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[INDENT][INDENT][h3][sup][sup][color=red]Issue 1.02 –[/color] [color=aqua]Building Churches in the Wild Pt. 2 - Human Being in the Mind[/color][/sup][/sup][/h3][/indent][/indent]
[h3][b][sup]The Everglades, Florida:[/sup][/b][/h3]

The shriek of metal ripping sounded through the chop shop.

Gerald Duggar resisted the budding urge to shiver from the bead of sweat caressing the curve of his nose. It plinked onto his exposed thigh, the sound deafening to him in this din of silence. His leg still ached from almost being broken. Light filtered down on him, coming from the circular pane of slightly translucent grime that had once been a window. The stale air inside the chop shop mixed with dust particles, along with the smell of oil and ozone.

It had been about a minute sense that crack of thunder outside. Since the light had pulsed under the flaked and rusted bottom of the metal door. Why was it so goddamn [i]quiet[/i]? Gerald shook his head. Kept his eyes trained on the shed door. Strained those eyes to ignore the dust. [i]“Don’t blink, just breathe.”[/i]

The sliding door gave one last screech of metal admitting defeat, before it was taken from its track and tossed aside.

[i]“Hold the steel steady. Look a bull square between the eyes,[/i]” his father would say. [i]“Look ‘em dead 
center, and fire true.”[/i] That’s all it took.

But, Gerald couldn’t fully look at the eye’s of the man in the doorway. Knew he would have preferred a bull. Mud splatter covered his red suit like it was a painter’s smock, and yet there was a lack of concern for it.[BI] No grit in this guy’s dark jaw nor clench in his fist. The way Gerald saw the guy[?], faint sparks fritzing across his body—the set of his eyes, leveled and dull—he appeared irritated. 
The way the man considered the chop shop, noting the grayed and splitting support beams, patchwork of metal panels, the work of his Pa over years? The slight upturn of his lip? The [i]dismissal[/i] of all Gerald knew? It was enough to send Gerald’s hand down the pump of his rifle, breaking the silence. Punctuating it with the clatter of a copper shell on concrete.

Baal was brought back to the present by the clang. His eyes rested on the boy with yet another firearm was leveled at him. This pattern was becoming too familiar. The insolence. Then the boy spoke.

“You.” The word, made an accusation. A whisper resonating into a growl. 

Baal tasted real rage, none of the pomp from the mortals outside. Finally, something genuine. Small bolts leapt from his eyes. He took a slow step forward. There was only the grinding sway of rusted chains for a moment. 

The humidity and sweat slicked Gerald’s grip, but he tried to ignore it. Tried to mask the shudder in his breathing. Focused on those dark eyes cracked with blue sparks. Uppity smile and that smell of burnt skin. “You. You killed ‘em, didntja?”

Baal flicked his wrist, checking his watch. A gold flash glinted that made the mortal blink. Baal was officially late. “Check for yourself.”

The sharp inhale and contraction of his eyes betrayed Gerald, but he took a quick step toward Baal, his voice raising. “Fucker, I’ll kill you [i]right[/i] here n’ now.”  

The scratched black of the rifle’s metal was leveled at Baal’s chest. He stared at Gerald.

“Fuckin’ [i]answer me[/i]!”

Baal stepped into the muzzle. It pressed against his suit. He recognized this one as the mortal whose leg he considered breaking before the other 8 mortals surrounded him. Then that false king. This boy had heard those sounds outside. He could [i]taste[/i] the air. Yet here he was, breath steadying. A square in his shoulders. Muscles taut and the muzzle of his rifle lifted up. Baal knew madness. Had woven it into mortals for years. But this wasn’t it. Back on his Earth, he hadn’t interacted with the mortals in this way for some time. Had nearly forgotten this side of mortals. Countless incarnations since he’d seen it. This mortal was ready to die. He had a warrior’s resolve.
Baal shrugged. “You probably fancy this your last stand. You, the narrator of your story—strengthened by indignation, rage and revenge. Avenging your [i]Pa[/i], or whatever the term is. Your own personal war. But you kid yourself, Backwoods.” Baal grabbed the muzzle and directed it toward his forehead. The boy stumbled back, slipping on a pool of oil. “I started war [i]eons[/i] before you drew your first of many unnoticed breaths.”

Baal gestured around him. He let sparks jolt from his eyes and fingertips. “You smell that all around? How even a deep inhale buzzes your nose? That’s me. That’s [i]Power[/i]. Consider it the new fragrance.”

Baal crossed over to the mortal, gripping the sweat-stained collar of his shirt. The sparks almost danced in his eyes now. “Your life—based on what you do here, or anywhere really, won’t matter.” The sparks died down and his tone leveled. “The only difference is how much of it you see.”  

He dropped the boy. “You won’t kill me. But you can work for me.” Baal finally noticed his car and made his way toward it. 
Gerald slumped to the ground. The puddle of oil now soaked into his dirt crusted jeans. “[i]Work for you?[/i] You come in here, kill the folks I love, an’ you want me to [i]work[/i] for you? You ain’t never loved someone. Have you!?”

Baal paused as he was opening his door. His muscles tensed again, tightened with memories of pleasure he would never experience again. “In that simplistic way you love? No.” He let his shoulders relax once more. “And they [i]‘ain’t’[/i] dead outside. Scraped it, yes. But not dead. Even though, you lot stole my car and [i]tried[/i] to prevent me from getting it back. 3 of them will never walk again, and your father won’t speak anymore. I made sure of it.”

Baal opened the car door. “Fire the gun. Or don’t. My patience is gone and your father is the one who took it. [i]He[/i] had 8 armed men under his belt. [i]You[/i] are barely one.” Baal looked back at him, “But I can make you more than one.”
He slid into the driver’s seat and the sharp tone of leather filled his nostrils. Even in this new Earth, certain comforts could bring him back. He found his phone glinting in the center console. It was long dead, but that wasn’t a problem for Baal. Tapping a spark onto the screen with his finger, it was a few minutes before the screen lit up, the phone booting up. After a moment, his fingers set to work dialing a number and he placed the phone to his ear. Before he stepped out of the car, he grabbed something from the glovebox. He gestured to Gerald to come over as a voice picked up.

“Yeah. It’s me. Yes, apologies. A…situation came up that kept me from my phone. Do you still have time?...I didn’t ask if you had other clients. Do you still have time? Right then, be there in 5.” 

He turned to Gerald again. “Backwoods. Got a job you can do.” The keys shown in the light as Baal tossed them to Gerald. “Get this up to New York. Onboard nav’ll have the addy. You’ve got until tomorrow. 15 sound good?”

Gerald stared at Baal, stuttering almost-words before finally: “You tryna get me to chauffeur you up the east coast for 1500? Fucker who do you think—”

“You’ve got one more pass, with this ‘fucker’ nonsense,” Baal told him, cracking his fist. He added a sizzle of electricity for emphasis. “And 15 thousand, Backwoods. The hell do you think I am?”

Baal walked outside of the shed to the clearing, Backwoods (Gerald) in tow. The men were still unconscious and the cicadas were buzzing again.  “Just run the car for me. There’s 400 in the console, it’ll get you there. I might even have a follow up job for you if you do this right. You do it wrong, I’ll show you what happens when you piss me off.” He now stood in the center of the clearing, hands outstretched, considering the sunset sky.

“But waita—hold on! How you getting up to N.Y.?”

Baal smiled at his new assistant, letting sparks fill his eyes and cast a glow. The power jumped from his veins and began drying out the air. “As I said,” Baal started, above the growing hum in the air. “I’ll show you why you don’t want to piss me off.”

There was a slash of light cutting through the dusk of the sky. It struck Baal, followed by [i]Boom![/i] and the sky god was gone.