God Told Me To (20 page)

TWENTY-TWO

He
was sitting on a stool in front of the open door of the furnace. The flames licked
him
with shadows, flickering shadows that appeared to add color to
his
pale skin.

“You’ve tested yourself since we last met, Peter.”

“Yes.”

“It is terrifying at first. That sharp, tingling burst of energy. But then I had longer to become used to the feeling.”

“I won’t be using it after today.” Nicholas looked steadily and without fear into
his
deep, blue eyes. “Zero had to be stopped, but I didn’t enjoy doing it.”

“Oh, I felt guilty at the beginning. I wished I could learn to love humans. I wanted to love my mother and her husband. It simply wouldn’t happen.”

“So you had them killed.”

“I came to realize humans are only here to serve us. It is actually cruel to allow them their petty, unrewarding existence after they have served their function. You’ll come to understand that, Peter.”

Nicholas shook his head. “We’re not the same, you and I.”

“Of course not. In all living beings, one set of genes is dominant. In my case all that is human became recessive. And you, my brother, are the reverse.”

“I am not your brother.”

“The human factor is dominant in you, Peter. That is why it took you so much longer to realize what you actually are. You’ve much to learn yet, but I shall show and train you.”

“Why? Why would
they
put both of us on earth?”

“You were the experiment that failed. So
they
tried again. I believe I proved satisfactory. If there are others, they will be like me.”

“There won’t be others.”

“You and I can go forward.”

“Whoever
they
are, this sick experiment has to end.”

“Oh, Peter, what makes you think we were the first? Consider the Michelangelos, the da Vincis, the Einsteins, all those men who were centuries ahead of their time. Who knows who fertilized their mothers’ wombs? Who was the inventor of the wheel? Who was the architect for the pyramids? Is it not possible that Moses and Jesus are our ancestors?”

“Those men were put on this earth to do good.”

He
laughed. Moved from
his
stool and went closer to the furnace.
He
brought
his
hands out from the folds of
his
robe and held them near the flames. A copper sheen glowed over
him.

“Peter, my brother, let us not argue the old singsongs of Good and Evil. The men I mentioned did what their times required of them. Today, with this pitiful planet so overpopulated, it may be necessary to have a leader whose talents lie in mass annihilation.”

Nicholas had become accustomed to the flow of electricity and didn’t notice it as it charged through him. He raised his hands, looked at them, flexed his fingers.

“I must stop you. Must put an end to
their
experiment.”

“Peter, you must join me, and let me teach you.”

“I’ll go to prison for the murder of Bernard Phillips. There the inhuman part of me won’t be able to harm people, and my human part will be able to live its life.”

Nicholas started slowly toward
him
.

“I had hoped, Peter, to delay showing you what I now must. I only recently realized why you and I have been drawn together. I wanted you to grow more before showing you.”

He
threw off
his
robe.

Nicholas halted.

The flames cast a shimmering copper shadow over
his
nudity.
His
chest was smooth and hairless.
His
breasts were rounded and small like those of a pubescent girl, but had the elongated nipples of a grown woman.
His
lower torso was nearer the flames and there was an orange sheen over
his
flesh.
His
hips were somewhat wider than those of a normal man.
His
pubic hair was thin and transparent. Approximately an inch and a half of flesh separated a penis from a vagina.

He
stepped from the flickering shadows of the fire and slowly went to Nicholas.

“Now do you understand, Peter. Do you see how beautifully it had been planned. It is meant for the dominant and recessive to join. Together we shall begin a new species.”

He
stood quite close to Nicholas, smiling, and
he
moved to place
his
arms around Nicholas.

Nicholas took hold of
his
throat.

“Don’t, Peter. You can’t.”

He
continued to try to embrace Nicholas.

Nicholas squeezed, increasing the pressure of his hands.

Fear entered the soft blue of
his
eyes, but
he
didn’t attempt to break away.

Nicholas gripped the throat tighter, pushing his thumbs into the windpipe. Something was fighting him. Hands he couldn’t see scratched at his eyes, tore his clothing. He squeezed with all his strength. His face was ripped open, blood poured from his nostrils, splashed over his hands, over
him.
He refused to give in. The blows continued to hammer him and he twisted his red hands about the throat, pushed his thumbs deep, forced himself not to give in to the blows.

His
eyes bulged in their deep sockets.
His
lips opened and a swollen tongue emerged from
his
mouth.

Nicholas wouldn’t, couldn’t give up. He wasn’t immediately aware that the blows had stopped, and he continued to squeeze the body long after life had left it.

Finally, Nicholas released his hands and the body dropped to the floor.

He shoved pieces of torn shirt into his nostrils and stopped his nosebleed. He gave himself time to regain strength. He picked up the corpse from the floor, carried it to the furnace, threw it into the flames.

TWENTY-THREE

The eighteen-year-old girl led her horse from its stable, climbed into the saddle, and galloped across a large grassy meadow of her family’s Connecticut estate. It was a lovely spring day, and the meadow smelled of new grass and blooming wildflowers.

A bright shaft of yellow light beamed down from the sky and surrounded the girl. Her horse reared, and she felt herself being lifted. She seemed to float. Then, vaguely, she became aware that her legs were being held apart. She became frightened. The light was so blindingly bright that she could barely see. She thought she saw a metal tube come at her. She screamed as the tube entered her.

A moment later, she realized that she was walking barefoot on a gravel road. She had no idea where she was, and she was naked.

The prison psychiatrist had made a half-dozen attempts to get through to Peter Nicholas. Today’s session was no different from the previous ones.

“Peter, why did you destroy the body?”

“I didn’t want it examined. There were enough teeth and bone fragments to establish I had murdered someone.”

“By destroying the body, there is no clear proof that it was the Bernard Phillips you claim.”

“I did what had to be done.”

“Why?”

Nicholas smiled the strange smile which always caused the psychiatrist to shiver.

“God told me to.”

“Peter, such statements are not going to help you get out of here.”

“I know how the system works. In sixteen, eighteen years, I’ll be released.”

“It could possibly be sooner if you would work with me, Peter.”

“No hurry. It will be at least sixteen years before I’m needed.”

“What makes you feel that way?”

“Did you read yesterday’s paper? A girl from Connecticut was found walking naked along a road in Maryland. She claimed she was raped by a beam of light.”

The psychiatrist chuckled. “How does that relate to you, Peter. Do you take such stories seriously? Or are you putting me on? Don’t think you can trick me with a wild story.”

Nicholas smiled.