by J. T. Lewis
The cabbie looked worriedly into the rearview mirror as the heavyset man placed his hand calmly on his friend’s shoulder.
“There, there Franklin. You are scaring the man.”
Pasting on a smile and looking forward then, “Please excuse my friend dear sir, we have been traveling for many days, and I do believe he has reached his limit.”
The cabbie continued his worried stare for a few moments before shaking his head and once again concentrating on the road ahead.
Franklin Buff shook his head in despair. “Please forgive me my old friend,” he whispered, “but the enormity of it all…I didn’t ask for this you know!”
His eyes were wide with emotion as he sat back in his seat dejectedly.
“I dare say no one would be totally prepared for a discovery such as yours Franklin. It’s unfortunate that it happened so late in our lives my friend, younger men would be much better suited to the task.”
As the speaker glanced out the window, the cab slowed to a stop in front of a nicely maintained older house.
“Ah! Here we are now!”
Exiting the cab, the man leaned into the front window to pay for their trip as his friend grabbed their luggage out of the trunk. As the cab departed in a cloud of blue smoke, the man known as Franklin gazed after it longingly.
Meanwhile, the heavyset man…the professor…gazed at the house with a tentative smile. It would be good to see him again…if it were only under different circumstances.
Leaning forward slightly to gain momentum, the professor started up the sidewalk at a fast clip.
“Come Franklin, the day has but only started.”
Picking up the suitcases, Franklin fell in behind the professor with little enthusiasm. Making their way up the steps and onto the porch, the professor knocked on the door quickly, taking a step back and removing his wide brimmed hat as an afterthought.
After a few moments, they heard a noise from within the house…the sound of glass breaking…followed by a mumble that sounded like a curse.
“Coming!” they then heard from behind the door as someone seemed to fumble with the lock.
The door suddenly swung open quickly, banging against the wall as the occupant flung it open carelessly.
Standing before them stood a man of average height and build, his dirty blonde hair flattened on one side of his head as if from sleeping. He carried dark bags under his eyes, and his right arm was slung in a cast.
“Help you?” he mumbled while rubbing his eyes with his left hand. His cutoff jeans revealed a leg wrapped in gauze, a streak of dried blood running four inches across it. His ragged tee-shirt, exhibiting a multitude of holes and rips, looked to be a day or two past its prime.
“This is the guy?” Franklin had moved his lips close to the professor’s ear to whisper. “I fear we are doomed.”
The professor didn’t look at Franklin, but merely smiled as he looked upon the man in the doorway.
“It is a pleasure to see you again my boy!”
The man stopped rubbing his eyes, his hand staying in place for a few moments before he dropped it to squint out into the daylight surrounding the men on his porch.
A sudden look of recognition crossed his face then, closely followed by another look of confusion.
“Julien?”
“It is indeed Gabriel! May we come in?”
Gabriel’s confusion seemed to hold him fast in place until he remembered his manners.
“Of course, of course, come in…please!”
Stepping aside, he let the men enter the cool kitchen before closing the door behind them. Turning, he was met by the older man’s extended hand.
“I must say, you look much worse for wear than the last time we parted my dear boy.”
Taking the professor’s hand in his, his eyes came more to life, exhibiting some of the sparkle that the professor remembered from their time in Peru.
“We just finished a case yesterday Julien. As you can see, I didn’t escape it unscathed.”
“Indeed!” Julien Taylor exclaimed, “I do hope the other man is at least in comparable shape?”
Gabriel shook his head. “He didn’t make it…but it was no great loss to mankind, believe me.”
He seemed to realize his manners again suddenly. “Please, come in, have a seat. Would you like some coffee?”
“Tea for me,” Franklin interjected, having used up all of his patience on the trip.
“Gabriel,” the professor interjected quickly, “The cantankerous man on my left is Dr. Franklin Buff. Besides having very poor manners, he is best known as a crack Archeologist. In point of fact, if not for a recent discovery of his, I would not be here now.”
Dr. Buff ignored Gabriel’s outstretched hand as he took a seat at the table. Shrugging, Gabriel continued with his preparations as he listened to the professor, pouring the water into the coffee maker and turning on the burner for the teakettle before turning back toward his guests.
“Really,” he stated as he sat facing his guests.
“Indeed,” Julien continued, “On a recent dig in Samaria…well…ancient Samaria anyway, he came across a scroll. It is a very intriguing scroll, Gabriel, as well as worrisome. He honored me with a request to join him to help with the translation.”
“Worrisome?” Gabe asked offhandedly as he got up again and pulled some cups out of the cupboard, “How so?”
“It involves predictions Mr. Celtic,” Franklin Buff interjected, “end of days predictions to be exact.”
“Interesting,” Gabriel intoned as he brought a sugar bowl and a plastic milk jug to the table, ignoring the distasteful scow on Franklin’s face.
“Extremely!” Julien Taylor nearly shouted. “Point of fact, after weeks of studying this scroll my boy, it is my considered opinion that it points to a savior of sorts. It points to you Gabriel!”
Startled, Gabriel overflowed his coffee before he caught himself, pulling off some paper towels and throwing them on the floor before turning and staring at the men.
“It does what?” he asked incredulously, “It points to me?”
“We are not of one mind on this of course, but for my part, I believe that it does indeed point to you Gabriel.”
Gabriel was quiet, mulling over what he had just heard. Slowly a smile crossed his lips as the unlikelihood of an ancient scroll talking about him triggered something humorous within him.
“Really gentlemen, you’ve come all this way to tell me this?” he asked grinning.
“Just what is it that I’m supposed to do Julien?”
“Why…you’re to save the world my boy, you are to save the world.”
Chapter II
October 1, 1999
Sonja
Sonja Nelson had shunned lunch as usual.
Sitting at her desk in the empty office, she typed away quickly on her reports, her infrequent nibbles on a granola bar the only acknowledgment of the hunger rumbling in her stomach.
This was the only part of the day that she enjoyed, and it also worked out that it was the most productive.
Why waste the time eating?
Already in her forties, the thin woman with mousy brown hair had never married, and had nothing in her life save for this job and her four cats at home.
Not that the job had any real meaning. Her boss hated her, but still stacked job after job on her desk because he knew she would get it done.
The mass of people that usually populated the cubicle-packed office just made her nervous. Cold sweats and churning intestines haunted her day, her many trips to the restroom fodder for office rumor mill. Embarrassed, she kept to herself as much as possible, spending her days holed up in her cubicle and out of sight.
She knew she had advanced as far as she was going to in her life, and had made peace with that. Her house had been left to her when her parents had died, and she only needed enough money to feed her cats and pay the taxes.
Even this crummy job gave her that!
Concentrati
ng on the quarterly report that her boss had demanded by the end of the day, she didn’t even notice the change at first when it found her. When she finally noticed the blue energy creeping up her thighs, she just stared at it like one might a spider, frozen in place with fear.
As the blue ring reached her neck, she became completely unaware of her surroundings as the energy melded with hers.
When she once more became consciously aware, she gasped for air greedily, the coolness of it entering her lungs feeling like a comforting elixir.
At first confused by the sudden change, Sonja quickly embraced the newfound confidence that had enveloped her. Minimizing the screen she had been working on, she pulled up her email account and sent a quick note to her boss before shutting down the computer.
Standing up, she picked up her old homemade cloth tote and set it on the chair. Pulling open her middle drawer, Sonja pulled out the 8” letter opener that she kept there, dropping it into the bag before she shouldered it. Turning to leave she stopped suddenly, turning back and picking up her stapler before leaving the cubicle with a smile.
The confidence surging through her was amazing; it felt as if there was energy snapping at her skin!
The office was once again filling with people as she walked out, but unlike before, it didn’t bother her in the least. As she brushed by the hordes streaming into the door, she happened upon her boss.
“Where in the hell do you think you are going Miss Nelson? I need that report done ASAP!”
Without a second thought, Sonja swung the stapler, hitting her boss on the temple as an orange ring around each iris flashed brightly. Watching him fall to the floor unconscious and bleeding delighted her as she then strode out of the building.
Later that day, they would find her last email on her boss’s computer. It stated simply: “I quit.”
Chapter III
October 1, 1999
“And he shall be called, Gabriel…”
I couldn’t help laughing!
“What are you guys smoking?” I gasped as my body racked with the best laugh I’d had in weeks.
The men at the table however weren’t smiling; Dr. Buff was actually scowling as he looked over to Julien.
“See? I told you your theory was just so much wishful thinking! The thought of this…this…miscreant saving the world is…laughable!”
As Franklin Buff rose to leave, the professor calmly placed his hand on his partner’s shoulder, holding him down as his eyes stayed intently on me.
“Gabriel my boy, I noticed something when we were working together at the dig. Do you mind showing the impatient Dr. Buff here the back of your neck?”
The humor of a few moments before suddenly left my being, leaving in its place…anger!
“Oh come on!” I exclaimed, “Not you too!”
“Ahhhh…I see this has been brought to your attention before?”
“Julien, what in the dickens are you trying to get at?” Franklin Buff exclaimed in frustration. “Would you call us a Taxi please Mr. Celtic? It’s been a trying few days and I really need to lie down!”
Julien ignored his friend’s pleadings as he continued to watch me intently.
“Gabriel…if you please.”
Sighing in frustrated resignation, I replied “Fine!”
Walking around the table, I slowly got on one knee between the two men, facing away from them.
Dr. Buff gasped.
“Julien…could this really be true, the Mark of the Angel?”
“Indeed,” Julien responded evenly.
“It’s just a birthmark Julien, nothing more, nothing less!” I responded angrily, moaning as I pulled myself back up using the back of Julien’s chair.
“It’s much brighter than I remember it my boy, almost glowing to be precise. Has it been bothering you lately?”
Thoughts of the burning at the back of my neck came flooding back as I involuntarily rubbed it again. It had actually been bothering me for the last several weeks.
Catching myself rubbing it, I quickly dropped my arm.
“What’s that got to do with anything?” I asked as I made my way over to pour my guests some tea.
“In my estimation, quite a lot I dare say,” Julien countered. “As the time for action draws close, I can only imagine that your calling would make itself known to you, abundantly so.”
I poured the water over the teabags before taking the cups to my guests, setting one in front of each man.
Franklin Buff’s distasteful look at the sight of a common teabag was not as pronounced as I thought it would be.
Grabbing my coffee then, I took a seat across from my guests. We sat looking at each other silently as we sipped at our drinks.
“Anyway,” I finally spoke up, “Even if this was all true, which it isn’t, I would have to refuse. Look at me! I can hardly make it to the bathroom, much less save the world!”
Julien sat there, studying me intently.
“You do indeed appear to be extensively wounded. Would you mind if I had a look at your leg wound my dear boy? It shows signs of bleeding.”
Knowing that my old friend had some medical training in his background, I nodded, scooting my chair out as he made his way around the table.
“Be careful,” I cautioned as I stuck out my leg, “It was slashed with a sword.”
“Indeed!” Julien exclaimed as he kneeled before me comfortably. “You do live an active life my boy!”
Inspecting it carefully, he then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife. Unfolding the blade, he then aimed it at my leg.
“Be careful with that!” I said through gritted teeth, preparing myself for the added pain I knew was coming.
“I’ll be as gentle as a lamb,” he replied as he pinched the top of the gauze and inserted the blade. In one practiced motion, he slit down the length of the wrapping. Pulling it apart gingerly, he studied the stitched wound.
“As I suspected Gabriel my boy, the cut is well on its way to being healed! You should be right as rain in just a couple of days.”
I laughed. “I think it’s time you invested in some glasses old friend, that cut was made barely twelve hours ago.”
Standing then, Julien gave me a knowing smile. “Be that as it may my friend, the wound is already puckered together under the stitching. Have a look for yourself.”
I leaned over, studying the cut.
I couldn’t believe my eyes!
“How is this possible?” I mumbled quietly to myself.
“It is more than possible my boy, it is a fact! Additional proof, if any is still needed, that you are the one that has been foretold of in the scroll. Combine that with the Mark of the Angel on your neck, and I am confident in the fact that you have indeed been chosen my boy!”
Sitting down again before his tea, I was frozen in place at my chair.
“You actually have little choice in the matter I would imagine,” Julien continued between sips. “There aren’t a lot of people out there as replacements for someone destined to save the world as we know it.”
I groaned inwardly as Julien’s words swirled around in my head. As I sat there wondering how this day could get any worse, my answer came in a rustling from the living room, followed by the words that made me cringe:
“I KNEW IT!”
Chapter IV
October 1, 1999
Snake
Snake Black gazed at the painting before him with satisfaction.
He had found it!
Vermeer’s The Concert had been missing for nine years, stolen in 1990 from the Gardner Museum in Boston.
“He had found it!” he thought to himself once more, in awe of his own prowess.
Sighing contentedly, he flicked open his knife, stepping toward the painting determinedly.
This was the ultimate reward, stealing a painting that was already stolen.
“No one would be calling the cops on this one,” he mumbled as he brought the point of the blade close to the canva
s.
Discovering it in the hands of a collector in Dallas had taken Snake two years of research. Another two days of constantly staking out the large residence had finally earned him an empty house in which to claim his prize! He was as proud of the hunt for the painting as he was the fact that it was about to become his own.
At least until he could fence it anyway.
Carefully sliding the point of the knife through the canvas, he slowly drew the knife down the edge of the gilded frame. Concentrating on his work, he didn’t immediately notice the blue electric as it crawled up his legs.
“Shit!” he screamed involuntarily when he finally noticed the encircling ring at his waist.
After a few seconds of confusion, he gazed back up at the painting longingly. Although he didn’t know what would happen, he was fairly certain that the outcome didn’t include finishing the theft of his beloved painting.
“Shit,” he sighed in resignation before he lost consciousness.
Still standing upright, his body exhibited a few small seizures before he started anxiously gasping for air.
“Wow!” he smiled when he had caught his breath, “That was wild!”
Folding the knife, he slipped it back into his pocket as the newly installed orange rings around his irises flashed.
Exiting the house, he easily vaulted over the brick wall surrounding the property, whistling when he reached the street while walking to his car.
“This should be fun!” he thought as he got in.
He really wasn’t sure what ‘this’ was yet, but he knew that he had to travel to get there, and that it was to the North.
The owner of the stolen painting would notice the slit the next morning. Knowing what the cut meant, he would wonder the rest of his days why whoever had broken in had not finished taking his most prized possession.
Chapter V
October 1, 1999
“He will bear the mark of the angel…”
Abby stood in the doorway, looking like hell!
