The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (85 page)

There was a brief moment of silence.

‘You’re still a Christian?’ his father asked.

‘I...I am,’ Andrew answered. There was no standing
down, and no turning back. There was no denying the Son.

‘Are you insane boy? Don’t you know what will happen if
they find out...
when
they find out?’

‘I do,’ Andrew said. ‘But for me, death is only the
beginning.’

‘You are a fool, Andrew Parker!’

‘We all make our own beds, Father,’ Andrew said.

‘But are you willing to sleep in it?’

‘I am,’ Andrew said with certain finality in his voice.

‘So be it then,’ his father said. ‘I will tell mom that
you say goodbye.’

‘I love you, Dad...’

‘Goodbye Andrew.’

The line went dead and Andrew kept the phone to his ear
for another minute before hanging up. He stumbled through the hallway to his
room and fell down on his bed. He started weeping and didn’t stop until he
finally fell asleep.

- - -*  *  *- -
-

The man held his hand on the
receiver and closed his eyes. He had never thought that he would have to do
something like this, but he knew that it was the right thing to do. He picked
up the handset and dialled a number. After a few rings, someone answered.

‘Hello?’ he asked. ‘Is this N-Force?’

The person on the other end confirmed.

‘Good,’ Trevor said. ‘I would like to report a
Christian terrorist.’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

The sirens were so sudden and loud,
that most people in Jerusalem didn’t know what hit them until the spotlights
were on them. Many didn’t even have time to properly dress before the N-Force
officers burst into their homes.

‘What’s going on?’ the man asked as the N-Force
officers entered his home and shone a spotlight on his face. He had to hold his
arm out in front of his eyes to block the blinding light. ‘Who are you people?’
he asked, but the only answer he received was the butt of a machine gun to his
face. He fell to the ground and felt kicks to his ribs and back.

In the background he could hear his wife and baby son
screaming as they were escorted out of the house by the yelling soldiers.

The man tried to get up but was kicked again before
being violently pulled up by two soldiers. They dragged him outside where other
confused and vulnerable families were also gathered.

‘You have all been found guilty of treason against the
Empire,’ an N-Force officer shouted into a megaphone. ‘And for that, you will
all be taken to a nearby detainment camp for your hearing.’

The men and women were individually lined up and
stripped of their clothing. The children and babies were forced into a separate
truck and mothers could only cry as the truck sped off, transporting their
children to some unknown destination.

One woman ran after the truck, but machine-gun-fire
mowed her down quickly.

‘Let this be a warning to the rest of you,’ the N-Force
officer warned. ‘Stay in line, or you will be executed.’

‘This is insane!’ one of the men shouted and jerked
himself free from those who were holding him. ‘I refuse to be treated as a
criminal for something that I didn’t—’

He never finished the sentence.

Some of the women shrieked as his lifeless body fell to
the ground. The officer holstered his pistol and turned to the remaining
people. ‘It was not a request,’ he said. ‘It was a command.’

He then turned to another N-Force officer and nodded.
The officer disappeared behind a truck, and a few moments later came back
carrying a box. He dropped the box in front of the people and intentionally
spilled some of its contents.

‘Nail these horseshoes to their feet,’ the ranking
officer said to his men. ‘And march them to the detainment camps.’

The officers saluted and then began executing their
instructions.

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘I simply cannot allow our people
to be treated like this,’ Timothy shouted and slammed his fist on the meeting
table.

‘I understand, Alpha,’ Benny said, ‘but if we dare make
a move now, it could implicate our position and the lives of the people we’re
harbouring.’

Timothy calmed down and lowered his head. ‘I...I feel
so useless. I just cannot stand there and watch that...that monster do this to
them. They deserve a fighting chance.’

‘You are right, Timothy, but we have to keep our heads
screwed on right, lest we fall prey to N-Force.’

Timothy nodded. He took his seat at the table. He was
grateful that the Lord allowed someone of Benny’s calibre to join their team.
The two of them had become good friends since they first met.

‘God prepared me for this role,’ he said, ‘and I will
fulfil it.’

‘You will fulfil it, Alpha,’ Benny said, ‘but all in
due time.’

‘Not yet,’ Timothy said as a plan formulated in his
head. ‘But in due time...’

- - -*  *  *- -
-

Thousands upon thousands of people
streamed to the newly built Coliseum in Al Jalil. The atmosphere was festive
and vibrant and roadside stalls occupied the sidewalks a few blocks in each
direction. A marching band played as clowns on stilts entertained children and
parents alike.

Entering the Coliseum required a quick scan of the
Shield, and those without the Shield were quickly escorted to a room obscured
from public view.

The structure itself was colossal: a full six storeys
of seats, each storey able to contain up to ten thousand people. The seats were
filled quickly, and people almost fell to their deaths when Victor himself
showed up. The crowd shouted and cheered. Teenage girls cried and held their
hands out toward him.

‘This is, to say the least, impressive,’ Antonio said
as he escorted Victor to the podium.

‘It is,’ Victor said and waved to a group of women
screaming for his attention. One fainted when he smiled at her.

A hush fell over the crowd as he stepped up to the
podium. Somewhere in the distance a woman screamed, ‘I love you, Victor,’ and a
few people chuckled. Victor smiled and tapped the microphone lightly to confirm
the feed.

‘It is a great day for the Empire,’ he said and the
people cheered. When they calmed down again, he continued: ‘Leaders from all
over the world have joined us today to witness three major events in history:
the merging of the African Union with the European Empire, my coronation as
Sovereign Emperor, and of course, the return of the Gladiator Arena.’

The people cheered and clapped. It took a while before
they calmed down again.

‘Snacks will be handed out to those who wish to have
something to nibble on,’ Victor said. ‘They’re quite tasty, I can assure you.’

People in the crowd chuckled.

‘I would like you all to have fun today,’ Victor said
and raised his hands. ‘
Let the ceremony commence!
’

The six storeys cheered as one and all stood up,
clapping, shouting, and stomping their feet as they displayed their visible and
audible approval of their God.

Uniformed waiters walked through the people with gold
and porcelain trays, handing out elaborately cooked delicacies to the
spectators. The people thoroughly enjoyed the tasty bits, but might have felt
distinctly queasier if they had known the origins of the morsels served to
them.

Shortly after, Pope Alexander IX delivered a powerful
speech, and placed a crown of pure gold on Victor’s head. He also handed him a
golden sceptre decorated with some of the world’s most expensive diamonds and
other precious stones. He then kissed Victor’s hand and knelt down before him.
Everyone in the crowd knelt down too. After a short prayer to Victor, Antonio
stood up and pointed to him. ‘All hail your God and Sovereign Emperor,’ he
cried out.

All Hail!
The sixty thousand people cheered as one.

The coronation was followed by signing of documents
from every President and leader on the African continent, after which, a
commentator took the microphone and shouted, ‘Let the games begin!’

The crowd cheered as doors on the arena floor opened
up, and a few frightened Jewish men and women were led to the centre of the
arena. Some of the men and women were severely beaten, and all were shackled.
Two of the women were carrying babies in their arms.

The cheering died down, but when the lions were released,
the crowd exploded into applause. Some swore at the Jewish prisoners, while
others placed bets on who would be the first—or last—to die.

The seven lions surrounded the huddled men and women,
and then moved in for the kill. The crowd loved it and cheered as the men,
women, and babies fell victim to the merciless predators.

Five more rounds like this continued and then the
announcer declared a ‘special’ event.

‘Those who tried to enter here today without the
Shield,’ he shouted into the microphone, ‘will now be made examples of.’

The crowd cheered as men and women were led to the
centre of the Arena. They were tied to one another on their left and right hand
sides, and when the lions were released, the spectators cheered and laughed as
these people tried to get away as one unity. They fell over one another,
pulling down others with them.

The lions showed no mercy, and neither did the crowd.
Their cheers drowned out the screams of those being mauled by the animals.

After the events, the people were dismissed. Everyone
left for their homes, talking excitedly about some of the deaths that they had
seen. Some bought videos and DVDs of the day’s events. Others bought t-shirts.
Some bought ‘victim burgers.’

All in all, everyone had a good day.

- - -*  *  *- -
-

‘They what?’

‘They killed them, Mary.
All of them!
’

Mary couldn’t believe the news that her husband was
relaying to her. She sat down. Her eyes darted about nervously. ‘How? Why?’

Malcolm took his wife and held her tightly. ‘Why,
Malcolm?’ she cried. ‘Why them? What did they do to deserve that?’

‘They didn’t do anything wrong, Mary,’ he said softly.
‘But this is how Satan is to rule the last few years.’

‘But there were babies,’ she said through her sobs.
‘Innocent little children.’

‘I know,’ Malcolm said. He felt powerless. Tears
brimmed in his eyes as he held his wife even tighter. ‘I’m...I’m just glad that
Angie doesn’t have to go through this.’

‘Me too,’ she said, and then pushed herself away. She
wiped the tears from her eyes. ‘But those were other people’s Angie’s. It’s not
fair.’

‘It’s the times that we live in, my love. We have been
warned, but we chose to ignore the warning.’ He tried his best to sound
reassuring, but he knew that he only fooled himself.

‘Then I have to go to those in danger and warn them
before they meet the same fate,’ Mary said after she composed herself.

Malcolm didn’t understand. ‘Where do you want to go to,
Mary?’

‘To Al Jalil,’ she said. ‘I have to warn Nasreen and
Kassim.’

‘You cannot do that,’ Malcolm said louder than he had
intended to. He lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘It’s suicide, and you know
that! You will surely die.’

‘We’re already dead,’ she said, her expression showing
that she had already made up her mind. ‘And if I don’t go, many others will die
too. I have to warn them; lead those to Christ that can still be won.’

‘I refuse!’ Malcolm said, trying to make his voice
sound as authoritative as he could manage. ‘You will
not
go!’

‘My love,’ she said, her voice soft and calm. ‘Don’t
you see? I’m not doing this because I want to, but because I
have
to.’

‘No,’ he protested. ‘I refuse! Let someone else go.’

‘You know as well as I do that there is no one else.’

Malcolm couldn’t answer. He opened his mouth to say
something, but choked. ‘I...I don’t want to lose you, Mary...’

His wife embraced him lovingly. ‘You won’t lose me, my
dearest husband. I will be back shortly, and if not, I will surely see you in
just over three years, next to our son, daughter, and our loving Lord, Jesus
Christ.’

‘Don’t go...’ he pleaded, but he already knew in his
heart that this was something the Lord had called her to do. ‘Please...’

‘I love you, and I always will,’ she said, ‘but this is
something that is bigger than both of us. This is something that I’m doing
because
of my love for you. I have to go. Please don’t hold it against me.’