Chapter 7 - Chasing Thieves
“Papa, you saw the destruction at the ranch. How long will Greed and Violence be allowed to triumphant over your Beloved?”
“Patience, my Faithful Ones. Pride will be their downfall. Soon such as these will be no more.”
Bella escorted the exhausted ranch hand back to her house. With nowhere to sleep, she assured the men they were welcome to stay in the upstairs bedrooms until alternative living arrangements could be provided. Covered from head to toe in sweaty soot and muddy chunks of ash, the men were grateful when Bella handed each one a towel and a set of clean, albeit used work clothes, and told them they could use the showers. She had planned to give the used clothing to a Goodwill store in Spokane, but was now glad she had waited.
After their showers, one-by-one the ranch hands made their way down to the kitchen where Mitch and Bella attended to their minor cuts and burns. The men were just finishing their first meal in hours when Sheriff Carpenter arrived. Taking Isabella tightly in his arms, Lance let out a heavy sigh.
“Thank God you’re safe! When I couldn’t get through to you by phone, I had to drive out to make sure you were alright. I spoke with Captain Daniels on my way out here. He told me the whole story. And listen, I just heard on the radio that a truck licensed to John Minion was seen turning off Interstate 90, just before the road block. The truck turned south on Hwy 27 and deputies are in pursuit as we speak. They think John’s the driver. But Honey, he’s not towing trailer. One of his buddies must be hauling Orion.”
With lights flashing and sirens blaring, four state Highway Patrol cars pursued the truck licensed to John Minion south along Hwy 27. The high speed chase continued for miles up and down the steep, winding roads, over the Spokane River Bridge, and continued past Cedar Dam. The speeding fugitives rounded curve after curve along the highway of the mountainous terrain. With patrol cars closing in, John’s truck sped around yet another blind curve in the road only to discover an unnerving change of scenery.
Hundreds of wild stallions were everywhere. Some were grazing peacefully along the side of the highway. Others were running and jumping back and forth across all lanes of traffic. And like a wall of four-footed beasts, a group of larger horses were standing perfectly still right in the middle of the highway staring directly into the oncoming headlights of John’s truck.
John slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting the peculiar herd. Both truck and trailer did a three-sixty in the middle of the road and came to a screeching halt as it crashed into the concrete lane divider. In the blink of an eye, squad cars arrived at the scene and surrounded the culprits damaged vehicles on three sides. The chase for John Minion was finally over.
With police guns aimed at both men, John Minion and Buddy Johnson were quickly hauled out of the truck, handcuffed and placed in the rear seat of separate patrol cars. Although there was a small cut on John’s forehead and Buddy complained of pains in his right arm, neither one appeared to have suffered any major injuries.
When the officers inspected the pick-up truck, they discovered several empty gasoline cans underneath a tarp in the bed of the truck. The deputy in charge radioed the Spokane Sheriff’s office. Lance, who was still at the ranch with Isabella, was immediately notified.
“They have Minion and the suspected arsonist in custody,” Lance informed Bella. “But there is no sign of Orion and John denies any involvement in the theft. He just keeps babbling about a bunch of wild horses he says were on the road. The officer said John hit his head in the crash and might have a concussion. They’ll have the medics examine him at headquarters.”
In a display of grandiose arrogance, Worrell the Violent had already redeployed most of his wicked army. Their new orders were to corrupt and enslave a group of greedy businessmen in a rural community south of Portland, Oregon. “The battle in Millwood has been won!” Worrell reported to his superior officers.
However when John’s truck crashed into the concrete divider and Worrell’s cohorts were thrown off the back end, Worrell was confronted with a very different reality. Dazed and confused, it took the dark lord a few moments to realize his remaining forces were totally inadequate for the ambush unfolding around him.
Invisible to earthlings on the scene, Radiant Ones took swift advantage of their opponent’s brief weakness and launched their assault. Down from the mountain tops, around bends in the road, up from the hill sides below, and straight out of the sky, Eli’s forces attacked in overwhelming numbers.
“Where is your confidence now, Destroyer of Dreams?” taunted Eli.
“No…!” Worrell screamed. “You have no dominion here. Their lives belong to us now!”
“Want to bet!” shouted Eli.
Lowering their heads and wheeling their rear-ends towards Worrell, Eli and Commander Crystal kicked the dark tyrant from the pavement all the way to a ledge on top of Opportunity Ridge, twenty-five miles east. Landing head first on top of a gigantic boulder, the top half of Worrell’s horn broke off. With his head bleeding profusely and his right hind leg broken in two places, Worrell was unable to successfully defend himself against his powerful adversaries of light.
Before the crippled devil had time to plan his next move, Eli and Crystal rushed in to finish their assault. Kicking again and again, Goodness and Light flung the demon ever eastward. A doomed Worrell tumbled head over tail into a large field in Green Acres Meadow. He then crashed down onto the summit of Big Rock Point. Then with one final kick, four muscular hind legs sent the unholy creature rolling over the rocky edge. Falling more than two thousand feet, Worrell splashed into the frigid waters of Rattlesnake Lake below.
Back at the truck, isolated and outnumbered, the remaining dark warriors tried desperately to escape the relentless pursuit of their attackers. But it was hopeless. Radiant Ones kicked and stabbed without mercy, driving the battered soldiers two hundred and fifteen miles east of Millwood. The assault continued until every single demon had been shoved over the rocky cliffs high above the Snoqualmie River Valley to join their defeated lord in middle of Rattlesnake Lake.
As the last unearthly body touched the surface of the icy lake, a waterspout in the shape of a man’s arm rose out of the water grabbing a hold of each demon as it ascended. Like a speeding bullet, the monstrous fountain then shot straight up out of the water until it reached Rattlesnake Ledge high above the lake. Still clutching the struggling bodies of Worrell and his wicked minions, the supernatural fist then plunged those in its iron grip to their final demise at the bottom of the lake.
Meanwhile two trucks and four men, each towing a horse trailer, headed east on Interstate 90. George got on the walkie-talkie. “Drew, we both just keep going east, got it? If we run into a road block, you two keep going. If they search you, it won’t matter. You got nothing to hide. If I have to, I’ll make a u-turn, back track to State Route 2 and then head north. We’ll be at the ranch in time for pancakes tomorrow morning.”
“That’s easy for you to say, but what about us?” yelled his nervous accomplice. “And why haven’t we heard back from Minion? I’m telling you George, something must have gone wrong.”
“Just play dumb you idiot! Maybe they did get to Minion. Who cares? That just means more for us! And besides, they got nothing on either of you two. Keep your cool and just drive. Over and out!”
After cursing under his breath at John’s choice partners, George fumbled with the am/fm radio until he found a country western station. Smiling, he said to his passenger, “Now that’s what I call real music.”
About twenty miles outside Millwood, eastbound traffic came to a halt. The Highway Patrol had all lanes blocked and were checking every driver towing a horse trailer. George’s truck was about three miles behind Drew’s pickup. When George saw the cars slowing down, he quickly took the first exit off the interstate. Making a u-turn, he got back on the freeway going west and sped back towards State Route 2.
When the deputy spotted Drew’s truck and trailer, he motioned for the t
ruck to stop. The officer instructed Drew and his passenger to get out of the truck and open the back end of the trailer.
With a cocky attitude, Drew asked, “Why, sure officer. Is there a problem?”
“Just open the trailer, sir,” ordered the deputy. But when the back end was opened, the trailer was empty. There were no horses inside. Drew cast a sly grin at his partner.
“Ok fellows. Where’s the horse?” demanded the officer.
“What horse? We’re just hauling an empty trailer back home for a friend,” replied Drew still grinning.
The officer winked at his partner and smiled right back at Drew. “Really?” he said. “Then how come we have witnesses who say you are part of a gang of horse thieves? Now, I’ll ask you once again. Where’s the stallion?”
Still defiant, Drew replied, “Go fish!”
“Wise guy, huh? Well I got news for you boys. It ain’t fishing season and you’re both under arrest on suspicion of grand theft! Drew and his passenger were immediately handcuffed and placed in the back seat of a nearby patrol car.
George had no problems as he exited onto State Route 2. But as he got closer to the junction of Hwy 395 heading north, the horse trailer began to shake.
“What’s that blasted horse doing now?” George said angrily. “If he doesn’t settle down, I’m going to have to give him more of those sleeping pills.”
As George reached over to turn up the music, he happened to glance out his side mirror. He couldn’t believe his eyes. A large herd of stallions were racing towards the truck. George guessed there were at least two hundred horses. He looked at the speedometer. It said 50mph.
“Impossible!” George said. “A herd of horses can’t run that fast uphill!”
George turned to his passenger and said, “Look out your side mirror and tell me what you see.”
“I don’t see nut-in!” replied his passenger.
George looked again at his side mirror. The stallions were still there. “Are you blind? There are at least two hundred horses chasing us!”
George’s strange behavior was making his partner more anxious by the minute. “Man, you’re crazy! I told you to ease up on the booze. And I’m not going to tell you again to slow down! This ain’t the interstate! You’re going to steer us right over these cliffs if you’re not careful.”
But George was not about to slow down. He sped up to 55mph and looked in the mirror. The stallions were still there. He increased his speed to 60mph yet the horses maintained their pursuit, coming closer with each mile.
Again, George glanced out his side window and found himself staring right into the eye of a large black and white stallion. For a moment, he thought the herd was going to run ahead of the truck and his nightmare would be over. They did not. Instead, the horses encircled the truck which was still traveling 60mph.
By now, George was hysterical. He pushed the accelerator to the floor. Faster and faster he drove around the narrow, winding mountain roads. But no matter how fast he went, the stallions kept pace with the truck. Trying to maneuver through yet another series of curves while traveling 65mph, George lost control of the vehicle. The truck swerved into oncoming traffic, bounced off the side railing dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, spun around and then crashed into the mountain on the other side of the road. The truck and trailer finally came to a complete stop at the junction of Hwy 395 and State Route 2.
A swarm of squad cars and deputies with guns drawn greeted the dazed fugitives. Both the truck and trailer were seriously damaged, but the two men appeared relatively unharmed. Pulling the suspects out of the truck and placing handcuffs on their wrists, the Deputy in charge said, “Gentlemen, you’re both under arrest for suspicion of horse stealing. You have the right to remain silent. But it will sure go a lot easier on you in court if you tell us the location of that Arabian stallion.”
After being chased by a herd of wild ghostly horses, almost sliding over the edge of a three thousand foot cliff, and then slamming into the side of the mountain and almost dying, George was ready to confess. “He’s inside the trailer,” George said obviously shaken by the ordeal.
Several deputies escorted the two men to the back of the trailer. As they removed the padlock and opened the door, the officers hoped they would find the stallion alive. But given the severity of the damage to the trailer sustained in the crash, the deputies were prepared for the worst. However, when the group looked inside, they discovered the trailer was empty.
“Ok George, enough with the fun and games. It’s late and I’m tired. Now where’s the horse?” demanded the Deputy in charge.
The perplexed thief stood with his mouth wide open, staring into the empty trailer. “But I’m telling you, I put Orion into this trailer myself. He’s been there ever since I left the ranch this morning. I don’t understand.”
“Ok,” replied the Deputy. “If you want to do this the hard way, that’s your choice. Take them both back to Spokane and book ‘em. Maybe a night in jail will refresh their memories.”
“Wait a minute! What happened to all those horses? There were hundreds of stallions. They’ve been chasing us up the mountain for miles. Where’d they go?” yelled the frightened crook.
Shaking his head, the deputy replied, “There’s no herd of wild stallions. Now, come on George. Just get in the squad car like a good boy, ok?”
“But they were there! I saw them,” mumbled George from the back seat.
Prince Mortimer and his dark stallions regrouped next to the wreckage. “They tricked us!” he snorted furiously. “Horse and humans should have gone over that cliff! Those were our orders. Where are those Radiant Ones? Find them! Destroy…”
But while the words were still in his mouth, winged unicorns of Light began flying out from the back end of the horse trailer and the cab of the pick-up truck. Radiant Ones flew out from the trunks of the squad cars. Still others swooped down from treetops and surrounding mountain sides.
“It’s an ambush! To the skies!” Mortimer ordered.
Suddenly the cloudless skies over Spokane County were filled with dark shadowy figures of winged unicorns of all shapes and sizes. They fled west towards the mountains of Riverside State Park hoping to outrun the advancing army. But with Eli and Commander Crystal in the lead, thousands of warriors of Light were hot on their hooves.
The dark prince led his fleeing troops through the thick forests of the Cascade Mountains. They flew close to the ground along the railroad tracks and just above the barren river beds of Deep Creek. They fled up the steep mountain sides to the top of Nine Mile Dam and Reservoir hoping to regroup for a frontal assault at the summit.
But when hell’s soldiers reached the top of Nine Mile Falls, Commander Crystal’s legions were already in place. On either side of the river banks, Radiant Ones securely held the edges of a gigantic, tightly woven, square net. One by one, the fleeing soldiers were shoved into the center of the meshed snare. Desperate to escape, the captives kicked, jabbed and ripped without concern into the flesh of former comrades. Blood and bits of torn horse flesh dripped from the net.
Seeing the demise of his army, the once proud Prince of Greed quickly fled the scene. Breaking ranks, Mortimer dove into the raging whitewaters below and tried to hide underneath a grouping of large boulders just beneath the surface. But his attempts were in vain. His fate had been decreed.
Attacking from both sides, Eli and Crystal simultaneously plunged their powerful unicorns into his side and lifted Mortimer straight up out of the water. Then, flying his skewered, pierced body to the center of the net, Eli and Crystal together withdrew their horns from his bleeding flesh. Prince Mortimer fell, head first, on to the mangled bodies of his own soldiers.
Then, as lightning flashes from the east to the west, Radiant Ones swiftly gathered the corners of the meshed net and tied them securely into a single, gigantic knot, like the kind of knot one might tie around the opening of a large, smelly garbage sack. Hundreds of brilliant unicorns then lifted the bag
of demons high into the air and dropped it into the churning waters of Nine Mile Falls.
As the net fell, enormous rocks began breaking loose from the mountains on either side of the river. Boulders the size of school busses came crashing down on top of the ensnared warriors. Suddenly, a large chasm opened at the river’s bottom. The bag of doomed creatures disappeared into the watery depths of earth below. Then as quickly as it had opened the entrance to the chasm closed, forever sealing the entrance to the watery grave.
Back at the ranch Sheriff Carpenter received the update. “Bella, John and all five of his men are in custody. But none of them had Orion.”
“Oh Lance! What have they done with him?” cried Bella. Lance held her close as she freely wept in his arms. Avis the Heavenly Comforter covered both humans with her healing wings and made intercession for the Beloved.
“Look Honey, it’s really late and it’s been an exhausting day for everyone. Please, why don’t you try and get some sleep. My deputies will maintain a security presence on the estate and the department will keep looking for Orion. I’ll call you later, ok? And remember, the church is still praying. They will not stop until Orion is safely returned. We have to trust that Orion is in God’s hands and He will take care of him. We’ll find him, Isabella. I promise.”