The Forbidden Trilogy(67)

The man stood at the front of the church, full of pomp and arrogance, proclaiming God's intention that even the poor give of their last dime to further finance the Armies of God. It irritated Drake that this man, who knew nothing of the people here, would drain his foster family of what little they had out of misguided guilt.

Time to play a little prank.

As the Bishop droned on... "To any who hold back even the smallest penny of abundance, everlasting misery shall surely follow you for your lack of faith and lack of support...." Drake slipped into the Bishop's oily, weasely little mind. "And so we petition you as Christ petitioned His followers, to give until it hurts, for only then will you...." –and Drake was in— "...dance the hokey pokey in heaven."

A murmur of surprise started like a wave through the packed congregation. When the Bishop actually started doing the hokey pokey, bursts of guilty laughter hiccupped throughout the crowd.

Father Patrick, sitting on stage behind the Bishop, looked straight into Drake, and the ten-year-old understood in that instant... the Father knew.

***

"That was how we met." Drake closed the memory back up, putting it away carefully in his mind. He didn't have many happy memories, but those he did, he guarded fiercely.

"A day I shall forever cherish," Father Patrick said. "And between you and me, that pompous Bishop deserved a bit of humbling. But, back to the point of it all: yes, you are different."

"There are more of my kind. Not exactly like me, but with different abilities. All kinds of powers, things you wouldn't believe if you saw!"

The priest's eyebrow arched up in surprise. "How many?"

"I don't know exactly, but an entire school's worth, and younger kids in another facility. They're using them, doing horrible genetic experiments, and... I've fallen in love with a girl. Sam is her name, and she's pregnant with my child. I'm going to be a dad, and... the kicker is... we've never even...." Drake hesitated. "We've never known each other in the Biblical sense," he finished.

The priest laughed full belly at that. "You can use the word, boy. Sex. I'm a priest, not dead. I'm familiar with the word. As to the rest, I need to give this some thought."

Drake fidgeted in his chair. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"No, but this is a lot to take in. I'm not surprised that there are others with special gifts. History, and my own life experiences, prove that, whether through supernatural or genetic intervention, some people are blessed with incredible powers. But an organization that would exploit these children, use them and experiment on them? This is the highest level of unholy. They must be stopped."

"We're trying to work out a plan. Sam's friends are there. We need to rescue them."

Father Patrick reached over and patted Drake's hand. "I can't imagine what you're going through, Son, but you're not alone. We have resources that can help. I know the Church doesn't have quite the political reach it used to, but we still have some influence. Whatever I can do, I will."

"It's such a relief to finally talk to you about this. I've been so alone in it all, and now I'm about to be a father. I've never even known a real father in my own life. All this other stuff aside, how am I supposed to take care of a child?"

"That's an entirely different conversation, Son. It won't be easy, but it isn't for anyone. You're loyal and loving and your child will feel that, even when you make mistakes. And you have your church family to help, always."

Drake nodded. As usual, Father Patrick nailed it on the head. No one knew him like this man did, and no one Drake knew had more wisdom and insight. "There's more. Sam is really sick. I think this organization, in addition to impregnating her, also drugged her and all the kids there. She's going through major withdrawals. I'm worried about her, and about our baby, but she won't let me take her to the hospital. She's scared they'll take her away. But I can protect her. I can get her out. Only, she doesn't really approve of my 'special abilities.' At least one of them. I love her, but when I'm around her, I feel like something inside me is bad. Do you think what I can do is evil?"

The Father didn't answer for many, long, silent minutes. They ventured out of comfortable silence and into a twitching kind of quiet that forced Drake out of his chair so he could pace the room. When the priest finally did speak, the direction of the conversation surprised Drake.

"Do you remember the story of Joseph and his ability to decipher dreams into prophesy?"

"Yeah, his brothers were jealous of him and sold him to slavery, but he used his gifts to garner favor from the Pharaoh. He became very powerful."

"His gifts were often considered in the realm of sorcery. In fact, many gifted prophets in the Bible went against the norm of the day."