The Shepherd X

"For there will be a great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, nor ever shall be."

— Matthew 24:21

Part I – The Face of Hell

It was night. The moon hid behind black clouds.

In an abandoned warehouse north of the city, Lorenzo Marquez stood calmly watching as his men dragged in five underage girls. All between twelve and fourteen years old. They trembled. Wept. Some were already bruised.

"What is this?" one of them asked, voice trembling. "Please… let me go."

Lorenzo took a step forward. Dressed in a black suit, white shirt, red tie — like a king receiving his subjects.

"You are property," he said coldly. "Not people. You have no names. Only value."

One girl screamed. A slap from one of his henchmen silenced her.

"Today is not just any day," Lorenzo continued. "Today is proof. Today is business. Today is lesson."

He pointed at a blonde girl with blue eyes. The youngest. Barely twelve.

"She disobeyed," he announced. "She ran away. She tried to call the police. She showed mercy."

The other girls stepped back.

"Who else among you shows mercy?"

No one answered.

Lorenzo nodded.

"Good. Then witness what happens when discipline fails."

Two of his men brought gas cans. They soaked the floor. The walls. The girl's clothes.

She begged. Screamed. Cried.

"I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"

Lorenzo pulled out a lighter. Lit it slowly.

"May God forgive you," he said. "Because I won't."

He threw the flame.

The girl's scream was the first thing to vanish.

Everything after that… was only agony.

The others watched. Motionless. Breathless.

When it was over, Lorenzo wiped his hands with a white handkerchief.

"This is how they learn," he said. "This is how the strong survive. The weak… burn."

Part II – City of Shadows

Meanwhile, Lucas and Rebecca had taken a train to a neighboring city — Brooklyn Heights , where rumors suggested The Pastor had once acted before appearing in New York.

"Do you have any idea how many churches there are here?" Lucas asked, reviewing maps.

"But only one has that style," Rebecca replied. "A pastor who preaches love… but kills with scripture."

They walked through silent streets. Old houses. Flickering streetlights like tired eyes.

In a small evangelical church, they found something disturbing: a mural on the back wall, almost erased by time.

It read:

"For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come."

— Isaiah 63:4

Rebecca wrote down the address. Lucas took photos.

"This isn't coincidence," she whispered. "It's a signature. He leaves signs for those who know how to read them."

Lucas nodded.

"If he's coming for Lorenzo… we need to find him first."

Part III – The Night Mission

It was 3:00 AM.

Tonight, Samuel and Mateo hunted Ricardo Vega , one of Lorenzo Marquez's top contacts in Brooklyn. He had been involved in kidnapping and selling teenagers. Known for wearing a silver mask during his operations.

He was hiding in an abandoned house with two armed guards.

"We make this fast," Samuel said. "And clean."

Mateo nodded. His hands didn't shake anymore. His gaze was cold. Calculated.

They entered from the rear. Silent. Swift.

One guard barely raised his gun before Mateo drove a blade into his neck. Blood splattered the wall. Mateo didn't look away.

Samuel handled the second man. Snapped his neck with a precise strike. Not a sound.

Finally, Ricardo Vega stood alone.

"Confess Jesus Christ as your Savior," Samuel ordered. "Or die in vain."

"I do! I do!" Ricardo cried. "Forgive me!"

Samuel stared at him.

"Then receive your judgment."

Mateo stepped forward. With his own hands, he fired the shot.

Samuel observed him.

"You've killed," he said. "Now, mark your verse."

Mateo opened the Bible. Flipped pages. Found one.

"And I saw the Lamb standing in the midst of the throne. And one of the four living creatures gave to the four angels power to harm the earth and sea, saying, 'Do not harm the grass of the earth until we seal our God's servants on their foreheads.'"

— Revelation 7:2-3

But Mateo didn't write that.

He paused. Closed his eyes. Reopened the book. Chose another verse.

"For behold, I am bringing fire upon Tyre, which will devour its palaces."

— Amos 1:10

With blood, he wrote it across the corpse's forehead.

Samuel studied him carefully.

"You're no longer a disciple," he said. "You're a soldier."

Mateo didn't answer. He simply closed the Bible.

"Let's go," he said. "There's still much to do."

Part IV – The Soul That Burns

Back at the mansion, Lorenzo walked among the charred bodies. The scent of burning flesh filled the air.

One of his men beside him looked uneasy.

"Sir… wasn't that too much?"

Lorenzo glared at him.

"Compassion is weakness. Doubt is betrayal. Life is currency. And they were worth nothing."

He turned to another of his men.

"I want every new arrival to see this. Let them know that escape is death. No one finds salvation outside me."

"And if someone tries to stop us?"

Lorenzo smiled.

"Let them come. Let them see who the real devil is."

He lit a cigar with the still-warm embers of one of the victims.

"Let The Pastor come. I'd love to show him what real hell looks like."

Part V – The Flame That Doesn't Die

That same night, Mateo couldn't sleep.

He sat alone in the sacristy. Before him, the open Bible. His fingers traced the pages like someone searching for answers he no longer wanted to find.

Finally, he stopped.

"And let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."

— Revelation 3:21

He closed his eyes.

"Are we conquerors… or executioners?"

Footsteps approached behind him.

"We are those who do what others cannot," Samuel said. "That makes us more than men."

Mateo looked up.

"Angels or demons?"

Samuel didn't answer right away.

"That depends on who judges us."

A long silence followed.

"Tomorrow," Samuel said, "another mission. This time in the next city. Lorenzo is spreading his reach. We must cut it before it strangles more innocents."

Mateo nodded.

"I'll be ready."

Samuel looked at him one last time before leaving.

"Take care, son. Because the closer you get to the light… the darker your shadow becomes."

Part VI – The Fire That Does Not Die

The next day, at San Mateo Orphanage , a social worker noticed something strange.

"Mateo hasn't come in days," he said. "Does anyone know where he is?"

An elderly woman shook her head.

"He's been different lately. Talks about justice. About punishment. About serving God… in another way."

The worker frowned.

"I'll find out what's going on."

But it was already too late.

Mateo was no longer the boy who sought comfort.

He was now The Pastor's disciple .

"For the Son of Man is coming in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works."

— Matthew 16:27