by Len du Randt
Thud!
The car shook as something heavy struck the roof. Rebecca screamed. Justin jerked at the wheel to swerve the car out of the way of an oncoming truck.
‘Hang on, baby,’ Justin said and stepped down on the gas pedal.
‘What’s going on?’
‘I don’t know!’
Justin jerked at the sound of metal tearing right next to his head. A rotten claw ripped through the roof and grabbed hold of Rebecca’s hair. She screamed out in panic and Justin swerved the car hard to the right to try and shake off whatever was on the roof. It didn’t work. Justin over steered and for a split second time stood perfectly still.
Everything paused.
Rebecca’s panic-stricken face was the last thing Justin saw before he closed his eyes.
Sound, motion, wind, and rain all returned at once as the car veered off the shoulder of the road, crashed into a log, flipped over, twirled through the air, and smashed into the ground with a sickening crunch.
Then everything was silent again aside from the soft hissing coming from the torn-apart wreck.
* - - - *
Justin groaned as he tried to move. The rain relentlessly slapped his face. Slowly he moved his head, then his arms, his legs, and finally his torso. Everything felt in place, yet his body was wracked with pain. Slowly, he managed to sit upright. He had been flung from the car when it struck the log. His vision was blurred and his forehead throbbed. He rubbed his hand though his hair and looked at the crimson stain on his palm in disbelief as the rain washed it clean.
Blood!
‘Rebecca...?’ he rasped, and as he tried to stand up, his leg buckled underneath him and he crashed face-first into the muddy earth.
You should have been dead by now.
Justin tried to structure his thoughts.
Smashed into a truck.
‘Rebecca...?’
I don’t know how you managed to survive that, but I can promise you that you will not survive this.
Justin used a tree to pull himself up. He scanned the terrain. There was no sign of Rebecca anywhere. He looked at the wreck not too far from him. Blood and rain trailed down his face and dripped off the tip of his nose and chin. He wiped his face with a muddy hand.
‘Rebecca?’
He limped towards the wreck, flinching each time he moved a limb. Halfway there he made out a shape that churned his stomach. He saw Rebecca’s blood-cloaked arm from behind the metal frame of the car.
‘Rebecca!’
Pain shot through every nerve as Justin quickened his pace. His leg buckled once, but he got up again and finally reached his wife. Justin’s initial reaction to the sight that awaited him was a combination of shock and sorrow. He cried out and fell down next to Rebecca. She was pinned under the wreck, crushed from the waist down.
‘Baby...’ Justin said, but the wind drowned out his words. ‘No...’
Rebecca’s eyes slowly opened. She looked up at Justin and he could see from her facial expression that she was in great pain. He could also tell that she knew she was dying. ‘You...came back...’
Justin nodded. Tears welled in his eyes. ‘I don’t want to lose you. . .’ The last words were chocked off as tears mixed with rain.
Rebecca forced a faint smile. ‘I...love...’
‘No! Hang in there!’
Rebecca tried to move her arm. She desperately wanted to touch her husband one last time, but she had no strength left in her. She tried to force a painful smile to re-assure her husband, but she couldn’t even manage that. She wanted to close her eyes—only for a moment—and rest for a while. She strained to keep her eyes open. Her mind flashed random images of her life. Rebecca tried to construct a complete thought, but couldn’t. Finally she closed her eyes as she exhaled her last breath.
Justin cradled her head in his chest as he protected her face from the downpour. ‘Stay with me, Becky,’ he tried to motivate her. ‘Hang in there.’
No response.
‘Becky,’ Justin said and shook her lightly.
No response.
He felt her pulse.
Nothing.
No! This can’t be happening! Justin tried to breathe into her mouth, but even as he did so, he realized that the attempt was futile. ‘No, Becky! No, no, no...’ He lay her on the ground and hunched over her as he cried. ‘NO!’
I’m sorry that I’m such a terrible wife.
Justin broke down and sobbed as the reality of losing his wife and unborn child struck him. He touched her face and wished that they were home; cuddled under a blanket in front of the television. He lost the only thing that ever mattered to him in the blink of an eye.
Lightning flashed.
Thunder rumbled.
Something behind Justin stirred.
Justin looked up in time to see a claw grip his neck.
* - - - *
A short rib snapped as Justin struck the tree not too far from where the demon had flung him. He fell to the ground and coughed and wheezed as he tried to realign his thoughts. In less than a second the demon was upon him again, slowly crushing Justin’s throat in its grip.
‘Hnggg—!’
The demon smashed him into the ground with a force that completely knocked the wind out of him. Justin was on the verge of losing consciousness. He didn’t have the strength or will power to fight back. Even if he did, he would be no match against the monster that flung him around as if he weighed nothing at all.
All you need to do is ask.
The demon lifted Justin off the ground with one arm and again tossed him against a tree. Another blow like that would kill him for sure. Justin realized that the monster would not let up until he had breathed his last breath.
The claw gripped around his throat again and squeezed. His breath was running out. His peripheral vision blurred and then faded to black. He could eventually only see the face of the demon and he knew that it would only be a matter of seconds before that too, would be replaced by darkness.
All you need to do is ask.
‘Forgive me...’ Justin rasped with what strength and breath he had left. ‘Please forgive me, Jesus.’
The demon screamed and dropped Justin to the ground. Justin’s lungs burned and his throat felt raw. The demon recovered and reached out to Justin, but a blinding light made it pause and look back. It only saw a glimpse of the glorious angel before a sword slashed down and dismembered its head clean from its charred body.
The light grew in brilliance until Justin could see nothing but white. The demon’s remains fizzled and dissolved in the intense glow and once every trace of the demon was gone, the light faded, and with the light, the rain subsided.
Justin sat against the tree, breathing heavily as he wiped water, blood, and mud from his face. A man hunched down in front of him.
‘Are you all right?’ the man asked.
Justin swallowed hard and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the blurred image came into focus. ‘Simon...’
‘No sudden moves,’ Simon said. ‘You’re banged up pretty bad.’
Justin’s head swirled. He coughed up a thin trail of blood. ‘Rebecca,’ he said. ‘She...she’s...’
Simon lowered his head. Sadness filled his eyes. ‘She’s gone,’ he confirmed.
Justin’s throat was on fire. He couldn’t scream. He couldn’t shout. He merely shook as he cried. Simon gently placed his hand on Justin’s shoulder. There were no words that could heal the hurt in Justin’s heart. No thoughts of comfort that would replace the aching void.
‘Wait here,’ Simon said and stood up. He walked to the wreck where Rebecca lay and knelt down on his knees. Simon looked up at the skies and prayed. ‘Lord God. Please help me this one last time before I come home.’
Justin strained to keep his eyes open. It felt like
he was trapped in a nightmare that he couldn’t wake from. His thoughts jumped around as he tried to remain conscious.
For a moment nothing happened. Simon stood up and walked to the car. He took a deep breath and then picked up the wreck as if it was made of mere cardboard and tossed it to one side. He then focussed his attention on Rebecca.
Justin figured that he was definitely dreaming. He shook his head and tried to stand up, but a sharp stabbing pain in his chest made him reconsider the thought.
‘Rebecca,’ Simon said as he knelt down next to her. She was pale and limp, her lips purple. Simon held his hand over her eyes. ‘Lord Jesus,’ he prayed. ‘Please restore your child. Please give them back what Satan stole from them.’
Rebecca’s finger twitched slightly. But nothing more happened.
Simon’s appearance transformed back from human to angel. As before, pure light emanated from his skin and as his wings unfolded, the light intensified until it completely engulfed Rebecca. For a moment it felt like everything in the universe stood still and focussed on the event until—a moment later—the light faded away.
‘Rebecca,’ Simon said and took his hand from her eyes. ‘Wake up.’
Justin crawled toward the spot where Simon hunched over Rebecca.
Rebecca gasped and then slowly opened her eyes.
‘Thank you, Holy Spirit,’ Simon breathed softly.
‘Simon,’ she said and swallowed. Simon nodded. She tilted her head and saw Justin. ‘My love...’
Justin reached out to her. She reached back and their hands touched. Both cried.
Simon stood up. He took a step back and allowed Justin to embrace his wife. ‘The ambulance should be here soon,’ he said.
Justin looked up at Simon. ‘You’re...you’ve...’
Simon smiled. ‘Take good care of your wife and son,’ he said. ‘It’s been an honour to know you.’
Justin didn’t know what to say. So many thoughts. So many feelings. So many questions. He merely nodded. ‘You too, Simon.’
Lightning flashed.
Simon was gone.
Justin sat upright with Rebecca and embraced her. ‘I don’t ever want to lose you again,’ he said as tears streamed down his cheeks.
Rebecca smiled faintly. ‘Neither do I,’ she said.
In the distance, the sound of sirens grew gradually louder.
Epilogue
‘Are you sure you guys don’t want to stay?’ Tanya asked. ‘Kelwick really isn’t such a bad place.’
‘Nothing in hell could keep us here,’ Justin said as he loaded another box into the truck.
Rebecca giggled at his pun.
Tanya sighed. ‘Promise you’ll e-mail me every day,’ she said as she hugged Rebecca.
‘I promise.’
‘We’ll invite you for a week once we’re settled that side,’ Justin said.
‘I’ll take you up on that,’ Tanya said and for a brief moment there was a comfortable silence where no one said anything.
Justin figured that the time for small talk was over. ‘Come, Becky,’ he said. ‘Let’s hit the road.’
Rebecca nodded and gave Tanya one last hug before getting in the car. Justin closed her door and walked around to the driver’s side.
‘Oh yes,’ Tanya said before he got in. ‘If anything should ever happen to you two, I’d be more than happy to take care of your son.’
‘You’re the best, Tanya,’ Rebecca said through the open window. Justin started the car and both waved at Tanya as they drove off into their new lives.
To be continued…
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