Jake lifted his head from his forearms, looking, hoping to see someone enter the doors to the church. The sanctuary had been emptying for a while now, the church stayed quiet, the pews stayed cold, and this became his identity, loneliness became his faithful companion.
He had failed as a chaplain and didn't know how to fix it, what had he done wrong to deserve this. He had prayed diligently, read his bible daily, and fasted more times than not, yet something remained amiss. He glanced at the stained-glass windows and noticed the sun fade along with his hopes for a lively church service. It seemed that God had abandoned him a long time ago.
Despair watched and lingered, waiting for the right opportunity to jump onto his shoulders. The imp could feel the desperation settle onto the broken pastor and pounced, whispering life draining words into his Spirit man. Words that began to gnaw at his already weak faith. Doubt joined in and jumped onto his other shoulder and began to scream worries and lies into his other ear as Jake took a step off of the podium and onto the worn carpet, a carpet that used to hold the tears of both the newly saved and seasoned prayer warriors alike.
Jake put his hand on the front door and rested his head on his forearm, "God, what have I done wrong?" A long exhale slowly warmed his skin as he stood tall and pulled the heavy door open and walked through it, letting it slam behind him. He looked into the empty parking lot, the stillness and blackness of the night emulated his mood. Jake shook his head in disgust as he looked toward his old truck. Everything within his life had crumbled, it seemed the more that he needed God the further He seemed to be. He looked up into the cloudy darkness and screamed, "I have been a faithful servant. I have loved your people; I have mentored multiple disciples…" his emotions began to choke him as puddles of sorrow pooled within his eyes. The thoughts of his dead wife and daughter resurfaced," I just buried my family last week, where have you been when I needed you the most?" He continued to walk down the steps and tried to change his mindset, yet it was so easy being negative when his entire life was full of tragedy. He tried to remember the times when being a chaplain was enough. The power, the healing services where the power of Jesus captivated the souls of the congregation. Jack had been used by God so many times, God even used him to heal the deaf and blind. So, it was a shock and surprise when both his daughter and wife were killed in a brutal car accident. He tried dealing with their deaths by listening to his own advice, the same advice that he gave countless members of his church. The advice seemed so godly and trustworthy when he was advising those who had lost their loved ones. It all made sense until the pain became real in his own life, the advice didn't work, and the pain just worsened. The pain, anger, doubt, and loneliness became stronger than his faith, it seemed that the death of his family bled into everything within his life, causing the beginning of the end.
Jake pulled his coat closer to his body as he walked toward his truck and said, "I know you're out there!" he got down on one knee and held out some jerky and spoke loudly, "come here Goliath!" he waved the dried meat in a sweeping motion, "come here, boy!" Trying to feed his daughter's dog for her.
A gnarly looking white and black papillon hobbled its way toward Jake as it sniffed the air and wagged its scrawny tail. Goliath licked his chops as he neared, knowing that he was about to get fed.
Jake smiled as Goliath took the jerky from his hand, gnawing the salty beef clean with rapid bites, "at least I fed something tonight, Goliath!"
Goliath began to growl as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end, he lowered his head and hobbled slowly back into the cover of the forest. Jake threw the rest of the jerky on the ground and felt the hairs on his skin stand on end, "I'll see you next Sunday, Goliath. I'm outta here." He quickened his steps toward his truck as he could feel the evil approaching him, the temperature dropped, and the night sky darkened into a supernatural blackness. Jake tried to find the moon and noticed that the stars were also missing, something was very wrong.
Goliath began to bark and growl toward the shadowy forest that stood behind Jake's truck, an empty and dark nothingness grabbed Jake's body and froze him where he stood. The darkness within the forest took shape and towered eleven feet high, looking down upon its victim. The demon began to slowly move toward Jake in a tormenting and dementing fashion, mocking both Jake and the god he served.
Jake's courage had abandoned him, yet his faith was still present, so he yelled, "You cannot be here!" He reached for his keys and willed himself to walk toward his truck, keeping his eyes on the demon's semi- translucent shifting body," this is holy ground, you cannot stand here, demon." his voice began to crack, slightly. Jake was in shock; how could this demon be here? What had he done to piss God off and lose His protection? Jake became angry at the audacity of this demon and raged, "You have no authority here, demon!" and dug into his pocket and pulled out his daughter's cross that she had made, squeezing it in his hand, trying to get more faith, "You must leave now, in the name of …"
Before Jake could finish his rebuke, the demon was in his face in the blink of an eye, covering his mouth, "there will be none of that, Jake, leave his name out of it." the demon said with a hiss. It held Jake's face with its reptilian-like claws and asked, "where is it, human?" he growled as he towered over both Jake and his truck," you have something that belongs to my lord, where is it?"
Jake slammed the silver cross onto the demon's mouth that covered his mouth, forcing the demon to release his hold as the cross seared its carrion, sending an angry howl into the cold night air.
Jake wasted no time and said, "In the name of Je…" but was silenced as the demon smacked his face, forcing both blood and teeth to explode out of his mouth. Jake's strength and faith began to waver as he fell hard against the truck," God, send someone worthy to take my place." Jake prayed through bloodied lips and missing teeth.
"I told you there would be none of that, human!" the demon said as he towered over Jake, meeting his gaze face to face," I know that you have the sword of Elijah, where?" The demon rested its massive forearm on the roof of his truck, crushing both Jake and the pick-up toward the ground, the tires squealed and burst, and the metal protested with a scream as it was bent out of shape.
"I'm not afraid of you or death, you will be sending me to my family." Jake spat as he spoke, "I'm not afraid anymore!"
The demon reached down and pulled Jake out of the wreckage by his throat and lifted high into the air," Tell me where the sword is?" the demon squeezed Jake's neck, causing his breath to leave his body. Jake smiled as he started to see black spots and whispered," no!" as his body went limp in the creature's massive grip.
Witchcraft howled in frustration as Jake's body went limp within his grip. He threw the body down and called out to the lesser demons that hid in the darkness," Murder, Fear, Doubt, and Death, show yourselves." Each lesser demon appeared, each one viler and disgusting than the last," My lord," they all said in unison.
"Destroy this place and tear this human to shreds. Find Elijah's sword, it must be in the church." the roar of the greater demon spilled onto the lesser like a thunderclap, sending them all back on their hinds. The demons rushed toward the church and were stopped as an invisible force stood in their way. A bright light transfigured, blinding them and causing them to dematerialize, leaving Jake's mangled and bloodied body behind.
An angel stepped from behind the glory of the Lord and picked up his friend's broken body, vanishing as he spoke, "You are home now, old friend, no more tears.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"How did your run go?" John said as he looked at Squiggy, and continued to speak without waiting for an answer, "I, myself, did well! I was fast today, six minutes flat."
"I barely made it. I don't understand why I'm having such a hard time!?"
"Would you like to come over for tacos? I know my wife's cooking always makes me feel better, we will have plenty." John said as he looked at his friend with a slight grin.
"Nah, I'm good. Besides, your wife won't let me smoke inside. I need to smoke, it…" he looked at his pack of cigarettes and shrugged his shoulders," makes me feel better."
"You should probably quit smoking, that's why you're having such a hard time with the PT. Your smoking is causing your running problems." John grabbed his shower gear and walked toward his locker.
"If I didn't smoke, I would certainly kill someone, friendly fire."
"That's no excuse, you're a trained soldier and you need to show more self-control." John tried lessening the blow by throwing a dirty towel in Squiggy's direction.
"Okay, so what's your secret, John?" Squiggy said defiantly," what do you do to stay so stress free and so quick to judge," Squiggy slammed the locker door, sending a metallic twang throughout the room.
John turned and held back his sharp wit, telling him the gentle truth, "I have a great support system. I have my wife, my Gabby, and chaplain Jake. They all help me with my weaknesses, they help me get through this shit show called life." John walked closer to his friend and wrapped his arm around his comrade's shoulder," yet still, even with them all in my corner I still have stress and have bad days. The trick is not letting the shit control you and learning how to deal with it, that is what makes the difference." John grabbed his phone and said,'' let me give you chaplain Jake's phone number…"
"It won't do me any good, John." Squiggy knew that the next few words were going to wound his friend deeply, "there was an accident Sunday night, the Military Police say it must have been an animal attack because they found plenty of Jake's blood and teeth, but no body."
"Teeth! What kind of animal knocks out teeth and then leaves them behind?
"Not a clue, ask the MP's when you get a chance. Maybe they can help you with a better understanding."
John felt numb momentarily, his emotions refusing to process and believing that his friend and mentor had been killed, "Thank you for giving it to me straight, it must have been uncomfortable to relay such news, especially knowing that he was like a father to me." John turned and was about to leave when a thought stopped him dead in his tracks," who is going to take over for Jake, who's gonna teach at the church?" he said out loud, letting his friend hear his thoughts.
"I don't know anything about the church or about who is taking over, but I do know about a new top-secret mission that is paying a six-figure income." Squiggy smiled as the taste of the amount of money tickled his tongue, it tasted delicious."
"Are you going to sign up for it?" John asked with a raised brow.
"Nah, it's only for the elite type, rangers, special forces, and weapons specialists. That leaves me out, but you can sign up, you know your way around the battlefield and there is a weapon that you can't use, you should call him. The team leaves in two days' time, so don't waste this chance. "
John remembered the stack of bills that he had seen on the table, he had remembered that they needed to buy a new vehicle, and that Gabby would be going to college in five or six years, all of these thoughts began to taunt and dance on his pride. What kind of man would he be if there was no money for college or for a new vehicle, or Gabby's marriage, what kind of man would that make him if he couldn't provide for the ones he loved," Clarissa will kill me if I go and we will be further in debt and possible lose everything if I don't, I'm in between a rock and a hard place, man." his shoulders slouched and his posture became weak.
"So, Clarissa wears the pants in the family?" Squiggy said with a mischievous grin.
John dodged the invisible blow to his pride and shot back his own retaliatory shot," I'm still married to the same woman after eighteen years, what about you? A happy wife means a happy life,"
"I will let you know that I am happily divorced. I got enough tail for the both of us since my divorce, Mr. ball and chain." Squiggy turned from shaving and looked at John with a face full of shaving cream and said,'' I'm just saying that a six-figure income for one mission only comes once in a lifetime. ``
"Who's in charge of this elite mission?"
"I knew you weren't as dumb as you look." Squiggy said while shaving under his chin without looking into the mirror," he is not from around here. He doesn't exist, but I will have him call tonight, so be ready. ``
"I would much rather call him myself." John said as he looked down at the worn picture of his family within his wallet."
"I bet you would, John. you're not in control of this mission or the information, so you are going to have to show a little faith in your old friend." Squiggy wrote a name and phone number on a piece of paper," he goes by the name of EYES, this number is to his right-hand man. Call and tell them you're looking to dance with the devil."
"With a code name and payment like that I know that I should look the other way and just go home and retire with my wife and Gabby." John handed the paper back to his friend and said simply," have EYES call me so I can talk to him, no middlemen, thanks."