The Scarlet Plan

by Rick W. Warren

  As they both opened their eyes, Marie looked at him with the sweetest of smiles. “I love you, Jack. Finish well. I will see you again.”

  “I love you, Marie. Thank you for everything. I leave this life fulfilled.”

  Jack leaned in and sweetly kissed his beloved wife on her forehead for the last time.

  Jack stood up and looked at the door. He wanted nothing more than to lay down next to her. He wanted to stay.

  “Go in peace, Jack,” Marie said. “I’ll be ok. I love you. Goodbye.”

  Jack walked to the bedroom door. “Goodbye, my love,” he said as he closed the door behind him and walked down the stairs.

  A short time later, the cab appeared in front of his house. He quietly closed the front door behind him and locked it. As he walked down the sidewalk to his ride, he looked back at the house one more time. “Please protect her, Lord,” he said as he opened the door and got into the back of the car.

  It was 10:56 when they arrived at the Lake Storey pavilion. Jack got out of the back seat and walked to the window of the cab driver to pay him. “Hey man,” the driver said. “Do you need me to hang out here and give you a ride back home?”

  “No, I’m ok,” Jack said. “I’m meeting someone out here so it won’t be a problem. Thank you, though.”

  Jack took out his wallet and paid the cab driver his fare plus a fifty-dollar tip. “Wow! Thanks, man! You have a good night!” The driver said.

  “You too. God bless.”

  The cab pulled away as Jack made his way down to the pavilion. The pavilion was a huge place often used for wedding receptions and dances. Jack had been there to celebrate on more than one occasion. It was dark now. No celebrations tonight.

  On the other side was the beach. Jack walked up to the edge of the sand and stared out at the water. He remembered coming here with Ralph and Marie many years ago. It was good times. Now as he looked into the sky and saw lightning jumping from cloud to cloud, he knew that bad times were coming. The storm was here.

  Jack took a handful of sand and threw it in the air. It only took seconds for it to dissipate and vanish. “Such is our time in life,” he said to himself. “Eternity awaits.”

  He turned right heading west and made his way across the grass littered with the leaves that had fallen from the giant trees there. Across the field, built next to the water, was a little shelter, which could be used for overlooking the lake or even for fishing. The area was not well lit and he understood why this would have been a good meeting place for them. As he kept walking forward, Jack saw the silhouettes of two men standing in the shelter. Very faintly he could hear them talking. At first, fear began to creep into Jack’s heart, but then he remembered the intentions of these people and the fear turned into anger. Both of the men were turned toward the lake as he approached them. One was tall and skinny while the other one looked of medium build. Jack looked from side to side and saw no one else. Wasn’t there supposed to be three of them? It didn’t matter. He was here to do God’s work.

  As Jack stepped onto the wooden planking of the shelter floor the two men stopped talking and turned around. The surprised look on their faces said it all. They were expecting someone else, not him.

  “Hello, gentlemen,” Jack said. “Could you tell me where I could find the Scarlet?”

  The shorter and younger of the two men looked at the tall, skinny man in shock. The Thinker just looked at Jack and grinned.

  “Hello, Jack,” he said. “This is an unexpected surprise. We were actually coming to pay a little visit to you. Well, just one of us and he hasn’t even showed up yet.”

  “You mean the Cleaner?” Jack asked. “And which one are you? The Thinker or the Actor? I’m guessing Thinker.”

  Thinker continued to smile, but Jack could tell that he got under his skin. Those names were supposed to be secret information, but somehow he knew it.

  “So who told you these things?” The Actor asked.

  “A little bird,” Jack replied. “I’m here to give you a message. Turn now and leave this town. Abandon your plan and you will be spared swift judgment. If you refuse, you will not come away from this unscathed. This is your only warning.”

  The Thinker began to laugh. “You’re a funny guy, Jack. You almost sound serious. Who are you to stop us? You have walked straight into the spider’s web and you certainly will not escape it. You are weak and your God is weak. We know you’ve been praying, but that ends tonight. The tables are turning and our gods are gaining ground on yours. When you’re gone, no one will stop us.”

  Jack looked him straight in the eyes. “When I’m gone, you will seal your doom.”

  At that moment, the Thinker looked beyond Jack at someone behind him. “Ahh, just in time, Cleaner. It looks like your work just got easier.”

  Jack turned around to see Damon Marshall approaching him. “Hello, Damon,” he said.

  Damon looked up at the Thinker with confusion on his face. “Yes, Cleaner, he seems to know some things. Is that a problem for us?”

  “Not one I can’t solve,” he said.

  “Damon,” Jack said. “You won’t win this. Your power will be rebuked and lost. Your fate is sealed. Coming back was a big mistake.”

  “My mistake was not taking you out in the same fire that took your son,” he sneered.

  Jack closed his eyes and lifted his head to heaven. “Jesus, let your blessings flow.”

  “I’m sorry, Jack,” Thinker said. “Your prayer fell on deaf ears. You are looking at true power right in front of you. The Scarlet thread runs through it all…”

  “And still the remnant remains!” Jack shouted.

  Immediately, Damon unsheathed his knife and charged toward Jack. Without any resistance, Jack stood there and closed his eyes. In a flash of speed, Damon plunged his knife directly into Jack’s heart and, in that moment, the darkness in Jack’s eyes turned to light.

  Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled as Jack’s body fell to the ground. The Cleaner wiped his blade and put it back in his sheath. “I love it when they make it easy,” he said. “What should I do with him?”

  “Throw him in the lake,” Thinker said. “Give the town a little warning on who they’re dealing with.”

  As Cleaner grabbed Jack’s body, it started to rain. “I’ll take care of this. You guys better get going.”

  “Good work, Cleaner,” Actor said. “We have much more ahead.”

  “My pleasure,” he said with a grin. “This city is mine.”

  15

  The guys all woke up at the same time. They were still under the tarps in Convert’s truck and he was still driving. It felt like they had been out for over an hour, but in reality it had only been asleep for a couple of minutes.

  “Guys, what just happened?” Trent said. “How did we all just fall asleep?”

  “It must have been God,” Jordan said. “I think He had one more dream to show us.”

  “Yeah, but how are we still moving? That dream must have lasted over an hour or more!”

  “Remember our first dream about Earnest Weller?” Josh said.

  “Yeah,” Trent said.

  “Well, remember how he went to Flashback and they said thoughts move at a faster speed in our mind? This must be that same principle!”

  “It’s terrible what they did to Jack,” Mark said. “They really are evil.”

  “Yeah,” Jordan replied. “And that’s why they have to be stopped tonight.”

  16

  It was around 5:20 as Convert pulled up to the same path in the woods that the guys had gone down two weeks ago. The last light of the setting sun could be seen over the horizon and Convert understood why Damon had wanted him to wait until now. Darkness. Darkness was Damon’s playground and Convert would be coming directly into his world.

  Convert stopped the truck and waited. Damon had said 5:30
and Convert wasn’t going to show up one minute before and jeopardize his friend’s lives. He knew the endgame here. He knew that it was Damon’s every intention that all of them would die tonight, but he also knew that if Aaron and Emma were still alive when he got his hands on Damon they had a chance to survive.

  The clock turned to 5:30, and with a quick prayer, Convert began to drive down the path that lead to the barn. A swift sense of nostalgia washed over him as he traveled a path he hadn’t been on in forty years. It used to be pure joy coming over here to play with his best friend, but now it was dread. He knew who awaited him at the end, but he didn’t know what to expect from him. He drove slowly on the path, which was just big enough to allow for a single vehicle, and noticed the darkness around him. It was so thick he was surprised the headlights cut through it. He could feel the presence of evil around him and it saddened him to see a place that once brought such happiness now brought such foreboding.

  When he got to the end of the woods, he turned left towards the field, and once he cleared the rest of the trees, he turned left again and drove toward the barn. Convert could see the structure in the distance. He hadn’t laid eyes on it since the fateful night the McKenzie’s house burned down. As he drove closer, he noticed that there was light coming through the cracks in the front doors of the barn. He saw something else, however, that made his blood run cold. Set up a small distance from the front of the barn in the middle of the field was a table. He could see that this table was not crude or simple. Rather, it was ornate and solid. He noticed ropes tied to the four corners of it as well as a smaller table with a cloth covering some objects underneath. He had a pretty good idea what was under the cloth. The last thing he noticed were ten poles placed in a large circle around the table. He was pretty sure that they were torches to light things up tonight. The whole setting was pretty clear to him and he understood what Damon meant when he said he wouldn’t hurt Aaron and Emma, but others would. They were intended to be sacrificed.

  A renewed sense of urgency came over Convert as he parked the truck at the side of the barn. He couldn’t fail. Too much depended on him. He got out of the truck and noticed no other vehicles except the van Damon used to get here with his prisoners. As far as he could tell, it was just going to be between him and Damon. Convert kept tabs on his surroundings as he walked to the front door. Silence.

  He grabbed the handle and slid the barn door to the side. The barn looked as he remembered it with stalls running down both sides as well as a ceiling running down half of it, which served as the floor to the loft above. Lights lit up the inside with a warm glow that illuminated the many bales of hay stored on both sides. Convert looked down the isle in the middle of the barn and saw Emma and Aaron facing him, duct taped to their chairs.

  Convert’s first instinct was to run over to them, but it seemed too likely to be a trap. There was no way he was going to let Damon get the drop on him.

  “Convert!” Emma shouted.

  “I’m here, Emma,” Convert said. “Are you ok?”

  “We’re alright, not counting the fact that we’re prisoners, of course.”

  “Where’s Damon?” He said as he methodically walked toward them.

  “We don’t know,” Aaron said. “He’s been taking things out of here and setting them up outside all afternoon. I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Have you received any more insight?”

  Aaron and Emma looked at each other. “Nothing,” she said. “We’ve learned nothing since we spoke to the Scarlet.”

  “So you know about the Scarlet? You knew that?”

  “Yes,” Aaron replied. “We knew all about them, even their identities. How do you know about them?”

  “Jack left me a letter. He knew everything that was about to happen including his death.”

  “He did?” Emma said as her eyes widened. Convert was almost to them. “What did he say?”

  “He said ‘Please don’t kill me!’ while he was on his knees begging for his life,” Damon said from behind Convert.

  Convert immediately spun around in a flurry of anger. “I guarantee you that never happened you liar!”

  “Believe what you want,” Damon said with an evil smile, “but just know that I took much pleasure plunging that knife into his heart.”

  “Enough!” Convert said. “We end this now! Your crimes have caught up to you and I’m going to make sure your days of murder and evil are done!”

  “Well, come get me then,” he said as he held his fists out in front of him.

  Convert charged toward him as Damon held his ground. In a matter of seconds, Convert leaped into the air with his right arm cocked back. As he swung toward Damon’s head, Damon ducked and planted his shoulder in Convert’s armpit. In an act of unnatural strength, Damon grabbed him and threw him across the barn into the wall. Convert crashed into the wall upside down and landed on his shoulders. Pain shot through his body as well as surprise. When the bomb had sent him through the fence, he hadn’t felt an ounce of pain or even got injured. This time he felt every bit of it. Panic raced through his mind as Damon advanced on him. His strength was gone.

  Aaron and Emma watched in shock as Damon grabbed Convert by his shirt, lifted him up in the air, and threw him again. This time he flew towards them, hit the ground, and rolled in a flurry of dirt and hay.

  “What’s wrong, James?” Damon said as he walked towards him. “Your God taking a nap or something? I thought you’d be a little more of a challenge than this.” He could hear the evil ones laughing inside him. They always gave him strength. They always gave him the power to do whatever he wanted.

  Convert looked up at Aaron and Emma with despair. “I don’t know what’s happening,” he said. “My strength is gone.”

  “Look out!” Emma yelled as Damon grabbed the back of Convert’s neck and spun him around.

  “I’ll tell you what happened,” Damon said as he drew back his arm. “You picked the wrong god.”

  It was the hardest Convert had ever been punched and he was unconscious before he hit the ground. Aaron and Emma looked in shock at Convert’s motionless body. For a moment they feared he was dead, but then they saw him breathe. This was not the way things were supposed to go.

  “Looks like we’ve added a third offering tonight,” Damon said. “The more the merrier.”

  17

  Jordan stuck his head up past the edge of the truck bed and peered out. Convert had just walked into the barn about a minute ago. Almost immediately he saw the table set up with the torches unlit around it.

  “Is the coast clear, Jordan?” Trent said. “I’m tired of smelling Mark’s feet.”

  “Yeah, so far,” Jordan replied. “We need to get out and hide. Drago could be anywhere.”

  The guys threw the tarps back and looked around. “Is that the table you guys saw?” Mark asked as they all looked at the set up.

  “Yes,” Trent said, “and look at the ropes attached to it!”

  “You think those are to tie someone down with?” Mark said as he climbed over the back of the truck.

  “I think they are,” Jordan said. “Just like I feared.”

  “Guys! I see something moving!” Josh said. “Hide!”

  All of them quickly ran around the side of the truck and laid on the ground. From around the other side of the barn, they saw Damon walking toward the front door.

  “It’s Drago!” Mark whispered in a panic.

  “Shhhh!” Trent said.

  Drago didn’t even look their direction. He stood at the doors and with a grin on his face walked in.

  “We gotta do something!” Mark said.

  “Don’t worry,” Josh said. “Convert can take him.”

  “But what if Drago surprises him?”

  “Let’s go around the back,” Jordan said. “We’ll watch through the cracks in the wall.”

 
As quick and as quietly as they could, they snuck around to the backside of the barn. It was dark out, but the light from the barn helped them see enough not to trip everywhere. Eventually, they got to a place where they could see in and immediately were horrified. Damon reached back and knocked Convert unconscious.

  “No!” Mark nearly shouted as Trent put his hand over his mouth.

  All four of them looked in shocked silence as they watched Damon grab another chair and duct tape Convert’s slumped over body to it.

  “What do we do?” Trent said. “How is it possible that Convert got knocked out?” He paused for a minute with a worried expression that Jordan had never seen on his face before. “How do we win?”

  18

  By 6:30, the city of Galesburg had been whipped up into a frenzy of excitement. Trick or Treating was almost over, which was good because everyone wanted to make their way over to the football field. It was an hour until kickoff and the bleachers were already almost full. Music blared from the new state of the art speakers and could be heard from blocks away. It sounded as if a concert was going on. The opposing team, the Quincy Battle Axes, didn’t realize what they were walking into. Everywhere it looked like a sea of red, orange, and black. Makeshift torches made out of cardboard and tissue paper surrounded the field. The big video screen continued playing highlights from previous games. About every five minutes a giant graphic appeared on the screen saying, “Burn em down!” Every time it appeared the crowd would repeat it with a thunderous roar.

  All four television network affiliates had news camera’s set up for the occasion. Even ESPN had showed up. The story of Clayton Stoneking had continued to grow. Police officers patrolled the area making sure no one was causing trouble. As far as anyone could tell everything was under control and tonight would be a good night.