‘What is this that I can’t see,
with icy hands taking hold of me,
I am death and none can excel,
I’ll open the doors to heaven or hell.’
“Oh Death” by Dock Boggs
_____________________________________________________
[The camera opens to a wide shot of Solomon Stane’s chapel in the Mojave. What was once a lonely and decrepit structure has been restored. More so, it seems that a compound has been formed around it. The camera, however, focuses on the precession that seems to be taking place on this compound. The Children of Sanity are dressed in black, and a coffin is being carried into the chapel by several members of the congregation. Time skips forward several minutes and the camera moves to the inside of the compound. Solomon Stane stands at the altar. There is a genuine sorrow on his face as he looks down at where the deceased is lain.]
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Leah. Leah came to us as a different person with a different name. Her name was Abigail. Her friends and family called her Abby. I say, ‘friends and family’, but they weren’t really either to her. Before joining our flock, she was a wicked woman. She cheated on her husband, bearing a bastard child. She was shootin’ up whenever she had the chance too. Her demons consumed her. They were killing her long before she was dyin’. I found her in a hospital. She had fallen down the stairs after a speedball. She broke her arm. When I met her, she was broken. She was nearly without redemption for her heart had been emptied of the Lord’s love. So, I offered her a place here…to heal. She was reluctant at first, but she came ‘round in time. Her and her son Michael have lived among us for several months now. She got clean. Abigail changed her name to Leah after the first wife of Jacob. She had opened her heart, and the Blessed Father filled it. Oh, so it was that she was healed. So it was that she had been saved. But some demons refuse to leave. Sometimes they eat away at you. The faithful preserve and the strong survive.
Others don’t.
[Solomon’s gaze is cast towards a small child standing in the front row. It is Michael. There are tears in his eyes. Solomon approaches him and puts a hand on his shoulder.]
We all loved Leah. We did. Yet she faltered and she sinned…she sinned because the Light just wasn’t enough for her. She would rather chase the fuckin’ dragon. And now she leaves behind a child. A beautiful son. Michael, your mother did not deserve to be among our flock. Your mother, blessed be her heart, is burning in hell right now. But if you follow me…if you listen to my words…the words GIVEN TO ME BY THE LORD HIMSELF, then you will be nothing like your mother. Isn’t that you want Michael? To be saved? To want for nothing? To be anxious for nothing? That should be enough for you. It should be enough for everyone. Yet, there are those that refuse to atone for their sins. They would rather sit here and throw stones. Now, the bible would tell you to turn the other cheek. God has told me something differently. He says that if someone throws a stone, pick it up and bash them over the head. If someone plucks your eye, taking both of theirs so they cannot find you to take your other one. If evil is done upon you, then ensure that such vile evil is done upon that person as, so they know His Wrath.
[Solomon takes his hand off Michael’s shoulder and walks back up towards the altar. He looks out at his congregation, who seemed to be riled up by his words.]
You see, one of my accusers, the man known as Adam LUCAS, calls me a puppet. He believes that I am just a preacher that is incapable of anything more. My children, how many of you have been looked down upon by others? All of you. Because that is who is I take into this congregation. Broken things. Those who need to be saved. They need to be saved because they’ve gotten the short end of the stick their entire friggin’ lives. Every damn day someone in the world seemed to have taken a shit on ya’. You see, I reckon that he has a point though. It isn’t enough to train myself. Physical exercise is merely one of many factors that need to be considered. Adding to my repertoire is only one of many factors. What Adam fails to realize is that I’m relying purely on that to knock his teeth his throat. No, the truth is that my willpower far exceeds his own. Here he comes with this big, bold braveheart bullshit. I pay it no mind. The truth of the matter is that I’m not a puppet. The Lord asks and I act. Are there strings that are being pulled, forcing my hands to wrap around his throat? Do you see them my children? Do you a hand shoved up my ass, forcing me to utter these very words? That’s because there is not. To serve Him is a choice. Yes, that servitude does provide me with a strength…it fills me with a purpose. There’s a difference here. The only strings I see are the ones that he had sewn to his own spine. That is what makes pride such a deadly sin. It drives to act in a way that is so non-sensical…so utterly devoid of real thought that it often leads to your own downfall. We could even say that his wife is holding his strings too. Perhaps I gave him more credit that he was worth. I tried to give the devil his due…and it turns out he’s worth a whole lot of nothing. That wretched creature ain’t got a clue what’s coming to him at Grand Rampage.
When I am filled with the Holy Spirit, when I feel His Presence…I KNOW that I can destroy that prideful prick. And so, I shall. This accuser of mine claims that I don’t believe that is capable of carnage…that he is capable of unleashing punishment. Yet my children, I spoke the opposite words not too long ago. See, pride makes a man dangerous to everyone. I know that there is nothing that Adam will not do in order to beat me. He would rather me die in that ring than I beat him. He would rather the entire arena burn to the ground, taking every single soul contained within to their perspective afterlife, then lose. I have no illusions about that. What he fails to understand is that I have prepared myself for his evil. Everything I have done has been a purposeful design, intent on saving his soul whether he accepts it or not. If he can walk into hell and tear the devil’s head off, then I have be more wicked than the devil himself. I have to do things that are sick and twisted. I am not the same man that I once was. There were barriers back then. Mental barriers. Lines I wouldn’t dare fuckin’ cross. Now, there isn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do to these two. My children, there should be nothing that you wouldn’t do in His Name. Now, the church does recognize the apocalyptic visions of Paul, he did indeed receive a vision of hell. In that vision, he saw sinners torn to shreds by the beasts of the inferno. He watched those who failed to listen to His Word gnaw on their tongues for all eternity. He even saw those who did act on His Word have their mouth slashed with razors. All of that pales in comparison to what I would to do. Does that make me evil? No, my children…
…it makes me righteous.
His wife deserves the same suffering. No…worse. Now, I have already accused her of being a coward. She accuses me of deserving it. Why? She alleges that I began all of this. I was the one that set us down this road. That is not true. When I put Adam on that cross, when I put the nails through his hands, it was his fault. It was his arrogance that led to that moment. Just like his arrogance is going to lead to him being charred to a crisp this weekend. You see, it is he who has a history of embellishing the truth. Bethany holds a liar’s tongue. Someone ought to tear it before it can do any more harm. Why do does she do this? It’s because deep down, underneath all the glitz and glamour, there lies a little girl. A child who is so terrified of what happens next. Fear is natural. It is one primal instinct…something that every creature that The Lord has created feels it. She calls what she did during match mercy, but no one believes that. Mercy would have been the concussion. It would have been putting me on the shelf for months at a time. Because as long as I draw breath, as long as I am physically able to move my body, I will carry His will. Mercy would have been leaving in that ring dead. Instead, she left me able to carry on. Perhaps that’s why she came to his aid in his match? Because she knew that she made a mistake. I will make the same one. You see, my definition of mercy is breaking them. Putting through every circle of hell with these hands. It is true healing. Sure, a doctor can heal the broken bones, the burns, the bruises, all those ailments. But I and I alone can save your soul. Imagine that..she is capable of doing things that a million others can do. Natheless, it is through MY words and MY hands that the spirit is saved.
So, what is Bethany? Besides a commonality? Just like her husband, I don’t care if she does not believe in my work. If she wishes to see me as a charlatan, there is nothing I can do to change her mind until I have carried out my mission at Grand Rampage. What I will say is that clearly, she believes that this story is about her. When I did what I did to her husband, she wasn’t even part of that process. She thinks that I have some sort of vendetta against her, something so personal and petty, but I don’t. She is just a sinner. Sure, she has trespassed against me many times. She took my championship away from me…she has slandered me…and she has assaulted me without provocation. But I do not harbor hatred in my heart. I can’t. The Lord NEEDS me to forgive them. And I will. It is beyond question that Caroline despises both of them. She speaks about them with such venom. It is quite amusing though. They can speak about Caroline as if she’s some sort of witch that has me under a spell, but I do not work for her. She is a partner here. Someone with a vaguely common goal. That is as far as it goes. From what I know about this Mistress of Darkness, is that she is capable of inflicting punishment when it is needed. If she wants to make them suffer then she will. Children, you might have reservations about trusting her, but The Lord says that she will follow though. How could we falter against those who are here for nothing but revenge and to spare their own pride? How could I fail to defeat such pathetic little nothings…to stomp them into the ground and GRIND them into dust?
I cannot.
I will not.
I shall not.
I will make them believe in Solomon. The entire world will know that I am The Deliver…The Chosen of God when I snap their brittle bones and roast them over the fire. Because this is what they deserve. Adam desired me to put something behind these words? To do something more than preach? I am going to light his wife on fire and force him to watch. I want to see that dangerous side of him…that dark side that he keeps boasting about. When the darkness comes out of him, I will reach down his throat AND TEAR IT STRAIGHT FROM HIS SOUL. I will beat him until there is nothing left but his regret. I will do this because I have to. My children, you shall bear witness to this event. You will see that you get what you fucking deserve. Leah is burning in hell for all goddamn eternity for her sins. And those that repent, those that refuse to listen my…His words…will be reduce to ash. And there will not be a doctor in the world that could put them back together again. Only He Can. Only I can. So, Adam Lucas and Bethany Blue have been condemned to this fate. There is nothing that they can do to stop me. Not anymore. They can try and I certainly expect them to, but in the end, they will repent.
So it is written, so shall it be done.
with icy hands taking hold of me,
I am death and none can excel,
I’ll open the doors to heaven or hell.’
“Oh Death” by Dock Boggs
_____________________________________________________
[The camera opens to a wide shot of Solomon Stane’s chapel in the Mojave. What was once a lonely and decrepit structure has been restored. More so, it seems that a compound has been formed around it. The camera, however, focuses on the precession that seems to be taking place on this compound. The Children of Sanity are dressed in black, and a coffin is being carried into the chapel by several members of the congregation. Time skips forward several minutes and the camera moves to the inside of the compound. Solomon Stane stands at the altar. There is a genuine sorrow on his face as he looks down at where the deceased is lain.]
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Leah. Leah came to us as a different person with a different name. Her name was Abigail. Her friends and family called her Abby. I say, ‘friends and family’, but they weren’t really either to her. Before joining our flock, she was a wicked woman. She cheated on her husband, bearing a bastard child. She was shootin’ up whenever she had the chance too. Her demons consumed her. They were killing her long before she was dyin’. I found her in a hospital. She had fallen down the stairs after a speedball. She broke her arm. When I met her, she was broken. She was nearly without redemption for her heart had been emptied of the Lord’s love. So, I offered her a place here…to heal. She was reluctant at first, but she came ‘round in time. Her and her son Michael have lived among us for several months now. She got clean. Abigail changed her name to Leah after the first wife of Jacob. She had opened her heart, and the Blessed Father filled it. Oh, so it was that she was healed. So it was that she had been saved. But some demons refuse to leave. Sometimes they eat away at you. The faithful preserve and the strong survive.
Others don’t.
[Solomon’s gaze is cast towards a small child standing in the front row. It is Michael. There are tears in his eyes. Solomon approaches him and puts a hand on his shoulder.]
We all loved Leah. We did. Yet she faltered and she sinned…she sinned because the Light just wasn’t enough for her. She would rather chase the fuckin’ dragon. And now she leaves behind a child. A beautiful son. Michael, your mother did not deserve to be among our flock. Your mother, blessed be her heart, is burning in hell right now. But if you follow me…if you listen to my words…the words GIVEN TO ME BY THE LORD HIMSELF, then you will be nothing like your mother. Isn’t that you want Michael? To be saved? To want for nothing? To be anxious for nothing? That should be enough for you. It should be enough for everyone. Yet, there are those that refuse to atone for their sins. They would rather sit here and throw stones. Now, the bible would tell you to turn the other cheek. God has told me something differently. He says that if someone throws a stone, pick it up and bash them over the head. If someone plucks your eye, taking both of theirs so they cannot find you to take your other one. If evil is done upon you, then ensure that such vile evil is done upon that person as, so they know His Wrath.
[Solomon takes his hand off Michael’s shoulder and walks back up towards the altar. He looks out at his congregation, who seemed to be riled up by his words.]
You see, one of my accusers, the man known as Adam LUCAS, calls me a puppet. He believes that I am just a preacher that is incapable of anything more. My children, how many of you have been looked down upon by others? All of you. Because that is who is I take into this congregation. Broken things. Those who need to be saved. They need to be saved because they’ve gotten the short end of the stick their entire friggin’ lives. Every damn day someone in the world seemed to have taken a shit on ya’. You see, I reckon that he has a point though. It isn’t enough to train myself. Physical exercise is merely one of many factors that need to be considered. Adding to my repertoire is only one of many factors. What Adam fails to realize is that I’m relying purely on that to knock his teeth his throat. No, the truth is that my willpower far exceeds his own. Here he comes with this big, bold braveheart bullshit. I pay it no mind. The truth of the matter is that I’m not a puppet. The Lord asks and I act. Are there strings that are being pulled, forcing my hands to wrap around his throat? Do you see them my children? Do you a hand shoved up my ass, forcing me to utter these very words? That’s because there is not. To serve Him is a choice. Yes, that servitude does provide me with a strength…it fills me with a purpose. There’s a difference here. The only strings I see are the ones that he had sewn to his own spine. That is what makes pride such a deadly sin. It drives to act in a way that is so non-sensical…so utterly devoid of real thought that it often leads to your own downfall. We could even say that his wife is holding his strings too. Perhaps I gave him more credit that he was worth. I tried to give the devil his due…and it turns out he’s worth a whole lot of nothing. That wretched creature ain’t got a clue what’s coming to him at Grand Rampage.
When I am filled with the Holy Spirit, when I feel His Presence…I KNOW that I can destroy that prideful prick. And so, I shall. This accuser of mine claims that I don’t believe that is capable of carnage…that he is capable of unleashing punishment. Yet my children, I spoke the opposite words not too long ago. See, pride makes a man dangerous to everyone. I know that there is nothing that Adam will not do in order to beat me. He would rather me die in that ring than I beat him. He would rather the entire arena burn to the ground, taking every single soul contained within to their perspective afterlife, then lose. I have no illusions about that. What he fails to understand is that I have prepared myself for his evil. Everything I have done has been a purposeful design, intent on saving his soul whether he accepts it or not. If he can walk into hell and tear the devil’s head off, then I have be more wicked than the devil himself. I have to do things that are sick and twisted. I am not the same man that I once was. There were barriers back then. Mental barriers. Lines I wouldn’t dare fuckin’ cross. Now, there isn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do to these two. My children, there should be nothing that you wouldn’t do in His Name. Now, the church does recognize the apocalyptic visions of Paul, he did indeed receive a vision of hell. In that vision, he saw sinners torn to shreds by the beasts of the inferno. He watched those who failed to listen to His Word gnaw on their tongues for all eternity. He even saw those who did act on His Word have their mouth slashed with razors. All of that pales in comparison to what I would to do. Does that make me evil? No, my children…
…it makes me righteous.
His wife deserves the same suffering. No…worse. Now, I have already accused her of being a coward. She accuses me of deserving it. Why? She alleges that I began all of this. I was the one that set us down this road. That is not true. When I put Adam on that cross, when I put the nails through his hands, it was his fault. It was his arrogance that led to that moment. Just like his arrogance is going to lead to him being charred to a crisp this weekend. You see, it is he who has a history of embellishing the truth. Bethany holds a liar’s tongue. Someone ought to tear it before it can do any more harm. Why do does she do this? It’s because deep down, underneath all the glitz and glamour, there lies a little girl. A child who is so terrified of what happens next. Fear is natural. It is one primal instinct…something that every creature that The Lord has created feels it. She calls what she did during match mercy, but no one believes that. Mercy would have been the concussion. It would have been putting me on the shelf for months at a time. Because as long as I draw breath, as long as I am physically able to move my body, I will carry His will. Mercy would have been leaving in that ring dead. Instead, she left me able to carry on. Perhaps that’s why she came to his aid in his match? Because she knew that she made a mistake. I will make the same one. You see, my definition of mercy is breaking them. Putting through every circle of hell with these hands. It is true healing. Sure, a doctor can heal the broken bones, the burns, the bruises, all those ailments. But I and I alone can save your soul. Imagine that..she is capable of doing things that a million others can do. Natheless, it is through MY words and MY hands that the spirit is saved.
So, what is Bethany? Besides a commonality? Just like her husband, I don’t care if she does not believe in my work. If she wishes to see me as a charlatan, there is nothing I can do to change her mind until I have carried out my mission at Grand Rampage. What I will say is that clearly, she believes that this story is about her. When I did what I did to her husband, she wasn’t even part of that process. She thinks that I have some sort of vendetta against her, something so personal and petty, but I don’t. She is just a sinner. Sure, she has trespassed against me many times. She took my championship away from me…she has slandered me…and she has assaulted me without provocation. But I do not harbor hatred in my heart. I can’t. The Lord NEEDS me to forgive them. And I will. It is beyond question that Caroline despises both of them. She speaks about them with such venom. It is quite amusing though. They can speak about Caroline as if she’s some sort of witch that has me under a spell, but I do not work for her. She is a partner here. Someone with a vaguely common goal. That is as far as it goes. From what I know about this Mistress of Darkness, is that she is capable of inflicting punishment when it is needed. If she wants to make them suffer then she will. Children, you might have reservations about trusting her, but The Lord says that she will follow though. How could we falter against those who are here for nothing but revenge and to spare their own pride? How could I fail to defeat such pathetic little nothings…to stomp them into the ground and GRIND them into dust?
I cannot.
I will not.
I shall not.
I will make them believe in Solomon. The entire world will know that I am The Deliver…The Chosen of God when I snap their brittle bones and roast them over the fire. Because this is what they deserve. Adam desired me to put something behind these words? To do something more than preach? I am going to light his wife on fire and force him to watch. I want to see that dangerous side of him…that dark side that he keeps boasting about. When the darkness comes out of him, I will reach down his throat AND TEAR IT STRAIGHT FROM HIS SOUL. I will beat him until there is nothing left but his regret. I will do this because I have to. My children, you shall bear witness to this event. You will see that you get what you fucking deserve. Leah is burning in hell for all goddamn eternity for her sins. And those that repent, those that refuse to listen my…His words…will be reduce to ash. And there will not be a doctor in the world that could put them back together again. Only He Can. Only I can. So, Adam Lucas and Bethany Blue have been condemned to this fate. There is nothing that they can do to stop me. Not anymore. They can try and I certainly expect them to, but in the end, they will repent.
So it is written, so shall it be done.
