Chapter 19
The Deadly Assignment
Alex heard the TV come on early in the morning. He thought how strange it was for Abigail to be up so early: it was 3 a.m. He thought through his sleepiness just how much he liked her. It was compelling. The e-mail about the oath was cold water on his own emotions, but it didn't stop him from enjoying being near her. They hadn't had another time like that since. It was if they both wanted to forget about it—but knew they couldn't. There was a softness in their talk and actions, now. There was extra care, even about making a cup of coffee for each other, which included cooking or cleaning up the kitchen together. They participated in small courteous things but no more shoulder rubs, although Alex thought about it a lot.
Alex knew how he looked; reality was always a mirror away. He also knew that Abigail was very attractive, even though her pagan ways aggravated him. He admired her strong individualism, and she wasn't about to be pushed into anything; Alex knew it. He never did, and this attracted her to him. He had been thinking about the possibilities of Abigail and him as an item. He daydreamed about what it would be like to have her around all the time. Unknown to him, Abigail was thinking the same things.
"Hey, you old goat, what are you doing up so early?" yelled Abigail while walking past Alex's room, then watching him stumbling towards the door wrapped in his bathrobe. Abigail took the time to slip into some jeans this time, not wanting to take a chance losing her bathrobe again.
"I'm not. I thought it was you," he replied. "Does it have a timer on it?"
"If it does, I don't know how to work it. Must been have triggered by accident. Since we're up, you want some coffee or hot cocoa, Alex?" she asked as she smiled at him. Saying his name was her way of saying "dear," but he never knew.
Alex noticed but shrugged it off as incidental. He was actually getting used to being called Gov. and kind-of liked the pet name. They walked towards the kitchen, which was across from the room they called the lounge: it was a small room with an extra TV in it.
Alex saw Caleb first and commented, "Oh boy, intuition is here."
"What did you say?" she asked, and then saw Caleb sitting in the recliner in front of the TV while watching the three stooges.
"Hey guys, you got to see this show. I love these guys. Heaven doesn't have much humor like that. Come on in and sit down a spell," he said with a perfect Southern drawl.
Alex walked in leaving Abigail standing in the hall peering in. She couldn't believe her eyes. Caleb was sitting with his wings expanded looking a little uncomfortable but enjoying its effect. She moved to the edge of the door and passed out. The next thing Abigail knew was a cold washcloth on her face, and both Caleb and Alex staring at her as she came to.
"I think she'll recover although that bruise on her face needs to go," said Caleb as he reached for her face with his hand. She pulled away from him and felt a sharp pain shooting up her face to the top of her head.
"Please, Abigail, give me a break. I'm not here to hurt you. Just let me touch your face for a second and the pain will stop."
She relaxed only slightly and jumped as Caleb touched her, then felt the peace of God rush over her. She had never felt that way in her life. She didn't want it to go away; and when he removed his hand, it did. The pain was gone.
"You're an honest-to-God angel, aren't you? You really are," she replied as she sat up staring with some embarrassment for her fainting spell. Caleb sat back down after turning the TV off, and Alex continued to sit with Abigail.
"Are you okay?" asked Alex.
"Yes, yes, in fact I feel quite well. Mr. Oral Robert's Fingers could go into business with a touch like that. So, you finally came to visit Pendwight's niece? Aren't you a little nervous about that?" asked Abigail sarcastically.
Caleb frowned in disgust, and Abigail noticed. "Uh, oh, what's my uncle up to now?" she asked while thinking that a frown like that couldn't be good.
"You have no idea what terrible harm that man is doing. He's working for Apollyon now. He's going to have a lot of blood on his hands soon. More than he wants. He's joined up with the President's wife, Cassidy. Let's just say that's the main reason I'm here," he replied seriously, and Abigail got a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew exactly who Apollyon was; and wondered, why her Uncle would go that far astray.
"Why would he do that? I know he didn't believe in the fanatics. Why go so far as to work for Apollyon? Does he know that he is? Could he just be naive?" she said while shaking her head in dismay.
"He knows. A dark angel helped him get into the position as the President's advisor. He knows exactly what he's doing and who Cassidy is too."
"Cassidy, the President's wife? What does she have to do with anything?" asked Abigail, mystified.
"I can see that we have some additional briefing to do. Let me say that there are two contending for the Anti-Christ position, right now. Their wives are instrumental in trying to get their husbands to be the one who wins. The President is one, and Montplier is the other. Cassidy is a Nephilim born of an angel and a human. Angelica is a dark angel who's over 5000 years old. They are competing for the prize. That's why I'm here. The way they are competing is with the blood of the saints. They are killing and will be killing more believers."
"My uncle is working for a witch? A witch who is trying to kill people? Man, has he ever slid down that slippery slope. Can't anyone stop him? How about you angels doing it? Can't you stop it?"
"Not exactly. We don't have authority and power like before. Darkness has fallen. The Holy Spirit has pulled back. It can save believers, but the total freedom of the Holy Spirit is gone now. We are restricted. Kind of like having our hands tied. Tied by Apollyon, and he knows it. I'm having difficulty staying on earth, even now. I feel the darkness pushing me back into heaven. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold on."
He continued, not losing his concentration while rocking easily in the leather recliner. "The only reason I've been able to move so freely is because I took on another shape and look. I have to stay incognito as much as possible. But, that isn't the case with humans. They can move about with proper discretion and get to where we can't. Our presence would be noticed if a dark angel got close enough to us. Both sides put out a certain aura, dark or light. Does that make sense?"
"So you can use humans to get the job done, right?" asked Alex while putting the pieces together as his business mind worked all the angles.
"Yes, that's right. Abigail, we've chosen you and Alex to help two young kids and a dog on their journey soon. They will be here in a couple of days. I'm going to give you instructions for them and let you explain the mission. Don't be surprised at their reaction. Just trust the Lord that it will work out. I know you haven't given your life to the Lord yet, Abigail. I want you to seriously consider it. Only one of the two coming your way is a believer."
"Which one is the dog?" chuckled Abigail. "Man, you must be desperate, using us heathens too," she replied, then laughed even harder.
"We are desperate. The dog, Nicodemus, is a Holy Ghost dog according to everyone who knows him. He's as important to our plan as the kids. See, we are using just about everyone or thing."
"What's the mission?" asked Abigail, almost afraid to ask.
"If I tell you, I'll have to kill you," he responded, then turned away from them as he laughed. "Isn't that a human joke? Did I do it okay? We angels don't have a good sense of humor."
Abigail laughed; and finally, Alex joined in while getting it a little late, "Yes, that was fine, Caleb. Are all angels as good looking as you?" asked Abigail seductively.
"Hey, I'm jealous. You're flirting with him," Alex replied, then poked her in her ribs and watched her giggle, then turned red faced.
"Don't worry, Gov. I'm all yours. You know that," she said, then put her hand over her mouth and gasped at what she had said. It was her own secret, and she just blew it. "You know what I mean. No one else around, right, Gov," she replied while trying
to recover from her mistake; but noticed Alex smiling in loving recognition.
"You two are definitely an item. More importantly, you have to get ready for the kids. They'll need at least a week of rest before they head out again. Just take care of them. I don't want them to know about their mission until just before they leave. I don't want them thinking about it too much. We just need them to do it."
"You didn't say what it was," commented Alex as he took out a pad of paper to take down notes.
Caleb went silent for a moment. He raised his hand with his palm upward. He was asking a question and getting instructions. He put his hand in his lap and continued to sit in silence. Abigail started to dread his response. Alex couldn't imagine what could cause Caleb to act so serious. It was scaring him too.
"God wants these two kids to murder Cassidy, the President's wife," he said flatly and leaned back into his chair while waiting for the response. There wasn't one. Both of them were so shocked that they couldn't speak.
Finally, Abigail said in a whisper, "God wants us to be part of killing someone? What kind of God would ask us to help do something like that?" She put her face in her hands and shook all over. This was scaring her way too much. She got up to go to her room when Caleb stopped her.
"Abigail, you're not killing a human. You're killing a dark Nephilim. It's not the same. Cassidy is half dark angel. What's worse, she is half Dar-Raven. Dar-Raven was the most evil and cold-blooded dark angel in existence. His blood rages through her veins. She is planning on killing millions of believers all at once. She is going to try to nuke every believer commune in the United States within the next month. Do you understand? One Nephilim dead will save millions of lives. Don't you think that's a fair exchange?"
Abigail sat down and continued to shake. Alex reached over and held her as she sobbed into his chest. She never answered, but the fact that she sat down again was the answer Caleb needed. She had agreed.
Alex was struck by the mention of Dar Raven. Dar Raven was a personal plague to him not too long ago while Apollyon was trying to kidnap thousands of children in Nashville.
Still, Alex asked so pragmatically, "How?"
“Think about what is in each of the rooms we prepared for you. There's a Colt 45 with two bullets. There is specialty supplies that doesn't make sense. The expandable raft is for a river crossing. There are maps of West Virginia and a detailed map of where the new White House resides. There are a hundred pairs of jeans for bartering. There are also several items for the dog, which I'm sure until now you couldn't figure out."
"What if they don't want to do it?" asked Alex flatly.
"They have to. Explain the odds. I can't be involved in it too much. I'm too close to the girl, Sal. It has to be her decision. I've probably influenced her too much already. It must be a human decision. Jeff won't care. He'll think it's a great adventure. He'll go just to protect Sal. Nicodemus is just going along for the ride. He'll be important later."
"Millions of people?" replied Abigail while acting rather pragmatic herself for a moment.
"Many newborns?” whispered Abigail and saw Caleb’s affirming nod.
"I'd kill her myself to save a baby," and she pulled her finger up and made a sound like a gun going off.
"You don't have to. The pieces to God's puzzle are already figured out. Well, I think I'm going to drink some coffee and stay awhile. I'd like to watch some more of the three stooges. Do you mind?" he asked while watching them nod "no" and remaining quiet.
Caleb left at the end of the day, but remained in his angel form without his wings expanded. He was enjoying his normal form and not having to be the crazy black man for longer than he wanted.
The Kids
Sal enjoyed watching the pastor introducing Irish to everyone. He would approach his friends and say, "This is an angel named Irish. She looks just like my wife did when I last saw her. Beth, meet my friend John. John meet my wife, Beth." He was like a little kid again. Nikki didn't stay with the pastor anymore but followed Sal everywhere. It was obvious that she was his new owner. The gauntlet had been passed. Nicodemus seemed to sense the change, the plan, and the reality of the pastor leaving. Sal thought about that for a moment and shook slightly while getting spooked by it.
Jeff was gathering things to put into his Hummer, and the guards had put together enough gas to top his tanks out including giving him three 20-gallon army gas containers full. Jeff didn't like rushing and felt like getting a head start on preparing for the trip. He was able to hide his hunting knife strapped to his pant leg and borrow a couple sets of camouflage fatigues. He also stole a M16 from the supply hut with three cartridges of ammunition. His fatigues were almost too big, but they made him feel a little more macho than usual. He liked the fact that he was traveling with Sal. He didn't care one way or another about Nikki. He just made sure he didn't touch him.
"Well, Jeff, you look like you've got it all together," replied Caleb in his crazy man disguise.
"Holy cow, you scared the life out of me. Don't you ever knock?" asked Jeff while grabbing his chest and faking a heart attack.
"I need to be more careful with that, don't I?" he replied, then looked around for Sal.
"I have a map of where I want you to go. I want you to leave at one tomorrow morning. The roads should be clear. When you get to the Dechard exit, head through Cowan and up Monteagle to Sewanee. There's a cathedral on campus that is barely standing—All Saints. Don't go into it. It's dangerous. Where you need to go is directly behind All Saints off of University Avenue. You'll need to put on these oxygen masks when you get near Cowan. The livestock clutter on the road smells terrible. It will keep you from throwing up, unless you want to."
"That's a pleasant thought. What about radiation?"
"You won't be above ground that long. The Reims have already been significantly reduced. We still cause easterly breezes to push back a lot of it. We'll continue. Alex and Abigail are hiding under an old church and have your instructions with additional supplies. Jeff, I'm depending on you to be strong during this. When you get your instructions, Sal will be very upset. You've got to help her through it. We angels are having more and more difficulty staying on earth. The darkness is accelerating into every nook and cranny of earth. It's keeping us locked out many times."
"So you won't be around much, huh?" he asked and felt better about this trip already. "Not as much competition," he thought.
"I've got to go say goodbye to Sal. You two need to get some sleep. You have a long night ahead of you."
Sal saw him walking towards her and even his disguise didn't prevent her from running into his arms. He kissed her forehead very politely, and she grabbed his face, "Change your face, Caleb. Just your face." He obeyed, and she planted a passionate kiss on him. Nikki started baying again in response.
"Sal, you're sure making this very hard. We're having trouble staying on earth. I'll be a little distanced from you two for the next week or so. Once you have completed your mission, the darkness will ease up a little, and I'll be able to appear more frequently. I've got to go. Can't you see me losing my image a little? This is very difficult for me. I've got to go," he said as he felt his angel form disappearing.
Before he disappeared, he whispered to her, "I love you, Sal. I love you."
Sal was as shocked at his disappearance as his declaration of love. She said with her hand moving through the air where he had been, "I love you too, Caleb."
Nikki grabbed her pant leg and pulled her towards Irish. Irish was also feeling the darkness pushing at her angel form. As Sal approached her, she could tell from the look on her face that Sal was more than just a little infatuated with Caleb. She was hook, line, and sinker in love with him. Thousands of years of learning human body language taught her that much. She was a little disappointed in Caleb, but it didn't last long. After all, Caleb hadn't taken a human wife since he was created. Just because this one was a teenager was insignificant. H
e was over 5000 years old, and she was 18. Couldn't get much more different than that. So, what's the deal if she had been 30, the difference was always too great anyway.
"What's wrong with Nikki?" asked Sal while being pulled towards Irish and the pastor.
"He knows I've got to go. So do you, pastor. The darkness is pushing me back into heaven. Nikki just wanted to say goodbye. That's all."
The pastor knelt down and hugged Nikki, "My wonderful Holy Ghost dog. You've been such a joy. Keep Sal safe for me, will you? You know how important she is," he said as he continued to rub his ears with tears running down his face.
Irish pulled on the pastor's shirtsleeve. "No more tears pastor, ever. Your Beth is waiting. It's time to go."
"Aren't I going to die, first," he asked.
"Not necessary. You've been living a continuous, new sanctified life for God. Let's do an Enoch, okay?" she announced, and they both disappeared together. Sal ran towards Jeff after having seen Irish and the pastor go.
"What happened to them?" asked Jeff.
Sal rather perky answered, "Irish said they were going to do an Enoch. Whatever that is. I'll have my stuff packed in a second. We're off on a great journey. Isn't it exciting?"
Jeff was still puzzled by it all and remained serious. "I have instructions from Caleb. We can't leave until one tomorrow morning. Take your stuff and put it in the Hummer. We're gassed up and ready to go. Why don't you get some rest? We have a long night ahead."
Sal thought, "Rest, sleep? I've just been told by a beautiful angel that he loves me. How can I rest? Although, I could dream. He could come to me in my dreams. He did it before."
"Yes, you're right. I think I'll get some sleep," she replied as she skipped towards her room.
Dangerous Ground
The commune stretched beyond some rolling hills to the main Woodbury road. In a ditch facing the commune, were three hunters with scoped deer rifles. They left their own families at home writhing in pain, unable to eat or hold anything down because of P2. They couldn't even afford the gas to take them to the hospital. They just wanted some easy marks. They had gathered a toxic mix of Tylenol and painkillers from a medicine cabinet left over from oral surgery years before. They found a syringe and injected the dissolved concoction. It helped, and they had just taken another dose. They planned to sneak into the commune, get food and supplies, then kill some believers as trophies before they left and escaped unnoticed.
Sal and Jeff moved quietly out to their Hummer. Nikki sat in Sal's lap and watched intently. They rolled out of the gates, pushed by a dozen guards, not wanting anyone to be awakened from the start up. After they were through the gates and had rolled down hill 100 yards, they started their engine, turned on their lights, and bounced easily over the rugged terrain towards the main road.
The men in the ditch saw the lights and flipped off their safeties, excited over an easier mark. As Jeff wheeled out onto the road, shots peppered their windshield that exploded the glass. Nikki scrambled into the back seat howling, and Sal rolled back with him as they hid on the floorboards. There were more shots and commanding shouts to stop coming from the side of the road.
Jeff gunned it and reached back onto the floorboard under an army duffel bag for the M16, then grabbed an ammunition clip from the glove compartment. He swung the Hummer around and headed back towards the commune. He was now 100 feet away from the hunters.
"What are you doing!" screamed Sal. "Let's get out of here! You hear me! Go, go, go!"
"No, they'll pick off someone else if I don't take care of it! Keep your head down," he screamed defiantly back at her.
He slammed the clip into place with his right hand and laid the barrel across the open window towards the hunters' side of the road. With his left hand, he held the steering wheel and from a dead stop in high gear, not able to aim, drive, and shift; he moved slowly towards them while letting the gears work on their own as they picked up speed. The Hummer almost stalled several times, then finally got going. More bullets hit the car, but he was going over 60 mph, now, over a dirt road that made him bounce over three feet in the air at times and crashed over potholes, mostly making the hunters miss.
Just as Jeff approached them, he pulled the automatic trigger. A whole magazine fired off its rounds peppering the hunters. They weren't expecting a counterattack; and thought Jeff was injured and trying to get back to the commune. They found themselves stupidly standing fully exposed and mowed through their midsections with a series of ripping, flesh-rending rounds. Jeff was 50 feet past the hunters looking back at them as they moved spastically on the ground in their pain, dying one at a time.
The commune lights came on, and there was a loudspeaker question, "Are you kids okay? Honk if you are!"
Jeff honked loudly and heard a grand applause over the megaphone from the commune. Jeff gunned the gas and hurriedly moved out towards the interstate. He was to use the interstate to the Dechard exits. The rest was all back roads.
Sal started yelling and hitting him over the head with a small duffel bag while Nikki barked in his ear. "You macho creep! You could have got us killed! I didn't give you a choice over my life! You understand? This is a democracy, isn't it? Well, act like it!"
She jumped back into the front seat while brushing and picking glass off the seats and throwing it out the side window. Nikki calmed down and went to sleep in her lap. Fortunately, the roads were abandoned and quiet. Jeff kept rather quiet after his Sal scolding and felt ashamed for taking such a chance with her like that.
He finally apologized, "I'm sorry, Sal. I shouldn't have been so full of myself. I'll be more careful from now on."
"Let's forget it. By the way, where did you get the firepower? If you hadn't had it, you wouldn't have taken a chance. I hate guns and killing. It makes me sick."
"There's the Dechard exit. We're getting close, now." They finally made it to Cowan around 4:30 in the morning and moved slowly through the town square. The smell of the dead livestock saturated the air.
"Oh, my gosh! It's terrible! I think I'm going to be sick. Look, there are dead people on the road. Don't run over them, Jeff. Oh, gross, you just ran over that lady. What's left of her.”
"Just shut up for a minute and get out the oxygen masks in that other duffel bag. Adjust the one with red markings for you. The other is already sized for my face."
They both looked alien, driving down the road with their masks. They did thumbs up to each other after having solved the smell problems. They continued to dodge dead debris, which included a carnage of horses, cows, and humans."
They made it to Sewanee at 5:00 a.m. and pulled up to All Saints. They took off their masks, not seeing any farm animals, just dogs, cats, and some left-behind dead students leaning against trees, but it wasn't as bad as Cowan. They took turns, anyway, taking their masks on and off to speak.
"Where are we supposed to go?" Sal asked.
"To another small church just beyond All Saints," answered Jeff.
They drove through the campus lawns and rolled over short shrubs and curbs without any problems. They passed the cobblestone church, not seeing it, then Nikki started baying.
"Whoa, we almost missed it. Wow! It looks like it's going to fall down. Do you think it's safe?" asked Sal, fearfully.
"Caleb said it was okay in the basement. Shall we honk?"
"I think Nikki is doing that for us," she said as Nikki continued to howl and bark, then ran through the church doors but waited for them to catch up. They saw him go down the basement stairs and stand in front of a heavy metal door.
"Who is it?" asked Alex, his ear against the inside of the door.
Sal yelled, not knowing he was so close, "Caleb sent us. Are you two Alex and Abigail?"
The door flung open, and Abigail fell out onto them. She was so happy to see someone after weeks of isolation that she was beside herself. It was just too much for her, and she bawled and hugged them all, including Nikk
i. She pulled back from Nikki, but Alex didn't seem to mind and carried him below.
"We've been down here for almost two months, now. Caleb said you two were kids, but I guess I forgot just how young, young kids looked. Would you like to have something to eat, drink, a bath, sleep?"
"Slow down, Abigail," commanded Alex. "Give them a moment to relax."
"Oh, hush, come on Sal, let's go get some coffee and do some girl talk," she replied as she grabbed Sal's hand and dragged her to the kitchen.
Sal laughed at their bantering. She liked Abigail from the instant she met her. She felt that they were linked like two old souls to be friends the rest of their lives. She even liked Alex even though she didn't know anything about a governor, but Jeff explained it later, and she thought how humble he was for such an important person, and she liked his simplicity.
They all crammed themselves into the kitchen and talked for hours. Alex and Sal talked about how they came to know the Lord. As a result, Jeff and Abigail were under tremendous conviction to give their lives to God. Abigail's lips quivered with emotion, just thinking about it. She had been thinking about it a lot lately. Around ten that morning, they all four took six-hour naps, then got up and continued to talk, including playing 15 games of Monopoly. This place was even more like a safe haven, than the commune. It was a place under the palm of God, and they all felt it.
They turned on the TV; and when the news came on, Cassidy and Uncle Pendwight were making announcements and discussing economic progress.
"That's my uncle and his witch. I'd like to reach out and pull her heart out with my bare hands!"
Sal exclaimed, "Abigail! My gosh! All this violence from a nun! I would have never imagined! You've been watching way too much TV"
"If you knew what I knew, you wouldn't be saying that. You murderer of babies!" she screamed as she pointed at the TV screen. Alex reached up and pulled her pointing hand down to the kitchen table and tried to calm her. She bowed her head and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'll tell you more about it later, much later."