Rise of the Beast (75 page)

Clearly, the dark angels were on the defensive. They did their best to take down demons and detonate fireballs. But some of the fireballs were getting through.

Lenar was surprised when several fireballs seemed to detonate on their own just seconds before hitting the building housing the ring. At first he was puzzled, and then he understood the terrible truth. It was the ACs. They had moved into the path of the fireball in an attempt to detonate it before it did any damage. Their selfless determination might just have preserved their route home.

Another group of over a hundred of the tiny creatures swept past, just below him, on their way to engage the demonic forces. Their presence here was becoming a real blessing, perhaps the pivotal element in the battle.

Then a brilliant beam of energy erupted from the forest below, striking a demon and scattering his body parts across a vast area. Apparently, Tom had joined the struggle.

Several fireballs were projected in the general direction from which the particle beam blast had erupted. A second later, another beam shot forth, barely missing yet another demon. This resulted in the launch of a second volley of fireballs toward the dense forest. This volley was not answered.

For several minutes the heavens were ablaze with angelic and demonic weapons, yet in the end, both sides were exhausted. The angelic warfare now entered its second phase, sword to sword combat.

Lenar realized that this was a risky proposition. They were badly outnumbered. Still, he saw no other option. His blood was pumping. He was doing the thing he was created for. It was almost instinctual. Then again, they weren’t alone in this, were they? From the chaos that he could discern among the demonic ranks, he already deduced that the ACs were busy.

Yet before his meager forces could clash with the demons, three more particle beam blasts erupted from the ground—from a different location. One found its mark. It was an action that further confused the advancing demonic force. Members within it began to scatter. And with the confusion came opportunity.

The dark angels engaged their sworn enemies 500 feet above the jungle. The fires below illuminated their struggle.

Below, Tom was constantly on the move. Taking a few shots when he could, then moving to a new location to keep the demons from zeroing in on his position. Yet he was trying to work his way back toward the ring, which was being guarded by a lone dark angel.

From the ground, Satan watched the battle in amazement. His arm was wrapped in gauze bandages, and he appeared to still be in considerable pain. “So, there are angels here as well,” he said.

“Yes,” confirmed Molock, “dark angels.”

“Dark angels! Then where have these warriors come from?” asked Satan.

“Presumably from your old kingdom, my lord,” said Molock.

“I shall get to the bottom of this,” swore Satan. “In my absence, things have gotten out of hand. I swear this shall not continue.” There was a pause. “And it was one of your followers that allowed all of this to happen, one named Cordon. You appointed him as interim governor of your region when we left for the war. Then he rose in power to become the lord of all Hell. I’ve heard about the mess he made. He made peace with the dark angels and with the humans. He had the audacity to change the order of things, an order that I myself established. He might even have intentionally cut off our escape route during the war in Heaven. Even now, he plots against me.”

Molock was stunned. He didn’t know what to say.

“Now he is trying to take Serena from me, too,” said Satan, in a rambling and slightly slurred voice. “Here is what you shall do, Molock, and hear me well. You will destroy these abominations. Make sure that none escape me. And when it is all done, bring me the head of Serena Davis.”

“Her head?” asked Molock, “Why?”

“So I can look at it,” said Satan. “So I can spit in it and know that I have won. I must have this thing!”

Molock reached to stabilize his monarch, who seemed on the threshold of collapse. “Come, my lord, your servants shall take you through the ring and back to your quarters in Paris. You are not well; you need to rest. I shall see to it all.”

Satan nodded and went with his escorts toward the ring. A moment later, they vanished into its foggy depths.

Molock just shook his head. “What a mess.”

Overhead, the battle continued. It was nearly an hour before both sides mutually disengaged. This battle would not enter the classical third stage of sword to sword combat on the ground.

Lenar returned to the ground to find the building within which the ring was housed severely damaged. Across the island, fires still burned, though there was insufficient dry fuel to support the fires for very long. Within the building, he found Tom with his flashlight, examining some instrumentation that was currently partially buried under a pile of rubble against the near wall. He rose to his feet and shook his head.

“None of the fireballs did any real damage other than this one,” said Tom. “They seemed to have concentrated their fire on the fusion power plant. Our power supply, the one that will provide the juice to get us home, is buried under there. We’ll need to clear the rubble. Maybe, if we’re lucky, it’s only a snapped cable. If so, I could reattach the power supply further up the trunk cables.”

“How long would that take?” asked Lenar.

“A few hours,” was the reply. “But if the power supply itself is damaged, we’re sunk. We only have the one, and I don’t have any spare parts.”

Lenar stepped forward, picking up a 100 pound block of rubble and tossed it to the side. “Let’s get to it then. The sooner we get this rubble moved, the sooner we’ll know.”

Two other dark angels joined in the task, tossing blocks that a normal human would find difficult to handle. One way or another, they would soon know the fate of their rescue mission.

Krissie and the others stumbled through the narrow, dark tunnels. Sometimes they waded through shallow water and at other times squeezed through narrow spaces. Twice now they had to double back 100 feet or so after coming to a dead end. She’d begun to realize that seeing these tunnels through the ethereal vision of a demonic spirit was not quite the same as dealing with the physical reality.

All the while, Bedillia and Leland Senior were growing weaker. Were it not for their power suits, they might not have been able to walk at all, and Bedillia’s power suit was only partially functional.

Serena faded in and out of consciousness, occasionally coughing up a foul mixture of blood and other fluids. She seemed to be getting worse.

Leland and Leland Senior walked together, exchanging stories, reaching across the generations. If only they had more time.

Once more, they had reached a fork in the tunnel. Krissie stopped. Right now she didn’t know which way to turn. She couldn’t make another mistake. It was her confidence and determination that had brought them down here. Might she have been too confident? She prayed for guidance.

It was only then that a flash of light caught her eye, a flash of light from the right branch of the tunnel. She focused upon it. There it was again. “We have company,” she whispered.

Bedillia drew her weapon, though she hardly had the strength to lift it. The light was growing brighter. Then she saw the beam itself. It reflected off of a pool of water before them, illuminating the whole group.

“Krissie?” said a voice, coming from the light.

“Abaddon?” she said.

The figure quickly approached. It was Abaddon, accompanied by another dark angel.

“Are we glad to see you!” said Bedillia, practically falling into his arms.

Abaddon looked at her with concern. “You don’t look so good. We need to get you back to Refuge.” Then he saw the young woman in Chris’s arms. He slowly approached.

Serena opened her eyes to see a familiar face. “Abaddon, you’re really here,” she murmured. “You’ve come to take me home.”

“I’m here,” said Abaddon, caressing her cheek. His attention turned to Goliath, who sat curled up upon her chest. “It looks like you’ve found an old friend.”

Serena nodded, but said nothing.

Abaddon looked to Chris. “Here, I’ll carry her for a while. It will be my pleasure.”

Chris nodded and gingerly handed his wife off to Abaddon.

“Like old times,” whispered Serena, “being in your arms.”

Abaddon nodded. He turned to Krissie. “You’ve done very well. You almost have them to the exit. Another 10 or 15 minutes and this journey will be over.” Abaddon took the lead. They walked through ankle-deep water for about 50 feet; then they began to climb once more. The atmosphere was growing fresher, less claustrophobic. One could smell the salt air. Then they emerged from an almost hidden sea cave about 20 feet above the waves.

The sky was bright. Sunrise couldn’t be more than 20 minutes away. Turning, they saw building one just a couple hundred yards away. Their hearts sank when they observed its condition. It had been battered severely by some sort of weapons fire.

They struggled up the hill through a tangle of foliage. At the front door of the facility they encountered Tom. Bedillia practically collapsed into his arms. She was very pale, and her hair was actually starting to fall out.

“We’ve got to get you home,” said Tom, helping her into the main building. “We’ve had some problems, but it’s not as bad as it looks. I think I can fix it. I just need some more time. We’ll get you home.”

“How are you feeling, Tom?” asked Abaddon.

“Actually, a lot better,” said Tom. “Last night, for a time, I was feeling a bit ill, but it passed. Right now I’m just tired and a bit hungry.” He hesitated. “I’m thinking about staying.”

“Staying?” asked Bedillia.

“Yeah,” confirmed Tom. “Here is where the real battle for the future of humanity is going to be fought. I have a lot of skills and knowledge to share. Maybe I can make a difference.”

“But you don’t know if the sickness will creep up on you,” objected Bedillia. “Sure, you feel fine today, but what about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow will take care of its self,” replied Tom. “Don’t you see? I have to do this.”

Bedillia nodded, but said no more.

“I better get back to work or none of us is going anywhere,” said Tom. “Try to get some sleep, OK?”

Abaddon took Bedillia, Serena, and Leland Senior to the control room. They would be more comfortable there.

Tom turned his attention to the banged-up power supply and the makeshift circuit junction he was fashioning. This was going to be iffy. He might be able to open the wormhole, but he couldn’t keep it open long.