The Shunning - 17. Chapter 17

Steven, had listened just outside the door, could not believe what he had just heard. It was insane. Scott was acting as if all he had to do was snap his fingers to bring fire and brimstone down upon the town. Daryl believed it though, he was even going to let it happen, something which completely baffled Steven. Part of him wanted to see how deep the two men's obvious delusion psychosis was, but then again, Daryl believed it was true.

 

When Steven thought about it nothing that had happened ever since that first day he met Daryl made much sense. Out of all the bizarre events that had happened of late, Steven knew of only two that he would call true miracles. The first one was that he had finally forgiven himself for the Stockton tragedy. The second was the extent of his love for Daryl.

 

To his shock, Steven found that he indeed believed in something, or in this case, someone. That's all that really mattered in the end. It did not matter that he did not believe in whatever power Scott claimed to have. So long as Daryl believed it was real, Steven could not let the man he loved take part in such horrific act.

 

Ramming his body against the door, he burst into the room, finding

Daryl almost within arm’s reach of Scott's offered hand.

 

"Don't do it Dare!" Steven shouted.

 

"But I have to, I don't want this pain inside me anymore." Daryl said even as he stopped walking forward.

 

"It's for the best Steven," Scott said, his eyes not leaving

Daryl's face. "These people need to die, they are a cancer, a disease of the human soul. All I am doing is sparing the only one of them who is redeemable. Do you love Daryl so little that you would have him suffer so?"

 

"I hate the Blessed as much as you do for what they did to Dare but don't they deserve a second chance to redeem themselves,"

 

"Why should you care? You don't believe in God," Scott replied, his hand only inches away from Daryl.

 

Steven stood silently, knowing his next words would decide everyone's fate. "I believe in Daryl."

 

"Why," Scott, said, lowering his hand.

 

"Because he makes me believe that I can become a better person.

You would destroy that if Daryl were to let his people die."

 

"Even though most of them deserve to?” Scott asked, taking a step away from Daryl towards Steven.

 

"There is always a chance for forgiveness," Steven said, amazed by his own words.

 

"So you would let people live crippled lives? You believe it is better to live and suffer than be granted peace through death?"

 

"I do, if there is one thing I have learned as a psychiatrist it is that suicide is never a good answer."

 

"So be it," Scott said, letting a smile grow on his face before looking back at where Daryl was frozen in place. "Rest Daryl. You’re suffering is over. Daryl took Scotts hand. There was a flash of light then nothing.

 

Steven saw his lover slump to the floor like a puppet whose strings had just been cut. Running to the man's side, he held Daryl tightly.

 

"Thank you Steven, I knew I could count on you." Daryl smiled weakly, his whole body coated with sweat.

 

"I couldn't let you let Scott kill all those people no matter how much I hated them."

 

"They were never in danger of dying, at least not immediately.” Scott chuckled as he looked down at the pair.

 

"What?" Steven asked confused.

 

"I'm sorry Steven." Daryl said guiltily.

 

"It was a test...for both of you," Scott said, joining the two on the floor.

 

"What?" Steven repeated, this time with a hint of anger in his voice.

 

“I am no angel but you might as well consider me one. I was sent… or I should said changed into what I am now to punish the people who call themselves the Blessed for the crime of killing Daryl's parents and his brother."

 

"You don't really expect me to believe that." Steven said skeptically.

 

"I am what I am." Scott replied; “…and Daryl is what he is. The only people who were truly blessed in that valley was Daryl’s family. Daryl’s parents were as I am now. They were changed to serve a purpose but that purpose was never realized because the Blessed’s leaders decided to kill them. Daryl, as their son, can still serve that purpose but only if that is what he wants. I needed to test him to see if he still wished to serve that purpose.

 

"Whatever,” Steven grunted. "Why were you testing us?"

 

"To see if the possibility of redemption was possible."

 

"Daryl's people or everyone,” Steven asked suspiciously.

 

"Good, you're starting to catch on. The answer is both," Scott chuckled.

 

"What was my test?"

 

"You should know, you would not have been able to pass it without knowing."

 

"Faith?” Scott asked.

 

"Yes."

 

"I don't understand."

 

"You have to understand what Daryl's test was to fully understand your own."

 

"What was Daryl's test?"

 

"Ask Daryl," Scott suggested.

 

"Dare," Steven asked, looking down at the man's exhausted face.

 

"Scott chose me to bear the burden of my people's guilt. It was by my example that he was going to decide their fate."

 

"But you're a saint." Steven laughed.

 

"A saint who until now has never once turned to God for his own forgiveness." Daryl replied. "I had to be willing to sacrifice everything and take Scott's hand out of the need for forgiveness in order to save myself from my own destructive guilt.

 

"This is the second time I have given Daryl this test. He failed the first time when he could not ask for forgiveness for the death of his brother. Brian and the tragedy he bestowed on his people was the resulting punishment. Still I had faith in Daryl that he would pass this test and save his people from the second, forgiving himself for failing the first time... to pass that one he needed the help of another, he chose you. That is why you were tested."

 

"And what was my test,"

 

"Your test had two parts. First, like Daryl you had to be able to forgive yourself, in this case the indirect part you took in the death of

Mr. and Mrs. Stockton and Mr. Stockton's male lover. Faith, as you already know, was the second part. You had to defeat your own skepticism and believe in something, in this case you had to prove you believed in Daryl."

 

"And what would have happened if I failed,"

 

"If you had failed then when Daryl touched my hand it would have triggered a massive gas explosion that would have destroyed New Hope and sent so much pollution into the air as to trigger a new ice age."

 

"I'm glad I passed. There is something I don't understand. You cannot make me believe you are the agent of a benevolent force. No God would put the burden of an entire people's sins on more man."

 

"You're right again. As I said before, Daryl was wise in picking you."

 

"You're no angel. What are you really and why would you punish the entire world for the actions of some kooky religious cult."

 

"Sleep Daryl," Scott commanded, and the man's eyes quickly closed.

Scott then looked back at Steven. "What I am about to tell you is for your ears only. You will remember but never be able to communicate it to anyone."

 

"I understand." Steven nodded.

 

"We are not fully human, me less so than Daryl."

 

"You expect me to believe you are some sort of advanced alien,"

Steven chuckled.

 

"I expect you to believe that there are forces beyond your understanding. That is why your faith was tested.

 

"What are you then?"

 

"Living energy that you might call ghosts, spirits, demons, gods, some weak, some very strong."

 

"Some Jedi like Force," Steven joked and laughed.

 

"No." Scott laughed as well.

 

"Is Daryl just a spirit, a ghost?"

 

"No, he is mostly human. A part of him though is like us, lying dormant unless need wills it to reveal itself. Most of the Blessed are like that."

 

"Why Daryl then? Why did you pick him to bear the Blessed's sins?"

 

"Would you believe he offered his people the best hope of forgiveness?"

 

"Knowing the kind of person he is, I do. I still don't understand why any supernatural force would target the Blessed over a pair of murders. People are killed every day."

 

"It was what Daryl's parent's wanted. The Gavin family, more than any of the other Blessed, are connected with the spiritual, which makes sense since it was the Gavins who introduced the trait to the Blessed when they saved their ancestors during a blizzard."

 

"So you are saying that Daryl's ancestors were not human."

 

"They weren't." Scott nodded. "They were beings formed out of both faith and need. The original settlers’ faith that something would save them from the storm was so strong that it caused those who became the Gavin’s to take on human form and save them."

 

"Out of thin air,"

 

"From your perspective."

 

"I find that hard to believe."

 

"Then you will have an even greater problem believing this, until forty years ago, there was no natural gas under New Hope."

 

"You're right I would. You saying another spirit turned itself into the nation's largest gas field."

 

"There was no need, Daryl grandfather willed it into existence when a drought killed off the Blessed's cattle which had been their sole source of income."

 

"Then I think I know where you came from and why Daryl was chosen.

You are not the angel of judgment, you are whatever leftover negative energy Daryl's parents left behind when the Blessed betrayed and murdered them."

 

"You are smart," Scott laughed.

 

"I still don't think it was fair to put him through this."

 

"That no longer matters, he's free now, his obligations fulfilled.

He can now live a normal life without being tested further."

 

"He will no longer be able to heal the sick,"

 

Scott nodded. "Not in the fashion he once did. Not unless the need is so great that Daryl calls on it again. That part of his nature has gone dormant again. It is not gone and is still within his reach. It will always be a part of him.” "My purpose having also been served I too will soon just be a normal man. Daryl and I have both deserve well-earned rest. You are another matter."

 

"What do you mean," Steven said nervously.

 

"Our power cannot so simply evaporate, it has to go somewhere," Scott replied.

 

"It's going to me?" Steven felt like he was going to choke. He didn’t want this power any more than he was sure Dare did.

 

"Yes, most of it anyway. Some will also pass to Daryl's nephews."

 

"But I don't want it."

 

"You already have it, always have had it in fact. All you needed was having enough faith to call on it which is what you did to save Daryl’s people. This will be hard for you to understand but you, like the gas field also appeared out of nothing in your mother’s womb. Your mother was never meant to have twins."

 

"And my brother,"

 

"Perfectly normal, that is why Daryl had to choose you. He could have picked Alex, but he gave up his power to Daryl to help heal him. So you see in the end you were the only one Daryl could pick. Luckily you figured things out in time."

 

Steven sighed, he didn't feel lucky. "What happens now?"

 

"That is totally up to you. Only one thing is certain, you will soon become the Father."

 

"Yeah right. Why would I lead a religion I despise?"

 

"The same reason the Gavin family exists, to save them."

 

"But what if I don't want to save them,"

 

"You would not have stopped Daryl from reaching me if you really believed that."

 

"Well, if it is as you say, then I'm going to be making some serious changes."

 

"And that is exactly what the Blessed need." Scott chuckled, his eyes beginning to droop.

 

"Can I ask you one more question," Steven said, sensing the time of questions was running out.

 

"Yes, I think I can answer one more," Scott whispered tiredly as he rested his head against Daryl.

 

"What's going to happen to Daryl and me?”

 

"He will love you as he's always has, but he's destined for another." Scott whispered.

 

"Who?” Steven demanded but it was already too late. Scott was deep asleep.

 

Holding Daryl in his arms, Steven rocked him as he cried uncontrollably. The moment he felt a weight lift off his shoulders for an even heavier one replace it. With the power that was now within him Steven knew who Daryl would end up with. In saving Daryl, Steven had lost him. The pain of reaching that realization was almost too much for him to bear. It would prove to be a much greater burden than the one he now carried as the new Father of the Blessed.

 

So consumed by grief, Steven did not notice two figures entering the room until one of them spoke.

 

"Finally, someone whose still awake," Adam said loudly.

 

Turing around Steven saw the two Gavin boys, Aaron wearing a worried look while Adam, dressed in Patrick's geisha outfit looked annoyed. "Come here you two, help me put your uncle back to bed."

 

With mostly Aaron's help, Adam didn’t want to mess up his makeup, Steven placed both Daryl and Scott into bed, covering them with a thick quilt.

 

"Do you know why everyone but us is asleep?"

 

"I do," Steven started to say, wanting to tell the twins everything Scott had told him, only to have his voice to leave him.

 

"Well?" Adam asked.

 

"I'll tell you when you're older," Steven said, not knowing why but knowing what he had said would prove to be true.

 

"Uncle Daryl looks happy at least, last time I saw him he looked like he was hurting," Aaron said from where he was sitting on the bed.

 

Looking at Daryl's face Steven saw that Aaron was right; Daryl's lips were smiling, and the furrow that once marked his forehead gone. "Your uncle is now free”

 

“Like how you freed us from the orphanage?" Aaron asked.

 

"Will they ever wake up?” Adam asked.

 

"They will, as soon as the wind of change stops blowing." Steven replied as he caressed Daryl's face, silently promising to the man he loved that he would live up to his responsibilities. He watched as Daryl and Scott snuggled closely to each other as they slept. It was as if the pair had been a couple of many long years.

 

Epilogue

 

The wind of change rarely comes but when it does it can have the power of a hurricane. The very moment Steven found his faith, a series of events were triggered, starting with the unexplainable disappearance of what had been believed to be over a trillion cubic feet of natural gas under the town of New Hope. Also on that day, federal warrants for the arrest of Brian Gano and his inner circle were issued. Many tried to flee but Brian, refusing to believe that his own downfall was nigh, was handcuffed and taken right from his pulpit screaming 'he lives,' over and over.

 

With Brian's arrest, the spell the Father had weaved over locals and outsiders alike was lifted. It was not long before the extent of the AIDS epidemic became front news worldwide.

 

Since the church coffers had been practically emptied by Brian's actions and Peter's embezzlement, only two people had the resources and the will to help the Blessed. That person was Daryl Gavin and Scott Whitmore. While Daryl was the one whose family the church had betrayed Daryl had been collecting 40 years-worth of gas royalties that when including interest had accumulated into a multi-billion dollar fortune.

 

While Daryl provided the resources and treated many of the sick, it was Steven who rose above the crowd to restore order to New Hope. After three years, and even against his protests, the Blessed declared Steven

Nash the Father by a unanimous vote and, just as Steven swore he would, he brought many changes to the church.

 

One thing remained a mystery to Steven however. Though Daryl eventually moved in with Scott after the former Governor won a seat in the Senate and moved to Washington, Steven was sure Daryl had yet to meet his one and true love. Then, on the day NM Mining finally closed their doors for good, a stranger arrived on the doorstep of the old Gavin ranch which had become Steven’s home.

 

The man’s very outdated clothes were a few inches too short, fitting poorly on his incredibly thin frame. The man's hair was light brown with a hint of gray and very long, as was his beard. Talking to the stranger Steven found the man very confused but certain that he belonged here. It was when Patrick handed the man a cup of coffee that Steven saw the scars that marred the man's wrists.

 

"Those bastards," Steven cursed, with rage and joy at the same time.

 

"What?" Patrick asked, confused.

 

"I think I know who our guest is. First call Tommy and tell him to get his ass over here. I want to see what this man looks like after he's cleaned up a bit."

 

"And what are you going to do,"

 

"I'm going to have a long talk with Stan." Steven said as he reached for his cell phone.

 

It took a lot of digging and the making several veiled and not so veiled threats but Steven eventually found out at least where their guest had come from. As it turned out, the man had been in a coma and had been receiving medical treatment from a hospital in Helena; only one doctor and a now elderly nurse knew of the man's identity. Five years ago, on the very same day the gas fields had vanished, their John Doe woke up. The man had then been transferred to a rehabilitation facility where, due to his physical and mental condition, he had remained until two weeks ago when NM Mining defaulted on his bill. It seemed the man had walked all the way from Helena back to New Hope without food, water, or protective clothing. The single most important fact Steven was able to discover was the man, now 37, had only been seventeen when first admitted to the clinic.

 

By the time he had all the information he could get from Stan, Patrick had been waiting frantically for his brother to get off the phone. "You won't believe who I think this person is!"

 

"Want to make a bet?” Steven chuckled.

 

"Have you called Daryl yet?"

 

"No, I need to see for myself." Steven insisted, going down to the basement where Tommy had been working on their guest.

 

Cut, shaved, and bathed, the man sat in front of Patrick's mirror, dressed in a white bathrobe. His cheeks were thin, his eyes sunken, and his arms and legs were as thin as toothpicks but the resemblance was strong.

 

"Well is he?" Patrick almost shouted.

 

"Call Daryl, but don't tell him anything other than he is to catch the next flight from DC and get back here," Steven said. Patrick dialed the number before his brother finished speaking.

 

Twenty four hours later Daryl came walking into the house. "What's up and it better be good. The White House correspondent dinner was last night and you knew how much Scott and I were looking forward to attend."

 

"We have a guest," Steven said as calmly as he could.

 

"Oh, anyone I know."

 

"You can say that," Patrick said, His eyelids were open so wide that his eyes looked like they might pop out.

 

"Is there something wrong? Who is it?" Daryl said, not blind to the tension in the room.

 

"Go sit down Dare." Steven suggested.

 

"Why? Brian didn't escape from the mental hospital, did he?"

       

"No, but I want you to be seated with what I am about to show you."

 

"But,"

 

"Are you trying to be difficult again? I thought we broke you of that habit," Steven grunted, pointing to the sofa.

 

"Sorry," Daryl said, finally sitting down as instructed.

 

It was a good thing Steven had Daryl sit, for their guest didn't get within ten feet of him before Daryl turned red as if he were choking and passed out. Recovering in less than a minute, he jumped up and screamed, causing their guest to do the same. For a while both Daryl and the guest circled around each other screaming at each other until the thin man charged Daryl and surprisingly tackled him. The two then rolled on the floor until they came to a sudden halt, the only sound being their mutual sobs, Daryl repeating the name of his long dead brother.

 

Whatever had happened to David, being reunited with his brother restore his memory. Over the coming months he slowly regained his memory and health thanks to Daryl's constant help and many long group sessions with Steven. By the time Adam and Aaron came home from college, David was back to being as close to his old self as Daryl ever remembered. Aaron automatically attached himself to his father but Adam remained skeptical.

 

One night while Steven was working late in his office, both brothers came into the room.

       

"Thank you," Aaron said, ever the polite one.

 

"Yeah thanks," Adam said less than enthusiastically.

 

"What for?" Steven asked, putting his pen down.

 

"For giving Uncle Daryl what he wanted more than anything, regardless of what it cost you," Aaron said, a tear running down the young man's face.

 

"I don't understand."

 

"For giving Uncle Daryl David back."

 

"I didn't give him back, the man came here on his own." Steven chuckled even as he felt a dull pain in his heart. Ever since David had come back, Daryl had less free time for him.

 

"No, he didn't," Aaron said with a wink.

 

"Want to tell me what your brother is tiptoeing around,” Steven said, looking at Adam.

 

Where Aaron was polite and always couched his words carefully when he spoke, Adam remained as blunt, and to the point, even when it was not appropriate. "Sure, I don't know why he won't go out and say it. He wants to thank you for being a fat assed cheater."

 

"What?" Steven said, even more confused.

 

"You're a cheater, you didn't give Daryl what he really wanted. You only gave him a photocopy, a facsimile, a clone. You could have had Uncle Daryl all to yourself eventually but because of some subconscious feelings of guilt you created David, version 2.0."

 

"I didn't!" Steven started to argue then he remembered what Scott had told him of Daryl's grandfather, the one who had created the gas fields that had been under New Hope and been created out of thin air when all their cattle had died.

 

"You did." Both Aaron and Adam insisted.

 

"Oh God, what if Daryl finds out?” Steven said as he ran his finger through his hair.

 

Seeing realization dawn of Steven, Aaron continued. "We don't know for certain, since we can't read minds, but both of us suspect Daryl already knows. Why do you think Uncle Daryl had those sessions with you? He wanted you to know everything he knew about his brother because what you know…"

 

"David would know," Steven sighed in disbelief. Scott had said Daryl was destined for another but Steven had never suspected that he would actually create the person out of thin air that Daryl would love above all others if not in a romantic sense. It proved one thing to Steven, he did not have as much control over his powers as he first believed. "Will stuff like this happen often?” Steven asked worriedly. "Us changing the very fabric of reality?"

 

"We don't know, all we know for sure is that this is only the beginning." Aaron replied.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"David," both brothers replied before Adam took over. "He is much stronger than any of us."

 

How can that be, I created him."

       

"Yes, because you inherited Scott's power, you are much stronger than us since we both have to share what power Uncle Daryl once had. David is different. You created him out of pure need, pure faith, pure energy. He is therefore as powerful as the original Gavins who were the one who saved the Blessed from the blizzard over a 120 years ago."

 

"Is that a good thing or bad?" Steven asked, unsure which way it was himself.

 

"It all depends," Aaron sighed.

 

"On what?" Steven demanded.

 

"On the only person David or you really care about." Adam whispered.

 

"On Daryl?"

 

"Yes." The brothers replied.

 

"Is this… is this another test,” Steven asked, his voice trembling. When it came to the power Daryl and Scott and Steven himself possessed, tests of any sort were always bad as far as he was concerned.

 

"It is, the final one." Aaron whispered, his voice barely audible.

 

"How soon?" Steven asked, his heart beating with a deep thump as his face became flushed.

 

"Soon," a third voice said as David walked into the room. Steven did not even make it to his feet before he fell unconscious on top of his desk.

 

David, dismissing the brothers, took out his cell phone and dialed the hospital. "Hello, the Father just had a heart attack; please send an ambulance right away."

 

Scott had said Daryl’s power would only return if the need was great enough and he had no other choice. It was time to put that theory to the test.