The Harvest

by John David Krygelski

  Matthew, staring in wonder at the dim sphere, fought the tension born of desperate determination and forced his fingers to release his grip on Michael. One by one, the others slowly did the same, prepared to immediately reconnect to the Archangel if any sign that it was needed would appear. What had been a thunderous roar was now a deep, soft thrum. The once ferocious wind had subsided to a breeze, gently clinging to its clockwise direction.

  Sensing movement to his side, for the first time since the beginning of the confrontation, Reese noticed Elohim, rising to his feet from the stone floor. Wordlessly, he walked to Michael and took the ball of energy that was Lucifer, holding it gently in his hands. As Reese and the others watched, the formless orb subtly began to change, reforming and reshaping until it resembled a face. It was not the face of Preston Bennett, not a face recognizable to Reese.

  Elohim looked at the visage between his cupped hands. Suddenly tears streamed down his cheeks. In a choked and pitiful voice, Elohim spoke the name, “Cain!”

  The countenance of Cain, though formed from the darkly glowing assemblage of Lucifer’s feeble remaining energy, twisted in an expression of grief and sorrow, stared up into Elohim’s eyes. The holographic image of Cain moved as his mouth spoke the words, somehow audible to all, “Father. Please forgive me.”

  Elohim gasped, overcome by his emotions, the gasp followed by a whimper. Struggling to speak, he quietly said, “I do forgive you, my son.” Pausing as he again choked on his own sobs, Elohim continued, “You know I cannot allow you to remain here among them.”

  The face of Cain looked up at his father for a long time, comprehension and acceptance written deeply in his features. “I know,” Lucifer acknowledged. “I understand.” His features softening, changing to an almost childlike expression, he said, “Before I go, I have one thing to ask.”

  His chin trembling with sorrow, Elohim asked, “And what is that?”

  “It has been so long. For one more time…may I feel Your love?”

  Elohim’s face twisted in unspeakable remorse as he slowly bent his elbows and held his child against his breast. As he embraced Lucifer, a single tear trickled from his cheek and fell down onto his son. As it touched, all heard Lucifer sigh.

  After a time, Elohim held Lucifer away to see his face once again.

  “Thank you, Father. I will hold Your love within me for an eternity.”

  For minutes Elohim gazed deeply into Lucifer’s eyes. Neither spoke until Elohim said, “It is time, my son. I must say good-bye.”

  “I know.”

  Lucifer’s eyes closed for a moment, savoring the connection that he had craved for a thousand lifetimes. Opening them, he looked at Elohim and smiled, saying, “Good-bye, Father. I love You.”

  “And I have always loved you, my child.”

  As if stepping through a gossamer curtain, one by one Elohim’s angels arrived at the alcove, each and all holding before them the blackened mass of irredeemable souls collected in their journeys. They stepped forward to Elohim, Michael, and Lucifer, encircling them.

  Addressing the others, Elohim’s voice grew stronger, echoing off the walls. “Please leave us. Please step out of this alcove.”

  Reese had rejoined Claire, Melissa, and Matthew, and they stood watching the spectacle. The others turned toward the entrance and began slowly walking, waiting for those on the steps to back away to allow them room. Reese, glancing at his daughter, noticed tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes were riveted on the reddish-brown orb held by Elohim, Cain’s features still visible. As the area began to clear, Reese, intending to shepherd his family away from what was to come next, turned, and with his arms spread, urged in a solemn voice, “Let’s go.”

  Matthew turned toward the exit, twisting his head around so that he could see Elohim and the angels, and took a step. Claire began to pivot, then paused, indecision coloring her features. Melissa did not move. Reese touched her shoulder and murmured, “Come on, honey.”

  “What’s he going to do?” she asked, not taking her eyes off Cain.

  “He explained it before. He’s sending him away.”

  “To hell!” Matthew added.

  “But he’s sorry. He’s sorry for what he’s done.”

  Reese looked closely at his daughter’s face, seeing the compassion and sympathy deeply etched. “Melissa, just moments ago he was trying to kill all of us and millions more. He’s beaten now…he’s weak. He’ll say anything.”

  Matthew had returned to his sister and was standing at her side. “Lissa, as soon as Elohim leaves again, Lucifer will go back to the way he was. It’s just who he is.”

  Blinking rapidly, Melissa turned and started walking toward the exit, followed by her brother. Reese followed, noticing Claire still hanging back, chewing on her bottom lip.

  Reese was starting to turn back again, to return to her, when she asked, “Elohim, is there another way?”

  Hearing the spoken support from her mother, Melissa stopped, as did Matthew, staying close to his sister.

  Elohim, who had been looking at Cain, raised his eyes to Claire and answered, “No, Claire. There is not.”

  “But he’s Your son…spiritually and physically. You, Elohim, created him. And the body You’ve chosen – Adam – actually conceived Cain. How can You do this to Your own spirit and to Your own flesh and blood?”

  Elohim did not answer. The conflict between his emotions and his wisdom was written on his face. Profound sorrow furrowed his brow as his gaze returned to the face held within his grasp.

  Michael spoke. For Reese and his family, it was the first time they heard his voice. It was a sound imbued with both power and love. “Father, I will obey You in all of Your wishes as I always have. If it is Your wish for our brother to remain, we will resume our struggle, continue our vigilance.”

  Elohim’s eyes bored into Michael’s. “He very nearly destroyed you and the others.”

  “This is true,” Michael conceded. “And, if he is again loosed upon the Earth this night, it is inevitable there will be another clash on some distant day in the future.” Gesturing toward Matthew, Michael continued, “The young man is correct. Lucifer cannot change who he is. Yet he is my brother. And You are my beloved Father. The struggle, the vigilance, the eventual clash…these are a price I am willing to pay, if it is Your wish.”

  Elohim absorbed Michael’s words. His eyes, unfocused, gazed at some remote point, unseen by the rest. The angels and the mortals stood silently, waiting for the decision. The only sound was the soft whir and hum caused by the residual energy.

  Elohim closed his eyes and slowly, deeply inhaled, gradually releasing the breath. Opening his eyes, he faced Reese. “You have been a wise counsel for me on the days of my visit. Share your thoughts with me now.”

  Reese, marshaling his thoughts, responded, “In one of our many talks, Elohim, we discussed the trait I most prized in my God. I insisted it was wisdom and You disagreed, telling me that I sought in God an ability to balance emotion and intellect, satisfying both.” Reese hesitated before he continued, “You were correct. Your dilemma tonight cannot be resolved by the application of wisdom, intellect, whatever we want to call it. What is needed, unfortunately, is not among my strong points.”

  “My original intent for this visit was, again, not to intervene. You were quite persuasive, Reese, in your arguments against this path.”

  “I still believe that to be so. While You did not intervene, Your removal of the Chosen was, in itself, an intervention…a removal of a countervailing force. The balance was tipping. Even You believed this might have been Your final visit.”

  “It is true. All that you say is true. Yet now, I am left with this final deed, and I fear I am paralyzed, unsure of the best course.”

  “I know. I wish I could help.” Resignedly, Reese weakly raised his arms from his sides, allowing them to drop back down. “I am sorry, Elohim. This choice is Yours alone.”

  Stooped, the weight of the decision bearing heavily on h
is shoulders, Elohim once more allowed his gaze to drift to a faraway place. No one moved as they waited, barely daring to breathe. All were aware of the import of Elohim’s choice. The effect, upon Earth’s future and untold generations yet to be born, was incalculable.

  After several minutes of near silence, Elohim stiffened. Even before he spoke, they all knew he had reached a decision. “I cannot bear the thought of encasing my beloved son for an eternity. I will release you, Lucifer.”

  Melissa and Claire both gasped, releasing their pent-up tension as one. A soft “Ooohhh” came from Matthew, his disagreement with the decision obvious.

  Reese began to speak but was interrupted. “NO!” Momentarily disoriented, Reese discerned that it was Lucifer himself who had uttered the single word.

  Elohim looked down at the face and asked, “What, my son?”

  “For endless ages I searched, looking only for Your love. Today, after wandering for so long, I have found it. Please, my Father, do not release me to wander again, for I fear I will lose my way. And when I do, I will once more lose the memory of Your love.”

  Elohim’s voice shook. “You have begged for my forgiveness. Have you not learned? Can you not change your lot?”

  Lucifer’s face, a tragic mask, replied, “That I may not live with You and with my brothers in Heaven is an immutable fact, a reality even You cannot change, and a condition I accept. But the wisdom to understand and to accept this truth can only be attained in Your presence, as I am now. Denied that, I have no doubt I will eventually begin to succumb to the same resentment, anger and, eventually, hatred which led me before to become the being You saw today.” Lucifer paused, agony bending and warping his visage. “I do not wish to become that being again, Father. I beg You, build my cell, make it strong. For living in a cage is far better than prowling this Earth, because in my cell I will hear the echoes of Your voice, and I will feel the remnants of Your touch for an eternity.”

  Unable to speak, unable to tear his eyes away from the soulful stare of Lucifer, Elohim simply nodded. The others, those of this time, understood without further words. Melissa, breaking the trance, slowly moved toward the alcove exit. Her brother, mother, and father followed, leaving only the angels, Elohim, and Lucifer to remain.

  Elohim, for a moment intended to last forever, clutched the essence of his creation to his bosom and wept, as Michael and the other angels stood patiently and watched. He, then, held Lucifer away once more. Without a word, the angels processed past them. Pausing one at a time, they added their aggregates of souls to the space between Elohim’s hands. The energy, the consolidated essences added by them, swirled around Lucifer as if in orbit, until the final burden was delivered.

  As the sphere had grown with each arrival, Elohim’s hands had spread farther to accommodate it. With the task complete, Elohim peered into the center of the swirling mass and whispered, “Good-bye, my son,” grief cracking his voice. Before the last reverberation of his farewell faded, a layer of gray, identical to the gray shell of clouds encompassing Earth, began to form around the bundle of energy. Thin and fibrous at first, the encapsulation spread and thickened. Transparency gave way to translucence, which begat obscura, eventually surrendering to opaque.

  The orb, fully concealed and contained by the shell, was a threat to the angels no more. Commencing with Michael, they approached and laid their hands upon the cool, smooth surface, infusing it with their innately positive charge, building an impenetrable barrier from which Lucifer could never escape. After minutes passed, sensing that a full saturation had been achieved, the angels withdrew.

  Carefully, as if carrying a delicate flower, Elohim walked from the alcove. The people, seeing him emerge, backed away to form a path which Elohim followed to the bottom of the steps. All of the angels followed him down and formed a circle around him when he stopped. The mass of people also encircled Elohim a short distance behind the angels.

  Drawing upon the almost infinite energy waiting dormant in the space around him, Elohim, slowly at first, began to coat the gray shell with a smooth, metallic substance. Spreading his hands even farther, the size of the sphere grew as ply upon ply was added. Then the expansion ceased, yet the process did not. The sphere, roughly a yard in diameter, under the forces of Elohim, although no longer gaining volume, continued accreting mass. The people, unable to look away, somehow sensed the growing density of the ball, a sense finally satisfied as they witnessed the first physical manifestations of the phenomenon.

  All the members of the throng began to feel a faint breeze originating behind them, regardless of their orientation in the circle. The air was rushing in toward the sphere, absorbed by its mass. The need for the circle of angels also became apparent as all felt the tug upon their bodies, drawing them toward Elohim, toward the sphere.

  Elohim gazed intensely at his work, not blinking, never looking away. Above him, the heavy, dark clouds revolved, sending down a thread of spinning, wispy grayness to connect to the sphere. Like water swirling down a drain, the clouds surged and twisted through the diaphanous funnel, pulled from every corner of the Earth, emptying the sky into Elohim’s newest creation.

  The mass of people were now compressed against the barrier of angels. A deafening crack was heard as the concrete beneath Elohim’s feet buckled upward, struggling to break free in its inanimate attempt to satisfy the insatiable gravity of the orb. The soil beneath it, now released, gushed upward and disappeared into the shimmering orb. What was a whispering breeze had become a banshee scream and swept in dust and debris from all directions. At the very moment when it seemed the sphere would swallow the Earth itself, Elohim shifted it to his right hand. Arching back his arm, bending his knees, at lightning speed he hurled the orb into the sky, aiming for the darkest point in the handle of the Big Dipper. As the sphere rocketed upward, it attracted and absorbed the air around, leaving a vacuum in its wake. Immediately filling the void, the atmosphere collapsed upon itself, creating a thunderclap of a magnitude never before heard by man.

  In the aftermath, silence pervaded the area, unappreciated by the still-ringing ears of the crowd. Reese, feeling a pressure on his arm, turned to see Claire inches from his face. Her mouth was moving, yet no sound penetrated. He shouted back, “I can’t hear you,” seeing her respond with a quizzical look, and knowing that she, also, was deafened.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Within minutes of Elohim’s dramatic ejection of Lucifer, hearing began to return to the crowd. With people still mostly shouting to be heard, the chatter of voices was confusing and loud. In the midst of the melee, Reese, Claire, Matthew, and Melissa were joined in a jumbled embrace. Over Claire’s shoulder, Reese spotted the middle-aged man who had been the first from the crowd to join the deadly conflict. Keeping one arm wrapped around Claire, he waved the man over with the other.

  As he arrived, Reese, still speaking too loudly, said, “Wanted to thank you.”

  “Thank me for what?”

  “If you hadn’t come forward, I’m sure my family would have died.”

  “Well, you’re welcome. It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

  Claire smiled, turning to face the stranger. “You broke the ice. After you did it, the rest followed.”

  Looking slightly embarrassed, the man responded, “Please don’t give me all the credit. My wife, Kathy, told me I’d better do something.” As the man spoke, he gestured toward a woman threading her way through the crowd to join them.

  “Here she is now.” He affectionately draped his arm around her waist. “This is my wife, Kathy.”

  “And this is Claire, my wife. And my children, Matthew and Melissa.”

  Then Kathy leaned forward toward Melissa, telling her, “I believe you were the hero today. If it wasn’t for you, none of us would have helped.”

  Melissa just smiled broadly, saying, “Thanks.”

  Reese held out his hand to the stranger, introducing himself, “And I’m Reese. Reese Johnson.”

  “My nam
e is Stanley Witherspoon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  From behind Reese came the excited voice of Walter Penfield. “Can you believe it? A black hole! He made a black hole and threw it into space!”

  “Walter,” Reese said, looking over his shoulder. “Was that what it was?”

  “I’m sure.” Walter and Doris edged their way into the small circle as Penfield continued, “Pretty damn clever, actually. How else could He contain Lucifer forever? Nothing escapes.”

  “But I thought Elohim said that anything sucked into a black hole is shot back in time?”

  “He did, Reese. But that’s only what gets sucked in later, after the black hole is strong enough to accelerate the things it pulls in up to the speed of light. The core is trapped by its own mass, its own gravity.”