smoke-filled room fills the scene.  A dark and grey color seems to be the headlining theme.  A brick lined path leads to the solid cold cage door.  The bricks have a polished red gleam that seems to be the only bright spectacle in this dreary arena.  The pale glow of the white overhead lights gives the room a gloomy, dusty appearance. 

The spectators are the usual weekly group.  Crowds of suits and ties in the dank environment give the impression of deeds that need to be dealt with in an unlawful, but businesslike manner.  There is a sudden hush over the crowd as the anticipation of gore lingers on before the crowd just as quickly comes to life.

As the monster covered in the usual jet-black cloak glides slowly toward the door, the spectators take their opportunity to express their gratitude.  Some are yelling the common phrases of Kill them and Destroy them.  Others are begging the monster to go slow and torment them.  The monster floats by them without losing a single step.  Still covered by the cloak, the monster’s ominous entrance is enhanced by cigar smoke clouding the room.  It pays little attention to the screaming fans and almost seems like it doesn’t even notice them.

The monster enters the cage, and the house lights move to focus on to the ring.  Four opponents are in the ring dazed and confused.  The opponents stood wobbling with assorted weapons scattered about their feet.  The chains attached to their ankles rattle as the opponents begin to come to their senses.  The numbing drugs they have all been administered have finally begun to wear off.  The hair on their arms also begins to rise as the pulsing hum of the electricity running through the cage hums to life.

A sense of fear comes over the four men as they begin to realize where they are.  The air inside the cage begins to thin out and a sense of panic sets in.  The crowd noise fades away to the monster as just background noise the more the crowd begins chanting.  The overpowering image of the monster, as it hovers from side to side, keeps the men’s complete attention.

A voice over the loudspeaker in a dull, harsh, deep voice chimes in the name of the monster in his usual introductory manner.

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the age of redemption.  This is The Cage of Reconciliation This is where your redeeming angel, Justice, will bring forth the judgments you truly deserved.

The voice gave a few minutes of silence to allow the fans a chance for a Justice chant.  The sound in the arena became almost a defining tone.  Finally, the voice returned and turned its attention toward the other men.

The four men before us have been charged by a jury of their superiors to be a threat to our society.  Society tried them in a jury of their peers but was unable to balance the wrong they created.  They were released back into our society!  Another long pause as the chants of boo and scattered other comments created a chaos of sound.

The voice boomed in again silencing the crowd.  What we have here is four men who feel they can manipulate society and hold our justice system for their own playground.  They have challenged our way of civilization with their own idea of what they should be allowed to do.  These men have, by their own actions that are reprehensible, shunned our rules, and taken a stand for what they believe they should be allowed to do.

The crowd buzzed with impatience.  They booed and hissed at the four men.  Some of the crowd moved restlessly making it seem obvious they wanted to get things over with.  The growing anticipation of violence fueled their ravenous appetite.

The voice began, again, after a slight pause to introduce the four men. As each of the introductions finished, the chains electronically released their grip, and fell to the floor.

First up is a young African American from Boston, Massachusetts.  His name is Kevin Sullivan.  He is the leader of small group called the Bloods.  Countless times many people have been injured or threatened by members of his pitiful organization.  Now that he is here, he will pay for the sins of all of them.

"Secondly, we have a small-time banker from North Dakota.  I would give you a more direct home location, but as our audience is aware, he has no single location.  His name is Keith LePage as most of our audience has gotten to know him by.  Although this is probably not his real name either.  He has molested and murdered over forty-five children.  The count is probably staggeringly much higher, but since he has moved and changed his name so often it is impossible to get an accurate count.

"Third on our list is an arsonist, who hails from Marksville Tenn...  Timothy Daniels is an open and proud of member of the Klu Klux Klan.  Most of the fires he has set over the course of his lifetime have been to scattered churches.  Normally the destruction of public or personal property is usually handled properly by our laws, but he was exonerated.  This is a case where he managed to escape their laws, but not ours.  The church he burned down was not empty.  There were 137 people inside.  His view and standpoint have been made, and now our laws will be beat into him.

Last for this week is a former petty thief.  He gave up the lifestyle only to return to it later in life.  Jason Christianson, called J.C by his friends, gave up his thieving ways and became a model citizen.  He attends church every Sunday while studying to become a middle school teacher.  This man even settled his own personal life by getting married to a disabled woman.  Together they have two beautiful children named Davie and Jessie that are just about to begin middle school.  Jason for some reason with everything going his way decided to return to crime.  Instead of stopping with just a petty larceny charge he looked to jump back into crime in a big way.  He murdered the man behind the counter and an innocent woman shopping with her husband.  He cut an innocent woman’s marriage short, and Justice shall now cut his short.

The four men finally have adjusted to their surroundings.  Only Jason really begins to show how badly things are for the three of them.  He begins to show a desperate panic.  He stares around at the fans and the men around him.  Things slowly become a blur around him as he starts to fall into an uncontrollable panic.  He drops to his knees and starts pleading with the crowd.  He screams his innocence and begs to whoever would pretend to listen to him through the cage that he had been set up.

Jason tries to plead, but the harder he pleads the more laughs he gets from the crowd.  He feels the predicament he has found himself in is becoming inescapable.  He finally comes to the realization that his life has been cut short and makes a break for the still open cage door.  As he attempts to escape, he is grabbed by the throat by the gloved hand of the monster.

With a quick shift of its arm, Jason is airborne sailing like a rag doll.  Sparks flash everywhere as he hits the side of the cage.  The grey shirt that clung to his body showed severe burn marks that were now imprinted with the designs of the cage.  The smell of flesh burning filled the arena.  Jason twitched a few more times than fell completely silent.

The other three men backed up a bit while staring at Jason’s broken and burned body.  The smell of burned flesh made their eyes water.  They all knew they had little chance of beating this monster alone.  It seemed to have the ability to be able to move incredibly fast.  It almost seemed like it moved like a breath of air.

Kevin knew just from living on the streets that he is not supposed to survive through this.  Just because he led his boys did not mean he is not a survivor on his own.  He made his name on the streets long before his boys decided to follow his directions.

Roughly four years ago he found himself on the defense before his friends knew how tough he is.  He battled through a tough group of Asians that had cornered him and his girlfriend.  Her name is Rachael and her face now flashed before him.  She fought by his side the day they were cornered but didn’t make it very long before she found herself overwhelmed by three of them. He managed to get Rachael and himself free from the gang, and he swore upon her that he would take care of them until they took their very last breath.

The next day after the battle with the gang he grabbed a few friends and went looking for the few that got away.  The retaliation from Kevin and his friends became the first steps of what would later become known as Kevin’s Blood. 

Originally the gang was designed to protect the neighborhood, but after a few news reports it became more of a racial issue by the local authorities.  Kevin never saw it as racial.  For him it was more territorial than anything else.  Rachael is Asian American herself, and she never liked it when his friends would ramble on about their days and what they got away with.  All Kevin could think of is if he could protect the neighborhood, then the streets would be safe for his family and friends to walk on.

While she was probably sitting at home waiting for him to come home from a day of hanging with the guys, he found himself being kidnapped by a bunch of monks.  At first, he thought it was some joke his friends were pulling on him, or part of the Asian gang looking for retaliation.  However, now he found himself standing in front of a bunch of blood thirsty vigilantes that seemed to have passed a death sentence on him.  He looked around not sure how to react to the scenario.  He had only one thought that rang through his mind.  If this is his day to die, then he planned to go down fighting. 

Kevin looked around and did not see any of his friends.  He hoped his backup would arrive sooner or later.  Hopefully one of them saw the abduction and called for help.  He could only hope that they would not just assume it was the Asians and go looking for him there.  Now, he knew he is alone and had no backup.  His gut told him that he is not going to live through this ordeal, but he is going to make sure they do not forget what his name is.

Kevin stands as erect as possible to face whatever the shadow that floats in front of him.  He figures if today is his last day, then he wants everyone to fall with him.  He pulls his own grey shirt off exposing his chiseled body.  The scars of years of knife stabs decorate most of his chest and back.  He rubs his hand across his upper body letting the shadow know that he has little fear of the end of his life.

Gabriel Santos knew this day had finally come.  He watched the larger black man tear his shirt off and reveal his war-torn body.  The shock lingered inside of watching the smaller black man fry to a crisp after trying a desperate escape attempt.  He knew better than trying to beg for his life or trying any type of escape.  The newspapers made his deeds sound appealing enough for him to be standing in this specific spot.

The Bureau began to get suspicious after the last three years.  Someone on the fifth floor, reviewing across state cases, noticed cases with comparable burn marks.  At first, it was believed to be the work of a single vigilante.  The cases began to slowly include cases of people, during their trials, protesting their innocence often to the point of tears, and having demanding accusations of being framed by the system itself.  These people after getting off on technicalities would also join the collection of corpse pictures in files on the desk of the bureau.

Jason Christianson’s case happened, and since it happened to be a local case, caught the eye of the Bureau.  Jason, who is accused of killing a shop clerk and the only other person in the store, begged and pleaded his innocence.  He claimed everyone in the store was alive and well when he left the store.  There was no other person entering the store that he could recall.  The police were notified of the shooting and picked Jason only a few blocks from the crime scene.  He had no weapon on him and seemed not to be in any rush to leave the scene.  Without another witness coming forward to identify him, his case was dismissed.  The local newspapers made a big deal of it after an unknown angry citizen continued calling them making a big deal of the injustice to the person’s family.

The concerned citizen never made a public appearance despite how often he or she called.  The reporters began an investigation on the caller only to find many dead ends.  The woman killed in the store left behind a daughter with a husband that had left the country after her death.  No other known family members or friends of the family seemed to find any injustice in the release of Jason.  They wanted Justice, but not without solid proof.  When the calls continued from the caller it prompted them to contact the police.  The Bureau already handling the case now took over the phone calls.

The Bureau decided Jason may become the next victim of the vigilante.  A mock trial was set up and Keith LePage was born.  Gabriel went undercover and took on the role of the serial child rapist.  It may have been a risky venture, but the vigilante serial killer was bound to come for him.  They hoped that with such a violent and dangerous man on the prowl Jason may get overlooked.

The last few weeks, the public tried to understand why Keith had such a fascination with children and how he managed to escape the justice system even though not a single family member stepped forward.  Gabriel and the Bureau hoped it probably catch enough attention that the vigilante would take notice. 

Keeping the media blind to the ruse, he had reporters coming in and out of his temporary home grilling him for answers.  He even attended talk shows, through his home, which begged him to get his story on the air.  Everyone had some opinion on why he did the things he did, and the media constantly brought in experts to decipher the crimes.  Especially after the blatant mistrial everyone wanted to get an interview with the child rapist that used the law to get off with only probation.  The truth is it didn’t matter what he would have stated.  People had their minds made up long before they knew how the ending of the trial went.  He would just make light of it and say how they tasted like chicken.

The smoke-filled entrance and electrified cage are nothing more than extra scare tactics.  The group that grabbed him was made up of regular people.  Gabriel knew that the thing in front of him despite its clouded appearance as an angel of some kind is probably human as well, because, in his belief, a true angel would be aware of the truth.  These groups of blood thirsty people are just a bunch of people that read way too many newspapers and wish to be considered vigilantes.

Gabriel knew that the group that grabbed him was a bit sloppy.  Unlike the various criminals that the agency had discovered over the years, the last few times the people turning up seemed to be innocent.  It wasn’t unusual for innocent claiming criminals getting sentenced or accused but this rash of incidences seemed to be sprouting everywhere in alarming rates.  This development of innocent people claiming innocence throughout the trials mostly were filled with people brought to the point of begging.  These few people then also had been turning up dead a few days after they were released.

Gabriel stared down at the lifeless body of Jason and a lump rose in his throat.  He said a silent prayer under his breath.  It is really the first time he had prayed in so long.  He was not sure when the last time he had said an honest prayer.  He had begged God for a few things along the way, such as the night he kept throwing up while suffering from the flu.

Gabriel thought for a second how many times he had asked the Lord for simple pathetic things versus the times he really needed help.  He began to wonder about how petty God may feel humans are.  People usually beg for God’s assistance when they are suffering from one of life’s unpleasant occurrences.  Gabriel had begged for forgiveness on numerous occasions while bent over a toilet seat after a long night of drinking.  He prayed for simple things on quite a few other occasions.  Most of the asked for prayers revolved around hoping something would happen or for a big lottery win.  Other than that, he would beg for vengeance on some jerk that cut him off on the highway.

The praying years ended when Gabriel lost his wife, Samantha.  He prayed for seven years before her death.  He pleaded every night for her suffering to end.  She had developed a very rare spinal disease.  The tests the doctors ran on her were very painful and the cures caused just as much pain.  She suffered night and day, before and during her treatment.  He stared into her eyes every night wishing just to see her smiling once again.  Her eyes showed the daily pain and her moaning stills haunted him to this day.

The tears Gabriel and his wife shed during those years still hurt years after her death.  He openly began blaming God and stopped attending the weekly sermon.  He listened to all the talk about how Samantha is with God now.  Gabriel’s normal response entailed telling the person how Samantha could tell off God for making her suffer for so long.  No priest could give a solid reason for her extended suffering and gave little solace with comments of how God works in mysterious ways.

Gabriel heard many opinions from different people.  The only thing he could focus on is the way her life ended.  Him and Samantha spent years of carefree living.  They always spent afternoons holding hands at the park while he was on break.  They took short walks during the morning and evening hours to stay in shape.  It always gave them time to reflect on their life.  They were so happy during those years and then it was taken away in what seemed like little or no time at all.

Now, he stood before this mountain of a man.  After seeing how quickly Jason died, he knew he would be joining Samantha soon.  The only thought that ran through his mind is the hope that the tracking device embedded in his leg is still active.  If it is still working, then it is only moments before someone breaks up this little party.  If it is not working, then everything he went through the last few months would be for nothing.

Gabriel knew when he decided to take the case it would be difficult.  Angry citizens filled areas to give him their opinions.  Playing the perfect villain did not help much to ease the pressure.  He needed the vigilante to buy his guilt, so his performance had to be flawless.  To say the plan worked has both a positive and negative side.

On the positive side, the vigilante did buy the rouse.  Here Gabriel stood face to face with a Batman wannabe.  Hopefully, the police backup is surrounding the building preparing to launch a massive offense.  Getting inside the cage may prove difficult, but perhaps being surrounded may get this vigilante to give himself up peacefully.  The fact that he calls himself Justice may prove useful if he decides not to.  Killing police officers may be against his beliefs whatever they may be.

The negative sides to the plan were the mental side effects.  Gabriel was treated the way his image would have dictated.  He was forced to move from the neighborhood he was set up with twice.  His belongings were destroyed by other would-be vigilantes.  Just going for a loaf of bread became a mental onslaught from people refusing him service and physical assaults from people attacking from what seemed like everywhere.  He hoped everyone realizes who he is, and how they treated another officer trying to protect them.  If a single lesson could be learned, then it would be to remember that guilty and innocent verdicts are not always as clear as the records make them out to be.  Unless you are familiar with the whole trial and the family effects on both sides, you may make a wrongful impression of the event.

Gabriel didn’t try to intimidate the vigilante named Justice.  He only needed to survive long enough for backup to arrive.  He slowly reached down and picked up a police baton from the scattered supply of weapons.  Some of them would have made more sense, but this is the weapon he knew better than the others.  It also hopefully would give this vigilante an idea that he may be a police officer in disguise.

After years of training, he was not going to allow himself to be taken so easily.  Gabriel took a defensive stance on the side of Kevin.  A few years ago, he stood just twenty feet from putting him in prison for an extended time.  The case did not go as he wanted, but Kevin did put the Bureau on track to bust a few cases for them.  Together he knew they stood a better chance of survival, but he just hoped it would be enough.

Timothy stood watching the way the rest of the men tried to pathetically defend against one of the immortals.  He had recently taken advice by one of these beings.  This is the first time; however, he had been made aware that there are other beings.  It did not appear to be the same being he knew, but it had similarities.

He stood watching the other two men prepare to fight for their lives.  He smiled to himself watching these two other pitiful blacks about to be butchered.  Although it will be a comfort to see two more blacks get beaten to death.  He thought about how great it will feel to see the black man beg for his life, and then fall dead at his feet anyways.  His only major regret is that he could not have killed them personally.

To Timothy, it made sense that he stood side by side with black men fighting for their life.  He began to feel it became his duty to make sure the job is done properly.  He could sit and watch the last two black men fight for their lives, and hopefully get the chance to kill one of them himself.

It would not be the first black man or woman he ever took out.  He could even say with complete confidence that he eliminated many generations to come.  With the children he alone killed there would naturally be fewer blacks arriving on this planet.  He always believed they were a lower race and standing in the presence of this being proved his theory.  The first