The lights of the gym went out over my head and then a single bulb in the ceiling above me lit again. I found myself standing in our old apartment off of Chicago Avenue. It was a modest apartment, not far from the beaches of Lake Michigan. I spent many summers there, watching the women, riding in my uncle?s boat, fishing and all other sorts of activities one does on the water. The furniture was old, and just as I remembered it. Again, dad?s chair was there with the bottle beside it and the ashtray stood beside it, waiting for his Marlboros.
I walked through the place, looking at pictures of my mom and dad standing next to a 1964 Galaxie 500, looking like they were going to a formal dance or something. They were young and smiling, with their arms around each other. There was another picture of my dad, hanging from a tree with his legs and one arm scratching at his armpit like an ape, and one of my mother sitting next to a boulder with a faraway look on her face, the sun shining through her honey blonde hair and she was looking beautiful. I smiled to myself knowing what my dad had seen in her. There was a folded flag in a presentation case, dad had told me that it was my grandfather?s coffin drape, and it wasn?t until years later, giving services over some of the fallen soldiers that I truly understood the importance of these flags.
I walked through the rest of the apartment, looking at the rooms, and realizing that this had to be shortly after they?d moved in. My room was still full of boxes and things they hadn?t set out yet. Their room was hastily put together, and the bed unmade. The dresser leaned on a stack of phonebooks to keep it level from the leg that appeared to be broken off. The room where I had remembered dad playing poker with his buddies, had posters of bands, and a dartboard.
I heard a click from the front room and heard the door open so I started looking for somewhere to hide. I could hear footsteps coming down the hall, right toward the room I was in, so I ducked into the closet. The door flew open and I was looking straight at Hank as he dropped his gym bag in the floor and turned around to leave the room.
?What the hell?? I asked quietly.
?Welcome to your past, Son.? I heard the familiar voice then turned to face him.
?Why are you showing me this crap??
?Showing you the truth, since she insists on calling you that.? He was smiling, and I knew he was talking about Sidonie.
?Piss off.? I said as I walked out of the closet, then turned to look back at him. ?He can?t see me, right??
?You are a ghost, that?s what happens to some dead people, regardless of what you think.?
I found myself really hating this guy, and I realized I didn?t even know who he was. He was obviously a demon, but I didn?t know why he insisted on calling me his son, and I knew the time for asking was soon enough, but for now, I was home, and felt like I belonged here, even for a brief time. I stepped out of the room, and heard the sound of popping grease, then the smell of bacon made my stomach growl. I stepped into the kitchen, and watched my dad flipping bacon with a fork and drinking from a pint of whiskey. He sat the bottle down and flipped on the radio that sat in the window over the sink, and I heard Cream?s familiar riff as Sunshine of Your Love started.
?I?ve been waiting so long. To be where I?m going. In the sunshine of your love.? Hank started singing and I found myself trying not to laugh. The whole time growing up, I had never once heard him sing. He started moving around in what I could only assume was a dance and then swung around to cuss at the burnt bacon. He grabbed the handle of the skillet which burned him then, and he slung it across the kitchen into the wall, cracking the sheetrock and sending hot grease flying. He stared at it a moment, watching the grease drip down the pale green of the wall, then turned and put his fist through the cabinet door to his right. ?I hate this!? He yelled at the top of his lungs, and brought both fists down to the top of the counter in rage.
?You see? Hank had a nasty temper.?
?He just burned his dinner, and his hand.? I said. ?I would have done the same thing I?m sure.?
?The Priest gets a temper?? He laughed at me and I felt my blood boil.
?Who the hell are you anyway?? I asked as I watched Hank start cleaning up the mess he?d made and then touch the place where he had nearly thrown the skillet through the wall. ?I mean really.?
?I am your father.?
?So you?ve said, Darth. But who are you, really??
?Some say I?m the Anti-Christ, Some The Destroyer, Greg, all you need to know is the simple fact you are my son and not his.? He pointed at Hank.
?Yeah, so you say but that man, is my dad. He raised me, taught me how to fish, box, and live. He raised me as a single parent in the days that it was unheard of. He worked himself to death to be sure I had no wants.? My fists were starting to ball up and I wanted to kill this man for telling me that Hank wasn?t my father.
?That?s right, Son. Get angry.? He urged me again. ?Turn that anger into something great.?
I forced myself calm, I wasn?t going to give him the satisfaction of my anger, since he seemed to be thrilled when I showed it. Truth is, I felt different, my anger seemed to come easier when I was around him. I spent years keeping my anger in check, boxing, meditation, finally the priesthood, now it seemed to flow through me no matter how I tried to keep it down, I could always feel it, right there beneath the surface.
?It?s in your blood, Gregory. I am in your blood.? The demon smiled then, ?You can?t fight it forever.?
?Screw you.? I was about to tear into him, but a knock at the door made Hank and I both look that direction and as I watched him open the door, my guard was lowered as I saw my mother, two bags in hand and her head hanging low. I couldn?t hear what was being said between them and I watched as Hank took Lisa into his arms, and then once again, the world around me went bright.
I found myself standing in front of a row of floor to ceiling windows, overlooking a large city, obviously from skyscraper view. The skies were reddish orange, like the reflection of the flames below. Smoke, black and thick, rose toward the heavens threatening to lay a thick sooty haze on the supposed streets of gold. Cars were twisted hunks of steel, some buildings had fallen, and even through the glass I could smell and taste the decay several stories below.
?This is it, Son. Ringside!? He stepped from the shadows with his hands in the air triumphantly. ?In our corner, it?s YOU!? I could hear a crowd suddenly erupt around us as if we were standing in The Garden, watching two heavyweights going for the title. ?In this corner, ?He motioned toward the scene outside the window. ?The world!?
?You are insane.?
?There is a fine line between insanity and genius, Gregory.? He looped his arm around my shoulders and it felt like someone had just put a snake there and caused me to shudder. ?Look around, Son. Whores and Pimps, Drug Pushers and Users. Gangs and turf wars. Innocents slaughtered by someone who complains their uncle touched them too much, while their parents never hugged them. Sum Yung Hooha climbs a tower at college to kill people that didn?t matter for making fun of his heritage, not understanding that he was a jungle race, instead of the hill people he hated. Do you see what I am getting at??
?Isn?t that your boss? style? Leave the world in ruin, for his reign? Personally, I?d think he would love all of his handiwork shining through the sin and untamed rage.? I was smiling, but I was sure that my sarcasm was getting through.
?My boss?? He laughed then. ?He can?t find his ass with both hands unless I am there to hand him a map.? I could see the anger in his eyes then since the first time I?d met him, I found one of his buttons to push.
?Glad to see I?m not the only one with Daddy Issues.? I said with another sarcastic smirk, and found him picking me up by the throat.
?He is not my Father!? He said as he tossed me across the room and into the glass, causing it to crack and spider web. I was back to my feet, preparing to fight for my life, and he was walking toward me slowly, inspecting his nails. ?Lucifer doesn?t belong in his role. They say he is the leader of hell, yet why are there so many of the others vying for his place, and he?s doing nothing about it? Now, change your clothes, we have things to do.? He handed me a black garment bag and walked from the room, closing the door behind him.
I stared at the bag in my hands for a long time before tossing it onto a chair back and turning to look back out the window. I could see a billboard, painted over with glaring red letters reading ?The End Is Here!? There were soldiers with artillery, against people with rocks on one street, while there were looters busily emptying stores on another. Explosions, fires, murder and mayhem. It was exactly how I had always envisioned the end of days. I stepped back from the glass, feeling sad and wondering how exactly I was going to get home, my home with Sidonie, then opened the bag pulling the suit from within.
A few moments after I?d changed and was inspecting myself in the mirror against the wall, he stepped back in smiling.
?Aren?t you a sexy devil?? He strode toward me confidently. ?Armani. No matter what anyone says, they are still the best.? He flicked a piece of lint from the onyx fabric, then straightened my tie. ?If your woman was with you, she wouldn?t be able to keep her hands from you.?
?How do I get home?? My voice was low and even.
?Chicago?? He knew damned good and well I didn?t mean Chicago.
?Back to Sidonie.? I growled.
?I know why you want to get back to her?wow. She is hot.? He snapped his fingers and Spade was there, smiling at me with the look of sexual want and desire in her eyes. ?And now she carries my grandchild, imagine how happy I will be.?
?You touch either of them, I will kill you.? My anger flared and outside there were more explosions, several close enough that they rocked the building we were in.
?Yes! You see? You are the Son of the Destroyer, see what you can do!? He leaned toward the windows looking out and smiling widely. ?Heaven shall burn, more than it already is, angels will spill their blood, then the Old Man will step forth, and challenge his favorite fallen son.? A wistful sigh fell from him then. ?And we are ringside.?
My anger, and explosions were flaring up near and far. I thought it coincidental, but the more that I thought about his words, I understood it was my doing. If I had that sort of power when I was angry, I wondered what I had when I thought of my home and my family. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I could see Dean, walking away from Cloud Nine. He got into his car and slammed his fist into the steering wheel before wiping his eyes and saying words I could not hear. The engine roared to life, and with a sharp left crank of the wheel, as well as the wet pavement, the Mustang fishtailed wildly and I watched the small tail lights disappear. I stepped toward the door, and found myself in our bedroom, my body splayed across the bed, dried blood stuck to me, and caked in my hair. Spade sat in a corner, rocking quietly and sobbing uncontrollably. I reached for her and found myself facing the demon again.
?You are learning, Son.? He smiled proudly. ?You are using the power that flows through your veins, and soon we are going to give this hole a restart, a system reboot if you will.? He was about to say more, as Dean walked into the bedroom where Spade was.
?Do you think he?s happy where he is now?? She asked Dean quietly.
?I don't know, Sid. I hope so.? Dean answered her as he looked down at me.
?Winchester.? The demon hissed, and I turned to look at Dean. ?Is this man, your friend or hers?? He asked when he finally turned to look at me.
?Both.? I said.
?You tell him that I care not for the bounty on his head, but should he interfere his woman, his life shall be done. He only thinks he?s been through hell, and as for you, we are not done. Enjoy your family, your friend, I will be here? I am always here.? He blew me a kiss as he faded from view, and I felt Dean leaning over me.
?Jesus Christ!? Dean said as he stumbled back, drawing his gun.
?Not even close.? I said, sitting up in the bed.
