Happy Blog Day Everyone!
Got a new short story for all the Gabriel fans out there, and I have an update for those following my Brennan and Riz stories, a sorta good one at that. Before we dive in to those of course, let's check out the brand new Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz!
The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz
So, last week I said this was the final part in this storyline...I kinda want to continue it at least one more part! Every so often u will joke about something like this in the daily vss365 I do on twitter/X. I mean, the thought of Riz actually running a country is comedy gold right? Theoretically looking at what decisions Riz would make...What would his cabinet look like? Etc...A goldmine of potential there.
Update on Brennan and Riz
For those that are following (or remember this post) the news of my Brennan and Riz books, I've had a meeting with my former publisher and we've agreed to a plan. Soon my books will dissappear from Amazon...To be instantly (hopefully) republished by me. Yes, I've been handed several how to guides on Kindle Direct Publishing, so now I'm waiting on the files I need to complete the process. I was also cheeky and asked for the edited files for my Christmas, Pirates, and cursed teddy Harvey Duckman stories, as they are going to appear in the forthcoming Volume 3.
I'm expecting a few teething problems with the process and I may lose all my hard gained reviews and ratings but it'll be worth it to have them under my full control.
The plan is to have 4 titles on sale at first. That is: Girl in the Water (free short story), Brennan and Riz Volume 1, Brennan and Riz Book 1 A Boy and A Rat, Brennan and Riz Volume 2. I'm unsure of what will happen with Yeti in the Snow, other than it appearing in Volume 3. If all works, that'll be the first time that one will appear in print.
Exciting times but still a wait.
Short Diversions: Confessions in the Dark
You asked for it (well, you didn't but this sounds better) so here's more Gabriel!
Now this is actually a big deal as you get a sense of what he's aiming for and why he has a lot of little plans. I'm torn on whether I did a good job or not, but that's the beauty of doing these short stories. It gets me experimenting with things.
Please Enjoy!
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Confessions in the Dark
The church was brightly lit with the glow of the multitude of candles. Father Davies basked in the quiet solitude it offered him. He was to give a sermon in a few hours and needed to finish his preparations. It was then he noticed the shoes sticking out from under the door in the confessional. He couldn’t remember seeing anyone enter, and he certainly couldn’t remember hearing footsteps. The church was so old and empty that every sound echoed like a ghostly chorus. Still, the father assumed that the person had snuck in when his back was turned, wanting to protect their anonymity, nothing unheard of. No sooner had he taken his seat in the cubicle next door, did his guest start speaking.
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”
“And what sin did you commit?” Father Davies asked cordially. He found it a test of his faith with some of the things he was told, but knew deep down that it was never his place to pass judgement.
“Murder, by my own hands or through my actions, billions, probably more have died. Isn't that something?” the guest joked.
“Confession is a serious practice, not a thing to be made light of,” Father Davies chided a little.
“Oh, I'm being incredibly serious. Though, if I'm also being incredibly honest, I could keep you here for decades! Think we'd both be bored of that!”
Father Davies felt himself getting impatient, he was sadly used to jokers wasting his time.
“If you have nothing you really wish to confess, then I must ask you to please leave. I have tasks that need to be done.”
He went to open the door, his fingers touching the handle when the guest stopped him.
“I wouldn’t go out there yet if I were you. Don't know if you noticed but it's awfully dark out there…” Despite his tone not changing, a hint of menace seeped through, and it made the Father falter in his action.
“W-What?” Father Davies looked at the ground, and true to the guests word, there was no light at all coming through, in fact the confession box was pitch black almost, yet, ominously, he could hear sounds now on the opposite side of the door. He put his head against the door, straining his ears, a whisper of giggles came through.
“I think they’re having fun out there aren’t they! I didn’t want to bring them in, but there were so many of them, all doing their’ please’ face…I just couldn’t say no!”
“W-what are they?”
“Demons, don’t worry too much though, they’re pretty low level, but there are a lot of them. I dare say you’ll be torn limb from limb if you go out there.”
In times past, Father Davies had been content to let those confessing keep their anonymity but now, he knew he had a question to ask.
“Who are you?” he tried his best not to wavier as he spoke, fearing what would happen if he showed any hesitation.
“Call me Gabriel. I think all confessions should be on a first name basis, it’s so much more friendlier, that way, don’t you think?”
“What are you? Are you-”
“I’m complicated, let’s just leave it at that. Before you ask, I’m not here to tempt you, I’m not here to take your soul. I will not kill you. I honestly just want to talk. All my friends are off doing the tasks I’ve given them, it left me all alone…So I decided to call in and confess my sins,” Gabriel laughed. “Won’t this be fun!”
“I….” the Father couldn’t think of the words he wanted to say, his thoughts were too blinded by the cramped confines he was essentially trapped in. He’d never realised before that the confessionals were basically a box not too far removed from a coffin, except for the addition of an uncomfortable seat.
“To break the ice, you can ask me a question, any question at all, and if I can, I’ll answer. The exception is if I don’t want to, of course,” Gabriel suggested, with a snigger at the end. “Trust me, there is an impossibly large number of people who’d love to be in your shoes right now, with that proposition.”
Father Davies managed to settle himself enough to think on the offer, though given the atmosphere, it still took a while to whittle the thoughts down.
“If you have done what you say you have done…Why?” he said finally.
“Starting off with the big questions I see! How bold! Well, if I had to give a single word answer…It’d have to be…Ambition. You see, I’ve set a lofty goal for myself, and I aim to achieve it. Now, I’ve got an ambitious question for you.” Gabriel replied, not giving Father Davies any chance at a follow up. “How much has God helped you, or your parishioners?”
“W-What? What kind of question is that? God helps us all in little ways. He is always there when we need him!” The passion within Father Davies was roused by Gabriel’s incendious words.
“It’s easy to say things like that, to attribute any happening to God, but has he ever done anything major? Any miracles that you have witnessed? How many dead loved ones have sprung back to life? Anything like that at all?”
“Does such a thing matter! I know in my heart of hearts that God is up there, watching me and all of us. He’ll be even watching you and your dark-kin!” Father Davies transformation from meek man to empowered preacher was complete as he stood in that cramped box, using his whole body to illustrate how angry he was with Gabriel’s words.
“Yeah, about that, you might want to sit down as I have a few truths. First and foremost, there’s no one up there.”
Hearing Gabriel say those words dimmed the fire that had overtaken the good father.
“No! You’re wrong! I-”
“Ah ah ah!” Gabriel replied. “I’m not finished, wait your turn to speak. I know you want desperately to challenge what I’m saying, but there’s a time and a place. Where was I? Yes, secondly, I think that seat has been vacant for a very long time. Now, I hate this just as much as you. All that belief…What do you get out of it? Nothing. It’s a crying shame…”
“What would you know of shame? Did you not tell me that you weren’t here to tempt me? Yet here you are, trying my faith.”
“I’m as mad as you really. There should be a person up there. A force seeking to make things in line with their grand vision. A force making sure that belief is rewarded instead of ignored.”
“He is not ignoring us!”
“No matter how many times I hear that, it never gets any less funny,” Gabriel burst out laughing, as Father Davies felt the last of his impassioned strength leave him. “You can believe what you want at the end I suppose, I know what my goal is.”
“Someone will stop you,” Father Davies said, trying to get his voice up again. Once more he felt enclosed and, despite the barrier between them, he felt like Gabriel’s presence was starting to smother him, the confessional booth shrinking as though to squash him.
“Someone is always trying to stop me…That is why I plan the way I do. My one true opponent must always be one step behind me, where they belong.”
“God is with them in spirit.”
“God is certainly the one who created them, a long, long time ago. It has been the thorn in my side ever since.” Gabriel explained, clearly feeling no discomfort from where he was sitting.
“What?”
“A system that was developed to watch over things, that was to protect anything that threatened it with absolute annihilation…I’ve managed to evade, outwit, and on occasion, overpower it.”
“How…I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Fate, my dear Father, fate. Tell me, if you saw me coming towards your church, sitting at the controls of a digger. You wouldn’t just stand there would you?”
“W-Well…”
“No, you wouldn’t, no one would! But if I came to your church, every day, and removed a brick? I bet I could get a lot further before you’d notice what I’m doing. Don’t worry though, I haven’t been doing that. I only called in here because you were on the way to somewhere else. There was no divine intervention between us meeting Father. Fate would never be that kind to me.”
“Y-You seek to destroy fate?” Davies mumbled, trying to keep everything straight in his head as he started to breath heavily, the stress beginning to take its toll.”
“Destroy? No, because that’s the biggest signal I could ever send about my intentions, no, I just want to evade it as long as possible, then, once all my pieces are in place…Then I can get to where I need to be, and all your prayers can finally be answered. Father, you’ve shown me nothing but hostility all the while, but I’ve shown you nothing but kindness.”
“K-kindness? Y-you come in here, trapping me!” Father Davies took a deep breath before he continued. “Y-yet you talk about kindness!”
“Yes, I mean, you are still alive. Fate will notice so many of you dead at once, but a single soul can be snuffed out without as much as a register. I show you kindness by attending to you, instead of ignoring you, I show you kindness by staying as I am as you call me names. I know who you think I am, but I am not them. I am not that person, and again, I’m not looking for your soul. I have no need for that.”
The demons outside the door seemed to grow more restless, pushing on it.
“Hmm, I was wanting to talk more, but they are getting impatient, they’re like children!” Gabriel mused, still enjoying himself.
“Y-Your evil won’t go unpunished!” Father Davies choked out, as the door to his booth started to crack.
“I’ve been told that before. Still waiting for it to happen. Though, please father, I know you’re capable of better dying words than that…”
“Dying words?” Father Davies spluttered out as the door finally broke, and he gave a final scream.
In the other booth, Gabriel sat smiling to himself. It had been an age since he spoke of his ambitions to anyone but his shadows. He found that doing so had helped them feel more real to him, that he was finally making progress on everything. He had been intent on letting the good Father live, but then again, he had said that he wouldn’t kill him, saying nothing on the demons outside, so he was in the clear. He got out of the booth, taking care not to step on the bloody remains, and got the demons to heel, his own congregation.
“Come on, we’ve still got a lot to do…”
End
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And there you have it! Hope you liked it!
Till next time....
Keep on writing!
Peter James Martin
Quick Links
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 1
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Book 1: A Boy and A Rat
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 2
Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Volume 1
Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Fade to Noir
Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Hubble Bubble
