“Whoa-whoa-whoa.” Kyle held up his hand. “You mean to tell me, that if Marcus dies, this whole thing is over with?”
“Yes,” Michael answered. “That is why the demons fled from him. They are under orders not to harm him.”
“Why are we battling then?” asked Kyle. “Marcus, kill yourself.”
“Huh?” Marcus gasped.
“No. No.” Michael shook his head. “Suicide is not the answer, even if it is used to save the world. Marcus would have to take his life in desperate measures brought on by Devante himself. It is complicated, these rules.” Michael stood up. “But, who knows, suicide may be an option later.” He smiled. “I kid you, Marcus. Come, Reggie, we should train lightly today.”
“OK, I’ll meet you out back. Let me finish my cereal.” Reggie picked up her bowl.
Michael laid his hand on her back, and then walked to the door. The moment his hand touched the handle, it was as if he were hit with a bolt of electricity. Michael jolted and stumbled back. His eyes widened.
Kyle stood. “Michael?”
Michael peered around, lips sputtering.
Curious, Reggie stood as well. “What’s wrong?”
Michael shook his head. “Nothing. Kyle… keep a promise you made many years ago. Keep it.” Michael walked out, leaving the others in a silence of confusion.
<><><><>
“Hell of a cross-stitch on that stomach, Paul.” Buzz stood at the front gate, smiling.
Paul looked down. “Yeah. Reggie did it. Maybe the quilting is why it healed so fast, faster than any stitches I ever had.”
“Doesn’t even look like you were cut yesterday.” Buzz peered closer. “Bet tomorrow Marcus can take those stitches out.”
“You think it has something to do with the fact we’re fighting for God?”
“I’d say that’s a pretty good guess.”
The other man on guard was called Hawk. He acquired the name when he was two. He was always able to see things others couldn’t. Hawk lived up to his namesake by spotting them coming from the center of town, three streets away. He initially passed off the two figures as demons, until they drew closer and he could see they were a man and a woman. “Buzz,” he called.
“Yeah?” Buzz turned around. The man and the woman were right there. Buzz gripped the handle of his sword. “What do you want?”
She stepped forward. “We’d like in. I’d like very much to see my daughter... Reggie Stevens.”
<><><><>
Marcus placed the final domino on top of the stack as Seth sat across from him at the picnic table, watching. Marcus tapped a finger on the top and they all fell down. “So simple,” he told Seth. “Newton discovered his theory of gravity, just like that. By accident. A simple falling apple. Simple falling dominos.”
“So everyone knew about gravity, but they just didn’t think about it.”
“Nope. And they probably wouldn’t have if he hadn’t brought it to their attention. So he got the credit for something that had been around since the beginning of time.”
“Sounds lame.” Seth leaned his face on his hand.
“Actually, it is,” Marcus stated. “I mean, look how hard I had to work, and you, Seth. Our founding fathers had it so easy. Because people were basically oblivious and ignorant to everything back then. You are much more intelligent and book-smart than, say, a man of thirty during the Revolutionary War.”
“Really?” Seth asked. “If you were around back then, when the country was starting, would you be famous?”
“Unfortunately not.” Marcus began to clear the dominos.
Seth helped him. “Marcus? I like all this time I get to spend with you.”
Marcus smiled. “I do too, Seth.”
“Pap said to get used to it because after the world is saved, you’re gonna be my father cause you’re gonna marry my mom. Is that true?”
“I hope so.” Marcus paused.
“I think it would be neat. You being my Dad. I never had one. My pap is a pap, but I never had a Dad. Do you want to be?”
“Your dad?” Marcus nodded. “Absolutely. I love you.”
“It’ll be easy. I knew you all my life. Not like when Billy Bear’s Mom married that guy. Billy didn’t know him and he had to get used to him. Actually, Billy doesn’t like him. He said he’s mean. Most stepfathers are. Do you have to be a stepfather?”
“What else would I be, Seth?”
“Just a father. That way I can just tell people you’re my father and not my stepfather. Then again, people might know anyhow, because we don’t really look alike.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Marcus winked.
Seth giggled, then turned serious. “Oh, no. What happens if Mom stays with Michael, then she can’t marry you and you can’t be my dad?”
“Seth.” Marcus reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “How about this? How about, no matter what, I just take on that Dad role, anyhow? I’d like that.” Marcus smiled, then raised his eyes when he saw Buzz walking their way. Buzz moved slowly and looked unusually confused. “Buzz?”
“Marcus.” Buzz’s voice cracked. “I came to you first. We... we have a problem.”
“Will ya’ look at this?” Kyle held up an ear of corn. “Is this the biggest ear of corn you ever saw?”
“No.” Eliza took it. “I’ve seen bigger.” She began to shuck it.
“But you have to admit. Amazing how these crops grow,” Kyle said. “What do you think the chances are they’ll stay that way after all this is...?” He lifted his head when the back door opened. “Hey, Marcus. Buzz.”
Marcus shut the door. “There’s a situation.” He moved closer to the table. “Brace yourself.”
“What’s wrong?” Kyle asked.
“Lillian is at the front gate with her son. They want in.”
Eliza watched Kyle’s reaction.
“The promise.” Kyle mumbled and then shook his head. “She wants in? We’ll just see about that. Michael said to keep the promise. I know what he meant.” He stormed for the door. “I’ll take care of her.”
Marcus stopped him. “She’s asking for Reggie. Should I tell her?”
“No. No, don’t,” Kyle said. “I made a promise many years ago she would never see Reggie again. I will keep that. If Lil is here, it’s for no good.” Kyle flung open the door. “She won’t be here for long.”
There was only a moment’s hesitation before Marcus, Buzz and Eliza all followed Kyle.
“No.” Reggie tossed her head to the ground and pounded her fist. “Where... Where’s my sword?!”
Michael chuckled, pulling her up as he sat next to her. “You dwell on this too much.”
“I want my sword.”
“Why is this so important to you?” Michael asked. “Can you not see? You pulled a dagger.”
“Go ahead.” Reggie held up her hand. “Toss that in my face once more and I will stab you with that dagger.”
“You will hurt me.”
“Like a paper cut.” Reggie bent her knees and buried her face in her hand.
“Reggie. It will come,” Michael explained. “Just be patient. There is a reason for the delay.”
“To piss me off.”
“I know of that term. I do not believe it is God’s intention to piss you off.”
“How would you know?”
Michael gasped. “Reggie. Do you easily forget? I am Michael the Archangel.”
“Yeah. And I am Reggie the swordless wonder.”
Michael leaned his face closer. “Yes, but a very good swordless wonder.”
Lifting her head, Reggie saw Paul approaching. “I must have done a good job with those sutures. Look how well he’s doing.”
Out of breath, Paul arrived. “Reggie. What’s taking you so long?”
“What do you mean?” Reggie asked.
“Your mom, she’s waiting.” Paul pointed backwards. “At the front. Didn’t anyone tell you?”
“My mother?”
�
�Yes. She wants to see you. She wants in.”
Michael’s eyes widened. Before he could get out a warning, Reggie had bolted toward the gate.
“And I’m telling you,” Kyle spoke, edgily. “I don’t give a shit what you say. I want you and this man you call a son to back up and go away.”
“You’re still the same,” Lillian said. “Bullheaded and stubborn. Well, Kyle Stevens, we heard this place is the safe place. It stands for good. You are not standing for good refusing to let us in.”
“There’s a reason why you’re here,” Kyle snapped.
“Yes, there is. The world is ending and I would like very much to make amends with my daughter...” Lillian looked over Kyle’s shoulder. “Reggie. Reggie!”
“Daddy?” Reggie hurried to the gate. “What’s going on?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.” Kyle sneered at Paul. “Who the hell told you to come here? Go back, Reg.”
Reggie turned to her mother. “What are you doing here?”
Lillian answered in fake relief, “Finding you. I came so far, Reggie. Your father refuses to let me in.”
Reggie faced her father. “Daddy?”
“Reg.” Kyle shook his head. “My gut tells me not to let her in.”
“Reggie,” Lillian spoke softly. “Let me speak to you, and then I’ll leave. Please?”
Michael made his way closer to the wall of cars. When he saw Lillian and Todd standing there, he called and raced forth. “Reggie! No!”
Too late.
The words, “Come on through” had already crossed Reggie’s lips, and Lillian and Todd stepped, invited, into the sanctuary walls of the camp.
Fort Knox, Kentucky
Devante chuckled as he strolled with Leonard around the protective grounds. “They are in. We shall know even more now.”
“It’s also good for the secondary plan I came up with,” said Leonard.
“As I told you earlier, it is too risky. Perhaps you devised it with haste.”
“It’s a good plan,” Leonard argued. “One you should think about to end this quickly.”
“It is war.” Devante stopped walking. “We have lost only one battle. That does not make a war lost. We forge ahead.”
“They plan.”
“And so do I,” Devante said. “My loss will not be without retaliation. My loss will never be a loss. Should I lose the final battle, I still do not lose.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You can say I have my own backup.”
“Are you going to hit their camp?” Leonard asked.
“Blasted human.” Devante started to lose his cool. “How many times must I tell you they are too well-protected? However, there are those they fight to save, those who hide… they are not as well-protected.”
“An eye for an eye?”
“No.” Devante smiled. “A soul for a soul.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Seville, Ohio
Michael paced angrily in front of the man they called James. Huffing, stopping, shaking his head.
“You have to calm down,” James said. “There is nothing you can do. Reggie would have let them in anyhow.”
“Did you know this?” Michael asked.
“That he would pull this type of trickery? Yes. We told you. And it isn’t that Reggie has been deceived. She has faith in everyone. She is optimistic.”
“We have worked so hard to secure this camp. The forces of pure good, they guard us. We are breached.”
James tilted his head. “Not as badly as you think. The only way Devante can break into this camp is when Lillian and Todd allow him in. You’ll defeat them the moment they do. Right now, that’s not his intention. They are spies. Just that.”
“Why must I permit them to stay?” Michael asked. “Can I not just cast them out? Slay them and the evil for which they stand?”
“And do what in the process? Lose Reggie? As much as I’d like to tell you to go for it, I can’t. The bond between you and Reggie will be broken. You killing her mother, good or bad, will not bode well.”
“She would believe what I say.”
“Not all of her. Reggie is overwhelmed by the fact that her long-lost mother has returned. So many years have passed, she forgets that she was abandoned. That type of quality is what makes Reggie, Reggie. Even if you tell her Lillian is bad, what’s to say Reggie doesn’t think she can turn that around?”
“Can she?” Michael asked.
“Unlikely. Todd or Lillian would have to pull an act of unselfish kindness, and that is doubtful.”
“So.” Michael held up his hands. “What is it that I should do? Watch helplessly as our camp is invaded? I cannot.”
“Things are supposed to happen one way. You knew that coming in here. You can try to stop them. Sometimes you will succeed, other times you will fail. You just have to keep going. You have to concentrate on your battles. You have to remember, the loss you caused him will not go unavenged. He strikes out again tonight.”
Michael raised his eyes. “How many?”
“He’ll try for forty thousand. He will succeed in half. We may be able to cut those numbers down, but you must speak to Kyle about issuing his warnings to people. Tonight, when the sun sets, they will be very vulnerable.”
“There is only so much protection you can give them,” Michael stated.
James nodded his head, sadly. “Once again, the free will of man comes into play.”
“Is there anything else we can do? Can we leave the camp and stop this?”
“No. His strikes will be scattered and many. You haven’t got the manpower. You can only plan to move ahead with a series of battles to gather soldiers for the final confrontation.”
Michael looked up, worried. “My series of battles.” He closed his eyes. “Reggie and I must leave for nearly two days to accomplish these. The camp will be unprotected.”
“Then you know what you have to do. You know, for protection, who you must leave here.”
“Marcus.”
“Yes...” When James raised his eyes, he saw Marcus approaching. “Marcus.”
Michael nodded. “Yes. Marcus.”
“No... Marcus.”
“Yes, Marcus.”
“Michael. Marcus.”
“Yes. Marcus.” Michael tilted his head. “Are we not speaking of the same Marcus?”
Marcus spoke up. “I think he’s talking about me.”
Michael turned around, stunned. “Marcus.”
“I saw you talking,” Marcus spoke nervously. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I felt compelled.”
Michael shook his head. “No. It is no intrusion. Marcus, please meet the man they call... James. And James, this is Marcus. He is my friend here, and quite a jerk.”
James snickered as he shook Marcus’ hand. “So Marcus, you’re a jerk.”
“That’s what everyone says.” Marcus held firm before slipping his hand from James’. “I... I don’t know what to say. Are you staying around?”
“No. Not me. I’m more here in a supervisory capacity. Discussing strategy with Michael. Mike’s the man, you know.”
Marcus blinked. “You talk...”
“I talk. Yes. Have all my life.”
“No.” Marcus chuckled. “You don’t talk like Michael.”
James smiled. “No one talks like Michael anymore.”
Michael seemed surprised. “What is wrong with the way I speak?”
“Exactly,” James nodded. “Anyhow, Michael will fill you in on what we discussed. Remember, Marcus.” He laid his hand on Marcus’ arm. “It is only with the greatest of honor that you are asked to do this.” He winked. “I’ll check back. I have my own spying to do on the other side.” He started to walk away. “I’ll keep you updated, Michael.”
“Wait,” Marcus called out. “Please.” He waited until James turned around and moved toward him. “I have a question. I wouldn’t normally ask something like this, but she’ll kill me if she finds out I didn’t. Where’s
Reggie’s sword?”
James laughed. “You always have and always will have Reggie first on your mind. You have to know that this is looked upon quite favorably.”
“Thank you.”
“I have to go.” James moved away quickly, fading as he did.
Marcus turned to Michael. “He didn’t answer me.”
“He speaks in riddles. Always has.”
“I guess he wants us to find out for ourselves.”
“No.” Michael shook his head. “He just enjoys confusing us.”
“That is amazing. Thank you for not making me go away.”
“Why would I?”
“So, tell me what you’re supposed to tell me.”
Michael rested his hand on Marcus’ back. “We have much to discuss. Walk with me while I tell you.”
“He said about it being an honor. It’s not me killing myself, is it?”
“Marcus, you should be ashamed. He would never request such a thing.”
“I had to ask.”
“So would I.” Michael smiled, and they walked on.
<><><><>
“You haven’t asked. I’m waiting.” Lillian unpacked her bag in the small trailer.
“There’s really no need,” Reggie said. “I don’t care.”
“I expected it to be first on your mind.” Lillian placed the empty bag on the floor and sat on her bed.
“Why you left isn’t important. Why you are here, is.”
Lillian smiled and laid her hand on Reggie’s cheek. “When Todd and I heard Kyle’s name, and he said he was still here, I figured, so were you. I had to see you once before this crazy world ended.”
“I’m glad you did. It gives resolution to my life. I’m sorry Daddy won’t let you stay in the house. Let alone on his property. I’ll talk to him.”
“No need. Kyle can believe what he wants. We’ll prove him wrong.” She let out a breath. “And you’ll like Todd.”
Last Days Trilogy Page 43
