Rise of the Beast (55 page)

He stood up. He was surprised to find that he was wearing his business suit. Yet he was barefoot. The pieces of the puzzle that was this place just didn’t fit together. It was then that he saw a light coming in his direction. It was not the light of flashlight, but an old style lantern.

“Is that you, Leland?” asked a familiar voice. Yes it was a familiar voice, yet he was convinced that he’d never hear it again.

“I’m over here, Grandma,” said Leland.

A moment later, his grandmother stood before him. She looked positively radiant and years younger than when he’d last seen her—it brought back wonderful memories of when he was a teenager standing in her kitchen while she baked cookies and talked about his schooling, the neighborhood, and Jesus. He blinked in disbelief even as tears came to his eyes. Yes this had to be a dream, but it seemed so real. And he wasn’t afraid. He was just so glad to see her. He walked toward her; they embraced.

“Oh Grandma, I’ve missed you so much,” said Leland, holding her close. She was soft and warm, not like a ghost. She seemed so real.

“And so have I, dear,” replied Claire. “I’ve wanted to come and see you for so long, but it just wasn’t allowed until now.”

“Wasn’t allowed?” asked Leland, stepping back to get a good look at Claire.

“Yes,” confirmed Claire. “God wouldn’t permit it until now. Remember my email? I told you I’d be seeing you again.”

“I remember,” replied Leland.

“Oh, and my appearance,” said Claire. “Normally I take the appearance of a 30-year-old, but I thought you’d feel a bit more comfortable if I appeared 60, about the way I looked when you were a teenager.”

“Oh wow,” said Leland. “This is incredible. This has to be a dream, right?”

Claire laughed. “Well, yes and no. You are asleep, but this isn’t a dream.” She stretched out her hands. “Welcome to the third level of Heaven, my home. You ought to see it during the day.”

“But I’m not dead?” said Leland.

Again, Claire laughed. “Of course not, dear. You’ll need to go back. You can only stay here for a few minutes. But there are things I need to tell you, and I’m afraid that they will be difficult for you to hear, but you must.”

Leland nodded. “OK, Grandma, I’m listening.”

“Leland, you’re in great danger—the whole world is, but especially you. Understand, I was right about Lusan. He is the Deceiver; he is Satan masquerading as an Angel of Light, and he’s done something terrible to your wife, something dreadful. I tried to warn her, but she wouldn’t listen. Leland, you have to listen. I don’t want you to be lost, too.”

Claire spoke of the terrible fate that had befallen Krissie and why. It was almost too much for Leland to bear. “I know that you have a God-given gift to spot those that Satan’s minions have possessed,” continued Claire. “Can you tell me that you have not seen this thing inside of Krissie?”

“I felt it,” replied Leland, “but I just thought that she was tired. She’ll be better in the morning.”

“Now you’re deluding yourself,” said Claire.

At this point, Leland was in tears. It was incredible, but he knew that his grandmother was telling him the truth. She always did. “Why can’t we drive
the demon out of her?” asked Leland. “In one of your letters, the letters that Serena Davis brought to me, you said that you did that for Julio and Karina. There must be someone here who can do that, maybe your pastor.”

“I wish it was that simple,” lamented Claire. “It’s not. Her soul and spirit have been driven completely from her body. If the demon were driven out, all you would have left was an empty shell, and that shell wouldn’t live long.”

“Where did they take her?” asked Leland.

Claire’s expression turned suddenly solemn. “Please, Leland, don’t ask me that question.”

“Grandma, please,” insisted Leland.

“They took her through a sort of tunnel that leads out of our reality and into Hell,” said Claire. “They want to condemn her to the Great Sea of Fire.” Claire hesitated. “Don’t dwell on it. There’s nothing you can do about it, but maybe there is something I can do. I won’t make promises, but maybe.”

By now Leland had dropped to his knees. “What am I going to do?”

Claire knelt at his side. “First of all, you’re going to pull yourself together. You’re no good to anyone in this state. Second, you’re going to make your peace with God. You are going to accept His plan of salvation for your life. You know who the author of that salvation is.”

“Jesus,” replied Leland.

“He is the light of the world,” said Claire. “Now, make Him the light of your life.”

“Then I should leave the organization,” said Leland.

“No, that’s the last thing you should do,” said Claire. “Don’t give the demon within Krissie any reason to suspect you. You need to gather information, and when the time comes, act upon it. The Spirit of God within you will tell you when. Concern yourself with your world. Let me worry about what is happening over on this side, OK?”

“But I helped bring this terrible thing into the world,” lamented Leland. “I’ve been helping the Devil all along.”

“Stop it,” Claire insisted. “You are going to help bring about Satan’s downfall. You will be God’s man, not his. It’s time for you to act the part. Will you follow Him?”

“Yes,” said Leland, still sobbing.

Claire placed her arm around her grandson. “Be strong in the Lord, my love,” she said. “Trust God’s Word. It will be your guide. I’ve known all of my life that you were meant to do great things. Remember all I’ve told you.”

“I will,” replied Leland.

Abruptly, the scene dissolved around him. He awoke in his bed, Krissie at his side. He looked over at the clock; it was just past two. He got up and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Had it all been a dream? Standing there in his home, it seemed somehow less real. As he turned, he noticed the telltale footprints leading into the room. He’d left wet, muddy tracks across his nice tile floor.

Krissie stood barefoot at the bars of her dismal eight-by-eight-foot cell, gazing out into the stone corridor. There were many other cells along this corridor, perhaps thousands of them, yet they all seemed to be empty. It was just as well. She preferred not to have people see her as she was now, dressed in this ragged gray top and skirt. She felt practically naked. The demons had called this a waiting cell, but they hadn’t told her how long she was going to have to wait. How long had she been here? She wasn’t sure; it was long enough for her to grow very hungry and very thirsty, that much was certain. She now knew that Hell was a very real, very physical place, not some sort of spirit realm. The worst was yet to come, of that much she was certain. This Sea of Fire that the demons spoke of was almost certainly worse than this cell.

She returned to the rear of the cell and sat on the floor. She cried. How could she have been so foolish? Yet in the midst of her sorrow, she noticed a faint blue glow in the middle of her cell. It brightened, becoming a foggy realm filled with stars. Then someone stepped from the stars, followed swiftly by another.

The appearance of the first man caught Krissie by surprise. He looked so much like her husband. He was dressed in a camouflage outfit that looked almost
military. The second man had the looks of a battle-ready U.S. Marine with all of the necessary gear. In his hand he held some sort of rifle.

The first man approached her. “Don’t be afraid, Krissie,” he said. “We’re your friends. We’ve come to get you out of here. My name is Leland, Leland Brown.”

Now Krissie was confused. “Leland Brown?” Then it suddenly fell into place. “My husband’s great-grandfather?”

The man smiled broadly. “Yes. You see, you’re among family, and families take care of one another.”

“You’re not going to the Sea of Fire,” said the second man. “There has been a small change in plans. I’m Kurt Bellows, commander of the military of Refuge.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Krissie, not knowing what else to say.

Leland Senior reached down to Krissie, assisting her to her feet. “It’s time to go, granddaughter.”

The misty portal formed once more, and the group quickly walked through. Krissie realized where she’d seen a thing like this before. It was in a lab on a South Pacific island.

For a moment they seemed to be walking on a cloud. Then they emerged from a ring that, to Krissie, seemed all too familiar. The only thing was that this one worked.

They were in a room with about a dozen people. Two of them looked like some sort of dark angels, with gigantic wings like those of a raven. The entire group immediately broke out into a round of applause, as if to welcome Krissie. She smiled through her tears.

A pretty, dark-haired woman stepped forward and took Krissie into her arms. “It’s OK, Krissie. You’re safe now. No one is going to hurt you. Welcome to Refuge. My name is Bedillia. I’m a member of the high council here. Come, there are some people whom you will need to meet. They will be glad to see that you’re safe.”

Bedillia and Leland Senior led Krissie toward the corner of the room where a large, glowing sphere hung in mid air above a marble table. Within it, Krissie saw a three-dimensional image of Leland’s Grandma Claire standing beside
a winged angel in white. But this time she looked as she remembered her, a woman of 80. She smiled broadly as the group approached.

“Thank you for rescuing her, father,” said Claire. “I’m very grateful.”

“Family helps family,” said Leland Senior, “just as I told you when you were a little girl.”

“I remember,” said Claire, turning to Krissie. “How are you, my dear?”

“Better now,” said Krissie. “I wish I would have listened to you. I was being so stupid.”

“Hush,” said Claire. “Appearing to you as a young woman was wrong. Things might have gone better if I’d appeared as I do now.” Claire appeared to look about the room. “These are good people Krissie; they’ll help you, protect you.”

“Grandma, is there any way for me to get home again?” asked Krissie.

“I’m not sure,” admitted Claire. “That’s up to the Father, and He has not revealed that to me.”

Then the realization hit Krissie. “Leland, my husband—that thing in my body was sent to spy on him, kill him if she has to. We’ve got to warn him somehow.”

“Be still, child,” said Claire in a calming voice. “It’s already been done. Leland knows what he’s up against. Already he has accepted Christ into his heart. God has placed a hedge of protection around him.”

“He’s safe, then? He won’t have to come here?” asked Krissie.

“Yes, dear, he’s safe,” promised Claire.

“Thank you, Grandma,” said Krissie. “I love you.”

Claire smiled. “I love you too, Krissie. Don’t worry; things are going to work out, you’ll see. We’ll stay in touch. You just get some rest, OK?”

“OK, Grandma,” replied Krissie.

The image faded. Krissie turned to Bedillia. She did her best to smile through her tears.

“You need to get some rest,” said Bedillia. “You’ve had a pretty busy day.
We’ve prepared a place for you, as well as a better wardrobe. The demons might like to humiliate women by forcing them to wear clothes like that, but things don’t work that way here.”

Krissie was led by Leland Senior and Bedillia to her new home. As she walked down the stony corridor, she thought of how stupid she had been and how fortunate. But more than anything else, she worried about her husband. Apparently, she was out of the game, but he still had many difficult days ahead right there in the Devil’s playground.

It was a little past eight in the morning when the woman who had been Krissie James awoke from a sound sleep. Leland had been up for several hours already. He had hoped against hope that Krissie would be more like herself. He hoped that what he’d experienced had been nothing more than a vivid dream. But it was not to be. It didn’t take long for Leland to realize that the woman he loved was gone. Now she seemed cold. She tried to play the part of the loving wife, but a demon just wasn’t all that good at playing the part. And this would be his life for the foreseeable future. He would live with the being who had condemned his wife to Hell. He would have to play the part of the loving husband. He prayed for the strength to see this thing through. Who could he turn to? His grandmother’s pastor came to mind.