Commitment - Predatory Ethics: Book II by Athanasios Read Free Book Online

rid off by just flat out punching them in the face. It worked surprisingly well, and the look of complete shock on the first was worth repeating. He had been the fourth pilgrim that day blathering his love and swore to follow me to Hell and back. I had had enough for that day and before I knew it, I clocked him square in the face. It hadn’t been a hard punch, more of a dismissive shove with my fist, but do actions ever speak louder than words?
    Yes, sir.
    The black-dressed geek just covered his bleeding nose and ran, crying like a schoolgirl. The nose burst like a blood blister all over the face. It was simply awesome. This puke just wasn’t taking no for an answer. I repeatedly verbally warned him, but he thought I was kidding. The punch proved my point, and he went home to some other geek past time. Lord of the Rings or comic books in his parent’s basement.
    I was surprised at the variety of people who freely sought me out. How did they find out about me? How did they know? The answer came from one of the possessed unfortunates.
    His name was Xar-eel. He was a ninth-circle devil, urbane and very much a modern fiend. He liked being on Earth and had little interest in returning to Hell. It wasn’t that he disliked his birthplace, but he found Earth much more exciting and full of promise. There he was a third son to a Hell-lord and didn’t have much of a future. He had joined the Crusade on earth that was begun for the gathering Storm.
    Crusade?
    Storm?
    He used these terms with an intimacy that confused me. It was the first I heard either. The Storm was what brought him to earth. Those born in Hell were crossing over and staying, filling the ranks of their faithful. The cattle they once expected to hand over earth were now in need of persuasion. They could no longer count on Revelation. No longer count on the conflict between Good and Evil everyone once waited for.
    They did? Everybody? I would repeat in disbelief.
    This exasperated him. I wasn’t trying to be funny or flippant, but as far as I had seen and heard he was the only one referring to the Storm.
    Ooo, scary.
    Come on!
    You’ve got to do better than that!
    What about this Storm, well, what is it?
    Will we see thunder and lightning and literal meteorological clues to its severity?
    He said it began the moment I wasn’t born where fate and Revelation had decreed. Without my participation, fiends like Xar-eel would not get anything of the spoils from the prophesied End of the World. Without me, there would be no Biblical Tribulations. So they were here to do whatever it took to change my mind or take the earth by Storm.
    I thanked him and said then there was no conflict. I would not be following any plan save the one in TV Guide. He flew into a rage and promised to change my mind. When he returned, he told me he understood my preoccupation with entertainment. It was the entire race’s preoccupation. Everywhere you looked people shook of the day’s troubles and watched television. Conversation wasn’t even a pastime unless it was about television, movies, or music. People met and exchanged observances about their favorite entertainment.
    It was a pity, he often lamented, because in Hell human lives were their entertainment. There was a never-ending supply of sinners who dropped from above. They were sport to anyone who wanted. There was never any shortage and entertainment was plentiful. In Hell, there was no make-believe.
    “So why was he here?” I asked. Why the Storm?
    He responded the choice souls were taken by the higher demons. There was no way to move ahead if you were born to a lower level. Lands, titles, property, and position only went to the eldest, leaving Xar-eel and many others adrift and looking for something more out of his life. He wasn’t going to be content with fifth-, fourth-, or third-rate souls any longer. He wanted more.
    “Ambition? Naked, raw ambition, desire,” I blurted out. “Is that it? You’re just plain greedy for what