The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle

by Len du Randt

  There was a vibrant buzzing amongst Church-goers as they filled the building for Sunday evening service. Jared sat in the front row next to the Pastor’s wife. It wasn’t until she smiled warmly at him and lightly tapped his hand that he realised how nervous he was. He had to consciously force the bounce in his leg to stop and when Pastor Jacobs made his way to the podium, a swarm of butterflies raged in his stomach.

  ‘I greet you in the wonderful name of our Lord, Jesus Christ,’ Pastor Jacobs greeted his congregation.

  Amen! came the reply.

  The Pastor opened the service with prayer, after which he made his usual announcements to the congregation. There was a reminder for next Sunday’s bazaar—the annual Church fund raiser—and a plea to support Mrs. Feebly by buying one of her delicious apple pies after the service.

  After the offering had been collected, the band led the congregation into Praise and Worship. Afterwards, everyone was asked to be seated again.

  ‘I am proud to announce our guest speaker for today,’ Pastor Jacobs said.

  Jared’s stomach tightened.

  ‘He met Jesus just a few short days ago and has had a truly amazing experience which I believe would encourage us as believers.’ Pastor Jacobs scanned his eyes across the two hundred plus faces staring up at him. ‘The spiritual battle between good and evil is very real,’ he said. ‘And is happening amongst us right now.’

  Amen!

  ‘But I will rather step aside and let this son of God tell you about his experiences in his own words.’ He looked at Jared and smiled warmly. ‘Jared, would you be so kind as to share your experiences with us?’

  Jared nodded and stood up. He made his way up the stairs with the help of his cane and couldn’t help but feel self-conscious as he limped towards the podium where he joined Pastor Jacobs.

  ‘Before he tells his remarkable tale,’ the Pastor said, ‘I would like us all to just join together and pray for our brother.’ The congregation raised their hands towards Jared as the Pastor prayed, asking the Lord to bless Jared and to have his message encourage and teach. Pastor Jacobs then introduced Jared and left the stage to take his seat next to his wife.

  Jared looked at the congregation, placed the cane on the ground next to him, and pressed his hands into his trouser pockets. He took a step towards the microphone, took his hands out and placed them on the pulpit for stability. ‘Hi,’ he greeted faintly. His own voice over the speakers was followed by a shrill scream of feedback. Jared took a step back. A few people laughed.

  Hey! Someone from within the congregation shouted and more people chuckled.

  Jared’s head spun slightly. He searched the crowd for his mother’s face. If he could focus on her face, he could blur out the rest of the people. He spotted his father first and then his mother. Let’s do this, he thought as he took a deep breath before he spoke again. ‘Thank you, Pastor Jacobs.’

  The Pastor nodded.

  ‘I’m sure that what I’m about to tell you might, at times, sound like nothing but pure fiction,’ Jared said and took another deep breath, ‘but all I can do is share with you what I’ve experienced and trust the Lord to write upon your hearts the message that He wants you to hear.’

  It took Jared just over forty minutes to tell everyone his story of the past few months. He told them about Amy, about Natasha; how he lost the company and all his money. He told them about the accident and about the recovery. He told them about the ability to see angels and demons, about how Jesus forgave him for everything, and about his personal meeting with his Saviour. Finally he finished with the showdown at the hangar and once he stopped talking, he scanned his eyes over the crowd to gauge their reactions.

  The silence hung thick over the congregation. No one dared even to cough.

  It was only when the twelve men suddenly stood behind Jared that the people gasped out. Everyone stood up for a better view of the twelve giants that seemingly appeared from nowhere. The men were roughly twice the size of Jared and stood side by side, staring out directly in front of them. Jared turned around and shrank back when he saw the men. He looked back at the people. ‘You can see them?’ he asked.

  No one answered, but he gauged from their reactions and pointing that they did.

  With one swift motion, the twelve men unsheathed their flaming swords and saluted.

  ‘Worshippers, ARISE!’ the angels shouted in unison.

  Everyone fell to their knees, crying out to God. Some prayed and begged Jesus to come into their lives. Others begged forgiveness. Some wept as they re-committed themselves to their Saviour.

  Jared merely stood there, looking on as two hundred people, including the Pastor and his wife, cried out and aligned themselves with their Lord and God. Jared went down on his knees. ‘Thank You for being faithful, Lord,’ he prayed softly. ‘Thank you for staying true, no matter what.’

  The people continued praying and worshipping throughout the rest of the evening into the early morning hours. When the angels finally disappeared, the people stopped worshipping and left for home. No one knew exactly what had happened, but everyone felt more rejuvenated than ever before.

  Jared was one of the last to leave the Church. He walked to the lake and watched as the sun came up over the horizon. A new dawn broke on the small South African town. Jared inhaled deeply and sighed out loud. It was a new day, a new beginning for Kelwick, and what a beautiful day it was indeed.

  Epilogue

  The atmosphere was electric. Ten thousand people crammed themselves into the soccer stadium. A stage had been erected on one side of the field from which Jared could tell the people of his experiences.

  ‘I can’t believe the effect that one Sunday service has had all over the world,’ Jared said. He peered through the dividing curtain behind the stage at the thousands of people outside taking their places and snapping photos of the packed arena.

  ‘For over two thousand years there has been no physical contact with the spiritual realm,’ Simon said. ‘Until now.’

  ‘This is huge,’ Jared said. ‘People from all over the world are converting. This stadium has been fully reserved by various Churches for the next three months. Thousands of people are coming from all over the world and many more have invited me to speak in their countries.’

  Simon merely nodded. ‘You will affect the lives of millions, Jared,’ he said and smiled. ‘For good, of course.’

  Jared raked his fingers through his hair. ‘If this keeps up,’ he said and chuckled, ‘the whole world will soon be converted.’

  ‘This is the final harvest,’ Simon said. ‘The day of the Lord is upon us. We know not the hour nor day; but the season is upon us, and that’s why Satan’s army wanted to recruit you so badly.’

  Jared locked eyes with Simon as the revelation dawned on him.

  ‘Many will come to believe because of this,’ Simon said. ‘Some people would not believe even if someone came back from the dead and witnessed to them personally. Many will see the wonderful things that the Lord will do in this hour, but still, many will choose not to believe. This is how it will be on the fearful and wonderful day of the Lord.’

  ‘Wait. So you’re telling me that this is the end?’ Jared asked.

  The people outside praised loudly along with the band on the stage.

  ‘No,’ Simon said. ‘This is the beginning.’

  For a moment both said nothing. Outside the atmosphere became more electrifying with each passing moment. ‘Thank you,’ Jared said, ‘for everything.’

  Simon nodded and gave Jared a pat on the back.

  Jared closed his eyes and sent up a quick prayer. He took a deep breath and stole one last glance at Simon before he opened the curtains and stepped out onto the stage.

  The Son of Perdition

  “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed,

  the son of perdition.”

  - 2 Thessalonians 2:3, KJV
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  The Son of Perdition – Table of Contents

  Prologue

  1) Birth Pangs

  2) Chaos

  3) Day of Declaration

  4) Aftermath: Federation Earth

  5) The Covenant

  6) Restoration

  7) God inc.

  8) Law & Order

  9) Messiah

  10) The Two Prophets

  11) Abomination

  12) Die by the Sword

  13) The Image

  14) Resurrection

  15) Abaddon

  16) Persecution

  17) Onslaught

  18) Fall of the Mighty One

  19) The Gathering

  20) Showdown

  Prologue

  ‘By the grace of the Almighty, the great Monarch will annihilate heretics and unbelievers. He will have a great army, and angels will fight at his side.

  He will be like the sun among the stars.

  His influence will spread over the whole Earth.’

  - St. Francis of Paola (15th Century)

  Germany: September, 1931

  The scream chilled his blood. Hanz rushed towards the closed door and hesitated before opening it. Was he prepared for what he was about to see?

  He slowly opened the door and peered around it into the vast and beautifully furnished room. His master stood in the middle of the room, swaying from side to side while his eyes darted around wildly.

  ‘He...he...he was here!’ he gasped.

  Hanz noticed that his master’s lips were white and that sweat was streaming down his face. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The swaying man—at most times a very intimidating person—was now nothing more than a broken down man; pathetic looking and almost childlike in nature.

  Hanz slowly reached out to his master. He had never before seen him shaken up like this. What on Earth is going on? Hanz wondered. The sweat, the wild eyes darting about, searching—something had scared his employer out of his wits.

  ‘Sir?’ he asked and gently touched the man’s shoulder and in an instant Hanz lay sprawled across the carpet, a few feet from the man he had just touched. A force so violent that it almost knocked him out cold had flung him across the room as if he was nothing more than a mere rag doll.

  ‘Mein Herr?’ Hanz managed to utter with what strength he had left.

  He looked at his master who had now begun to reel off numbers and odd, broken off words that were entirely void of meaning or sense. He used strangely composed and entirely non-German word formations. Then, eventually, the man stood quite still, only his lips moving. Gradually he grew calm and dismissed Hanz.

  Once Hanz left the room, his master went to bed and fell into a very deep, dreamless sleep.

  Germany: April, 1932 (Seven Months Later)

  ‘What exactly happened that night, Meister?’ Hanz asked. ‘Who or what did you see?'

  The man that Hanz addressed as ‘master’ sat silently for a moment, stroking his moustache and staring intently at the wall across the room. Minutes felt like hours, and he finally spoke in a soft, almost quivering voice. ‘The new man is among us,’ he said. ‘He is here!’ He paused and darted his eyes about the room, as if searching for someone; or something. ‘I will tell you a secret,’ he finally said, his voice slightly above a whisper. ‘I have seen a vision of the new man; fearless and formidable! I shrank from him! I was afraid!’

  Hanz was confused. ‘The new man?’ He could see unadulterated fear in his master’s eyes; something he had only ever seen that evening in September; and now...

  Who could manage to scare this man so? This man that stood up against Hindenburg himself during the voting rounds in March and April, despite overwhelming odds. Sure, Hindenburg won the elections, but still his master stood tall and proud, more determined than ever.

  Adolf Hitler stood up and glared at Hanz and it felt as if Hitler’s eyes bore holes into his retinas. Hanz could feel an invisible force drain the strength from his body.

  ‘We are never to speak of that night again, Hanz. Do you understand me?’

  ‘I… I understand…’ Hanz uttered, weakened.

  ‘Good!’ Hitler said and broke his gaze as he turned to leave the room.

  Hanz could only breathe deeply as his strength slowly returned.

  .I.

  Birth Pangs

  ‘We do not want another committee. We have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man and whether he be God or devil, we will receive him.’

  - Paul-Henri Spaak, Secretary-General of NATO, 1957

  South Africa: Today

  It was a hard day at work for Trevor Elliot. His eyes burned from the constant glare of his computer screen. He spent his day solving Internet problems over the telephone and found the customers’ relentless queries physically draining.

  His numb fingers turned the keys to his apartment door and he heaved the door open with exaggerated effort.

  ‘What a day,’ Trevor sighed as he slumped comfortably onto the sofa in front of his television. He kicked off his shoes and, with exaggerated effort, reached for the remote control next to him. As he suspected, all the channels were covering the birth of the new media giant: Global Media Network. The network was the result of a global merger between all Television, Print, Radio, Internet and news related businesses, be they private or government institutions. Those not willing to join the GMN team were forced to shut their doors.

  ‘Tune in to GMN,’ the voiceover boomed, ‘and become involved as we cover all the news, all over the world, all the time.’

  ‘While the tax payers pay your ridiculous salaries,’ Trevor mused. They had a complete channel to themselves seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. They also pulled the best crew from various media sources and doubled their salaries. The conspiracy theorists yelled ‘Big Brother’ from day one, claiming that GMN was the government’s method of brainwashing the masses. Trevor couldn’t care less. He just wanted the news without all the fuss; and while talk shows on all the other channels covered the merger, GMN covered the news.

  Let’s see how good these guys are, Trevor thought as he turned up the volume.

  ‘Israeli police say that the double suicide bombing earlier today claimed the lives of at least seventeen people. The identities of the victims will be released once their next of kin have been notified. Israeli troops are positioned at the border, and all Palestinians are subjected to a thorough search whenever entering Israeli territory. This has been the ninth suicide bombing in just four days, and Israel’s Prime Minister, David Cohen, will release a formal statement at 9 PM, Standard Eastern Time.’

  ‘Why don’t they just nuke the whole lot?’ Trevor asked aloud and rolled his eyes. He couldn’t understand why the Israelis would allow this to happen and not retaliate. If he had been in some position of power, he would have shoved hundreds of tanks down the Palestinian leader’s throat by now.

  ‘The European Union’s bid to create what they call a ‘United Europe,’ was stalled today as three countries, Egypt, Britain, and Iran were in deadlock about converting to the Euro as their primary currency. The United Europe would consist of countries currently within the EU, as well as some outside its borders. A spokesperson for the European Union said that the United Europe would be built on the blueprint of the old Roman Empire, which included Egypt and Iran as two of its member countries. European Union negotiators will try to convince the leaders of the three countries to join their efforts in what the EU refers to as: a Greater Empire.’

  Trevor flipped through the rest of the channels, wondering if there would be something, anything, that he could watch instead, but before he realised it, he was back on GMN.

  ‘A major Earthquake wreaked havoc in India today as highways were ripped open, and buildings came crashing down to their foundations. The quake struck earlier this morning, just after ten o’ clock,
and measured seven point nine on the Richter scale. The death toll is currently standing at twenty thousand while thousands more are missing.

  ‘The country has turned to the United Nations for financial assistance to provide food and shelter for those left homeless or have been injured by the quake.’

  Trevor flipped through the channels again, and again there was nothing interesting on except the hype around the GMN merger. After watching a quick interview with the broadcasting manager of GMN, Trevor returned to the news.

  ‘Tragedy struck as almost all the members of the religious cult group known as The Oracle of David committed mass suicide today. According to eye witness reports, their leader, John—no known last name—shot seven of his eight ‘elders’ before setting their communal home on fire. He then turned the gun on himself. Tune in next week as we interview the sole survivor of this terrible ordeal.’

  How stupid can one person be to fall for garbage like that? Trevor thought as he contemplated making himself a quick something to eat.

  ‘A man has been arrested for raping and killing a three-year-old girl. Her badly mutilated body was discovered last week in a field near the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. When asked by prosecutors why he did it, 27-year-old Joseph Kanizene merely shrugged and claimed that a ‘witch doctor’ told him that raping and killing the girl would cure him of Aids.

  ‘This has been the four hundred and fifty-sixth reported case in only six months, with the number climbing daily. Kanizene’s medical records indicate that he is still HIV positive, and the local community are demanding the reinstitution of the death penalty at the—’

  The television went black as Trevor pushed the power button on the remote. He had just lost his appetite. ‘What is this world coming to?’ he sighed. As he sank deeper into the sofa, he closed his eyes for a quick nap.