Life after Death

Chapter Twenty-Two

Hezekiah's POV

The Nexus, downtown Axis...

"I still can't believe that you're going to go through with this wedding to Chance Dalton, one of the sexiest studs of all the Nexus," Eva commented as she, Caroline, and I were at a formalwear shop to have me measured for my tuxedo. "I mean, it's been known that you two were soulmates despite what Catalina- er, I mean Rosalia- has up her sleeve. And with her targeting you boys, anything can and will happen without much of a warning."

"Tell me about it," I replied as I looked through a men's formalwear viewbook of designer tuxedos and formal suits. "Me being bonded to the guy who I never really known well thanks to haters back on Earth is something that I never truly imagined at all. Romance is something that never really occured in my mind, to be honest."

"You're joking," Carolina said, giving me a look fo disbelief as she took a look at some women's gowns. "Every teenager likes to think about going out with someone now and then, especially when they're close to graduation."

"Not me, especially with my family's impossibly-high moral ideals that they never followed through. My parents thought that the dating games should be left to my sisters and brothers who were more talented and gifted in looks than I was while I had to be the one to focus on my grades. Dad thought that dating for me was too out of my league and often commented that I didn't need to be around anyone who was going to be a distraction. 'Focus on your grades,' he'd reminded me as I stayed in my room and dealt with weekend tutors. 'Your mind and body should be in tune with one another and no one is worth tanking any progress. You may not be a true Chamblee by blood, but you're expected to follow our ideals to the letter with the diamond standards in mind.'"

"Damn," Caroline hummed, shaking her head low. "And I thought that my family was bad with me using my virginal self as a blood sacrifice. Your parents mainly forced you to live like a monk and I wouldn't be surprised if they originally though of your future as one."

"Mom thought it wasn't deemed worthy enough," I snorted, rolling my eyes. "If anything, she might've just put me away in the loony bin to let me rot to my death. But Dad thought that as long as I continued to keep my nose clean, I'd be fine with having less. A lot of good that did for me since they soon planned to kill me after I graduated from school."

"Double harsh," Eva winced. "How the heck did you survive?"

I placed the viewbook down and just stared at the girls. "Grace. Pure grace and favor," was all I said. "If not for those two, I would'v gone mad enough to wish that I was dead myself, but never thought it worthy to end it all myself."

Both girls came over to wrap me in a big hug. "You're going to be okay, Hezekiah," Caroline told me gently. "Your family and all those back on Earth never knew how good they got it. And soon, they're going to face judgement for it unless they repent."

"Definitely," Eva agreed.

"Can we help you all with something?" a female salesclerk asked as she approached us before recognizing me and smiling. "Oh, you're Mr. Chamblee. I assume that you're going to need a tuxedo fitting for your big day?"

"How did you know?" I asked.

The raven-haired woman smirked. "News travels fast," she replied. "That, and both God and His brother have instructed everyone to make sure that you're going to be prepared for a memorable wedding to your soulmate. And that starts with the first fitting."

She clapped her hands twice as other salesclerks joined her sides. And for the next hour or so, I was soon lost in the first stages of getting my wedding tuxedo arranged and fitted properly before I was soon given access to more formalwear and semi-formalwear ("All covered by the brothers," the lead clerk named Tabatha assured me.). By the time we gotten finished, all my new clothes were being shipped to my house while Tabatha arranged for another shopping trip for casual clothes as well as my essentials and footwear for the next day alongside a trip to West Cove for a more intense spa experience.

"Boy, oh boy. Hezekiah, something tells me that you're going to be given quite a royal treatment thanks to God and his brother," Eva said as we left the shop for our way to our respective homes. "Hope you don't get a swelled head on us."

I gave her a good-natured smile as we stopped at an ice-cream cart for cones. "Hey, with my life story and all, it's impossible for me to get a swelled head," I replied which made the girls laugh as we enjoyed our single-scoop cones.

A half-hour later, I had bade the girls farewell and was ready to head inside my home when I saw that there was a set of red roses held in a crystal-clear vase that was on the porch waiting for me. "What's this?" I asked, taking the card that was beside it.

Roses are red.
Blood is too.
You're on my blacklist, Hezekiah.
I'm coming for you.

And like I said, there are worse games to play.
-Cataluna.
P.S.: Before you and Chance can say "I do," I'll be the one to make sure that you both won't.

My skin crawled as I took a deeper look at the roses.

"Hezekiah!"

I felt my heart nearly drop at the booming voice of Lucifer as he and his two main lackeys (both named Abaddon and Azrael at either side of him) appeared from out of nowhere. "What the-"

Lucifer snapped his fingers twice and the roses soon caught on fire, a shriek of fright and horror nearly making me go deaf.

Abaddon (the one on Satan's right) soon pulled me away as Azrael took the letter from me. "Are you okay?" the latter asked me gently.

I nodded.

"Those roses were anointed with demon's blood from my realm," Lucifer hissed, eyes glowing red with anger as Azrael gave him the letter. "Rosalia's making herself known already."

"That figures," I replied just as God and the archangels arrived. "What the heck is going on?"

"I don't know, but we need to act fast," the heavenly deity said tersely. "The Convergence is coming up and we need to ensure that Miss Domingue is in the lake of fire ASAP."

"Kiah?!"

I turned to see a harried Chance leaving his yard. "Over here," I hollered. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," my fiance answered. "Are you?"

"Peachy. So, now what?"

"We have to expedite things with your wedding, young men," God intoned. "And in cases like this, it's time to enact the New Zion Clause."

Chance and I turned to each other, both of us confused at what he was saying. "What's that?" we asked in unison.

The last thing that I remembered was the ultimate creator of all snapping his fingers before a bright light enveloped all of us before the darkness swallowed me in slumber. Something fantastic this way comes.

Cumulative word-count so far: 26,309 words.

OOH, CHILD! Something fantastic and divine-sent this way is coming, folks! And you WON'T believe what is about to happen! All I can say is that Hezekiah's true lineage and a jaw-dropping revelation is about to blow your minds!

But first, we head back to Earth and take a look at the upcoming nuptials for Mariah and Andrew as Mrs. Simmons and Senator Coleman get ready for the biggest bomb that will definitely end the Chamblee dynasty once and for all! Hold on for the wildest ride of your lives, because it's about to be a doozy!

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