Tread Fearless: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 4) (36 page)

Pete sighed deeply and said, “It all started with me in some kind of cave or something. There were other people around, all working, picking away at the rocks. They were dressed in loincloths though, like ancient Egyptians or something. There was an earthquake or something, and everyone started running from the mine.

“When I reached the mine entrance, I stepped out into the light and you were standing there. You were wearing a tan robe and sandals, with a wrap over your head, but I knew it was you. And you recognized me. I followed you up a short hill to a split-rail fence. When we arrived, we met two more people, another man, and a woman. I didn’t recognize them, but they were familiar to me. I only remember the woman’s black hair. Anyway, when we arrived, we stood in a circle facing each other. I watched as you began to draw bright, yellow-green energy from the earth. The woman did the same, and hers was dark red. The other man pulled up light-blue energy. I watched as you guys collected energy in your hands and sent it up into the air, to heaven.

“I wanted to do the same thing, but I wasn’t sure how. So I figured I would follow your lead. I dropped my arms to my side, and with my fingertips, I imagined pulling up energy like you. As soon as I believed I could do it, I saw fine tendrils of purple energy come up from the ground and form in my hands. When I had gathered enough, I lifted it and sent it up to heaven like you.

“After I sent up two balls of energy, about the size of a softball, I decided to make the third one bigger. I watched it grow in my hands, building in size, until it was the size of a basketball. The woman with us saw what I was doing, and she asked if she could have my energy. As I went to hand it to her, the shape of the energy began to change. I knew it
wanted to be something, so I began to shape it into a large, purple, conch shell. It was beautiful,” Pete added with awe.

“I bet it was,” replied John.

Pete nodded and continued, “I could tell the woman liked my offering, and when I handed it to her she placed it on a red platter she made from her energy. She also accepted shaped energy from you, a goblet filled with some kind of liquid, and from the other guy, some kind of eating utensil. She put everything on her platter - it looked like an elaborate dinner setting – and she sent it up to heaven.

“I don’t know how we communicated, but when we were done, we agreed to get ready and meet the coming enemy. We split up, and each of us went a different direction. I ended up in some kind of apartment complex or hotel room, high above ground. I had to be at least forty floors up.

“Then, for some reason, I lay down on the bed in the room. But then I was hit by something, like a bolt of energy, and I jumped up and went to the window. Directly across from me, coming straight toward me through the air, was some kind of giant flying snake. I know this sound’s crazy, John, but it looked like one of those large street dragons they use in Asian parades. You know, the one where a dozen men make it move on poles as they walk down the street?”

John nodded and said, “I know what you’re talking about.” He didn’t dare interrupt Pete’s account any further, or share his personal thoughts, or ask questions, despite the fact that many were already forming. To John, the vision appeared to be Pete’s first, and it was obvious to him that his friend was still processing it. John knew, very well, how such dreams could have an impact on one’s senses, and sense of logic and reality.

“So this giant red dragon, snake-thing is coming straight for me, gliding through the air without wings, undulating through the air like it was traveling through water,” said Pete, as he moved his hand to demonstrate the movement. “At the same time it’s shooting bolts of energy at me from its mouth. I jumped aside as another bolt passed by, and I saw
that it didn’t do any damage to the stuff around me. I realized that I was seeing a spiritual creature.”

“A spiritual creature in a physical world?” asked John, but only to better understand what he was hearing.

“I guess,” said Pete. “I mean, everything around me seemed real, but the dragon looked sort of translucent, like it wasn’t solid. But I could see it, and knew it could hurt me.”

“I understand,” replied John. “Please continue.”

“The dragon came at me through the wall, and I stepped aside and grabbed its head as it passed. Then, as if it weighed like a feather, I flipped it over and tore its head off.”

“Cool,” said John.

“Yeah. I thought so, too. So I tossed the dragon parts away and looked out the window. Another dragon was coming for me, and this one was even bigger than the last. It was the size of a jumbo jet, and I knew the enemy was directing all its efforts to eliminate me. But instead of fighting it, I decided to leave. I climbed down some stairs and stepped into what looked like a very large church or convention center.

“As I made my way along the rows of padded chairs, down to the lower level exit, I saw red tendrils, some the size of large tree trunks, begin to reach up from the ground, under the floor. They squirmed their way in, slithering through and completely blocking the doorway. Again, the room looked physical, but the red tendrils were spiritual.

“With the doorway blocked, I turned around and headed for the main lobby. When I got there, I saw several doors. I knew I had to pick the right one, and they were all the same but one, all dark wood. The one I picked was smooth and white. When I stepped through the white door, I emerged from the building into some kind of service area. Across the service drive was a short row of neatly manicured bushes, and beyond that, a lawn of vivid green.

“A large delivery truck, loaded with big cardboard boxes, was parked at the entrance of the service drive. Three men sat on the back of the truck, and two stood near the cab. When the men saw me, they stopped
talking and started watching me. I wasn’t afraid of them, but I knew they were a threat to me. And for some reason, I thought I could pass through the wall in front of me and avoid the men altogether. So I tried. I walked up to the wall and hit it. The wall was physical, and so was I. The men at the truck saw what I did and started laughing and taunting me. One of them shouted a question, asking if I really thought I could walk through walls. The strange thing is, John, I really thought I could.

“Anyway, I made it past the men and prepared to return home when I heard a commotion behind me. I looked down the street and saw a large enemy ground force, some fifty men and women, all coming toward me. I wasn’t scared, so I turned to face them. But they were very ugly, like orcs or something, and their leader was riding on top of some large, orange, crab-like spidery thing. I’ve never seen anything like it before, John. It was really weird. And when they spotted me, they got really excited and picked up speed.

“Then, without hesitation, I called up energy, but this time I did it in some kind of Tai Chi, or maybe it was like Kung Fu moves. I don’t understand it. All that matters is that I sent a blast of energy toward them and they were thrown back and flattened to the ground. I turned to leave again, and this time a large, sick looking man approached me. But before he could attack, I reached out and touched his chest. In an instant he looked human again. The man looked stunned and surprised to return to normal, and he actually thanked me for not killing him.

“I then looked at the enemy force I just defeated and saw, in the distance, that they also looked normal again. Only they were still dead. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, and I turned and saw a white, plastic, folding table on the lawn. I walked over to the table and saw a variety of cheap party favors. Paper name tags, plastic rings, and other cheap party junk was sitting there, ready to hand out. I somehow knew the stuff belonged to the enemy, and that he used it to capture and enslave the people, to turn them into his dark army.

“On the right side of the table were two paper plates. One held a pile of about forty or fifty paper doll cut-outs made from aluminum foil, but
they looked burnt or scorched. On the other paper plate was a small pile of normal looking paper dolls, maybe five or six of them, and on each was written a name. I knew, in an instant, that I was responsible for killing all the people represented by the aluminum foil cut-outs.

“It was then that I saw Eli standing across the table from me. He asked me if I understood the meaning of the things on the table, and I told him I did. He said that killing was no longer my duty. Even killing to save a life was risky when weighed against the prospects of time. He also wanted me to know that taking a life should be the last resort, and never wanton, or justified in any way.” Pete paused and drank from his water bottle. After wiping his mouth he said, “I asked Eli what that meant, and he said I would come to understand. What do you think it means?”

“I think it means only God knows the value of souls,” said John. “When we see people, even those who represent hideous creatures, or apparent agents of the enemy, we’re not to kill them just because we can. It reminds me of the barn. Remember the spirits I turned. They were given a second chance. Maybe we need to give people a chance before they need a second one.” said John. “I don’t know. That was a deep dream. Something to think about,” said John.

“Yeah. Well, that’s all fine and good until they start shooting at us,” replied Pete.

John rubbed his nose and said with a sigh, “Maybe, if we take the approach you’ve learned, we won’t need to worry about the bullets.”

“What do you mean . . . like you can stop them?”

John shrugged and said, “I mean, like not worry about them. I’m learning a lot of deep, spiritual stuff too. Things like real trust and obedience. Some of the principles I understand, and some I don’t. But I know, with time, I’ll figure out what I need to know and what I have to do. But I think your vision is for all of us. I never really considered the implications of complete non-aggression on our part. I mean, we’re so used to being soldiers that it’s all we think about. Everything is tactical for us, our packing, movement, confrontations. Maybe we just relax a little and trust in the powers that be.”

“Maybe you’re right. But I think it will be a painful lesson. A part of me thinks that it will be the harder of the two roads. Besides, I’m not used to trusting like you. Accepting divine intervention, when we’re dealing with real trouble, well, that’s like Moses stuff again. Those FEMA guys were bad news,” replied Pete, and he took another drink from his bottle. “Maybe I overstepped my bounds, my authority to respond, but they shot at me first. I felt justified in my actions. Still do, even.”

“I know what you mean,” replied John. But he was completely focused on Pete’s reference to Moses. It surprised him, and he wasn’t sure what to make of it, or even why it captured his attention so completely. Did the rest of the company see his abilities as biblical? Would they come to think of him as some kind of modern day Moses? Moses was a holy man.
What am I?
Thought John
, A retired Army officer, a former financial advisor, a survivor, maybe, but a prophet?
John laughed out loud and looked up.

“You alright?” asked Pete.

John looked at Pete and said, “That’s what I should be asking you. But yeah, I’m just thinking about what you said. I think there’s a lot more to your vision than you realize, and I’m happy to know I’m not the only one seeing things.”

“This isn’t the first time for me. I saw Eli before the overpass fight,” said Pete.

“I remember,” said John. “Adam had one too. And I bet the ladies have also. I’ll ask them when we’re driving tomorrow. It’s like something has opened for us, like a curtain or something. I wonder how many other people are seeing things.”

Pete placed his hands at the small of his back and stretched with a groan. Then he heard a soft crack and said, “Ah . . . that feels much better.”

“You gonna be okay?” asked John.

“Yeah. Why don’t you let me finish your shift? I can’t sleep anyway. My mind’s running a million miles a minute.”

“You sure?” asked John. “We can finish it together.”

“Nah. You go on ahead and rest. You need it. Besides, I’ve got some thinking to do. But one thing’s for sure, I’m gonna have to come to terms with what I saw. I need to make some changes.”

“I think we all do,” said John. “But the next time you want to go about doing it, try finding another way, one less dangerous. You really scared us.”

Pete chuckled and said, “Thanks for listening. Now go get some sleep. I’ll wake you up in a couple hours.”

John nodded, studied his friend’s face in the dimmed light of the headlamp, and said, “Night, brother,” before grabbing the medical supplies and walking back to the shelter. It had been a crazy episode, and he wondered if he’d be ready to hit the road at first light. The hay barn wasn’t the perfect place to hole-up, but it was more comfortable than he thought it would be.

After parting the flap, he weaved his way quietly around the many sleeping forms on the hay around him. When he dropped onto his sleeping bag next to Jenna, she stirred and asked, “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, baby.”

“That’s good,” she said. “It sounded serious. I heard you talking to Pete.”

“Yeah,” he whispered. “He saw something when he was out.”

“Another dreamer in the group,” replied Jenna, as she pulled the bag up tight around her neck.

“What about you? Are you seeing anything?”

Jenna was quiet for a moment, as if deciding on what to say. She finally sighed and said, “Nothing important. I’m tired. Can I go back to sleep now?”

“Sure,” said John, and he leaned over to kiss her forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

CHAPTER 15

ESCORT