The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (72 page)

To Benny’s amazement, the men still stood, and one of
them quickly extended his hand toward the boy. He must have done something, for
the boy flew through the air and smashed into a nearby wall. Benny could see
one of the men’s lips moving. The man then opened his arms, and looked toward
the skies. The boy tried running away, but instantly combusted into flames.
Benny dropped his binoculars and fell over backwards. He let out a little cry,
and struggled to control his breathing. After some time, he forced his
trembling hands to pick up the binoculars again. The flames had died down, and
in its wake lay a charred corpse. The men looked up and directly toward Benny.
He dropped down and clenched his teeth, expecting the sky to fall down on him
at any moment.
Do they know I’m here? How?
His mind raced.
What are
these things?

He had made up his mind. Whatever they were; they
definitely were
not
human.

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘Trev,’ Andrew shouted through the
telephone. ‘It’s healed!’

‘Whoa there. What are you talking about?’

‘My finger,’ Andrew said, trying hard to control the
excitement in his voice. ‘You know; the one that was hurt in the ice skating
incident.’

‘Yeah? How?’ Trevor asked, but then realised the answer
it as he asked the question. ‘Antonio?’

‘I didn’t think it would work. Honestly. I didn’t! I
just tried it to see. I never thought that it would
actually
work.’

Oh brother
. ‘Andy, are you sure you’re not just forcing yourself
to
believe
that your finger is healed?’

‘I wish it was that simple. But it’s not. I’ve been
living with this finger for years now and would instantly be able to tell if
it’s the same or not.’

‘And it’s not?’

‘Correct.’

Trevor hesitated. ‘There has to be some logical
explanation behind it. Can you come over tomorrow evening and show me?’

‘I can’t see why not. Will confirm during the day,
okay?’

‘Deal.’

‘Oh yeah, did you have anything healed?’

Trevor let out a chuckle. ‘No. Not today.’

‘Bummer,’ Andrew said. ‘It’s quite a rush. You should
try it.’

‘Okay,’ Trevor said. ‘I’ll break my arm next time and
then have him heal it.’ Trevor hung up and sighed. He felt pity for Andrew more
than excitement. There had to be something else behind it, and he knew that it
would only be a matter of time before it would be exposed.

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘Father,’ Timothy asked. ‘Could I
ask you something?’

‘Sure,’ Malcolm said. His thoughts were with Angie, and
he had cried himself to sleep again the previous evening. No time in the world
would be able to heal the wounds inflicted upon his heart. ‘What’s on your
mind?’

‘I was wondering about those two men, you know, the
prophets
.’

Malcolm froze. He didn’t want his facial expression or
tone of voice to scare Timothy out of asking his question. ‘Yes? What about
them?’

‘I was wondering whether they are good guys or bad
guys.’

Malcolm didn’t wait before answering. ‘They’re bad,
Tim,
very
bad.’

Timothy frowned. ‘Why do you say so?’

‘Because they kill people, Tim, and they’re responsible
for the frogs, blood, flies, gnats, and this horrible smell. Do you think
that’s something good people would do?’

Timothy shrugged. ‘Aren’t they just punishing us?’

‘Punishing us? For what?’ Malcolm locked his eyes with
Timothy’s. ‘Why are you asking this? What’s with the sudden interest in these
men?’

Timothy kept his father’s stare for a while. ‘Because
that’s what
they
say.’

‘Who?’ Malcolm asked. ‘Who are...?’ He suddenly
realized what Timothy was saying, and anger shot through him like a surge of
electricity. ‘Have you spoken to them?’

Timothy realized that he had crossed a line. But the
damage had been done. It would be cowardice to back down now. ‘Yes,’ he said,
and lowered his head as a sign of submission, but it didn’t help; Malcolm
slapped him across the face, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him closer.

‘Why did you do that?’

Timothy realized that the best action now would be to
keep quiet.

‘
Why did you do that?
’ Malcolm repeated as he
shook the boy. He raised his hand to slap Timothy again, and for a brief
moment, their eyes met, and Malcolm stopped himself barely before his hand made
contact. Tears welled in his eyes.

‘Why did you...?’ He choked, and the last two words
were lost. ‘Tim, I’m...’ He dropped to the floor and clutched Timothy’s leg
while he sobbed uncontrollably. Timothy knelt beside his father and Malcolm
embraced his son tightly. ‘I don’t want to lose you too,’ he cried as he
cradled his son. ‘I don’t want to lose you too...’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘A sudden surge of violence had
caused the world to go into a global state of panic,’ the GMN reporter said
with a grim face, ‘causing an unsettling uproar from millions around the globe.
No group has claimed responsibility for the chaos yet, but European Empire
President, Victor Yoshe, has met with various world leaders to discuss this
matter.

‘In the meeting, they have also discussed the urgency
of launching N-Force, the new global response unit that will actually strike
down on violence, crime, corruption, and terrorism. Further meetings will take
place next week, in which President Yoshe will expose those responsible, and
hopefully bring this matter to a swift and effective conclusion. This is Connie
Jacobs for GMN live.’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

Andrew tried reading the book
again. Anywhere a scripture was quoted; he looked up the scripture in his Bible
and read the whole surrounding chapter. He
still
couldn’t get it, and
frustration showed, but he kept on reading:

“
Ezekiel 38 and 39 record a future invasion of the land
of Israel by and enemy from the far north. The enemy is from the land of Magog,
and their ruler is called Gog.
”

Andrew shrivelled his nose,
contorting his face like someone who just swallowed a large amount of vinegar.
No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t grasp the idea behind the book.
Maybe
that Alistair guy was talking about another book
, he thought.

He read Ezekiel 38, and then 39 again, but doing so
only confused and frustrated him even more. He picked up the Bible and pulled
back his arm so that he could throw it across the room.

‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you,’ an unexpected voice
said from somewhere behind him.

Andrew spun around, he was the only one in his flat,
but there, at the full-length window overlooking the city skyline, was the
silhouette of a man staring out into the night sky. He held his hands behind
his back, his stance resembling that of a piano teacher listening to his
student play.

‘Alistair?’ Andrew asked softly.

Alistair turned around and smiled. ‘I promised you that
we would talk again’

‘How did you get in here?’ How did you know where I
lived?’ He paused; then a thought occurred to him. ‘Are…are you an alien?’

‘Andrew,’ Alistair said patiently, ‘there are no
aliens. They don’t exist.’

‘They
do
exist,’ Andrew protested. ‘They killed
millions of people!’

Alistair sighed. His facial expression turned to
sadness, almost as if he pitied Andrew. ‘At least you
tried
to
understand,’ he said. ‘At least you tried to see the light.’

‘I’m not sure that I...’

‘It is for that reason that the Lord has chosen to
reveal the truth to you.’

‘The truth? At this rate, I might never—’ Andrew
stopped himself in midsentence. He narrowed his eyes and studied the man
standing in front of him. ‘Are you an angel?’

Alistair smiled warmly again, but evaded the question.
‘There is a price for knowing. That price is death.’

‘Knowing what?’

‘The truth.’

Andrew’s mind was racing. He didn’t want to be
frustrated anymore. He knew something was wrong, but he didn’t know what. And
here was this man, from nowhere, offering the answer in exchange for his life.
He looked up. ‘Show me.’

‘Are you sure?’ Alistair confirmed.

Andrew had made up his mind. He was sure. More sure
than he had ever been about anything in his life before. Something inside him
wanted to know;
needed
to know. ‘Yes.’

Alistair closed his eyes, lowered his head, and
extended his hand toward Andrew. ‘Lord Jesus,’ he prayed in a humble voice, ‘I
ask that You now hold true to Your Word, and ask that you open his eyes, and
his mind to Your Truth. Amen.’

Andrew expected a lightshow with brilliant colours and
impressive sound effects. What he received was a moment of silence. Alistair
stood in front of him, smiling expectantly.

‘I didn’t feel anything,’ Andrew said; not sure if he
should have.

‘Think about the book and about what you have read.’

‘But I didn’t understand what I had read,’ Andrew
protested. ‘I don’t think it wor—’

He didn’t finish his sentence. A thought entered his
mind, and he ran to the table where the book was laying. He picked it up and
sure enough, it was there. It had been there all along, but he couldn’t see it;
yet now he understood it perfectly:
The One World Empire and the Rise of the
Antichrist
.

‘I understand this!’ Andrew said excitedly, reading the
paragraph underneath the heading as fast as he could. His blood froze as he
realized what the book was about, and how the content was going to affect him.
‘Alistair, I—’

He turned. Alistair was gone.

‘Oh Lord,’ he said and fell to his knees. ‘Oh Jesus,
it’s true.’

For the first time he realized that he, and the rest of
the population, had been blinded by an evil force of incomprehensible power.
‘Oh God,’ he cried. ‘Please forgive me. I’m so sorry...’ Tears streamed down
his face, and he clutched the book to his chest as he lay on the floor. ‘Please
forgive me, Lord!’ His lips quivered, and he struggled to speak through the
sobs. ‘I’m so terribly sorry...’

.IX.

Many now expect the
return of their awaited Teacher, whether they call him the Christ, Messiah, the
fifth Buddha, Krishna, or the Imam Mahdi.

Millions now know that
the Teacher who fulfils all these expectations is already living among us.

-
Share International, www.shareintl.org

Trevor stood on a ruined street; a
street devastated by warfare. Bodies piled up high on top of one another, and
blood flowed from men, women, and children alike. All around him were dead
people, their mouths agape, and their eyes locked onto him accusingly. The wind
carried the echoes of gunshots and the cries of people, and for an instant,
Trevor actually thought that he was still in the midst of the blazing bullets.

But there were no bullets, no shooters, and no people
running and screaming. There was only Trevor, alone in a body-riddled street.

Run Trevor
. The wind carried an echo.
Run!

Trevor couldn’t see anyone. He started to panic. ‘I
can’t!’ he shouted back at the wind. It didn’t sound as if his voice went much
further than an arm’s length from him.

‘I...I’m afraid!’

Afraid
, the wind echoed.

The ground in front of Trevor grumbled slightly and a
hand pushed through the soil from underneath. Two creatures, zombie-like in
appearance, crawled out of the ground and approached him; their arms
outstretched and their flesh rotten. They groaned as they limped toward him.

You were afraid
, one of the zombies accused,
and
because of that we are dead!

‘No,’ Trevor shouted. ‘It wasn’t my fault! It was...it
was God’s fault!
He
killed you, not me!’

You made us come back for you,
the zombies hissed their
accusations.
We came back for you and now we are dead!

‘It wasn’t my fault,’ Trevor shouted louder, retreating
to get away from the approaching zombies. He came to an abrupt halt when he
struck something behind him. He spun around and saw a half-charred Norman
staring at him. There was no more life in his eyes. Only death. Death and
vengeance.

You killed me too,
Norman said and grabbed hold of
Trevor’s arm.

‘No,’ Trevor protested. ‘Let me go!’

‘Wake up, Trevor,’ René said. She could see that he was
troubled, and gently tugged his arm.

‘Let me go!’ Trevor screamed and yanked his arm away
from her. He sat up straight and breathed heavily.

‘Are you okay?’ René asked.

‘René?’ Trevor’s eyes darted about the room and he
wiped away sweat from his forehead. ‘I’m okay,’ he said. ‘Bad dream, that’s
all.’

‘Trev,’ René whispered. ‘There’s someone at the door.’

‘What time is it?’ he asked.

‘Three A.M.’

‘Are you sure you heard right?’ he asked. A loud knock
on the front door answered the question for her. She nodded and gave way as he
moved toward the door.

‘Who is it?’ Trevor asked.

‘It’s Andrew,’ a muffled voice came from the other
side. ‘I need to speak to you.’

‘Just hang on a moment,’ Trevor said. He walked to the
bathroom and brushed his hair so that it looked somewhat more presentable. He
drank some water and splashed his face. He then opened the door and wanted his
greeting to be blunt enough to show Andrew that there were limits to his
hospitality, but the eyes that met his were filled with anxiety and fear.
‘What’s the matter, bud?’ Trevor asked.

‘We missed it, Trev,’ Andrew said as he entered the
apartment. Trevor closed the door behind him. Andrew’s voice was almost lowered
to a whisper, his eyes darting around nervously as he spoke. ‘I cannot believe
it. We actually missed it. We were warned but we didn’t listen, so we missed
it.’

‘Missed what?’ Trevor asked, wondering what on Earth
could have spooked his friend like this.

Andrew pulled Trevor closer; almost too close for
Trevor’s comfort zone. ‘The Rapture, Trev,’ he whispered. ‘We missed the
Rapture!’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

It took a while for Andrew to calm
down. He slowly sipped on some hot chocolate that Trevor prepared for them.
René didn’t bother joining them, and went to bed instead. She had no intention
of her day starting
this
early.

‘All right,’ Trevor said calmly. He noticed that
Andrew’s hands were still shaking, and he looked afraid. ‘What’s going on, bud?
What rattled you like this?’

Andrew took another sip and breathed deeply. His foot
tapped uncontrollably, and he had a hard time structuring his thoughts. He
opened his mouth to speak, and then paused.

‘Andy,’ Trevor said softly and waited until they made
eye contact. ‘It’s okay. Take your time.’

‘Time...’ Andrew said while shaking his head. ‘Time is
something we do not have.’

‘Why not?’

Andrew was visibly disorientated, even slightly
irritated. ‘We missed the Rapture, Trev, and now we will have to go through the
Tribulation period in which the Antichrist will rise up and kill us.
He’ll
kill us all
.’

‘Whoa there, Andy,’ Trevor said, trying to keep his
voice as nonthreatening as possible, ‘I don’t speak Christianese, remember?’

Andrew forced a faint smile. ‘
Think
about it:
the Rise of the Antichrist compared to the Rise of Victor; The Mark of the
Beast...’

Andrew’s voice had dropped to a rasp whisper, and he
continued moving his lips after he had spoken.

‘The Mark of the Beast?’ Trevor asked, trying his best
to suppress the impatient tone in his voice.

‘The Shield of Victor,’ Andrew said and wiped his
forehead. ‘The Shield of Victor is the Mark of the Beast...’

Trevor was worried. He had never seen his friend like
this before. ‘Andy...’

‘The European Empire,’ Andrew interrupted. ‘It’s the
‘Revised Roman Empire,’ don’t you see?’

Trevor just shook his head. This wasn’t the time or
place to have a debate, and he wondered how long ago Andrew had any real sleep.
‘Are you on drugs?’

‘Drugs?’ Andrew asked, looking at Trevor as if he was a
dog that had just been beaten for no reason. ‘Do you think I’m on drugs?’

‘I don’t know
what
to think, bud, and you’re not
giving me much to work with here.’

‘I’m talking about the
end times
; about the rise
and reign of a coming world dictator that would make Hitler look like a Sunday
school teacher.’

‘People are just too intelligent these days, Andy. The
civilized world of today wouldn’t fall for another dictatorship.’ Trevor
sighed. ‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think that you might be a bit
overstressed. Maybe you need some time to get away from it all?’

‘Over-stressed is putting it mildly.’

‘Well, there you have it. Why don’t you go to your
parent’s place for a week or so?’

Andrew thought about it. ‘That’s not a bad idea,’ he
said. ‘They know about the Mark and the Rapture. I’d like to hear their
opinions on it.’

‘That’s not entirely what I meant, but in the end it
doesn’t really matter what your motivations are; just as long as you get away
from here for a while.’

‘Thanks, Trev,’ Andrew said and got up. ‘I think I’ll
fly over there tomorrow. Time is of the utmost importance.’

They walked to the door and as Andrew left, Trevor
suddenly remembered something. ‘Your finger,’ he said, pointing at his own.
‘You still wanted to show me.’

‘Oh yes,’ Andrew said, ‘It’s heal—’

He kept quiet and investigated his finger. He clenched
his hand into a fist, and then pressed his one hand on top of the other. ‘It
was
healed,’ he said, bewildered. ‘I promise.’

‘It’s not healed anymore?’

‘No,’ Andrew said, and held up his finger for Trevor to
see. He suddenly feared that Trevor might think that he was losing his mind.
‘It was fine, though. It really was.’

‘But now it’s not.’

Andrew shook his head. ‘It must have been ‘unhealed’
somehow. Maybe when I was exposed to the truth. Yes. That’s it! It must be...’

‘I’m sure you
thought
that Arch Bishop Pascale—’

‘Antonio!’

‘Eh?’

‘Antonio Pascale!’ Andrew’s eyes began shooting around
wildly again.

‘You need sleep, dude.’

‘He’s the false prophet! Don’t you see it?’

‘Dude,
I
need sleep,’ Trevor said and lightly
nudged Andrew to move. Andrew caught the hint and began walking, then stopped.
He waited for Trevor until they made eye contact.

‘There are no aliens, you know,’ he said, ‘They’re all
demons.’

‘That’s nice,’ Trevor said. He hated it when people
linked everyday things to ‘demons.’ Norman used to do it all too frequently.
‘Now promise me that you’ll get some rest, okay?’

‘I’ll try,’ Andrew said as he started his descent down
the steps.

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘What on Earth was
that
all
about?’ René asked Trevor as he walked back to his room.

‘I’m not entirely sure,’ he said. ‘But they’re all
demons.’

‘Huh?’

‘Exactly! I didn’t know what he was talking about most
of the time.’

‘Is he...okay?’

‘I think so,’ Trevor said. ‘I just think that he just
needs some time off, that’s all.’

They both returned to their own beds, trying to make
the most of their last hour’s worth of sleep before their alarm clocks would
wake them for work.

- - -*  *  *- -
-

Andrew stopped short before he got
to his car. It was early morning, and soon, people would start waking up to go
to work. It was still dark, and the chilled wind bit at the tip of his nose
like a restless shark taking an occasional bite out of its prey. He looked up
at Trevor’s apartment and saw the light go off. He wished that he could be at
home right now, snuggled warmly underneath a duvet. He wished that everything
could be the way it was, but knew that it would
never
be that way again.

‘Where are you?’ he asked, seemingly to no one. There
was no reply. ‘Where are you?’ he asked again, raising his voice somewhat and
sounding agitated.

Still no reply.

‘
Show yourself, Alistair!
’ he yelled and kicked
his car door. ‘You got me into this mess!’

‘It was still
your
choice,’ a soft voice replied
from the opposite side of the car.

‘There you are...’ Andrew choked. He felt strangely
comforted, yet, still very much alone. ‘Trevor thinks I’m crazy, and I’m not
even sure myself that I’m all right up there. Just how real are you, anyway?’

‘You’re fine, Andrew,’ Alistair said calmly, ‘but you
have to remember that they are still very much blinded from the truth, just
like you were.’

‘Will they ever see the truth before it is too late?’

‘The truth shall be revealed to all at the right
moment; yet, many shall still embrace the darkness.’

‘And Trevor? What about him?’

‘I have no knowledge of how the people will react to
the truth. I am merely a messenger.’

‘Why me?’ Andrew asked. ‘Why did the Lord make me see
before the others?’

‘Because you
chose
to search for the truth
despite what you have been told. You remained strong, and the Lord has chosen
you so that the rest has prayer backing for when that day of revelation comes.’

‘I don’t know if I could handle it...’

‘You will
never
be tested beyond what you can
handle. Rely on the Lord, and keep on praying for the others.’ Alistair took a
step back into the shadows, and a second later, Andrew found himself alone
again.

- - -*  *  *- -
-

It was early afternoon when Andrew
woke up. After he arrived home from Trevor’s place, he only wanted to lie down
for a few minutes, and instead, fell asleep for several hours. He walked to the
fridge, opened it, and scanned the content with his eyes. He wasn’t hungry, but
wanted something to bite into.

‘Nothing,’ he murmured and closed the fridge. ‘Just
wonderful.’

He washed his face and brushed his hair and felt a bit
better, but not a whole lot. He then picked up the phone and then made the long
distance call to his parents in New Zealand.

‘Hey mom,’ Andrew said and almost cried when he heard
her voice again.

‘I’m fine thanks, and you?’ He listened to her voice as
she spoke, and longed to be with them. ‘And dad?’ he asked. ‘Is he still on
about the incident with the car?’ He chuckled when she confirmed. If there had
been any doubt to go over and be with them for a while, it had just been
totally removed. ‘The reason I’m calling,’ he said, ‘is because I wanted to
know if it would be okay with you two that I came over for a few days. I won’t
be in the way, I promise.’