The Children of Eternity (19 page)

At first Christa seemed confused. Then she responded, apparently willing to play along. “I can’t tell you anything, even to spare my sister.” She looked over at Lilly. “I’m so sorry, sis. I hope you can forgive me.”

Lilly only nodded.

“Take your shoes off, little wench,” demanded the demon. “We don’t want to make too much work for the rats, do we?”

Lilly had little choice. She removed her shoes. Then the demon ripped away her cloak, leaving her dressed only in her short-sleeved, knee-length dress.

“I think your arms need to be exposed as well,” said the demon. “It will expose a bit more good meat to the rats.” Then the demon slammed her against the wall. Within two minutes she was locked into the manacles.

Lilly quickly discovered that these manacles were far more insidious than she had at first thought. Although their outsides were smooth enough, the insides were a different matter—rough and barbed, so as to encourage the wearer not to struggle within them quite so much.

“The rats are terrified of us,” said the other demon. “We bred them that way. But they have no fear of humans. In fact, you’re their natural prey. The minute we leave the room, they’ll be all over you. This is your last chance to tell us what you know. Once we leave…it may be morning before someone looks in on you.”

None of the prisoners said a word. There was nothing to be said.

“Have it your way,” said the demon, heading for the door with its compatriot. “It is likely to be a long night for the lot of you—not being used to the pain of the damned. Still, I expect that you will have plenty of time to adjust to it.”

The demons vanished beyond the heavy door, and it shut behind them with a dull thud. The sound of the bolts reengaging quickly followed.

For a moment, one of the demons gazed at the prisoners through the small window as if to confirm that all was as it should be. At first the rats seemed reluctant to emerge from their hiding places, but after about a minute the first of many returned. By now, many of the prisoners had to a large degree regenerated. It was a new feast for the rats. Within another minute they had renewed their feeding frenzy; only this time they had an additional course on the dining table.

Lilly winced in pain as a particularly fat, gray rat lit into her little toe. She tried to resist, yet it was futile; moving her feet only resulted in yet another form of pain as the barbs on the inside of the manacle dug into her tender flesh. Within seconds, the rat had gnawed and ripped the toe from her foot. As the blood flowed, two other rats took notice of their new guest, their red eyes gleaming in the light of the single torch. They began to move toward her.

The demon seemed pleased with what was happening, and the shutter on the window closed. Lilly heard the footfalls fade away beyond the door.

“Who are you?” gasped Christa, struggling with her pain. “I only know you from a dream.”

“I’m here to rescue you,” said Lilly.

“Some rescue,” gasped one of the men on the far wall.

“It is,” assured Lilly, gazing in disgust at the rat who had already consumed her toe, bone and all. “It starts right now.”

A fraction of a second later the rat was hurtling through the air. It hit the far wall with such tremendous force that its blood and guts were scattered for several feet around. Then Lilly focused on one eating its way up Christa’s leg. It too hit the wall with force. Within a few seconds rats were flying everywhere. Others seemed to be twisted apart or ripped in two. Within three minutes all of the rats had been killed or had taken shelter within their holes.

Lilly looked across at the man who had first spoke. “As I said, I’m here to rescue you.”

“But who sent you?” asked the other woman, who was little more than a girl herself.

“The Father,” Lilly replied. “You’re all getting out of here. Just believe.”

Lilly focused on her wrist manacle. She tried to imagine how its locking mechanism worked. She focused the full force of her mind upon it. It vibrated, and those vibrations really hurt. A trickle of blood was running down her arm before she relented.

“I can’t,” she gasped. “We’ll have to wait for the others.”

“What others?” asked the other man shackled to the far wall.

“I’m part of a team,” said Lilly. “It may be best if I didn’t explain it all now. You’ve just got to trust me…trust the Father who sent me.”

“I do,” said the man.

“Praise Him, praise Him, for He will set the captives free,” sang the other young woman in a voice barely above a whisper.

The others joined in, even Lilly. Still, Lilly was really scared. She hadn’t been so scared since the day doctors at the concentration camp in North Korea had begun surgery on her without anesthesia. That had been the beginning of the end of her life on Earth. She prayed for strength, not just for herself but for all of the rest as well.

“Please, Jonathon, find me. Please come and get me,” she said, almost under her breath. “I’m so scared.”

“Still nothing,” lamented Jonathon, who was now sitting on a large boulder, staring up at the stars.

They had arrived in a hilly region of the Ion Desert. It offered a panoramic view of the more level desert plains to the west. It was still very hot—over 90 degrees. And the winds that had been considerable when they arrived had died away to a gentle breeze.

This was a largely uninhabited region of the Father’s Kingdom. Only a few hardy desert dwellers called this region home. On the horizon they could make out the few campfires of the dwellers of a tent village some five or so miles away.

“I wonder who would want to live in a place like this?” said Jerry, fanning his face with his hand. “I prefer the deep, cool forest.”

“But not everyone does,” noted Christopher, staring out toward the distant campfires. “Heaven is a place for all humankind. The people who grew up in Egypt or the southwest deserts of the United States may find a place like this to be the sort of Heaven they prefer. Heaven is fashioned for everyone.”

“We should have never let her go in there,” said Jonathon, placing his face in his hands.

“I don’t reckon that you were going to stop her,” said Jerry. “Her mind was made up.”

“This is all going to work out,” said Christopher. “The Father sent us on this mission, and it’s going to work out.”

“But how do we know it was
this
mission?” objected Jonathon.

“I know,” said Christopher. “I don’t have any doubts.”

“I don’t either,” confirmed Jerry. “You didn’t seem to have any doubts when this all began, Jonathon. You were as sure of yourself as you ever were.”

“It was easy when Lilly’s life wasn’t on the line,” replied Jonathon. “Who knows what is happening to her in there? Suppose I’m wrong?”

“You’re not,” said Christopher. “This thing may take time. Just don’t lose faith.”

“I’m trying not to,” said Jonathon.

“Do or do not…there is no try,” said Christopher.

Jonathon turned to his young friend. The expression on Christopher’s face told him that he was very serious. Jonathon stepped off of the rock and took several steps up the canyon; then he just kept on going.

“What’s up with Jonathon?” asked Jerry, who started to follow him. Christopher stopped him.

“Let him go, Jerry. He needs some time.”

“We don’t have much time,” said Jerry.

“We have enough,” countered Christopher, “let him go.”

Jonathon followed the dry canyon into the hills for about 20 minutes before he stopped. He was barely able to see his way in the starlight. He turned around to see the campfires in the distance. Then he looked up to see the bright blue star high in the western sky, a star as bright as all of the other stars in the sky combined. It was the main source of light illuminating his surroundings this night.

No, it wasn’t a star. It was the planet that was the fourth level of Heaven. He stared at it for a moment. How very beautiful it was. Lilly was out there on that point of light. He shouldn’t have let her go into that demon stronghold alone. He shouldn’t have walked away from the guys for that matter. Was he running away from his responsibility? Suppose that fleeting moment of opportunity to gate into the Hall of Angels came and went while he was way out here?

“Oh Lord, what do I do now?” he asked.

“You wait for the right moment to rescue Lilly,” said a Voice out of the darkness.

Jonathon was startled. He turned to see a white-robed figure step out of the shadows and into the soft, blue light. It was a Man with long, flowing hair and a short beard. His expression was kind and understanding. Jonathon knew Him immediately. “Jesus…Lord!”

“Hello, Jonathon,” said Jesus.

“Lord, You’re here,” said Jonathon.

Jesus laughed kindheartedly, “Of course I am. It seems to Me that we need to have a talk.”

“Oh yes, Lord,” confirmed Jonathon. “I’m so confused…confused and scared.” He walked toward Jesus and fell into His arms. Jonathon began to cry.

Jesus placed His arms around the distraught youth. “It’s OK, Jonathon, I’m here now. I’ll help you.”

“I was so sure of this plan—that it would work,” began Jonathon. “I let Lilly go into that awful place. I was so proud of myself; I thought I had it all figured out. I was going to be her knight in shining armor. I was going to gate in and save the day. I was so full of it.”

“But now you doubt yourself,” deduced Jesus. “Every leader has had his moments of doubt, those times when he asks himself if he is really the right person to be making the important decisions. There have been times when I had My doubts too.”

“But we were a team, Lord,” said Jonathon. “Who am I to appoint myself the leader? That’s what I’ve done.”

“You didn’t just do it,” corrected Jesus, “our Father did.”

“What?” asked Jonathon. “I don’t understand.”

“Look back over the past few weeks,” said Jesus. “If it had not been for you, Christopher and Jerry would never have reached our Father. They would never have met Lilly. Isn’t this correct?”

Jonathon had to think about that for a moment. “I guess so.”

“In the forest three days ago, who first sensed that Lilly was in danger?”

“I did,” replied Jonathon.

“And who came up with the plan of gating in so as to surround the demons?”

“I did,” said Jonathon.

Jesus grasped Jonathon gently by his shoulders. “And who figured out this plan?”

“I think we all did,” replied Jonathon.

“But who was the guiding force?”

“I suppose I was,” said Jonathon.

“You suppose right, My friend,” said Jesus, smiling broadly. “You were not wrong the other times, so why do you suppose you’re wrong now?”

Jonathon didn’t answer. He truly didn’t know what to say.

“You can’t answer that question because there is no answer,” continued Jesus. “You aren’t wrong. Our Father has been guiding you all along, and He will continue to guide you. His Holy Spirit shall lead you into the Valley of the Shadow of Death this very night…but you should fear no evil, though it be all around you. And do you know why, Jonathon?”

“Because He is with me,” said Jonathon, smiling through his tears.

“Exactly,” said Jesus, whose smile mirrored Jonathon’s. “He will lead you.”

“So what should I do now?” asked Jonathon.

“You already know,” said Jesus. “You go back to Christopher and Jerry and prepare for the battle to come. Stop doubting yourself. Make your decisions, decide what you are going to do, and do it. Christopher was right. Do or do not…there is no try.”

“Yoda,” said Jonathon.

“No, George Lucas,” Jesus responded. “And he was right.”

“Are You coming with me?” asked Jonathon.

“No,” said Jesus. “This is your mission. You’re the leader this time. You’d best hurry. You’re running out of time.”

Jonathon took several steps forward, then turned around. Jesus was gone. He shook his head and then smiled. “Thank You, Lord,” he said. He continued down the canyon with renewed resolve, faith, and courage. He had a mission to complete.