Pursuit of the Zodiacs (23 page)

Jedediah said, “Levi, who is this man who speaks?”

Cancer interrupted, “My name is Cancer and I am one of the remaining Zodiacs. And I must say, for an Angel, you’re an asshole.”

In disbelief, Levi and Zodeen’s eyes met. They did not know what shocked Jedediah more, Cancer’s lack of respect, or him being a Zodiac. Jedediah dropped the recording device.

Jedediah asked, “What is this? You must want your tongue ripped from your throat, Zodiac. Levi, why is he not dead?”

Before Levi could answer, Jedediah jolted from his Chariot towards Cancer. But Zodeen and Simeon subdued him.

Jedediah yelled, “Unhand me! You three have defied our Father’s order! What is going on here?”

“Sorry, Brother. We cannot allow infighting within our group,” Levi insisted.

Jedediah replied, “Infighting? Infighting?”

“Yes, he is with us. With his aid, we can bring balance to our campaign.” Zodeen said.

“Ridiculous! I will speak to you three privately,” Jedediah said while walking off.

Levi spoke to Cancer. “My apologies, we will share words with our confused Brother.”

They left Cancer and took flight towards a great mountain near the exit of the Dimension to continue their argument in private.

Jedediah said, “This is an abomination! He will not accept this alliance. It’s against his commands.”

Zodeen responded, “His or yours, Brother?”

Jedediah warned, “Watch your tongue, Zodeen, or I’ll—”

“Or you’ll what? Jedediah, you need to calm down. It’s bad enough you disagree with us in front of the Zodiac. Is this any way to speak to your Brothers? This is, if anything, a blessing and an advantage,” Levi said.

Jedediah replied, “I’m trying to avoid the day when you realize how much of a mistake this is. And it’ll be too late to fix it when your little plan backfires. This is too important for me to overlook. You are jeopardizing everything! Where is Natenal? Does he know what’s happening here?”

Zodeen answered, “Fortunately, he is not here to witness your complaints.”

Jedediah commented, “Go ahead and joke. Your lack of thinking will, in time, cost us all.”

Simeon responded, “An opinion, not a certainty, I hear.”

Levi said, “You have no idea what it’s like here and what we’ve been through. Therefore, we will seize whatever advantage we come across. We haven’t much of a choice.”

Jedediah said, “It seems there is no room for compromise. I will settle this in my own manner.”

Jedediah looked upon them one last time before departing.

Levi called after Jedediah. “Brother, explain your meaning.”

Jedediah kept moving, and departed with no reply.

The others headed back only to see a display of disappointment on Cancer’s face.

Zodeen asked, “What troubles you?”

Cancer answered, “Secret meetings to discuss whether or not it’s a good idea to keep me alive is not what I call a good start to an alliance, Brother. Even though I don’t like that asshole, I must agree with his concept. Maybe he’s right. I’m better off returning to Africa and reclaiming my role as an outcast. At least there, I have the relief of actually seeing my enemies coming. My rationale for joining your campaign was to find out the true history behind the descendants of the Fallen ones and to
relinquish the threat of those you said would do harm to me and my people. It seems though, in the end, I have no friends.”

Levi replied, “You are a Fallen because your ancestors before you disobeyed God and were cast out along with Lucifer. But you are nothing like them. I see it in you, Brother, or else we would not be sharing words right now. Your new calling is to warn the others of Lucifer’s agenda and lead them away from darkness. These words would be more credible if they came from another Zodiac. Pay Jedediah no mind. After his senses have settled, he’ll come to terms with our judgment and stay clear of our advances. You have our loyalty; and in return, it makes us blood. And blood is important in all things.”

Adam said, “The Devil approaches!”

They parted ways as Emim limped in their direction. Emim gave chase towards Abdeen through the pillars of the stables hoping to block his route.

Abdeen left fire trails behind him using his Super Sword. It slowed Emim down. He hurdled over the fire, struggling with his current injuries.

Capitalizing on the distracted Giant, Adam roared through the flames and drove his sword through Emim’s ribcage. Grimacing in pain, Emim crashed through another wall of the burning stables. Adam fell back to release the caged horses neighing in distress before the flames fully engulfed the whole stable.

Abdeen charged a fleeing Emim. In desperation, the Giant knocked Abdeen across the field with one hand, all the while trying desperately to contain his entrails with the other.

Adam yelled at Emim, “You are finished, Demon.”

His wounds were too great. He felt his body failing. Emim slumped down helplessly and hopelessly by the side of a great tree and watched as Adam approached, sword drawn.

Emim spoke with more bravado than he actually felt. “We will meet again in the Afterlife. That is where I will quench my thirst with your blood.”

Adam replied, “Never. You will walk in your own darkness seeking the blood of man, but your thirst will never be quenched. That shall be your eternal torment, Devil.”

Adam thrust his sword through the beast’s throat. The sword went clear through Emim’s neck and embedded it into the great tree’s foundation.

Adam shouted to the wind, “Rise from your exile! Emim’s days of terror are at an end.”

While Adam checked on the well-being of Abdeen, natives appeared from around trees, behind rocks and across fields.

The whole town gathered. They felt the presence of joy overwhelming the place. They cleared a path for the two heroes to pass. Communities that lost loved ones to the beast spat upon its corpse. They paraded Emim’s head through the streets in celebration.

Adam said, “Come, Brother, let’s break bread together and drink to a victorious day!”

“My apologies, but I must take my leave. Prior to being sidetracked on this Planet, I had my own mission to fufill,” Abdeen said.

Adam said, “Understood. I will make sure you have a safe passage, friend. We will leave at Sunrise. I know the way to a Dimension East from here, but it opens only at certain periods.”

Abdeen waited. “In that case, we will share bread and libations.”

Adam replied, “That’s it, Brother.”

They continued their night as heroes. The whole town wiled the night away with music, food and wine. Abdeen spotted the little Giant boy Aaron and his Mother. She sat down and placed Aaron on her lap. Both enjoyed the music.

Aaron shouted with joy when he saw Abdeen. “There he is, Mother. That’s my friend, Abdeen.”

She looked at him in a more pleasing manner, completely opposite from when they had first met.

Abdeen spoke, “My apologies about the broom and the dog. It was a complete misunderstanding.”

She answered, “You may call me Trulia. And worry not. Because of you and Adam, we can rest in peace around these parts again. We are all indebted to you.”

Abdeen answered, “Do not thank me. Thank God. He is the one who deserves all gratitude. May you and your Son live long and well. I’m grateful to have been of service.”

He left the enjoyments of the festivities and took a walk to clear his head from all the wine. As he walked, he prayed, but heard yelling and struggling coming from a familiar voice.

“Ohhh, oh yeah! Errr! Humph!”

Adam seemed to be in some sort of trouble. With the noise muffled due to the celebration, Abdeen rushed to his Brother’s aid towards a secluded part of the woods. He saw Adam thrusting himself into one of the Nephilim natives. Her hands bound to a tree with the assistance of his Supernatural Carpet. Three times his size, she smiled and moaned at his hard effort to please her. Abdeen quietly made his exit undetected, but couldn’t help but notice a seal on Adam’s back. It depicted a five-pointed star, bearing Lucifer’s insignia. But his insignia was crossed out and hardly visible, as if Adam himself tried to remove it.

Abdeen spoke to himself, “He has the mark of the Dark Covenant. He works for Lucifer? How is that possible?”

SHILOH’S DREAM

“Doctor! We need your help!”

“He’s dead! But we have a nurse here!”

Due to misguided coordinates, a small team of U.S. soldiers broke into an abandoned church, trapped there by heavy German gunfire during the Second World War.

The Sergeant said, “We did everything right. The craft should be here!” He yelled orders to his troops, “Quick! Cover all of the entrances and windows, and barricade that damn door!”

The church’s foundation was within minutes of collapsing. A rocket launcher discharged, punishing the church’s front foundation and causing debris to rain down upon everyone in the vicinity.

A soldier commented, “This church can’t take much more of those. We have to shoot our way out of here before it comes down on us all.”

“Hey, you! Don’t worry about him. He’s dead. Come over here and help this soldier.”

Shiloh, forced to leave her dead mentor’s side, hoped all of her training paid off. She switched her aid to a gunshot victim bleeding profusely on the ruins of the church floor. She applied pressure to the wound as bullets whizzed only a few feet above her. The men held back their oppressors for a short period.

“Tanks are approaching from over the hill. We need to move! Through the back exit, everybody.”

The Sergeant gave his last order before a sniper’s bullet tore off a good section of his skull.

The group exited the back of the church.

“It’s now or never, people.” Shiloh took the wounded soldier’s pistol as she helped him up. Tanks riddled the church as they gunned their way out. One-by-one on each side, soldiers on both sides of the battle line fell dead. Shiloh saw an exit from the chaos through a back alley of the church.

In the light of dawn and through the smoke and disarray of the war, nine extraterrestrial dark grey alien beings pointed and directed the surviving soldiers to their spacecraft. Some didn’t budge at all, as if they were statues. Shiloh seized the opportunity after hearing the shouts of German soldiers. The coordinates had been precise after all.

“That will be one thousand yen, please.”

Leo paid the kind lady, earning her wages at the Year of the Dragon carnival. He walked through the crowd and into a well-known bar for some drinks. After his third glass of gin, he sensed someone watching him. He examined the mirror behind the bartender while asking for another shot. He saw his observer reflected in the mirror. Their eyes locked for a brief moment. The strange man got up, leaving his unfinished drink on the table.

Leo thought to himself, “Hmm, that was odd.”

A half hour went by before an unsettled and tipsy Leo left the bar with a female associate he had met moments after the strange man departed. People from every nation crowded the streets, all there for the celebration.

“Hey, drunkard,” A man yelled as he crossed a street heading towards them.

“Leave,” Leo uttered as he pushed the woman aside. The woman listened and parted into the crowd.