The Deacon and the Shield

by John E. Howard

  Doctor Marsh reassures Ellie that he will do everything necessary for Eddy and that he should recover: “The nurse will be in touch with you when he starts to move around and makes signs of waking. To see his family is the best medicine for him, so you can rest assured that we will call you immediately when it’s appropriate.”

  Before leaving, Ellie whispers to Eddy: “If love can make you live longer then you will live forever because that’s how long I will love you. We all love you. Get well for us. We’ll be back to take you home. Don’t worry about anything except getting better. If you would like, we will go fetch that lousy rocking chair so you will be comfortable. That’s if it doesn’t fall apart in the moving. Hold on and don’t give up. We won’t be gone too long. I’ll bring back the Bible and read to you. Nothing for us to do right now but wait and pray and give thanks.”

  Meanwhile: Lt. Sam Holler, The District Attorney, Tampa City Mayor and Judge G.R. Rule held a meeting to discuss recent events involving Eddy Riffle, Mr. A. Baddon, Roddy Shaw, a person known as The Clown, and possibly Detective Boone. The evidence indicated that an indictment was in order. But for now, just a subpoena. You can’t question a potentially dying man that is comatose.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Eddy’s Coma – Visitors

  “It’s like I’m a little ship in a glass bottle – they look at me but they can’t reach me.”

  I looked up as I was being carted through swinging doors and I saw a sign: Intensive Care Unit. “Wow, this must mean that they have already patched me up. I didn’t feel a thing. But, why are people talking about me and I’m answering them, but they can’t seem to hear me. Even if I yell, they still talk to each other but not to me. It’s like I’m a little ship in a glass bottle – they look at me but they can’t reach me.”

  It’s true that some people might experience supernatural hallucinations or visions when they are about to be collected by the Grim Reaper or in a coma. How about both?

  It was late. No lights anywhere except on the monitors that track my vitals. If I kick the bucket, all the alarms will go off in rhythm. Suddenly they did. The nurses began to run. I yelled: “I’m fine, just some indigestion!” But they couldn’t hear me because I’m in a coma. “What if they kill me trying to save me? Those electrical shocks hurt. It’s a false alarm. I think that I just need a bedpan and an antacid! Oops, I was right!”

  Later: My attention is drawn by the creak of my door. A woman enters. She is bathed in nice perfume. She leans over me and smiles at my helpless body. I know this woman – it’s Aebra Arlington – Triple AAA! She wants to attack me. She fumbles in her purse and pulls out a knife. She has flipped and wants to stab me! Closer she draws, but wait – it’s a tube of lipstick. She smears her lips and begins smacking. She grabs me by the ears – I’m dead. But, instead, she plants a big red-lipped kiss on my cheeks – both of them. She whispers: “Eddy, get well, you are in my prayers – that’s right, you have converted me. When Ellie sees these lip prints, she will slap you back to your senses! You need a good jolt! O.K. Mr. Sampson?”

  My good feelings about Aebra were short-lived when other hallucinating visions made the scene: I tossed and turned and couldn’t get to sleep because the band kept playing and shaking my bed. And, then this loud-mouthed guy started singing out in the hallway. Suddenly, it got quiet. I strained my ears to hear the slightest drop of a pin. Nothing! Abruptly, the sound of a drum beating reverberated and made me jump! Then the door opened and in popped a head of black greasy hair and sideburns. I tried to speak but this figure of a man shushed me with this: “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can surely make something out of you, son – so get with it before it’s too late!” Then, that head of hair ducked away.

  “How do I wake up? Pinch me! Throw water on my face! Yell in my ear! Put smelly socks to my nose! Tell me my mother-in-law is here! Well, what then? I’m in a coma! Because of my medical situation, I’m supposed to have whopper dreams but like this? Come on, man!”

  “I don’t know if my Nurse Cranky is a real person or imagined but she can talk to me and I can talk to her.” Here she is: “Mr. Riffle, you have someone here to see you. It’s your brother Jonnie.”

  “Oh good, show him in. We need to talk. I thought that he was floating in the bay.”

  Jonnie and I chatted for a few minutes and I told him about my visions and what a relief it was to wake up and find out that everything did not occur as I remembered. I quizzed him about the shooting details. He had never heard of Roddy Shaw and has no gambling situation. He said he never had lunch money, much less money to throw away. And, we did not win the lottery. And, he can’t even hold a pistol with that old football injury to his shooting hand. And, he’s not dead because he was standing right in front of me, blabbing. He was full of life and as happy as a newborn pup! Then I lost connection and faded out. But I did hear him whisper that he would return and get that overbearing, leather belt-strapping nurse off my back!

  I was feeling better because of Jonnie but I was getting nervous about who would visit next. I was right in the middle of the hit parade. “Yea, who is it?”

  Nurse Cranky said: Ben is here. Do you know him?"

  “Well, I only met him one time. It was in the law library. He helped with a problem that I was wrestling with.”

  Ben enters the room and makes his way over to Eddy. “How you doing, old timer? I heard that you had a close call but you’re too mean to croak. I’ve been curious about your defense of Aebra Arlington. Did you win? Did you make the judge cry?”

  “Yea, I won – you young squirt! Did you pass the bar exam?”

  "Yes, sir, by flying colors, it was a snap. I had a lot of incentive to pass the tests and worked hard because I’ve been called to help others; like on missions that requires responsibility."

  “Wow, good for you. It sounds important and you seem eager to start. Can you tell me what the mission is all about?”

  “You might say that right now I’m doing some on-the-job training. It’s like this: ‘I was involved in a bad car accident when I was just a senior in high school – I barely survived but my parents were lost. My dad was driving but could not avoid the collision. My life was altered forever. I was left basically alone – no close relatives anywhere – just distant cousins. It hit me hard and I fell into deep depression – mentally and physically.’”

  “Sorry, kid, I feel for you. I know all about depression. Don’t let it get the best of you like it did to me. Just seeing you and how happy you have become gives me a big lift. But I’m puzzled. I thought that your father was still helping you with your law career and giving advice.”

  Ben wiped his eyes: "I will never forget the advice and instruction my earthly father taught to me and I call upon it every day to make decisions. But the advice I gave you in the library was from my heavenly Father. I was badly injured and lying in the hospital when the angel visited. It was a very pleasant experience and I felt like my dad was somehow accompanying him and even sat on my bed and patted my head. I was emotionally uplifted and felt that my dad was telling me that it was alright to listen to the angel. My dad somehow whispered to me that the angel was named Gabriel."

  Eddy smiled: “I guess I’m not the only one that was blessed by Gabriel. I’ve been touched also. It took me a while to figure it all out, but now it seems so clear. And, this you won’t believe. I was visited by another angel. His name is Michael. I was scared of him at first but now I feel comforted by his presence and what he expects of me. He’s coming back for another visit; he told me so.”

  Ben with enthusiasm: “How about if I add more to the mysteries? As for meeting you in the law library, it was not by accident. Gabriel put thoughts in my mind that I might be able to help you with your struggle to defend Aebra Arlington in a court trail. Glad you listened!”

  “Thanks, Ben. You did help me and best of luck with your future. Hopefully, you will have a long and successful life filled with many missions and endeavors.”
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br />   “Thanks Mr. Riffle, maybe I just needed to hear your words. In some ways, you really resemble my dad; and not just because you’re old as Methuselah. That’s a joke! Well, got to go for now. I’ll keep in touch because I trust your wisdom. Get well.”

  Eddy could only stare in amazement as Ben left the room. Eddy even had a few tears. “There goes a nice kid. This world needs a bunch like him because there’s much work to be accomplished!”

  Abaddon

  The Employer of Bought Souls – Mr. A. Baddon – The

  Fallen Angel of the Bottomless Pit

  “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves, Ye shall know them by their fruits.” Matt. 7:15.

  Abaddon is the angel of the bottomless pit who appears to be a ruler of evil spirits as described in the Book of Revelation.

  “And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle, and they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.” Rev. 9:7-10.

  “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.” Rev. 9:11.

  Abaddon

  (Satan’s Angel of The Bottomless Pit)

  “Mr. Riffle, you have someone here to see you.”

  “Yea, who is it? Is it the undertaker?”

  “No, not him. The person signed in as Mr. A. Baddon. Do you know him?”

  “Unfortunately, he’s one of my past business associates. One that I don’t brag about. Besides, I thought that he was deceased. If he’s able to walk upright, let him pass. If I raise my left arm, throw him out.”

  A. Baddon enters the room and makes his way over to Eddy. He puts his cold icy hand on his shoulder and squawks: “I bet you didn’t expect to see me again in this lifetime, did you, tattletale? Well, here I am. As they say: They missed me by ‘this’ much! I thought that you might be joining me in the past tense and I’m sorry to see that you are still kicking. What’s the matter? Has the black cat got your tongue?”

  Eddy then responded to this unexpected appearance of “The Employer of Bought Souls” by brushing his hand from his shoulder: “I’m flabbergasted! I was told that you bit the dust in that Pier 5 raid by the coppers. It was out of my hands. You ain’t mad at me, are you? Anyway, you look pretty awful for a walking corpse. What’s with the disguise? Masquerade party? What are you here for – to pay me back?”

  “No, you stool pigeon, just the opposite! Bullets won’t stop me from my appointed task. I’m here to help you even if you are nothing to me but small change! Everything was going as planned and you allowed me to make the decisions but then that conscience thing got all your attention. Basically, I was doing you a favor and making you rich. Lots of money always works miracles in satisfying greedy souls and that’s what I was offering. It could have been a great relationship but you faltered and ratted me out to your buddy, Sam Holler. And I’m not too happy about losing Aebra Arlington. I had her in my grasp but you turned mellow and got sympathetic and forgave her. So, what did she do? She turned me out – I lost her because of you. I bet you got a few points from upstairs on that one, as if I care!”

  “But not all is lost. You still have time to join my team. Just say the word and I’ll take you to great heights and power. Anyway, that bothersome Michael deceived you and stole that $15,000 check of yours! You see Eddy, some people are not what they seem. Michael is fake news. Now, take a look at me for example: I’ve never what I seem to be – I’m many things!”

  To demonstrate, Abaddon changed his appearance to that of The Clown with her red face and black clothes: “That’s right, Eddy, I had you in my sights with that M-16 but decided to let you off the hook. I’m the nice guy here. I told you that I would be back. The big boss still wants you! I’m here to let you know that you still have a choice. I will set you free to do whatever you want with all the riches and human pleasures that you could possibly desire. Michael will just tie you down with a bunch of rules and regulations. And, he’s not even the top man. That Jesus fellow tells him what to do. So, come with me – sweet times await.”

  “Wait a minute, Mr. A. Baddon or Mr. Employer or Mr. Clown, do you think that I am confused or blind to the facts? I think that I know who you are and what you want. Get thee behind me! I don’t want what you have to offer. The bottomless pit is reserved for you and your big boss – the serpent. I have been blessed with the promises and protection of The Shield.”

  If anything would jolt me back to life, this visit would do the trick. I closed my eyes for just a second trying to muster the nerve to reject such a powerful force. I opened my eyes and responded: “The Bible tells me that the forces of darkness cannot take rejection.” But, where did he go? “Oh well, he’s already disappeared. Maybe back to wherever he came from and good riddance.”

  Gabriel – Friar Tuck – Mr. Patron

  Nurse Cranky: “Mr. Riffle, you have someone here to see you.”

  Mr. Patron enters the room and makes his way over to Eddy.

  Eddy speaks: “Well, let’s see, its Mr. Patron – the bum, or Friar Tuck, or St. Gabriel. Aw, skip it! How’s old Joe doing?”

  “He’s a busy man. The diner is a favorite for customers that seek guidance. They just come in right off the street. Joe calls me and then feeds them until I arrive. It’s a team effort. But today, I came to see you and I brought others with me; your army buddies of the past.”

  As if on key, edging into Eddy’s view from the shadows were three undefinable spiritual forms. At first, they were not recognizable as to who or what. One by one, each began a process of forming into a creation that appeared very familiar.

  Eddy rubbed his eyes in disbelief: The first was Bill – killed in action when that guard post was hit by a mortar explosion. He was dressed in his battle uniform but without injuries or trauma. He looked great!

  The next spirit then began to transform; it was Gordon! Then the next; it was Dietrich! They both were dressed in their battle uniforms and without injuries – also, both KIA. The last time Eddy saw them was in a ghost nightmare; their forms were roaming the battlefields helping out buddies. They looked great!

  Eddy was unable to speak and tears filled his eyes. He stood up and reached out his arms, wanting to hug them, but it was not possible. He quickly realized that they were not of human substance and sat back down. His mind was now puzzled as to what was happening and why.

  Bill moved and fronted Eddy. He spoke: “It’s been a long time, sergeant. It’s good to see that The Deacon is making a comeback. It was too bad that he went into hiding for a spell. The last time that we were face to face, The Deacon comforted me as I was fading; preparing to fly away. Your prayer for me was powerful and almost did the trick, but it was too late; my injuries were too severe. You were my last picture. The angel that came for me was holding my head while you prayed. He could not save me but he witnessed you and Bob and your critical need. He materialized into his angel form and blessed and shielded you both.”

  “Thank you, Bill; that’s great news. I’ve always hoped that it was an angel that was standing in the rubble of that guard post. And now I know why he was there. As you said, he came to collect you and take you to the place where peacemakers, the children of God, all go. He saved us from sure death by hiding us from the NVA.”

  "That’s right. Both of you were given a reprieve. But no one lives forever, so it’s time for you to be the man that you have always envisioned of yourself. I’ve come to remind you that you are still on orders to be a servant right here on this earth. So, dress-right-dress and snap to atte
ntion – just like old times! And remember, Sergeant Riffle, there really is that better place, just like Jesus promised. It’s called New Jerusalem and when the correct time arrives, we will be made new. It’s on the horizon – just in the wink of an eye!"

  Eddy looking about, then spoke: “The Deacon needs his buddies this time. I must break that barrier of hurt and shame that keeps me from God. But first, I want you to pinch me so I can see if this is really happening; I’m in a coma, I think.”

  “Ouch! Three pinches – they are real!”

  Eddy felt the need for prayer. He led them. At this precious moment, he released his self-destructive bonds, his guilt and his fear. His long-suppressed PTSD and darkness of soul has now been replaced by the blessings of Jesus; the Risen Saviour and The Shield.

  After the prayer, Eddy opened his eyes to a marvelous sight; the spirit forms of Bill, Gordon and Dietrich, were all smiling. All of them were special – a band of brothers. Slowly, they began dissipating. They were called back to their posts. Someday, they will all meet again and be made new.

  Eddy has been in a coma for a short time, but has experienced many revelations. He is puzzled and unable to determine which were fact and which were fantasy or dreams. Did he commit atrocious behavior? Will he have to stand before the judge and account? Will they understand or put him into an institution? Will he finally be reconciled with family? He does believe that God’s plan for him will prevail. His conscience is at peace as he quietly waits for what’s next.

  Before Eddy relaxed too much, the future plan for him began to unfold when his college buddy and police lieutenant, Lt. Sam Holler arrived. He possessed damaging and life altering documents that could effectively end Eddy’s renewed hope. A miracle is needed to sort out this mess.