by Peter Sacco
His face was very pallid, yet his hair was a brilliant red, as if it were on fire. He was draped in a black robe. He approached me but stopped about ten yards away. I rubbed my eyes again to make sure I was not hallucinating. I wasn’t as there was no mistaking that grin of his--very large black teeth! And the eyes – cornflower blue with red ambers serving as pupils.
“I see that you made it home, Nathan,” he chuckled.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Who do you think I am, Nathan?”
I had a pretty good idea who I was entertaining, but decided to indulge him.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“Why do you think, Nathan?”
I could hear the shrills and screams in my head again. This time the sounds were growing louder. The voice of the children were the worst! And now they were just inside my head, they echoed in the hollowness which surrounded me.
“You are not real. I am imagining you,” I muttered.
“Is that what you truly believe, Nathan?”
“You can’t hurt me any more than I already am.”
“On the contrary, Nathan, I am not here to hurt you rather to help you.”
“Help me?”
“Yes, Nathan.”
“Why? How?”
“You are the only one left, silly!” he snarled, revealing his black teeth again. I need a sole keeper for my dominion and you are the one. I will give you palaces and kingdoms to rule, Nathan. This is all yours! You will not have to suffer any more. I will make all of the voices go away.”
“It’s been you all along...the voices!” I said.
“Who the hell do you think it was?” he replied, with a gurgling chuckle. “Pun intended!”
“Be gone! I have no need for you!”
“Oh, but you will, Nathan. I am here to test your faith. I know your faith has been coming under, shall we say, a little fire lately?”
“Go to hell!”
“In due time,” he replied with a chuckle.
And then the mind games intensified with the wave of his hand. It was so real. He showed corpses blazing and melting like wax. I saw my housekeeper standing atop of the hatch banging, trying to get in. She burned to a crisp. Tibbs exploded like a firecracker as his shuttle carried him to safety, the headset ripped away from his skull, ears melted to the headset. There was so much. It was a living collage of gruesome death!
“So, Nathan...do you think you will go to heaven after all of this? You let so many people die. Come, Nathan, it’s just you and I bubba and you will not last.”
Then he showed me another vision, this one of me. I was decaying in the nuclear-shaded sun. I could smell my own flesh rotting. The sweet, nauseating smell made me vomit. A tooth fell to the ground along with the vomit.
“Is this what you want to look like, Nathan?” he sighed. “Perhaps you would rather look like this?”
This time I could see myself healthy and strong. It not only looked amazing, it felt amazing. I was me again!
“It’s yours, Nathan if you accept my gift.”
I rubbed my eyes expecting the vision to disappear. It didn’t. Instead, it became even more real as all around me everything was back to normal. I grabbed at my body...strong! I tugged at my hair and my teeth... rejuvenated! I was me again!
“It’s all yours, Nathan, if you say yes.”
As I studied my body and surroundings, I shifted my stare to him. He was handsome now and majestically dressed. The gold watch he wore reflected the lone beam of light which shone downward from the sun. I looked at his watch. He chuckled. “All we have is time, Nathan...together.”
I studied my body and sighed. it felt good to be young and strong again.
“What’s it going to be, Nathan. Times a ticking...tick-tock!”
I wanted to accept his offer. Oh, how I wanted to embrace it! I couldn’t. Greed and self-loathing had brought me to this point. I would rather slowly rot than succumb to his wiles.
“I’d rather suffer than give you my soul.”
A single tear dripped down my cheek. This made him chuckle.
“Are you sure about that...boy?”
I took a deep breath and coughed uncontrollably. I had to believe in something rather than fall for anything. I believed in God! God would own my integrity.
I slowly walked past him toward the desk where the flag lay. I picked it up and gently wrapped it around my body. I knelt at the desk as if it were an altar. I could see him hovering out of the corner of my eye.
“God...bless this land,” I started to pray, tears now flowing from my eyes. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name...”
I fell forward into the desk and looked up at the ceiling of my office. I was stunned and perplexed! Everything was back to normal. I could even hear my cleaning lady in the other room singing. I jumped for joy! The phone on my desk rang.
“Hello?” I said picking it up.
“Nathan, you need to listen closely and do what I say...” it was President Tibbs. “Remember that shelter you built, Nathan? Get to it now!”
About The Author
Peter Andrew Sacco is also the author of The Lost Fountain, Midnight Eclipse, Jack or Jill and Second Time Around. He resides in Niagara Falls, Canada.
Visit Peter at www.petersacco.com
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