The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (88 page)

‘It was Bravo, sir. No question about it.’

‘And the children?’ Timothy asked, looking for a
glimmer of good news.

‘Impaled alongside him,’ Echo answered. ‘What remained
of them, at least.’

Timothy’s head was spinning and he had to grab hold of
a chair in order to stabilize himself again.

This cannot be happening
, he thought to himself, but deep
within his heart he realized the truth. ‘
No!
’ he shouted and ran from
the tent.

‘Let him go, Echo,’ Charlie said and gently placed his
hand on the other scout’s shoulder. ‘He needs to do this.’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘
Why Lord?
’ Timothy shouted
into the night air. ‘Why would you allow this to happen?’

He fell to the ground and sobbed uncontrollably,
pounding his fists repeatedly into the soft sand.

‘Why didn’t you take me instead?’ he cried. ‘Why didn’t
you take me?’

He ripped his shirt open and screamed into the night
air. When his breath wouldn’t allow him to go on screaming, he fell forward and
rolled over onto his back. ‘He was a good man. Despite his past he ended up
choosing You. Those were innocent children!’ he cried. ‘
Why?
’

There were no answers. No lights from Heaven, and no
comforting angel. There was only the soft wilderness breeze.

They are with me now
, his heart told him.
There is
still a great task that I need you for before you can come home
.

‘Why, Adonai?’ Timothy whispered softly as he regained
control of his emotions. ‘Why me?’

Because I have chosen you.

- - -*  *  *- -
-

The queue at the N-Force office was
exceptionally long. Typical of South African culture, everyone had waited until
ninety-nine to get their Shields. Trevor had taken a book to read with him, to
avoid getting bored while he waited.

I should have brought two
; he thought when he scanned the
line ahead of him. There were about two hundred people in front of him, and
even though they were called in five at a time, it still took a while before
the queue even moved enough for him to bother standing up and sitting down
again less than an arm’s length from where he initially was.

‘What on Earth is that?’ someone asked and pointed at
the sky.

Trevor didn’t see the shape immediately, but his eyes
eventually focussed, and he noticed the figure flying overhead.

‘It’s Superman,’ someone in the queue joked, and
everyone laughed.

‘It has wings,’ someone else commented.

Trevor looked in amazement as the winged man flew over
them in circles. If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn it to be an
angel.

‘
Behold!
’ the flying man shouted from above. ‘
The
Mark of the Beast as prophesied by the Apostle John!
’

‘It’s that angel man thing,’ the woman in front of
Trevor told him as if he had asked. ‘I heard about it on GMN when the people
first started queuing for the Shield.’

‘Ah,’ Trevor said, pretending to be interested. ‘That’s
nice.’

‘Some say that he’s a hologram; a cheap trick of the
Christian terrorists to scare people away from the Shield and to con them into
becoming terrorists too.’

‘And you? What do you think?’ Trevor asked, still
trying to make up his own mind about the strange phenomena.

‘I think that it could be a demon...maybe an alien. It
doesn’t want us to be protected in case it would want to attack and harm us
again.’

Trevor looked up at the angelic being flying over them,
constantly shouting warnings to the people below that they shouldn’t take the
‘Mark.’

‘Why doesn’t N-Force just shoot him...it down?’ he
asked her.

‘Oh, they have tried,’ the woman answered. ‘But it’s as
if they’re shooting at nothing. That’s why most say it’s only a hologram.’

Trevor frowned.

‘And he’s everywhere,’ the woman said, not letting up
that easily, ‘shouting things to us here, then zipping to India and shouting to
the people there, then North Korea, Alaska, South America, Botswana...the
entire planet.’

‘Interesting,’ Trevor said. Andrew had mentioned a
similar thing before when he warned Trevor against taking the Shield.

The Shield is the Mark of the Beast
, Andrew would say.
And
if you take it, that’s it! No more turning back. You will swear your allegiance
with the Antichrist, and renounce Jesus. From there onward there will be no
turning back. Your heart will be black, and you will just grow more and more
evil until your destruction at the very end.

‘
Woe! Woe! Woe! To those who take the Mark,
’ the
angelic being shouted. ‘
For it is they who exchange their eternal souls, and
pledge their allegiance to their new master; Antichrist!
’

Trevor was conflicted.
Allegiance with the
Antichrist
.
Mark of the Beast
. His mind raced. He looked at those
standing around him, all standing expressionlessly in the queue to be branded
like cattle. In his mind, Trevor saw Andrew’s eyes, filled with tears and love,
and for a split second he saw Jesus Christ hanging on that cross, and it were
His
eyes that Trevor was looking into.

Oh my Lord,
Trevor thought as the realization
struck him.
It’s true. It’s all true! You were right, Andy, you were right
all along!

‘You can move now,’ someone behind him said impatiently
and nudged him in the back with his elbow. ‘Come on.’

‘It’s true,’ Trevor said; his voice hardly above a
coarse whisper. He looked down at his shaking hands. He was about to receive
the Mark of the Beast. He was about to sign up for eternal damnation.

‘Say what?’ the nosy woman in front of him asked,
assuming that it had been her that he spoke to.

‘Nothing,’ Trevor said and ran to his motorcycle as
fast as he could.

‘You’ve just lost your place, buddy!’ the man behind
him in the queue shouted.

Trevor didn’t reply. He just kept running as fear
clutched its claws around his heart and squeezed.

‘Oh, Jesus,’ he said when he finally reached his
motorcycle. ‘Forgive me, please! I beg of you!’

He wept as his hand clenched around the throttle. ‘I
ask your forgiveness and pray that you help me, oh Lord,’ he said. ‘Please help
me, and please forgive me for what I have done to Andrew.’

An N-Force parking security officer tapped him lightly
on the shoulder. ‘Sir, are you here for the Shield?’ he asked. ‘You have to get
in line or leave, please. There are many people still looking for a parking
spot.’

‘No, thanks,’ Trevor said as he kick-started the bike.
‘I was just leaving.’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘It is with great pleasure that I
announce,’ Antonio Pascale said at the live GMN press conference, ‘that the
dates will no longer reflect to that of the terrorist leader, Jesus, but
instead to our own Sovereign Emperor and saviour, Victor Yoshe.’

There was silence as the reporters waited for Antonio
to explain.

‘Thus from now on,’ he said, ‘the dates will no longer
reflect B.C. or A.D. as has always been the case, but instead as B.V. and S.V,
which simply means: Before Victor, and Since Victor.’

The reporters scribbled furiously.

‘At the break of the new year, we will implement this
global time system, and thus on the first of January next year, you will no
longer use the dates that you have been using until now, but will instead refer
to the year as 4S.V.’

Cameras flashed and many questions were asked, some
especially focussing on how the date change was to affect computer systems
globally. Antonio answered each with exceptional accuracy.

‘This is a new era,’ he finally concluded, ‘Embrace it
as you embrace your God.’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘This is preposterous!’ the
representative of Egypt to the European Empire shouted. ‘Sovereign Emperor
Yoshe cannot just be allowed to change the times and laws as he pleases! This
has simply gone too far!’

The room buzzed as many raised their agreement and many
their disagreement.

‘Order!’ the Chairman shouted. ‘I said,
order!
’

Everyone quietened down again.

‘I will not allow this to become a power struggle. We
have placed Sovereign Emperor Yoshe in his position of power because he has the
power and knowledge to guide us, and the miracles to back his claims. He has
proven himself worthy on every level, and I believe that he should be free to
do as he pleases.’

‘That’s insane!’ the representative said louder than he
had intended to. ‘He and his N-Force has killed hundreds of thousands of people
in the last six months, and if he is not stopped, who knows how many more would
have to die?’

‘Those people were terrorists, and if it had not been
for their executions,
millions
of people, innocent people, would have
perished. Sovereign Emperor Yoshe’s method of cleansing the planet is, by my
vote, the best idea in a long time.’

‘Then I declare a retraction,’ the representative said.
‘Egypt will no longer be part of the European Empire.’

‘That decision is not yours to make,’ the Chairman
said.

‘Our house has agreed unanimously, and we have heard
from the people of our country. This is what we
all
want,’ the
representative said with spite in his voice. ‘You shall either allow us to
retract, or we will declare war, and remove Sovereign Emperor Yoshe with
force.’

‘Fine,’ the Chairman sighed. ‘Those who wish to retract
should do so within forty-eight hours. But keep in mind that you will no longer
be under the protection of the European Empire or any other international coalition,
and would have to fend for yourselves if ever under attack.’

‘So be it,’ the representative said.

‘So be it,’ the Chairman said and dismissed the meeting
with the loud
bang
of his mallet.

.XVII.

 
‘Men never do evil so
completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.’

-
Blaise Pascal

Victor stood on the edge of the
cliff. He stared out across the ocean at the vast body of water that covered
two thirds of the Earth. The sun created a brilliant display of sparkles on the
surface of the water, and the relaxing scene was a sharp contrast to the early
morning breeze that ripped at his cape.

‘Are we ready?’ Victor asked as Antonio and Ryan
approached him.

‘We are ready, my Lord,’ came the confirmation that
Victor had been waiting for.

‘Fine,’ he said and turned toward the city in the
distance. ‘Let us proceed then.’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘What is the meaning of this?’ the
king of District Seven yelled at Victor as he approached him.

‘You have retracted from the Empire, Daniel’ Victor
said calmly. ‘That makes you an enemy.’

‘District Seven has retracted for personal reasons,
Emperor,’ the king said. He didn’t want to show any sign of disrespect for fear
of what Victor might do in retaliation.

‘It’s
Sovereign
Emperor,’ Victor corrected the
man. ‘The reasons submitted to the Chairman were all quite personal, Daniel,’
Victor said. ‘They were directed mostly at me and my...how did you put it...?
Methods
.’

‘So we don’t see eye to eye about everything,’ the king
said. ‘But does that now make me an enemy?’

‘If you’re not for me,’ Victor said, ‘you’re against
me.’

‘You’re so full of it, Victor...’

‘Yes?’ Victor said. ‘Go on...’

The king of District Seven took a deep breath and
closed his eyes as he exhaled. He then pointed at the direction of the GMN news
crew. ‘What are they doing here?’ he asked, hoping that it would divert
Victor’s attention away from his previous comment.

‘They’re here to capture the event live,’ Victor said.

‘Event?’ Daniel asked. ‘What event?’

‘The event that will also happen two more times,’
Victor said. ‘At the other two Districts that have retracted.’

‘What do you mean?’ the king asked. ‘What are you
talking about?’

Victor pointed to the city in the distance. ‘See that
city over there?’ he asked.

‘Yes...?’

‘That is the capital of District Seven, is that
correct?’

‘Yes...’ Daniel said. ‘But I still don’t see what—’

‘Wrong, Daniel,’ Victor hissed and nodded to Antonio.
‘That
was
the capital of District Seven.’

Antonio raised his hands into the air and chanted in a
foreign tongue. Dark clouds piled in the skies and the wind picked up. Barely a
minute later the skies were as black as night. The wind almost jerked Daniel
off his feet, and he had to hunch down to regain his balance. Antonio appeared
to be unaffected by the gale and just chanted louder and louder above the
wailing of the wind.

The clouds above the city opened up, and streaks of
fire poured down from the skies and consumed the skyscrapers and city streets
of District 7. In the distance, the citizens of the city were running and
screaming, but in a matter of minutes, the fire had consumed all.

‘Oh my...’

‘Do you see, Daniel?’ Victor asked and his mouth went
from smile to snarl. ‘Do you see what I am about to do with my enemies?’

Daniel wasn’t paying attention to Victor. His heart
exploded in his ears as he realized that his wife and children were all in the
city, probably still sleeping when the fire came down.

‘Yes, Daniel,’ Victor said as if reading his thoughts.
‘They’re all dead; and it’s
your
fault.’

‘You...you murderer!’ Daniel shrieked and ran towards
Victor, flailing his fists violently through the air.

Ryan moved between Victor and Daniel, and a punch to
the attacker’s solar plexus sent him tumbling to the ground.

‘You seriously underestimate me, Daniel,’ Victor said
slightly irritated. He then turned to his right-hand man. ‘Ryan,’ he said and
pointed to Daniel. ‘Pick that up and impale him in my holy city for all to see.
I want him impaled alive and kept alive for as long as possible. I want him to
suffer for days, or even weeks if you can.’

‘Understood, my Lord,’ Ryan said and picked the man up
by the collar.

Victor turned toward the GMN camera crew and spoke
directly into the camera. ‘Join me in my cause,’ he said as he aimed his words
directly at the leaders of the other retracted districts, ‘or you will suffer
an even worse fate. It is time for me to clean up the bad elements in this
world as I have done with Sodom and Gomorrah back in the day. You have not
learnt from their mistakes, and thus you too shall perish in your sins.’

He paused for a brief moment, and then concluded: ‘Join
me now, or die.’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

Trevor stared unbelievingly at the
footage that played off live on GMN. He found himself still struggling with the
reality of living in the last days of Earth.
Thank you for opening my eyes,
Jesus,
he prayed as Victor made his speech to the rest of the world
leaders.
Thank you for pulling me from the fires of Hell in the nick of
time.

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘Three more countries have joined
our forces,’ Ryan said as he pointed to three strategic locations on a map that
was spread out and covered a large wooden table.

‘Excellent,’ Victor grinned. He pointed to two sections
on the map. ‘We will take these next.’

‘No offence, my Lord,’ Ryan said, ‘but Kazakhstan and
Mongolia are two large countries. It will be no stroll in the park to take
them.’

‘That is indeed so,’ Victor said. ‘But we need the
space.’

Ryan didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, but he
knew that once Victor had put his mind to something, he accomplished it.

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘Kazakhstan and Mongolia have
fallen under Emperor Yoshe’s powerful onslaught. Hundreds of thousands of
terrorists have been taken prisoner and await their fates in enemy
concentration camps while thousands of others have handed themselves over, and
have joined the N-Force army in their crusade to cleanse the world of terror.

‘Sovereign Emperor Yoshe will have a meeting in
mainland China next week where he will divide his army and send them in three
different directions. These armies will then march toward India, Russia, and
Burma where they will then take Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.

‘In other news: all people are asked to report, hand in
or burn any terrorist propaganda that they might find. These include so-called
Worship CDs, DVD Movies, books, Tracts, Websites, Churches, and Bibles. Those
who are found with such propaganda will be arrested and prosecuted to the
fullest extent of the law.

‘Roadblocks will soon be implemented across the Empire,
and vehicles will be searched for terrorist propaganda. N-Force troops will
also check the allegiance of people, and those within the Empire without the
Shield will be considered and treated as terrorists.

‘This is Roland Jackson for GMN, live.’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

China:
One Week Later

To Ryan, taking Kazakhstan and
Mongolia were nothing short of a miracle. But going for India, Russia, and
Burma at once would be suicide. They weren’t nearly equipped for a military
coup of that magnitude, and besides, Antonio could only be at one place at any
given time.

‘Ryan,’ Victor said as he entered the tent. ‘Come.’

Ryan stood up. ‘Where to, my Lord?’

‘Come,’ Victor said. ‘I want to show you something.’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

They were on the road for more than
an hour before the Jeep came to a standstill. Ryan had no idea what Victor
wanted to show him, but complied with everything his Lord requested.

As they got out of the Jeep, Ryan felt the ground
vibrate and heard cheers like that of a live football match in the distance.

‘Wait here,’ Victor told the driver. He then guided
Ryan lightly by the elbow. ‘Come,’ he said, and Ryan followed him and Antonio.

They walked through some shrubbery and trees, and as
they advanced, the vibrations intensified and the cheering grew louder. Ryan
knew that the crowd waiting behind coverage of the trees were waiting for
Victor’s arrival.

Oh my,
Ryan thought as they cleared the trees. He could see
millions upon millions of people, all cheering and stomping their feet when
they realized that Victor was there. Between the millions of people was a huge
path down which the three of them walked. Ryan now realized why Victor needed
so much space.

It was like walking through the parted Red Sea. A sea
of people. But they were not people. As they walked, Ryan saw that they were
taller than the average person. Broader too. Their leathery skin was a rotten,
greenish-grey colour and appeared to be as thick as an elephant’s hide. They
had fangs instead of teeth and were more hideous than the creatures in many
modern movies. And they were
real
.

The beast-like figures carried huge swords instead of
modern firearms. Finally, after twenty minutes of making their way along the
path past thousands of the non-human soldiers, did they reach a large podium.

As Victor approached the podium, a hush fell over the
crowd of foul smelling monsters.

Ryan took a seat next to Antonio, who in turn was
seated next to four of the brutish soldiers. But these four were different:
they were more intimidating than the rest and visibly larger too.

‘They are generals,’ Antonio whispered, and then
motioned for Ryan to focus on Victor.

‘My fellow soldiers,’ Victor shouted into the
microphone. ‘Today we march together into battle!’

The stage shook as the monsters cheered and stomped
their feet. Victor raised his hand and they grew quiet again.

‘For too long have the vermin of this planet stood in
our way,’ Victor cried out. ‘For too long have we allowed them to spread their
hatred and lies! Today we take back what is rightfully ours! Today we take back
our planet!’

The soldiers roared and shouted and stomped, but this
time Victor did not quiet them. He allowed them to cheer and shout.

A shiver went down Ryan’s spine as he realized that
no
one
would be able to stand in Victor’s way.

Victor smiled and stood next to Ryan. He waved at the
soldiers who cheered him on even more.

‘With these two hundred million
Imperial Soldiers
,’
Victor said, ‘I will establish my kingdom over this world. Let all who see
tremble, and all who oppose be crushed.’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘Military N-Force traitors
worldwide were captured today and are being taken to a central detainment camp
in Russia where they will await their fates. This follows the public introduction
of Sovereign Emperor Victor Yoshe’s elite force, the Imperial Soldiers.

‘Lord Yoshe ordered the arrests after rumours exposed
several divisions of N-Force as ‘against the Empire,’ with possible
affiliations with terrorists. They will be tried by the World Court this coming
week, but insiders say that all of them will probably receive the death
penalty.

‘N-Force fire fighters, Hospital workers, Community
Workers and other public relations departments were unaffected by the sudden
arrests. Lord Yoshe proudly announced in a press release that the Imperial
Soldiers outnumber the N-Force military units four hundred to one, and use
substantially less resources than normal soldiers. They are also more versatile
as they can run for days without tiring, and are resistant to most calibre
firearms, as well as disease.

‘We will keep you informed as the story unfolds. This
is Ivan Rankoff, for GMN News Live, Russia.’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

The trip from Jerusalem to Al Jalil
had been a stroke of luck more than anything else. René had lost her friends
somewhere in Jerusalem, and some careful bartering managed to land herself a
plane ticket to Al Jalil. She didn’t think that she would actually see her
saviour, but as long as she was in the same city as he was, there would at
least be a slim chance. Now she was walking the very streets that he walked in;
possibly even on the same pavement he had walked on some time or another. René
couldn’t be more thrilled.

‘Excuse me,’ she asked a man as he walked past her.
‘How do I get to Lord Yoshe’s temple from here?’