Michael turned to the men and said, “I need you to cover all the entrances into here. This is going to take a lot of my attention.”
The men helped Jack up and obeyed Michael. They adopted both prone and crouching positions covering both corridors leading into the control room.
Michael took a deep breath and exhaled. His eyes began to glow blue as he concentrated. He placed his hand on the control panel and a bright white light illuminated his hand like a soft welding arc. The room began to shake and shudder so much that Dillon, who was kneeling on one knee, fell onto his side.
Michael’s power disabled the ship’s EMP device and began to travel through the ship’s co-ordinated communication system to every other ship the Nephilim had, disabling their EMP devices also.
All over the world, the EMP devices stopped impeding the world’s electronics. Although some televisions came back on, no television broadcasts were being transmitted, so they displayed only white noise. Radios, on the other hand, would soon be another story. The population of the planet had been reduced by billions. In the short term, radios would soon become invaluable for the remaining population to co-ordinate, fight back and reclaim the planet.
Michael called the men in close. They crowded in a big group hug and Michael wrapped his wings as far around them as he could. They then began to dematerialise. The men knew what a good feeling it would be and stood with excitement as their bodies began to disappear.
Whatever Michael had done to the ship had caused massive damage. The men felt safe as Michael’s wings virtually surrounded them but small explosions started to be felt. In a few more seconds, however, they were out of the ship and back on land near Jim’s damaged four-wheel-drive.
The men staggered around with huge smiles on their faces, as if drunk. Michael sat down, exhausted. His wings slowly retracted into his body and his eyes returned to their normal blue. He took a few breaths to recover and looked up on an angle; so did the men. The alien ship was about 100 metres off the ground about one kilometre away from them. There were audible explosions going off throughout the ship and eventually it plummeted to ground. The ship sat on the ground for about 10 seconds before an almighty explosion tore right through its body. The shockwave hit the men and their Kevlar helmets pulled their heads backwards. As the wind gust hit them they nearly lost their footing. They all still had massive smiles on their faces and they started giggling like young girls.
Even Michael’s usual intense frown changed to a smirk. He stood up, sprouted his wings and said, “I’ll see you soon,” and flew away.
All over the world the Nephilim’s cigar and saucer-shaped spacecraft began malfunctioning. Michael’s power came directly from the Almighty himself and within minutes the ships plummeted to earth and exploded while the survivors watched. Had the planet’s population not already been drastically reduced, the crashing ships would have caused huge civilian casualties.
The men were still laughing and walking oddly. Bondy, who was trying to talk through his laughter, finally managed to spit the words out. “Hey Jim, you all right to drive, mate? You look shit-faced.” This made them laugh even harder but they managed to climb into their shattered car and start the drive back to the property.
THE TRUTH
Twelve hours later, survivors were starting to realise they had the use of technology again, albeit on a limited scale. Humans all over the world were flocking to their radios, televisions, community halls, medical centres and communication facilities.
They were itching for any sign that some semblance of civilisation was about to be re-established. The whole world had become a post-apocalyptic refugee camp and the few million people left had no idea what to do next. Most of the people left behind after the rapture and the release of the virus cared little about religion but they were turning to the Vatican and church now.
CB radios, walkie talkies and AM/FM transmitters were alive and buzzing all over the world. People knew that most of the people of the church and Vatican had been raptured or killed, so they were seeking out pastors, preachers, priests and other religious leaders who had had their faith rekindled by the apocalypse. They knew that only these people could shed some light on what had happened.
The Antichrist’s threats, lies and propaganda didn’t wash well with the survivors. Even his supernatural demonstration weeks earlier at the White House and his revealing of the Nephilim had sparked worldwide loathing and distrust. Mankind was in survival mode and the Antichrist’s claims to be a deity were seen as arrogant and transparent. His lies and contradictions only fuelled their dislike of him. Mankind’s natural scepticism and distrust was finally going to benefit the human race. The truth about the Antichrist’s reign of terror, during which he had plagued the planet and blamed the archangels, would slowly be revealed through scripture to the remaining population.
Playing on virtually every radio frequency were remorseful preachers who, having lost their faith in the past, were once again spreading the word of the Lord. The Revelations scriptures were given special attention by hundreds of these preachers. These readings, which explained in detail how the Antichrist would deceive man, were making the survivors feel foolish and sorry for not reading their bibles more often when it could have helped them.
Revelations explains clearly that if you succumb to the threats of the Antichrist and accept the mark of the beast you will be damned. During the past few weeks if the remaining survivors had not been systematically slaughtered they had been bullied into accepting the mark of the beast. They had been told they would be able to be part of the new world but only if they accepted the President as their God.
Preachers, on the other hand, were now able to communicate over radios so they were educating the survivors as best they could. The main scripture that was being read out on the air was:
‘And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is 666.’
Revelations 13:17-18
People were now resisting the kill squads and refusing to get the mark no matter what happened to them. Resistance armies were being started all over the world and the Antichrist’s cronies were on the back foot within 48 hours.
As the Antichrist sat in the White House he knew he was defeated but he was not yet finished. As he listened in on the various radio transmissions and heard multiple distress calls from his backpedalling kill squads he pressed a button on the intercom and said, “Sammael, get everyone back to the desert facility!”
“Yes, your majesty,” Sammael replied.
He rose from his chair and began walking to the front exit. Before now the demons, Nephilim and kill squads were the only beings able to communicate with one another. Michael’s power had virtually stripped them of their superior technology and the Antichrist was in a state of contained fury.
The White House’s security by now had been replaced by members of the Antichrist’s kill squads. All previous employees had either been killed by the virus or murdered.
As he walked through the corridors the soldiers did not salute him like a normal soldier would salute a superior officer. Instead, they bowed down on the floor as he passed. The Antichrist met Sammael on his way and nodded at him as they walked side by side out of the White House. The guards at the front door slung their M16s and bowed down as the Antichrist and Sammael continued past them out onto the front lawn.
As they got clear the pair continued walking and the Antichrist’s eyes began glowing bright red. The White House then erupted into a huge fireball and the pair didn’t even break stride to turn around and look. The screams of pain from the soldiers inside were echoing and one of them managed to run out the front, on fire. The Antichrist continued walking and didn’t turn around; he simply waved his hand and the burning soldier flew back inside the fireball.
Both Sammael and the Antichrist’s suit j
ackets tore as they sprouted their wings and took to the skies, bound for their hidden location in the desert.
CHAPTER 12
In the massive hangar in the desert the remainder of the Antichrist’s army was assembled in rows. Candles were glowing around the hangar and the soldiers were chanting satanic verses. The remaining demons were outside the hangar, assembled in a semicircle around the Antichrist.
The demons’ numbers were drastically reduced but there were still more than 400 standing. In the previous weeks, a good proportion of the demons had been killed by the archangels and some had been aboard their craft and were killed when Michael crashed them.
The Antichrist addressed them. “We have nearly accomplished the mission set forth by my father and your master.” He laughed. “The human population has virtually been wiped out. We still have one more job to do and it’s a job I know you will enjoy. We will take revenge on the archs.” At this, the demons growled and cheered. He nodded and interrupted the commotion. “SHUT UP! It’s not going to be easy. Even with our numbers we could have trouble fighting them. So we will pick them off one at a time. Asmodious, you know what to do. I want one squad of humans and a chopper. GO!”
Asmodious immediately went into the hangar to gather eight of his soldiers.
Within five minutes the soldiers were aboard a black hawk helicopter piloted by Asmodious, flying to an unknown location. When the chopper was far enough away the Antichrist turned to face the hangar with the other kill squads inside and said, “We no longer need you.”
The chants coming from inside the hangar stopped abruptly when the Antichrist’s eyes lit up and the whole hangar came crashing down on top of the soldiers. It didn’t just fall; it compressed to the height of a soccer ball, instantly killing everyone inside.
The Antichrist then said, “LET’S GO.”
With that, the demons sprouted their wings and took flight.
URIEL
In another major American city the sun had just gone down. The streets were all but deserted when the black hawk landed in a public park. The Antichrist’s last kill squad debussed. Asmodious shut down the chopper, got out and awaited the rest of the demons. They weren’t far behind. They flew through the air and landed in the park like a massive flock of synchronised birds.
Only a block away there was a massive church and the emanating hymns praising the Lord were beautiful. The city had no power but the light coming from the hundreds of candles inside the church could be seen for miles.
Asmodious escorted the kill squad to the front of the church while the Antichrist and the rest of the demons waited behind. As he got within 75 metres of the church he said, “You know what to do. Make sure they are all dead, don’t leave anyone.”
The leader of the kill squad nodded and stormed to the entrance, with the other men following in single file. As they ran inside they quickly scanned the space and noticed there was no one sitting in any of the seats. The church was empty except for one man standing at the front, facing the altar. They held their fire purely out of confusion; the music, which sounded like a 100-person choir, seemed to be coming from the person at the front. As this person slowly turned around, the kill squad saw his mouth was open and their suspicions were confirmed. The music was coming out of the archangel Uriel’s mouth.
They all started shooting but before any of the rounds could reach Uriel he sprouted his wings and wrapped them around the front of his body, protecting himself.
Asmodious listened from the outside with a huge smile on his face as the gunfire raged. To his surprise the kill squad then came out of the entrance one soldier after the other, the troops covering each other in defensive retreat. They were still shooting into the entrance of the church as they retreated so Asmodious, knowing something was amiss, turned his head to see if the other demons had left the park and were approaching. He noticed they hadn’t and as he turned back to face the church, one of the soldiers came flying 70 metres through the air, hitting him and knocking him to the ground. The soldier rolled around, injured, and a stunned Asmodious staggered to his feet.
The remainder of the kill squad ran straight by him but as the last one went to pass him Asmodious grabbed him by the neck, spun his head around and killed him. He then picked up his weapon and shot the remainder of the fleeing soldiers in the back.
When he finished shooting he turned to face the church and saw Uriel standing one foot in front of him. Uriel head butted him, making him stagger backwards.
From his standing position Uriel kicked Asmodious in the head, knocking him to the ground. He then walked over the demon and stomped on his head, crushing it to the size and shape of a pancake.
As Uriel looked down at Asmodious’ squashed head and body, Sammael tackled him to the ground. He kicked Sammael off him but within a second the other demons descended on Uriel like a pack of hyenas. He managed to pull out his sword and began to fight back with superhuman skill. The demons crowded around him looking for their chance to swing at or stab him. Uriel blocked, parried and countered every strike. No matter which direction they attacked him from they were not safe from his counter strikes. After Uriel killed four demons with his sword the sheer number of demons defeated him and he was again knocked to the floor.
When the demons had finished beating Uriel to a pulp they restrained him, with one demon holding each limb and another two holding his wings. The Antichrist then strolled through the crowd of demons, who parted and gave him a half bow as he made his way to the now helpless Uriel. While the six demons held Uriel, the Antichrist reached down to the archangel and grabbed him around the neck. With one arm he picked him up and held him off the ground as the other demons struggled to restrain him.
“You don’t have the courage to fight me one on one,” Uriel said. “You’re as pathetic as your father!”
With his spare arm the Antichrist pulled a sword from his scabbard and replied, “You won’t be needing this!” He raised his sword and then brought it down, cutting off one of Uriel’s wings. As Uriel screamed, the demons cheered and the Antichrist plunged his sword through Uriel’s chest. As Uriel fell to the ground he looked up at the Antichrist with a smile and said, “That’s OK, I know where I am going!” He closed his eyes and took his last few breaths.
With his final breath, the eyes of the demons and the archangels lit up. The archangels were scattered all over the world; some were even mid flight. Gabriel had just finished healing a gunshot wound from a resistance fighter when he sensed what had happened. He sprang to his feet in shock and anger and took flight. The other archangels were equally angry but not sad. They knew they would meet their beloved friend again soon in non-physical form. Michael turned mid flight and he and the other archangels headed back to the property.
As Sammael’s eyes returned to their normal colour he cried out, “YES, WE GOT THEM, WE NOW KNOW WHERE THEY ARE.”
The Antichrist then roared, “ARE YOU READY TO AVENGE YOUR MASTER?”
The demons immediately raised their swords and guns in the air and cheered with bloodthirsty expectation.
CHAPTER 13
Raphael was the only arch at Jim’s property. As soon as he sensed what was coming, he ran around inside and outside the house to gather everyone up. The kids were out playing, the men were doing odd jobs and Melinda was in the kitchen. Eventually he got them all together and explained the situation.
“The demons are on their way here,” he said. “I need to get you all out of here but I can transport only a few at a time, my wings will fit around only a few at once!”
Before any of the men could object they were interrupted by Metatron as he flew in and landed just off the balcony. He said, “My wings will fit around the rest!”
Jim spoke. “I’m not going anywhere; get my wife and kids out of here. Besides, how do they know where we are? I thought they couldn’t see us.”
“Uriel has gone back to the Father,” Raphael said. “He’s been killed!”
“Fuck,” Bondy said
. “I’m staying too.”
“Everyone I know is dead,” Dillon said. “You lot are the only ones left that I care about.”
“Fuck, well I guess I’m staying too,” Jack said.
“Jim, NO, you need to come with us,” Melinda pleaded.
“Honey,” Jim replied, “there is no way I’m going to leave and let these guys fight on their own.”
Melinda started crying and yelled, “WELL, WHY CAN’T THEY LEAVE TOO?”
Raphael cut in front of Jim and placed both his hands on Melinda’s shoulders. “The demons are on their way here to get you and your children. This is the only chance we will have of getting them all in the one spot. If we don’t kill them now they will continue killing the survivors. This could be our only shot. When I transport you it will weaken me temporarily; we need to go now so I can get back and hopefully recover by the time they get here.”
ARCHANGELS FURY Page 12
