The Soul Redeemer: From Victim to Victory (29 page)

The next thing she was aware of was a loud banging that would not stop. 

N
icole stretched and tried
to pull herself out of the nightmare.  She opened her eyes and was surprised to see that she was not in her own house or in her own room with Jake.  She immediately closed them again and threw the covers over her head as she realized that she was in the nightmare, and it was reality.  Homesickness pounded on her emotions like a hammer, just like Sam who was relentlessly banging on the door. 

"If you don't open up, I'm going to knock this door down, Nicole!" he shouted.

"I'm coming, Sam."  She drug her body out of the bed and didn't have to worry about being decent.  She hadn't changed out of her clothes before she fell asleep.  With eyes barely focusing, she opened the door.  "What time is it?" 

"7:30.  Joel eats breakfast promptly at 7:45 and we are to be there."

"Ok.  Where's the kitchen?"  Nicole asked as she leaned against the door and closed her eyes.

"Go take a shower and I'll be back in ten minutes to get you," Sam said.  "Do you want me to slap your face or something to wake you up?" he asked as an after thought.

As the door slammed in his face he said, "I'll take that as a no.  Just hurry up and don't be late!"

They were all quiet as they ate breakfast in a dining room without windows.  Nicole didn't know about the others, but she was lost in her own thoughts.  Was this really only the third day of this trial?  So much had happened in such a short period of time that four days ago seemed like another life time.  It was all she could do to swallow down a few bites of toast.  Tears began to well up in her eyes and she fiercely tried to hide them, but when they began to roll down her cheeks, she excused herself and went back to her room. 

She picked up the Bible that Sam had loaned her and lay across the bed as she cried out to God to have mercy on her; to watch over Jake; to remove that horrible thing that was pretending to be her from her home and her life so that she could go home!  She tried to focus on Psalm 26, but she couldn't get Megan's face out of her mind…or was it her own face that was tormenting her?  It was all so confusing. 

The knock at her door startled her out of her reverie.  The door opened and a woman's head poked around it.  "Honey chile, can I come in?"

Nicole sat up and nodded.  "Yes, of course," she said as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

The large black woman of indeterminate age shut the door behind her and pulled a chair up next to the bed.  She looked directly into Nicole's eyes and said, "Now, I don't know nothin' bout your troubles honey chile, but it be obvious to me that what you need is a good cry!"

Not quite sure what to do with such information from a total stranger, Nicole held out her hand.  "Hi.  I'm Nicole, and you are…"

"Oh love," she replied as she bypassed Nicole's hand and wrapped her body in a big bear hug.  "You got to forgive this old lady for intrudin' without introducin'!"  She let go of Nicole and sat back in her chair smiling with her eyes as well as her mouth like she was getting ready to share the secret of a lifetime. 

"I be Jemima, Joel's housekeeper.  Just so's you know, I surely ain't the Aunt Jemima from the syrup company, though I may look a bit like her.  And just between you and me, there be people who say mine's better'n hers." 

Her joy was contagious and Nicole smiled back at her.  "Well I'm pleased to meet you Jemima, and I hope I have the chance to taste some of your syrup before I leave."

Jemima's smile suddenly faded and her eyes took on a rather stern look.  "Well now, that be a pretty hard thing to do when you don't stay sittin' at the table!  Jest look at you, all skinny and weak like.  Now I tell you what you gonna do.  You gonna tell ol' Jemima what's ailin' you, and after we take that burden to the good Lawd,  then you goin' back out there and finish that breakfast!" 

Nicole liked her.  Angel or just a godly woman? She wondered and smiled to herself as she thought of Maria.  "Ok.  Maybe I do need a lady friend to confide in.  And you're probably right about crying too, but I don't really feel like it anymore.  You made me feel better just with your presence."

Jemima got a conspiratorial look in her eyes.  "Mister Sam told me that you made old Joel laugh!  What in the world did you say that caused that intense old man to relax enough to have a laugh?"

"I asked if he was an angel."

Jemima's large tummy began to jiggle, and then a chuckle escaped from her smiling lips. And then the most comforting, joyous laugh erupted from her mouth and shook her whole body.  Nicole watched and listened and then helplessly joined in the laughter, not really understanding it, but thanking God for this wonderful medicine. 

When they finally stopped laughing, they heard a sound at the door.  Nicole got up and opened it.  Sam and Joel were standing there like two little boys that had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.  "Uh, we heard a noise in here and wanted to make sure you were ok," Sam stuttered.  "At first we thought maybe you were screaming, or crying out in pain….but it seems like you're ok, so we'll go back to the kitchen now…." 

"We're fine Sam.  Thank you guys for checking on us," Nicole said.  As she shut the door, they heard Joel say, "Women!"  And Sam's commentary, "Go figure!" 

She looked at Jemima and Jemima looked back at her and they burst into laughter again.

Jemima finally wiped her teary eyes with the corner of her apron.  "Now honey chile, you gonna tell me what's got you so uptight?"

"I'm homesick, Jemima.  I miss my husband and my kids, my home and my life.  It's not safe for me to go home right now, and I don't know when I'll be able to.  Sometimes, when I think about it, it hurts so bad I don't think I can stand it.  And then there are the things that I have to do before there's even the possibility of going home.  It all seems so overwhelming, and I'm scared."

The older, wiser lady was quiet for a moment before she said softly, "Old Jemima knows that kind of pain, chile.  And there be only One who can ease that sort a heartache.  Jemima's gonna pray for you." 

She took hold of both Nicole's shoulders with her two strong, worn hands, and placed her forehead against Nicole's forehead.  Then she began to pray.  Nicole had never heard anyone pray like that before.  She poured out her heart to God as if she were Nicole herself, and there was no question that her intercession was led by the power of the Holy Spirit, who Himself was also interceding for her.  By the time her prayer was over, both women were crying. 

"See, you were right, Jemima," Nicole said as she blew her nose.  "I did need to cry.  You are a God-send to me for today.  I needed to laugh and to cry and to share with a sister who would pray.  Are you an angel?"

And both women broke out laughing again.

After Nicole finished her breakfast, Joel addressed the day.  "The first order of business will be to check for devices that may have been implanted in your skin, Nicole.  I'm going to have Jemima help you with that.  Jemima!" Joel called out.

When she stepped into the dining room with a fresh pot of tea in hand, Joel said, "Jemima, we need you to help check Nicole for bugs.  Will you do that?"

"Yes Sir.  Be happy to."

"Come back here when you're done."

The two ladies came back shortly.  "Only the one like you thought Mister Joel," Jemima said. 

"Ok, then let's get that offending device out so we can go sit in the solarium," Joel said.

There was a moment of quick pain as the bug was being extracted, and then it was over and Jemima placed a medicated Band-Aid on the small wound. 

"Now, come with me," Joel said.  Sam and Nicole followed him out into the hall and through another door that opened onto a staircase.  Nicole could see a door at the top of the stairs as well.  What an unusual house, she thought.  He opened the door when they reached the top and light streamed down into the stairwell.  As Nicole stepped into the room, she gasped in delight. 

"Welcome to my sanctuary," Joel said.

"It's wonderful!  There are enough windows up here to make up for the lack in the rest of the house!"  Nicole practically ran to the windows that overlooked Capital Hill and breathed in a deep breath as if she had been starved for air.  "It's so pleasant and peaceful, I can see why you call this room your sanctuary," Nicole responded.

"It is all you said," Joel answered.  "However, I call it my sanctuary because this is where I spend my time with the Lord.  Much of it is spent praying for the government, this city, for this nation, the people and the problems in it.  As you can see, I have a view of Capital Hill.  It helps me to stay connected, although ambiguously."

After they were seated comfortably, Joel explained, "Now that you are rid of bugs, we can talk freely here even though it isn't protected like the rest of the house."

"So the government knows that you live here.  Do they know who you are?  What you used to be involved in?  Who you are now?"  Nicole wondered.

"To make this simple, I'll explain it this way.  My death was staged and I took on a new identity.  As far as they are concerned, I am a US citizen who worked in Switzerland as a history professor in a university there and came home after retiring.  Because I was a familiar face, I also had some of my physical features surgically altered.  So to answer your questions, no, they don't know who I am and they have no idea what I do here."

"I am a bit surprised that you are so close," Nicole said.

"Right under their noses.  Who'd think to look there?" Sam added.

Joel nodded.  "It is time to get busy.  Lord Jesus, today we are asking You to show us Your plans.  To begin, I am going to read from Psalm 26 and 27."

Nicole smiled as she realized that God must truly have something for them from this passage of His Word as that had been the scripture she had tried to read earlier.

No one in the room heard Cantor begin to sing and to offer praises to God when Joel began reading from the Word; but as He blessed the most Holy Lord God, more angels arrived and joined with him, filling the atmosphere with a spirit of peace, and opening the portal of heaven for the Presence of Jesus.

When Joel had finished, he got down on his knees and said, "Lord God Jehovah, You are truly our Light, our Salvation and our Strength.  We trust in You and we look to You for the deliverance of our brothers and sisters, those You have entrusted to us.  Today we ask You for specific strategically detailed battle plans for Nicole, for Sam, for Jake, for Megan, for Samaria, and for all the clones that are being programmed for destruction and demonically controlled.  We have no answers, Jesus.  But we know You do and we ask You for Your wisdom and guidance.  We pray You fill our hearts with love and compassion for those people we view as our enemy.  We will obey Your Word that we just read and will wait on You until You say to go and to do.  We love You Lord, Amen."

After a few quiet moments of reflection for all of them, Joel got up off the floor and sat back down in his chair.  He looked at Nicole.  "You are troubled.  What is it?" 

"It's just that you prayed for Megan like you did for the rest of us.  She's a clone, not a person."

"Ah.  What do you think clones are Nicole?"

"Well, I think they are copies of people."

"Yes, that's part of it.  Do they have souls and spirits as well as bodies?"

Nicole had to think about that.  "I guess I've never considered that as a possibility.  I guess I think that they are a body that man creates and then programs like a computer."

"I thought that at first too," Sam said.  "Then as I studied the technology, I've come to believe that even though they are created in a different way than people, God is still the author of life, and they are alive, flesh and blood.  I believe that they have a soul, a mind, will and emotions.  I don't think they know that they can think for themselves or that they can have freewill because they are being raised under programming as slaves and are brought up to respond in total obedience. 

"The other factor is that many are being imbedded with computer parts that give them extraordinary physical abilities and the programmers more control.  I guess the question is whether or not God has given them a human spirit like us, or if they are more like animals with a body and soul but no spirit."

"I believe that until we know if they have a spirit or not, we assume that they do," Joel said.  "Which means that we pray for them and their deliverance.  We pray that we will be filled with God's love for them just as we would any enemy because that is God's command.  The clones are not the enemy here; they are victims just as any person is who has been taken captive by the evil one.  Until we know differently, we must pray that the Lord gives us hearts of compassion for them."

Nicole closed her eyes.  "That's a tall order.  I confess that I hate Megan!  I've been thinking that I'd like to kill her myself.  I have assumed that she was just a walking flesh and blood computer that has taken over my home, and now, well now I don't know anymore.  I guess I need to ask God to give me His perspective of her."

Sam and Joel both nodded.

Joel suddenly said, "Nicole, tell me about your feet."