“Let them go,” said Christopher. Head back to the hangar. We’ll meet you there as soon as we can.”
“Roger that,” said Jerry.
“So this is it?” asked Jonathon.
“This is it,” confirmed Lilly.
The three headed back toward the canyon. The area at the mouth of the canyon was still incredibly hot. The heat had converted the sand into glass in some places. The children managed to skirt around the hottest regions and proceeded into the shadowy chasm.
Armed soldiers raced past them, but no one paid any attention to them. They might just as well have been invisible. No one said very much.
“Tim disappointed me,” admitted Christopher. “I really thought that we were getting through to him.” Christopher turned to Lilly. “He could make such a difference here, but he’s going to make a mess of this, isn’t he?”
“I really don’t know,” admitted Lilly. “There is a lot of anger in him. There was anger in him while he still lived on Earth. He was angry about the way people treated him, just because he was different. When he came here, the demons and what they did to him only reinforced that anger.”
For a moment Lilly seemed deep in thought. “But there is Megan. The love between them may yet save him from himself, but I don’t know. That is something that the Father hasn’t revealed to me. I will tell you this: he is going to make a difference here. Hell will be changed because of his presence. In that respect, he is doing the will of the Father.”
Not too far up the canyon where it began to widen out, Christopher was surprised to discover one of Tim Monroe’s daggers—number 11. Apparently, it had been forced to make an emergency landing during the battle. It had hit the ground pretty hard. Its main gear had folded under the force of the impact and its starboard thruster had been virtually decimated. Skid marks in the sand revealed that it had slid for several hundred yards before coming to a stop. The open cockpit and the two pairs of footsteps in the sand leading away from the craft seemed to indicate that the crew had gotten out unharmed.
Christopher took a moment to survey the wreckage. They’d have a heck of a time salvaging this one. The hull was covered with burn marks. Apparently, it had taken a whole lot of fireballs, maybe 20 or so. Well, it wasn’t his problem—not anymore. They moved on.
They traveled past the farming fields. Remarkably, the canyon itself had largely sheltered them. There was some damage but not much.
“Scenes like this will become more common,” continued Lilly, “swaths of green upon this barren landscape. One of Tim’s great aspirations is to change the face of Hell, to bring it back to life. Abaddon has similar goals. They will see these things come to pass, but it will be a struggle.”
“I don’t think Satan will be too happy about that,” deduced Christopher.
“He won’t have much say in the matter,” continued Lilly. “His reign is swiftly coming to an end. He very soon will find himself in a dark and dismal place, alone, and bound in chains. He will have no contact with humankind or even with his own people for a thousand years.”
“He isn’t going to end up in Tim Monroe’s little dungeon is he?” asked Jonathon.
“I’m not certain,” admitted Lilly. “I’m sure that Tim would like that, but I don’t think so.”
“It must be depressing to have the gift of prophecy,” observed Jonathon, “to know what is going to happen and be unable to do anything about it.”
“It can be,” confirmed Lilly, “but I can’t look at it that way. Elizabeth, my mentor, explained it to me like this: All that a prophet is really seeing is the perfect will of God. To try to alter it is to say that God doesn’t know what He is doing and that He is in need of our advice. Do you want to be the Father’s advisor?”
Christopher laughed openly. “I don’t think I’m up to that one.”
“Neither am I,” agreed Jonathon.
“I guess Satan, in his pride, figured that he was up to the challenge a long time ago,” noted Christopher. “We can all see where it got him.”
“And us,” said Jonathon. “It bought us a week in Hell. I didn’t even get around to seeing the sights.”
“I’m sure Jerry would take you up in the dagger to give you a bird’s eye view of this beautiful vacation spot,” noted Christopher.
“I think I’ll pass on that one,” said Jonathon. “What I have on my mind right now is a pretty, white surfboard with a red stripe and a beautiful stretch of beach along the north shore of the Crystal Sea.”
Jonathon paused for a moment. “Hey, why don’t we all go? It’s been years since all of us have been there together. We could go surfing, take in some rays, take in some of Grandma Gladys’s wonderful food…it would be cool. And now my grandparents are there too, in a mansion not a mile farther up the coast. They can be a blast.”
“I’ll have to take a rain check on that one,” said Lilly. “I need to get back to my studies. The past week has shown me how much I still have to learn.”
“I’ll be busy for months studying the telemetry data from the
Hope,”
said Christopher. “This was her first time in actual combat. We need to analyze her strengths and weaknesses to be ready for next time. There is a lot to learn. Maybe we can get together later.”
“Yes, maybe later,” agreed Lilly.
“I never imagined that eternity would be so busy,” said Jonathon.
By the time they arrived at the hangar, Jerry and his mother were waiting there for them, and on Jerry’s shoulder was Chloressa. The hangar itself was empty with the exception of the
Hope
. The rest of the daggers were either plowed into the sand somewhere or fighting the Battle of Vendikar.
“I’m taking my mother to Refuge,” announced Jerry. “It’s all arranged. I just don’t feel all that comfortable about her staying here. Did you folks want to come along?”
“That could be interesting,” noted Christopher. Jonathon and Lilly nodded in agreement.
“Then Refuge it is,” said Jerry walking hand in hand with his mother toward the ring.
“Refuge ring control, this is Monrovia, prepare to accept transport,” said the technician, turning to the telesphere by his side.
“Refuge ready, go ahead,” was the reply.
The four stepped into the blue mists and vanished from the hangar.
T
HE FIVE HUMAN TRAVELERS STEPPED
out of the mists and into the ring room in Refuge. They were met by Abaddon himself, accompanied by Bedillia, Serena, and Chris.
“From what we’ve been hearing, it sounds like you’ve had quite the adventure,” said Bedillia.
Jerry and Christopher quickly introduced their friends, Lilly and Jonathon. Then Jerry introduced his mother.
Bedillia turned to Leona. “You must be very proud of your son.”
“And very grateful to him,” said Leona. “I don’t think a mother ever owed so great a debt of gratitude to her son.”
“I know there is one who owes a similar debt of gratitude to her daughter,” said Bedillia, turning to Serena. “I truly believe that children can be a mother’s greatest gift from God. In the Bible, Paul talks about a mother’s salvation through her children. It is almost as if he was thinking about us.”
“How long have you been here?” asked Christopher.
“About four days,” said Serena. “My mother was determined to come here. Chris and I couldn’t let her come here alone. Abaddon is our friend too—we’re going to stand with him.”
“An angel never had such good friends,” said Abaddon. He bid his visitors welcome and invited them to visit with him in his audience chamber where they could all sit down and talk. The great dark angel was very interested in learning about what happened in Monrovia a few hours ago. The story told by the children was incredible.
“When we realized that Satan planned on concentrating his forces against Monrovia,” Abaddon explained, “the
Intrepid
was stationed directly over us. The
Intrepid
was quickly dispatched to see if they could lend aid to the people of Monrovia.
“Still, I don’t believe Satan realized just how powerful a fortress Monrovia was. He does now. I myself didn’t realize their military potential…” Abaddon paused. “We offered to send over eight hundred of our best soldiers to help in the fight when it became clear that the demons intended to attack Monrovia and not us. Tim Monroe declined our offer. I could hardly believe it.”
“Eight hundred soldiers more or less wouldn’t have had much of an effect on the battle,” noted Jerry. “As best as I can tell, he had over eight thousand troops in the field, not including those defending Monrovia itself.”
“Yes,” continued Abaddon, “that explains much. Indeed, he has been very reluctant to allow us anything but very limited access to his colony for nearly two years now. When our representatives do visit him, they are always escorted and where they can travel is restricted. At one time his people lived like cavemen and women, hiding away within the depths of their caverns. Now the technology, sophistication, and population of his colony probably exceeds that of our own.”
“He gained powerful allies in Heaven because he took risks that you and your council hesitated to take,” observed Jerry. “No offense meant.”
“None taken,” assured Abaddon. “However, under the present conditions, we may need to consider changing our philosophy.”
“I think we can help you on that score,” Jerry said, as he removed a book from his flight suit and placed it on the table before him. “In here you will find detailed construction plans for most of the marvels he has been supplied with by his supporters in Heaven. Christopher and I put this thing together over the past few days. I believe these devices will be useful.”
Abaddon picked up the book and opened it. “Remarkable. But I fear that your actions will do little to endear you with Tim Monroe and his people.”
“I’m sure it won’t,” interjected Christopher. “Still, we had to do it. We had to be certain that the playing field was kept level. Anyway, I doubt that we’ll be visiting Monrovia again after this.”
“We won’t be,” confirmed Lilly. “Our job is done. It takes but a gentle push from one small child to start the journey of a snowball down a long slope. After that, the snowball grows in size and continues on its own to where it will go. It could become a nearly unstoppable force, gathering up all of the fallen snow in its path. The child does not determine its path, nor does he or she determine what snow it does or doesn’t pick up. That is determined by other things that the child does not yet see.
“And other forces are arising in this world, forces we do not as yet see. Persons you have lost sight of and may presume are gone shall one day return in power. They shall usher in a new world in outer darkness, a world different from the one you know. The wind blows from all points of the compass. Some winds will be cool and benign, while others will be hot and torrid. Some will blow for but a season and others for a millennium.
“In the end, the Father will gather up all of the winds and weigh what they have brought with them in the balance. On that day, the books shall all be opened. On that day, this world will pass away.”
Silence ruled the table for half a minute before Jonathon finally spoke. “These also are the words of the Lord of Hosts: In the end, judgment will fall on this place. All who are here will meet the fate that they have forged with their own hands.”
Jonathon turned to Abaddon. “You are the guardian of this place—you, not Tim Monroe, and not Satan. In the end, you are the one who will control the master of lies, defeating him in mortal combat and then binding him in chains for a thousand years.”
Abaddon nodded. “I thank the Father for the honor of serving Him. I thank the children of Heaven for opening the door to a new age.”
“I’m thankful that you’ve agreed to give my mother a home,” said Jerry. “I just didn’t feel right having her remain in Monrovia.”
“It is my pleasure,” assured Abaddon. “She will be welcome among us.”
“Abaddon has taken in other lost mothers,” said Bedillia. “I’ll be here to help your mother make the adjustments that are ahead. It will be my privilege.”
“Then you’re staying?” asked Christopher.
“Yes,” confirmed Bedillia. “I’m needed here. I know that the gates of Heaven are open, and I’ll return there from time to time…but my mission, my calling, is here.”
“As is mine,” said Serena. “I’ve had a terrible fear of this place for so very long. Now I know that if the people here are to have a chance, they are going to need teachers. I need to be here beside my mother.”
“If they stay, so do I,” said Chris. “I think Serena and I are going to be doing a lot of traveling. We have been for years. I suppose that’s our job.”
“Remarkable humans,” said Abaddon. “These are truly the sons and daughters of God.” There was a pause. “I know that you need to be on your way, but allow me to give you a little tour of Refuge. It is not as large as Monrovia, yet I feel in many ways it is more inviting. There is a closer and warmer sense of community here. These caves, hidden amid the eternal night of this Dark Continent, represent the first and best hope of the repentant humans of Hell. I still believe that.”
Abaddon took his guests through his world, from the modern laboratories to the rather Spartan living quarters of his people. Toward the end of the tour, Leona was shown the quarters she would occupy here in Refuge. It was little more than a small, rocky room hewn into the side of a natural cavern. Only a set of brown drapes separated it from the passageway. The bed was made of rock with a simple mattress and single blanket. Yet it would be home.