The Hand Of Cain (1855 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.96 on 36 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Badlands (View user info) at 2004-09-28 10:49:44 EDT
Disclaimer: Kinda long. But hopefully, worth your time.
-----
Cain sat patiently in the driver's seat of his common mid-sized rental waiting for the commotion to die down.
He took a deep drag of the Marlboro Ultra Light that sat burning between his fingertips, and stared intently at it as he exhaled. Fuckin' thing tastes like air, he thought. Better for you than smoking reds though, right? Never mind that he always wound up smoking twice as many of them.
Ah, fuck it. No one knows what the hell's gonna kill you these days anyhow. The minute the thought entered his mind, he had to let out a small chuckle to himself. It was pretty ironic. He didn't always try to be funny, but sometimes it just worked out that way.
Truth of the matter was, he did know what was going to kill most people. He had that gift. Looking on at the scene that was unfolding before him, he certainly knew which one of Jeannie Andrews's vices would be the death of her. Oh, he knew for sure. And it wasn't going to be cigarettes. Or red meat. Or even those five Grey Goose and tonics she was so accustomed to having almost each and every night.
The vice that would be the death of Jeannie Andrews wasn't any of those things. Cancer. Heart disease. Liver failure. She should be so lucky. No...the vice that would be the death of Jeannie Andrews would be her addiction to men. Scratch that. Her addiction to men that happened not to be her husband. And the instrument of her death would be the hand of Cain.
He sat at the far end of the parking lot of Smitty's Spirits at 11pm on that Wednesday night, completely amused. This was more than he expected. The beautiful, picture-perfect couple in the Lexus RL5000 was apparently arguing with the elderly couple in the Ford Escort over whose ass end just backed into whose.
The woman driving the Lexus had a mouth like a trucker and seemed to take control of the situation almost immediately. Her companion remained in the passenger seat as she jumped out her car in a slinky black cocktail dress, and proceeded to bang her fists on the trunk of the Escort. She demanded to know at the top of her lung just "where the fuck, two decrepit old geezers get off...backing into my sixty- fucking-thousand dollar Lexus."
Cain could see that the elderly couple was intimidated. The gentleman driving got out of his car with his hands out in front of him. Shit, if the old man had a white flag, he would have started waving it. He made the mistake of trying to reason with Ms. Lexus.
"Look ma'am...there's obviously a little misunderstanding here. You see, the missus and I, we were..." but that was all he was able to get out.
Whoo-Pow!
The unlit cigarette dangling from Cain's mouth fell the floor as his jaw dropped open. He couldn't believe his eyes. Had she really just hauled off and laid the old man out with one punch? Cain was impressed. Ms. Lexus threw a sweeping right hook that would have made the Raging Bull, Jake Lamotta himself, taste canvas.
"You motherfucking cocksucker! Nobody hits my motherfucking car! I ought to kick your motherfucking, wrinkled old ass all over the goddamn street you dirty, old, nasty piece of geriatric shit."
Cain lit another smoke and watched in awe, his head slowly shaking at the scene that was unfolding before him. Ms. Lexus was battering the poor old man while his wife sat helpless in the car, begging for the enraged debutante to leave her husband alone.
Finally, Ms. L.'s dashing date stepped out of the sleek, black auto. Cain had to laugh. What a gentleman. Looks just like Pierce Brosnan, he thought. Goddamn James Bond. 007 himself.
But that's where the similarities ended, Cain noted. Fucking guy sat in the car for at least five minutes, while his obviously intoxicated date beat the shit out of an old man over her bumper getting nicked.
Worse part of it all, Cain thought—as he ashed out his fourth Marlboro Ultra Light in twenty minutes—it was Ms. Lexus hit the old couple with her car. Not the other way round.
No matter, he thought. Her penance would be paid soon enough. Judgment had already been passed. She had been weighed and she had been measured—and she had come up failing. Cain was here now. Cain would collect. Cain would clean all that was filthy. Cain's hand would make all that was black shine white again.
James Bond now had his arms hooked under Ms. Lexus's armpits, struggling to drag her backwards as she kicked and screamed like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
"I'll kill you, motherfucker! I'll end your fucking very existence you piece of shit!" The expletives spewed from the gaping hole in her face like a cancerous bile. Her legs flailed about furiously as she tried to gouge the poor elderly man's flesh with the sharp 6-inch spikes of her Manolo Blahniks.
"Easy love. He's learned his lesson, now." Chuckled James Bond in a pretentious New England accent that seemed to suit him perfectly. Cain grimaced. He had thought of sparing the fellow, deeming him nothing more than an albatross. Just another one of her many hangers-on...another kept man. Just one more pretty boy, interested more in cash, clothing and status than actual love.
But this one was different. This one seemed to relish Ms. L's actions. Cain couldn't stand for that. Wouldn't stand for that. And in an instant, judgment was passed. Bond had been found guilty. And Bond would go the way of his lady friend. Just another cancer in need of eradication.
As 007 stuffed the drunken, still-cursing woman, into the passenger seat of the Lexus, something unexpected happened.
The old man's wife, now out of the car and kneeling over her husband, let out a piercing scream. Like a lamenting banshee, her lone howl bounced off the abandoned buildings nearby and reverberated through Cain's soul.
At that moment, time stood still.
Ms. Lexus stopped cursing.
James Bond stopped chuckling.
And the old man—only seconds ago choking on his own vomit on the cold, dark pavement—stopped breathing.
Not his time, thought Cain. Not supposed to happen like this.
Time began again. As the present made pace with the future, the old woman threw her arms over her husband, sobbing wildly.
"Nooooo. Harold. Nooo. Why? How could yoooouuuu?"
James Bond was stunned. His mouth agape and his legs, like jelly underneath his athletic frame, ceased to move. Ms. Lexus, on the other hand, was a different story. She bolted from the passenger seat of the Lexus and yanked her idle date from his slumber.
"For fuck's sake Brice, move your fucking ass! Get in the fucking car now!" She jerked at his shoulder, causing his already unsteady stance to give way, and he fell to the ground.
"Brice, you piece of shit. Up now, or I'm leaving your ass here. Now, you worthless sack of shit!" She ran to the driver's side of the door, and as she did so, threw a vicious heel kick into the temple of the old man's wife. Her head immediately hit the pavement with a dull thud.
Not dead, noticed Cain. Unconscious. But not dead.
Cain wasn't happy about this turn of events. He was the unexpected. He was surprise. He was shock. He was the executor of The Other's will. Not her.
Rage. The rage he had been conditioned not to feel—suddenly began to percolate inside of him. He was assured this emotion had been erased from his system. But here it was, and it troubled him. But like an old friend, he oddly found comfort in it. He should have known. Rage is inside us all. Dormancy is possible, but eradication is unattainable. Even The Other couldn't promise it's permanent absence.
He had to act. The map he was given, the path he had agreed to follow, it was simply no longer feasible. He must improvise.
Cain slipped from the driver's side door of his common mid-sized rental and immediately appeared in front of the elderly couple. He bent down in front of the unconscious old woman and passed a hand over her weathered face—and healed her wounds.
He moved to the old man and touched the gash on his lifeless cranium. Immediately, his eyes began to flutter and his breath returned. Labored at first, then shallow, yet constant.
Life restored. Not his place to do so, but definitely within his power. Compassion. An emotion he had been denied for quite some time, flooded his being...until he heard the screeching tires of the Lexus.
His head jerked toward the commotion as he watched the woman burning hot rubber on the cool asphalt to make her escape. With a wave of his hand, the engine died.
And the rage returned.
In an instant, Cain stood before the idle vehicle. The guilty pair in the front seat now trained on his indelible image.
"Who the fuck are you, asshole!" he heard Ms. Lexus spitting from the open window of her door.
"I'll run your fucking ass down, motherfucker! Outta my fucking way or die!"
Cain smiled wide. Her passing was upon her. He knew it. From the look in James Bond's petrified eyes in the passenger seat, he seemed to know it too. So why hadn't she yet grasped the gravity of the situation?
Cain passed another hand before the car and suddenly both the driver and the passenger stood before him. Their execution was imminent.
"Wh-Wh-What the fuck?" asked Bond incredulously, staring at his physical person, unaware of how he got where he was now standing. Even Ms. Lexus was at a loss for words.
"Do either of you know who I am?" Cain asked softly, the rage beneath his skin slowly ebbing. This was his stage. His place. His time.
The couple exchanged glances, both now clearly petrified. Both feeling their own mortality. Both starting to come to grips with a reality that was clearly out of their control. Confusion replaced their bravado and their anger gave way to quiet bewilderment. It was nothing new to Cain.
He chuckled to himself and took a deep breath. End game. It was upon them.
"Jeannie Andrews. Do you know why I'm here?" The words seeped slowly from his cracked lips.
"How...how do you know my..." Her eyes now as wide as newly minted silver dollars.
"Silence." He loved this part.
"I am here because you've failed. You've failed your God. You've failed your family. And you've failed your community."
"But...but...I..." she began to tear up and quickly touched the corners of her eyes as if the salty discharge were something completely foreign to her.
"Thirty-nine years ago you were given a gift. The gift of life. This gift was bestowed upon you with only one expectation. That you would cherish it. That you would embrace it and never take it for granted. That you would strive to leave this world just slightly better than you entered it."
Jeannie Andrews, aka Ms. Lexus dropped to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. She didn't know Cain...but she knew Cain. It always happened like that.
"You failed, Jeannie Andrews. You have been judged an adulteress, an unconscionable liar, a petty thief, an unremorseful opportunist and a vicious plague upon society. Your presence on this earth is no longer welcome. It is time...for you to die."
Cain paused. He intended for this vile woman to the digest the full weight of this decision. She needed to understand her crimes before she passed on. This was part of the judgment.
Her chest now heaving with fear, Jeannie Andrews crawled on hands and knees to Cain and wrapped her tentacles around his left leg.
"Pleeeeeeaaasee! Don't do this. You don't understand." Hyperventilating now. "I have money. Or, my husband does. Whatever you want. Name it. It's yours. Just pleeeeaase...not meeeee!"
Cain laughed. The first time in eons. Normally, he did his duty without emotion. He executed the will of The Other and moved on to the next. No feeling. No opinion. He neither relished nor rued his station on this earth. But this time was different. This woman had no remorse. No regret. No heart and no soul. And she never would.
He had the ability to truly make her suffer. Normally it was an unnecessary power. One he refrained from using. Not this time.
He raised his all-powerful hand and watched with a pleasing eye as a lump the size of a cue ball, formed in her throat. A lump that grew until it impeded the passage of air, completely clogging her windpipe.
She began to choke, violently clawing at her bulging trachea to no avail. Blood began to pour from her eyes as she hit the ground, writhing in pain. Cain was pleased. He could have ended it there. But he didn't. He let the rage take over his person, let it cloud his judgment.
He watched with pleasure as blood poured from her head. Her ears, her nose, her mouth, even her eyes...spilled thick red bile until her skin grew pale and her face grew shriveled and wan.
After several minutes, Jeannie Andrews's choking, bloody sobs ceased to be heard. The well-manicured, evenly-tanned, lipo-suctioned body of Jeannie Andrews was now still. Lifeless and pale. A shell of the disappointment that was.
The Other had spoken. The darkness had given way to light. Cain had fulfilled his duty. And the rage that had overcome is being, had quelled.
Cain turned to the young man—the fool who had accompanied the doomed Jeannie Andrews on this fateful night—and readied to smite him.
James Bond, aka Brice Weathersfield, dropped to his knees and began to cry.
"Please. Whoever you are. Whatever you are. I didn't do anything. I swear it! I don't even really know her. I just work for her husband's modeling agency. I shouldn't even be here. Please, sir. I-I-I..."
Cain knew that it was not his task to pass judgment. And he knew there would be consequences for ending the life of a non-offender. But at that moment, watching this pathetic waste of human form begging for his pitiful life, he simply didn't care.
He raised his hand for the final time that evening and watched with satisfaction as the young man's neck quickly snapped half-way round his head and back again. His lifeless body immediately dropped to the pavement, his brain stem completely detached from his spine. After a few quick convulsions, the young man lay still. It was over in less than a minute. And Cain felt benevolent.
With both his victims souls returned to The Other, Cain turned and trained his focus on the poor elderly couple—now huddled together against the bumper of their Ford Escort.
They had witnessed the entire scene, hugging each other tightly; shaking uncontrollably...praying their fate would not equal that of the couple that lay ashen and lifeless before them.
"S-S-Sir...we saw nothing here. We swear it. Nothing." The old man squeaked.
Cain smiled at them and slowly shook his head.
"Please, sir," he continued. "Let my wife live. Take me if you must. But her...I-I love her. I beg of you...spare her life."
Cain smiled warmly. He knelt before the old man and placed his bony hand on his shoulder.
"You'll never see me again, old man. I assure you." Cain professed. "When your time is at hand, I will not be present. You have both earned the right to pass in peace. And without force."
He paused, rose before them and passed his omniscient hand over their bodies.
"Good health, old man. Good health to the both of you. May you spend the rest of your days in peace."
Cain looked toward the sky and nodded solemnly. Satisfied that on this evening the will of The Other had been carried out, his hand grew still...if only for a moment.
User Reviews
Submitted by Alter (user info) at 2007-09-26 20:18:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No, Comment.
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2005-12-21 15:22:08 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by LiquidPaper (user info) at 2005-08-03 11:39:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yes. Worth my time.
Submitted by iradney (user info) at 2005-08-03 11:14:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
bloody, fucking fantastic
Submitted by tlovess (user info) at 2005-08-03 10:24:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Because Tiger Lilly was kind enough to point out these posts on her anniversary, I read this. I got chills. This was really one of the greatest things I have read on uber, and I do spend a lot of time on here, although my record of posts doesn't show it. Thanks for helping me get my moring going a bit better.
Submitted by Jo_of_the_golden_P (user info) at 2005-02-22 11:53:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
wtf I'm not reading all that
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2005-02-22 11:49:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by ruthless (user info) at 2005-02-01 19:12:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
+2 for you.
Submitted by WiKi (user info) at 2004-12-11 17:26:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I've read this approximately 400 times.. and I still haven't rated it?
What the hell is wrong with me?
I wish I could give this +infinity.. but, alas, I can only give as high as 2.
So. Here's a +2 for my favorite post on Uber. Ever.
Submitted by SullyThePirate (user info) at 2004-12-11 17:17:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Perfection.
Submitted by Vengance (user info) at 2004-10-06 10:44:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord...
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2004-10-06 10:43:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
YES! YES! YES!
When I reach the other, IT will appoint me that job.
Submitted by Scott_James (user info) at 2004-10-01 14:19:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by GodLovesALittleLovin (user info) at 2004-10-01 12:50:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I can't get over how visual your posts are Badlands. It's like I can see every little scene inside my head as a movie, taunting me with its superiority.
Very well done!
Submitted by Ancius (user info) at 2004-10-01 08:42:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
too short mate.
brilliant stuff
Submitted by TigerLilly (user info) at 2004-09-30 16:42:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
*sigh*
Submitted by ardubs (user info) at 2004-09-28 20:54:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Unbelievable.
Submitted by comicbookguy (user info) at 2004-09-28 20:40:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
it sucks when my crappy comedy posts get more reviews then this fucking gem. You're quite easily ten times the writer I aspire to be.
Submitted by Smurfs (user info) at 2004-09-28 16:45:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm in teh midst of a vaguly similiar story... *sigh*
Submitted by 1Point21Gigawatts (user info) at 2004-09-28 16:39:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You just can't be a Sox fan, say it isn't so!
You write like a New Yorker, you live in New York like a New Yorker, and you're a cool guy like a New Yorker...
Sigh, it is what it is.
I laughed when your guy said "Time for you to die!"
Submitted by the_lone_stranger (user info) at 2004-09-28 16:10:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I love a good story of come-uppance.
Over-developed sense of justice...are you a Libra?
Submitted by comicbookguy (user info) at 2004-09-28 15:25:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
amazing
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2004-09-28 13:27:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Excellent.
Was it inspired by something else you read?
Not accusing you of plagarising anything, just the opening few paragraphs reminded me vaugely of something I have read elsewhere, but can't remember what.
I like your writing style, which may have been what I found familiar (rather than the subject I mean).
Keep it up.
-Davros
Submitted by NerfHerder (user info) at 2004-09-28 12:58:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I don't know anybody else who wrote this kickass after only 11 posts.
Submitted by SAECULUM.AUREUM (user info) at 2004-09-28 12:25:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
not bad
Submitted by runninginplace (user info) at 2004-09-28 12:16:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by engine13 (user info) at 2004-09-28 12:15:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Fantastic. Not too long at all.
Submitted by GodChicken (user info) at 2004-09-28 12:10:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by espo (user info) at 2004-09-28 11:50:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome stuff. Very well written.
Badlands, you're one of the few reasons I keep coming back to Ubersite.
Espo
Submitted by Badlands (user info) at 2004-09-28 11:48:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Julia -- Thanks for the tip on the pumps. And yes...I did actually mean omniscient (meaning all-knowing) ... although in hidsight, omnipotent (all-powerful) would have probably been a better choice in that context.
Pentameter -- Thanks. I don't have AIM, but I do have Yahoo IM...Badlands7777...hit me up if you're ever in the neighborhood.
Submitted by TigerLilly (user info) at 2004-09-28 11:45:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Another +2 because Badlands is "mah bestest good friend"!
Submitted by Julia (user info) at 2004-09-28 11:35:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
That was . . . wonderful.
(But six-inch heels are hooker platforms, not Blahniks. For next time. And did you mean "omnipotent" instead of "omniscient"?)
Submitted by causeican (user info) at 2004-09-28 11:31:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
ya that was good!
Submitted by Pentameter (user info) at 2004-09-28 11:14:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Another +2 just because this is so fucking awesome.
Do you have AIM? If so, hook me up - Pentameter 79. I'm not on now, but should be this afternoon.
Submitted by TigerLilly (user info) at 2004-09-28 11:08:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This kicked some major ass!
Well worth the long read.
Awesome.
Submitted by Pentameter (user info) at 2004-09-28 11:04:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"'Do either of you know who I am?' Cain asked softly, the rage beneath his skin slowly ebbing. This was his stage. His place. His time. "
Chills up and down my spine.
Definitely worth the time. Amazing, my friend, amazing.
Badlands, you are a bad ass.