

Tears

of Angels

The Beast part 1

Michael A. Williams

Copyright © 2018 Michael A. Williams

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed "Attention: Permissions Coordinator," at the address below.

ISBN: 978-1-793-96801-2

Front cover image by Leon Rodrigues

Book design by Michael A. Williams

Author.MikeWilliams@yahoo.com

Barstow, Ca 92311

 linkedin.com/in/michael-williams-19310b56

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Prologue

"Please God, tell me that all of this is because of you. Tell me that I hear your voice speaking through the crack in the sky and that I haven't gone crazy," Matthew sniffled from the cold air tickling his nose. "Please, tell me it's you. I need to know that this is the rapture."

Matthew looked away from the opened sky and nearly everyone was crying because of what filled their eyes. The people were in awe, feeling delusional. Some were afraid as they saw for the first time that God was real, while the other pieces of the crowd fell on their knees or stood in shock. Their tears drenched their cheeks, begging for forgiveness until the sound of their voices scratched. It was a sad thing to see. There was no hope. It was too late for them and they knew it. God's powerful features filled the sky like he was riding the many clouds swaying across the midnight blue. Now this, it was amazing to see. His beautiful love fell with the rain that touched the foreheads of everyone. It calmed some, but not all as the stars' shine diminished.

When the rain fell on Matthew, he cried. His body shivered at the touch, but he felt happy all the same. A happiness that merged with his sorrow of leaving everyone behind to find their souls were bound by their own selves to serve with damnation.

"God," he continued. "Why do I have to watch people being left behind? I did everything I could to prepare for this moment my entire life, but these people. They" His sadness held his tongue briefly. "They didn't know what to do."

He looked across the street and saw a woman exit her house before scrambling around her front yard.

"Where's my son?" she said, her eyes locking with Matthew's. "Have you seen my son? You know him, right?"

Matthew felt obligated to nod his head to the woman. "I'm sorry, I haven't. I think he"

Before he finished his thought, another woman screamed from the middle of the street. "Someone help, please!" she wept. Her eye shadow melted onto her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes tight.

"Get out the way!" Matthew said.

But it was too late. The woman calling for help was struck by a car with only a man sitting in the front passenger seat, his eyes bulged from his fear.

"I know you can see this. They're lost without you. They need someone to show them that you're still with them."

Matthew's feet left the ground and he elevated toward God during this second coming of Christ. So many people were enveloped in a nightmare they created. Most were confused, even Matthew, thinking he should stay because of his need to help, but it was no use. There was too much need for help, but it was only a thought. No matter how much he wanted to stay, he knew this was the only chance he had to go to heaven. He wished he could have at least said goodbye, to tell the ones he loved that he'd see them again, except he couldn't make that decision. It was too late.

"I know it doesn't matter, it just pains me to leave. Not because I belong on earth, but because someone will find the last clothes I wore on the sidewalk where I stood when you came for me," he wiped the tears from his eyes. "All I ask is that you give them help. Give them someone to help them survive. Please, God."
Chapter 1

Cereleus arrived on earth and nothing was how he expected for the rapture to have just occurred. He came to help humanity except there was no one in the current desolate location where snow surrounded him. It stretched for miles, but not even the snow was enough to distract him from the dark sky set above his head. There was no clouds or wind, just the icy air that pushed the temperature below zero.

There was other concern for the angel and so he welcomed hope as he looked up and wondered why the stars held little shine. Then he noticed the red moon in the dimmed atmosphere. Such a shame to see something once beautiful take the complexion of extinction.

A loud explosion sounded in the distance to his left and he sped in the direction, causing the snow to separate at his feet like the waters of the Red Sea. The sound came from within' a town with city limits no more than fifteen minutes. Silence crept through its streets as only it's few street lights did their best to brighten the view of the sidewalks. No businesses were open, so it was clear that all the people could be gone.

Cereleus soared into the sky, looking intently to locate the cause and location of the explosion, but all he saw was abandoned cars and clothes. Shirts, pants, dresses, socks, heels; clothes of different colors and from all ages were scattered across the ground which affirmed his belief that many of the people living here had been raptured. But Cereleus knew there was someone or something in the town because of what he heard.

The town didn't move, except for the short breaths anxiously longing to stop. Each exhale was strong and exhausted, coming from a boy frightened of something. His breaths continued as he sprinted down the street until his fatigue ate away at his limbs. He ran underneath one of the street lights and Cereleus saw his light skin and brown hair, like the sands of the beach, hiding away his unforgettable brown eyes glossed with fear.

Dashing behind him was a demon with eyes like the blinding sun. His flesh was scarred, stretched and toughened from his burning in hell for decades, so there was nothing on earth that frightened him.

This demon was Jack Canali, known as 'the Hammer' when he was among the living during the 1960s. He was ingenious in the way he killed people and that's exactly why the Brunelli family in New York was pleased because they were the most feared mafia organization with Jack on their side.

Jack used to be a handsome guy. His black, medium length hair was always trimmed and combed neatly. He was a different breed. What some called a smooth cat. That's why he appealed to every woman who graced his presence, even if they knew he was the player type. He had a different woman whenever he saw fit, until he met the woman he'd fall in love with.

The woman was a Christian college student named Jasmine Soule. She got the Irish and Greek from her father's side of the family and Italian from her mother's side. Her green eyes complimented her snow-white skin and long jet-black hair. This appearance she had made it easy to mistake her for a model, especially, because of her thin pear-shaped body. It made her more than a welcoming sight when Jack first saw her as he stood in front of a coffee shop. She was his definition of beauty in that moment. He couldn't take his eyes off her while she walked in the path of his eyes wearing her favorite purple dress.

"Excuse me," Jack flirted, taking a short step so he could slide in her path, removing his gray fedora in the process. He wasn't the typical guy in a mafia organization when it came to talking to a woman. Yes, he was a womanizer, but if you hadn't known better you'd think he was a real gentleman. He wasn't arrogant or self-serving, just very confident in himself.

She had a kind soul, so Jasmine threw him a friendly smile and stepped around him to continue forward. She had no interest in him, except Jack wasn't going to let a beauty like her pass him by.

"Hey!" he flashed his smile, walking in reverse to keep up with her. "Why the rush? I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm on my way to class."

"You don't have time to talk?"

"Not to you."

"Ouch," he said sarcastically as he turned to walk with her. "Why so quick to judge?"

"Because, Mr. Canali"

"Oh, then you know me, right? Or do you only think you know me?" he smiled, chuckling at what she might think of him. "But please, call me, Jack."

"Yes," she replied. "I know who you are and what you represent, Jack."

"So, you think you know me?"

"I know enough. All the people you've killed, they"

"Each one of them were bad people," he said before she could finish.

"And you're not?"

Jack smirked. "Not as bad as people think."

She shrugged her shoulders in uncertainty.

"How about letting me know over a mug of hot cocoa exactly how bad you think I am?"

"Hot cocoa?" Jasmine questioned, thinking it was strange of him to want the chocolaty goodness.

"Yes," he smiled. "I love the stuff. Not much else I love as much as hot cocoa, but I'm sure you will change that."

They shared a brief laugh.

"So, what do you say? Meet me later?"

"I probably shouldn't."

"What if you ask me a question? Anything, and I promise to give you an honest answer."

"Really?"

She almost didn't believe him, but the thought of it was interesting because it wasn't just his looks that played a part in her decision, but the way he talked.

"Well, my class ends at six and I usually pass by the coffee shop a few minutes after. If you really want to meet you'll have to wait. It shouldn't be too long though.

"I will," he showed a smile as she nodded and went on her way. "I'm looking forward to our talk."

He admired the way her body moved when she walked away, smitten by her in this particular moment they met. He just didn't know it yet. His need to spend more time with her eventually brought him to the decision to quit working for the mafia family, even if Mr. Brunelli didn't take a liking to him leaving. Especially, after a few months passed before the two of them would marry. He wanted the best killer in the world working for him and not chained to some girl. Except, Jack was done with that life as long as Jasmine was alive.

Because of her, Jack's entire life brightened and he quickly saw the world as he did before his family died. It started the moment she stood her ground, telling him no after his every attempt to sleep with her. She had morals like that of a true believer in Christ and with more self-respect than Jack liked in his women.

That feeling, and a thing called the chase, only caused him to become more attracted to her. When he'd think of her wanting to wait for the man God brought into her life to marry, he almost couldn't believe she meant it. He thought it was absurd, constantly telling her it was nonsense and he didn't understand why. He thought if she had sex with him then she would no longer feel that way.

"So, will tonight be the night?" he asked.

"The night for what?"

"Come on, Jasmine. You know what I'm talking about. It's time we consummate this relationship of ours."

"You know we're not married."

She smiled a little because she thought he was joking. Jack slid closer to her on the couch and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You're still saying that?"

"I'm not the girl for you if you can't wait until marriage."

Her statement bothered him. All he wanted was her body because it was hard to stay away. They've kissed, held hands, and grew closer each day. At this point they'd been in a relationship for two months and he already felt like it was time to move things in the direction he saw fit.

"All I'm saying is that it's been a long time since I've had sex because of you."

"I'm not making you be sexless. It's your choice to stay with me, Jack. Don't blame me when you knew my beliefs coming into this relationship."

"I know. I'm just"

"If you want to have sex so bad then I'll leave. I won't be with someone who pressures me to do things that I don't want to."

He'd never been cut so deep by words, even knowing another way of life growing up. The things he's seen men do with women in a club or in the back seat of a car. There lived many things that led him to think the way he did and he saw nothing wrong with the way his mind worked. That's why there was a confliction in his mind when he wanted to do right by this woman.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I'm serious, Jack. I want to wait until I'm married. That's when I will have sex, not before, and if you can't respect that"

"I do," he interjected. "I shouldn't have brought it up again."

"Yes, you shouldn't have. I love you, but I will not be pressured into doing something I don't believe is right."

"Can we move on, please?"

Jasmine smiled and he felt all was right in the world again, even as time went on. Jack began wanting to be the man God brought into her life. He'd fallen in love with her genuinely. His proof came on a day she saw him with no clothes, just a towel wrapped around his naked body after a shower and she became tempted by the sight of him.

"Can I come in?" she asked, walked in the bathroom as he combed his hair to the back of his head.

"Um, why?"

She loved looking at him. That was something she wouldn't deny if she wanted to. Her eyes always intently locked on him whenever they'd see each other for the first time in a day. This moment was the same.

"I love you, Jasmine walked closer, staring at his chiseled back with water droplets sliding down toward his towel.

"I can't believe you're in here."

"Are you really that surprised?" she asked.

"Yea."

Jack rolled his eyes and continued combing his hair in the mirror. He was shocked that she was walking behind him, feeling a little uneasy because of how she acted when it came to having sex. He was glad he wore a towel though, because the hairs on his body began to melt from Jasmine's hand caressing the middle of his back. She leaned her head against his shoulder and Jack was confused. Having her was the only thing on his mind, it was his desire, so he left her alone to see where her thoughts were at. He sat the comb on the sink counter and soaked his heart in the feeling he'd longed for since the day the met.

"What are you doing?" he asked after her hands touched his chest and slid to his abs.

Jasmine shushed Jack and slowly turned him until their eyes locked. It was all a dream to him because it was the most realism he's been a part of, ever. His head dropped and his eyes shut as he pulled his lips inward to fight the images in his head of what he wanted to do to her.

"Jasmine"

She placed a finger against his lips and kissed his chest. She loved him more than she ever had in that moment, just then, and she wanted more of him, but Jack wouldn't allow her to be a different woman. He wanted her to keep her promise, her vow to herself and to God. It was his desire that she remained abstinent until marriage.

"I can't," he refused her.

Jack passionately grabbed and held her hands in a ball against his chest, barely believing what he was doing. Her temptation forced him to deny her the thing their bodies were craving. It was the hardest moment for him, because he wanted to give her what she wanted, badly.

Jack was a new man.

"Angelo," Jack said. "It's time I leave the business. There's no room in my life for me to live like this anymore."

"You're telling me that you're finish?" Mr. Brunelli smiled halfway. "No more killing then?"

"No more," he shook his head. "I'm moving passed this life to start building my new one with Jasmine."

"If that's what you really want, Jack. I won't try convincing you otherwise. There's no way I could knowing what your father and mother want for you."

Jack's heart sank at their mention. His mom, his dad, his family was everything to him, but he stopped thinking what they might want for him after they were murdered in his childhood home. That was what haunted him most. He had buried the memory of his family once the funeral ended and then never looked back. There was no need for revenge since Mr. Brunelli had the two men tortured and killed that same day.

"You shouldn't sink your head, Jack. Your parents loved you more than all things in the world and they'd still love you today if they could."

Jack nodded. "I'm just glad they never saw me become a killer."

"You're not a killer just because you've taken a life. Every man you killed was filth, scum from the worst parts of a human's mind. Even you know that's true. They rape and kill women, rob and kill the poor. They'd even push your face in the mud and rub you in it until they get bored. You've helped clean up the mafia name that they tainted all because they think they own the world and everything in it. So, believe me when I say you're not like them. You're not a killer. You make the streets a safer place for all of us, especially the runts running around the neighborhood."

"That's what I tell myself," he paused. "And that's what Jasmine understands about me."

"Then she's exactly the kind of woman you need at your side. That makes me happy for you. It really does."

After Mr. Brunelli found out his top guy was leaving, he wasn't too pleased, but he didn't want Jack to notice. He was sincerely glad that Jack was becoming his own man. It's just, he needed him to stay around because he wanted to be feared. It didn't take long before he decided to place a hit on Jasmine, calling Billy the Tooth to murder her while she was at school.

He stood in front of the coffee shop, wearing a tan fedora that matched his rain coat as he stalked the pedestrians walking by until he saw Jasmine. He tilted the hat over his eyes and filled the fresh October air with cigarette smoke. He was a horrible human being. He didn't care that people walking by breathed in the smoke.

"Hold your breath," he said to a pregnant woman. "Or walk another way."

He was among the ugliest of creatures, owning a large square head with patches that receded around his head. But it was his smile that was worst of all. Only six teeth remained in his rotting mouth and he never hid his smile, like he'd just had his smiled whitened.

Jasmine eventually crossed his path because she didn't know of a reason not to walk her typical route passed the coffee shop and he liked what he was seeing. Her face didn't matter to the Tooth, just the two addictions on her chest and the curiosity of what lived under her dress. He was delighted to follow. For the five minutes it took her to reach class, the Tooth's eyes remained fixed on her. His mouth watered watching her hips sway from side to side. His personality was more disgusting than his mouth.

Later, Jasmine exited the class room with two of her friends and said goodbye. This was her last stop before heading home for the night, only to be awake bright and early for another class the next morning. The Tooth stood across the lawn and watched her as he leaned against a tree with a few leaves falling from its branches. One leaf managed to float peacefully onto his left should and he crushed it with his hand the moment it did.

The Tooth smirk before pulling his gun from the back of his waistband and he didn't think twice when he sent bullets racing through the air over the school's lawn. Three hit Jasmine, two in the chest and the other scratched the side of her neck as she fell to the ground and bled. Students and pedestrians dispersed in all directions away from the noise. They screamed and bumped into one another in fear. None helped Jasmine, even if someone looked at her. Instead, they ran. She called for help. She was alone, eyes wandering left to right until finally being fixed skyward where a man stood above her. He looked at her with a broken smile, watching the blood leave her body with haste. He was joyed.

"You can blame your beloved for this," the Tooth said.

Her last moments were painful. She choked on her blood and then coughed up some of the remains, hoping to find any source of air to breathe. Her eyes watered, unable to see a reason for this man to stand over her with a cigarette welded to the right corner of his mouth. She knew her pain was related to Jack as she lay in the grass with many thoughts in her mind. Her mouth released a short prayer for him because she wanted him to be safe and to continue the life he started with her, just alone for now. She wanted him to stay the man who she was supposed to marry and be happy with; to find peace. This was her prayer before she inhaled for her last time.

Jack didn't find out what happened to Jasmine until later that evening when a hitman attempted to take his life.

"Who sent you?"

Jack demanded with fury, yanking the hitman through the open window to begin his interrogation. He struck him in the face and then the body; once each. He fought back, struggling without a chance or glimpse of hope to stop him. In a glance, Jack realized who the hitman was. Recalling showing this clown, Benny, the ropes not long before he met Jasmine. He wasn't smart and he was damn sloppy. That's why it was easy for Jack to anticipate him coming before he touched the window frame.

"I'm not saying a word!" Benny said in refute before choosing to throw spit in Jack's face.

Jack wiped the saliva from his cheek as the evil that had gone dormant inside of him for so long began to resurface. He whacked him two times in the nose and continued.

"Did Brunelli send you?"

He prayed it wasn't him. It would be the worst type of pain because Mr. Brunelli took him in and became like his own father.

"Did he?" he asked again.

Benny smiled senseless. His eyes glazed with no remorse. He didn't know enough about Jack to fear him.

"Tell me!" Jack continued.

Benny looked in Jack's burning eyes and showed nothing except amusement was on his mind. He acted like it was a game and the man holding him by his shirt's collar would do nothing.

"The Tooth is going to kill her. Well, if he hasn't already," Benny said. "It's too late to stop it."

Jack's eyes widened. He was shaking with a feeling that was unfamiliar. Hate, anger, confusion or maybe a preview of the thirst for revenge he knew could consume him. All of these was bottled in his heart. It was waiting, wanting for a chance to be free again. It wanted control and there was nothing that would keep his demon at bay now that Jasmine was gone.

"What did you say?"

"Jasmine is going to die."

Benny's poor word choice lit a fire in Jack's heart. He grabbed the hitman's chin with one hand and back handed his face with the other. He left a bruise beneath his eye. Benny now cringed from the impact of the slap that shattered every bone near his right cheek. He was petrified after.

"No, please!" Benny pleaded with his slurred speech as his tough guy act depleted. "I was only following orders."

"Orders?"

"It was the Tooth," the rat squealed. "He sent me after you while he went for your lady. You didn't hear it from me though, okay?" Benny was afraid and so he squealed on the Tooth after thinking of what night happen to him, but Jack looked at him and smiled.

"Oh, I hear you. Except I don't care."

It was too little, too late for Benny the moment he went through with the job, especially as the dormant evil within' Jack had almost completely re-manifested to the surface. Jack rose to his feet with his disgust plastered to his face, pulled his K-22 revolver from inside his coat and released five shots into Benny's chest. And because he was genuinely pissed off, Jack blew one last hole through his face.

Jack sorted through his tool box and retrieved the eighteen-inch blade he planned to use for the massacre he was going to cause. It was made up in his mind to destroy Mr. Brunelli after learning he hired the Tooth to murder Jasmine in cold blood.

Jack stalked the Brunelli estate for hours until the late evening when the Tooth showed for his payment. As soon as Jasmine's murderer walked inside, Jack didn't wait at the front gate to be let in. He drove his candy apple red '59 Cadillac Biarritz straight through the front gate and across the lawn until he crashed through the front doors of the house. Some security hires outside were fortunate enough to dive out of the way, while two others were run down as they made their way through the front doors at the time of impact. Jack knocked off most of the security before the Tooth ended his life to halt further bloodshed.

This was the day Jack found himself in hell begging Lucifer for a second chance. He'd do anything to have Mr. Brunelli and the Tooth murdered. To watch them scream in agony as their blood was stripped from their bodies in front of the person they cared for most in the world. But nothing would be more satisfying than to watch and savor their screams as their flesh was shredded by the flames of hell. Their nails would have skin clogged underneath them from clawing at their own skin because of the fire that only own plans to burn them for eternity. This was his heart's desire and fuel during his stay in hell. The piercing heat burning his flesh didn't faze him because the hatred in his heart absorbed every fiber of pain his body felt, until the moment Lucifer chose to set him free. Today was that day.

Cereleus observed them from afar until the boy entered a warehouse of some sort. The angel flew closer because of how dangerous Jack is. He landed softly on the ground, looked through a nearby window and saw the boy scared, impossibly frightened and turning his head in all directions. That's when he heard it. A simple prayer to God exhaled from the boy's lips and Cereleus knew he had permission to engage.

Suddenly, the boy was nowhere in sight, at least not to Jack. Cereleus saw him duck inside a broom closet large enough to hold a small car inside.

"Where are you?" Jack yelled demonstratively.

The boy quaked in fear and Jack could smell it. He knew exactly where he was hiding. The demon rammed the closet door and warned the boy away as the strong thud sent dust spewing from its border.

"What is going on? Why is he after me?" the boy whispered to himself.

He dreaded the answer to his questions. His pupils widened, thinking he was going to die when the door flew open on the second charge that sent the metal rectangle slamming against the wall. Jack stood at the door with a grimacing smile and grit in his teeth. His sun struck eyes peered at the boy, sending a hunger and desire to the pit of his stomach.

"Why run?" the demon questioned, smiling and looking in his eyes. "It was only a matter of time before I caught you. I don't sleep, I don't eat, and I feed off your fear."

Jack's tone was calm. His voice slightly raspy, but deep. Intimidating, but soft. If there was anyone to be afraid of when they were alive it was him; being a demon only made him more frightening.

Now, the boy wasn't afraid anymore as he observed the monster before him. It was like something took over his body, giving him an enormous amount of courage right then. Of course, it didn't warn off Jack. In his own mind, he was fear, he was courage, and now he believed he was the ultimate evil with the strength he gained once he became a demon.

"Don't want to talk?" Jack asked as he crept out of a shadow and into the moonlight shining through a window above the boy's head.

"You can't hurt me," the boy said with authority.

"Oh, and why is that?" Jack responded, tilting his head to the side while taking another creeping step forward.

"Because God is here. Greater is he that is in me, than he that is in the world."

Jack laughed. "God? He isn't going to help you! He has no interest in helping the weak anymore." Jack shook his head and smirked. "All of that Bible knowledge you have and yet you don't know we're in a godless time. Why else would you be seeing me, a demon, and not walking those precious streets of gold that God promised to all those who followed him. There is no heavenly assistance for you anymore, boy. God is gone."

The boy hesitated, clearly confused. His aura changed once more. No longer did he have confidence in his inability to defend himself. He was afraid again.

Jack laughed. "Oh, and I know what you are," the boy was confused, wanting to know what the demon knew about him. "Why else did you think I was here?" Jack stepped once more and bellowed. "You're nothing, but a power source."

The boy shielded his face with his arms as Jack finally made his move. The demon lunged forward with one arm extended and grabbed ahold of his forehead. There was a lot of resistance, but Jack restrained him and began to mock his belief.

"Now tell me, where is your God?"

The demon's grip strengthened and the boy began losing fight. Whatever Jack was doing to him wasn't good. His life appeared to be leaving from out of his eyes and into Jack's, and that's when the monster noticed Cereleus. He was now as confused as the boy.

"Let him go!" Cereleus demanded.

"You don't have to worry, angel. It will be over soon enough. I only want to retrieve some of his essence."

"I told you to let him go!"

"This is important, Cereleus," his eyes enlarged. "You will wait until I'm done."

Cereleus thought his words were strange. Jack knew an angel's power. He knew he could tear him apart in seconds and yet he continued his torture. He stepped closer, but Jack didn't care. Instead, he lifted his hand from the boy's forehead and wagged his finger.

"I wouldn't do that," Jac threatened and used a single finger nail to inch across the boy's throat, leaving evidence of a slight incision where blood seeped through. "You don't want him to die, do you?"

"I'd reach you before you think to move."

"Yes, probably, but I'd make sure to take him with me."

Jack sunk his needlelike nails into the boy's abdomen as his smile quickened with malice and he gained more confidence in his voice.

The boy's eyes were weary.

"I have something you don't, angel," he paused. "or maybe the other way around. It's really the same sometimes. I just don't give a damn about others or myself for that matter. I have no value for life. I exist only to take it away. I always have, especially, when I was alive."

"And Jasmine?"

"I'll take his life, angel. I swear! Never mention her name again or I'll rip the wings from your back.

He wasn't bluffing. He'd really try, even though it was impossible. He was angry enough after Cereleus hit a soft spot bringing up his dead wife.

"If you hurt the boy I'll destroy you."

"You think I care if I die again? Another trip to hell is fine by me as long as I have what I came for."

"No, demon. You won't exist anymore. No longer will you have the moment to think of Jasmine again."

Jack grimaced.

The boy's consciousness was gone, but something strange began happening. Cereleus felt the power coming from inside. An anomaly, a presence he'd never felt before. His behavior made sense now. He was a prophet, not an ordinary human, but someone who can see things that have not come to pass yet.

His eyes opened and filled with a pure light before a supersonic sound released through the air that should've caused Jack to free him, but he wouldn't let go. He was too stubborn. His thirst to gain what he sought out would surely be the end of him if he continued. The sound vibrated the atmosphere until his pulse and breathing stopped from the shock of Jack's nails penetrating his stomach.

Jack struggled to hold the boy's lifeless body while the hum in the air became more of an annoying sting in his ears. The noise reached its peak and then suddenly stopped.

Seconds of stillness passed and the boy's head lifted and his eyes and mouth shot open, sending a jolt of electricity coursing through his veins. Then it happened. The explosion Cereleus heard before flying to the town had come from the Holy Ghost within the boy awakening to defend him from evil.

This time Jack was propelled into a steel support beam across the building. His hand was forced out of the boy's body, but he took a piece of flesh with him. The sound didn't cease until there was no longer a threat, allowing the boy's exhausted eyes to open to see Cereleus; he wasn't sure what he saw before they closed again. He collapsed.

Cereleus looked for Jack, but he was gone. The only evidence of him was the bent support beam he was launched into. He stood there conjuring up his thoughts before rising atop the warehouse roof. He felt honored to witness the power of the Holy Ghost, but the presence of Jack only carried his mind to the other evil things that could be on earth. It haunted him to think of the people still alive, like the boy, to know many of them would be forced to face what lied beyond the shadows of death.
Chapter 2

Cereleus waited for the boy to awaken as he stood in the still of the night gazing at the moon. He was meditating to hear God's voice, but not a word flowed into his ears. Instead, he listened to the silence surrounding him before hearing tiny footsteps from a hobbling puppy crunching the snow. The little Husky enjoyed the attention, especially, after rolling on her back to have her belly rubbed.

Cereleus took this chance to guide his hand over the weak leg. The bone was broken, so he surrounded it with his hands, closed his eyes and prayed for healing. Immediately, gratefulness and excitement were shown from the puppy, like it had been weeks since she's walked. Her joy took her by his side even after she was finished playing, mostly seeking warmth from the frozen chill of the snow. He carried her into the warehouse where she ran and slept peacefully next to the boy, snuggled close to his leg.

Hours passed before the boy awakened. He moved his stiff muscles, grabbing the healed wound where Jack's fingers tore a piece from, and then picked himself up from the floor. He saw Cereleus looking at the snowfall through a window and then noticed the puppy yawning, waking from her sleep as well. She ran and jumped on him, causing the boy to smile.

"You healed her?" the boy was her owner. "Thank you, thank you." So many questions filled his mind, because he only remembered pieces of last night. "Are you—?"

"Yes, I'm an angel."

"What are you doing here? How is this even possible?"

"Because God allowed it."

"So, God had a change of heart after all, but why?" he asked.

"He heard your prayer. He wanted all the people left behind to still have a chance to survive."

"Wait, what prayer?"

"The one you said as you were raptured."

"That doesn't make sense."

"There's no need to make sense of it, just have faith."

The boy paused. He did his best to remember the prayer and his life before the rapture, but it all must have faded from his mind. He only remembered running from a demon and nothing else."

"What's your name?" the boy asked.

"My name is Cereleus. I am a warrior angel in God's army in heaven and a learner of the Arc Angels."

"Why so professional?"

"I am simply introducing myself."

The boy chuckled.

"Prophet—" Cereleus began, only to be interrupted.

"I'm Matthew. Matthew Reed."

"Don't call me that. I'm not a prophet. I'm just someone looking for the way home."

"You're a prophet, Matthew. You were chosen by God to witness the future to the world."

"I think you have the wrong guy," he said with surety. "I barely know what's happening today, so how can me of all people be a prophet?"

"I am certain you are."

"I don't believe you."

"Am I not belief enough for your eyes?" Matthew was at a loss for words, his bottom jaw hanging open. "And what of the demon and how your body reacted when you were in danger? You must believe, because you are the one who will keep hope alive. You are chosen."

"Nothing will be lost. You're the angel. You're the one who will save everyone."

"You are the one that will help the world, not me."

Matthew was afraid. He chose not to believe the angel. He didn't want to because for most of his life he was called a loser. He felt like one and there was nothing or no one who could convince him otherwise.

"If it's true, why would God choose me? I'm not special."

"We may never understand God's reasoning for his choices, but his plans are always pure and in our best interest. That is why you have to believe that you will make a difference."

"Then why are you here? You should be the one saving people. Not me. Don't you have angel powers that could help end the evil in the world."

Cereleus said nothing. He only understood that he was on earth to help and nothing more. He wasn't a savior, especially not the one that people needed. Not after he almost caused heaven to lose in the war against hell.

"Are you going to answer me?"

"I'm not sure that I can interfere."

"Its too late for that," Matthew chuckled. "You showed your face and now people know you're here."

"You're the only one who saw me besides Jack."

A moment of silence passed as they began walking to Matthew's home. The quiet was comforting, except Cereleus felt something different. It all felt wrong because of a storm coming.

"Did I hear the demon say he wanted my essence? Why?"

"I can only guess because the future is unforeseen, but we create it with each act we commit. Time, no matter how far into the future is valuable. Even a single second."

The two of them didn't walk far before arriving at his home where the view wasn't what the angel expected. The house appeared abandoned. Anyone who saw it would have thought it barely survived a plague. Matthew scattered throughout his room, digging through a tiny pile of clothes on the floor, searching for something he hid before the demon chased him away. The only thing that meant more to him than the item he was searching for was the puppy he named after his mother, Claire.

"Is it just you?" the angel asked.

Matthew froze until he was able to nod his head, trying not to cry as he thought about his loved ones. He placed a small burlap sack into his pocket and walked toward the exit without speaking.

"You don't have to be afraid," Cereleus comforted.

Matthew was quiet and unsure. The angel's explanation of him being a prophet confused him, intensifying the thoughts of why he was left behind. It didn't make sense at all. He felt that he should've been taken, but instead he wasn't. Even after the decision was made to hold him in the safety of heaven's arms, God decided not. He was deeply saddened by it.

"How is all of this real?"

"Impossible is only what you cannot see until you can."

"But then it's not impossible."

Surely, with God nothing is impossible."

"I guess," Matthew spoke. So, you're here to help. Any other reason?"

"I don't believe so."

"Okay, great."

Cereleus only knew one reason why he could come to earth, but maybe he was interpreting wrong.
Chapter 3

Hours passed as they walked the snow-covered desert plain and rested for Matthew's benefit. They made camp and Cereleus took this moment to speak with his father like he did often. The boy sat atop the snow looking toward the dusky gray clouds as a breeze blew at him from the east. The cool wind gained strength after just a few seconds and the snow that had lightly trickled below was now a blizzard piling on the earth.

"Is there shelter nearby?" Cereleus hurried.

"Why? What's going on? Is it Jack?" Matthew was frightened as he looked to the dark.

"It's worse," the angel watched, waited and observed. "Tell me which way?" he demanded.

"North," Matthew pointed. "Maybe a few more hours walk."

They didn't have much time. There was something getting closer with every second that passed. Matthew picked up Claire and the angel held them both tight before accelerating North.

"Did you hear that?" Matthew asked, but Cereleus never responded. It was a horrific noise that sounded like a screech from the great bald eagle with the mighty roar of a lion. "And is that...?" Matthew paused hearing something else. "...Sounds like an army on horses."

"Close your eyes and keep holding her tight."

"But—"

"Do it now!"

The uproar grew louder the further and faster they went. Cereleus knew what was coming, what was catching up to them. It was no ordinary storm on any day of the year. These weren't monsters in a dream that could be whisked away with a thought, but something all living creatures should fear. If they stopped or slowed down they would surely die.

"What is it?" Matthew asked again.

"Just tell me what's coming. I'm not afraid."

Cereleus' eyes and mind were tunneled, but he still gave Matthew the answer he wanted. "The locus."

If the locus were here, then the aftermath of the rapture was barely beginning. The fifth angel had already sounded its trumpet which released the locus from the bottomless pit and the more Cereleus thought of them the faster he sped through the air.

Their shape was as a man's torso. The neck and head was that of a horse, while their entirety appeared as a shadow glared by the sunlight. Each had hair as a woman's hanging pass her shoulders and on their heads were crowns of something like newly polished gold. Their faces were as men, each had a goatee hanging from their chins, something that didn't take away from the fury in their eyes. Their mouths stretched to their cheeks, widened and extended large enough to hold their sharp lion like teeth. The locus also wore breastplates of iron to protect their thick skin from anything not of earth. Their tails were like that of scorpions; long and sturdy, but quick with precision. Lastly, was their hoofs and eagle wings. Described just as they were in the book of Revelation; the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle.

Cereleus hoped he never came across any, but he'd already been prepared for the fight of his life. The locus was closing in; they were faster than him, maybe even as strong. He tried his best not to think of them, wanting to get Matthew and Claire somewhere safe so he could attempt to stop them. Luckily, they found shelter; a storm cellar of one of the farm house on their path. He assisted them through the doors and ran his hand over it to seal them inside.

He then waited.

From inside the cellar, Matthew heard Cereleus talking. His words were jumbled, but he knew he was asking for help. Then out of nowhere there was another strange sound. The closest description of it would be the surging and outage of a large city's power supply. He was panicked, shivering as he walked toward the cellar doors, eventually finding a crack he could see out of to watch Cereleus. Now, before his eyes graced the mighty power of an angel, who released a light so bright that it temporarily blinded him. Cereleus was more than ready to fight as he held a solid stance. Appearing as though nothing could move him.

He extended his arm to his side and a sword handle made of pure light appeared in his hand. Parting from it was scattering winds, shifting back and forth as though it ended at a point. Next, Cereleus sprung forward, leaving two profound impressions in the snow that uncovered the dirt beneath his feet.

When Matthew's vision came back, it was the aftermath that brought fear to his heart. Several locus stood above the beaten and battered angel who lay in a small crater formed from his body. Matthew hid deeper into the cellar because there was nothing else he could do as he hoped the monsters didn't find him. Tears dropped from his eyes. He was afraid, truly terrified for the earth if he was the only hope people had remaining.

But what Matthew saw was his mind playing tricks. None of it happened and here he was again resting with Cereleus and Claire, estranged to the reality life offered.

"Um?" he was confused how he was back in a moment in time he already lived, watching things unfold a second time.

"They're coming," he whispered, and Cereleus looked at him in wonder. "The locus are on their way."

Each event repeated almost identical to the last. Everything he saw, every sound he heard, even the feelings he felt; all of it was happening again, but it was like time moved faster. He wondered if it was déjà vu because it seemed real. It was a strange reality that didn't have the same emptiness déjà offered.

"Get inside the cellar!" Cereleus demanded.

"Not this time," Matthew stood his ground because of what he saw. "You can't do this alone."

"You have to get in. I can't worry about protecting you and then fight these monsters."

"You don't understand. They're going to win. I saw all of this already. I saw you die."

Claire barked from inside the cellar as the doors banged open and shut like a tornado was nearby tugging with reckless abandon. The locus galloped from the South, snow lifting from beneath their hoofs while their wings flapped powerfully to assist with their speed.

"Stay behind me and hold your ground if you won't get it."

Cereleus sprung toward the locus and his speed scraped inches of snow from the surface. The locus was large in number and each had eyes locked on Matthew, but Cereleus didn't give them a chance to get near him. He moved fast, dashing left toward the furthest of the locus. He firmly gripped his sword with both hands, slashed the wind blade downward and split the face and neck of one of the monsters. Then, with one swing upward, the blade rose through its carcass, shaving its body in half. Strangely, its death left no blood, no existence of body-like fluid leaked out. It just turned to dust.

"All go unto one place," Cereleus spoke as he performed his next breathtaking motion to the right. This time six locus were diced through their necks, permitting their heads to find the snow beneath their hoofs. "All are of the dust and all turn to dust again."

Cereleus returned to protect Matthew.

"You must leave," he warned as he watched every locus. "Go inside, now."

Matthew remained quiet as few of the locus galloped forward. Cereleus attacked again. He hauled his sword with both hands, letting it cut through the snow until he was close enough to swing it upward and across his body. He then moved so fast that he appeared to have vanished.

The attack dropped a handful of locus into pieces, but they were replaced by more. Each of their faces were like stone, eyes rolled to the sky, locking on Cereleus hovering above with his wings exposed. The sight was beautiful as his wings flapped as the sunrise gave him a lunar eclipse appearance.

Only a few locus went skyward, flailing their giant eagle wings down once to propel themselves toward the angel. The first to reach Cereleus stretched its mouth, displaying its large sharp teeth. He avoided each bite and used his sword to penetrate its chest. The second locus struck with its stinger, missing several times before he grabbed its tail. It tried to shake free from his one-handed grip even as the next bunch attacked. Not even they could touch him.

Every locus that attempted to eliminate God's angel, failed. One was kicked in the chest, dispersing the snow when it struck the ground and another he held continued to struggle for freedom until it was given at a price. Cereleus spun it around which forced the others in defense until he released it toward them. He propelled himself back into the sky, only to nose dive toward the heart of the army. His eyes shined bright, while he extended his hands forward moments before crashing into the gathering. It was like a bomb detonated and incinerated a large area of the earth. Hundreds of the locus were killed, but still hundreds more stood and watched without fear. They weren't moved by the angel's might, like they hadn't just witnessed his power.

Snow and debris from the locus bodies floated in the air and Cereleus knelt after the attack. The eagle roar from the monsters was magnified. Every locus turned in his direction with cold air fuming from their nostrils after each breath. Their deafening roars echoed as a few hundred more arrived for the blood they were created to take. Cereleus knew he couldn't defeat them all, because he was winded. His body was exhausted and this never happened before.

Matthew noticed one of the locus stepping toward him. It struck the ground with its tail which shook the earth. Doing it again until the seventh time when they all attacked.

Cereleus had no other option but to fight. He exploded back into the sky to escape and the entire gathering followed. He struck each locus that came forth, turning left and right and around when needed. With his speed, agility, and strength, he was able to destroy a few dozen without using too much of his remaining energy.

The monsters saw the others die, but they were programmed to kill and nothing else. Not one cared about the other dying. The rear of the gathering rose to the sky like a tidal wave and Cereleus flew higher to avoid being surrounded. He realized his effort was in vain after being grabbed at the waist by some of the locus. Their strength was overwhelming. The more he fought, the stronger they became. He looked at each one holding his waist and noticed a locus turned its back to the fight and was marching toward Matthew.

One of the locus bit into his shoulder and caused him pain. He'd only felt pain like it during the war in heaven. He became angry and tossed the locus with its teeth in him and gripped the other two holding him by their heads. He squeezed tight, hard enough that they released him. He lifted them as high as his arms allowed and carried them downward, spiraling toward the earth until smashing each of their faces into the ground. Immediately, he extended his wings skyward and pushed himself toward the wave of locus tumbling his way. His palms filled with light and every locus that came within reach had their flesh burned through with a single punch.

Cereleus flew over the locus as they pursued him like a swarm of angry bees. He ascended higher. High enough to touch the top of the clouds, but one of the locus stormed behind him, kicking him downward with its hind legs. He was grabbed by four locus, who forced him faster toward the earth. He couldn't escape or slow them down, so he had no choice except to crash freely with the locus choosing to sacrifice themselves.

Matthew hoped his vision was wrong now, but this was exactly how he saw the angel the first time. He prayed Cereleus' fate wasn't sealed, but it was hard not to believe that he was already beaten badly in his vision.

"What can I do? I'm helpless and weak," he shook his head before looking at his hands. "What power do I have?" His hands balled into a fist, closing his eyes tight. "I'm powerless, Cereleus."

The locus took turns landing heavily on Cereleus, digging his body deeper into the earth which each hit. They stomped and punched him, biting and stabbing his body until he couldn't move a limb.

Then, Cereleus heard Matthew scream and he began hating that he let the monsters gain control over the fight. All it took was one blindsided attack for him to lose and he couldn't believe it. He was better than this losing version of himself, so he asked God for strength, waiting for what felt like an eternity as blood spewed from his mouth. He knew he failed God and his own self for the second time, but it was worst that he had yet another failure because he couldn't save humanity, being their last line of defense. His breaking point had neared.

Matthew prayed, walking away from the locus nearing him, repeating just a few words under his breath, "Jesus you are here. You are with me."

He saw the angel had given up just as he had, but the clear difference was one of them fought back. In Matthew's own mind, he was nothing more than a pathetic human depending on supernatural help. All of his life he's been a prayer. Always looking for some easy way out of a hard situation, especially, during impossible ones like this. He could do nothing except watch one of God's warriors being killed before his eyes.

"How much can I take?" Cereleus asked.

He felt every blow to his body. He thought he would surely die just as the time when his brother, Gabriel, struck him during the war between heaven and hell.

"It has to be now," Cereleus didn't want every day to feel like his last, knowing he's a disappointment. "I know you haven't forsaken me. Please, I beg of you. Give me strength, father."

"We need you, God," Matthew continued his prayer unaware that power began to surge through Cereleus. "If you've really changed your mind about these end days, gives us a chance. I need you, and Cereleus needs you." Matthew looked away from seeing his new friend about to die. "Don't you see the locus are winning? We'll be dead without you."

"Father, help me save the boy." Cereleus begged. "It doesn't matter what happens to me, but the world needs him. If I am here to sacrifice myself then let it happen as long as he is safe."

Both pleaded their case to God, and both got what they wanted. Cereleus finally felt the power growing within his self, but he also felt the power of the Holy Ghost stirring inside the unexpecting boy. He knew Matthew wasn't prepared, so it was up to him.

"I will not allow my spirit to be broken! Greater is he inside of me."

Cereleus fought with his new-found strength to escape. He spun, extending his arms outward as he launched a blast of light from his hands. Each locus was pushed back, leaving him injured, but free. He spread his wings, using them to thrust toward Matthew. One of the locus was nearing him. It reached its hand to grab him, but Cereleus sliced through its forearm.

He grabbed Matthew and the puppy, taking them skyward and away from danger. He was done fighting unless it was absolutely needed, like when the locus inevitably caught up. The first of them was to his left, casting its stinger at them numerous times. He maneuvered well enough not to be struck, even as another arrived at his other side. Their speed was too great and he wasn't sure if he could shake them in this open space.

Cereleus' wings beat the air several times. Each flap stronger than the last as he tried to pull away, but they stayed close. He swung his sword and spun, slicing through the body of each locus, knowing so many were behind them. The gathering was just as angry and as ready to feed death as they were when they first arrived.

Then one grabbed the angel's foot and Matthew believed it was all over. Their strength couldn't match that of the locus and there was no way to out run them. What made it worst was when one fell, two more would take its place. There was no defeating them.

Suddenly, the locus stopped chasing them, even the one holding the angel's foot had released it. More help had arrived and even Cereleus was hesitant to continue because he knew they'd be safe now that his brother, Gabriel, appeared to aid them.

"Don't stop!" Gabriel commanded, fixed in the air with his wings folded over his chest. "I said leave, Cereleus. Get the boy out of here."

"I don't know why but thank you."

When Cereleus left, Gabriel rested his wings on his back and removed the horn attached to the side of his armor. He placed it on his lips and blew until the locus couldn't move. He decided to drift closer and observe them while he thought of these creatures being released on humanity. They were created to torture those left behind. There would be no death for humanity, just a never-ending mauling as their bodies collapsed.

Many of the locus crept along the earth, but Gabriel wanted this gathering to be extinguished for the boy's safety and nothing else. He grabbed his spiked mace that hung beside his horn and threw one crushing swing toward the locus. A blast of wind enveloped the monsters and they were made to dust. They were no more.
Chapter 4

The day had barely begun and Matthew already fled for his life for the second time in two days. It scared him to think they may have not escaped if it wasn't for Gabriel.

Over thirty miles away from the locus battleground, they landed on a building inside a large city for rest. This area was familiar to Matthew. He remembered coming here as a kid with is father to watch football games. He would stare at the skyscrapers in marvel as though they touched the clouds. One day, his father noticed his interest in the buildings and told him something he'd never forget.

"Son, no matter what stands in your way there is no height you cannot reach if you have the right foundation."

When Matthew's father spoke, he never had to respond because it always revolved around the same subject. Like, with this conversation he knew the foundation his father spoke of was God. The father in heaven was all he ever talked about.

"Do you hear that?" Matthew asked. "Why are those people yelling down there?"

"The Beast is here. We should leave this place right now."

"The Beast?"

Yes, it is prophesied that for forty-two months the Beast is given authority to do what he pleases on earth. He has already begun his war against the world and his plan to conquer all."

"You're talking about the antichrist?"

"I am. He is known as the antichrist on earth, but among angels and demons he is only the Beast."

"So, then why is he just standing there if he can do what he pleases?"

"He's persecuting those who choose to follow God. He would never allow worshippers of our God to live."

"Couldn't you beat him?"

Cereleus nodded.

"Then stop him. Do something beside standing there letting this happen."

"I do not believe I'm allowed to.

"Why?"

"Because it is the will of God. I can never interfere with his will."

"But he changed his mind, right?"

"I'm not sure that he has. The rapture still occurred and each event prophesied in the book of revelation is still transpiring. If his plan wasn't progressing then the Beast wouldn't be here."

"And what about you?" Matthew questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you here if you're not going to help?" Matthew was bothered, filled with aggravation toward the angel because of what he believed. "There are people being hurt and you won't do something about it? That's not cool at all."

"I am here because my father has decided not to leave you defenseless against this evil and the evil to come. I wasn't sent to stop it, only to help those who cannot help themselves."

"Do you hear yourself, Cereleus? 'To help those who cannot help themselves.' If you haven't noticed, those people can't help themselves."

The Beast stood below as the centerfold of a small crowd with his arms folded behind his back. He wore a black suit, black dress boots, a black shirt and tie that mixed well with his dark and slicked back hair. But it was the few strands of hair hanging over his forehead that made him appear as a villain. His gray eyes complimented his rugged mainstay face and olive tone, making him appear as a corpse. Yet, somehow, he was strangely handsome, even with the unusual healed mark on the left side of his face. It began above his eyebrow, cutting through it and curving toward his nose as it circled around to the bottom of his eye. The same scar was on both his wrist as well; the number six.

He had two men positioned on their knees while he spoke and nodded to one of the guards, who stepped forward and pulled a long knife from his black coat. He grabbed one of the men and carved the number six into the dark side of his hands, forging it into his forehead moments after. The man's pain was excruciating and he cringed when the blade touched his throat.

"This is my number!" the Beast yelled to the frightened and fearful crowd being forced to watch by armed guards. "Like these men, every follower of Christ will be found, caught, and murdered before and audience like yourself. But, if you choose to deny Christ and his father, freely taking my number upon your flesh, then you will be saved."

He walked to one of the men on his knees and gazed into his eyes. The man didn't look up, but he had no choice once the Beast grabbed his jaw and lifted his eyes. The man was shaking, staring into the abyss that is the monster's eyes.

"Tell me who your god is?"

The man wasn't sure what to say. Confusion of where he'd go if he died was stitched in his thoughts. Would he go to heaven or would he be cast into another place far worse than his reality offered? But no matter what would happen he didn't really care once he decided to spit in the monster's face instead.

"I will not bow to you nor will I deny my father who in heaven. He will always be my savior and you will never—"

The Beast grew tired of the man's incompetence to listen to the only choice he should've made, so he slit his throat with a single fingernail. The man fell on his side and tried to cover the holes with his hands, but he couldn't. The blood was overwhelming, causing him to choke on its thick consistency.

"Do you see what he made me do? I don't want to do this," he smiled shrewdly. "I only want what is best for all of you. Nothing more and nothing less, only perfection."

The other man was now more frightened from seeing a man tear into someone's neck with his bare hands. He thought he had reached his limit in feeling fear until the Beast leaned next to his ear and smiled.

"And what do you say?"

The man froze. He knew how most people would respond in this situation, especially, after the V.I.P. display that was sure to haunt him for the rest of his lifetime. He shivered from the Beast's eerie presence, but he vowed silence while choosing to invite death if it wished to have him.

The Beast smiled in the man's agony and Matthew hated what he was seeing. How could one of God's angels be standing with him, watching beside him and doing nothing? He observed in despair, thinking of what he could have done and the many ways the angel could have helped. He wanted Cereleus to interfere in God's will. He never felt that his belief was a lie until now.

"You need to stop him," Matthew became overwhelmed with emotions when he thought of what could happen to those people. His heart beat with anxiety trying to trap him in his own mind. It dropped him to one knee and now, suddenly, he envisioned a flash of life that wasn't his.

In the vision was a young woman with long black hair. She was crying, saddened by something he couldn't see, while her face was something he'd never forget.

"Cereleus!" he called, seeing the angel briefly before the vision returned, causing his eyes to blink uncontrollably until he held them shut.

"What's going on?" Cereleus hurried to his aid.

"I don't know."

Both of his knees were now on the floor while he covered his eyes as the many pictures entered them. They overwhelmed him and none of it made sense.

"Can you focus?"

"I'm trying," he paused. "I don't think I can stop it."

He wanted to relax his mind, but it felt impossible not to see memories.

"I can't believe she isn't here," the man in his vision said. "It's five minutes passed the time she promised to be here."

He stood to his feet and turned toward the door.

"Leaving already? she asked.

This was the same woman Matthew saw smiling before. He couldn't believe how beautiful she was.

"Um," he was caught off guard, but he smiled slightly. "I figured you weren't coming.

She shook her head and giggled. "I told you my class ran until six. Common sense would have told you I'd be late."

"Sorry, it's just that I was here early because, I guess I'm looking forward to getting to know you."

She smiled. "Did I receive an apology from the infamous, Jack Canali? I bet I'm the first."

Jacked smiled back because it was the truth. He never apologized to anyone because no one gave him an apology after losing his parents at a young age. The murder scarred him.

"So, do you really think I'm a bad guy?"

"I never said you were a bad guy."

"It was implied, so you must think it."

"No, actually. I don't like to judge someone based solely on what I hear about them."

"Exactly, what stuff did you hear about me that's bad?"

Jack walked around the table and pulled out her chair.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, watching him as he took a seat across from her. "The only thing I want to hear is the truth.

"Huh," he grinned. "The truth. Like what, exactly?"

Jasmine remained quiet as her eyes carried toward the sky to think of what she wanted to know. "How about you start by telling me why you've killed so many people?"

"Let me first say that I've never taken a life of just anyone. The men that I've killed were evil and they deserved not to live."

"But don't you think taking a life makes you bad?"

"No, I don't, but I'm not condoning breaking one of God's commandments. There just has to be a reason why we were given the knowledge to make weapons that can kill."

"That's not your choice though. Taking a life is not up to you."

"I agree," Jasmine was thrown off by his response. She thought he would lean more toward his decision to take a life than toward God's. "I know killing is a horrible thing, but shouldn't it be justifiable if it's for the wellness of others? Even God gave David the power to slay Goliath, so Saul's army could defeat the opposing one."

"Hm," she pondered, which made her realize there may be no hope of convincing him otherwise. "Do you follow God's word?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. You just seem to have a good heart and it makes me wonder, how did you end up the way you did?"

Jack clammed up when he heard the question. His secrets kept him sane. They were the reason he could live with himself and it was also why tried correcting the path he chose.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Jack masked a disturbed look that worried Jasmine. This was the moment she knew he at least wasn't a sadistic serial killer like she heard, but she also wasn't sure what he was. He was hurting inside and whatever started his ingenious life, he hadn't stopped thinking about it. Not for one day.

"It's okay," he forced from his lips. "It's just been a while since I've thought about it."

"Jack, you don't have—"

"Jasmine, please," he interjected. "I gave my word that I'd give you the truth, so that's what I'm going to do."

She smiled which eased her after thinking she may have saddened him.

"When I was seventeen, I lost almost everything," he sighed. "My older brother died in the hospital battling cancer. Then my father and mother were murdered inside our home. The same house I grew up in."

"How?"

Jack became angry, doing his best to keep his cool. "Two guys that used to work for Angelo Brunelli decided to tell my parents they had an open account with Angelo, but it wasn't true. They thought it would be a good idea to extort some of his business and that's how my parents got involved. But when they killed them, that's when they messed up. Angelo and my father were best friends, basically brothers after they grew up together."

"Angelo must have been angry."

"Was he ever. I wasn't there when he had the guys killed, but I heard about it from my mentor."

"Your mentor?"

"Reaper, was his name. One of the scariest men I know."

"Where's he at now?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Haven't seen him in years. I'm not even sure if he's still alive."

"So, what did Angelo do to the men?"

"He had them killed. As if it wasn't bad enough to go behind his back and extorting people who didn't deserve it, he really didn't like it when they killed his best friend."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. I'm sure your parents were great people."

Jack nodded. "And if it wasn't for Angelo, I would've come home from school that day and seen my mother and father laying on the floor dead."

"He stopped you at the door?"

"He knew the way I walked home," Jack chuckled. "He actually found me when I was fighting these three kids from my school. I still don't know why they wanted to hurt me. I guess it was just kids being kids."

"Kids can be horrible," she smiled, noticing he felt proud mentioning it.

"Believe it or not, but it was the same thing every day with those three."

"Did they hurt you?"

"Not that day. I beat them up without seriously hurting them, and after that day they left me alone. Mr. Brunelli saw what I did, so he was glad to welcome me into his home after my parent's death. He was good to me, although, living with him is why I learned to kill."

"Did he teach you?"

"No, it was that guy, Reaper, I told you about."

Jasmine felt chills run across her arms. "That name is not one I'd want to hear all the time."

"And it fit him perfectly."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"I don't remember, but he last mentioned beginning a new life in California to get away from the life he built. He wanted me to go with him and to not get involved with the mafia, but it was too late. I had no one besides Angelo."

"Then hopefully he made it to California. Maybe, one day we can go look for him."

"Yea," he smiled sideways. "I pray he's still alive. I want to thank him for teaching me everything he knows about the mafia life. Because of him, I'll never have to fear for the safety of my loved ones. He told me a few times, 'If I was feared then people would leave me alone.' So far, I know that to be true."

A short silence introduced itself until Jasmine thought of another question. "You told me you almost lost everything. Was there something you didn't lose?"

Jack cringed. He felt it was a conversation for another day because he promised never to reveal this secret. It was the only thing that kept him smiling through the dark and evil days, so he looked away from her. He wanted to trust Jasmine, sincerely believing he could, even though the thought of someone coming after his family made him sick. Something inside of her felt good. She had a pure soul and he knew it without a doubt because there was an at-home type of feeling about her.

"You can't tell no one. Please, never speak of this again. Understand?"

It was hard not to take him seriously. How could she do the opposite when it felt like he'd kill her if she did?

"No one knows that I have a younger sister living here in the city. She never lived with us because my father had an affair during a rough patch in his and my mother's marriage. She thinks her family is dead, including me, and I don't want her knowing I'm still alive. I can't have her life ruined by showing up."

Suddenly, Matthew came to reality as the vision stopped. Its intensity kept him on both knees, sweating, barely holding himself up with his arms stretched to the ground. Cereleus was knelt to his side with a hand on his back.

"How do you feel? Cereleus asked.

"I'm okay, but do you know why this is happening?"

"Yes," he said as he walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked toward the Beast. "You have nothing to worry about."

"How is there nothing to worry about? I can't imagine how I looked compared to how I felt."

"I assure you, Matthew, everything will be fine.

"No, I need answers. If you know then tell me. I don't want to be swimming in water or running through a burning building and then this happens. I couldn't even move."

"You've been connected with Jack since he stole some of your essence."

"How? I don't understand. Are you telling me that if he dies, I die? Please, tell me that's not true."

Cereleus smiled and shook his head. "Not like that. Being a prophet comes with seeing into people's lives, but because of what Jack did, you have an eternal tap into his memories. Everything he's lived through can be accessed with a thought."

"Then I can see why he attacked me!"

"Yea, but it's not as simple as that. To do that you must touch him."

"Really? Wow, I don't think I want to know that bad. There's no way I want to get close to him again after what he did."

"And I don't recommend it. Besides, we have more important things to do."

Matthew nodded and they made their way deeper into the city.
Chapter 5

Matthew and Cereleus walked through the city until the came across the parking lot of a football stadium. Many people were there with tents, canopies, and sleeping bags set up and spread around the paved parking lot. Most of which had been there for weeks or months. Everyone was drawn here, from teenagers to the elderly, all wasting away in their own filth hoping for a change. Hoping to be saved by the savior in the stadium.

At the entryway to the stadium were four guards lined up behind a metal fence. Each had rifles strapped to their backs and a side arm in the holster on their hips. They were taking thorough precautions. No one entered without going through a screening because they only wanted a specific type of people entering. Matthew and Cereleus walked to the gate and one of the guards waved a wand over them while another other did some talking.

"Do you have a bible in your possession?"

"No," Matthew shook his head, confused by the question. "I don't."

"Is Jesus Christ your savior?"

"What are you, a Jehovah's witness?"

"Answer the question, kid," the guard demanded.

Matthew wasn't sure what to say, even after seeing bibles being carried and stacked to his left to be burned. His mind told him to deny Christ so he wasn't put in harm's way, but he couldn't. It didn't matter what kind trouble he could be in. Denying Christ felt impossible.

"How come the people out here aren't entering?"

"That's none of your concern."

"They're going to freeze out here if they don't go in."

"I don't care," he said, giving Cereleus a strange glance before he was patted down. "All clear. Enter if you'd like, otherwise, stay out here and die. Doesn't matter to me."

The entire area felt strange, but they entered anyway. More armed guards lined the dark hallway leading to the field and each one stared at the people walking through until they passed them. They weren't friendly at all.

"The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want," Matthew whispered. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul and he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil...for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies and thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Matthew prayed softly even as a woman in the crowd overheard his words. She stared shortly, but it was long enough to make him feel uncomfortable; it didn't even change his feeling when she decided to smile at him.

"God needs you to survive, Matthew," Cereleus said. "It is not by chance that I found you, but by his will."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," he paused. "Seeing the future can help, the past makes no sense and I have no power to help fight things like the locus and Jack."

"The past is meant for reflection and as for powers, you don't need them. You may already be the most power being on earth."

"If I'm powerful then where's my power? I have nothing."

"If you saw what I saw you'd believe otherwise. The Holy Ghost inside of you is what stopped Jack, not me. In your heart is where the untapped power is and the moment you learn to control it will be the moment you can end all of this."

"But you saw what happened when the locus came. I was in the way. You saved us."

Cereleus hung his head. "It wasn't me."

"Then who? Gabriel? He came at the end after you did all the work."

"All that matters is that you live. That was my prayer to God. You're the one who matters."

Matthew stayed quiet, feeling the affect of someone caring about him more than themselves. It reminded him of his parents and how they were toward him. Always protective and showing him that he wasn't alone. It felt good.

"Uncle?" Matthew's attention was captured after seeing a piece of his family walking behind the angel.

"Matthew?" his uncle was surprised. "What are you doing here? You should've been raptured."

Matthew thought the same and he was still having difficulty coming to grips with the fact that he was still on earth. He thought he lived as perfect as possible and yet, here he was. He'd set himself up to die.

"Do you know what's going on here?"

"This place just opened up to the public and it seems to be a refuge for believers of Christ, but I'm not so sure. They asked me if I had a bible before entering and I don't know if they're collecting for distribution or what. It all feels strange to me."

"That's because it is," Cereleus said.

"Who's this guy?"

"This is Cereleus," Matthew introduced.

"Strange name, so how about we talk elsewhere, away from here? This place is creeping me out."

"We can't," Cereleus stated. "They don't want us to leave. Look at the exits."

Cereleus was right. There were two guards at every exit off the field and along the walls, between the tunnels was five more guards. This was some type of army. The guards roaming throughout the crowd frowned their eyebrows as they searched for anyone stepping out of line. The people believed the stadium was a good place, that it was a new haven in the city, but it wasn't.

"What is this?" Matthew asked.

"The Beast created this place. These are his men. Come!"

Cereleus grabbed Matthew's hand a little too late. The speakers came on and a microphone screeched, echoing in the stands. Everyone was startled. Most covered their ears to block out the annoying sound as the giant screens revealed the savior they were told of. They didn't know who he was, but Matthew and Cereleus recognized him immediately. It was the Beast just as Cereleus said it would be. This was his domain. His livelihood and these people would find out sooner or later.

"Welcome, everyone!" the Beast greeted from the skybox, looking below with his mischievous grin and eyes that peered into their souls. "It is my understanding that many of you still believe your precious God will save you, even after his son came and decided to leave you here. My question is, why?"

The stadium filled with disbelief and silence.

"Why would you trust in a God who would deliberately choose to leave you in such a desolate time? Which he created I might add. Many would say that you've been left behind and you deserve it because of your lifestyle before God took his people. He took them and chose to leave you here and that's the difference between him and me. I say everyone should live forever in paradise. No one should be tortured by the locus or live long enough to see Lucifer and his dragon."

Cereleus moved throughout the gathered crowd and some were smiling. He couldn't stand the sight of it and that saddened him.

"But before we can live in paradise, I need each of you wanting a better life, wanting to follow me to freedom and peace. I need you to deny Christ and his father, and then bow to me. That's all you must do. I have no tricks up my sleeve.

"Don't make promises you won't keep. You're a liar!" a man said as he walked to the front of the crowd so the Beast could see him from where he stood. He wanted him to see his face before he turned to leave. Unfortunately, he was shot on sight.

"I'm sorry for that outburst, ladies and gentlemen. Now, if there are no more interruptions, your choices, please."

People were confused after witnessing the man being shot. His body still lay on the turf and no one bothered to pick it up and move it. The sight of it warned few in the crowd to bow to the Beast, but others were still confused.

"And the rest of you? No? You can't decide whether or not to deny Christ and bow to me?" his voice heightened through his irritation. He hated not being in control, especially, when people were insolent. "Okay, then."

Every guard in the stadium readied their arms to fire and they didn't wait for further orders before releasing bullets toward the people. Cereleus rushed to protect Matthew and his uncle while everyone else was left to scream and panic. Bodies fell to the field beside them and no one was being spared. Even those who decided to kneel to the Beast was forced to run in toward the exits until they were shot.

Cereleus hated what was happening, deciding to rise above the crowd and spread his wings outward. Not many of the people running noticed, but the few who did was in awe. Same goes for the guards. They all stopped shooting and looked at the angel because they weren't sure what they were seeing. It was only their fear that caused them to fire their weapons at him. Every bullet targeted him and dematerialized before they touched as if there was a force field around him.

"An angel?" the Beast was confused and intrigued all at once.

Cereleus prepared to attack, but he halted when he heard the sound Matthew used to stop Jack. All guns ceased to fire once each guard dropped their rifle to shield their ears from the sound too loud to block out. Blood slowly seeped from every human's nose and eyes, even the freshly dead ones. This made the Beast look at Matthew with wonder. He loved what he was witnessing. The glowing eyes, the raw power releasing from a mere child. He could only imagine what damage he could do if his power was honed to be perfect destruction. This was what he needed.

"Him," he whispered curiously to himself. He didn't know why the angel was here nor did he care anymore. All he wanted was Matthew's power with him. "Bring me that boy!"

None of the guards could hear him over the loud speakers while the noise made their bodies function strangely. It made him frustrated, so he stormed away from the glass view of the skybox and toward the field.

Cereleus descended and looked at Matthew. He was kneeling and his eyes beat with luminescence, the sameness of staring into the sun for too long. His fingertips was planted in the dirt, and then his chin lifted, standing with his eyes fixed toward the Beast walking through a tunnel. He was astonishing to look at, even as the sound ceased and he stood in silence.

The able bodied scrambled to the exits, trampling the guards who stood in front of the field tunnels. The Beast watched him from across the field and it was clear that he was somewhat human as blood also leaked from his nose. He couldn't stop looking at Matthew, not caring that his eyes had returned to normal. All he saw was the potential destruction he'd help cause. The only thing he needed now was for the angel to leave.

"Angel! Why are you here?" He didn't answer. He just observed the blood seeping from the tyrant's nose. "Did you hear me, angel? Answer me."

"I chose to be here."

"How is this possible? God wouldn't allow it."

"I am not here to interfere."

"Liar!" his voice echoed over the silence in the stadium. "I saw your intentions. You were going to kill my men. You thought about coming after me, didn't you?"

"It is not in me to stand by and watch you have these men and women slaughtered because they would not bow."

"Hm," the Beast sought his next move, taking a few steps forward. He peered at Matthew whose breathing had finally calmed. "So, is this exceptional young man is with you?"

Matthew was afraid, confused.

"He is."

The Beast was now only a few feet away, alone, but still proud. His smile was smeared with confidence and in his eyes was deceit. He looked at the field and saw the bodies of his guards, along with every man and woman distributed across the turf covered in snow.

"It would be best if you leave him with me," the Beast offered.

Matthew's eyes met Cereleus' in discomfort.

"Are you afraid of me, boy?" Matthew shook his head, not wanting to show his fear. "Good, because there's no need to be afraid of me."

It's time for us to go," Matthew said, feeling their time to leave was overdue.

"No, no, no. Did you think it was a suggestion when I said you should leave the boy with me?"

"He's just a boy."

The Beast smirked and shook his head. "Oh, angel. You and I both know that's far from the truth. I just saw what he's capable of and I want his power with me."

"I won't go with you," Matthew said.

"And why not? Haven't you ever wanted to rule the world? I mean, just think. You and I could have the towns, the cities, and the armies of the world scared and fearing for their lives."

"I won't hurt a living thing for you or anyone else."

The Beast laughed and ushered Matthew's sight with his hand. "It's too late for you to say that, boy. It was not I who took the lives of everyone here lying on this field nor did I do this to myself." Matthew looked at the drying blood leaking from his nose. "It was you."

"I didn't!" Matthew shook in fear. "You killed these people. You did it!"

"Don't blame me for what you did. If you don't believe me, just ask the angel."

Matthew looked at Cereleus with no recollection of the event, only fear. He couldn't have done it. He's never fought or tried to hurt anyone in his life, so he wasn't going to allow himself to believe him. The Beast wasn't Lucifer, but he was still a deceiver.

"Cereleus!" Matthew called with uneasiness.

"It's the truth."

Matthew shook his head, still in disbelief. "How could I?" he whispered.

"See, I would not lie to you," the Beast paced four steps to his left with his arms folded behind his back. "Now, what I can do for you is help you control the power you possess and you won't need to worry about any accidental killings."

"No!" Matthew said. "I have help."

"The angel?" he laughed. "The angel can't help you. He can't even feel the emotion that is required."

"What do you mean?"

"Love—" he finished. The beastly sound of his voice trailed off, sending chills though his body.

"Matthew," his uncle called. He had been standing near the sideline of the field holding Claire watching to see what would happen.

"We have to go."

The Beast looked over and all he saw was a weak human who couldn't defend himself and it gave him an idea. "Oh, please do," he said, surprisingly. "We'll be talking again. Look forward to it."

He seemed to have no immediate motive all of a sudden. The situation was strange and unpredictable, but Cereleus knew better than to let his guard down as they walked away. He decided to walk last, choosing to stare at the Beast until his new friends made it out safe.

"Angel," the Beast called once he turned to walk away. "Don't be a fool. You know you can't protect him."

Cereleus wasn't afraid of the Beast. He knew he could stop him if it came to that, but there was no use. He wasn't a real threat. Afterall, he was just a man.

"Don't," Cereleus said.

"Don't what? Do you actually think you can keep him from me? The only place I cannot go to find him is heaven, and unless you plan to kill him, he will be mine."

Cereleus lined his eyes with the Beast and saw his iris had changed colors. There was something about him that the angel didn't know, but he didn't care. He had only one mission. Help the prophet protect the world.

"If you come for him, I will kill you."

Cereleus followed Matthew and the Beast was thrilled with the angel's words. He couldn't wait to see him again.
Chapter 6

Matthew was finally starting to believe he was a prophet, but he also realized it was a burden trying to endure the unexpected events transpiring in his life. The Beast knew who he was now, so he could no longer walk around in plain sight minding his own business. He was constantly looking over his shoulder because he felt something bad in every moment he lived as though evil things were following him wherever he was.

His uncle had taken Claire with him to keep her out of harm's way, while he and Cereleus searched for a shelter of their own. They walked the streets of the city where ragged people stared hideously and cursed at them for breathing the same air. Word spread like a fire in the forest that Matthew helped the Beast murder the people at the stadium. He knew it was far from the truth, but the people believed what they wanted to.

Matthew and Cereleus stopped walking when they arrived at a rundown gas station with yellow caution tape wrapped around the eight gas pumps. The pavement was rough with cracks. There were no cars because oil was scarce. Food and water were even hard to come by unless you became one of the Beast's followers. The entire city had fell into damnation.

Surprisingly, the gas station was occupied and just as so many people in the city, the cashier wasn't pleased to see Matthew. He chose not to acknowledge his presence he'd received word of a young man traveling with a strangely tall fellow who was wanted for a crime and they fit the description. Matthew tried purchasing a bag of chips and a bottle of water with his last five dollars, but the cashier's eyes pierced him.

"So, what is it you did to have you and your friend's description floating along the great vine?" the cashier asked.

"I killed people, but it wasn't my fault," Matthew said. "I couldn't control it."

"What if I didn't believe a word you said?"

Matthew was confused. "What? How am I supposed to answer you?"

The cashier eyeballed Cereleus and then looked back at Matthew as he took a deep breath. "So, you're not helping the antichrist?"

"I'm not. I promise."

"Promises don't mean much these days."

"Mine do."

"And how are yours different?"

"Because I was raised to be truthful. No matter how bad things get, everyone needs something to believe in. Even if it's something as small as a promise."

The cashier grunted and leaned closer. "Show me your wrist."

"Why?"

The cashier slid his left jacket sleeve up and showed the number of the Beast.

"You think I have that? I don't."

"Then I can't help you."

"How come?"

"No mark, no sale, kid. I'm sorry, but that's the way things are now."

Matthew couldn't believe this was really happening. He'd seen movies and read books about the times after the rapture, but he never thought he'd still be on earth during all of it.

"What about your friend here?" the cashier observed Cereleus once more. "He doesn't have the mark either?"

"I do not," Cereleus said.

"Then I'm sorry," the cashier reiterated. "I can't do nothing about the rules."

"May I ask you a question?" Matthew asked, wanting to take his mind off his hunger.

The cashier nodded.

"What made you get the mark?"

The cashier's expression changed. He was showing pain like someone else jumped into his body just then.

"It wasn't by choice," he said. "The Beast and his army ransacked the building I lived in just after the sound of that instrument went off. It was a trumpet apparently. Anyway, they killed most of the people who lived there while some, like me, were captured and branded like animals."

"And your family?" Cereleus asked.

The cashier had a look in his eyes that was all too familiar to Matthew. It was the same look he saw in his own reflection when he looked in the mirror. The dullness of loss.

"It was only me and my daughter when the rapture occurred. She was just an infant. I thought maybe someone took her, but I don't know." Sorrow crowded his voice. A few tears presented themselves and then spilled down his face and onto his shirt. "I don't know what happened to her."

"I couldn't imagine having to deal with that," Matthew said.

"Yea," he paused. "And if she is no longer on this earth then I trust in the Lord that she is with him in heaven. For I know as David said, 'I shall go to her, but she will not return to me.' This, I know to be true."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. She is in a better place, I'm sure," he slid the bag of chips and bottle of water to Matthew. "Take it, it's yours."

"But you said—"

"I know what I said. Just take it and go," his eyes carried behind Matthew to the street outside. "You've gathered a lot of attention stopping in here."

There was an angry crowd gathered in what was left of the parking lot. All of them stared and none flinched from their gaze. The beaming of their eyes felt like stabs to open wounds. Matthew knew it was his fault the people died, but not all of them. He thought if the store clerk would have a change of heart then maybe they would too. But he also believed no matter what he said, the people wouldn't hear him out. The words, the rumors, all the lies had spread throughout the city, so whatever he said would mean nothing.

"Get out of here!" a dark-haired woman yelled.

"Yea, get!" a skinny man demanded.

They were hostile toward him. Yelling, cursing, and throwing things. He hoped this wasn't what he signed up for when he decided to believe in his self. He understood why these people needed saving, but because of the way they were acting, he wasn't sure how he could get over how they felt about him.

"I'm with you," Cereleus comforted.

They walked forward and through the crowd, parting down its center. Eyes beamed at them from all directions as Matthew was shoved side to side. His heart became heavy when he was pushed to the ground before finally making it through the sea of bodies. It wasn't strange for him to hear so many negative words directed at him. All it did was remind him of his high school years, even though these slanders were unlike anything he ever thought he'd hear.

"Cereleus," Matthew called. "Will my uncle and Claire be alright without us?"

He nodded.

"Why are you so sure?"

"I can assure you that anyone you care for will be better off without us. At least for now. There will be many threats coming our way."

Cereleus' words eased Matthew as much as they alarmed him. He knew something was coming. Something worse than the angry crowd and then the sky went dark. Clouds displayed under the red sky and everyone was afraid, frozen from shock as they observed and felt the drastic change in the weather.

"Matthew, we must go. Locus are on the way."

"Not just them," they readied to leave, but never left because the Beast was there. He walked from out the crowd with locus walking along the sides of the long narrow street and then came to a halt.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked.

"The boy wants nothing to do with you."

"Still?" Matthew nodded after being asked. "Goats nod their head boy. Why are you? Speak with the tongue you were given."

"I don't—"

"You don't what?" the Beast interrupted. He couldn't wait to hear the terror in his voice.

"I don't want anything to do with you."

"Really now?" he figured as much, smirking and pacing to his right.

"I told you not to come for him," Cereleus said. "He won't help you."

The Beast smiled menacingly as his eyes moved to Matthew.

"I've already told you no," Matthew refuted. "Just leave me alone."

"And if that remains your final answer then the ones you love and so many others will die. I know you don't want that, but that is the choice you have given me."

"Better for them to be dead than continuing to suffer at the hands of you."

The Beast laughed. "You don't know?"

"What?"

The grin couldn't be wiped from his face. "Death means nothing when it takes you. You just simply cease to exist now. There is no heaven or hell anymore. Just a void where everyone goes when they die."

"Stop lying!" Matthew argued, unsure if he spoke the truth.

"But you don't know for sure," the Beast teased. "What if I am telling the truth? Then what? You would probably rather see people die, am I right?"

Matthew's eyes shook, fearing what the Beast could be thinking. There was no way it could be good. All he saw was evil when he looked at him and that wasn't going to change after everything he's seen already.

"Then, how about we test our theories?" the Beast grabbed a young man from the crowd and wrapped his hand around his throat with a displeasing grin.

"Stop! You won't hurt them!"

"And you'll stop me?" the Beast asked rhetorically. "You think you can? How about the angel? Still think you can kill me?"

The amount of pride he showed was blinding. The shear sight of him was disgusting, and to top it off, he had back up. One of the locus scratched the surface beneath its hoof, brushing the snow and ice from the street while a chill in the air exhaled from its nostrils. All of the locus scowled and Matthew became afraid after remembering their last encounter. But there was only six this time. Surely, Cereleus could handle them with no problem.

Then there was the Beast himself. The muscles in his face began to move around and the hair on his body grew slightly longer. His skin was darkening, until it all stopped once he began speaking.

"You cannot stop me because all power is in my hand," he threw the young man back into the crowd. "Your God allowed this. And who am I to go against his word?"

Right then, each of the locus charged forward, causing Cereleus to pawn himself in from of Matthew.

"Run!" he demanded, but Matthew stood still, frozen like an iceberg.

Cereleus took his sword and sliced one of the locus' stingers off seconds before taking the sword through its body. Three more stingers came toward him simultaneously, but he deflected them all with a burst of wind from his left hand.

"Matthew, run!"

And he did. He had no idea where he was going, but he kept running. He sprinted as fast as he could, doing his best to keep himself from slipping and falling on the icy street. He ran toward the gas station, hoping the cashier could help, but then there was a loud explosion. He turned around and Cereleus was flying skyward out of a cloud of snow. The remains struck the ground and the weather changed again. A blizzard had formed, dropping snow to the ground at an alarming rate.

"It's not too late," the Beast yelled over the sound of the storm. "This senseless violence could stop. You have the power to make it stop, boy."

"You're doing this."

"Am I?" he smirked. "I did nothing."

"You did everything. All of this, the savagery, the killing, starvation. Its all because of you and now you bring these monsters here to hurt people. Why? Because you want people to suffer or is it because no one likes you?"

The Beast was amused.

"You seem to have no idea," Cereleus killed another locus as the Beast continued talking. "Yes, I admit that everything is because of me." His voice calmed. "But I did not create this time of tribulation nor am I the one responsible for bringing the locus here."

"Then why are they here?" Matthew questioned.

The Beast exhaled deeply, clearly frustrated with Matthew's unknowing of God's word. "And the angel, Pendae, sounded the trumpet and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth. To him was given the key of the bottomless pit and he opened the bottomless pit. From there arose smoke, as the smoke of a great furnace and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke, locus upon the earth...And so on and so forth." With each word spoken, the Beast had a bad taste in his mouth. He couldn't bear it. "You see Matthew; it was not me. It was your God."

"It doesn't matter what you say. I will never believe that you weren't the one who caused all of this. Because of you, people hate me. This isn't how things should be."

"You are absolutely right. Things are supposed to be different. Your angel friend isn't shouldn't be here for starters. God was supposed to give these years to me for ruling how I please, which makes you two distractions I cannot afford to have," he lifted his fist and the sole surviving locus halted. "Angel," his attention transferred, still on guard in case the locus attacked. "Tell me, how many of you are there on earth?"

Cereleus' gaze went slowly to the Beast. He was as focused as ever, waiting, expecting to be attacked once more. "What is it to you?"

The Beast was irritated by his response. "What it is to me, you ask?" the volume of his voice exceeded. It wasn't possible for him to be more expressively upset. "What does it matter what it is to me? I asked a question and you will answer it because I want you to!"

"The answer that you seek cannot be found through me, but through the God you choose to mock eternally."

"You are suggesting that I pray to God?" the Beast laughed. His temper flared through a small aftershock that sprung through the earth. "Leave my sight!"

Matthew was confused because he was inconsistent in his plan to have him on his side. He attacks and threatens, but he does nothing. It's like he was testing them to see what they would do. It was clear he wasn't afraid of them, which was strange to Cereleus. Every supernatural creature feared angels, especially, the warriors like Cereleus who trained with the Arc Angels.

"Oh, and boy," the Beast smiled. "You'll help me as I've said before. It's only a matter of time."

"Don't count on it."

The Beast smirk and nodded before turning to walk away, leaving Matthew with intuition that they'd be seeing each other again.
Chapter 7

"He won't rest until he has you," Cereleus said. "His thirst for power is greater than any man's will to live."

"What if I decide to surrender?"

"You cannot. The Beast will kill you if you go to him and don't give him what he wants."

"But what if I do?" he asked again. "I can't keep running."

"I know your plan and it's foolish. He's too smart not to see deceit before it comes."

"I don't think he'll kill me."

"Then you're as foolish as him. If you die, all hope is lost. You're the only one standing between him and what he wants."

"Stop saying that. We have you and apparently the other angels in heaven."

"But I—" the words exiting Matthew's mouth ceased when he covered his eyes.

"Another vision?"

Matthew shook his head after being caught off guard. "Yea, It's about Jack again. This time he's talking to some old guy."

The older man was Mr. Brunelli. He was wearing a white dress-shirt and gray pinstriped dress pants with suspenders wrapping over his shoulders. His hair was salt and peppered, combed to the back of his head. You only needed to see him once to know that he was someone who meant business.

"This girl," Mr. Brunelli said. "You like this girl a lot?"

"I do."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't know if I have a shot," Mr. Brunelli laughed a little after hearing him. "What's so funny?"

"That wouldn't have stopped you before, so what's different about his one?"

Jack smirked. "I wish I knew. Something keeps me from being my normal self around her."

"There's always something different about them. That's why you need to pay attention to a women's morals. The ones with good morals are the ones you'll want to bring home and make your wife. But only if she doesn't forget she has them."

"What if I'm the one that tempts her? Shouldn't she get a pass?"

"Sounds like you've already made you mind up about it," he smiled at Jack. "At the end of the day, if she knows who she is and shows that she wants to be with you, she's the one you want."

"When we spoke yesterday, I saw myself settling down for the first time."

"Your feelings don't lie, but I don't think you're ready for the change that marriage brings. Trust me, Jackie. It's a lot different from just picking up a random skank off the street."

"That's why I came to talk to you. I thought maybe you could give me some insight on all of this."

"Look Jackie," Mr. Brunelli gave him a sincere look. "I'll support you in whatever you do. You know that, right?"

Jack smirked.

"No!" Jack was now randomly yelling in Matthew's vision. Like it had fast forwarded to when he was older. "I don't want it—" His voice trailed off as he struggled to stand.

"I'm hearing Jack!" Matthew exclaimed.

"What's happening to him?"

"He seems afraid. Sounds like he's in pain," Matthew froze. "I think I might be seeing him presently. This doesn't feel like a memory."

"Can you see where he is?"

Matthew focused on where Jack was. "It looks familiar. I know I've been to the place he's at. It's—" He was doing his best to remember, wondering where he's seen his location before. He began walking the street, then down another and another. Whatever thought was engraved in his mind was leading them south by the edge of the city. Then they stopped, standing in front of a short building that sat between two that were slightly higher. The building itself was obscure and grimy, giving off a do not enter vibe especially as the inside looked as though someone ripped off the front door with a crane and parked an eighteen-wheeler halfway inside.

"Jack's in there," he spoke softly and pointed, seeing a sign hanging above that read urgent care. Now, he knew why he recognized the place. He used to come with his parents every weekend for two months to visit his grandmother before she died.

Inside the urgent care, Jack was knelt in the darkness with his hands holding him up. His blood dripped on the white and spotted laminated floor. He was clearly frustrated, mad, upset. The two pillars with broken sheet rock and white paint revealed the cement holding the ceiling up. One glance at Jack's scarred knuckles and forehead said why it looked that way.

"Jack!" speaking his name loudly got his attention.

"Have you come to finish me off angel?"

"Why have you followed us to the city?"

"Followed you?" his tone heightened. "Why would I follow you? I have no reason."

"And me—?" Matthew started, but he was quickly interrupted by Jack.

"And you, yes!" his tone was now calm. "It's because of you I feel this pain. If you would've left to heaven with the others I wouldn't be—" his words trailed off.

"You've been seeing her too?"

Yes, Jasmine was a part of it, but Jack was feeling something he didn't want to. Something was happening to him, not only in his mind, but in his appearance as well. The scars on his skin started to heal and his facial structure was no longer abnormal. He was beginning to look alive.

Jack stepped quickly into the moonlight, inches away from Matthew's face only to be struck by the palm of Cereleus. The hit was only strong enough to cause the demon to lose his balance and fall to the ground, but strong enough to warn him off. He stood calmly and walked back toward them.

"I'm seeing it all," Jack was angry. "Why?"

"You mean, Jasmine?" Matthew said her name with caution this time. "Is she why you came after me? To see her again?"

Jack's eyes bounced up and stared longingly with a fire inside. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. That wasn't how it was supposed to be according to him."

"Huh?" Matthew was confused.

"I shouldn't have trusted him. I knew better and yet I did."

"Who?"

"The man with the mark on his face prancing around like he's the Messiah. Only a fool would believe him."

"You're talking about the Beast." Cereleus said.

"You think I don't know that?" Jack's emotions swayed again as he was suddenly angry stepping to Cereleus, gaze to gaze. "Tell me where he is and I will detach his head from his shoulders with my bare hands."

"You cannot," Cereleus said.

"Don't tell me what I can't do."

Every fabric of his being shook. His sight was no longer set on the revenge he had planned in hell. The Beast had taken it too far tricking him into taking on this plague causing him to relive a life he left long ago.

"He'll kill you," Matthew warned.

"Then I'll die trying."

"And what about Jasmine?" Jack glared at the boy. His eyes as frightening as their first encounter. "She wouldn't have—"

Matthew stopped mid-sentence when Jack threw the back of his hand toward his face, Cereleus grabbed him by the wrist before the impact.

"Enough!" Cereleus held the demon's wrist firm. "We cannot interfere with God's plan."

"God's plan?" Jack chuckled when he yanked his arm away. "God interfered with his own plan sending you here, so why, Cereleus? Why should I not?" He was breathing hard after getting his point across. "I mean, look at me. I'm most certainly not in his plan. That means I'll do whatever the hell I'd like."

There was no reason to argue against his knowledge because it was true. The rapture and all that followed were supposed to happen without any angelic interference, without God. Yet, Cereleus was here. He'd already done his share of intervening in the lives of others, so would this be any different? If Jack was to destroy the Beast would that be okay?

Jack remained frustrated as he walked away from them. He had no more words to hear from them. His only desire was to destroy the Beast.

"Is there some way I could leave this place to be with her? Is there a chance that I can enter heaven and be greeted by you? Can I once again hear the voice, feel the touch and have the perfect love you gave me so many years ago?"

Jack was filled with feelings he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Forgive me, God, for I will break your commandment and kill the Beast that plagues the earth. He led me to carry this burden that is trying to consume my life for a second time...if life is what I live." Jack grabbed the necklace welded around his neck. "Be with me, God, if for no other reason except to destroy—"

Another vision entered his mind, but he kept walking, clinching his teeth together.

"Jasmine?" Mr. Brunelli approached her sitting alone reading a book outside of the coffee shop.

She offered a smile when she looked up. "I am."

He removed the black fedora from his head and sat across from her. "I'm Angelo Brunelli. A friend of Jack's."

"Mr. Brunelli," she greeted happily. "Jack has told me a lot about you. He holds you high in his heart."

"Yea," he nodded. "And I've heard of you as well. That's actually why I'm here. We have business to discuss."

"Business of what kind?"

"I'll get right to it," he began. "You're wonderful from what I hear and you make Jackie very happy."

"He does the same for me."

"Yeah," he nodded again. "So, listen," Mr. Brunelli smirked and leaned forward while intertwining his fingers. "I need you to walk away from him."

"Walk away?" she questioned.

"It's because you're a distraction and there's a chance one of you could get hurt. That's not something I want."

"He wouldn't allow that."

"No, of course he wouldn't. It's just in his line of work there are people that would find a way to hurt you when he's not around. People who I know. People I could protect you from if you walk away and never look Jackie's way again."

"Are you threatening me, Mr. Brunelli?" she remained calm, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. Every story she'd heard about him always mentioned his best interest for Jack. He had seemed like a nice guy in the stories, someone who truly cared about Jack and the people in his life, but not now. He was nothing except a bully hoping to get his way.

"A threat? No. I'm just looking out for Jackie's best interest."

"His best interest is being with me. He doesn't want to work for you anymore. He said you understood and you were happy for him. Why are you doing this?"

He shook his head.

"I don't think you understand me."

"I understand you perfectly. You don't want him to be happy."

"I really do. I love Jackie, but I can't afford to lose him from my side. If he becomes a family man the other families would start a war and a lot of people will get hurt."

"That isn't our problem."

"But it is," he leaned closer. "Believe it or not, but Jackie is the reason there hasn't been a war in years. When he became capable of all that he is, the shift of power grew for us. When the shift happened, the other families were afraid to retaliate, and fell in line. They knew who he was, some even thought he wasn't human. His methods were so ingenious that no one would attempt to kill him because they were too afraid to miss. We all saw what happened to the last clown that missed."

"That is no longer the man I love."

"He's still that man. His art is only dormant. Can't you see if you weren't in the picture he would be everything I know him to be?"

"You're wrong!" Jasmine yelled, drawing the attention of every person in the coffee shop.

"I'm not," he spoke calmly. He stood to his feet, placed his fedora upon his head and straightened his wool coat. "If I don't hear bad news from him tonight, you won't live long enough to witness."

"No!" Jack roared, seeing the vision of a moment he never knew about. He was on his knees in the deep of the snow. His voice echoed off the surrounding buildings before fading into the sky. He was clueless, alone, and upset. There was a lot of frustration in him as the water built around his eyes froze and he clinched his teeth.

The snow fell calmly over the city and it numbed Jack's fingers and toes. He welcomed the feeling because he hadn't felt the chill of winter since before he died, but being able to feel the pain of Mr. Brunelli's betrayal cut deep into his heart.

"Why? Why didn't you come talk to me first?" He depleted as the vision continue.

"Billy," Mr. Brunelli said. "I have a job for you."

"Who is it?"

"The broad's name is Jasmine. I need her removed from the picture tomorrow. Eight in the morning at the college campus. Our usual arrangement?"

Billy nodded.

"And Tooth?"

"Yea?"

"You can't miss. If you do, we'll both be dead."

"No worries. I won't."

"I'll kill you," Jack spurned, wishing he could truly kill Billy and Mr. Brunelli. A tear engulfed with anger dripped down the right side of his face. He went to wipe it away and he felt something unfamiliar to him in recent days. The burns that plagued his skin were no longer present. He smiled gently. He forgot what the smoothness of his skin was like, but he didn't really care at all. He was fed up with the visions and with the Beast. He wanted justice, whatever that was.

"We have to help Jack," Matthew said.

Cereleus said nothing. He did nothing, even as Matthew walked to the exit, the angel stood there.

"I can't let someone die, not even Jack. I know you can see he's different from before."

Matthew entered the blistering chill of the snow, following Jack's footprints that already began to vanish from the snowfall. He couldn't believe what he was doing. Was he really helping a demon? His plan to attack the Beast was suicide. Clearly, he was filled with emotions, so Matthew had to try stopping him, eventually seeing him in the distance roughly a mile outside the city.

"Jack, stop!" he yelled, now walking only fifty feet behind him.

Jack heard him, but he didn't care what the boy had to say. He didn't want him following him, especially, because he wasn't going to stop or slow his pace for him to catch up. He heard Matthew breathing heavily and tirelessly, running as fast as the snow allowed.

"Leave me," Jack shunned.

Instead of listening, Matthew grabbed his arm, only to be pushed into the snow.

"That's all?" Matthew expected more from Jack. According to Cereleus, he was even a demon before his death. "You're different, right?" It was hard for him to believe that he was seeing a less ruthless side of Jack now. Was he really retaining his humanity, maybe regaining his soul again?

"I'm sorry," he said as Matthew lifted himself out of the snow. "But I can't stop. I have to find him."

"I think I can help you."

"I don't need your help, boy. I can kill the Beast on my own."

"But I might be able to take it away."

"What? The visions?

He finally got his attention. Jack stood still, but he kept his eyes in the direction he was walking. Matthew believed he could retake the essence he stole to keep him from suffering. At least he hoped.

"How?"

"The same way you took it from him," Cereleus interrupted as he descended from the sky. "He can retrieve it from you."

"Are you sure?"

"Um," Matthew didn't want to speak because it was only a hope he had.

"I don't have time for this."

Jack turned and started his walk again.

"Stop," Cereleus said, but Jack continued his progress. "It's true."

Jack stopped again and he hated that he did. But his desire to cease the visions made him curious. "And how do you know? Have you done it before?"

"I haven't."

"Then why are you wasting my time, Cereleus. I already don't like you."

Cereleus ignored his comment because Jack was nothing to him but a soul lost to his own hate.

"I heard a tale long ago from my brother, Lucifer, about a prophet, a woman whose power was so great that she could remove a person's soul."

"And you trust your brother?" Jack chuckled. "You do know who he is?"

"It doesn't matter who he is. He wasn't always the snake in the grass. There was a time he was filled with love. He showed me everything I know, so I know his words were true when he told me of this woman."

"No," Matthew shook his head. "I can't do it."

"It'll be okay," Cereleus comforted.

"What proof do you have?"

"None. I know how it sounds. I know you've only known my brother as someone who comes to steal, kill and destroy, but that is not all he is. He's more than that."

"I don't trust his words."

"But you'd save a demon who hurt you?"

Matthew stayed quiet and Jack smirked listening to their conversation.

"Trust me, Matthew. I am not my brother."

"What happened to the woman?" Jack asked. "The one Lucifer told you about."

"I don't know. He only spoke of what she can do. Never of the life she live."

"Then, you don't know if the boy will be hurt or maybe killed from the process?"

Now, Matthew was afraid to help Jack. If he was to help people, a demon would be the perfect first candidate, but now his life may be on the line.

"Will I die?" Matthew asked.

"I don't believe so. Lucifer never spoke of the woman's death. Also, everything I learned about prophets suggest they cannot die."

"I can't? But the pain?"

"You mean what he did to you? Do you feel pain still? Touch your stomach."

Matthew expected pain when he touched his stomach, but there was none. It was unbelievable to him, but it felt true. He lifted his shirt, flexing his stomach to look down. There was nothing. He felt better knowing he was healed, even though he didn't understand why.

"How is that possible?" Jack asked. Even his eyes enlarged at the sight of the healing.

"My only knowledge about it is an assumption."

"Then what do you think?" Matthew asked.

"Our father created prophets to reveal things to the world, to show people light through hope in a bleak future during dark times. A prophet's calling is to help others, just as an angel, but there is only two when one is needed."

"I'm not the only one?"

"No. The bible mentions two prophets who come to witness to the world. Each one is placed in a specific location depending on the hope needed for the people."

"Why wouldn't God place us together? The Beast is too big of a threat for me to handle. Maybe that's why Jack found me. It could've been if God's plan all along."

"I wouldn't believe that, kid?" Jack added his thoughts on the subject. "I came for one thing only and you're not in my plan. All you need to do is take out of me the essence I stole from you. Nothing else."

"Why not?" Matthew questioned. "I've lived my entire life believing people come into my life for a reason. Each reason is a lesson or some help I need for the future, so why won't you believe, Jack?"

"Because he's been you before. Before his parents died."

"Enough!" Jack interrupted. "Either you help me or you let me be on my way."

Matthew knew at this point he was going to help Jack. They had to be in each other's lives for a reason. How could they not? It was clear to see that Jack was becoming more of who he used to be, so Matthew didn't have to think long. This was his moment to see if his belief would be true. "Okay, let's do it."
Chapter 8

The Beast was still at the stadium sitting on a black couch with his fingers propped against the side of his skull. He appeared completely relaxed except for his right-hand clinching tighter with every passing moment.

"You've betrayed me, God. You told me I would be able to do whatever I desire. That this time was meant for me and yet, you've allowed some angel to interfere with my plans."

The Beast stood and walked to his glass view overlooking the field. Bodies of the dead still lay under the snow that piled on the earth. Even his own guards lay below after being murdered by the prophet and now he had no followers near him.

"Then your prophet comes...He shouldn't be killing my men! I need my followers to help me overtake the earth. I need my army," the Beast looked toward heaven. "Do something about them, God, or I'll be forced to kill them."

Now, the Beast had a grin engraved on his mouth after looking at the field again.

"At least you gave me a gift."

One foot at a time, he stepped onto the field until he reached the person inching through the snow. The excitement overwhelmed him.

"Pitiful," he said moments before he stomped on the woman's spine. A scream, followed by a cry, released from her mouth. It punctured his ears as he lifted her by the hair, forcing her spine to bend backwards so he could gaze into her eyes.

"And what is your name?" he asked.

"Jenny," she struggled to speak while her eyes forced themselves shut. "God, please hel—" she had trouble speaking as she choked on the blood dripping off her bottom lip.

He knew she wasn't addressing him when she began asking God for help, and it made him disgusted. His anger grew the longer he looked at her.

"Jenny, you said?" he hesitated. "I'm really not sorry your God can't help you. He doesn't want to. If he did then you wouldn't be under my foot right now."

The Beast growled before a monstrous noise left his mouth. He continued to lift his foot again and again to crush her back. Her screams echoed throughout the stadium seats while each of her tears melted the snow. He only stopped momentarily to watch her rive in pain and that's exactly what she was did. Her body ached, twitching after the nerves in her body depleted.

"You said. You said. You said, you said!" he repeated, pointing and looking to the sky. "You said."

Jenny was afraid for her life and the Beast knew she felt his fury. It was like his blood boiled when all of his hate toward God flooded into his mind.

"Please, let me go," she cried, but the Beast paid her no mind. "God, help."

Hearing God's name caused him to erupt. The veins in his arms and in his neck bulged. The two sixes carved into his palms and the one carved around his eye lit like a fire burning inside a lantern. His height grew and his body mass did as well. The color of his eyes was no longer brown, but green with a yellow tint. All of his teeth sharpened, while the two in the front stood out, like that of a saber tooth tiger. The small amount of hair on his body even lengthened, covering him like a thin coat of fur. His mouth and nose protruded slightly. His ears completely vanished while the long, sharp claws on his giant feet and hands intimidated her.

The entire transformation process was painful for him, while his yelling shattered the young woman's ears. She cried because she felt paralyzed. She was. The Beast stepped off her back and she saw his giant paw sink the snow. She felt she was dead already at this point, seeing this man who molded into a thirteen-foot monster standing by her.

"God. Please!"

The Beast roared into the sky. He looked at Jenny with a passion and a thirst worthy of hatred. He wanted all of mankind to bow to him. To worship and adore him, but there was the ones like Jenny that he hated. They disobeyed him, they wouldn't look to him as their savior, so he did to them what he thought was best.

He picked Jenny up with his large hand and brought her face close to his. She was deathly afraid from being forced to look in his eyes, seeing his giant mouth filled with animal like teeth.

"Please—" she wanted to beg for her life, but it was no use.

His hollowed stare pinched her soul as he grabbed her with his other hand and snapped her spine with little effort. She had no more sorrow or pain. She no longer felt the fear that plagued her heart and mind, now knowing her soul would no longer exist on earth.

She was gone.

"No!" Matthew released the word breathlessly from a stroke of anxiety that touched his heart. He felt Jenny's back being broken in the instant it happened as if it were his back that broke. It tugged at his heart while his hand rested on Jack's forehead and snapped away, leaving his arm with numbness. He hurt to move his fingers.

"What happened?" Jack grumbled. "Did it work?"

"Um, I don't know," he was unsure, paying more attention to the pain in his arm.

"Cereleus, is it done?" Jack thought the angel would know, but he just shook his head.

"What was that?" Matthew asked.

"It was a connection you have to someone that passed from this earth."

"What do you me? The only person I know is my uncle." Matthew was afraid his uncle died. "Is he—?"

"No," Cereleus interrupted. "Your uncle is safe."

"But I don't know anyone else. Everyone I know is dead or left during the rapture."

"The connection was with someone you don't know. Someone you've come in contact with in some way."

Jack grew frustrated listening to their conversation. He hated they seemed to forget he was there. "Can you take it away or not?" he spurned, wanting answers. "I don't care about your problems, only what's been happening to me."

"I'll keep trying."

"You need to hurry because I have an appointment with the Beast."

He placed his palm back on Jack's forehead and waited, but the numbness was a distraction. It wouldn't leave or even ease a little. He looked at Cereleus because of his doubt.

"Concentrate," Cereleus encouraged.

Matthew closed his eyes and again, nothing happened.

"I can't."

"Don't think too hard. The essence is already yours. All you need to do is feel it to take it back. Think about retrieving it, only that."

He nodded.

It didn't take long before his eyes and cheeks were no longer tense. He had completely relaxed his mind and muscles to place himself in peace. He felt his essence and held it. Then, a ghostlike electricity left from Jack's eyes and entered his own.

Jack was in a tremendous amount of pain, feeling like he was suddenly burdened by a heart attack. He clinched at his chest, grabbed his throbbing arm and fell to one knee. Now, he was on both and before he could react, he collapsed altogether and his head struck the ground.

An arresting light glazed Matthew's eyes and once again, his arm snapped away. He fell into the snow and his eyes changed back to normal, but he could barely breathe. He was dying, gasping for air during a seizure.

The Beast tossed Jenny's body aside and looked toward the exit. He smelled something; flesh. He took to his hands and feet and dashed toward the parking lot. He wanted to kill, no, needed to kill. The feeling of blood seeping beneath his fingernails gave him a thrill and that's exactly what he couldn't wait to have when he arrived at the parking lot.

A large, unlucky group of people were cutting through the parking lot and didn't see the monster charging toward them until the last second. They'd never seen anything like it other than in a movie. A werewolf was the best way to describe the appearance, but even that would be wrong. He still looked like a man.

Four of the people in the first group didn't move in time, the fifth person managed to dive out the way, but he hurt himself by landing on a cement curb stop buried beneath the snow. Everyone shook when the Beast pounced on one of men in the group and broke his neck with a swipe to his head.

The men and women screamed, two scattered away from the group, but the Beast chased them. When he caught the first, he grabbed and squeezed her hard enough that her rib cage cracked within' seconds. The Beast savored the sound and feel of the woman's body crunching in his hand.

He dropped her and made a quick turn. Now, his sights were set on the man running in the other direction, moving through the snow as fast as possible. The Beast dashed toward him, pushing through the snow as if it wasn't deep enough to make any human have to high step. He grabbed the man's shirt and it ripped, relieving the man for the moment as he continued to run. But his joy was stopped suddenly when he felt the teeth of the Beast impale the back of his skull.

Everyone else was still running, trying their best to escape, but fear had already captured their minds. Each of them were killed one by one. None stood a chance of staying alive during the massacre as long as the Beast could smell their freezing flesh.

It would finally end though. The Beast saw his reality after leaving his transformed state in parking lot. Seeing bodies spotted across the snow brought a light smile to touch the corners of his mouth.

He stood and walked the path of bodies that stopped before the main entrance of the stadium. These people were massacred, killed by something horrific. By the Beast. Several limbs were detached and tossed in the snow coated in blood, while spines and other body parts were contorted by his bare hands. He recalled each kill and it brought him joy that no one survived the carnage.

"This world is mine!" he bellowed. "I hold every life in the palm of my hand and there's not a living soul that can stop me. I'm a greater threat to life that even Lucifer was."

The Beast was fueled with fire as he marched forward and he saw the damage, Matthew, did to the entrance of the stadium. It was broken. The cement walls were cracked and chunks were missing.

"I will not let anything of God or even the almighty stop my plans. Let it be known that I'm here to stay. Do you hear that God? This is mine now."

He left from the stadium and went into the city. Most of his army was murdered and nothing except destruction trailed him. He wanted everything to go his way, so he planned to release his tremendous power on the earth because nothing could stop him.

That's what he believed.
Chapter 9

"Mom! Dad! Where are you?"

Matthew awakened, confused. The taste of dryness and food residue sustained in his mouth after forgetting to brush his teeth the night prior. He slowly and calmly walked throughout the darkened house searching for everyone, anyone. He was afraid, having the scary feeling that he was alone for the rest of his life. Every room was abandoned. The two halls was empty which left the house hollow. Of course, this made his skin crawl like something horrific happened while he was asleep.

His last stop was the living room and it too was drowned in loneliness, but it wasn't silent. Outside, he heard cars crashing, dogs barking continuously and various alarms sounded from every direction. People screamed with fear. They scrambled across the pavement and sidewalks, so they never noticed the streetlights flickering constantly.

Matthew stepped outside to figure out what was happening. It was dark outside, making it nearly impossible to see his surroundings because of the limited light. Most street lights were completely out, meaning his sight was mostly lit by the stars and moon, but even those were of no use during the town blackout.

The moon had darkened. Stars dissolved and the clouds were like shadows. In each moment in time, there was a change; everywhere. The mightiest earthquake the world had ever knew shook the earth while the power of the wind increased the fire torching the sky.

Then it cracked and Matthew looked up, seeing a hand reaching through the crack. It tore the sky wider with every tug of its fingers. The thunderous sound curled his stomach, making him wish he'd never awakened from his sleep.

"Mom, are you there?"

He reached into his pocket, feeling for his phone to call his mom, but her phone only stopped ringing when it went to voicemail. He tried his dad's cell phone, but his did the same. It wasn't until after his persistence ceased that he knew what he was witnessing.

"Why me?" he questioned. "What did I do to be left?"

He knew the rapture occurred and he was left with the remains God didn't see fit to bring. Matthew thought it was weird because he wasn't bad or disrespectful. He wasn't unruly. His behavior was as perfect as perfect could be. He believed Jesus rose from the grave and he made sure to follow the Ten Commandments as best he could. There was not an evil bone in his body and that's why it beat at his heart that he wasn't raptured with the rest.

Two hands pulled open the tear in the sky to make way for the eye now peeping through. All living souls gazed upward, mesmerized by the astonishing display of God's power. Heaven's light shone to the earth out of God's fiery eyes. The lion of Judah was displayed for everyone. Most were afraid of him, while many took a bow with tears in their eyes as others had trouble believing it.

"This isn't real," a man whispered.

"Somebody, wake me up!" another shouted in fear.

Then a woman screamed like death had claimed her life as she dropped to her knees and begged for forgiveness. Every soul Mathew could see was frightened, terribly shaken at the circumstance. They just knew they had been left behind; some were wrong.

God's eyes brightened and it neared impossible to look directly at him. People held their hands up hoping to see easier, but by then it was too late. Clothes promptly dropped to the ground where most stood; others weren't as lucky.

A mother holding her two-years old son was now holding his denim overalls and plaid shirt; his red shoes pounced against the ground beside her and she hollered breathlessly at the sight. A teenage boy was frightened, looking around as his sister and best friend vanished from his side during their walk home. Concurrently, people left from their clothes involuntarily and there was no trace of them. No residue that alerted anyone of their existence. This event, the absence of life, the miracle. All of it happened in an instant, in a blink of an eye. No one saw it coming, no one. It just happened and there was nothing the remains could do.

Matthew looked down from the sky and watched himself pace backwards. He shook his head because it didn't make sense. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. He was looking at his self.

"How is this possible? How am I being raptured, but I can see myself down there?"

Matthew did his best to see where he was. "I was dreaming," he said while he struggled to open his eyes out of his slumber as the midday sun spotlighted his face. Cereleus was sitting alone next to him with his eyes closed. They were inside a room and two of the three windows were boarded completely.

"Where's Jack?" Matthew asked.

"He left," Cereleus said.

"Where did he go?"

"He went looking for the Beast just as he said."

"How come you didn't stop him?"

"It was not my place to do so. I reminded him of the danger again, but he's stubborn."

"We have to help him," Matthew attempted to stand, but his body was too weak after the seizure.

"Why do you wish to help the demon so bad?"

"The same reason you stood up for the devil," Matthew responded, waiting for his vision to focus.

"I wasn't."

"Then why bring him up? What's the story between you two? You sounded like you were trying to paint him as a good guy."

"I wasn't."

"Don't lie to me, Cereleus. I want to know why you were saying those things."

"Because he saved my life."

"When?" Matthew asked.

"The only time angels battled angels."

"You mean the war in heaven? What happened to you there?"

"I was in a power struggle with one of the fallen angels. It was just me and her, the angel, Vareale. She pushed back. She knew her strength wasn't a match for mine, so she called for help. Zair and Holoste grabbed me from behind. They beat me until I couldn't move and then forced me to my knees. It was the only time I felt weak. Zair and Holoste held my head up, and Vareale grabbed my face. Then this happened."

Cereleus pointed at the scar present on his laugh line, beside his nose, and Matthew remained in wonder as he listened. Never in his life did he believe he'd hear a story about the war in heaven from one of the warriors involved in it.

"I never felt pain before this day. The fallen angels were ordered by Lucifer to kill all of us on heaven's side, except a few. I was one of them. He believed some of us would join him in his hostile takeover to bring a new order to heaven."

"So, they stopped?"

"No," Cereleus shook his head, then dropped his eyes, saddened by the events. "Lucifer killed them. I don't think no one, besides the Archangels, knew how truly powerful he was until that moment. I know our father could've stopped him, but there was a chance he may have even defeated heaven's angels if he was allowed to continue."

"The stories say Michael stopped him."

"He did. It was difficult, but he managed to lock him away."

"What happened to Vareale and the others?"

"They were ended. Lucifer burned their wings with an endless fire before ripping them off. No one expected it to happen because it was supposed to be impossible."

"How so?"

"For an angel to lose their wings, we must give them up freely and become human. Vareale, Holoste and Zair did not give their wings away, not even in their screams."

"But if they gave their wings away, wouldn't the pain have stopped?"

"For the moment, except it wouldn't have mattered. The pain of an angel losing their wings is said to be the worst pain we can feel. Now, it's hard to believe that truth after seeing the pain on their faces," Cereleus' eyes shook as he remembered that day. "Lucifer broke their limbs and then ripped a piece off each one at the same time. I don't know how, but Vareale, Zair and Holoste simultaneous lost an arm and leg moments before losing their wings. The battle was still going on, but it felt like time froze. Lucifer smiled at me when he was finished and offered his hand."

"Did you take it? What happened?"

"Michael came and the battle continued until it inevitably ended."

"There has to be more. I'm not buying that's all that happened."

"Believe what you will."

Matthew knew in his heart Cereleus didn't want to tell the whole story. Maybe he did something he wasn't proud of, but even so, he felt he could be trusted, deciding to leave it alone until a later time.

"Do you feel indebted to Lucifer? It's okay if you do. I know I'd feel that way if someone saved my life."

Cereleus shook his head. "I don't. It just felt like he genuinely cared about me."

Matthew chuckled. "It's really hard to understand or hear that he might be good since I've only known him one way."

"Because he's only been one way for a long time."

"You think you can save him, don't you?" Matthew questioned. "Like me with Jack. I see good in him. I see that he's changed from our first meeting, so I believe there's good in him. But you have to see that Jack and Lucifer's situation is different."

"Why do you speak of my brother with such disgust? Who you know him to be is true, yes, but there was a time, for a long time, that he was the Morning Star name given to him by our father."

Matthew was now silent.

"If Jack can change, then why can't my brother be saved?"

"If you have the chance, take it. I'm not saying don't. Just be careful."

Cereleus nodded. "For now, you need to rest before anything else. Jack is able to take care of himself."

"But—" his voice trailed off as he thought about it. "Well, then what are we supposed to do?"

"There's nothing we can do. The Beast is searching for you and I must keep you away by any means necessary."

"By hiding me? He's found us everywhere we've gone, so please tell me how this building we're in is different?"

Cereleus remained silent because there was too much truth behind his words to argue, especially, since he didn't have an answer to his question.

"So, tell me. Is that your plan? You want to keep running?" Cereleus ignored the question. "Say something. There's got to be a better plan than this."

"I've been meditating and praying."

"Okay? But that's not the answer I was looking for."

"There are many conflictions in my mind, so I believe the safest thing to do is to continue moving."

"I can't live on the road. Never," Matthew said. "I won't be afraid of what's going on around me."

"If you don't, more lives will be lost."

"Not if you help."

"I cannot."

"Then teach me how to use the power in me and then I will stop the Beast."

"You'll be in danger if you try fighting him."

"I don't care about danger," he said. "If we don't stop him then we may as well join him. God left me here and he sent you. It wasn't by accident that we found each other."

"You know what you're asking of me?"

"I do."

Cereleus thought for a moment. "And you're sure you want to do this? Once we do, there's no going back."

"You say that like I'm going to die."

"People will die, Matthew. They've already been dying. If this is really what you want to go through with then I will teach you. It will take time. You will need patience, so build your energy first, food and rest. Then we'll start."

Matthew nodded as he took the small burlap sack from his pocket and held his cross neckless firmly while looking out the window. There was close to twenty people walking, wrapped in blankets or in thick clothing, gathered in one spot to find warmth in the chill of winter.

"I hate this is happening," Matthew said.

Women, men, young people. All of them were trying their best to enjoy what was left of the daylight sun before it's shine completely vanished.

"At least their smiling," Cereleus said.

"I'm going to talk to them," Matthew started toward the door, but Cereleus wasn't sure that he should.

"You're not afraid of what they might say?"

"They shouldn't hate me for something I didn't do. Plus, you said eat and they might have food."

As Matthew exited the building, the talkative crowd became silent at the sight of him. Seconds of awkward stares and strange looks felt like minutes. He was uncomfortable. Especially, at the moment Cereleus stepped through the door after him. Suddenly, they were no longer silent as the stares turned into whispers without no real words being heard.

"Hi," Matthew spoke.

A young woman peaked from the back of the crowd, her eyes widened at the sight of him.

"It can't be," she said softly.

"Can someone tell me where I can find some food?" the crowd was silent again. "I've only had a bag of chips and water in a few days, so if anyone has something to spare, I—"

"I do," the young woman interrupted as she made her way to the front of the crowd with a ration of bread and a small round canister filled with water. "Here, you can have some of mine."

"Thanks," he smiled lightly.

"Aren't you the one helping that monster?" a tall bald man asked. He walked to the front of the crowd and stared.

Matthew shook his head. "No," he paused. "I didn't mean to."

"It was you!" a shorter man with a deep voice said. "I was there. I saw what you did."

"You're not welcome here!" a woman with short gray hair warned.

"But—" Matthew attempted to speak, but an uproar of yells interrupted him. He couldn't speak over the loud crowd.

"And who do you think you are?" the tall balled man said to Cereleus who stood unmoved. "You two deserved death for what you did."

"It was an accident," Matthew said. "I didn't hurt them on purpose."

He felt horrible. He didn't mean to kill anyone. Never in his life did he believe he would, and now the world won't let him live it down. It ate at him and he was tired of hearing it.

"And are any of you without sin?" Cereleus' strong voice commanded and captivated everyone, making them find silence with their gaze. "Then let them cast the first stone at him."

Everyone was stunned, surprised to hear words from the Bible being spoken aloud in these days.

"Why are you traveling with the boy, stranger?" the tall bald man spurned. "It's absurd that you associate yourself with someone like him when you speak from God's word."

"Do you know him?" Cereleus questioned.

"I know enough."

"You haven't a clue as to who he is and what he will do to help stop the evil that plagues your world."

Matthew felt proud, but he was afraid to show it.

"Please, tell us how," the gray-haired woman had much curiosity as did everyone else.

"He is one of God's prophets."

"Are you all going to really listen to him?" the bald man shunned. "How could he know this information? He could be a follower of the Beast for all we know, trying to trick us to catch us off guard so we can be killed like the rest of them."

"I am not. I assure you."

"Then why are you here? Tell us who you are?" he demanded to know.

"We'd all like to know," the young woman said politely. "Everyone here has been on edge since the Beast showed up and took our homes from us. You can imagine it's hard to trust people we don't know."

Cereleus remembered Matthew's words and he was right. It was time he quit hiding in the shadows and did all he could to stop the Beast. He thought of all the people murdered and tortured. Everyone that was exiled in hiding like these ones before him. They all deserved peace.

"My name is Cereleus," he began. "I am an angel from God's army."

"Sure," the bald man laughed, doubting his words. But he still listened because of his curiosity. "You're no angel. God left us and he damn sure wouldn't allow one to be here."

In that moment, Cereleus' eyes burned like a solar eclipse. His wings extended to his side until the brightness calmed, giving them a tease of his power. The people awed at his sight. They found it hard to believe it was real, but he needed them to believe for Matthew and for their own sake.

"If he has left, then why call his name? Why ask for healing and saving? Our father in heaven has not forsaken you. He has sent help for you all."

"If it is true," the bald man started, uneasy about believing. "Then tell us why he would allow us to go through this? Why are some of us left to endure this life-after-life? All we did was believe."

"Do you have answer for us? The short man pleaded.

"I do not," Cereleus answered. "The reason for what God does is known by him and him only. Even with all the knowledge life has to offer, you won't understand until after death."

The crowd was silent.

"We are not here to harm you, but to help," Cereleus assured.

"I was left here just like all of you," Matthew said. "I'm no different."

Then explain how you killed all of those people at the stadium," the bald man questioned. "And don't lie."

"I told you it was an accident. I have a power that I can't control."

"Then you're a danger to us being here," the short man said.

"I'm trying to control it."

"None of that matters," Cereleus interjected. "He will save you all."

"That is something we all would like to believe. Maybe, no one more than me, but you have to explain what the power was that I saw," the bald man said. "Your eyes. They were filled with light just as your angel friend."

Matthew had no idea how he was going to explain it to them. He knew what the Holy Ghost was, but there was no way he could explain how it was allowing him to use its power.

"I don't know," he answered. "I can only tell you it's because I'm a prophet. I've never done anything like it until recently."

"How many times?" the young girl asked.

"Three. Twice when I was confronted by a man named Jack and then at the stadium. Ever since our loved ones left, I've felt different. Like there's a painless fire burning my bones that won't go out."

"Jack?" the gray-haired woman pondered. "There was a fellow that came here named Jack that spoke with me earlier. Real sweet man. Although, he looked like he'd been through hell."

"He was here?" Matthew looked at Cereleus.

"Is there something wrong?" the woman asked.

"No," he quickly shook his head. "That's my friend. I've been looking for him. Did he tell you anything that may be able to help us find him?"

"I don't recall everything," the woman tried to remember their conversation. "We talked about a woman named Jasmine for most of his time here. When he was leaving, he did mention visiting a friend, but I didn't get a name. I believe he was walking in the direction toward the football stadium." She shook her head. "I don't know why he would do that."

"Cereleus, we have to go. We have to help him," Matthew said and Cereleus nodded.

"If the two of you go into the city you have to be careful," the bald man offered. "The Beast, he lives there in no specific place. He's a monster!" His face cringed from his anger. "When him and his army came to our neighborhood, he burned our homes. He took lives from us and there was nothing we could do. He called himself the alpha and omega and he truly believed he was God."

"We've crossed paths with him and I promise we'll stop him," Matthew said.

The bald man was silent and his eyes closed. He'd thought a lot of his wife and daughter being raptured; he also couldn't stop thinking of the son he lost because of the Beast.

"May God be with you."

Matthew and Cereleus' confidence gave the people hope. They truly believed they would be victorious and the Beast would be removed from his self-made throne. But even though it all sounded promising, the two of them had no idea the danger they were putting themselves in.
Chapter 10

"Concentrate," Cereleus said. "Listen to what the Holy Spirit within' you is saying."

Matthew's training began atop the roof of a nearby building to keep him away from anything that might distraction him. The world below was quiet without cars roaming the streets, but there was a massive amount of souls living that could easily disrupt him.

"The power is in you," he continued. "Allow it to become a part of your body and your mind."

Matthew's eyes were closed as he listened intently on Cereleus' voice, keeping his arms hanging to his sides in an attempt to relax himself. But he couldn't. He chose to stop, knowing he felt no change.

"This isn't working," he complained. "I don't know if I'll be able to control it like you believe I can."

"You will if you stay focused and speak to God with your heart. He will guide you to the Holy Ghost, so the spirit can also guide you."

"I thought the Holy Ghost was inside of me already?"

"It is a part of you, but your soul must meet God's spirit within' for you to connect to it."

"That sounds...Agh!" Matthew paused, feeling another rush of anxiety touch his heart. A tear rolled from his left eye and dropped on the rooftop. "Cereleus!" His eyes started to water. As if it wasn't enough seeing visions of Jack's troubled past, now he was plagued with feeling pain that isn't his.

"Are you okay?"

Matthew looked at Cereleus. "Why every time?"

"I do not know" Cereleus said. "But use each soul, every life the Beast takes as fuel to not stop pursuing the full strength of your power. Hold on to the sadness that envelops you when a life leaves the earth. Think not about stopping the Beast. Think on how precious a life is regardless of if it's righteous or not."

Matthew nodded.

"You are a prophet and you not only came to witness to the world, but to save them. I was not sent here to defeat the evil. I was sent here to help you overcome and conquer the evil that has plagued the lives of so many. Past, present, and future."

Matthew's fist tightened and the building they stood upon started to shake. The sky had a red haze and the sun was still dimmed, leaving the earth cold for as the snow remained.

"Remember, this is not about revenge. This is about saving those that cannot save themselves. You shall lead God's people back to him, one person at a time."

Matthew was completely steady. His fist was no longer clinched and the weight his brow carried, loosened. The muscles in his face calmed and his posture was solid. He was different. His eyes opened and he stared forward. The pupils in each eye whitened, but the iris in each stayed the natural light brown. He was joyed because he was doing it. He became one with God's spirit until his body was overwhelmed and he blacked out.

"Oh, Jackie," Mr. Brunelli pitied as he and the Tooth hurried up the stairs. "He thinks he can just barge through my front door and kill me?"

"He should've minded his own business," the Tooth chuckled, knowing there were fifteen security hires left in the house to stop him.

Jack ducked inside a large kitchen pantry when he heard feet stomping down the stairs and through the halls. Three men entered the kitchen and the first unlucky one made his way toward the pantry. His hand didn't touch the handle before Jack stepped out and sliced his throat with a knife; his body hit the tile as he held his throat.

In a split second, Jack threw the knife into the heart of his next victim and then raced across the room to knock the last hire's gun from his hand before grabbing his mouth. He struggled for a second, but once Jack's hands were on his head, his death was inevitable. In eight seconds all three men were dead.

Jack used to oversee Brunelli's security detail, so he knew the paths they might walk if a threat was ever as close as Jack was. They wouldn't stop looking, but all he had to do was remain silent.

He left the kitchen and into a hall lined with two rooms on both sides. He entered the first door on his left after hearing two hires stepping down the stairs at the end of the hall. Both men checked a door on their respective sides and saw no sign of the man out for revenge. They proceeded to the next set of doors where Jack awaited on the other side. The hire entered the room holding his gun in the ready aim position, searching with his eyes. He only got a few feet inside before the back of his knee was kicked and his neck snapped.

"Joey!"

The remaining hire called out after checking the room across the hall, but he heard nothing. He walked inside to search for Joey and it was quiet. There was no trace of the other, just silence. The room was empty except for the fear that entered his heart as he began thinking of the worst possible outcomes.

"He's gotta be in here," he whispered to himself.

He thought of leaving, but he didn't. The hire was paranoid even though he couldn't see Jack. The moment he walked into the room, he felt uneasy, like he entered a void.

Jack crept slowly and silently behind the hire with his fist halfway clinched. He appeared from almost nowhere out of a dark corner, with blood dripping from his hands. The closer he got to the hire, the more hell entered his heart. It wasn't a good time to be in Jack's way as he walked the path of destruction.

The hire was startled as he turned around thinking Jack was standing there, but he wasn't. Jack moved silently and swiftly with devastation coated on his face as the hire froze in his distress. He felt his presence, unsure what he could do. Even holding the gun in his hand, he knew he was dead when his mouth was grabbed and a knife entered his side three times.

The rest of Mr. Brunelli's protection was on the west end of his estate and Jack got there without problems. The situation didn't smell right to him, but he didn't care because he was a man with nothing to live for. Only revenge would satisfy his thirst.

When he made it to Mr. Brunelli's door, he kicked it in and found him sitting behind an oak table in a leather chair. "I see you made it." Mr. Brunelli said to Jack. "It's a shame you came all this way to die."

Jack didn't hide his frustration, anger or resentment. Every emotion he felt looking at the man that sat before him was seen on his face. He had no words for him, just a bullet. Jack stepped closer, holding his K-22 revolver with the barrel pointed at Mr. Brunelli's head and then pulled the trigger. The bullet barely missed. Only scraping the side of his former father figure's head because the Tooth shot him in the leg.

His eyes widened and fire filled them when he locked on the Tooth, but he did nothing. The Tooth released a second shot into his stomach, bringing him crashing to the floor in pain. He only made a grunt, still refusing to speak. The Tooth walked to Jack and kicked his head. Mr. Brunelli stood from his seat and went to the front of his desk, leaned on it and held a handkerchief to his new wound.

"Jackie," Mr. Brunelli started. "Why couldn't you leave well enough alone? You killed so many of my men, and in my house! Why? For some broad?"

"Doesn't look like he wants to talk to us. I think we hurt his feelings," the Tooth mocked.

"It really saddens me that all of this could've been avoided if Jasmine had left like I told her. All I wanted you to stay a part of my family." Mr. Brunelli walked away, no longer choosing to waste his breath. "Kill him."

Matthew awoke with tears welded in his eyes after his sudden black out. His vision was blurred and he couldn't make out where he was, but he knew he was no longer on the rooftop by the edge of the city.

"It's still happening!" he exclaimed. Matthew was more concerned with what he saw in his vision than where he was. "I think I'm still connected with Jack."

"It may remain that way," Cereleus said.

"But I almost died trying to help him."

"I'm sorry," he wasn't sure what else to say.

"I saw how he died, Cereleus."

"It was only a matter of time," he paused. "I'd take it away if I could take it away I would."

"Why can't you?"

"I don't know. I tried with the seizure, but nothing. I'm unable to help you, Matthew."

Matthew frowned and Cereleus became concerned.

"What's wrong?"

Matthew waited before he answered. "Everything. Can't you see?"

"Things that happen are a step toward the end of it all."

"Stop talking cryptic. Things you say should not sound like reading the Bible. What will it take for this nightmare to be over?"

"We have to end the evil in this world."

"The Beast, and then what?" Matthew questioned. "What happens after that?"

"There will be more. It only starts with the Beast and the locus."

"So, it never ends?" Matthew wept. "I don't know if I can do it, Cereleus. There's too much going to happen and there are so many people depending on me rather they know it or not. God shouldn't have chosen me."

"Then you won't come to the stadium with me?"

"The stadium?"

"Yes."

Matthew was in shock. He didn't feel good about confronting the Beast anymore. All he wanted to do was live his life as best he could until he died. Nothing more. Then he remembered his promise to the people earlier. He told them he'd stop the Beast. He had to. According to Cereleus, if he didn't then all hope was lost.

"Do you believe I can?"

"I believe the Holy Ghost will take care of everything. There's no doubt in my mind that we will be victorious."

Cereleus looked at Matthew strange.

"Something else on your mind?"

"It's about last night. I thought I was imagining things, but I saw the rapture again. It was like I relived it. Do you think it could've been a memory from before?"

"It had to be," Cereleus stated. "There's nothing in the book that says it will happen a second time."

"But people call it the second coming of Christ. How do you know he won't come again?"

"Don't scare yourself, Matthew. All things will remain as they are. Nothing will come again."

"What about the dream? Don't you think it's strange that I saw myself?"

"No. It's not unusual to see yourself in a dream."

"But this was unusual," Matthew said. "I was raptured and somehow I was also left behind, like there were two of me."

"How come you're deciding to tell me now?"

"Because I thought I could figure it out on my own, but the more I thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. It made me think I wasn't supposed to know. But—" Matthew paused after Cereleus' attention went elsewhere. "What is it?" he asked as he hurried to the window.

A fog had blanketed the entire city. He had to know if people were safe outside. The two of them left to the roof top and heard the quiet city, while a dark void filled the pit of his stomach the longer he looked toward the stadium. Something was happening and Cereleus felt it too.

"Are you coming with me?"

Matthew was reluctant, but he nodded his head anyhow.

"You'll be okay," Cereleus comforted. "Trust me."

He gave Matthew his hand and he took it. Right then, Cereleus outstretched his wings and flew them in that direction
Chapter 11

They landed in the middle of the field and it was quiet. The fog was dark and dense, layers of it cast over the blackened sky. The sound of thunder and lightning decorated the atmosphere for seconds at a time, leaving the earth to rumble as the light revealed the locus on the field.

Of course, the Beast wasn't alone when they found him. That's precisely why Cereleus stepped out front, ready to shield Matthew from the locus with every turn in all directions. But they didn't attack right then. They stood there, making themselves like lawn ornaments with faces of statues as the Beast stood inside the skybox looking over the field. Cereleus' fixed his gaze on him and said nothing. He didn't need to because his expression told the Beast that he was done playing games.

Matthew, on the other hand, he wasn't ready to fight. He still didn't believe he could stop the Beast or the locus. It was only one time that he focused and used the power of the Holy Ghost inside, but that wasn't enough to understand how to control it. All it did was cause him to pass out for a few hours after feeling the worst pain he's felt in life.

"Run!" Cereleus said, but Matthew hesitated.

The locus prepared their assault and then ten locus threw their bodies toward him, coming from separate directions.

"I said run!" he commanded this time. "Now!"

The locus assailed them and Cereleus extended his hand forward. His fingers spread and he released a powerful gust of wind that propelled the twenty locus into the stadium seats. He hovered over the field, using his wings for one giant thrust backwards before doing the same hand technique to push the rest of the locus away. His feet slid across the snow-covered grass until coming to an immediate stop.

The screeching roar of the locus echoed through the stadium and into a large vicinity of the city. Pedestrians outside the stadium shook in fear after hearing the sound, choosing to run into their homes and hide so they didn't die.

But Cereleus was unmoved. He held his ground during the head-on attack and they couldn't touch him. One after the other, he moved around them, spinning and stepping side to side, removing limbs or cutting into each locus with his sword. He was moving more swiftly. His feet appeared as though they slid on ice and yet he could still change directions with a thought.

On one last spin, his sword vanished from his hand and he sprang from the ground, using his wings to propel himself into the sky. The Beast only observed, but each passing second, he wanted to get involved. The only reason he didn't was because he admired the persistence of the angel, especially, his will to fight.

Every locus at the stadium took flight behind Cereleus. They filled the air, casting darkness over the field as they chased him into the deepness of the sky and above the clouds; into the exosphere. Cereleus didn't plan to stop. He thought about leading them away, but he didn't. Instead, he used his wings to help stop his momentum and face them.

The locus continued their charge, no matter how many of their brethren died at his hand. Some tried biting him, while others reached for a part of his body to no avail as he dodged every attack. He was playing the defensive side and for his own reason, he wasn't fighting back. Suddenly, he nosedived toward the field and made them follow.

The Beast was amused at the angel's attempt to shake the locus. That is, until he realized he wasn't trying to lose them. He was leading them in his direction and they weren't slowing down. His eyes widened, but he was never afraid.

"You wouldn't?" he questioned, wondering if the angel would pile himself in the skybox for a chance to hurt or possibly kill him.

Within' seconds, Cereleus neared the large window and suddenly he was gone. The Beast slowly back peddled and lifted his hands to block some of the impact and the locus broke through the glass. He had no hope of escape, but as soon as they would hit him, the Beast clinched his fist and they all stopped in their tracks.

"You're dead for that, angel!" the Beast bellowed, watching intently as the locus pursued Cereleus. In seconds, more swarmed from out of the city and over the stadium walls. They surrounded him around and above.

Cereleus had no way out, but he never stopped fighting. A handful was killed with a breathtaking motion, slicing off their legs off and sending them crashing into the snow. His blinding speed was too much as he cut through more with ease. All at once, the locus sped toward Cereleus, who waited calmly for them to reach him. His stance, his posture was sold. There was no way his focus could have been broken. All he wanted to do was stop the Beast. The torture, the demented mind he had. He planned to put an end to the evil once and for all.

Matthew was out of breath when he entered the stadium hall, moving as far away from the field as possible without leaving Cereleus completely alone. He wished there was something he could do. He prayed, he spoke to God, but he wasn't sure if he was hearing a solution back. He thought something was wrong, now, believing he was alone just as the Bible said life after the rapture would be.

Then he became joyed as the Holy Ghost was stirring up inside of him. He was anxious and his bones felt like a burning fire looking to consume him. The fire soothed his flesh, its power never pained him.

"What am I doing?" Matthew asked himself. This was all new to him. He'd never been in a fight, so of course he didn't know how to act during a battle. "God, tell me what to do. How can I help?" He leaned his back against the cement wall and closed his eyes to concentrate.

The Beast had a devious smirk on his face. He knew Cereleus was going to die this day. He knew Matthew would have no choice, but to join him and help build his army larger. It was only time that was sitting between him and gaining full control of the earth, so he was in no rush.

The locus swarmed and Cereleus forced them all back with a strong wind from his hands. He did it again and again and then he finally drew his sword when he had enough space. There was many locus, but Cereleus wasn't going to give up without at least trying to fight. Matthew's safety, his life, his future depended on him, no matter if he was almost defeated during their first encounter.

Cereleus fought as best he could. He used all his power, all of his energy and for every few he returned to dust, he received a punishing blow to his body. The locus punched him, bit him, kicked him, stung him and struck him with their tails. He grew tired. The only good news was that he was able to take out a large number of them, while breaking pieces of the Beast's colosseum stadium. He began losing.

The Beast watched with joy. Everything was going as he'd hoped involving another run in with the angel. He couldn't be happier as he walked to the field with a smile on his face.

"God, are you here?" Matthew cried out. "You came to me before. You sent help before, so I need you to send more." He started to walk, unaware that he was walking the hallway back toward the field. "I'm afraid because Cereleus can't win. I've seen him be defeated. I've already seen it all and there's nothing I can do to change it, but I know you can."

Matthew stepped out of the hallway and onto the field. He watched while one of the huge locus had Cereleus' head gripped in its hand. It wanted to crush him. Everything living, the locus saw as death to come. There was no compassion, no regard for life itself. It was only blood. Only a void. Nothing except darkness.

The Beast was on the field and he held his hand up in a closed fist. Every locus relaxed and many landed their hoofs on the ground. He walked to the beaten and battered angel who was in pain.

"I told you, angel. This time, this life is mine. I control the creatures and the fowl of the earth. God left and now I'm the alpha and the omega," the Beast gazed only inches from Cereleus' eyes and chuckled. "Without God, not a human or angel can stop me. I am forever!"

The Beast's attention was drawn away after hearing a voice. He was hearing prayer and he didn't like it.

"Ah, Matthew," his voice and laugh was dark. "How good of you to join us."

The Beast began his walk toward Matthew whose prayer grew louder. He repeated the same thing.

"Jesus, you are here. Jesus, you are with me." Again, and again he spoke those words and his pupils changed white. He wasn't aware of the change, but as soon as he left from where he stood, his eyes returned to normal. He broke into a sprint because the Beast was chasing him, catching Matthew ten feet inside the cement made tunnel entrance.

"Come, watch your friend leave from this earth."

Matthew punched his jaw and attempted to run again, but the Beast felt nothing. He struggled and fought with all his strength, although, it was no use while the Beast pulled his arm.

"Let me go!" Matthew ordered. "Stop!"

"It's no use to struggle. You can't win."

Matthew was about to be pulled to the front of the entrance when suddenly the Beast was grabbed by his throat and forcibly slammed against the cement wall. Cracks formed behind the rear of his head and back on impact and Matthew was shocked when his eyes came to focus. Jack had his right forearm pressed against the Beast's neck, holding a long knife less than an inch from his eye. The Beast restrained Jack's inhuman strength, even with his forearm wedged against his throat to keep the knife from entering his head but the Beast chuckled with urgency and confidence.

"You can't beat me!" "he said.

Jack was silent. He always was, just as he's never been seen when killing someone; these were his two rules. It wasn't until Mr. Brunelli's betrayal that he broke one. He believed most people didn't deserve to see or hear their killer, but this was of course different. The Beast was the definition of the fowl of the earth and Jack wanted to make sure he was looking into his eyes, so the monster could see the burning desire he had to take his life.

"Oh, right," the Beast taunted. "Your vow of silence is pathetic. It's laughable."

Jack cut off his left ear because of the ridiculous smirk his mouth formed, forcing the Beast to cringe with pain. He slit multiple cuts on his face and began carving a three on his forehead with the tip of a knife. Jack loved the idea of the antichrist sporting a scar representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but as the knife cut into his flesh, the Beast erupted.

He roared, gathering the attention of Cereleus, Matthew, and Jack. The sound of the bones in his legs crunching warned Jack and he decided to attack immediately, noticing the Beast was transforming.

Jack stabbed the monster's body numerous times, causing him to roar once again, but he healed quickly. Jack ducked one of his swings and moved behind him to wrapp his arms around his neck. He squeezed with all his might, but his neck had thickened. His height grew an inch every ten seconds. One inch, two, three, four, five. He wasn't finished. The Beast was standing eight inches over ten feet and his mass had widened also. Jack was being carried on his back while he stumbled near the sideline of the field.

The Beast's transformation neared completion when his eyes caught a glimpse of Matthew, but for some reason he became frightened. He roared, trying to shake Jack off, but his grip was too tight.

"No!" The monstrous sound left his mouth as he noticed every locus fly away. Cereleus was free, but he lay in the snow, injured.

He looked toward Matthew again and fear tried its best to trample him. He wasn't alone. A shadow stood behind the prophet. A dark shadow with the shape of a man. Cereleus saw it too and he couldn't believe his eyes.

Matthew had no idea of the presence behind him. He only saw the fear in the Beast. The longer the monster looked at the figure, the less he fought the strength of Jack tugging at his neck. He knew who it was. He couldn't believe he was there. There was no reason for the Morning Star, Lucifer, himself to be standing with Matthew.

"Go away!" the Beast bellowed, but only Cereleus knew who he was talking to. Matthew and Jack assumed he was talking to them.

"Brother," Cereleus said and Matthew looked at him strangely and then turned around. Nothing was there. Now, Matthew was shaking and the only person who didn't care was Jack.

Jack felt the Beast giving up, so he continued to squeeze the lump in his throat. He yelled, pulling the front and back of his head in two separate directions until it released a thunderous sound into the stadium seats. It was a relief, but it was too good to be true. The Beast was still standing, paying no attention to Cereleus, Jack or Matthew. He was still focused on Lucifer, who decided to place words in his mind.

"Never believe you're greater than me," he said.

"I'll come for you!" The Beast yelled. "I'll find a way to find you."

Lucifer smirked and then looked to Cereleus. "The demon can't kill him. You do it."

Cereleus shook his head.

"Do it brother," Lucifer continued. "Put your sword through his heart or many will die."

And like that, the Morning Star was gone. Cereleus' forehead creased as his brother vanished. He looked at Matthew; he was shaking. Then at Jack. There was no way he could kill the Beast without killing Jack. He was in the way, but if he let go the Beast would be free again.

Jack held on with one arm and stabbed the Beast in the head. It didn't faze him. Blood didn't even flow from his stab wounds.

"Cereleus!" Matthew called.

Immediately, Cereleus flew at him and sliced the back of his knees. This brought him down, but the Beast held himself up with one hand. He roared again. Now, Jack was trying to break his neck for a second time. He squeezed until veins bulged from his forehead, but nothing.

Again, he roared and that's when Jack grabbed the top and bottom of his mouth. His biceps flexed to their max and he felt them cramping.

"Angel, help," Jack called as he stabbed one of his eyes.

There was no hesitation. Cereleus jumped, but the Beast swung wildly and knocked him against the wall next to Matthew. It was Jack's turn next. He grabbed hold of him and tossed his body, only to feel more pain because Jack had a firm grip on the knife wedged in his eye.

The Beast's roar was now mixed with a man's scream and Cereleus flew to him. The monster wasn't changing back, but he was definitely hurt, maybe close to death.

"You can't win," Cereleus said as the Beast continued looking toward the ground, breathing through his clinched teeth.

"Don't touch," Jack said. "He's mine."

At this point, Cereleus didn't care what Lucifer said. The Beast was already defeated and he didn't believe otherwise until he was grabbed and felt his wings being pulled, seeing Jack tossed from his back during the quick movement.

Matthew was still watching from the side. He was frightened. Especially, after remembering the story about Lucifer ripping the three angel's wings off. If he could do it, why couldn't the Beast?

"Are you confident now?" the Beast questioned. "Stop!" He commanded, now looking at Jack walking toward him. "Come closer and your friend dies."

Jack didn't stop. He sprinted the twelve-foot distance between the two of them, until Cereleus' body struck him during his lunge.

The Beast threw the angel and was now looking at Matthew.

"Prophet," he ran on all fours in his direction and Cereleus flew toward him, only to be knocked away again. The Beast's pursuit didn't stop until he reached Matthew with his mouth spread wide. He just wanted him dead. He was finished taking chances trying to recruit him. There would be no more of that.

In that moment, Cereleus pawned himself in front of the Beast and held his open mouth. Then Jack arrived, wrapping his arms around his thick neck. Cereleus pulled the Beast's mouth apart while Jack squeezed, hearing his throat crack again.

The Beast was slowing down and finally, he lost consciousness. His heart stopped beating and his limb and brain activity ceased. He was dead. There was no doubt about it as he crashed into the ground with Jack attached to his back still.

Cereleus let go and Jack did he same, breathing heavily, unlike the Beast. Five seconds, ten, twenty passed and they knew the antichrist was dead. Cereleus and Jack caught each other's gaze for a short time until Jack decided it was time to leave. He wasn't much for conversation anyway.

Matthew was held up in the tunnel with a soft smile and eventually met the angel on the field. "What now?"

"You need to rest," Cereleus said. "Then we shall talk about what is next." He looked for Jack, but he was already gone, telling Cereleus he had unfinished business to take care of. "It was because of him. The unexpected happened. He told me he only needed to get close enough and he would stop him. He did."

"Wait, did I miss something?" Matthew asked laughing at the thought. An angel and demon working together to defeat the antichrist. "So, where did he go?"

"Home."

Matthew pondered what he would do there. Everyone he knew was dead long ago. Nothing was left there for him, but it wasn't his decision to make, it was Jack's.

"You think It'll be strange without him around?"

"No, and besides. He did say he'll be back. He promised."

Matthew thought about how his life took a huge turn in such a short period time, but something bothered him. Something Cereleus said.

"Is something worse is coming, right?"

Cereleus nodded. "That is why we must use our time wisely. You have to be ready next time. Both of us do. We'll need all the help we can get when the four of them come."

"Who?"

###END###

