The hour is most late as Charlie walks home after an evening of tutoring, at the request of his mother. Breath can be seen in the cool fall air, and while crossing his arms, He looks up to see a car parked at a green light in the middle of an intersection. Approaching slowly, his insides curdle upon sight of the vehicles interior and the goings on inside.
A man, muttering to himself and with tears streaming, is looking in the rear view mirror. But what Charlie can see is a monstrous creature, aflame and bloodied, with spiky tentacles enveloping this desperate man. The beast delivers a barking, growling whisper in his right ear, its teeth broken and yellow, its tongue slithering with each guttural syllable. The demon makes eye contact with Charlie, and Charlie immediately averts his eyes as he runs up the street, still blocks from home.
Never before have these monstrosities looked directly at Charlie, or that he noticed. What could this mean? The reality of the situation raced through his head and a million questions followed.
Without a moment to catch his breath, a thunderous flash of blue light colliding with a fiery bright red catches his attention in the huge apartment complex to his left. He slowly backs away from the building, onto the quiet street and watches, captivated as though fireworks were going off for him, yet inside someone’s home. The explosive light show swirls and bounces off the walls, and goes on for what seems like minutes then ceases as though it never happened.
Charlie, always amazed by the visions, was becoming quietly numb to their existence or was, until tonight. He needed to get home. He wanted to regroup and process. He desired help, from anyone. How could no one else experience what he was capable of??
Now, minutes from his front door, Charlie sees a what looks to be a homeless man. Nothing new here. But what grabs his attention is that there is a giant, muscular demon ripping into his chest and devouring his soul. As the man flails and pants for air, its claws drip with the man’s blood.
The feeding demon locks eyes with Charlie and immediately bounds toward him on all fours like a rabid, demonic 300 lb dog. Without time to think or protect himself, Charlie begins to close his eyes and at that exact moment a terrifyingly humongous glowing angel steps in front of him, sword drawn.
Somehow at a safe distance, pushed onto the grass, Charlie watches intently as the two fierce monsters envelope one another. Flashes of light, growls of terror and vicious blows are exchanged. The demon of old doesn’t stand a chance and is mercilessly slain from stomach through to its brain. A vapor blast implodes of hot acid red and only the angel, standing majestic and proud, is seen.
The angel approaches Charlie who is now standing, and he lays his massive hand on the boys shoulder. For a moment, nothing is said and the two remain locked in a deep gaze. Without any mouth movement, the statuesque angel imparts, “You with eyes open. See. Retain. Decipher.”
The words sear into Charlies heart and mind, and as he tried to contemplate what was said, he stands alone. As though in a dream, or a heavy fog, he remained there, swaying and in tune with where he was being led. And where that was, he did not know. But there was work to be done…
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