The War in Heaven (17 page)

“I suppose I can understand that,” replied Tom, who had finally found a pair of boots to fit his size 12 feet. “After what happened to them out there, I can’t blame them for wanting to hide.”

Within a few minutes, they were bundled up for the severest of weather. Tom was amazed at how warm the cloak really was. They walked back into the corridor. Bedillia picked up a small rock and threw it at the wall before them; it bounded off. Again Bedillia took his hand.

“Just follow my lead and don’t lose faith…we are going to walk through that wall. Tom, keep your eyes on me and don’t doubt, not for a moment.”

Tom looked at her incredulously, then followed her instructions. He gazed into her eyes, deep into her eyes. He had never noticed just how pretty they were. Then they were moving. Suddenly a dense fog seemed to block the way. He could barely see her. Then he understood why; they were walking straight through the wall! But he’d watched the rock bounce off the wall; it was solid. This was impossible. Yet he kept his cool. He had faith in Bedillia—he kept on walking.

About 20 seconds later, he felt intensely cold air. He was out in the open, but he couldn’t see a thing. From her cloak, Bedillia produced a small glowing crystal that illuminated the cold, dark cavern around them. Patches of frost and ice covered the ceiling, walls, and floor. Tom turned to look behind him to see the rock wall from which they had just emerged.

“That was freaky,” said Tom. Bedillia smiled, amused.

“Try to explain that one using your science,” she said, the trace of mirth in her voice.

“I can’t,” admitted Tom.

“Just another way this place is different from Earth,” said Bedillia, turning toward the wall. Again she picked up a rock, threw it at the wall, and again it bounced off.

“A force field?” asked Tom.

“Something like that,” said Bedillia.

Tom walked to the wall and placed his hand on it; it was very cold and very solid. Bedillia went to his side. She reached out, her eyes half closed. Her hand passed through the rock as if it were a phantom. Tom just shook his head.

“You have to have faith,” said Bedillia. “I have the faith that I can pass through that wall … while you had faith in me. That is why it worked, how we passed through fifty feet of solid rock.”

“It can’t be that simple,” objected Tom.

“It’s not,” replied Bedillia. “But that is not important. There are people in this community that, try though they might, cannot pass through that wall. On Earth, as a child, you believed in gravity, though you didn’t know how it worked. People fly on airplanes every day but don’t know how they fly. They just have faith that the airplane will take them to where they want to go. They have faith to step down that jet way and put their lives in the hand of the pilot. It is the same with that wall. I know I can pass through it…there is no doubt in my mind about it…so I do. I guess it’s a little bit like faith in God.” Bedillia lowered her head. “If only I’d had that sort of faith on Earth, I would not have ended up here.”

“Then you wouldn’t have been here for me,” said Tom. “I don’t know what I’d have done without you.”

“Let’s move on,” said Bedillia turning from the wall. “It’s not far now.” Tom followed, wondering if he might just have said the wrong thing again.

The winding, irregular rocky tunnel was a good 20 feet high, and even wider than that. Frequently they had to step around rocks and boulders as they made their way along. It was only a few minutes before Tom saw a shifting green glow reflecting off the icy wall ahead. A moment later they
stepped from the cavern and out into the open to behold the most glorious display of the aurora he had ever witnessed.

The aurora took on hues of green and blue, and forms ranging from shifting glowing curtains, to dancing filaments of light. How high they were, Tom couldn’t say, but it was certainly 50 to 100 miles or more. They illuminated the vast plain of ice and rock before them in shimmering ethereal light. Never had Tom seen such a sight.

There was not a cloud in the sky; yet beyond the dancing lights, there were no stars, no stars at all, only blackness. It was an empty void, an outer darkness beyond the wonders of the starry universe. And it was cold here. The icy wind seemed to blow through him.

Yet for all of its cold, there was surprisingly little snow. It clung here and there in icy patches, yet nowhere was it more than a few inches deep. The ground was mostly a frozen mass of soil and rock. What a wasteland. It made Antarctica seem welcoming by comparison.

“I occasionally come here to think,” said Bedillia. “Demons rarely frequent these climes. It is dark, quiet, and peaceful, except for the wind… there is always wind.”

Tom didn’t need to be told about the wind, but there was something else. “Bedillia, what is it? You didn’t bring me out here just for the air and the view.”

Bedillia looked at Tom in surprise then quickly looked away. “In part I did,” she finally said, slowly turning back toward Tom. The glow from the aurora danced across her cold face. “But there is more. I’m afraid, Tom.”

“You, afraid?” asked Tom. “Afraid of what?”

“This mission,” said Bedillia. “I have this feeling, this bad feeling, like I’m not coming back from it.”

That sent a cold chill down Tom’s back, a chill that went beyond the harshness of the climate. “Then don’t go.”

“But I have to go,” said Bedillia, “that’s the thing. I have to go.”

Tom was confused. This didn’t make any sense. “Why?”

“Call it destiny, fate, or the will of God, but I have to go. I still pray, you know. I pray a lot. I ask God to give me strength, to help me make right decisions. This mission is a right decision … I know it.”

“I used to pray a lot,” said Tom, “back on the altar.”

“But you don’t now,” deduced Bedillia.

Not so much now,” admitted Tom.

“Why not?” asked Bedillia. “He answered your prayer, didn’t He? He delivered you from that terrible place.”

“I’m not sure,” admitted Tom. “Abaddon was the one who rescued me, not God.”

“But it was in God’s plan,” said Bedillia, “that’s why you’re here. Abaddon was simply His instrument. Let me tell you something. Call it foolish, if you like. I ask God for forgiveness for the many mistakes I’ve made. I ask it all in the name of His Son, Jesus. I ask every day. Even in that horrible furnace I prayed, or at least I tried. He spared my daughter, that prayer straight out of the furnace, He answered. I’m very grateful for that. Now I try to do whatever I can to relieve the suffering of others. Call it trying to pay for all the hurt I caused those around me, if you will.

“You see, even if I am beyond forgiveness, I have to do this…I have to go on this mission.” There was a long pause. Bedillia didn’t look directly at Tom for awhile. Only the wind passed between them. Then she looked up. “Tom, will you be there at the ring with me until I leave? Will you be there, waiting for me if I do return?”

For a moment Tom was stunned, but it passed quickly. He took a step forward and held her close. “Of course I will, Bedillia. But I won’t have to wait long…you will be coming home.”

“I hope…I pray that you are right,” said Bedillia. “I feel like I draw strength from you. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that about anyone else. Too bad we couldn’t have met on the other side.”

Tom nodded. “I feel the same way about you.”

After a moment, they turned back toward the cave, hand in hand. When they finally came to the wall at the end of the cavern, Tom didn’t hesitate; they both passed through it as though it was made of air.

Along with Abaddon and several others, Tom watched as the team prepared to depart. They were all dressed in gray rags. As Tom watched, they each attached a pair of heavy shackles around their ankles. Each tested the release mechanism to confirm that it functioned properly, then latched the shackles once more. These shackles would allow them to blend into the crowd of damned humans if necessary. But in an emergency, the shackles would offer them little mobility, barely allowing them a slow shuffling walk. The release had to work quickly and perfectly.

Each of the three appeared dusty and bruised, with just a trace of blood on their ragged gray clothes. Kurt handed his two team members a small oval-shaped rock about an inch and a half across.

“Whatever you do, don’t lose that,” he warned. “It’s your ticket home.” He hesitated, “or your ticket out. If all goes well, we’ll hardly get a breath of the air in that place before we’re on our way back.” Kurt checked his pistol one last time before sticking the barrel under the loincloth at his hip.

“Remember, if you have to use it, make every shot count,” warned Tesla who watched the preparations through the telesphere near the corner. “That particle pistol is every bit as potent as the rifle I developed … with one important difference—the smaller power module is only good for about
four shots, not sixteen. Its effectiveness also drops off quickly with range, more so than the rifle, so take that into account if you have to use it.”

Kurt nodded. He knew all of these things already. He was ready to go.

“It looks clear,” said a voice from behind. “She will be there in approximately one and a half minutes.”

“Activate portal,” said Abaddon.

The ring burst into life, its interior glowing and shimmering then fading to a billowing fog with a scattering of glimmering stars. Kurt looked into its depths then back at his team. The portal was stable. “OK people, here we go.”

Bedillia looked back at Tom. She smiled slightly.

“See you in a couple minutes,” said Tom, trying to stay as positive as he could. “Have a nice trip.”

The three moved into the portal. They seemed to be walking into a fog, then they faded away. The fog vanished, and all that Tom could see was the far wall of the room. Now the waiting began.

T
he light of the bloated sun cast eerie shadows across the rough barren terrain of the Valley of Noak. The side canyon lay in shadows as it always did, offering little respite from the heat of the blazing orb that bathed the landscape in its deep amber light. Yet the canyon echoed with crying, moaning, and the crack of whips, as the shackled ragtag multitude continued single file on their dismal and eternal procession.

They all knew the fate that lay ahead. It was the same that lay behind. Until then, bones would realign and heal, even as scars and abrasions shallowed and vanished. Through it all was the pain, the itching pain that always accompanied the regeneration of their eternal flesh.

Out of sight of all, a field of glistening stars appeared amid the red rocks. Out of this misty phantasm stepped three humans. The apparition behind them quickly faded.

“Bill,” whispered Kurt, motioning for him to come up to the front.

Bill almost tripped over his own shackles as he joined their leader at the edge of the huge boulder. Beyond, scarcely 15 feet away, he saw the dismal procession. Most limped and hobbled along, the restoration of their legs still incomplete. They traveled with their heads down, as the demons commanded. Their backs were to them as they passed by. The team had gone totally unnoticed.

Kurt turned to Bill. “I’ve seen an image of van Voth in the sphere, but I’ll need you to pick her out. You’ll need to move out and grab her. She’ll be here within thirty seconds. Just follow the plan, and we’ll be out of here in a minute. Good luck, buddy.”

Yes, they’d practiced this a few dozen times. Bill knew how to make the move, but he was frightened. No, he had to do this.

“Go,” repeated Kurt, concern in his voice.

Bill stepped out about eight feet from the rocks. Here he could see more clearly as they walked past him. Amazingly, he had still not been noticed. He scanned the faces for Vikki—no sign of her.

“Get back in line,” whispered a man as he walked past. “Do you want us all to be whipped?”

Something was wrong. Where was Vikki? Bill’s heart beat faster and his muscles became more tense.

Then, there she was—right in front of him. He had nearly missed her. Her head was bowed, her long dirty black hair covering most of her face. He reached out, nearly missed her, then pulled her out of line. A second later he was looking into a face he hadn’t seen in many years, a young face with eyes filled with tears.