by Len du Randt
Trevor stood up and looked around. He was still in his makeshift prison cell, but the door was open. The angel illuminated the way as he walked in front of Trevor and left through the door. Trevor noticed the body of an N-Force guard lying on the floor.
‘Is he...?’
‘They all are,’ the angel answered as if knowing exactly what Trevor wanted to ask. The seven other men and women who refused to take the Shield joined Trevor and the angel, each with their own angel guiding them through the corridors. A few minutes later, they were standing on the street outside the old school building, and in an instant the angels were gone.
‘This isn’t a dream?’ Trevor asked as he looked around.
‘I don’t think so,’ a woman said. ‘I also thought it was one.’
‘What do we do now?’ a man asked.
‘I’m not sure,’ Trevor said. ‘This kind of thing doesn’t happen every day.’
‘Maybe we could flee,’ the woman suggested.
‘No,’ Trevor said. ‘I don’t think that—’
A brilliant flash of light engulfed the eight, and in an instant, they were surrounded by other people.
‘Here are more,’ a man shouted to someone in the distance. ‘They’re popping up from all over the world.’
‘Are we in Heaven?’ Trevor asked.
Some of the men that surrounded them laughed.
‘Not at all, my brother,’ a man with a huge beard said. ‘You are in the safest place in the world.’
‘And where’s that?’
The man’s eyes widened as broadly as his smile. ‘Why, Jerusalem of course!’
- - -* * *- - -
‘What do you mean they are gone?’ Victor shouted at the Imperial General.
‘He said that he was taking the prisoner to Base Camp One,’ the General said.
‘And you let him go without consulting me first?’
‘He bears your authority, my Lord.’
‘He does not bear my authority,’ Victor screamed. ‘No one does!’
Victor made one swift movement with his hand, and an invisible force flung the demonic General through the room and sent it crashing into the wall.
‘Victory was at hand,’ Victor growled; the irises in his eyes glowing bright red. ‘And you let them escape.’
The General only groaned. Victor lifted his hands and the General was flung up in the air and smashed into the roof. Victor then dropped his hands, and the General plummeted to the ground.
‘I will show you how I deal with such treachery.’
‘My Lord...’
With one final motion of Victor’s hand, the General’s neck snapped and the limp body fell forward.
All the Imperial Soldiers had gathered outside the room. When Victor came out, his eyes scanned over them. ‘Your General has been dismissed,’ he shouted. ‘I want you all to return to Base Camp One for the final preparations. Tomorrow we march for Jerusalem!’
The Earth shook as the Imperial Soldiers all roared and stomped their feet into the ground.
- - -* * *- - -
‘Jerusalem?’ Trevor asked again. The bearded man laughed.
‘Trust me, son,’ the man said. ‘There’s no other place on Earth that you would rather want to be right now.’
‘Malcolm?’ a woman asked.
The bearded man turned. ‘Mary?’
Tears flowed as they embraced one another.
‘I thought that I was never going to see you again.’ he said.
‘I missed you so much,’ Mary responded.
Trevor became aware of the pain again and sat down against the wall.
‘How many of you made it?’
‘Seventy in total,’ Mary said. ‘Kassim, Nasreen, and their daughters are safe, too.’
‘Thank you, Jesus,’ the man exclaimed. ‘I will greet my friends later. First, I want to spend some time alone with my wife.’
He looked at Trevor. ‘Are you okay, son?’
‘I...I’m fine,’ Trevor said. Then everything went black.
- - -* * *- - -
‘Get this man to a sick bay,’ Malcolm shouted. Two men with a stretcher ran up and lifted the limp Trevor onto it. They then loaded him into an ambulance with four others before speeding off to the nearest sick bay.
‘I’m so glad to see you, my love,’ Malcolm said when the remaining people who were still able to walk by themselves were escorted to the nearest sick bay.
‘The Lord is good,’ Mary said and the two of them embraced again.
‘Mother?’ a voice asked from somewhere behind Malcolm.
Mary’s eyes widened. ‘Timothy?’
Malcolm spun around. ‘Tim!’ he shouted and pulled his son into a powerful embrace. The three of them clung together for a moment in silent thankfulness.
- - -* * *- - -
‘They killed them all?’ Malcolm asked after he and Timothy had secluded themselves in one of the offices at the Jerusalem Headquarters.
‘Every single one,’ Timothy said. ‘We only managed to take out about four of them in total.’
‘How many were there?’
‘Thousands,’ Timothy said.
‘This is bad,’ Malcolm said and whistled through his teeth.
‘It gets worse.’
‘Worse?’
Timothy nodded. ‘According to the guy that rescued me, Victor has about two hundred million of these Imperial Soldiers.’
‘Two million?’ Malcolm asked, thinking that he might have heard wrong.
‘No, father,’ Timothy said. ‘Two hundred million.’
Malcolm scratched his beard. ‘They outnumber us a thousand to one.’
‘Even more than that, Father.’
‘How so?’
‘Those are only the Imperial Soldiers. There are still the two and a half billion human followers. Men, women, and even children.’
Malcolm sat down and took a deep breath. ‘How long before they reach us?’
Timothy bit his lip. ‘They will be outside our city in about two months from now.’
‘Should we move the people?’ Malcolm asked.
‘No,’ Timothy said. ‘We have to go the distance with this one. We have to stay and fight.’
‘At least we will be fighting side-by-side,’ Malcolm said. Tears brimmed in his eyes as he thought about how close he had come to losing Timothy again. ‘I’m...I’m proud of you, Tim,’ Malcolm said.
‘Thanks, Dad,’ Timothy said.
The two of them stood there for a moment. There was still a lot of work that needed to be done, but just for that one brief moment nothing really mattered. Elijah and his companion had accomplished their task. The heart of the father and son had been reunited. It was a strong bond that could never again be broken.
- - -* * *- - -
‘We have come to the pinnacle of our mission,’ Victor shouted into the microphone.
Masses of people and Imperial Soldiers cheered and roared and stomped their feet in approval. Victor waited for the noise to subside.
‘We have cornered the enemy and have cut them off from the outside world!’
More stomps and cheers.
‘This is the day that we have been waiting for! This is the moment that will go down in history! Peace is finally within our grasp!’
The response was overwhelming. Millions upon millions cheered.
‘We will take the city intact,’ Victor boomed. ‘I want them to see how futile their belief in a dead God is. I want them to suffer a slow and agonizing death.’ Victor looked over the sea of followers before concluding, ‘Today, we take back our planet!’
The people cheered and shouted and, as if rejuvenated, charged forward again. Their feet stomped into the ground, sending vibrations to even as far as Jerusalem itself.
- - -* * *- - -
Dear Norm,
I’m not writing this because I think that there’s a chance that you would ever read this letter. I guess I’m writing it to make things right with you and to se
t my own mind at ease.
What I am about to tell you is not easy, but it is something that I feel is necessary to say. Here goes: You were right, and I was wrong.
There, I said it!
You were right about the Rapture before it even happened. You were right about Jesus being the only way to salvation. You were right about the Antichrist and his seven year reign of terror.
I am glad that you missed it, but I also hope that you could see the whole thing from where you are now. It has been quite a ride, I’ll tell you that.
As you should know by now, Andrew converted. In fact, I think he was one of the first to convert, and also one of the first to die. I don’t know if I would ever be able to forgive myself for how I treated Andy in those last few days of his life, and also that I’m directly responsible for his death, but if he finds a way to forgive me, that would be a good start.
I just want you to know that I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, and want to thank you for the years of prayer that you have invested in me. It appears that it was not a total waste of your time, after all. And now, because of those prayers, I get to spend the rest of eternity with you and the Jesus you never stopped talking about. Now that I know Him too, I understand why you were so persistent.
Norm, there were times when I was being tortured in the concentration camp when I almost gave up. Almost. A friend of mine did, and turned to Victor. I don’t know why he turned after coming so far, especially after all my prayers. But I have come to accept that when it comes to free will, each person is responsible for his or her own decisions.
I’m in Jerusalem now. Have been here for a few weeks after arriving with the help of what I think was an angel. I guess multiple Raptures could explain why Christians could never agree on a pre—or post Tribulation Rapture. After spending some time in the local hospital, I was restored back to health and assigned duties to fulfil while we wait for Victor’s armies to storm the city. We have fortified walls around the Old City in Jerusalem and the plan is to use our elevated positions as a strategic advantage. I’m not really sure what our chances are of winning this thing, but we don’t really have any other options to choose from.
There’s a guy here called Timothy that seems to run the show. We have become friends in a way, but a pressing time schedule hinders us from pursuing this friendship in full. I guess that once this is all over, we should have ample time to get to know one another.
I admit that I feel much better since writing this letter, and just want you to know that I look forward to seeing you again, my dear brother.
Thanks again for all your prayers, support, and patience with me throughout the years.
Your friend and brother,
Trevor
- - -* * *- - -
‘They’re coming!’ the scout shrieked into the two-way radio. Five minutes later, Timothy was standing next to the scout, looking at the horizon through very powerful binoculars. A black mass was gathering on the horizon.
Dear Jesus, Timothy prayed. Please help us through this. The reality of the war only struck him now, and his stomach twisted and turned as he thought about the inevitable conflict that was soon to take place.
‘So they’re here?’ Malcolm asked as he joined his son on the lookout post.
‘They’re here,’ Timothy nodded.
- - -* * *- - -
Trevor looked up at the watchtower. Malcolm had returned to his post and Timothy was alone, surveying the landscape through his binoculars. Trevor climbed the ladder to the top and squinted into the distance.
‘They will be here in about a week,’ Timothy said and handed the binoculars to Trevor.
‘How many are there?’ Trevor asked as he focused the binoculars.
‘I figure that there’s just over a million that we can see now. The rest will be marching behind.
Trevor whistled softly. ‘How many in total?’
‘Not sure,’ Timothy said, ‘but according to someone I met, they have about two hundred million Imperial Soldiers and two and a half billion human ‘soldiers’ of every race, age, and gender.’
‘Do the others know about this?’
‘No,’ Timothy said, ‘and I would like to keep it that way. No need to let the people panic. Hopelessness can be a fatal poison.’
‘Understood,’ Trevor said and surveyed the coming force once more. He wondered if Sumen and René were amongst those marching toward Jerusalem and figured that they probably were. He bit his lip as images of René flashed through his mind and wondered if he would ever see her again.
‘Are the speakers up?’ Timothy asked.
‘Most of them,’ Trevor said. ‘We still need to hook up about twenty more.’
Timothy sighed deeply. ‘Then let us finish it,’ he said and the two men descended from the watchtower.
- - -* * *- - -
‘All eyes around the world are focussed on the gathering mass near Jerusalem. Those not physically there are continuously following the war in front of their television sets as this clearly becomes the most televised event in the history of communications. All channels are covering the war, even the movie channels.
‘Sovereign Emperor Victor Yoshe has claimed that the war should be over in less than a day. Leaflets are being dropped from airplanes as a means to supply the terrorists with one last chance to surrender peacefully. The terrorists have not yet responded.
‘Sovereign Emperor Yoshe has claimed that the main strategy would be to send in a million Imperial Soldiers first to storm the city and bring down its defences, after which, another six million Imperial Soldiers will flood the city and kill all male terrorists. The females and children will be given one last chance to convert before being executed. Emperor Yoshe said that once this has been accomplished, his era of peace shall finally be able to begin.
‘This is Roland Jackson, reporting to you live from the Middle East.’
- - -* * *- - -
Timothy brought the receiver to his mouth. He clicked the button and waited a few seconds. The reverberating march of the massive army and their loud cheering and singing distracted him from what he was about to do.
‘Tim?’ a voice squawked from the radio.
Timothy managed to tear his gaze from the horizon. ‘Activate the speakers,’ he said, and then turned his attention back to the black mass.
- - -* * *- - -
A loud screeching sound echoed throughout Jerusalem as two hundred and twenty enormous speakers were switched on simultaneously. They were placed on strategic locations all around the Old City, and camouflaged to hide them from the enemy.
‘Speakers activated,’ Trevor confirmed through the two-way radio. ‘We’re good to go.’
‘Great work, Trevor,’ Timothy said.
Trevor looked up at the watchtower and decided that he wanted to join Timothy and have another peek at the army.
‘Watson, this is Trevor. Are you there?’
‘I’m here, Trev.’
‘We’re live. Wait for the signal and then have the people worship as loudly and lively as they can.’
‘Will do.’
With that, Trevor climbed the ladder to the watchtower. It had been a week since he had been up there with Timothy and didn’t know what to expect. But nothing in the world could have prepared him for what he did see when he reached the top.
- - -* * *- - -
The worship booming from the speakers caught Victor’s army off guard for a brief moment. But the effect was short-lived. The enemy resumed its marching and shouting.
‘Do you feel the vibrations?’ Timothy asked.
‘I do,’ Trevor said. As far as his eyes allowed him to see, he saw people and Imperial Soldiers. Trevor could make out the shapes of the ones in front, but the ones at the end appeared as tiny specks of sand.
This is it, Lord, Trevor prayed. This is the cause my parents died for. Please do not let anything happen to your children.
The droning grew louder and louder still, disrupting Trev
or’s thoughts. The people responded by worshipping louder.
‘Get the women indoors,’ Timothy shouted into his radio. ‘And up the volume on the speakers.’
The stomping and shouting of the enemy continued swelling and then, all at once, it stopped. Timothy signalled the worship to stop too, and a few seconds later, an eerie silence hung over Jerusalem.
- - -* * *- - -
‘We have come a long way,’ Victor said facing more than a billion onlookers, his voice supernaturally filtering to each of their ears. ‘But we are finally at the point of eradicating these terrorists once and for all.’
A deafening cheer shook the Earth and Victor allowed it to run its course.
‘But first,’ he said and smiled. ‘Let’s see if they’re willing to repent and ask forgiveness of their sins.’
He turned toward the ancient city in front of him and shouted, ‘Are you prepared to yield to me and ask me for my forgiveness?’
There was a moment of silence, and then a screech came from the speakers lodged on the city walls.
‘We are prepared...’ a voice boomed from the speakers.
Victor smiled.
‘To yield to Jesus Christ and to Him alone.’
Victor’s smile faded.
‘You...’ the voice shouted from the speakers. ‘You can go to Hell!’
