Capturing The Angel of Death

To the vast majority, the concept and understanding of death was not very welcoming. To them, death was the end of life, the power to destroy life and the end and destruction of all hope and happiness. To those who had given up on life, it was like the first rain of the year; A kind shower that ended the heat and suffering of their miserable life. But to the Quinn Family, death was none of these. Their understanding of death was a whole new definition, and wasn't something that the ordinary man would easily come to terms with.

To them death meant transcending to a whole new world, they didn't fear death like the rest did, rather they accepted it and sometimes called onto the Angel of death to heed to them. To the Quinn Family, transcending to a higher being was the purpose of living and this had driven the family into different acts that the society strictly abhorred. Everything concerning the Quinn's was termed evil to the extent that they word evil had been replaced by Quinn in their town.

The Quinn's were infamous for their occultic activities and the incessant human sacrifices they made to their god, Azrael. They worshipped death and everything related to it. Their beliefs were extreme that they had made it a habit to offer the first male son of every family to this their god and in exchange, death was supposed to welcome them to the afterlife with more care. To them they had conquered damnation after death and have sealed their new level of existence after death. All the Quinn's worshipped this ideal, but only one man refused to fall for the blind belief of his people. Marcelo Quinn.

Marcelo had been born as a twin to Antonio Quinn, and the only reason he was still alive was because he happened to be born only six minutes after his brother. As a kid, he had grown up with his Mother and Gracia Quinn and his African American father Immanuel Tunde. He was a bastard, born out of wedlock only so that the accursed tradition of the Quinn could continue. His parents never really followed in the footsteps of the other's, and had trained him to hate and despise the tradition of his own people.

Marcelo was twenty eight now, a fully fledged man with a fat salary. He worked as an expert in demonology and exorcism, the two most rampant topics in the world he existed in. Not only have the Quinn Family influenced their town, their stupid tradition and belief have given rise to numerous occultic activities and hellish groups spawning up and down the entire city. They were once again living in the dark era.

Marcelo had dedicated his entire childhood and adulthood to putting a stop to his family's madness and this was the sole purpose of his work. He wasn't ashamed of being a Quinn, he only despised the fact that he was seen as evil incarnate no matter how many good deeds he rendered to the community and all this was simply because of his ancestors obsession with death and Azrael.

As an exorcist, he didn't work under the church. The church in his world couldn't be trusted any longer. The Quinn's had control over everything in the town, and this included the church too. He had started his own little group. Anti-Quinn. Even though the name of his group directly opposed even he himself, he never considered changing his name. The Anti-Quinns existed for a reason and that was to clear the evil that the Quinn family had brought upon their town, and there was no better leader more suited for the job than someone who had the blood running in his veins.

Marcelo pulled off his shirt and tossed it carelessly on his bed revealing the set of markings and wordings that had been elaborately and skillfully engraved on his skin. Most of the symbols of were those of the church and the wordings were latin. His entire back was covered with these markings and words, but only one word stood out the most.

"Vita," which translated to life in English. While the Quinn's wasted their lives on death, he had dedicated his to saving lives, and that meant countering the beliefs of the Quinn. He was the perfect counter for anything Quinn related, and he didn't keep that fact hidden.

He walked out of the bedroom and headed towards the kitchen for a quick afternoon meal. He lived alone in his two rooms apartment, and his life wasn't that much different from that of the ordinary man. The only thing that distinguished him from the rest was his involvement with demons. Apart from his work, he lived his life freely. The only problem he had with his life was the daily and unending threats he got from his own family, and despite all these death threats and promises, he never wavered for a single second in carrying out his duties, and this was only because of one reason.

The Quinn's had a rule that forbade the killing of any family member above the age of seven. They believed that once a child had crossed this age, he had the potential to transcend. This rule had been saving since he began the Anti-Quinns movement, but he knew it won't be long before they eventually go against this rule. He was prepared for them anytime they decided to make any moves. After all, he had dedicated his entire being to stopping them.

He sunk his teeth into the juicy and crunchy apple he held and savoured the taste of the rejuvenating fruit. He had skipped breakfast and this was his first meal of the day. He had been woken up by incessant ringing of his phone and had received an exorcism work the instant he picked up. He was the leader of this little group, but his assistant Rebecca never gave him the leisure that a leader was supposed to have.

He grunted bitterly after another bite. He had just returned from his first exorcism, and had just remembered another contract he made with a local farmer.

"Can't a man get some rest?" He grunted before heading towards his room. He was tempted to phone Rebecca or Oliver and have them perform the exorcism, but he had promised the man to do so himself, and he couldn't afford to break his own promise. He threw his shirt over his body and made for the door. It was already few minutes past the scheduled time and being tardy wasn't an attribute he was proud of.

He arrived twenty five minutes after leaving his residence. He had phoned his personal apprentice on the way here and sooner or later, the boy would be here. For now, he was going to have a look around the farm and search around for any trace of evil spirits.

"Marcelo Quinn!" A weak feeble voice called out from a distant barn. This was the man he was supposed to work for. Pedro Sand, owner of Tempest Farm.

"Mister Pedro" Marcelo called back before reaching out for the man's outstretched hand.

"They've done it again! All the vegetables dead!" Pedro explained immediately. There was no time to waste on formalities. The sooner that the demons here were exorcised, the better it would be for everybody.

Marcelo heaved a sigh of both disappointment and guilt. The recent attack was definitely his fault. If only he had been here on time, he might have been able to save some of the man's plants. But it was too late now, they were all dead and it was his fault. As compensation for his tardiness, he halved the payment before proceeding to the area that this attack was most dominant.

He surveyed the dead plants thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned as he made his assessment. He could definitely feel the aura of something unnatural, but it wasn't from the plants. Something was definitely killing these vegetables, but he could bet it wasn't a demon.

He uprooted a dead vegetable and took a careful glance at it, before bringing the rotten plant closer to his nose for a smell assessment.

He almost gagged at the pungent familiar smell.

"Sulfur dioxide" He said sharply.

"What?" Pedro questioned.

"Someone's poisoning your crops. It's not the work of a demon. If you have anyone in mind, you should report to the police" Marcelo advised before heading towards the pen. He wasn't done yet. He could feel the presence of something ominous, something unnatural and evil and it was getting stronger with every step he took towards the goat pen.

"Master!" A voice called for him stopping him between steps.

"Sebastian" He whispered to himself after recognizing the boys voice.

"Sorry I'm late" Sebastian apologized while running towards the standing man.

"It's alright, you haven't missed a thing" Marcelo assured before continuing his walk.

Sebastian was a seventeen year old orphan who had been blessed with the gift of vision. Unlike them that relied on information from the troubled family before consultation, Sebastian could tell if there were any evil forces nearby just by coming in contact with any object that might be connected to the demon. He was the Youngest member of the Anti-Quinns, and had the most potential amongst them all. And this was the man reason why he had taken him under his wings.

"What are you people doing? My problem is with the crops not the goats!" Pedro yelled the instant Marcelo opened up the Pen's gate. If those goats were to escape, then these two men were going to find and bring back every last one of them.

"Have you noticed anything unusual about your goats Mister Pedro?" Marcelo questioned while examining the blood stains all over the floor.

"Miscarriages," Pedro replied. "They've been loosing their kids, but the vet said it was due to unbalanced diet. I've increased the nutritional value of their feeds, they should be getting better by now" Pedro explained confidently.

"Sebastian?" Marcelo called for the boy after plucking a hair off the female goat that laid still beside the pool of dried blood.

"It's not the feed, something's eating their child!" Sebastian confirmed immediately he touched the hair on Marcelo's palm.

Without wasting any more time, Marcelo unsealed his arsenal. He opened up a bottle of holy water and emptied the content on the almost lifeless livestock before making a small leap backwards. The goat's skin was sizzling now, and the poor creature was let out cries of pain.

"Step back!" Marcelo ordered. The demon present was a weak one, but he still couldn't risk it possessing anybody nearby.

"Damn exorcists!" A hollow and husky voice screamed from the animals mouth. it's voice sending out weak shockwaves that didn't do more than scattering the dried hay on the floor.

Marcelo ignored the ranting and angered demon and began his exorcism chants. Whether strong or weak, all demons were formidable and could do much damage than expected if allowed to escape. If he hadn't discovered this demon, it would grow stronger in less than a week time and animals wouldn't suite it's taste any longer. It would seek a human host and would grow much more dangerous than it was now. There was absolutely no room for mercy when it came with dealing with creatures like this.

Sebastian watched the goat flare up and burn to ashes while the flames took form and launch meaningless attacks on his master. This wasn't his first time seeing this, but everytime he watched this man bind and expell evil spirits, something in him couldn't help but feel renewed. It was like watching a series, every episode came with an exciting twist. His master seemed like a different being with every exorcism, and the thrill of seeing him change everytime could never get old

"In the name of the Father, Son and Holy spirit, I damn you back to hell, you unclean spirit!" Marcelo concluded while watching the raging fire die down with a hollow voice screaming as the flames dwindled out.

Pedro's pen had been completely destroyed now, and all the livestock that were within the range of the flames had been completely destroyed. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the man, and had collected no payments after. This was all his family's fault. They caused all this, and now demons and evil spirits were roaming the place just as humans did. With every exorcism he performed, his hatred for the Quinn's tradition grew, and that for Azrael tripled. Death was supposed to be an impartial being, but the Quinn's had turned that belief upside down. Now the poor suffered and died out because they can't afford exorcisms. The church was now a business center and without money, appealing to them was almost impossible.

The Anti-Quinns were only a handful and couldn't be everywhere. They were doing their best and he was aware that they couldn't save everybody. The news of people dying from demon attacks shattered him everyday, and there were no other people to blame if not for the Quinn's. They had influenced the town with their impure beliefs and now people that couldn't handle these spirits were summoning and letting them loose. It was just unforgivable, they were unforgivable. He despised them, and everyday he made steps to stopping them, but first he had to stop the being they worshipped. Azrael.

"When do you think I can start exorcism on my own?" Sebastian asked as they drove out of the farms premises. He was already confident in himself and was sure he was qualified to exorcise these spirits, but for some reason Marcelo would never allow it. He couldn't oppose the man. Marcelo was like a father to him. He provided him with everything and made sure he lacked nothing, and the least the could do to pay him back, was to be obedient.

"When I say you're ready Sebastian." Marcelo replied flatly, not taking his eyes off the road for one second. He was aware the boy was already good on his own, but he wasn't just strong enough yet. There were spirits and demon's out there that he couldn't handle by himself alone at this level, and loosing him was like loosing a son. He saw himself in the boy and was sure that if anything was to happen to him one day, Sebastian would carry on his dreams.

"Finally" Marcelo muttered to himself under a sigh of relief. This was his last appointment for the day and hopefully it would remain that way. He needed to rest so he could stay awake at night and work on something later at night.

He had dropped Sebastian off where he worked as a part time receptionist before returning home. The boy's closing time was still three hours away, which meant he had three hours to rest before any disturbance.

Once again, he returned to his room and took off his shirt and shoes. There was no time to waste on his pants, so he collapsed on the bed without taking care of those.

He felt at peace for the moment, everything concerning him revolved around work and he barely got any time for himself. This was one of the few times he was actually free to do something, and he going to fully utilize this time. He had taken too much caffeine to stay awake at night, and more of those might damage his health.

He finally closed his eyes and welcomed sleep. There was no greater feeling in the world than this.

He ignored the first knock hoping it would go away, but a second one forced him to keep his eyes open. He hadn't ordered anything and wasn't expecting anyone either. He ignored the second knock and laid still hoping that whoever it was would give up and leave, but the knock persisted and he was forced to leave his bed once again. He cursed whoever was at the door, and almost promised to give them a good shouting if it was something irrelevant.

He knew it wasn't Sebastian, he had the house keys and wouldn't need to knock if he wanted to enter the place. The person behind the door must not know when to give up and what leaving someone alone meant.

He flung the door open without confirming the visitor's identity first. He was too frustrated to use to peephole and desperately wanted to dismiss the person as fast as possible.

He paused after opening the door and stared down at the five foot and six inches tall woman that stood in front of him. He felt like slamming the door shut and walking back to his bedroom without saying a word to her. But even if he did so, she probably won't allow him to sleep.

She stood there looking innocent as if she hadn't commited a crime. She had managed to interrupt the little time he had to himself, and he could tell she wasn't planning on leaving very soon.

"Rebecca. What do you want?" Marcelo asked with a cold and emotionless tone. He hadn't even bothered to let her in, and sincerely hoped she would just state her purpose of visiting and leave immediately. But that hadn't happened. She pushed past him and treated herself to the comfort of his sofa without saying a word to him.

He grunted shallowly before pushing the door shut and locking it. He had forgotten to put his shirt on and had no strength to dress up. She had seen him like this before, so shying over it wasn't necessary.

"What do you want Rebecca?" Marcelo repeated, but the woman still sat silent, not planning on giving him a reply.

"Rebecca!" He yelled. He didn't have time for her infantile behavior at the moment. If she had no purpose of visiting, then he might as well kick her out and continue his nap.

He soon regretted raising his voice at her the instant he noticed tears streaming down from her eyes. He cursed himself for his selfishness before heading to sit beside her on the sofa.

"Rebecca, what's wrong?" He questioned with most caring voice he could muster at the moment. The Rebecca he knew was arrogant and strong. She behaved like a child sometimes, but he had never seen her cry before. This was his first time seeing her in this condition and he could bet whatever put her in this condition was as serious as anything.

"I...I couldn't save him.." She began while doing her best to contain her flowing tears.

"Save who?" Marcelo asked with the calmest voice. He didn't want to stir up any other suppressed emotions that she had, but if he didn't know what was going on, then he couldn't help her.

"Oliver....He's dead. They killed him...they killed the only family I have left" Rebecca concluded before falling into his arms completely.

Marcelo froze at her words. Oliver was Rebecca's younger brother. He was only fourteen and as young as he was, he had undergone seven exorcisms in just three years. He knew that this was the doings of the Quinn's but he had never confronted them for any of the boy's attack. They were giving it their all to tear the Anti-Quinns apart. They had lost a member just few months ago, and now they were. going after the family members of the Anti-Quinns when they couldn't take them down.

Oliver was like a brother to him, and they had taken his brother from him. Every time he exorcised the boy, his bond with him grew stronger. And with every successful exorcism, he rubbed mud on the faces of the Quinns. Oliver had a weak spirit, and the Quinns had preyed relentlessly on this ever since Rebecca joined the Anti-Quinns. They were only twenty one members, but that didn't stop the Quinn's from going after them.

He couldn't even find the right words to console Rebecca. This was all his fault. He had dragged innocent people into fighting a battle that was meant for him and now their families were paying the price for it. The Quinn's had had too many leisure and had crossed the line with this single act. It was high time he paid them a visit and put them in their place.

"I'm sorry Rebecca," Marcelo apologized "I'm sorry for putting you all through this. This is my fight and only I can put an end to all this." Marcelo added.

Rebecca lifted her head from his body and stared endlessly at him. She couldn't be more angrier at him than she was now. Typical Marcelo, could he be any less selfish than he was now. Her brother had died and she had driven all the way here to find solace in him, but he had managed to make everything about him. She just couldn't contain her anger anymore and had slapped him across the face before she could hold herself back.

The slap was unexpected, but the emotion behind it was much more surprising. He didn't know what he did to become a victim of her anger, but the reason for her being so angry piqued his curiosity the most.

"What is wrong with you Marcelo? Why can't you just think of someone else besides yourself?" Rebecca questioned, no longer containing her tears. "You've always been gloomy and self centered ever since we met, but I never thought it had gotten to this extent. How do you live with all this burden? None of this is your fault. I chose this path and the much you can do Is sympathize and show your respect. But no, Marcelo Quinn doesn't care about things like affection. All he's after is the destruction of his family and nothing else. He doesn't care about the people around him as long as he gets what he wants. I was a fool for ever thinking that you would care about someone like me" Rebecca concluded before wiping away her tears. She was done here and was going somewhere where she could cry herself to sleep.

Marcelo couldn't hide the fact that he was stunned by her words. He was supposed to feel hurt or at least pitiful by what she just said, but he didn't feel anything at all. His heart was as cold as anything and part of him could tell the reason behind this outburst was probably because he didn't return the affection that Rebecca showered him. She was definitely right, and he was indeed selfish. He couldn't blame himself for his behavior, this was just how he was brought up. He had been trained by his parents for the sole purpose of destroying the Quinn's and he had grown with the mentality that everything else came second after his goal, including love.

He held the fleeing lady by the wrist and pulled her back into his arms. He wasn't yielding to her words, he was just trying to make up for his selfishness. To him, stopping the Quinns still came first, but that didn't mean he couldn't spare some time for affection. After all this woman had been by his side for the past three years even after all the red flags she got from him.

She was relentless In both her work and her pursuit for love and that was the quality he admired in her the most. He was definitely sorry for Oliver's loss, and that was more reason for him to prioritize stopping the Quinns more than anything. The more time he allowed them to continue with their devilish habits, the more people would die.

For now, he would comfort Rebecca to the best of his ability, and next he was going for a little family reunion. They might have succeeded in breaking one of his members, but he would nurse her back to health. He just hoped that they were prepared for his next wave, he wouldn't like it if the game was boring.