Legends End Chapter 3

 

Chapter 3

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Raven looks up as the door to the shop opens. A pleasant hello is stopped on the tip of her tongue as she sees who has entered Elysium. 

Oh great, she mutters silently, not him again. The man who had just entered her shop was someone she dreaded seeing darken the door. It was Reverend Gabriel Joseph come to spread the word of God to the heathens. Again.

“I’ve told you before that you are not welcome in my shop, reverend,” she says in a voice dripping with ice. “Get out before I call the cops.” Tammy and Timothy are staring at her at this point. They’ve never seen her be outright rude to anyone before. All they seem to be able to do is stare. 

“In Gods world, I can go anywhere I please, child of sin,” Reverend Gabriel declares harshly. “With the end of the world so close at hand I wanted to give you and your heathen friends one last chance to declare yourselves for God and give up your evil ways!” With each word he stalks closer to Raven. Tam and Tim stand up and his attention turns to them. 

“Oh may the angels protect you, children. It is not too late to change your ways and beg the lord God almighty for forgiveness. Just repent, my children, and you will be saved,” he proclaims at the top of his lungs. Tammy takes a step forward. Raven cringes as she sees what’s coming. 

“I am not your child,” her sister spits out, “and if my sister tells you to leave her property then I suggest you get the f**k out of here. I don’t need you or anyone else to save me. I will save myself just fine on my own,” she spews angrily. Her eyes are blazing with pent up anger and Raven feels a swell of pride. Her sister was like her in so many ways. 

The reverend just stares at Tammy for a moment, completely taken aback by the insolence of the child in front of him. 

“How d-dare you s-speak to a man of God in such a way!” he stutters. “You will pay for your sins on the day of judgment. And, may God forgive me these words, I hope that day is soon!” With those words, he turns on his heal and marches out of the shop.

Raven and Tammy start giggling as the door closes behind the reverend. Tim just chuckles quietly. The three of them make faces at each other and mock the reverend and his words. Tammy even makes fun of her own actions. After a few minutes, they tire of the game and bend their attention back to the tasks at hand. 

About a half an hour later another well known face walks through the shop door. This person, however, is met with smiles and warm welcome. 

“Tig! When did you get back in town?” Raven exclaims as she comes around the counter. She dashes forward to give her friend as much of a bear hug as she can, given his much larger frame. He returns it, enthusiastically picking her up and swinging her feet around like an adult with a child. She just giggles as he sets her back on her feet. 

She looks over at her brother and sister just in time to catch the our-sister-is-crazy look that they share. Whatever is running through their heads, they walk over when Raven motions for them. 

“Guys, this is Tig. He’s Lexi’s big brother,” she explains, watching the wariness fade from her siblings eyes. They’d met Lexi the last time they had snuck over to see Raven. They even seemed to get along with her. As one of her more eccentric friends, this had surprised Raven at first. Lexi wasn’t her best friend for no reason, though. She’d won them over in less than an hour. It appeared that her brother was going to get the benefit of the doubt and wasn’t going to have to prove himself. 

“Are you heading to the club tonight?” Raven asks Tig as he wanders around the room. 

“No, I think I’m gonna veg out on the couch for a bit and then go to bed,” he says, shaking his head. “I’ve got a headache today that doesn’t seem to want to go away. I don’t think gothic and industrial music at full volume will help it go away,” he chuckles.

The club Raven referred to is known as The Church. It was built in one of the many old cathedral style churches downtown. Four full floors of heavy industrial and goth rock music playing as loud as people can stand. That was where Raven had met Tig and his younger sister, Alexus, whom everyone called Lexi. She and Lexi had become fast friends.  Her brother, a consultant for a big computer company (he never said which one), was always out of town and sometimes out of the country. He was the person that had helper her write up the business plan for Elysium. She owed him her lively hood but all he asked for was her friendship. 

As he continued to poke around her shop, she wondered what kind of a headache would keep him away from the club. For the second time that day she imagined that she could feel what someone else was feeling. 

Pain! An intense, sharp stabbing pain blacked her eyesight for a moment and sent her reeling where she stood. It felt like her head was going to explode. After what seems like an eternity, the pain fades and she realizes that the headache she was just feeling wasn’t hers, it was Tig’s. 

“Tig?” she calls out, her voice sounding strained even to her own ears.

“Yeah?” he looks up from his position in front of her weapons case. “Whatcha need?”

“Would you do me a really big favor and do a personal cleansing when you get home? 

Reviews

[Tazredrum]

Was going to review after each chapter, but was intrigued and read 2 & 3. The fact that, so far, it's not predictable is a good thing. You could descibe the supporting characters a bit more, but you are doing a very good job.