Chapter 37

I had barely finished breakfast when I noticed that Hershel hadn’t been seen for several minutes, making me wonder what in the world was going on with my elder brother. That was when I got up and looked for him myself, following my gut instincts, which led me straight to the man. He was in the middle of beating Bruce up, which made sense from a bully’s perspective, as Bruce was one of the few people still physically weak enough to suffer such things without being able to fight back. He had juvenile diabetes and lost some vision due to insulin shortages, so was vulnerable compared to Hershel.

I was livid, grabbing Hershel by the ears and dragging him out of the study where I located him. I gestured for Bruce to follow, so everyone could see that Bruce had been abused in such a fashion. I wasn’t the only one furious, of course. As his mother, Wendy Schumacher (my wives and husbands increasingly took my surname) was spitting mad, and so was his half-sister, Mira, one of my older daughters.

“Kill him. Fuck the castration! I want his ass dead now!” I bellowed angrily and Marcy nodded.

“Yes, that’s what God wants, too. He’s had his chances to reform and he hasn’t done so. He must die. Hershel Schumacher, in the name of Almighty God and His True Prophet, the Lawgiver Mark T. Schumacher, I hereby sentence you to death. Just be glad that you’re not going to be sent to Hell, as it doesn’t exist anymore,” Marcy coldly declared as Hershel fell to his knees.

“Please, spare me! Don’t slay me! For the sake of our love, Marcy ... save me!” Hershel groveled to her.

“Our love is dead, Hershel. You killed it, years ago ... and now I shall kill you,” Marcy said as she drew her flaming sword and smote him dead ... his body falling lifelessly as Bruce watched in shock.

Hershel’s corpse then burst into flames, much to my astonishment, but not Marcy’s, as she had seen the consequences before. I was in a daze for a second, until Bruce and Marcy both embraced me. Bruce, evidently, didn’t blame me for what Marcy did to Hershel, and why would he? This was justice and everyone here knew it. Of course, he would be resurrected and regain his private parts, but he would be absolutely subservient to me forever after that.

“Alright, let’s bring him back,” I told Marcy as Hershel’s spirit rose above his corpse.

I was at least familiar with the process by now, having gained what were essentially undead playthings or whatever from it already quite a few times. They were ... undead, not mindless, so not zombies per se, capable of reasoning, but incapable of disobedience. In all other ways, they were as normal as undead folks could be, but they lacked independence from me. They could actually disobey others, just not me. I owned them now, controlled them, bent them to my will. They all had the telltale Mark of Mark, the seal in the form of a reddish asterisk above their butts to prove their fealty to me.

“Okay, time for another major move on my part. Since it’s my birthday, I can spend it however I wish, not that I couldn’t already do what I please, anyway. So, my friends, I want Ninve and Sandra to kneel before me now. I have my reasons,” I announced to the tribe, who were eager to hear my plans.

Both of my Assyrian lionesses knelt before me, truly curious of my intentions. I laid my hands upon them, having felt a distinct guidance or inspiration that strongly hinted of Divine Providence. There, naked as we were, bestowed my blessing and favor upon them. I gave them their ordination and commission as Elders in the Church of Haven.

“As Prophet and Lawgiver of the King of Heaven, I ordain and authorize you, Ninve and Sandra Schumacher, to be the first Elders of the Church of Haven, commissioned to propagate and uphold the civilization that is returning through our faith and our community. I further ordain and authorize you to hold the rank of Priestess in said Church, to perform the rites and ordinances thereof, to the benefit of all and sundry within our new society,” I proclaimed, much to their delight and gratitude.

“You may rise,” I informed the ladies and they both rose to plant sweet kisses on my mouth, tears flowing down their cheeks.

“So, the first two Elders of your new Church are women! Take that, misogynist St. Paul!” Rachel laughed as she took in the significance of appointing female clergy.

“They have seniority, having been with me continuously the longest. They earned it,” I answered with a wink, “next, let’s have Nydia and Cherry. Kneel, my loves.”

Naturally, the mother-daughter pair knelt in a hurry, knowing exactly what to expect from me.

“As Prophet and Lawgiver of the King of Heaven, I ordain and authorize you, Nydia and Cheryl Schumacher, to be Elders of the Church of Haven, commissioned to propagate and uphold the civilization that is returning through our faith and our community. I further ordain and authorize you to hold the rank of Priestess in said Church, to perform the rites and ordinances thereof, to the benefit of all and sundry within our new society,” I repeated almost verbatim the same words of investiture.

“You may rise,” I told my first wife and my stepdaughter, both of them tickled pink as they proved with kisses of their own.

“Oh, this is getting good!” Marcy exclaimed, especially once I gestured toward our daughter, Shelby.

“Kneel, my firstborn daughter,” I instructed Shelby, who happily did.

“As Prophet and Lawgiver of the King of Heaven, I ordain and authorize you, Shelby Schumacher, to be an Elder of the Church of Haven, commissioned to propagate and uphold the civilization that is returning through our faith and our community. I further ordain and authorize you to hold the rank of Priestess in said Church, to perform the rites and ordinances thereof, to the benefit of all and sundry within our new society,” I intoned now, granting my firstborn daughter ecclesiastical authority at last.

“You may rise,” I told Shelby, as she stood up and kissed me hungrily on the lips.

“So, do I get to be called Reverend Shelby Schumacher now?” she teased me, both of us laughing.

“I prefer to be called Sister Ninve myself,” Ninve interjected.

“You can use Sister, Mother, or Reverend as you please, ladies. This is a new church. We’re making up the rules as we go,” I reminded them.

“Okay, Sister Ninve it is. How about you, Sandra?” Ninve asked Sandra.

“Sister Sandra then,” Sandra agreed.

“Sister Shelby then,” Shelby went along with the Catholic-flavored familial title instead of the more Protestant-sounding ministerial one.

“Sister Nydia has a nice ring to it, yes,” Nydia added her assent to the notion.

“And I am Brother Mark, then?” I thought aloud.

“No, dear, you’re Father. Who else could you be? Father Mark sounds best,” Cherry countered.

“I agree. He’s the only one worthy of the title ‘Father,’ but in that case, you should be ‘Mother Cherry,’ if you ask me,” Nydia insisted.

“I agree with that. It beats ‘Mother Cheryl,’ if you want my opinion. In fact, I want to legally change my first name from Cheryl to Cherry. Any objections?” Cherry suggested.

“I like it. The name has been yours for ages and suits you better. You’re as rich and sweet as a cherry, after all,” I told her with another kiss that included a lot of tongue this time.

“So, I’m ‘Mother Cherry,’ Mark’s ‘Father Mark,’ and the rest of you are sisters. I like the very filial tone of these titles so far. Are these the only ordinations today or are there more coming?” Cherry asked aloud now.

“Far from it. Josie, Jeanne, kneel next,” I commanded the couple, who eagerly took their places at my feet.

“As Prophet and Lawgiver of the King of Heaven, I ordain and authorize you, Josie and Jeanne Schumacher, to be Elders of the Church of Haven, commissioned to propagate and uphold the civilization that is returning through our faith and our community. I further ordain and authorize you to hold the rank of Priestess in said Church, to perform the rites and ordinances thereof, to the benefit of all and sundry within our new society,” I formally invested that couple within my harem with the priesthood and eldership now.

“Rise, ladies,” I told them, as the first ever transgender priestess of my church and her cisgender bride rose to kiss me in happiness and gratitude.

“Sisters Josie and Jeanne. That has a nice dynamic duo sound to it, doesn’t it?” Shelby commented as she hugged both women.

“Indeed it does. Next, Ana and Teresa. Kneel, my sweet ladies,” I ordered them, being very pleased with their eagerness to comply with my instructions.

“As Prophet and Lawgiver of the King of Heaven, I ordain and authorize you, Ana and Teresa Schumacher, to be Elders of the Church of Haven, commissioned to propagate and uphold the civilization that is returning through our faith and our community. I further ordain and authorize you to hold the rank of Priestess in said Church, to perform the rites and ordinances thereof, to the benefit of all and sundry within our new society,” I added my first Navajo and Filipina clerics to the bunch, two ladies who had been with me for a good long time now.

“Rise, ladies,” I repeated my earlier words, both women kissing me ardently in response as they rose.

“Sisters Ana and Teresa. They always did everything together, didn’t they?” Ninve teased the pair, not that they minded what was manifest truth.

“Alright, next, we have Lucy, Ashley, Heather, and Erica. Girls, kneel. You’ll be ordained as a family, as you should be,” I directed the family foursome, who gladly complied.

“As Prophet and Lawgiver of the King of Heaven, I ordain and authorize you, Lucy, Ashley, Erica, and Heather Schumacher, to be Elders of the Church of Haven, commissioned to propagate and uphold the civilization that is returning through our faith and our community. I further ordain and authorize you to hold the rank of Priestess in said Church, to perform the rites and ordinances thereof, to the benefit of all and sundry within our new society,” I declared the quad to be my clergywomen at last.

“Rise, each of you ladies,” I commanded the four of them, each of them rising quickly to kiss my mouth with passion.

“Sisters Lucy, Ashley, Erica, and Heather ... quite the combo!” Josie remarked, “I love that there are now two, mind you, two transgender priestesses!”

“That there are. Next, let’s appoint Jannat. Kneel, Jannat,” I instructed Jannat, who enthusiastically knelt in reverence for me.

“As Prophet and Lawgiver of the King of Heaven, I ordain and authorize you, Jannat Schumacher, to be an Elder of the Church of Haven, commissioned to propagate and uphold the civilization that is returning through our faith and our community. I further ordain and authorize you to hold the rank of Priestess in said Church, to perform the rites and ordinances thereof, to the benefit of all and sundry within our new society,” I intoned now, giving the Lebanese beauty the kind of clerical authority that would rival anything that her old imams had.

“Rise, sweetheart,” I told her, knowing that she still viewed me as her personal savior.

“Sister Jannat. Oh, my, her family wouldn’t like that, which is another reason to love it,” Sandra winked at Jannat and me.

“Yeah, apostates are us,” Jannat winked back at her, “let them try to execute me for it! Good luck with that! I own my fucking apostasy! I would do anything for Father Mark. He’s my hero!”

“Arab bride for a Jewish prophet. How’s that for fun!” Wendy noted with glee.

“Indeed. Now, next up is Max. How about it, Maximus?” I teased him a little as I told him, “kneel!”

Max knelt gladly, being rather ready to be the first male cleric of the Church other than myself now.

“As Prophet and Lawgiver of the King of Heaven, I ordain and authorize you, Max Schumacher, to be an Elder of the Church of Haven, commissioned to propagate and uphold the civilization that is returning through our faith and our community. I further ordain and authorize you to hold the rank of Priest in said Church, to perform the rites and ordinances thereof, to the benefit of all and sundry within our new society,” I now made Shelby’s first husband, my son-in-law, the first man to receive the blessing of ordination from me.

“Rise, Brother Max,” I told him now, getting a kiss from him as well ... luckily, we were both omnisexual.

“Brother Max sounds about right. Welcome to the priesthood, my dear,” Shelby told her first hubby, the one who apparently knocked her up, too.

“Next, we’ll have Anton and Tamara together. Kneel, both of you,” I commanded the Serbian siblings, who happily knelt to share the experience.

“As Prophet and Lawgiver of the King of Heaven, I ordain and authorize you, Anton and Tamara Schumacher, to be Elders of the Church of Haven, commissioned to propagate and uphold the civilization that is returning through our faith and our community. I further ordain and authorize you to hold the rank of Priest and Priestess in said Church, to perform the rites and ordinances thereof, to the benefit of all and sundry within our new society,” I formally commissioned the brother-sister duo now.

“Rise, Brother Anton and Sister Tamara,” I told the pair, both of them slipping me some tongue in a three-way kiss that made it obvious that they shared my affections even now.

“Rachel, Katrina, you know what to do. Kneel,” I instructed my sister and her bride, neither of them doubting for a second my intentions.

“As Prophet and Lawgiver of the King of Heaven, I ordain and authorize you, Rachel and Katrina Schumacher, to be Elders of the Church of Haven, commissioned to propagate and uphold the civilization that is returning through our faith and our community. I further ordain and authorize you to hold the rank of Priestess in said Church, to perform the rites and ordinances thereof, to the benefit of all and sundry within our new society,” I empowered my elder sister and her gorgeous Indian bride at last.

“Rise, Sis ... and Kat,” I ordered my sister and personal trainer, both of them rising to kiss me with considerable heat.

“Thank you, baby brother ... Father Mark, too. Still gonna call you the former now and then, Bro. Just know that, okay? I am so proud of you, my brother, the Lawgiver and Prophet!” Rachel then knelt again briefly to kiss the head of my cock before rising once more.