Life is sad when God's not in it
Going round in circles and you don't fit in and yeah, oh yeah
No word of God, the winds will blow
Tossed like a reed in the desert floor and yeah, oh yeah
Taste and see the Lord is good
Fire in his eyes and the voice of hope is he
God is good you never wanna doubt
Things he would do and he gave his life for us.
Fireflood, fill my soul, flood this body now with your blood and yeah,
Blue primus's flood, with your grace, kiss me, Lord,
now one more time on my face.
I know what it's like to be
Hit by the Spirit, and I've been set free and yeah, oh yeah
Blind will see, deaf will hear, lame will walk,
and lift their hands up yeah, oh yeah
Sinner man, you gotta leave your ways
You're gonna get drowned in the glory days and yeah, oh yeah
God is good, you never wanna doubt
Things he would do, and he gave his life for us.
Fireflood, fill my soul, flood this body now with your blood and now
Blue primus's flood, with your grace, kiss me Lord,
now one more time on my face
Fireflood, fill my soul, flood this body now with your blood and yeah,
Blue primus's flood, with your grace, kiss me, Lord,
now one more time on my face.
Remember all the good times, forgetting all the bad times.
Life is sad when God's not in it, going round in circles
and you don't fit in yeah, oh yeah.
Fireflood, "Fireflood"
Far above earth in another realm, the Emperor was looking down and planning to make his move.
"Angels, be ready," he said to his army. "The time has come. Escort Jay, and make sure he doesn't miss his most important moment!"
A huge army of angels descended from Blue primus with swords. The clouds parted as they descended. The mighty Archangel Michael was leading them. He had a flaming sword.
At the same time, a dark cloud rose up from the earth. There were hordes of demons with lances charging towards the angels. All of a sudden, war ensued.
The demons could not withstand the holy power unleashed by the angels. They fell down several feet by the hundreds and disappeared into portals that looked like whirlpools. The ones that were left and kept fighting were ripped into shreds.
In the heat of the battle, there were flashes of lightning, loud thunder, and winds on the earth realm. A lightning bolt struck the steeple of Brown Chapel as a demon fell on it, heavily wounded by a sword thrust into his side by a Warrior Angel. He writhed in agony and disappeared into a portal. The clouds were heavy, and it started to rain heavily. The wind was crazy, and some of the tree branches were ripped off, but the angels were winning. About an hour later, the storm had passed, and the rain had stopped.
Meanwhile, Jay's family was heading to Brown Chapel for a special service. It was still summer vacation and school was closed, and the only place where Jay was allowed any freedom was at the church, so he didn't mind going along. They almost had an accident on the way and missed a speeding truck by inches.
They arrived at Brown Chapel, and as he got out of his dad's car, Jay saw a notice posted on the front door that read, "Revival Night." Jay was wearing a gray tee shirt and dark blue, baggy jeans—the style of the '90s. He had a mushroom haircut, and his long hair kept covering his eyes, so he had to keep pushing it back up.
They went inside, and the lobby was crowded with people, some taking off their raincoats and closing their umbrellas. As they waited for the doors to open, Jay looked at Tariq, his church friend. Tariq was his childhood buddy whom he knew from the first time he ever set foot in church when he was toddler.
"Are you going in?" Jay asked Tariq in the chapel lobby.
"My parents want me to, so I have no choice," Tariq said.
Tariq came from an immigrant family of Jordanians who were now settled in the Sultanate of Oman.
The church was packed from the pavement to the penthouse. When the doors of the sanctuary were opened and people began to pour in, the band started playing worship music almost immediately. It was a guest band called Flame Bearers, who had come for the special service. They had to keep the volume down a bit so as to make sure they didn't irk the neighborhood.
Jay and Tariq were inside the crowd. They got their seats next to the other youth in the church, while their parents sat several pews behind. Just then, Jay saw twelve angels in white with huge wings. They stood onstage, and some levitated near the high windows.
"Can you see those angels?" Jay whispered to Tariq.
"You mean the girls in the front?" Tariq asked.
"No, not them!" Jay answered. "The ones with wings—they are all over the stage. And look at the ones high up by the windows!"
Tariq stared at Jay. "Angels? Man, are you crazy?"
Jay stared back at him. "Can't you see them?" he asked, as he pointed to the windows near them.
Tariq followed Jay's hand with his eyes. He couldn't see anything.
"Hush!" The command came in a whisper from the back. They turned around to see an elderly man motioning them to be quiet.
Suddenly, a man came onstage and began to speak loudly. He introduced himself as Reverend Turner from Dallas, Texas, and went on to say that the Emperor had sent him to the Middle East with a message from Blue primus. He shared his testimony of how he used to be an abusive alcoholic, and now the Emperor was using him powerfully as his messenger.
Jay had heard sermons before but never really listened, even though he had been going regularly to church for months. He was sad because of his low grades. He had been worrying about the coming days and what would happen to him if he were to fail at Logwood High. After a long hiatus from reading the Primus Script, he was here because it was announced that it was compulsory for all members of the church to bring their children and not miss out, so Jay had come in with his parents. His parents were hoping that a miracle would happen to get Jay to pass in school.
The preacher man began to say, "You can't hide your sins! You can't be saying you are good people just because you make it to church every Sunday. You've got to know God, I tell ya'. You've got to know him!"
Some people were beginning to get disturbed by the message. They were not used to this kind of preaching. This was challenging their personal lives.
Reverend Turner continued, his voice was like thunder, and every time his fingers were pointed, people felt he was pointing right at them. "You can't be drinking, partying, and talking dirty on weekdays and then be coming in to church and sing praises to God."
Shelly held Don's hand nervously.
"You can't be worshipping your success and your money because that's an idol, and people who live like that will surely lose eternal life. You can't be speaking down to your children just 'cause they got some bad grades, and treat them bad. Don't you know they are a gift from God and that God's Spirit is in them?"
Don and Shelly's eyes were filling with tears. They sure were uncomfortable. They wanted to get up and go, but they couldn't. They felt as if there were a powerful force that had pinned them down to the seat, and also the seats were packed around them. The Trinity had blocked them from going out with a huge crowd.
"You can't be speaking negative words against people and harbor unforgiveness in your hearts and think that God's gonna hear your prayers. You can't be watching horror movies and reading scary stories."
When Jay heard that, he tried to hide behind the pew. He felt like Reverend Turner was looking right at him.
"Some of you are about to experience him! God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life."
Then suddenly, Jay saw an angel right in front of him—the one he had seen since his childhood. The angel had a fireball in his hand. Soon some other angels came towards Jay. The angel threw the fireball at Jay, and it seemed to move in slow motion. As it hit Jay, he felt choked with conviction. As he dropped onto his knees crying, he felt his heart was exposed. He could feel chains of hurt and his ego break. He could feel the tightness around his head loosening.
When he looked around, he saw some people standing and several people also dropping onto their knees, crying. One man was in fetal position, crying, "I need God! I need God!"
Jay noticed that his friend Tariq had tears streaming from his eyes as he broke down wailing.
Reverend Turner called out to the people to give their lives to God and come to the front of the room. Many were leaving their seats and walking down the aisle.
Jay turned around, and to his shock, he saw his mum and dad crying and holding each other as they, too, walked down the aisle.
Jay saw angels at work, pulling many out of their seats. Evil spirits were coming out of some people's bodies like black smoke. Some looked like giant frogs, while others looked like snakes. Jay could see everything clearly. He was shocked—he had never seen so much spiritual activity in his life. He wondered why these men and women, who looked so nicely dressed and dainty, were all filled with darkness and demon spirits inside. He realized they were all in need of a savior hero.
His heart was beating faster. As the choir sang a song about the Emperor calling the sinner home. He felt the need for a savior of his own soul. Tears began to fill his eyes. He cried a little at first, but then more hot tears began to pour out.
Many people poured into the aisle as the music continued. Some fell down prostrate at the altar, bawling their eyes out, and some were wailing.
The ushers helped Jay to walk. He was sobbing because he felt like a worthless sinner. He wondered if the Emperor would even love him as a failure. He had failed his parents and his teachers at Logwood High. He was shattered and just wanted to fall at the Emperor's feet in total surrender. The angel held him and led him through the aisle, right to the front. As Jay knelt down and sobbed, bawled, and cried his eyes out, he felt pure love.
When he looked up, he saw Reverend Turner smiling at him.
"Son, do you want to give your life to God?"
Jay answered in a broken voice, "Yes."
"Do you want him to cleanse you from your sins?"
Jay nodded.
Reverend Turner continued, "He wants to embrace you, and he wants you to know that you don't need to prove anything to him. He loves you the way you are. He wants you to know that he loves you no matter what you have done. It's not your grades that will determine the Emperor's love for you. He loves you the way you are."
Jay broke down, wailing loudly. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. All his experiences of rejection and name calling in school flashed before his eyes. He felt secure in the awesome presence of the Trinity he was encountering in Brown Chapel. Jay was shaking as Reverend Turner placed a hand on his shoulder and hugged him. Jay felt like he was being hugged by the Emperor himself.
He helped Jay say a prayer to become a follower of the Emperor.
Reverend Turner looked at Jay and said, "Son, I don't know if you believe this, but the Lord has a plan for your life. His angels have always been around you, and you can talk to God. And he will talk back to you."
Jay was bewildered. "How did he know all this?" he wondered.
Jay was still sobbing when he looked up and saw his angel. "Thanks, Fireball." Jay had decided this would be his angel's name from now on. He finally realized that this angel, whom he had seen throughout his childhood and who had accompanied him everywhere, must be a Guardian Angel assigned to watch over his life.
The angel smiled.
Jay smiled through his tears. He felt a numbness all over his body. He felt a cloud of the Emperor's love all around him. He felt like he was wrapped in an invisible fur blanket. He walked back through the aisle and sat down in his seat, clutching the bench. He had never experienced anything like this before.
The service kept going. When Jay wiped the tears from his eyes and looked around, he saw angels next to people, assisting them in walking back to their seats.
Jay watched as some of the people were being healed in their bodies by Reverend Turner's prayers to the Emperor He saw that a man who had been blind in one eye was now seeing. A lady with a back brace was walking and bending over, crying tears of joy. He saw that a child who could not walk without the help of a walker was all of a sudden running all over the place.
Jay also saw the angels binding the demons hand and foot and thrusting them into some kind of a portal. He watched this, thinking to himself, "No one sees what I see."
Just when Jay had barely finished that thought, Reverend Turner started speaking again. "Many angels are assisting people in coming out of their pews, and there are angels casting out demons from the building."
Jay was startled by the words. Reverend Turner was seeing the exact same thing that he was seeing. Jay suddenly knew he was not alone.
The service went on for another hour, but it seemed like a long time. When it was over, people were not leaving the chapel.
Then Jay felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. As he turned around, he saw his dad. His dad's eyes were teared up, and he was with his mum, who was already crying.
"We are sorry, son, for talking down to you. We gave our lives to God, and we want to grow more in him, so we gave up alcohol and the horror movies. We still want you to do well in your studies, but we also want to support you in any and every way we can. Through prayer, we're gonna see you through, son. We have been enlightened."
Jay hugged his parents,.
One of the men from the church who had been taking photos of the service clicked a Polaroid of the family right at that moment. At the same time, Jay saw a sudden flash of light from Blue primus and saw what appeared to be another Polaroid camera shot by angel at Jay in the air. Only Jay saw this incredible vision.
Fireball leapt into the air to snatch the photo. Just then another angel playfully snatched it from Fireball's hand and darted outside towards the huge tree that was next to the chapel.
Fireball rolled his eyes, calling out to the other angels, "Guys, don't shake that Polaroid picture! You'll ruin it!"
But the angels were too excited. They passed the picture around, many of them shaking it several times.
Finally, one of the angels in the group who was a messenger said, "Alright, guys. We'll have more fun later, but I have to go deliver the photo now. The Emperor wants it."
So the others let him go. Fireball winked at the Messenger Angel and mouthed the words, "Thank you."
* * *
Far, far above, the Emperor, the Prince, and the Wise One were smiling and looking down on Jay's family as they were hugging in Brown Chapel. A few moments later, the Messenger Angel delivering the photo arrived and stood before them.
The Emperor looked at the Messenger Angel with love in his eyes and whispered, almost choking with emotion, "Did you get it?"
The angel looked at the Emperor with bright eyes, smiled, and nodded. He showed it to the Trinity. The photo amazingly did not get affected due to the shaking.Then he took the Polaroid to the Salvation Hall and laminated and hung it on the wall.
Then there was party in Blue primus. The angels were dancing, music melodies were flowing, laughter was resounding, and all of Blue primus thundered with their partying. It was Blue primus's expression of joy over what had just happened with Jay and his family.
* * *
Down on earth, Jay looked up at the star-studded night sky because he thought he heard a rumbling sound as he walked out of the chapel with his parents. Jay and his parents were still singing loudly, harmonizing with one another as they walked to their car.
They drove to a diner and ordered steaks. The family laughed and talked about the experience. It had been a very long time since the family had last sat down together to eat.
HOUSECLEANING
Don and Shelly sat around the little, round dining table the next morning. They were still blown away by all that had taken place. Yesterday's encounter had a huge effect on all of them.
A large group of armed angels were standing on either side of the table. There was a decanter with a stopper filled with red wine in the middle of the table.
Don grabbed a few more items from his cupboard—Heineken beer cans, Lanson White Label champagne, and vodka bottles. He took each bottle and can and emptied it into the sink. He placed the empty cans and bottles in a wooden crate.
As he did this, the demons that were in the bottles wrestled with the angels. As Don was pouring out rum from a large bottle, one of the demons that looked like an old monk was given a thorough beating and pinned to the floor. The demons were not able to overcome. They were subdued, tied down, thrown into the bottles, and sealed with a lid.
When Jay woke up and went into the bathroom, it smelled strongly of alcohol. The smell had woken him up. At first, he thought his dad's friends had come to their home and thrown up after a party because he had seen his dad's smashed drunk friends make that scene happen before. Then he realized that everything was neat, and they were the only ones at home. And besides, they had just been to a church revival service last night. He wondered what in the world his dad was up to.
Jay came downstairs, rubbing his eyes. "Dad? The house is reeking with the smell of alcohol."
"I am done with alcohol," his dad said. "Your mum and I won't be going for any more of these binge drinking parties. It was the demon of your grandpa, and it was also my demon. Now your mum and I have made a decision to quit this, and we trust that you will never get into this, son."
Don knelt down and Shelly joined him. They wept and asked the Emperor to honor the decision. Then they all sat down to start following their new lifestyle by reading a chapter of the Primus Script together.
Jay saw Fireball and three other angels binding demons and placing them in the wooden crate. He noticed that the bottles with alcohol had something like snakes wriggling in them, but only Jay was seeing these things .
That whole day was spent house cleaning. Don and Shelly were like police officers on patrol. They went outside, past their yard and down into some woods, where they made a huge hole with shovels. They buried the wooden crate and covered it with mud. They went back inside to the library shelf and pulled out the horror story books and also pulled out the horror movie videos from the video library rack. Don pulled out the tape from their cassette shells in anger and ripped them. He and Shelly tore the books and took them outside their house and burned them in a big bonfire. They watched from a distance. As the books and tapes burned, the flames were big and took the shapes of scary creatures.
"Did you see that?" Shelly asked, pointing to the flames.
All of a sudden, Jay heard screams. He stopped his ears with his fingers. As the screams and shrieks got louder, he looked into the fire and saw dragons and demons of all sizes and shapes burning in the fire but it was a different kind of fire a fire the trinity was also fanning. The demon were in a frenzy, trying to get free. His parents did not see anything in the spirit realm, but Jay could see it so clearly. Giant Warrior Angels stood around with flaming swords, not allowing any of the evil spirits to come out as they pushed them into the fire and to their torment. The demons changed shape into the characters inside the books—some became werewolves and then metamorphosed into bats and then into minotaurs, each time screeching with bloodcurdling yells. Jay watched as the fire was reflected in his pupils.
Don and Shelly felt like a dark cloud lifted off of them as they did this.
* * *
Down below the earth, many thousands of miles away, a demon was falling at a very rapid pace. He was mauled from the fight with the warrior angel, and his wings were broken. He had a wound from the sword he was struck with and a piece of the marble from Brown Chapel's steeple lodged in his ribs. His scales were coming off, and his collar bone was cracked open. He was in enormous pain while he was still travelling headlong through the portal that had been opened above Brown Chapel.
A board meeting in hell was in full session. Several demons were reporting on their different campaigns. Many had handed over reports that were being read aloud, when all of a sudden, wham! The demon fell head first, right through the ceiling of hell's boardroom, his head going through the rotten wooden table covered in maggots and bugs. Only half of his body and his clawed, scaly feet stood out as he writhed. The demon council stood up. There were all kinds of grotesque faces staring at the demon. After the smoke and dust settled, there was silence.
Then all of a sudden, they heard an angry, powerful, deep voice say, "Stand upright, you fool!"
Lucifer walked inside, wearing a dark, yellow robe with a hood covering his head. He was huge and had muscular arms and the skin and eyes of a reptile. His eyes were green. Fear, a decorated general, stood with him.
The evil spirits moved to the side, hissing, as the wounded demon struggled to free himself from the wooden table. When finally he did, they saw that his fangs were broken, and dark green fluid came out of his wounds, and the room was filled with the stench of his issue and smoke. It was Spirit Defeat, a demon whose job was to put the feeling of defeat into people's hearts.
His speech was slurring and fumbling as he explained himself. "There were too many, sir. We fought, but we couldn't get a foothold; they pushed us too hard. It all started with the prayer team in Dallas, and then the human messenger took up a twenty-one-day fast. We began to understand that something was up, so I sent my first line of attack with team captains Sloth and Lethargy. They had a battalion with them, but the prayer warriors of Messenger Turner created a force field that we were not able to penetrate. We had to withdraw as it was making several of us lose power. We kept fighting, but we saw more people praying, so we were unable to continue.
"On the fifteenth day, I had summoned Spirit Division to bring his battalion, but he only stayed for a day or two, and then he argued with me that I had not done enough work before getting him there. I felt he was giving an excuse. O Lucifer, I begged him to stay in Dallas and fight for at least a few days. He said he would agree to it only if I was ready to take his slot at the revival meeting, especially the first three hours. I consented to it, but Spirit Division did not keep his word—he stayed there for only two more days and then told me he was needed in the Middle East for another mission. He ditched me just when it became the hardest. We continued fighting, but we were losing. So I told the rest of the demons to abort mission in Dallas and go to the Sultanate of Oman to cause havoc before the revival meeting.
"When Messenger Turner had taken the flight towards the Sultanate, we followed him with an intention to crash the plane by causing the engines to fail, but we were slowed heavily because our communications were getting jammed. We even saw opposition in the airways—fiery angels were flying alongside the plane, in front, behind, everywhere, and visibility was bad—due to the prayers against us by that tormenting prophetess of Messenger Turner's ministry. It was so difficult fighting them while keeping up the pace. We finally had to fly low and get out of the plane's way or get hurt by the angels.
"After what seemed like forever, we reached the Sultanate. The city was peaceful, but we positioned an irritable man next door to the chapel, who would be sure to complain about the sound when the revival was happening. When we went to influence him, one of the angels was standing there, and he told us that we could not enter the compound. We tried to use force, but he was too strong for us. He overpowered Spirit Irritation and his comrade, Spirit Quarrel, and we had to flee. He was furious, and he chased us but did not come out of the five-acre compound that the chapel was in.
"We then tried to hide inside one of the cars that was going into the compound because it had a book of witchcraft—one of our possessions—in the glove compartment. It had been left there the previous night by the driver's girlfriend, but the driver's Guardian Angel fought with Quarrel and hurt him. We were trying to kill the driver and ended up sending the car crashing into a lamp post, but he was safe. His angel had the upper hand because the driver believed in the Man Upstairs. We got out and ran. We saw that this Guardian Angel did not follow us, either; he stopped at the edge of the chapel premises. You know how they are—they don't step outside their assigned areas because of their obedience to their master," Defeat said with a smirk on his face.
"The next time we spied on Brown Chapel, we saw even more Warrior Angels were posted there than the last time. They were even on the fences and trees. So I went to inform our Dark Air Force to be ready.
After fifteen more days, we had pulled in thirteen legions, all armed and ready to attack. We patrolled the skies on the couple days before the revival but wondered why there was no opposition from Blue primus. On the morning before the revival meeting, we discovered that the angels actually were protecting Brown Chapel. That's when we realized we had been patrolling the wrong area."
General Fear rolled his eyes. Lucifer burned in anger, but he restrained himself in order to hear the rest of the story.
The demon gasped for breath as he held on to the broken table for support. "Please give me a minute... just catching my breath. I don't feel so good.
"Anyway, on Saturday night, a huge army of the Emperor's angels had descended on fire horses in an echelon formation. They were lined up in three tight echelons, to be exact. As I saw them from a distance, I couldn't believe my eyes—it was Archangel Michael who was leading them! I shuddered in fear, wondering why they involved Archangel Michael in this.
"I immediately called upon the demon Ruler of Persia for assistance, but unfortunately, he had a very busy schedule working with the government officials to stop Primus Scripts from being smuggled into Afghanistan. So I spoke to his general, General Jinn, who said he was well acquainted with these kinds of battles. Using sorcery, General Jinn transported himself and his legions to a hundred meters from where we were standing.
"The Emperor's angels were still marching a long way off, but the air was getting thick with the toxic smoke of worship from Messenger Turner's worship band, Flame Bearers. We had to counter, so we started chanting blasphemies. Then Jinn and I partitioned our demons into three parties: Principalities, the Demon Air Force, and Soul Invaders. General Jinn and I hid ourselves in between our lines and disguised ourselves with the cloak of deception I had received as a reward for a previous battle from General Deception. We moved a few thousand feet below the clouds in the sky realm, about two hundred feet right above Brown Chapel.
"We charged at the angel armies with full speed. When we clashed, we couldn't believe what we felt—the first line of attack was so powerful! The demons in the frontlines were thrown off balance and crashed into each other. Jinn and I fought back violently, and we were given heavy support by the Demon Air Force. We raised our chanting as we spoke out blasphemies and cries of hate. We were able to hold them for a few minutes until we realized it was their strategy. We were ambushed by the Fire Angels who flew above and behind us, and they began to attack us with their weapons of warfare—praise and worship music, which was coming from Messenger Turner's unstoppable worship band. Each of the Emperor's angels began to take down three demons at once. We started using many martial arts through the telepathic assistance of the Dragon Spirit from China, but our lines were getting jammed again and again. The Emperor's angels kicked the Soul Invaders in the chest and hacked them with fiery swords. Almost one-third of the demons had broken arms and ribs, and their wings were being ripped as they collided with the Fire Angels. Even though we fought back with our swords, they deflected every one of those attacks.
"As I was trying to push back the Angels of Fire, all of a sudden, I saw a huge blaze, and to my amazement, I saw Michael appear out of nowhere, shouting, 'The Emperor is Lord!' He grabbed me by my belt, flinging me upwards, and using a combination of lightning-fast punches and somersault kicks, he broke my jaw and collar bone and cracked my ribs to pieces. I lost my footing on the cloud. I flung my sword, but he ducked. I even did a spin kick to dig my talons into his face, but he blocked it with his arm. It was like I hit a rock! My shin was fractured. I screamed in pain and fell fast. I knew I was in big trouble. I clawed the air to find something to hang on, and I realized my wings had been ripped by another of those fiery angels from behind.
"As I was descending, to my horror, I saw Arch angel Michael coming after me at breakneck speed. My face froze. As he got near, I saw that he had taken his sword out—it was aflame. He smashed it against my chest, and it went right through me. I saw lightning, and then I began to lose consciousness as he dropped me from the sky. I fell hard on the steeple of Brown Chapel. When I opened my eyes, I discovered that I was falling through the portal. I was in great pain. I screamed for help, but all I could see was darkness. I realized I had lost the battle. Just then, I fell right into this table."
Spirit Defeat's voice was shaking as he spoke. "O Lucifer, I need to be healed. Help! I have been badly wounded, and my army was badly routed by the Emperor's angels but I tried we tried ." He sobbed in shame and fear.
General Fear spoke. "It was the prayers of Messenger Turner and his prayer team that defeated us. Spirit Defeat stood no chance because Lethargy and Sloth could not even get a foothold into Messenger Turner's team."
There was a knock on the boardroom door. Spirit Eavesdropper had arrived. He came in with the full report as he had seen the entire battle both in the sky realm and inside Brown Chapel. After bowing low to Lucifer and General Fear, Eavesdropper entered, and the demons crowded around him.
He said, "O Lucifer, General Fear and members of the council, we lost all the souls at Brown Chapel. After we had lost the battle in the sky realm, the angels entered Brown Chapel. There were already some angels inside who gave access to them to get in, and the rest of them formed a circle inside the chapel around all the people. Most of us were hiding in people, and I could only enter one girl who was a member. She sat in the back, so I could see everything before I was cast out.
"Messenger Turner began to preach, and it was like a nuclear explosion. Spirit Backache, Spirit Blindness, Spirit Pride, and many others got exposed. Some of us got beaten to a pulp, but most of us surrendered because, O Lucifer, we did not want to get hurt! We were allowed to go into the portal, but they still burned us with the fire. I saw Spirit Blindness and General Atheism being bound by the Fire Angels. They were being beaten on their faces with hammer fists by the Fire Angels. The spirits screamed, but I hid. I was too afraid to help them, so I just did my reporting.
"Spirit Slumber tried to put some of the people to sleep, but the fire of our enemy kept them awake. We also tried distracting the young boys and girls through the help of Spirit Gossip and Spirit Lust, but a counterattack was turned on us as we saw the Wise One make Messenger Turner speak on sin. Just as he did that, an angel–the one called Fireball—walked up to us and put out Spirit Lust with a sharp, fiery coal, and he smashed Spirit Gossip with a rod of judgment. He bound both of them with a chain and threw them into a portal. When the portal opened, I jumped in before I could get hurt by that terrifying angel. Then just before we were about to get sucked in through the portal, I saw him and I froze."
Spirit Eavesdropper became silent. He gave a long pause, and his face looked terrified as he stared at the floor in deep thought.
"Saw whom?" General Fear asked.
Eavesdropper looked down again and trembled violently as the entire demon council stared at him.
"Who did you see, you fool?" Lucifer roared.
"I saw the Prince !"
The moment the name was mentioned, Lucifer, General Fear, and the entire demon council were thrown flat on their faces on the hard floor by an unseen power. It was like an invisible nuclear bomb had exploded in their midst.
After a few seconds, the demons struggled and got up. General Fear crawled and hid behind the shadows. He was momentarily paralyzed in some parts of his body because of the mention of that name and the memories attached to it.
Lucifer, in a raging fury, grabbed Spirit Eavesdropper with his huge hands and pounded him into the floor. "I have told you all never to utter that name!"
"But sir, you asked," Eavesdropper mumbled from the floor, his mouth covered in mud and broken teeth.
Lucifer motioned to General Fear, who had hidden behind a pillar. General Fear grabbed the mortally wounded Spirit Defeat by the throat.
Lucifer ordered, "Take him to the holding cell and keep him there till future notice."
Spirit Eavesdropper's face was hardly recognizable when he got off the floor. He neatly restacked all the documents and handed the entire file over to General Fear.
After Lucifer dismissed the council in his customary fashion—by screaming foul language at the members—the demons dispersed from the conference room.
Just as General Fear and Lucifer were stepping out of the boardroom, they saw dragon spirits, ancient ghost spirits, and alcohol spirits of different kinds, all bound, beaten, and charred but alive—they had just fallen into hell from another portal.
"Now where did you all come from?" Spirit Eavesdropper asked as he tried to straighten his own face from the impact of the pounding.
An old alcohol general called Old Monk answered, "We were expelled from Don, Shelly, and Jay's house as they now follow the Emperor. We were captured early morning. Most of us hid inside the shelves and drawers, but the angel squad from Blue primus was too vigilant. The Wise One was guiding them, so we knew we could not hide from him. We had to give up our dominion the moment the family surrendered to the Emperor. The angel squad found us in every nook and corner, under beds, behind couches, and in between shampoo bottles in the bathroom. We were poured out of the alcohol bottles into the drain. We were pulled out of video cassettes, torn out of books and then burned in a bonfire. Even as the objects were being burned, a spiritual fire was burning us, and then we were dragged into the portal."
General Fear shook his head in disappointment as he saw the deplorable state of the demon groups.
Lucifer cursed them under his breath as he walked away. He looked at the demons that hissed in the deep corridors. "Pathetic wrethches!! off to the torture cells?"
As soon as he said this, many demons gathered and tormented viciously with spears and machetes the demons who were defeated, expelled, and sent back to hell by the Emperor's angels.
Lucifer looked on as the demons tore each other to pieces. He suddenly walked away, pushing demons out of his way. He had other meetings as dignitary demons had come in to report from different parts of the earth.
General Fear was still recovering from the shock of that name, while the howls of the tormented demons of hell were heard miles away by the demons who guarded the east gates of hell.
A NEW PHASE
The phone rang, and Don picked up the receiver.
"Hello, Don. This is Earnest from Reverend Turner's ministry from Dallas."
"Oh hello, Earnest. Good to hear your voice. Are you heading back to the States? How did you get my number?" Don asked, quite surprised.
"My wife and I are now based here in Oman, though we will keep travelling. We got your number from the Brown Chapel registration forms. My wife Tabitha and I were leading you guys to become followers of the path on revival night. We just moved into an apartment here in Barkha, and we would love to invite your family over for a group gathering over dinner someday soon," the kind-hearted man said.
Don cupped the receiver and spoke to Shelly. "It's the pastor guy from Reverend Turner's ministry. We have been invited for dinner. Yay or nay?"
Shelly was wiping the kitchen table. She smiled and showed a thumbs-up.
"We are in, Pastor. Why not just let us know when? We're so honored that you invited us. Thank you so very much," Don replied.
"Oh, that's great. We're delighted to have you. And just call me Earnest," he said with a laugh.
They spoke for a few more minutes, and Earnest ended the call.
Then Don walked into the kitchen. He pulled some salmon fillets out of the freezer and left them out to thaw. As he pulled out some white wine, he said, "Hey, Shelly, this is only for cooking purposes, okay?"
He winked at Shelly, and they laughed as Don continued. He poured olive oil on a hot skillet and placed the salmon on it, skin side down. He poured in some white wine and started to cook the fish. In a few minutes, the house was filled with the aroma of grilled salmon.
Led by the aroma, Jay walked down the steps from his room. "Fish for breakfast, yum," he said.
As they were eating, Jay said, "Hey, when I woke up, I flipped open the Primus Script, and I read this verse: 'I will make you fishers of men.'"
Shelly and Don were amazed.
"That is awesome, Jay," Shelly said.
Just as Jay was about to dig in, Don began to say a prayer of thanks for the meal. "Thank you for the food we are about to eat."
Shelly also prayed. "Thank you for the hands that prepared the food."
Don opened his eyes and caught her smiling with her eyes closed. Grinning, he closed his eyes again.
Jay also prayed. "Thank you for this fish, who sacrificed its body for us."
They all burst out laughing and started eating. They still didn't know how to say a proper prayer before a meal as they were new to the lifestyle.
Outside, the angels laughed as they watched the family enjoying their breakfast. A Messenger Angel was recording the breakfast prayer. He laughed to himself as he sent it to Blue primus.
* * *
The next time Don was at church, he bought some audiocassette tapes from the sale happening at the bookstore Portakabin trailer next to Brown Chapel. It had an assortment of the gospel singers of the '70s, '80s, and '90s—the best music era, according to Don. He played the tapes in his Nakamichi stereo set, the latest in stereo systems—Don loved having all the cutting-edge, high-end tech gadgets. The family listened to David Meece,Phil Driscoll, Amy Grant, and others.
Jay lay across the fur carpet in the living room with a big Primus Script opened in front of him. He started from Genesis and kept reading.
As his dad was listening to new music because of his new faith, Jay had been spending time devouring the stories in the Primus Script. He even forgot to listen to music for days on end because he was very interested in the characters of the Primus Script. He was captivated by the Emperor in the Primus Script. Somewhere else, he found out his name was Yahweh or Jehovah and Jay would call him Emperor. He loved the story of Noah and the ark. He was impressed with the friendship of Abraham and God. He loved the part about how the Emperor took him outside to show him the stars in the night sky and how he told him that that's how many his descendants would be. He loved the story of Joseph going from the pit to the prison, to becoming the prime minister, and the reunion of his family. Jay shed tears as he read the story. He felt like he was the character. He was fascinated by Moses and how he spoke to the burning bush. He was impressed by the way all these men spoke with the Emperor. Jay understood that all of these men had one-on-one, face-to-face encounters with him and talked with him personally, as Jay would talk to his friends or parents.
Jay loved the food described in the Primus Script. Oftentimes, he would get some khubus bread, meat, cheese, salads, a honey dip, and a milk carton and put them next to the Primus Script so that he could physically take part in the stories.
Fireball called the angels to the window. They watched Jay and had a hearty laugh as he hogged the food while reading the Primus Script.
Jay desired to meet the Emperor someday. Jay wanted to know more about his nature and what sort of a father he was. Would he pick on him for not studying? The Primus Script portrayed the Emperor as a loving father who had kept all his promises to his people.
In Logwood High, the students had different perceptions about the Emperor. They called him many different names: "the Man Upstairs," "Old Man on the Clouds," and "Man with the Gun." They talked badly about him overall, and many believed in other religions,
"He should be very old, and he lives in the clouds. Well, that's what most paintings show," Jay pondered.
As he kept reading, he found that Emperor of the Primus Script had a very different personality than what he and the other students had thought. He was a loving, caring, compassionate person who longed for friendship. He never seemed to hold back from conversation and never went back on his promises. He was a friend in need, a protector, and a helper. Jay saw the Emperor wanted friendship in the garden of Eden when he made Adam and Eve. He kept Noah, his family, and the animals afloat in an ark during the flood. Reading about Abraham's life, Jay saw a promise keeper in the Emperor.
The Trinity was even with Joseph in prison; he was the one who got Joseph out and honored him before the Pharaoh after the world had forgotten him. Jay's eyes teared up as he thought of himself in the prison walls of Logwood High. It took Joseph twelve years to get out of jail because he tried to help himself. Jay read that in the footnote and decided that he didn't want to wait that long. He thought that maybe after this next year, he would be out with the help of the Emperor. "Would he help me clear all my exams, especially math?" Jay wondered.
He loved the way the Emperor performed signs and wonders through his servant Moses and how he split the Red Sea into two walls, and the people passed through. Jay couldn't even split the water in his bathtub. He realized this man in the clouds was better than Merlin the Magician.
One day, Jay closed his eyes and imagined he had time travelled to be among the characters in the Primus Script. He tried to paint a picture of how the old man from the clouds would look—maybe he would be wearing white and have a white beard. He thought about how he would talk to the Emperor. Jay wouldn't be talking like Abraham or Moses; he had to be himself.
As he imagined talking to the Emperor, he began to fall in love with him. He would ask, "Mr. Emperor, do you like music? Do you like animals? What is your favorite food? Can you solve math problems?" Then Jay chuckled to himself because he thought the questions were silly.
All of a sudden, Jay saw a bright ray of light in the room. He was surprised, but after a few seconds, it was gone, and Jay got called below to do an errand for his parents.
* * *
Billions of miles above, the Emperor had smiled, and it was his light that radiated into the room. He had smiled at Jay's desire to know him.
He watched Jay as he took his skateboard outside that day, and a flower from a tree fell on his hair. When Jay brushed his hair with his fingers, he found the beautiful, yellow flower. An angel had dropped it, but it was the Emperor who had sent it to him. The Emperor laughed in the Blue primusly corridors as he lovingly looked at Jay.
The angels in Blue primus loved to see the Emperor laugh over Jay, but on earth, Fireball was the most excited. Some nights, when Jay was stressed about his studies and would lie down to sleep, he would wake up the next morning totally refreshed and having forgotten all his worries. It was on those special nights that the Emperor had paid him a visit while the sleeping Jay was unaware. Fireball and the other angels around Jay's house and other neighboring houses would lie down prostrate as the Emperor would come and sit by his bedside, stroking his hair. Jay would wake up the next morning and sense that a celestial being had visited him, perhaps even the Emperor himself.
At other times, Jay would be in his room, writing letters to the Emperor, asking him all kinds of questions. He asked him to give him a German shepherd pup—he had always wanted a dog to play with. He would write poems to the Emperor on sheets of paper, make them into paper planes and fly them from the roof of his house. He would watch how the paper planes would fly and disappear behind the hill. Later, when he and his friends would be playing outside, they would sometimes go down the hill, and Jay would look for the paper planes, but he couldn't find any. He wondered if maybe some strong winds had blown them away.
THE NEW MEMBER OF THE FAMILY
Don was an animal lover. When he was a child, he grew up with German shepherds. Now Don and Shelly had a big yard, and they would leave some of their things on the lawn and the table outside, but there was no one to guard the yard and house. Don thought that it looked so empty without a dog running around. Once in a while, a few stray cats would come in and try to steal some food or poop in the yard, and then one of the people in the house would step on it. It was usually Don as the neighbors could hear his angry yelling of disgust.
Don thought about his parents who had passed away some time ago. He remembered the dogs and what a great childhood he had with all of them. But then he realized Jay did not have that. All Jay used to do when school had been in session was to go to school or church and come back. He had never had a pet of his own, except a farm raised adult black bunny rabbit named Bunty, which was with them for hardly a few weeks before being tragically eaten up by some predator. Don pondered on the fact that he wanted his son to have a childhood with a pet.
Don and shelly picked up a pup from one of their friend's who had a German shepherd which had littered.
When his parents reached the bend near the house, Jay was sitting on his skateboard. He had seen a friend in the neighbourhood with a dog, and he was dreaming of having his own dog. He had decided to ask his parents to get him a dog. As he was contemplating a plan on how he was going to ask, suddenly he heard the honking of his dad's car.
Don got out of the car, holding the pup.
At first, Jay thought it was some kind of stuffed toy, but all of a sudden, it began to move. Jay couldn't believe his eyes—it was a dog.
Don put the pup down, and it ran towards Jay.
Jay couldn't contain his excitement. He picked up the pup and ran all over the yard, screaming at the top of his lungs.
His parents just laughed, seeing his emotions spilling over.
"Where did you get this guy?" he asked, clutching the pup, with eyes beaming.
"I got him as a gift from an old friend," Don replied.
"So what are you gonna name it?" Shelly asked.
Jay closed his eyes and thanked the Emperor for the gift. As he racked his brain, he couldn't think of anything. Then from deep within, he felt it would be "Rookie." "That's the one," Jay said to his parents. "It's going to be 'Rookie.'"
His dad raised an eyebrow. "Like a police rookie?"
Jay nodded with a smile.
"Then Rookie it is," Don said.
They gave Rookie a good bath , and after he was dry, Don brought him inside the house as he was still a small pup. From that day on, Rookie was a family member.
When Jay went to sleep that night, he looked upwards and said, "Thank you, dear Emperor, for Rookie."
Rookie snuggled in a warm blanket and slept under Jay's bed.
In the weeks that followed, Rookie would accompany Jay as he read the Primus Script, and when Jay prayed, Rookie would lie down and behave himself. When school started again for Jay, he would bark every morning when the school bus would pull up in front of Jay's house. He hated Jay leaving for school and loved to see him back.
All the kids on the bus loved hearing Jay's Rookie stories. They would even stick their heads out of the windows when they were in front of Jay's house to get a glimpse of the handsome dog.
Jay was now in tenth grade, and with the start of a new school year and his commitments to a new lifestyle, he kept away from all the bad company, especially the seniors. He told them that he was trying to improve his grades by studying in the bus. This left several of the seniors angry as they noticed he was avoiding them.
He would secretly show some of his bus mates photos of Rookie. There was one time when the photo was passed around till it went to the back of the bus and did not make it back to Jay. When he looked, it was with the senior boys. Though Jay tried to get it back, he could not.
"If you want this, come back and sit with us and be the old Jay," a senior said.
Jay did not respond or comply.
Then one of the seniors held the photo out of the window. The next moment, Jay saw there was nothing in his hand.
Jay was sad, but he ignored the incident. When he got home, he saw the real-life Rookie and was so happy there were no seniors to irritate him.
Rookie continued growing very fast, and everyone in the house took turns feeding him. The curious puppy was a moving disaster area, knocking over almost everything that was at least two feet high.
One day, the clothesline outside had snapped because of a strong wind, and Rookie found one of Shelly's long petticoats on the ground. He got into it and ended up running all over the compound in it.
When Don saw this from the window, he laughed so hard he felt like he might die. Shelly and Jay came downstairs, wondering what was wrong with Don. He was red in the face from laughing. He pointed out the window. Shelly and Jay looked, and Shelly went running to save her petticoat. Jay and Don rolled on the floor and laughed as they watched Shelly and the pup in a tug-of-war.
Jay noticed that all the angels were laughing. Fireball threw his head back and laughed while he leaned on the gate outside.
When it was all over, Shelly came inside, and Don and Jay had to stop.
Later in the evening, Shelly brought up the topic, and Don and Jay began to giggle while Shelly gave an annoyed look.
Suddenly, they heard a noise. When they looked to see what it was, they saw Rookie with one of Don's favorite Doc Marten boots in his mouth. Shelly burst out laughing, while Don left the table to chase Rookie. Even though he tried everything possible, he couldn't catch the little rascal, and finally, Jay and Shelly had to help. They finally calmed Rookie down, took the boot from his mouth and left him out in the yard while they ate supper.
Don didn't want to talk about the incident when it was over, while Shelly laughed quietly as she went to the restroom.
Outside, Rookie howled for the first two hours. It finally worked, and Don took him back into the house.
Rookie began to grow into an excellent guard dog. By the time he was just a few months old, he was extremely alert. Oftentimes, Fireball and he would be playing together, and then Rookie would lie down to get his belly rubs.
FIREBALL
One day, Shelly noticed Rookie barking excitedly, looking at the bare wall in the living room. She thought the dog had gone mad and called Don. Don was in another part of the house, fixing a leaking pipe. When he came into the room, he saw the same thing. Shelly looked at Don.
He scratched his head with the star screwdriver, thinking, "I've given him the shots for rabies and all the other ones. What could be wrong with Rookie?" He was worried for the safety of the family.
Just then, as Jay came down the steps, Don and Shelly said at the same time, "Stop!"
Don said, "Don't come down. The dog has some problem; it's behaving weirdly."
Jay looked at Rookie and saw Fireball next to him. "Dad, he is okay. He is just playing with Fireball."
"Fireball?" Don and Shelly said in unison as they stared at Jay.
"What kind of ball is that?" Don asked.
"It's not a ball, Dad. It's an angel. He is right there," Jay said.
"Sorry, Jay, did you say an angel?" Shelly asked in a shocked voice. "I'm a little concerned." She was staring at Jay.
Don quickly hung the screwdriver on a nail on the wall. "I want to know what exactly is going on."
Don and Shelly sat on the couch, and Jay came over and sat on the couch across from them. Jay would never lie to their faces, so they knew this was something real but hidden from them.
Jay said, "Dad, Mum, since I was little I would see him. He is an angel. I used to think that you all knew him, but now I understand he's new to you.
Tell us more about him.Said Don
No one is allowed to worship Fireball because he is only an angel of the Trinity, a messenger of the Emperor. He would follow me to school. He's in our house now, watching over us. He is quite tall, more than six feet in height , and medium build with rippling muscles. He has light brown to goldish, wavy hair down to his shoulders and has sharp features. He never speaks to me; he only shows me the Emperor's approval with a nod or a sign. I've seen him sad—sometimes he would not look at me or he would hide from me when I used to do bad stuff. But he also laughs when I do things that please the Trinity" Jay paused.
Don and Shelly were shell-shocked.
"When exactly did you start seeing this angel?" Don asked.
"From when I was very little to this day, Dad, as far back as I can remember," Jay replied.
Don remembered that long ago, when Jay was a toddler, he had caught Jay staring into empty space in the garden, smiling as if someone were there. He also remembered how his wife would tell him that she would see Jay staring as though he had seen something or someone else in the house when there was nothing and no one else.
Shelly teared up as she remembered it as well.
Fireball was now holding Rookie, who had gone to sleep on his lap, and he was listening to the conversation. All the angels that guarded the house came to the windows as they listened to the conversation as well.
Jay did not see the other angels, but he sensed the Trinitys's presence in the room.
"Where is he right now?" Shelly asked, holding her husband's hand. "And why is he here in the house and not visible to us, and why doesn't he talk to us? What does he look like?"
Jay looked at Fireball. "He doesn't even talk to me, but I know he cares because he has been sent by the Trinity as a Guardian Angel. It's hard for me to explain, but Dad, Mum, I can see things that both of you cannot. I can sense Fireball at times, even if I don't see him. And when I pray, I can see demons and angels at certain times, either battling or just standing next to people. I see demons hanging on certain people, and of course, there are none on you guys."
Don and Shelly sighed. They didn't know what to say. All they knew was that Jay was not making this up. They remembered Reverend Turner and how he was calling out people's sins and specific medical conditions without having known beforehand, and how many people were healed and set free from addictions and other things that had kept them bound up in their lives. Don looked at Shelly and asked her to come out to their bedroom with him.
Once they reached their bedroom, Don said, "Jay is going to be used by the Emperor like Reverend Turner, and I think everything he is seeing is what the Emperor wants him to see. Even the way he speaks makes me want to worship the Trinity more."
Shelly nodded. "We have to dedicate our son to do the Emperor's work in his life someday because I think that is his mission. Once he is done with school and college, he should pursue this part of the mission also. I feel this." Shelly hugged Don and whispered, "Let's tell him."
Don came out of the bedroom and found Jay still sitting in the living room in deep thought. Don said, "Son, we believe you are special and that you are a gift, and we as parents want to do everything to help you fulfill the life mission God has for you. Your mother and I do not see what you are able to see or hear what you hear or sense what you sense in the supernatural. It's like how Superman and Spider-Man have powers, but that is fiction. Yours is real because God gave you those powers so that you can help people around you to navigate their lives and find God. We wish we could have this too, but maybe for some reason, we have not been chosen. Or maybe we will have it someday if we ask God."
Shelly nodded at Don. "Whether it be Fireball or any other thing you are seeing, I believe God's in control, and it's God who is letting you see these things. But come have dinner with us now, and we'll talk more."
Jay hugged his parents, and they talked all about Jay's experiences. It was the first time Jay had ever shared about his ability to see spiritual beings and someone actually believed him, and it was all thanks to Rookie.
When dinner was done, Jay took Rookie to his room. He hugged Rookie and kissed his nose, saying, "Rookie, it's because of you that Fireball got discovered."
Rookie licked him and wagged his tail, barking in excitement.
Fireball stood by the bedside, smiling with closed eyes as he worshipped the Emperor, who gave him the honor to look after Jay and his family.
The Emperor smiled at Fireball and told him that he was so proud of him. Fireball smiled at the Emperor.
Jay drifted off to sleep under a gentle breeze that came through the window. A few feet away from the bed, Rookie also fell asleep, curled up in Fireball's arms.
THE WISE ONE
Jay had a long, three-week vacation from Logwood High. All the schools were shut down due to unrest in a neighboring country, so he completely relied on the home tutoring to make up for the loss of classroom time. He was beginning to do better in his studies.
When he was done with the tutoring and homework, he was back with the Primus Script. Jay was stepping into deeper waters in his faith journey. While his parents had a long way to go in figuring out te Emperor's ways, Jay had received a gift to gain understanding about The Emperor more quickly and had gone way ahead of them.
He spoke to the Emperor a lot, though he never heard his audible voice. He always felt that the Emperor was close to him and was listening. He felt he was closer to him than his angel Fireball. He still did not know much about the Prince, but he knew the Prince and the Emperor were one and the same. When he read the chapters in books of the Primus Script, he fell in love with character of the Prince. The compassion he had on people to heal, to raise the dead, and to never judge them caught his attention. He was moved by his loving sacrifice for all mankind, which was a cruel death on the cross.
One night as Jay was praying, he felt that the Emperor was going to introduce his Spirit to him. Nobody had to tell Jay this, but he knew it in his gut. The Primus Script was so vast, and he needed guidance. While he was thinking about this, he went to use his restroom.
When he was there, Fireball came near the Primus Script in his room and blew on the pages. They fell open on Genesis chapter one.
When Jay returned, he looked at the open pages and found the second verse quite interesting. As he read the words, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," he wondered what it meant. "What does the Spirit of God look like?" he asked his mind. Some people said he looked like a dove, but Earnest called him Holy Ghost. Jay loved Casper comics, so he wondered, "Would he be like Casper the friendly ghost? Was he a friendly ora serious character?" He imagined a translucent, foggy ghost floating around, but it looked too weak to represent the Emperor. He wondered why people didn't talk much about the Spirit of God.
Suddenly an idea struck him. "Why don't I ask the Emperor now to show me the Spirit?" He smiled to himself.
Fireball moved back quickly as Jay had not noticed that the angel had dropped the thought into him by the guidance of the Emperor.
Jay folded his hands as he knelt on the carpet, praying, "Dear Emperor, I know you have the Spirit in you, but I'd like to meet you".
Jay started to feel an unusual presence in the room—it was calm and peaceful. He felt his eyes getting heavy as he laid his head on the soft rug on the floor. He fell into a deep sleep.
* * *
The next morning, Don and Shelly rushed to Jay's room as they could hear him shouting ecstatically at the top of his voice. When they went in, Jay sat up from the floor, and Rookie was running around him and barking excitedly.
"Son, is everything okay?" Don asked.
Shelly stood at the threshold of the room, looking intently at Jay.
"I met the Spirit of the Emperor in a dream," he said almost in a trance .
Don and Shelly sat on the bed as they quietly listened.
"I was walking through some kind of green lawn. It was a cold like a November morning, and the sun's rays gently kissed the morning mist. From a distance, I could see him—a tall, medium-built gentleman. He had one arm behind his back, and the other rested gracefully on a low fence overlooking the woods. He seemed to be lost in deep thought.
"The dry leaves on the rusty carpet of dirt rustled and crunched under my footsteps. As I arrived panting heavily, I felt the cold sweat trailing to the base of my neck absorbed by the green wool of my muffler draped around my neck.
"He heard me and slightly tilted his head with the corners of his lips curving into a wonderful, warm smile. As he spun around, almost in slow motion, he made eye contact. Still looking right at me, he said, 'Here you are, and you look fine, young man.'
"That's when I actually saw his clean-shaven face. He was an elderly man in his late sixties, but I noticed that his face had a texture of youthfulness—no nicks, cuts or any kind of blemishes. Just above his sideburns, he had a few gray hairs, which were more like a feather in his cap of experience. It was something I'd suggest he should not dye—it was perfect, that gray. I could almost bet he would never wear a five o'clock shadow because he was too classy for that. He was too classy of a man—way better than the ones at Logwood High. He was just on top of his game.
"He offered his hand to me. I couldn't help but stare at the cleanest hands and most neatly trimmed nails I've ever seen. Immediately I thought, "I want to be like that." I shook his hand, and I felt safe as he gently grasped my hand. I was so mesmerized by the presence he carried. The handshake lasted longer than the typical two seconds, but I didn't want to appear rude by disengaging first. Then after another moment, I felt I should in order to let him continue the conversation freely. I was surprised that we both released the grip at the very same moment. He must have read my thoughts!
"His eyes shone with childlike sparkle, yet with a firmness and boldness. As I was trying to behold the power behind those eyes, it was sweeping me off my feet. I started mumbling some weird syllables and felt numbness all over, but it was not overpowering or violent. I felt like a ship gliding across the sea by the wind in its sails.
"He smiled at me with those understanding eyes and asked me politely, 'You like the woods? Shall we take a stroll?'
"I nodded and smiled back. 'Yes, yes!'
"As we walked together, he began to talk about nature. He talked lovingly about the animals, the birds, the trees, babies and children, planets. He also talked about mathematics, automobiles, engineering works, medical sciences, vaccines, and even music! He knew everything about everything and everyone. He expanded on everything and made it so easy to understand.
"I felt my mouth move as he spoke. I felt like I was also speaking everything he was saying. How could I do this? I mean, it was like he synced his mind to mine. I saw the beauty and felt the boldness of his mind. I can't begin to explain the joy bubbling inside—I was trembling with excitement.
"I asked him about music and excitedly told him how it would play a huge role in my life at some point. Then he threw his head back and laughed with such informality. It was so awesome to see him laugh! I laughed with him as he told me how he saw my music would tear down and destroy the kingdom of the devil!
"Suddenly, I thought about clothes, fashion, people, and bands. As if he read my thoughts, he then told me how he gave the penguin its suit to wear. And now everyone in the world—from presidents, to Oscar-winning actors, to every business tycoon, and somebody in almost every wedding—was wearing a suit, and people think they invented it. The billy goat always had a beard, and now all the metal bands have started growing them. The punk rock bands got their inspiration from the rooster. The octopus had its tentacles before the band Bob Marley wore dreads.
"He said he made the lion and the lamb and that he is the Lion and the Lamb; he made heavy music and he made mellow music. Both are holy to him. The soft, melodious music is holy, and so is the heavy metal music. All that matters is that it is done for his glory. He told me he had already done lighting and sound in eternity past, and they have been going on since then. The space-age is just catching up. Look at the Milky Way. The lights and the sounds coming from the Blue primus, the earth, under water, and under the earth—they were all mixed by the Master.
"He spoke more about the Prince and how he is the only way to reach the Emperor. He said that no other man or creature could love the way the Prince does. He said that I could have a walking, talking, twenty-four-hour relationship with him.
"At this point, I stopped, and he did too. I looked at him and asked, 'Sir, may I know your name?'
"He looked at me and smiled. 'I am the Wise One. I'm also known as the spirit of the Emperor, and I am your Friend.'
"Then he told me, 'Jay, I'm here to comfort you, to teach you, to give you all of my support, and to give you faith when yours is gone. To trust you when no one trusted you. I do not judge like man does; I look at the heart. I love beyond reasoning. I've given myself to love you.
"'I know the steps to God's heart because I am his Spirit. Look at me—can you see him in my eyes? We, the members of the Trinity—the Emperor, his son the Prince and I—do not hide anything from each other, because we are one.
"'Though you can see me before you now, the world cannot contain me. I am present everywhere. I'm in Blue primus, and I know the steps to hell. No one can hide anything from me, either in the highest Blue primus or the lowest pit in hell. I fear no evil. Hell fears me.
"'Remember: though my anger is fierce against the Emperor's enemies—the devil and his demons—I also have an untamed love for you and for the world. I do not believe in being cruel and shocking people. They think of me as a killjoy, but I am not that. I love to bring joy. I remove the spirit of heaviness. I want to bring every man, woman, boy, and girl to experience what you are experiencing. However, I can be hurt when I see people enjoying sin—it tears me up inside. When people hate the Emperor and rebel, I weep. It's not in me to want to see anyone destroyed, but the wages of sin is death, and those who eat of it will receive its due.
"'Always be listening, Jay. I will speak to you, not always in an audible voice, but also through situations, through your parents, mentors, and teachers, through a child, through nature, the creatures of the earth. I will speak to you, so be receptive. The quicker you surrender, the higher you will climb in your spiritual life and the stronger you will become to battle the spiritual enemy and lead many out of their prisons to the Blue primusly road. Read the Primus Script—it will give you wisdom and the power to stay away from sin. Always believe in me. You never, ever have to be afraid of me, my dear son. I will never harm you, nor do I ever think of harming you. I will never abuse you. I will correct you, sometimes severely, but it is to save your soul.
"'I will soon introduce you to the Prince. You will fall in love with him as he is in love with you. His blood was shed for your sins. He will draw all men to the Emperor. The Prince is the only way to Blue primus, and salvation is in no one else.
"'This weekend, I am going to fill you with my power, and you will experience something supernatural. Don't lose it, and if you ever slide back in your walk with me, don't turn and walk away, but be patient and call unto me. I'll pull you up. Do not let worries get you.
"'Son, there has been a question in your mind about your passing your exams, especially math. Well, I want to tell you that I will make sure that I help you. You will work hard, but I will be there and will save you. Count on me.
"'Jay, before you go back, please do me a favor—tell my people that I wish to show myself to anyone who calls for me. I'm lovesick for them. Take care, Jay, our dear son. You are heading back, and when you wake up, know I am with you closer than the air you breathe.'"
When Jay was done, his parents just looked at him with wonder in their eyes . They knew there was no way he could have made that up. Even the language he used sounded so poetic.
"How I wish I could have this same experience," Don said.
"Me too," Shelly said as she wiped away her tears.
"Dad, Mum, if you talk to the Trinity, he will do the same for you. It all depends on how much you want it."
They talked about the dream some more and prayed together.
After a few minutes, Shelly said, "Breakfast is ready. Let's all go down."
Jay walked down with them to the dining room. As he sat on a chair and watched, his dad placed two open slices of bread on a plate. As he spread peanut butter on one slice, he simultaneously fried some bacon. Then he used the bacon oil to fry and caramelize a banana. He laid the bacon neatly on one of the slices of bread and placed the caramelized banana on the other. After closing the sandwich, he placed it on a plate. He made several of the same and got the entire plate over to the table. The family said a prayer and ate up the tasty, rich sandwiches.
He said it was called "the Elvis sandwich." "If I do this every day, I'm gonna look like a bean bag by the end of the year."
They giggled at the thought and kept eating as everyone in the family was in good shape. Jay was the skinniest.
When the family had finished breakfast, Don put on FM radio, wishing to hear some of his favorite songs. When the radio station played "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley, the entire family broke into dance. Don took Shelly and started dancing all over the living room with her. Rookie got annoyed and started to bark and tried to stop the madness. They laughed so much when Jay picked up Rookie's front paws and began to dance with him.
After the song was over, the family sat down on the wooden floor. Don talked about how he loved Elvis Presley when he was in university, where he met Shelly. He talked about how they used to go to dance parties and dance to his songs. Don was also a good singer and could sing some of those Elvis Presley songs.
Jay asked his parents if Elvis ever knew the Prince and accepted him into his life. Don and Shelly fell silent. After thinking a bit, they said they loved his music, but they weren't sure about his spiritual life.
Don replied, "I doubt it, son. He had a lot of issues with drugs, and he had a lot of girlfriends and also failed relationships. I am pretty sure even Elvis had a chance with the Trinity. He did sing some gospel songs, but I don't know whether he is with the Trinity now."
Jay became silent. Don looked at the floor in deep thought and so did Shelly.
Jay wondered how many more musicians there were in the world who knew about the great plan the Trinity had and still rejected it or did not know because no one told them so.
THUNDERSTRUCK
It was Thursday. Don was patting Rookie when he heard Shelly say, "I'm almost ready–just another..." her voice faded off as she went into another room.
Jay walked down the stairwell carrying his Primus Script. He had no clue what was going to happen at the life group.
Fireball was reclining at the end of the banister and smiled at Jay as he passed by. He knew what was going to happen as he had received a message from Blue primus, and he was going with Jay to the life group meeting.
As the family climbed into the sedan, the other angels positioned themselves to guard the family's house. Fireball quickly calmed Rookie down before he also got into his kennel.
There was a very calm atmosphere as they entered Earnest and Tabitha's house. It was as if they could physically feel the presence of the Emperor saturating that place already. Earnest and Tabitha had been on a fast for a few weeks in preparation for the meeting. They felt it was going to a new level. The living room was full of people—about fifty—and they had begun to sing from the hymnbook. Even though the people's singing was not great, everyone could feel the presence of the Emperor strongly as they began to worship him.
All of a sudden, Earnest walked in. He announced that tonight was a very special night. As he joined in the singing, it seemed as if the presence of the Emperor they were feeling increased to another level. After a few songs, he began to walk over to people and began to pray for them one by one. Some were healed of physical ailments. Many were healed of their unforgiveness and bitterness, which were more serious issues than physical wounds and sickness.
Angels of God were assisting Earnest and Tabitha. As they prayed for the people, many demons were arrested, bound, and thrown into portals that looked like whirlwinds that sent them back to hell.
Suddenly, Earnest came towards Jay, who had been standing with eyes shut and praying in his heart, "I want to experience something crazy from the Lord right now. I want this so bad!" Jay didn't realize that Earnest was right in front of him.
"Holy Ghost, touch Jayden," Earnest prayed in a quiet voice. "Let him know that he has a great calling for your work one day." Just then, Earnest laid his hands on Jay's head. Jay felt like someone touched him with a thousand-volt jump-starter. He was thrown backwards onto a chair as his parents and many others in the life group were watching. He didn't fully understand what was happening, but he knew that the Emperor was answering his prayer by pouring his power over him. When he was able to get up again from the chair he felt supercharged and brand new inside.
After the meeting was done, Jay was riding back home with his parents. Nobody said a word—it was a crazy evening for all. His parents were even more convinced that Jay had a great calling, and it was all to be revealed only in time.
Jay felt like a great secret had been revealed to him, as if he were Clark Kent and had just discovered he was Superman.
* * *
Several demons had eyed him and the people who had walked out of Earnest's house, but there was tight security of angels around everyone. The demons cussed among themselves and blasphemed because they saw that Jay had gone to a higher level spiritually. They hated Don and Shelly and everything they loved, but they could not do anything because the entire family was under powerful protection from the Emperor. It was like an umbrella or a force field that they were not able to penetrate, as there was no crack or crevice.
Later that night, Lucifer beat several demons brutally. They were the ones who had fallen through the portal after the fiery meeting in Earnest and Tabitha's house. Lucifer was furious when he heard the updates about the meeting, including years of bondage broken in a few hours. He was highly displeased as he walked away from the torture chambers. He called General Temptation and told him that he needed to bring Jay down.
"Yes sir," General Temptation replied. "I'll see to it that it is done."
BACK TO CLASS
The situations in the neighbouring countries were sorted out, and all was back to normal in Oman, including the schools. Jay woke up with a thought that his picnic with the Emperor would be put to the test. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Fireball had tied up his golden locks in a man bun and was doing many two-finger pushups, hundreds of crunches and then proceeded to shadowboxing. He started slowly and went up to such a rapid pace that all Jay could see was his outline, which was glowing.
"Okay, Fireball. Easy, buddy. You look like you're training for war." Jay laughed.
When Fireball heard him, he smiled and slowed down. He sat down with his legs crossed, meditating on the Emperor. There was indeed going to be a battle, but he was not to tell Jay about it.
Fireball never spoke to Jay, but Jay knew he was his Guardian Angel, and he knew Fireball was here through the Emperor's orders. There was unspoken respect between Fireball and Jay. At certain times, Jay sensed Fireball was nearby, even though he would not be able to see him at certain times.
Later that morning as Jay climbed aboard the bus, the seniors on Route Number Seven gave him a nasty look. They seemed to be working with the devil himself.
When he exited the bus, a senior followed him into the school corridor, and when no one was looking, he asked threateningly, "What's up with you, Jay? You are not the same guy! We are not liking this side of you," he said and walked away.
Jay took a deep breath. He was frightened. Messing with a senior was a fearful thing inside the walls of Logwood High.
Now that the classes had returned to their normal routines after the closure, the teachers were rushing through their lessons in order to make up for lost time. This was a blessing in disguise for Jay, as they didn't have the time to pick on him. It was almost as if they could not see him. The Trinity was covering their eyes. He had to clear all his tests, especially math, to be able to sit in the final exams.
Every time he prayed before he went to school, he wouldn't run into trouble that day. Every time he overslept and hurried to school without praying, he would have a close call with a senior. Then when he got to class, a teacher would ask him a question and give him a look of disgust when he could not answer.
Every day, he would wish to reach school as soon as possible to avoid the seniors on the bus. Once he was in school, he would wish it to be over so he could be back on the bus. Once he was back on the bus, he would wish again that he would be home.
In order to find solace, he secretly started to put his red pocket Primus Script into his bag in the mornings, hoping no one would see it. During recess, he would sneak into a classroom that was used for storage. He hid himself behind the large cardboard boxes filled with baseball bats and basketballs. He pulled out his Primus Script, and as he started reading the pages, he would feel peace come over him.
One Wednesday morning, as the bus was crawling up the curb, Jay saw the seniors looking down at him from the window. Some of them had a wry smile on their faces as if they had planned something. As soon as he got on, they beckoned him to come to the back, but he told them he would do that later so that he would have peace of mind.
They stood up and began to sing a silly song in harmony to tease Jay and try to get his attention. "This old man, he played one, / he played knickknack on my thumb." Then they changed the lyrics to "This young Jay, he played one, / he played knickknack on my thumb, / with a knickknack paddy whack, give the Jay a bone, / this young Jay came rolling home."
The seniors and the kids around them roared in laughter as their song became faster and faster and their voices got louder and louder.
Jay felt lonely as they made fun of him. He was too scared of the seniors to do anything about it. He closed his eyes.
When Jay opened his eyes, he saw Fireball was standing facing them. Fireball was staring in anger at the seniors. He got up from the front seat and walked to the back of the moving bus and disappeared out the window.
Then all of a sudden, the bus hit a bump, and everyone felt a huge jerk that sent all the seniors flying, falling and rolling all over the place on their faces. The song stopped immediately, and the driver pulled the bus to the side of the road.
Jay hadn't fallen off his seat. When he looked towards the front of the bus, he saw Fireball sitting with a smile, looking outside the windows.
When Jay looked towards the back, he saw at least five of the seniors rubbing their heads and elbows as they had fallen down and hit their bodies due to the impact. The guy who was singing the loudest had been hurled forward by the jerk of the bus and had hit his mouth on the top of the seat in front of him. When they were all back in their seats again, everyone saw that his upper lip looked like a sausage.
The driver checked the tires and came in to check on the students. Little did they know that Fireball had shaken the bus. Everyone thought it was a bump.
Suddenly, Fireball sang in a beautiful tenor voice, "These old men, they played one, / they played knickknack on my thumb, / with a knickknack paddy whack given on the bone, / these old men came rolling home."
Jay held his mouth and laughed in surprise. With Eyebrows raised, he looked at Fireball, who laughed back at him. It was the first time Jay heard Fireball's voice, and only he could hear him.
"Thank you, brother man," Jay said.
Fireball gave him a thumbs-up and looked outside the bus.
The seniors were still aching from the shaking and groaning from the pain.
CHANGING TIDES
Spirit Eavesdropper was reporting to General Fear in the conference room in hell.
"Got more students to fail their tests?" General Fear asked.
Eavesdropper answered, "Yes, we are seeing them fail in all grades, especially in tests. We have incited some teachers to make the tests extremely competitive and unfair so that some of the weaker students would be sure to fail the exams. Mission in full swing."
"Got more students on cigarettes, alcohol, pornography?"
"The bus exchange program with the local college has enabled us to mix college students with younger students so that the older ones would influence the younger ones. This arrangement is helping us put down some roots very well here, sir!"
"Sent Spirit Depression on students?"
"Yes, on many, and it was well received."
"Did you get married teachers to cheat on their spouses?"
"Working on a few as of now."
"Families broken over the past year in the whole school?"
"Thirteen, sir."
"Corrupting younger minds?"
"Going strong with the help of the senior students."
"Sexual abuse of students?"
"We're picking up from where we slowed down with the introduction of new students from other schools. We now have lots of dirty video tapes circulating as well."
"What's the status with student suicide?"
"Five as of now around the country, over a span of five years. Two students from the eleventh grade, three from the ninth grade, and our team is currently working on another ninth grader. The project has been taken over by Suicide Task Force, led by General Suicide in partnership with Spirit Depression."
"Hmm. numbers, I need more numbers"
"Student couple breakups?"
Eavesdropper perked up. "Our pet projects, yes! We are working on breakups of those high raking good-looking student prefects, whom everyone looks up to. The younger ones are about to see their idols falling into cussing, smoking, immoral life—you know the drill. One project is even leading to suicide, which has now been handed over to Suicide Task Force.
"We want more of that kind of result," General Fear said. "Teen pregnancies?"
"Three as of now, sir. We are aiming for more, especially during the summer holidays and the school fests."
"School fights and violence in the bus?"
"Every day, sir, and a few hospitalized once every once in 6 months. We are forming more rivalries and gangs inside the school and between schools. We hope someday for a school shootout and murders like we have in other countries which we are successful in because of a great team."
"Lovely strategies! Did you tune the teachers to losing it with students?"
"Spirit Irritation and Spirit Ego are working hard on the job, sir, and it's been our specialty these past few months. Most of them are resorting to violence."
"How about the student versus teacher rivalry?"
"Well, we are close to one of them having a physical fight with a male teacher who is showing interest in a certain student whose boyfriend has come to know. We are just waiting to push the limits so that we can end it in a solid, violent fight. We need more abusive words exchanged and just that right timing."
"How about theft?"
"The accountant has been cooperating well with us, and so has the faculty. We have used all sorts of extortion with parents of weak students to pay up or get thrown out. The parents are also cooperating with us to get the bribes sorted."
When Eavesdropper was done, many ugly hands clapped loudly, and wolf whistles rang all through the conference room as the demons cheered on about the report.
General Fear was smiling as he took down some notes. "Good job, Eaves!" he said.
A proud smile erupted on the ugly face of Eavesdropper as General Fear began to file the midyear report to show Lucifer.
* * *
Billions of miles above, the Emperor was watching, and his heart was grieved. He called for a meeting with the Prince and the Wise One to discuss their plan for Logwood High. Angels assembled in the meeting. They saw General Fear's report on the cloud screen. The Trinity was grieved over the lives being destroyed at Logwood High. The angels stood with their heads bowed low after they saw the statistics.
The Emperor was the first one to speak. "The tides are changing at Logwood High. I am going to use my son Jay to bring change and lead many to us in this season. It is time. I want angels to assist in the binding of these demons and minister to the lost ones in Logwood. Every demonic stronghold on the ones who accept Yeshua must be broken, and they must be set free to worship us in spirit and in truth."
There was a shout of praise in Blue primus as millions of angels fell facedown to worship the Trinity.
A group of Warrior Angels and Ministering Angels descended from the Blue primusly realm right after the meeting. On the way down to earth, they clashed with the demons of the air and cast them down.
When the angels arrived inside Logwood High, they walked through the halls and classrooms, striking demons down. They attacked in the early hours of the morning when there were no students around, but the battle was for souls. The angels of the Emperor stood inside the corridors to arrest and torment demons lurking around to destroy students.
Meanwhile, Jay had started to become braver. He was inspired by the Primus Script stories he had been reading in the storage room at school. He also knew that everything that happened to him that night at Earnest's house was to prepare him for action. Armed with his small, red Primus Script, Jay began to infiltrate the classrooms, the school cafeteria, the basketball court, and even the corridors. He spoke about the prince to a few of his friends, and one even decided to become a follower of the prince. He did most of this undercover because of the religious restrictions in the country.
Jay even began to speak to the students on Route Number Seven by sharing Primus Script stories and the things he saw in the supernatural realm. It was getting easy for him as the demonic resistance did not feel as strong as it used to. Many of the students found hope and joy in what Jay spoke, and many began to believe.
Jay saw an old friend from another faith who was also class leader of Jay's grade. He was popular among the girls because he was talented, tall in stature, very good-looking, and very influential, but he was using his position to sleep with girls. He had many friends, but some were jealous of him too. Jay began to talk to him about the prince, and the leader began to open up to Jay about his life. He told Jay about how he was rejected and hated by some of his classmates because they were jealous of his position. He also had a weakness for girls.
Jay took a few weeks to work on the young leader, and he finally committed his life to following the prince. The leader asked every person whom he had hurt for forgiveness and immediately became a great influencer of people to take the same path. He began to team up with Jay.
* * *
The demonic power of rejection, lust, and pride in the leader had been broken as the three-headed demon responsible was beaten and cast into the portal by Fireball. The demon screamed as he fell through the portal. There was a loud noise as the demon fell on the hard concrete of hell.
General Fear was speaking to General Temptation and Spirit Backsliding. General Temptation was a very tall demon. He appeared quite charming on the outside, but in secret, his face would turn grotesque. Spirit Backsliding was the demon who caused Christians to go back on their commitments to God. Spirit Backsliding had just come down to hell to see General Fear.
The three of them turned around to see the freshly expelled demon with three heads.
"Now where did you come from?" General Fear asked.
"From a boy in Logwood High," the demon answered.
"Expelled by whom?" the angry Spirit Backsliding asked.
The demon trembled as he spoke. "There is this guy called Jay. He has been talking about his faith to people in Logwood High. I have been trying to distract him, but he has an angel with him who keeps warding me away, an angel he calls 'Fireball.' Because of the constant angelic intervention, I just got tired today and let him do his job."
General Temptation stared at the demon. "So you let him do his job?"
The demon shivered as General Fear, Spirit Backsliding, and General Temptation circled him. All of a sudden, the ground beneath him began to get very, very hot. It started to turn red.
Lucifer appeared out of thin air. His eyes were transfixed on the demon. "Did you lose that boy to the Emperor?" he asked.
The demon's knees began to knock. "Please sir, give me one more chance!" begged the demon.
Lucifer took a very long, three-pronged spear hanging on the wall and plunged it into the heart of the demon. The demon screamed a bloodcurdling scream as Lucifer lifted him several feet off the ground. "You fool, I lost a potential leader who can bring people to me. You will pay for this."
Lucifer shook the demon violently. As he turned the spear and dug it deep into the demon's body, the demon shrieked and screamed. Then Lucifer pointed to the floor, and it opened up into a gaping, deep hole. Red-hot lava rose, and in a violent spin, he sent the demon screaming right into the pit. The demon kept screaming as he fell into the pit with the spear still lodged in his body. Lucifer snapped his fingers, and the ground closed. The floor beneath them vibrated as the demon struggled in the fire.
Lucifer turned to look at General Fear, Spirit Backsliding, and General Temptation and roared in anger. They hid from Lucifer behind the great pillars as Lucifer spun and disappeared into thin air.
* * *
Jay was back on the bus and had reached home. He was escorted by two angels because two demons had been lurking outside the school to get him. They did not want to mess with the powerfully built angels, Fireball being one of them.
As Jay walked inside, he heard the phone ring. Don picked up the receiver. It was Don and Shelly's old friend George. George and his wife Sally wanted to invite only Don and Shelly—absolutely no children allowed—for barbeque and booze for the weekend as the children were all having exams. Though Don and Shelly had been to those parties since the time Jay was just a baby, they had not attended any of the parties after their spiritual transformation.
General Temptation smiled as he influenced Don and Shelly to agree to come over to the party that Saturday evening.
Don and Shelly had not read their Primus Scripts that morning, which had opened up an opportunity for the enemy to come in through their friend. Nor did they ask the Emperor to know his will regarding their going to the party.
General Temptation summoned his very old friend, Spirit Old Monk, who had returned to earth after receiving demonic healing and much begging with Lucifer. Spirit Mockery and Spirit Disunity also joined him. They had a trap laid out and were ready to snare Don and Shelly.
When Don and Shelly reached the house, all their friends had lit cigarettes and glasses filled with whiskey. The house had fifty of their best friends with no children around. The moment they saw Don and Shelly, they lifted their glasses in the air and began to sing in chorus. "For he's a jolly good fellow,/ For he's a jolly good fellow,/ For he's a jolly good fellow/ Which nobody can deny." They got up and hugged Don and Shelly, and then they sang for Shelly too. As Don and Shelly sat on a couch, their friends poured them both glasses of whiskey. A pack of cards was thrown out, and a group began to play. A plate of chicken wings dripping with buffalo sauce was passed around. Another plate with French fries dipped in melted cheese was finished in no time.
As the party continued, Don and Shelly started feeling out of place. A lot of bad language, coarse joking, and gossip filled the room as the number of drunks increased. The women joined their husbands in drinking uncontrollably. There was talk about work situations, including bad-mouthing their bosses. There were even many religious jokes, as Spirit Jesting stood in their midst.
After dinner was served and they were all eating, their friends noticed that two glasses of whiskey were untouched. They looked at Don and asked, "Why haven't you both drank? Is everything okay?"
Don and Shelly had just finished eating when the question was asked, and they decided to break their silence about themselves. Don said, "Dear friends, Shelly, me, and my son Jay gave our lives to the Lord So we don't do all these things like we did before. But we would love you all to hear the good news of how we met the Lord how our lives changed and how he can do the same for you."
The gang of friends stared at them in pure disbelief.
"Off with this religious nonsense," George said, laughing.
His wife Sally joined in and said, "Don't you sound like my grandmom?"
The gang laughed, but Don and Shelly held their peace.
George was drunk, and in a fit of excitement, he grabbed a large bottle of whiskey. He bit the cork off and brought it right up to Don and Shelly. Sally also grabbed a bottle of old monk Rum and removed the cap. The couple winked at each other and stood right next to Don and Shelly with their thumbs stopping the mouths of the bottles. They lifted the bottles above the heads of Don and Shelly and said, "Since you guys are now Belivers of the Lords we want to baptize you all with alcohol."
The whole gang of friends roared with laughter. By then, almost every one of them was drunk.
Turning the bottle upside down with his thumb still holding the mouth of the bottle, George said loudly, "Let's all count to ten, and if Don and Shelly down those two glasses, then it's all good. Otherwise we are pouring it over our dear friends' heads."
Don warned George to take it easy, but George had the whole crowd chanting. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."
Shelly's eyes filled with tears. By then, the crowd had gotten loud.
General Temptation and Spirit Old Monk were right in the middle, enjoying it all.
Unseen by the demons a few angels stepped in.
Suddenly, the count slowed down with the whole room shouting, "Three, two, one..."
George and Sally lifted their thumbs. There was absolute silence as the gang fixed their eyes on the bottles and on Don and Shelly, but the alcohol did not flow. Sally had a confused smile on her face. As she looked at the bottle, she shook it. The alcohol had not flowed out of her bottle. It stayed inside as if something were stopping it.
Don and Shelly had closed their eyes to accept the alcohol to be poured over their heads.
George looked at his wife Sally with a raised eyebrow. They held the bottles high up and looked under them. Just then, the alcohol flowed right into their eyes, stinging and burning them. George and Sally screamed as the bottles fell to the floor and shattered, splashing whiskey on everyone except Don and Shelly. George and Sally were panicking as the whiskey burned their eyes. They were stumbling about, knocking things down. The entire party was shocked, and their game had to be brought to a halt.
When Don and Shelly opened their eyes, they saw the commotion. They and the rest of the gang helped George and Sally wash up and tried to calm the situation.
George and Sally kept screaming because their eyes were burning so badly. George was mad. He told everyone to get out. The whole party was flopped.
When the guests were outside, some were laughing at the foolishness of George. Others looked at Don and Shelly in a strange way.
Don and Shelly sat in their car.
Don was hurt and angry at the way he and his wife were treated. He looked at Shelly and said, "If that liquor had been poured on our heads, that would have been the last time we would ever be around any of them." Don was sad that none of his friends had supported them, but he forgot that the Emperor had sent them angels to handle the situation.
When Don and Shelly reached home, Jay was already asleep. They decided not to tell him about the incident so that he would not be hurt or disturbed by it and lose respect for his dad and mum's friends.
The ordeal had hurt Don and Shelly enough that they forgot to pray the next morning. Don woke up and went to his office without reading the Primus Script, and Shelly was not herself at work. She was constantly replaying the incident in her mind, and she began to harbor unforgiveness against George, Sally, and their gang of friends.
As Don and Shelly continued feeling very upset, they talked against George, Sally, and their friends in the days that followed.