Brief Tales: The Belief Edition

Behind the walls of Guadalupe

The town bell was immediately rung. All the men, women and children were rushed out and rounded up into one corner. The soldiers began to segregate each individual by height, age and last name. And after a few minutes have passed, everyone heard a gun-shot from out in the distance. "It's the signal!" One of the men shouted. If only these people had known what was coming, they would have been spared by the cruelty of the guerillas. A tall built man with haggared features, now stood in front of the group and asked with a booming voice, "Who here believes in God?" The people eyed one another as if they were in the presence of a dictator. "Well... there has to be at LEAST one of you. There's no need to be afraid. We simply want answers and once we have them... we'll leave ALL OF YOU alone." No one dared question this man's authority. Some say he is called the *àngel de la muerte*. Others claim he is the reincarnation of *le Belcebú*. But the townsfolk know him as Saytana Dela Vega, the mercenary of Guadalupe. The whole place was filled with silence. It seemed like it would mean death to anyone who would go against Dela Vega's word. And for him, the word meant everything. It was the law. It was his law.
"YOU!" He pointed out to a woman holding a rosary. "Mi abuela, what is it you have there? Please... why don't you show them." The woman stood up and started to cry while muttering a prayer in Spanish. "Louder... louder..." He kept repeating. Tension grew in the crowd and before they knew it, the woman was weeping no more. Dela Vega's gun was armed and out over the corpse. No one even knew where it had come from. This man was definitely not a force to be reckoned with.
"Now," he said with a terrible grin upon his face, who is next?"