The Children of Eternity (42 page)

Jerry, with Chloressa on his shoulder, walked quietly into the care center, a large and dimly lit room containing about two dozen beds separated by floor-length curtains. Once again, the beds were not what Jerry had expected. They were not slabs of rock, but real wooden and metal-framed beds. The stone walls had been painted a light blue color and were adorned with beautiful paintings and tapestries.

On this day only four beds were actually occupied. One of the patients seemed to be in a delirium. He thrashed back and forth, moaning and crying softly. Two people, a man and a woman, were with him, trying to keep him calm. The other three patients seemed to be sleeping.

Jerry quickly located his mother, who was apparently sound asleep. She had been dressed in a long white nightgown and was being attended by a young woman sitting in a chair by her side. Jerry immediately recognized her as Megan. Megan looked up and smiled as Jerry approached. She too had her AC, Cindy, upon her shoulder. Jerry sat down by her side.

“She’s resting quietly for now,” she said in a whispery voice. “She was having a pretty rough time about an hour ago. I think she thought she was still in that terrible coffin. It didn’t last very long, and she went back to sleep after just a few minutes. This is totally normal. She’s really doing very well.”

“How long have you been here with her?” asked Jerry.

“About seven hours,” replied Megan.

Jerry shook his head. “When do you get any sleep?”

“When your mother finally recovers,” replied Megan. “When someone new comes to us, we assign only two people to watch over them. It allows us to draw close to them, to feel their pain and try to pull them away from it. We all know what it’s like. When she finally wakes up, I’ll be here for her, to pull her away from the nightmare that was her life.”

“You’re very kind,” said Jerry. “I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for what you and your husband have done for her. I am greatly in your debt.”

“No,” corrected Megan, “we are in yours. We are so grateful to all of those in Heaven who have helped us out of the goodness of their hearts. God’s love shines through you and lights up our world. You give us hope.” Megan hesitated. “How is your work coming?”

“The
Hope
is fully repaired,” replied Jerry. “Your technicians did a good job putting her back together. As for your three daggers—I’m still working on them. I’m making some progress, but it’s slow. I’m just not an engineer.”

Jerry heard footsteps behind him, then he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. Quite suddenly, Megan’s eyes were full of wonder.

“Your mother is such a beautiful woman,” said the female voice behind him. “She is almost angelic.”

Jerry turned around to see a familiar face; it was Lilly. He began to tear up. “Is it really you?” he asked.

Lilly dropped to her knees and hugged Jerry. “Yes, it’s me.”

“But how did you get here?” asked Jerry.

“I have a friend with a teleportation ring. He let me use it,” said Lilly. “Oh, don’t worry…Christopher is in the hangar running a diagnostics check on one of the daggers. I think that’s what he called it. He claims that he can have all three up and running in two days, at the most. Jonathon is up there with him.”

Lilly paused and gazed upon Chloressa. Chloressa in turn bowed before her. “Looks like you found a friend.”

“Yeah,” confirmed Jerry, “she’s quite protective of me.”

“I can see that,” replied Lilly, giggling.

“But it was dangerous for you to come here,” objected Jerry.

“Not really,” assured Lilly. “When all four of us are together, the Father’s Holy Spirit is with us also. We’re a team, Jerry. Next time you travel into outer darkness, keep that in mind.”

Then Lilly’s eyes focused upon Megan, whose eyes were still focused on her. “You have a beautiful spirit, Megan,” she said as she rose to her feet and walked toward Megan.

“It’s you!” said Megan, tears rolling down her cheeks. “But I’m awake, this isn’t a dream.”

“You’re awake,” confirmed Lilly. “I’ve come to help you find that pure spirit within you. I tell you that the Father is not finished with you, nor has He abandoned you. You have a work to do here. Very soon you shall stand with the four of us against the minions of Satan, you and your husband. On that day, the fate of your empire shall be determined.”

“Our empire?” asked Megan.

“Yes,” confirmed Lilly. “Follow the commands of the Father and the two of you shall rule over a great people who shall change the face of this world.”

“But we, my husband and I, are damned souls,” said Megan.

Lilly’s expression grew very serious. “With God nothing is impossible. There is coming a day when there shall be a great judgment before the white throne of God. On that day, the books shall be opened and all humankind—both living and dead—shall be judged. Will you be ready?”

“I will,” said Megan.

Lilly nodded. “We shall see. The coming days shall try your resolve.” She turned to Jerry. “I believe that Christopher may need your assistance in the hangar. I will remain here with Megan.”

Jerry hesitated then made his way toward the door.

“Is there really hope for Tim and me?” asked Megan.

“I cannot say,” replied Lilly. “That the Father has not revealed to me…but opportunity lies before you. Don’t pass it by. The alternative is far less pleasant.”

Megan nodded. She realized what was at stake.

Jerry stepped through the ring and was immediately transported to the hangar. Here he saw a great flurry of activity. At least a dozen men he had not seen before were busy working on the three daggers. Access panels were opened everywhere, and directing the activity was Christopher.

“Nice of you to join us,” said Jonathon, placing his arm around his old friend. Then he looked at the creature on Jerry’s other shoulder. It smiled at him. “Hello,” said Jonathon. To Jerry he said, “You make friends everywhere you go, don’t you?”

“I guess,” chuckled Jerry.

“Oh,” said Jonathon, “Christopher has a long list of components that he needs you to materialize. I think you’ve got your work cut out for you. Remember the Ford assembly line concept my great-grandfather Bud used to talk about? Well, that’s what we’re up to. Christopher diagnoses the problems these ships have; you materialize the intricate components; the technicians materialize the larger, simpler stuff; and the mechanics assemble it all. We even managed to steal another dagger pilot from Professor Faraday. We’ll extend our apologies later. For now, we need you to materialize parts. Christopher has them prioritized.”

“And you?” asked Jerry.

“I’m working with Tim Monroe in an attempt to sharpen up his defenses,” replied Jonathon. “We’ve got to think out of the box here.”

Jerry nodded and made his way toward the workroom. Along the way he got a quick wave from Christopher who was sitting in the cockpit of Dagger 2. Christopher’s attention quickly returned to what he had been working on. Heading into the workroom, Jerry found two unfamiliar technicians materializing parts for the daggers. Upon his worktable was a list of parts and a stack of schematics. Jonathon was right: he had his work cut out for him. He got to work on the first component on the list.

Over the next many hours, Jerry had a chance to chat a bit with the technicians in the workroom. Both were master materializers from the matter materialization guild. They were members of the Knights of Zion and had gated in from Heaven to assist in this project. Slowly the story of the knights unfolded before him. It felt really good to have so many good people behind him. For the first time in days, he didn’t feel alone. He even got a chance to talk with Christopher, though those conversations were indeed fleeting.

Rarely had Jerry worked so long, or so hard, at his craft of matter materialization. Here in Hell he tired far more easily. He had to keep totally focused on his work. He had been at it for nine hours when a mechanic burst into the room.

“Dagger Three has a green board!” he said excitedly. “She is ready to fly!”

“Does it have a cloaking field?” asked Jerry.

“She’s got everything,” said the mechanic. “We’ve almost got number one on line—just a few more tweaks.”

“Incredible,” said Jerry, who turned back to the task at hand. It sure seemed like he was making a lot of extra parts.

After another four hours of constant work, he reached the bottom of the list. Jerry now knew a new sensation: a headache. He practically stumbled for the door and out into the hangar. He was surprised to discover that even more men had joined the work detail. He also noticed that the three daggers had been moved about.

He noticed Christopher talking with several technicians at the far end of the hangar and headed toward him. He casually glanced up at the nearest dagger—number five. Number five! He moved onto the next one, which was numbered four.

“What the…?” gasped Jerry. Then he looked into the launch tunnel to see two additional daggers lined up one behind the other, numbers one and three. There were five daggers here. He ran to Christopher.

“You got all of the parts materialized?” asked Christopher, looking up from the diagnostics scanner in his hand.

“There are five daggers here!” exclaimed Jerry.

“Yes,” said Christopher, in a calm tone, “six including the
Hope
. There’ll be more. We’re bringing the parts through the ring. There are another six on the other side. Now that we know what’s wrong with them, we’re bringing them through and assembling them here, making the adjustments on site.

“Oh, you can take a break for a while. I’ve got another master matter materializer set to relieve you. He is one of the knights. He is not quite as fast as you are, but he does good work. We’re going to run out of room soon. We’ll park a couple in the cave beside the
Hope.”

Christopher paused. “Oh, Megan said that your mother appears to be regaining consciousness. I was about to come and get you. I think she’d like it if you were there when she woke up.”

Jerry still had a ton of questions, but they’d have to wait. He made his way toward the teleportation ring. He had to hold up for over a minute while two wings and a tail section came through the ring from Heaven. Then he was off.

The nearest ring to the care center was less than 50 yards away. Jerry sprinted from the ring to the center. He was amazed at what he saw upon entering. About 50 people had gathered within the care center, and the lighting was at full. There was real excitement as Lilly laid her hand upon one person after another, praying for each one. Some people were on their knees weeping, while others had their hands raised in the air. Stranger still, Megan was following Lilly’s lead, praying for one after another. More and more people were entering the room asking for prayer.

Then Jerry’s attention turned to his mother’s bed. He was amazed to find her sitting there wide awake, her hands lifted unto God. She turned to see her son enter the room. She rose to her feet and ran to his arms; they embraced.

“I’ve found peace,” she said, tears in her eyes. “No matter what happens now, I’ve found peace.”

At the far end of the room, Lilly motioned for silence. A hush fell upon the growing crowd.

“I’m looking out at a people who are just beginning to find new hope,” she began. “I bring a word to you from the Father. Know this: You are cast out but not forgotten. You are loved, that I can assure you. Each of you lived once upon the good Earth—you lived your lives and, as must come to all men and women, your lives ceased. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That is why the Father sent His Son into the world—that humanity might not perish, that they could have life, and have it more abundantly.

“None of you accepted that free gift from the Father, granted by His Son. You failed to accept it for reasons that only you know. For that cause you were cast out of God’s presence—sent here. I do not need to know how you have suffered here, for I know all of you have. But understand this: your suffering is not from the Father. The Father is not a torturer. His sentence upon you was separation from Him, nothing more. That in itself is reason for wailing and gnashing of teeth, for you have all lost paradise.”

“But Satan rules here,” cried out one. “Hasn’t the Father thrown us to the wolves?”

Lilly raised her hands as she looked about at the swelling crowd. “Where is he, this Satan? I don’t see him, do you? He doesn’t rule here;
you
do. By the courage of one young man, little more than a boy, you have been delivered from Satan’s power. Look at what you have accomplished with your own hands. I marvel at it.” Lilly paused.