Wesley Snipes - Talon of God

That was enough to set the room fluttering, including, unfortunately, Lauryn’s own stomach. She’d been so determined to fix this, she’d completely forgotten how much she hated talking in front of crowds. But it was way too late to back out now, and so she forced herself to climb up, taking a deep, terrified breath before turning to address the room.

“I’m Dr. Lauryn Jefferson,” she said, speaking as loudly as she could. “I know many of you think this is Judgment Day, and I know it looks that way, but I’m here to tell you it’s not. This destruction is not God’s doing! It’s a plan by a very evil man to sacrifice our city and bring hell into Chicago.”

She paused there, waiting for the inevitable heckling that was bound to follow a statement that insane, but the crowd stayed silent. Apparently, being trapped in a church by a demon mob changed what you were willing to accept as fact, and when it was clear the people were still on board, Lauryn continued.

“We can’t let this happen,” she said, voice trembling. “But to stop it, I need your help. The creatures outside our doors aren’t monsters. They’re your neighbors and friends who are being used like puppets, and we’re the only ones left who can save them. Now is not the time to cower behind closed doors. Now is the time to come together and take our city back! Again, I know that sounds insane, but God wouldn’t call us if it wasn’t possible. I know we can do this if we work together, but I won’t force anyone who isn’t willing. If you want to stay, stay. But if you’re willing to fight, come with me to the Ohio Street Beach.”

For the first time, someone spoke up. “What’s at Ohio Street Beach?”

“Safe access to Lake Michigan,” Lauryn said with a grin. “I know how to beat this, because I’ve cured it before. Water and prayer can remove the corruption. It’s just like scrubbing a wound clean. With all of you helping, we’ve got all the prayer we need, and if we get to the beach, they’ll have to go through the water to get to us, which will also slow them down. At that point, all we have to do is grab hold and wash them clean again.”

“It’s a baptism,” Maxwell said, his face breaking into a smile. “Of course! It all makes sense. But there have to be thousands, hundreds of thousands of possessed people out there. We’re barely a hundred. How are we going to cleanse them all?”

“That’s just it,” Lauryn said. “We don’t have to cure everyone, at least not all at once. Remember: each one of those people is a hook the enemy is using to drag hell into our world.” She looked back at the crowd. “You’ve all seen the fortress in the sky, right? That’s what they’re trying to bring through. That’s why they needed the whole city—because it takes that much power to force something that big into our world. But if we can banish the demons out of enough people to knock out even a fraction, they won’t have the critical mass necessary to actually break through, and that will buy us the time we need to cure the rest.”

By the time she finished, her heart was pounding. That was the first time Lauryn had actually spoken her entire plan, and it had actually come out sounding even better than it had in her head. She just hoped everyone else thought so. It was one thing to say they should fight back, but quite another to ask a group of normal, mostly elderly people to go out into the demon-riddled city of Chicago and baptize monsters who were trying to kill them in Lake Michigan in the middle of the night in November .

But as with everything else that had happened tonight, she should have had more faith. She’d barely finished explaining before Miss Yolanda stood up, shotgun in hand. “I told you those people just needed Jesus,” she said proudly. “I’ve been to Ohio Beach plenty of times. We can take the church vans.”

Her words were like the stone that kicks off an avalanche. The moment she hopped on board, the rest of the room began talking loudly, making plans for how they were going to get across town and what they’d do when they got there. Several had already grabbed their stuff and pronounced themselves ready to go right now. It was such an extreme turnaround from the terrified huddled mass they’d found when they’d first arrived, Lauryn almost couldn’t believe it. Her father, however, seemed to be having no problem.

“It’s hope,” he said, giving her a wink. “You gotta remember, we thought we were going to die. Now you’re here telling us we’re not, and more, that we can save the people we’d already thought we’d lost.” He shook his head. “It’s amazing how much more lively a person gets when they’ve got something to fight for.”

“I guess you’re right,” she said, staring in wonder as the crowd began to self-organize.

“Of course I’m right,” he replied, pulling the church van keys out of his pocket. “I’m your father.”

As ever, that made Lauryn roll her eyes, but Maxwell was already off, calling for volunteers to drive those who wouldn’t fit in the vans. She was about to hop down off the stage and join him when Will appeared beside her.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked, reaching up to help her down.

“I think so,” she replied. “I mean, I don’t feel sure, but it makes sense with everything I’ve learned.”

And if I’m wrong, then we’re all dead, and it’s all moot anyway. So there’s that.

From the look on his face, Will was thinking the same thing, but he kept it to himself, turning to the crowd that was already streaming toward the back of the church where the vans were parked. “I can drive,” he said. “I’m a cop. I’ve had combat-driving training.”

This sparked a huge argument about how no stranger could know how to drive their vans better than they could. Honestly, Lauryn wasn’t sure who was right, but she could have hugged Will a thousand times for the show of support. Unfortunately, she had no time. Will was already off, and she had work to do. So, sword in hand, she turned around herself, making a beeline through the remaining crowd to start planning exactly how they were actually going to pull this off.

To Lauryn’s surprise, getting the people to the beach was actually the easiest part. Because of its focus on missionary work, Missionary Baptist had four very sturdy, very large passenger vans. These were enough to fit most of the crowd, and those who didn’t fit had the cars they’d driven to get here. Getting them back into those cars was a bit hairier than getting to the vans since the cars were on the street where the mob of possessed people was still waiting, but just like before, Talon was a machine, clearing the way with great sweeps of his sword to let the people run back to their cars. They did it, too, which was what surprised Lauryn the most, though after what her father had said, it shouldn’t have. These were the kind of people Z3X hadn’t been able to touch. That meant they were exactly the sort to rush into danger to help others, and that’s what they did now, piling into the cars and vans to form the convoy that would take them all safely to the water.

As one of the few armed people, Lauryn had taken point, riding shotgun in one of the vans. Leaning out the window and using her sword like a beacon, she led the charge through the dark city in what had to be the most surreal experience of her life. As Talon had shown her earlier, the demons fled before the holy light. She couldn’t get hers to shine anywhere near as bright as Talon’s, but it was still enough to clear a path through the wide roads leading to the lake. She still had to smack off the few that were fast enough to jump at them, but while that should have been terrifying, Lauryn wasn’t afraid. Even as her heart pounded, she felt nothing but the excitement and satisfaction of knowing she was finally back on track. After being at the mercy of monsters for so long, she was finally fighting back, and it felt amazing.