A is for Antichrist Read online

  Becky spotted him staring and came over. She offered him her beer. "Share?"

  Isaac took a swig and handed it back. He wondered if any of her saliva had been on the bottle. "So, you went to the same school as me and Becky?"

  "Yeah, I was the year above, left last year. Doing hair and beauty at college now."

  "Seems like that would be something you'd be good at."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "Because you're beautiful."

  Becky studied him for a moment, staring long enough that Isaac started to feel his cheeks burn. "You're a charmer, you are, aren't you? No wonder my sister likes you."

  Isaac blinked. "What?"

  "Oh, didn't you know? Yeah, she's been talking about your party all week. She really likes you. Shame, because otherwise I might have been interested myself. There are rules, though. You know?"

  Isaac opened his mouth and felt like screaming. Was Becky saying she fancied him, but wasn't interested because her sister liked him first? Her fat, unattractive sister? Damn it, it wasn't fair.

  "Isaac, your turn," Jason shouted.

  Isaac marched up to his friend and snatched the pistol testily. He raised it up and pointed it at the peppers. "Is it loaded?"

  "Yeah."

  "Good." Isaac fired off all five pellets rapidly, one after the other. The untouched yellow pepper on the left bucked and rolled as every round hit the target."

  "Whoa, that's some hardcore shooting," Shane said. "You used one of these before?"

  Isaac handed him the pistol. "Nope. Just beginner's luck."

  "He's been winning everything tonight," Barbara said.

  Isaac grinned at her, but it was forced. It felt like he was showing too much teeth. She was the reason he couldn’t have Becky. It was his birthday and she was ruining everything. "You going to try and hit something this time?" he asked her.

  Barbara blushed. "I'm too drunk to hit anything."

  "Try."

  She shrugged. "Okay, will you show me how you do it?"

  Isaac nodded.

  Shane loaded the pistol and handed it to Isaac. He took it and moved Barbara to the firing position. "Just hold it up in front of you. Keep your arm straight but not locked. Line it up with your eye and stare down the sight."

  I hope you shoot your eye out, Isaac thought meanly, still angry that she had ruined his chances with Becky. He regretted the thought almost immediately, though. Barbara was a nice girl, regardless of whether he fancied her or not. She liked him and that was a nice thing, not something he should blame her for. There still might be a chance with her sister. If he let Barbara down gently, maybe she would give Becky and him her blessing.

  Isaac glanced over at Becky who was looking back at him with a playful smirk on her face. It made him feel like a child again, completely at the mercy of a woman only a year older in age, but vastly more mature in attitude.

  Barbara fired off her first round. "Hey," she squealed. "Hey, Isaac, I hit the pepper. Yay!"

  Isaac turned around to see. "Well done," he said. "See if you can hit it again."

  Barbara stood and lined up her shot the way he had shown her. She chewed at her lip as she concentrated on her aim. Slowly her finger pulled the trigger.

  Pak!

  A split-second after Barbara had pulled the trigger she dropped the gun and began to scream. She bent forward, clutching at her face. "Oh my god, oh my god, my eye. My eye!"

  Isaac stood frozen as everyone rushed over to help Barbara. Becky pushed her way to the front and knelt down to see her sister's face. "Jesus," she said. "We need to call an ambulance. Your eye is full of blood."

  Barbara began to wail, a frightened mewling that made her sound like a trapped kitten.

  Isaac swallowed a lump in his throat. He had hoped for her to shoot her eye out and that was just what had happened. Was he to blame? Of course not, but the guilt he felt was terrible all the same. He had been so angry, and for so little reason. Now he was deeply saddened that Barbara was hurt.

  "I'm calling now," Jason said, holding his phone to his ear.

  Becky took her sister through into the kitchen where she ran the cold tap and shoved her sister's head over the sink.

  "It's horrible," Daniel said, coming up beside Isaac and looking pale under the glow of the security lamp.

  Isaac nodded. "I know. I hope she's okay." They went into the kitchen together and went to check on Barbara. Jason was speaking with the emergency services.

  "Try to open your eye," Becky urged her sister. "I need to wash away the blood and take a look."

  "I can't," Barbara wailed. "It hurts. It... wait, hold on. It's...it's okay."

  “Are you sure?” Becky asked.

  Barbara was still bent over the sink, but her wailing calmed down to a series of hitching breaths. Eventually she managed to speak calmly. "I...I can open my eye. I can see." She stood up. “There was blood on her cheek, but both her eyes were open. The left was extremely watery and red, but it seemed more or less okay.

  "Hold on," Jason spoke into the phone. "I think she's okay. False alarm. Sorry."

  "It must have just hit your eyelid," Becky said, giving her sister a big hug.

  Shane was looking down at the pistol in his hand and shaking his head. "I don't know what happened. Stupid thing. I'll throw it away. Sorry, Babs."

  Barbara smiled at him. "It's okay. I'm okay. Huh, Babs? I like that."

  Isaac raised an eyebrow. It looked like Barbara had moved onto a new love interest now. He hoped the two of them would get together so that he could get with Becky. He would like to see them get together. Barbara deserved someone. Just not Isaac.

  "I'll get you a drink," Shane said. "Least I can do."

  Barbara looked sideways at him and blushed. "Thanks, Shane."

  Becky seemed to notice the chemistry between her sister and friend and gave Isaac a quick glance. It wasn't long enough to work out what it meant.

  ***

  Everyone had regrouped in the living room where they were now vegging out with snacks in front of a horror movie about a haunted picture frame. Isaac thought it sucked, but everyone was only really interested in getting drunk and chatting anyway. Barbara and Shane shared the smaller sofa together while everyone else spread out on the large sofa and a pile of cushions on the floor. It was just after nine-o-clock and Isaac's parent's looming return seemed to draw in closer and closer. He never wanted the night to end. Everyone was so chilled. What really made Isaac want the night to last forever was how he and Becky kept exchanging secretive glances.

  Eventually, when Becky headed into the kitchen to get another drink, Isaac followed her. She smiled when she noticed him coming, but also looked a little awkward. "Hey, Isaac," she said. "This has been a really cool party."

  "Once you got here," he said.

  "I'm probably going to have to shoot off in a bit. I've got plans early tomorrow."

  Isaac frowned. "It's only nine. Everyone is staying until eleven."

  "Not me. I got to shoot. I'm sure Shane and the girls will stay. They seem to be having a good time."

  "Yeah, I think your sister and Shane are hooking up."

  "I know, weird, huh? Shane's known my sister for years and has never shown an interest. She must have cast a spell on him or something. Look after her for me, yeah? Shane can be a bit of a bad boy."

  "I don't care about your sister. I care about you."

  Becky pulled a drink from the fridge. Isaac was dismayed to see that it was a can of coke. She gave a little chuckle. "You care about me? Isaac, you only met me tonight?"

  "I thought you liked me," he stated firmly. “You’ve been staring at me.”

  "I wasn’t staring at you. Anyway, my sister-"

  "Isn't interested in me anymore, so what's the problem?"

  "You're younger than me."

  "By one year."

  She smiled at him, came on over and rubbed his arm. "Look, Isaac. I was just flirting with you in the garden. I don't want anything to ha
ppen between us. Tell you the truth, I was hoping something would happen with Shane – that’s who I was staring at - but you know how that went. I'm still pretty shocked about it to be honest. Which is why I want to head home, take a nice hot bath, and forget that I just lost a man to my younger sister."

  "Your fat, ugly sister," Isaac said bitterly.

  Becky's expression darkened. "Hey, that is not okay. She's my sister, so watch your mouth."

  "Maybe you should watch yours. Maybe you should stop using it to mess guys around."

  Becky slammed the coke down on the counter. "That's it. I'm out of here."

  Isaac shook his head. "Pick that back up. You're staying."

  Becky picked up the can of coke but looked at it as if wondering why she had. "I...I swear, you say one more thing about my sister and I'm going."

  Isaac nodded. "Go back in the living room."

  Becky did as she was told.

  Isaac went over to the sink and splashed some cold water on his face. Something was happening to him. He was full of lust and anger, things that were usually foreign to him. Part of him wanted to bend Becky over the counter and take what he wanted, while the other part wanted to beat her black and blue for playing with him. He took some deep breaths and tried to get in touch with his normal self. He wasn't an angry person, never violent, but perhaps it was time to stop drinking. Maybe this is what being drunk was like. People often fought each other when they were drunk. His mum and dad would only ever argue after a drink. If this is what alcohol was like, he wondered why anybody bothered with it.

  "You okay, dude?" It was Jason. He went over to the fridge and grabbed one of Shane's beers, along with a sausage roll. He began chomping on it like a starving man. "Becky's mates are hot, and they're getting well drunk."

  Isaac laughed mirthlessly. "It's Becky I want."

  "Go for it then."

  "I did."

  "And?"

  "And she's not as nice as she seems."

  Jason swallowed a bite of sausage roll then shrugged his shoulders. "Fuck her man. You can do better."

  "Don't be an idiot. You, me, and Daniel have never pulled a bird in our life, so how can I do better?"

  "Hey, man. I'm just being nice. Daniel and me are your real buddies, not Becky and her mates. What's wrong with you tonight? You've been acting like a right arsehole."

  Isaac felt the back of his neck tighten. He took a step towards his friend. "What did you call me?"

  "See, this is what I'm talking about. What are you doing, getting in my face like some chav? Me and Daniel are here because we're your bros, man, and you're in my face getting lary."

  Isaac stepped back and then turned away. Jason was right, but still... "Why don't you and Daniel go fuck each other?"

  “Wow, dude. It’s your birthday, but you got to sort your shit out.” Jason left Isaac alone in the kitchen where he gripped the edge of the counter and gritted his teeth.

  Crunch!

  Isaac flinched away from the counter as he felt something crack beneath his fingers. He was flabbergasted when he saw his hand print crushed into the surface of the granite. He had crushed the stone with his bare hands.

  "What the hell?"

  Isaac fled the kitchen like it was on fire. He wasn't sure what he was running from exactly, but he was panicked. When he returned to the living room he found everyone still in front of the tv, except for Jason and Daniel. They'd probably deserted him after what he'd just said in the kitchen. He couldn't say he blamed them.

  Becky was sat sipping her coke, looking close to tears. He was surprised he had managed to make her stay simply by ordering her to. Maybe he still had a chance with her. Maybe she liked forceful men. Maybe he should be forceful.

  Barbara and Shane had started making out on the sofa, much to the discomfort of everybody else. "Everybody got a drink?" Isaac asked as he prepared to sit down."

  Everybody nodded. The girl’s all looked plastered and the lads weren’t far behind.

  Isaac took a seat next to Becky. He disregarded her earlier comments and placed his hand on her thigh. She flinched, but he gave her a stern look that made her sit back and relax. It was strange, but Isaac had begun to feel like people would do whatever he wanted just so long as he willed it. Becky had said she wasn't interested in him, but he had decided in his mind that she would change her mind. She would want to be with him by the end of the night. He demanded it.

  The feel of her naked thigh beneath his hand sent electricity up his fingertips. Her skin was cold and smooth. He ran his hand from her knee upwards to where her leg widened. She was stiff as a board, but she did not stop him. The others in the room watched him out of the corner of their eyes. Isaac felt like a god. He watched Barbara and Shane making out and decided that there was little need for discretion, so moved his hand further up Becky's thigh, sliding beneath the hem of the skirt and finding flesh that was hotter. Becky remained frozen, still not trying to stop him. He was almost there, about to take what he wanted.

  There was noise coming from upstairs. Banging, like somebody jumping on a bed.

  Barbara stopped snogging the face of Shane and looked up at the ceiling. "Sounds like somebody is bumping uglies up there."

  Isaac got back up from the sofa, fuming at the interruption. He marched up the stairs, his footfalls stamping every step. He reached the landing and pinpointed where the noise was coming from. His parent's bedroom. He barged inside and was shocked to find his two best friends, Jason and Daniel, lying beneath his parent's duvet together. Their clothes were piled up in the corner of the room, underwear included. Isaac's sudden entrance had surprised them and they pulled the duvet up to their necks and cowered.

  "What the hell are you two doing?" Isaac demanded. "In my parent's bed? Are you two fucking?"

  Neither of them said anything.

  "How long has this been going on?"

  "It just happened tonight?" Daniel said, his voice trembling. "I don't know what happened. We just found ourselves in bed together...I...oh god."

  Isaac flinched. "Don't speak to me of God." He spat, so angry. "Get out my parent's bed, get out of my sight, and disappear forever."

  Daniel and Jason nodded and began shuffling out of the bed hurriedly. They threw the duvet aside and hopped out onto the carpet, their bits dangling and wet.

  Then they disappeared.

  Before Isaac's very eyes, his old buddies, Jason and Daniel, simply stopped being there. They blinked out of existence like popping balloons. Somehow Isaac knew it was because he had willed it.

  "What did you do?" Becky said from behind him. "They just...disappeared." She stared at Isaac like he was a monster. Her fear aroused him.

  "I willed them gone," he said. "That's what happens to those who disrespect me. Are you going to disrespect me?"

  Becky shook her head quickly. "N-no, I promise."

  "What are you doing up here, anyway?"

  "I wanted to ask you to let me go home. I...want to go, but I can't."

  "Because I won't allow it. Something has happened to me tonight, my lamb, something wonderful. You all must obey me."

  Becky looked at him like he was mad.

  "Kiss me," he demanded.

  And she did.

  ***

  When Isaac returned to the living room, Becky followed behind him obediently, refastening the bra he had taken off her earlier. Everybody else was still drinking and watching the tv. They didn't know about the power Isaac had. They were about to find out.

  Barbara and Shane were still cuddled up together. Isaac decided that if they were suddenly so in love, they should expedite things. "Take off your clothes, Barbara," he said.

  Barbara glanced over at him and frowned. "Sorry, what?"

  Isaac glared at her. "Take off your clothes."

  "Hey," Shane said. "What are you playing at?" He stood up and crossed the room, marching towards Isaac with his fists clenched.

  "Stop!" Isaac commanded.

  Shane stopped.
>
  Isaac grinned. "No, I don't mean stop walking. I mean stop everything. Stop breathing."

  Shane looked confused, but then his eyes widened. He stood rooted to the spot, but looked like he was trying to move. Isaac watched with delight. This lad thought he was so tough with his neck tattoo and piercings. Both Becky and Barbara wanted him, did they? Well, there would be nothing left to want in a minute.

  Shane began to go red in the cheeks. His wide eyes flickered with panic, rising towards terror.

  "Please," Becky said in Isaac's left ear. "Leave him alone."

  "Stop this," Barbara shouted. Isaac was amused to see that she had stripped down naked while he had been dealing with Shane. She had a few rolls on her, but her hips were curvy and her tits were huge. Not bad at all.

  Isaac waved a hand at Barbara. "Control your burning loins, girl."

  Suddenly the thatch of hair between Barbara's legs ignited and she was on fire. She screamed and flapped her arms as her skin crackled and burned.

  The others in the room got up as one. Even in their drunken stupors they knew that they were in the presence of a beast. Isaac was that beast and he was proud. All his life he had felt impotent and invisible, but something had awakened in him tonight, something that whispered in his ear and told him that he was the greatest of all men. All of his guilt, his fear, his doubts were gone, and all that was left was the desire to see men suffer at his feet.

  "Everybody be seated at once," Isaac bellowed, and all did as he bade.

  Shane had gone a deep purple in his cheeks and had begun to tremble like a firework about to go off. Becky moved towards him, but Isaac waved a hand and knocked her to the ground like a pesky ant. There she remained as was his will.

  Shane's cheeks went so dark they were almost black. His eyes rolled back in his skull and his knees collapsed beneath him. He crumpled to the floor and went still. He was dead, Isaac knew. He could sense every heartbeat in the room and there was none coming from Shane.

  Barbara slumped to the floor too, a blackened husk as the flames finished their work. They were not natural flames, but a hellfire Isaac commanded. He chose this opportunity to test out his new powers on a grander scale. He ignited everyone in the room, one after the other, his old friends and new. It was like placing match to a line of candles, adding light to the room. They all screamed in unimaginable agony as the flames took hold of them. Isaac drank in their pain like fresh air. The only person left alive was Becky. She cowered at Isaac’s feet, staring up at him with the wide eyes of a lamb ready to be slaughtered.