The Story

Chapter One

Stanton Falls, NJ. June 2005. The explosion was better than Decker expected. Proof of his success flickered brightly, wildly in his eyes. After a few seconds the reflection grew even stronger, more brilliant. His pupils glistened as though they alone housed the flames. For the bomber, the sound, the entire blast, in fact, unfolded the way it always did – in slow motion. Burnt, flaming pieces of the man’s body were strewn chaotically, landed forcefully, making for a perfect scene of horror. With this bomb he thought, he’d gotten it just right. Just enough damage, just enough force, just enough death. One death in fact, only one. It was important that he focus on one person at a time. Mass killings wouldn’t serve his purpose, that wouldn’t send the right message. The message being: if you kill babies you’re going to die. It was that simple and that’s what happened. No more Doctor Paul Asdin, MD, OB/GYN, physician, father, husband, brother, son, abortionist, baby killer.

Kyle Adolph Decker watched from a distance, witness to the mortal chaos he’d unleashed. He remained only feet from where an arm had landed against the back fence, the blown out kitchen now reduced to rubble. Seconds earlier, having come downstairs for a glass of water the doctor had stood gazing out into the darkness. Each night, after putting his two-year-old daughter Ivy to bed he would enter the kitchen, get a glass from the cupboard and pour some water. You could see him clearly from the outside if you hid behind the garden fence, stalking the man like a fiend. If you watched him week after week you couldn’t help but notice how predictable he was, how he would arrive to stare out that window each night around eight-thirty p.m. Silhouetted from a light above the sink Asdin would stand in front of that large, kitchen window, the one overlooking a flower box of brightly colored geraniums whose petals were so red they looked like they were blood soaked.
From the first night he arrived, Kyle Adolph Decker studied his intended mark carefully paying attention to every detail, deciding when would be the best moment to strike. All the time he took surveilling his target, all the care he spent paid off. It had been well worth it. Viewing the aftermath, basking in the resulting human carnage and material destruction his jaw dropped in awe of the utter devastation. He wasn’t smiling exactly but he was happy inside. He felt good inside, inside his gut. He hadn’t eaten much today, hardly anything yesterday, but at that moment he felt full. Inside his body he felt strong. Avenging evil and protecting the innocent made him feel invincible. He was content, too, because he knew God was smiling down at him.