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His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he watched with crisp focus, he tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword, and the blade glinted under the scorching sun. His breath was steady as his chest rose and fell with every in inhalation and exhalation of the hot dusty air. He watched them with narrow eyes, anticipating any sudden movements, he could count about twenty of them all standing a few meters in front of him, donned in dark cloaks, the head of Baphomet boldly crested on them. As a soldier for the ‘Counsel of Lucifer’, he had done their biddings, he had killed and destroyed for the glorification of Satan, but here he was, no longer part of their absurdity, he now loathed them, he now stood for what is right and fight for what is right.
“I thought you were once the best of us, Hogan, I always knew you weren’t up to the task.” the leader of the cloaked men spoke.
“No, I was the worst of you, the evil I perpetuated still haunts me in my dreams for so long. Open your eyes, there is no need for bloodshed, you are on the wrong side of this, Christianity is the right side.” Hogan replied, both hands still tight around the hilt of his sword.
“Abomination! Anyone not for Lucifer, anyone who refuses to worship the one who came to save us all is an abnormality, the Christians will be wiped off the face of the Earth, and their filth shall be cleansed. You cannot change this, Hogan; there is nothing you can do about it”.
“I will fight till my last breath for the saints, God willing!” Hogan replied, flooded with determination.
“That may be sooner than you think”. The cloaked man unsheathed his sword, the metal on metal screech resounded as the rest of his fellows followed suit. Sword at the ready, they charged.
“For Lucifer! For Baphomet!” they chanted.
Hogan watched as they sprinted at him, the air quickly polluted by the raised dust, he closed his eyes, he reached for his years of training, the sounds of the feet of the men hitting the ground as they charged towards him became distinct, he cleared the sounds from his mind, the beating sound of his heart in his ears soon died out too, he cleared all distractions and opened his eyes. Pure energy cruised in his blood, he could notice the vibrancy and sharpness of his senses, and he rushed at his attackers, pure grit in the pits of his stomach.
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***
Six weeks earlier
It is the year 2603, the world authorities had fallen, and humanity has been ushered into a new world order under the sole leadership of ‘the counsel of Lucifer’ for about three hundred years. Religion is at a debacle and outlawed, only the worship of Satan, ushered in by ‘the counsel of Lucifer’ is accepted. Seismic changes has affected the way of life on Earth, technology is only accessible to the minority in the higher ranks of government, and ruled unlawful in the hands of mere men, an overt attempt to weaken the citizens and curtail any rebellious march at the new order. Non-believers and rebels have been and are still being wiped off the face of the Earth by specialized trained soldiers known as ‘The Brotherhood’.
The Brotherhood is an efficient and vicious weapon used by the ‘counsel of Lucifer to imbibe fear on the masses and checkmate rebellious tendencies that were especially rampant during the transition era, while pushing the gospel of Lucifer down their throats. Soon talks of the brotherhood spread far and wide, the rebellion had been defeated by this trained soldiers, defaulters and no-followers of the counsel code were executed, though pockets of rebels and religious clusters existed in the shadows, it is now the sworn duty of The Brotherhood to find and dismantle them, The Brotherhood of America carried out this duty on American soil.
Hogan Willmort had been trained for this duty all his life; he was born into a devoted family of ‘Cifers’, a term used to describe the followers of Lucifer. He had only known the way of Lucifer all his life; he was given up as an instrument of service by his devoted family at the age of ten. He went through the rigorous training to be a brotherhood soldier and excelled with flying colors, soon he was travelling the states of America, striking down rebels and defaulters alike to the glory of Lucifer and Baphomet. At the age of 34, Hogan Willmort is now one of the most decorated and respected soldier of The Brotherhood, his sheer efficiency is greatly valued by the top leaders in the ‘counsel of Lucifer’. He soon had his own regiment of five soldiers to command, his name inflicted fear on defaulters as his reputation spread across America. His exploits were told by Cifer Families to their children, many who now aspire to be like him. Hogan has fine macho features, he stands tall amongst average men, you need not be told of his muscularity even with his clothes on, he has a square jaw with a horseshoe mustache, his eyes resembles horizontal slits and his cheekbones were prominent, he is certainly a man not to be undermined.
The roar of their motorcycle engines echoed around as they rode on the dusty old road under the mid sky sun, the abandoned homes on both sides of the road stood decaying and were all a mere fragment of their former beauty, Hogan and his regiment of five soldiers rode towards the base of The Brotherhood of America, their dark cloaks waved in the wind as they cut down the meters in a spearhead formation. They were returning from yet another mission, a three days expedition to Old Washington, where a group of rebels had held camp, it was as bloody as all of his missions had been, and no mercy was spared any of the rebels. The base of The Brotherhood of America is isolated at Annapolis, the fear of The Brotherhood had made all residents within a mile radius of the base to relocate, and this brought a ghost town effect when travelling towards the base.
The base itself is an estate with training facilities, residential buildings and a few government buildings, fortified by tall frightening walls. It serves as a common ground for the soldiers of The Brotherhood to live away from society and their families in honor and service to Lucifer.
Hogan and his soldiers soon reached the tall imposing gate of the base which both served as entry and exit to the base. The gate is made of twisted black rods, offering a clear glimpse to the outskirts of the base. The goat head of Baphomet is clearly sculpted on the gate with the words ‘Stin ypiresia tou Lucifer’. The gatekeeper, an old frail looking man in ragged clothing trudged up to the gate.
“Hail Lucifer” he greeted.
“Hail Lucifer”. Hogan and the soldiers replied.
The gatekeeper proceeded to open the gate which swung inwards, his strength surprisingly great given his frail looks.
The roar of the motorcycles tore into the base as Hogan and his regiment rode with finesse, young men of different ages trained on the streets of the base with varying weapons, it ranged from swords to atlatls, spears, maces, knives and even bows and arrows. The trainees all took it upon themselves to halt proceedings and bow subtly as Hogan and his soldiers rode by. They cut their engines in front of the ‘hell house’, a somewhat court house where the various head of regiments report to before and after missions. Hogan balanced his motorcycle with the side stand before gracefully walking into the hell house. The interior of the hell house strikingly resembles a court room, the walls are made of polished brown wood, several rows of empty seats both sides of an aisle faced an elevated podium at the very front, the goat head of Baphomet adorned the wooden walls behind the podium. The podium housed the seat of the ‘supreme’, the hierarchal leader of The Brother Hood of America. The supreme sat on his seat, watching as Hogan made strides towards him, he was an elderly man in red robes, his grey mustache could compete with the fore arms of an adult for length, he has the position of ‘the supreme’ since Hogan joined The Brotherhood at a young age and no one knows his real name. As was customary, Hogan took a knee in front of the podium.
“Hail Lucifer” he greeted before standing on his feet again.
“Mission reports” The supreme said in his croaky voice.
“Accomplished, there was a total of fifteen rebels in Old Washington, their filth has been cleansed, your Grace” Hogan replied, the baritone of his voice reverberated on the walls of the hell house.
“Very good, return to your residence, I shall be in touch”. The supreme said.
Hogan customarily took the knee once more, he greeted before turning and walking out of the hell house towards his comrades. Hogan’s regiment of five was some of the best soldiers in The Brotherhood and singlehandedly picked by him.
Charles Binnins, the most loyal of friends to Hogan, a short well rounded man with one of the best sword skills in the ranks.
Steve Stuttermore, a tall lanky man, lost his left eye on a mission; this necessitated him wearing an eye patch, clinical as he is obedient, slaughtered his own uncle at the age of 18 because he wouldn’t worship Lucifer.
Brad Woodmore, a fine archer, almost same height as Hogan, bald head and one finger short on his right hand which he lost during a sword training as a youth, switched to archery immediately after the incident.
William Ziffler, the only one in the ranks who was converted from prisoner to soldier, captured as a rebel at twenty years of age, a very lucky man as most rebels are slaughtered without second thought, but he was spared due to his extraordinary ability of using a mace exquisitely, he was later converted and now loyal to the counsel.
The fifth soldier, Stella Winchester, the only woman in The Brotherhood of America, blonde hair and dark lined eyes, she has several piercings on her ears and nostrils, a deadly soldier by comparison, she is unsmiling and savage, insanely crafty with a pair of katana.
“Job well done soldiers, see you all at the next one”, Hogan addressed his comrades.
“Ah! I cannot wait to taste wine once more, I have missed it”, a beaming Charles said.
“Well I for one missed the soft lush of my bed”, Steve said.
“Till we meet again”, Said Brad.
“I’m thinking that will be soon, there are whispers of more rebels and religious folks lately”, William said.
“Then let me quickly meet my bed before I am torn from it again”, said Steve.
Stella Winchester remained mute during the exchange; she busied herself cleaning her pair of katana with a rag.
“Hail Lucifer”, Hogan greeted.
“Hail Lucifer”, they replied before they climbed atop their motorcycles and rode away in several different directions.
Hogan straddled his own, and deftly disengaged the side stand with his boots, he ignited the engine and drifted semi-circle on the spot before riding towards his abode.
His residence was one of the finest at the base, a pitched roofed bungalow with square windows, which took up entire walls and beams dividing it into smaller squares, the front door of the house was metallic and the walls a shade of white and the floors made of concrete. He opened the front door with a biometric scanner, which was a rare technology at this time, he stepped into the plush sitting room and the lights automatically came on, a plasma screen graced a wall and the white leather covered furniture complimented the white walls. He made his way into the bedroom, which contained a huge bed with white sheets, a table and a finely carved chair, and a white painted wardrobe. Transparent white blinds covered the windows; the entire room has a feel of peace and purity. Hogan removed his cloak and boots before unfastening the upper buttons of his dark leather top he donned on khaki trousers, he unfastened his scabbard from around his waist and walked to a seemingly innocent wall, the wall soon opened to reveal a store of sheathed swords of different styles each hung on separate rows. He delicately hung the sword in his hands and stepped back from the wall, the wall closed again with a click, mimicking innocence. Moments later, he washed himself of the reek of death, the warm water soothed his scarred body, the sun retreated and the lesser light took to the sky.
“To Lucifer, the savior, he who has cleansed us of all filthiness and brought us to the limelight, continue to straighten my path and bend my will to yours” he recited the ‘solemn prayer of the Cifers’ before he drifted to sleep on the soft mattress he had indeed missed.
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***
“Your form is as fine as I remember”, Groth Spazier said as he parried yet another of Hogan’s strike.
Groth Spazier is one of the finest trainers of The Brotherhood, he had been Hogan’s first ever tutor since he was initiated into the faction. Hogan learnt all he knows from the man who despite his obvious advancement in age remained young to look and fit as a horse.
Groth moved his sword with finesse, parrying all of Hogan’s strikes in the sparring contest in one of the base’s training chambers.
“You can do better Hogan!” he bellowed just before sidestepping another swing from Hogan, the pair circled each other.
“You refuse to grow old Groth”, Hogan said with a smile whilst still circling the room with his opponent.
Groth warmly returned the smile.
“So I keep getting told”, he replied before feigning an attack that made Hogan take a few steps back.
“You are still a very cunning man”, Hogan joked.
“That has kept me alive all these while”, Groth beamed.
Hogan went on the offensive, swinging a high outside which Groth swiftly blocked, the clang of their swords echoed in the training chamber, he immediately followed with a high inside which Groth effortlessly parried still. In the twinkle of an eye, Groth spun a full circle on the spot, cutting down inched between himself and Hogan who soon felt the cold of a sword blade on his neck.
“…and you are dead” Groth remarked.
“I suspect there are a few lessons you withheld from me” Hogan said as both men retook their fighting stance.
“With immense focus you can do anything, I have always told you that.” Groth replied.
Hogan who was now determined to get one over his trainer, closed his eyes, the sound of his heartbeat grew louder in his ears before dying out, he could hear the sound of the wind blowing through the crossed beams of the windows, he filtered that out too, he cleared his mind of all distraction, then he opened his eyes, pure energy flowed in his blood, and his senses improved vastly. He lunged forward with godlike speed, Groth just about parrying the strike at the last moment, Hogan swung again, this time the force of his strike knocked the sword out of Groth’s hand, it clattered on the ground several inches away. He sanguinely pointed his sword at the now defenseless Groth.
“…and you’re dead too Groth” he said.
The two men shared a laugh to mark the end of the contest.
“You have a unique ability, Hogan, a very wonderful gift from our lord Baphomet”, Groth remarked.
Hogan sheathed his sword in reason at the words of Groth.
“I have always felt I had this skill even before I joined the brotherhood, I would go into the woods in search of rabbits, I close my eyes and focus, and when I open them, I could hear them all in their covert burrows”, he replied.
“Lucifer knows all, he knew you before you were born, that you would go on to be one of his finest servants, and this gift was given to you to do his bidding. I have trained many men right here and believe me when I say; none is as exceptional as you are”.
“You are kind, Groth, but you helped me harness it, and it wasn’t all my doing”.
Their dialogue was soon cut short by an intruding young man, dressed in green tops and shorts, an obvious member of the ‘birds’. The birds are a group of trained and devoted Cifers, they are specialized in scouting and spying, some of them were even good at tracking, this made them valuable for sending messages for The Brotherhood.
“Excuse me, Master Hogan, the supreme requires your presence at the hell house” the young bird said before instantly leaving the same way he came.
“It seems your services are required once more, go with valor Hogan, our lord is pleased with you”, Groth said.
Hogan subtly bowed and greeted, Groth replied with the raise of a hand.
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***
The supreme sat characteristically at the podium in the hell house, this time he was flanked left and right by the other high council members, all three were in red robes. Hogan took the knee once more on reaching the podium.
“Hail Lucifer” he greeted before rising to his feet.
“We have another mission for you and your soldiers” the supreme said in his usual croaky voice.
“It will be an honor to do the bidding of our lord, your grace” Hogan replied.
“We have word of rebels hiding it out in the lowly town of Crofton, you and your comrades are to find them and cleanse their filth, take no prisoners”.
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“You are dismissed”.
Hogan took the knee and greeted before exiting the hell house.
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***
The six soldiers rode their motorcycles into the small town of Crofton in the heat of noon, women instantly carried their wandering children into their paltry homes, traders started closing their shops and others scrambled to safety, friends beckoned at each other in warning, the arrival of The Brotherhood in any town spelt death and the panic of the town people are quite understandable. Hogan and his riders reached the now deserted town square, a vast dusty patch of land, and tables with fruits, vegetables and meat stood abandoned, left by the fled traders. The wind blew on a hanging bell on a pier, causing a clang at intervals that was enhanced by the eerie silence that now befalls the town.
The Brotherhood soldiers in their usual cloaks disembarked their now shut off bikes, Steve reached for an apple and took a bite with a loud crunch.
“Where are the infidels?” Brad asked.
Hogan glanced around the square, information he had gotten from the birds is that the rebels were holed up in a large barn in the town.
“We are looking for a barn; the rebels fled here to Crofton and took refuge” he replied.
“I see one” Charles said, pointing to a direction.
They walked towards the direction of the large barn, the wood used in the construction was dark and decaying, the wooden doors and windows were firmly shut. William pushed at the doors, which did not budge.
“Locked from the inside” he said.
“Hrahhg!” Brad shouted as he ran his enormous frame into the doors, the decaying nature of the wood making it very weak as the door burst open, revealing an empty darkness.
“Anyone with a light?” Charles asked, but got no reply.
“Come on out, in the name of Lucifer!” Steve bellowed.
The soldiers readied their weapons; Stella delicately twirling her katana blades in the air, Brad drew his bow with an arrow already in place as they walked towards the darkness in the barn. A moment of calm followed before a sudden burst of chaos, charging screams could be heard, Hogan could just about make out the shape of some individuals running at them in the dark of the barn.
“Ambush!” Steve shouted.
Hogan readied his sword, though the darkness made it hard for them to see in the dark, the trained soldiers relied on their other well trained senses, the sound of blades cutting flesh, the crack of skulls, the whooshing of the arrows as they left Brad’s bow strings, gurgling sounds from incapacitated rebels, screams of pain, filled the air in the dark barn as the soldiers tore with ease into the civilians.
“For Lucifer! For Baphomet!” They chanted as they massacred the unknown individuals. Hogan swung his blade with ability, cutting into flesh after flesh, he thrust the sword behind and under an arm at the sound of an approaching attacker behind him, the gurgling sound that followed meant he hit his target, he swung in a wide arc to his right side, slicing the flesh of two others, the warm blood sprayed on his face, he could taste it in his mouth. Moments later, there was calm.
“Hrahhg!” Brad broke down a segment of the barn walls with his frame, the rays of the sun crept in, the others followed suit, tearing down more parts of the walls, and the barn was soon lit by the rays of the sun. The revealed sight instantly made Hogan lightheaded, while his comrades remained standing and unhurt, by their feet were the bloodied lifeless bodies of men who held nothing but sharply carved sticks, women and children, too many children, young children, too young, Hogan felt his stomach fold at the sight, a particularly young girl lay lifeless, she looked no more than six years old with a bloodied teddy a few inches from her gutted corpse.
“For Lucifer! For Baphomet!” his comrades chanted, but Hogan remained transfixed on the horrible sight, his mouth remained unmoving, his heart pounded in his chest as guilt built up within, threatening to explode.
“Hogan” he heard the muffled sound of his name.
“Hogan!” this time it was sharper, it pulled him out of his hypnotization, he looked at the source of the call, and Charles stared at him with concern in his eyes.
“Everything okay, Hogan?” he asked.
“Yes” Hogan lied through gritted teeth.
Steve clapped him on the back with cheer, “Another one done in his name, more filth cleansed off the Earth”, he said.
The soldiers soon hit the rode on their rides; Hogan’s mind was cast into turmoil.
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***
There were children, innocent children, they did not look like rebels, he had come across scores of rebels in his years of service, the rebels he knew were always heavily armed but this was different, they had nothing but sticks for weapons. Hogan’s though kept spiraling as he arrived at the hell house. He took the knee and grumpily greeted.
“Mission report” The Supreme prompted.
“Done” Hogan replied, his mood was terribly spoiled by the preceding events.
The Supreme seemed to expect more, “Done? That is all?” he asked.
“A total of nineteen men, women and… children were cleansed”. Hogan said with a slight scowl, deliberately avoiding the use of the word ‘rebel’.
The Supreme seemed to notice this, “You do not seem satisfied” he said.
“Your grace, if I may ask their crime?” Hogan pointedly asked.
“Are you questioning the wisdom and judgment of our lord Lucifer?” the supreme asked in a higher tone that made his voice croakier.
“No, your grace”
“You are dismissed”.
Hogan let the hell house, he dismissed his comrades and looked for a nearby bird, and he grabbed the boy by the arm and turned him towards him.
“You know the rebels of Crofton?” he asked agitatedly.
The frightened bird nodded yes.
“What are their crimes?” Hogan asked.
“Refusal to pay tax for a whole year, they fled from Bowie to Crofton to evade the counsel” the bird said.
The words hit Hogan like a blow, he let go of the bird, who scampered away in fright. His lightheadedness returned, the world seemed to spin beneath his feet.
What have I done? He kept on repeating in his head. The words of Groth resounded once more;
“Lucifer knows all, he knew you before you were born, that you would go on to be one of his finest servants, and this gift was given to you to do his bidding…”
Was this all Lucifer’s will? The final words of the solemn prayer of the Cifers also replayed in his head;
“…bend my will to yours”
It suddenly all felt wrong, doubt crept into him as he walked towards his motorcycle.
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