Chapter 16
Race With The Devil
Detour
Caleb and the other angels received information about Dar-Raven coming. "Aaron, what do you think we need to do?" asked Caleb.
Aaron stated frankly, "We can’t hold off half a legion and still protect the kids. There are only 50 of us with the teenagers now. We have enough if we use those who are left up and down the interstate. Not all of those angels we assigned to the interstate are still here and have been reassigned somewhere else. If we can get them mobilized fast enough, we might have a chance. It will at least equalize the odds. I’m concerned about that narrow corridor of time while we wait for them to get here. You know we’re going into a trap? Where is that white cross?" Aaron looked out over the countryside trying to spot it.
"It’s on the north side of the mountain," said Caleb. "But isn’t the interstate the most direct route to the top?"
Aaron asked, "Isn’t that the sign for the road leading to Cowan?" Aaron pointed to the approaching Highway 50 road sign and to the map.
Caleb asked again, "Yes, but it’s faster up the interstate, isn’t it?"
"Caleb, listen to me. If we go up the interstate, there are steep, vertical cliffs above us to our right and straight down near the east lane. There is no way for the kids to escape into the woods. We will all be trapped, cornered, and boxed in as if we were in the Grand Canyon. I know there's a trap on the Cowan side too, but it’s easier to hide there. I like picking my own battleground. I can’t allow these kids to walk into a dead-end snare. We’ve got to do better than that."
"Everyone turn off and go towards Cowan through Dechard!" ordered Aaron.
The buses came up to the exit and wheeled off to the west while Aaron scanned the sky for dark predators. Nothing so far, but it wouldn’t take them long to figure out they had detoured. The pretty town of Cowan sat quietly at the bottom of the mountain. It had an old train station museum sitting in the middle of two rows of storefronts. No town square, only two gas stations and a grocery store. The buses passed through Cowan in less than three minutes and were out the other side heading for the mountain. They were within a quarter mile from the bottom of the mountain via the road and more than that to the cross.
"Park these things, now!" yelled Aaron.
They could barely see the white cross with their binoculars from their vantage point. The buses veered off the road into nearby cornfields. All anyone could see were high corn tops stretching directly up to the base of the mountain.
"Get the kids out now!" yelled Aaron. As the kids piled out of their buses, they looked surprised to see they were in the middle of a farmer’s field.
The angels hollered at them, "Run for the mountain! Head for the cross on the top!"
The kids looked at them like they were crazy. "Hey," one said, "it must be 2,000 feet to the top of that mountain. How do you expect us…?"
An angel didn’t let him finish, "If you stay behind, you’re dead, and it’s 1,920 feet to be exact."
The teenager spoke as he started running, "Got my attention. I am a mountain goat! I am a mountain goat! I am a mountain goat!"
The kids swarmed into the fields, and the angels ran alongside the kids while picking them up when they fell and helping those who got winded. Every once in a while, an angel picked up a smaller kid and flew them to the front, then headed back for more stragglers. The kids started inching their way up the rocky cliffs. Fortunately, the mountain wasn’t a straight vertical climb and had lots of grass, shrubs, and trees to help as hand holds and to prevent them from falling.
Cornered
Dar-Raven changed his mind at the last minute and sent both helicopters up the interstate first. He assumed they’d try the shortest route to the top.
As they both followed the interstate, one radioed Dar-Raven, "This is Captain Helix. I don’t see anything going on. Are you sure they were heading this way?"
The captain was flying an Apache with a full armament of rockets and magazines loaded for automated strafing fire. He had no clue why kids were such a big deal to the governor and Commander Dar’s enforcement group. He supposed they were only looking for the kids to lead them to the kidnapers.
Dar-Raven answered impatiently, "Stop fooling around and get over to Cowan! Check it out! Your other copter needs to go to the base of Monteagle on I-24 and block it."
Dar-Raven knew he only had half a legion coming to help and still wondered how many more Aaron had.
Climbing For Sanctuary
The kids were only a quarter the way up the incline now. Some were already getting exhausted. Some sat down and started crying, "I don’t want to die, please help me, please." Small groups clung together trying to encourage each other to keep going.
"Aaron, why didn’t we try to go up the mountain using I-64?" Caleb pointed to the road that wound its way around the mountain from Cowan to the top.
"It’s bad enough that we have to involve these kids in a battle, but we have no idea how well traveled the road is. I can’t be worrying about trying to save motorists, Sunday drivers, the kids, and fight a half legion of darkness, but I do have an idea."
God’s Recruiting Program
Sister Mary Bernard sat in afternoon prayers at St. Mary’s Convent at Sewanee. She belonged to one of the few convents in the Episcopal Church. She was considering her prayers, faithfully petitioning the Lord when she heard, felt, and saw God’s message.
She jumped up saying, "The children, the children are in danger!"
She grabbed her sisterly garb around her and started running towards All Saint’s Chapel. As she ran, students saw her and laughed. She definitely looked like the "flying nun" as she approached them.
She grabbed them by their shirt-tails and sleeves, yelling, "The children are in danger! Help me! Help me with the children!" She didn’t let them go until they followed her.
No one had ever seen this 87-year-old nun so upset, excited, and insistent. They yielded to her urgency, put their books under the trees, and followed her to the chapel. Father Bander was in the middle of the "prayers of the people" when all 200 faithful parishioners turned to see Sister Bernard storming into the sanctuary with 20 students behind her, running hard to keep up.
She ran to the front of the church and shoved Father Bander aside saying, "The children are in danger! We have to help! Help me, please!"
Father Bander regained himself and held his open hand up as to sanction calmness from the congregation. He turned privately to the Sister, saying sarcastically, "Sister Bernard, please calm down! Will you explain what’s going on? We’re in the middle of a service or haven’t you noticed?"
The Sister pushed up close to the Father with her head only slightly below his chest. She was whispering, but it sounded more like a hiss, "Father Bander, with all due respect, there are more important things going on at Sewanee than this service. God is setting our priorities today, and you’d better listen. God spoke to me and showed me that there are over 1000 children climbing up to the white cross. They are in great danger. I need everyone to help and that includes you."
"Sister Mary Bernard, is it possible that you imagined this? Maybe, it’s some sort of a waking dream?"
He wanted to get her out of the service and return to his duties as fast as possible, but she wasn’t budging. She was still just inches from him with such intensity that he couldn’t ignore her. He could see his suggestion about her daydreaming didn’t go over very well. He felt
that getting her more upset would be evoking the wrath of an angry, vicious holy dwarf, and the image was frightening. He decided to let her calmly get volunteers.
"Sister Bernard, why don’t you ask the congregation if any of them want to participate in helping some children? Offer to have them join you, but encourage them to finish the service, will you? After all,
we are doing God’s business here." He smiled at her in a pious, condescending manner, and patted her gently on her shoulder while hoping to soothe and calm her down.
The Sister stepped in front of the Father, bowed slightly, and threw herself into a passionate plea. The echoes of her voice reverberated through the stained-glassed sanctuary, "I want everyone of you to get up and go to the cross, now! If you have ropes, ladders, bed sheets, get them! We have to help the kids! Is this not God’s Mountain? Now, get your butts up and out of here!" She turned to the Father who was standing aghast at the mass exit of his would-be worshipers.
"That’s not exactly what I had in mind," he said as he shook his head.
"Father Bander, the next time you decide to turn on your condescending screws, leave me out. I’m a little too old to fall for that kind of garbage-chology."
The Father paled at Sergeant Sister’s commanding savvy. He thought to himself, "Who am I to question an 87-year-old nun, anyway? We go to the white cross, find no children, go home. What the heck, a little diversion on a pretty day."
He had given up, but the Sister grabbed him by the belt loop, swung him around in front of her, and kicked him in the rear saying, "I said go!"
Some of the kids who followed the Sister were still waiting in the outer sanctum of the church. They were tickled at the scene and joined her, which included the red-faced Father in the march towards the white cross. Most everyone walked or ran the six-tenth’s of a mile to the cross. Others loaded up pickups with ladders, ropes, and tied together bed sheets. Some kids went over to the Quidnunc Café trying to roust up more help. They ran into the café, sounded the alarm, and were followed out by customers, cooks, and student waitresses. The café owner came out front and was shocked and confused. His café was empty, dead quiet, no employees, and no customers. He immediately thought the rapture had taken place and left him behind. He sighed in relief when he saw the mass of people and students rushing down the street and turning left on Tennessee Avenue towards the white cross.
He tried to figure out what was going on but couldn’t. He got the idea that the woods were on fire. "That’s it," he said to himself. He dropped his accounting books and ran to All Saints. He figured, if it was that big of an emergency, then didn’t someone need to ring the church bells?
Getting Closer
Keel, Anne, and Carey were trying to figure out what to do next when they heard the church bells at Sewanee. It was a terrible racket. They looked at each other and turned to the counter clerk.
Keel said, "Where’s that ringing coming from?"
The clerk said, "Oh, that’s All Saints Chapel at Sewanee. Boy, it sure sounds terrible, doesn’t it?"
Keel saw a visitor’s information rack by the door, and he picked up something on Sewanee. As he read, he saw the words, "God’s Mountain." Cold chills ran up and down his spine, "It’s Sewanee. This is the right place."
The group snatched it out of his hands and started hollering and slapping each other on their backs. "Look," said Keel, "look at this picture of this big white cross. Let’s go see it."
They picked up an extra orders of French fries and piled into their newly acquired sidecar motorbikes while looking like the traveling troubadours. As they moved out onto the main road, they passed the buses, just as Isaac came around the front of his bus. Upon seeing Keel and the rest of God’s Dozen, he immediately stopped and bowed politely towards Keel, an Episcopal bow. Keel thought it was odd, but he put it together quickly, Isaac’s size, and those big hi-signs, the sunglasses.
He thought, "Man, these guys are everywhere."
Isaac thought, "He goes to discover his authority. He will use it today, just as Samson with the jaw bone. It must be time to go."
Keel was the signal and didn’t know it. Isaac got on the radio and alerted everyone that it was time to move out. "We need to go help the teenagers." He told everyone to keep the windows down and enjoy the trip, no reason to hide anymore. Though sad, Enya felt the need to go too. Great things were afoot.
Plans Of Mice And Dark Angels
The helicopter captain sighted the buses in the fields, but not kids. Then, "There they are!"
He circled around for another look, not believing his eyes. He saw over a thousand kids crawling and pulling themselves up the mountain. Just arriving were the 500 from the Arnold AFB group. Their convoy was made up of jeeps and military transports full of their troops. They pulled up to where the buses were ditched in the farmer’s field and started setting up their roadblock.
Captain Helix and the ground-unit lieutenant spotted the swarm of kids moving slowly up the mountain at the same time. Aaron was right. The kids could never make it to the top by the Cowan mountain road without jeopardizing civilians. The road was already getting crowded with folks coming down to do shopping in Winchester and those on Sunday afternoon drives.
"This is Heli-290. I've sighted the Greyhounds, but the kids are climbing to the top of the mountain. I don’t see any kidnapers. Hey, what in the heck are those? They look like bird men. They’re helping the kids climb the mountain. There’s about 40 or 50 of them. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life! What are your instructions?"
Dar-Raven spoke slowly and distinctly, "Maneuver so you drive the kids back down the mountain. Do not, listen to me, do not let them get to the top. Do you copy?" Dar-Raven muted his voice so the Channel Five News pilot couldn’t hear. He didn’t need these news guys giving him bad advertisement.
Captain Helix was puzzled and said, "Of course, I copy, but why? Aren’t we after the kidnappers? All I see are those bird men and the kids." The captain was so fascinated by the angels that he almost clipped some electrical wires and veered off dramatically.
"I don’t have time to give you a tutorial on why I need something done, just do it!" Dar-Raven was losing his patience, and he couldn’t afford to lose any of these kids. He was wondering where his angels were? He had sent for them over an hour ago.
"Sir, what if there’s no response? Let’s say that I can’t buzz them enough to force them down, then what?" The captain was frustrated that there had been no briefing about this.
"Captain, if you can’t get them from making it to the top, I want you to open fire on them. Do you understand?" Dar-Raven was desperate and hated these final seconds in the last quarter moves, the pressure.
"Come back, this is Heli-290, out?" The captain didn’t believe his ears. He wasn’t going to open fire on a bunch of kids. What kind of a nut was this guy?
The captain looked down towards the ground units and opened up communications to the lieutenant in charge. "Lieutenant Richardson, did you pick up any of that last transmission?"
"Yes, a piece of it. Who’s the idiot telling you that? My orders are to keep kidnapers from escaping, and something tells me those white-winged bird men don’t qualify. Do you have a clue what we are doing here?" The lieutenant was surrounded by 50 of his best men who were listening intently while watching the strange scene unfold on the mountainside.
A soldier started yelling, "Lieutenant, those are angels. They aren’t the bad guys!"
Others around him got so excited that they weren’t interested in anything else. The folks coming down the mountain were stopping and taking pictures while contacting the news agencies by cell phones—this was a news breaker.
Dar-Raven was relentless, "You heard me! Drive them down or kill them!"
"Man, I’m not killing anyone. What do you think this is Libya or Iran or something? I’ll be around, but not to play your games, over." He pulled off far from the mountain but close enough to watch the event.
Dar-Raven knew part of his legions were arriving any minute. Soon, he wouldn’t need the captain. Still, he was angry to be defied so blatantly. "Since you don’t have the stomach for the job, I have those who do."
Over to the west came thousands of black dots, becoming more like birds, then bigger
black birds, then birdmen with black wings. The captain was directly in their flight path and took a wide berth of the target area to avoid them.
"This is Heli-290 again. I don’t know what’s going on. Is anyone else is seeing what I’m seeing? There are a lot of very big, crow men carrying what looks like big, no huge swords. Lieutenant, you getting this?" The captain was having difficulty absorbing this as well as avoiding the dark-wings as they flooded the afternoon sky.
"Yes, Captain, I’m not only getting it, but I’m seeing it. What have we got ourselves, an invasion or an infestation?" The lieutenant was marveling at the view. He told his men, "Stand down, but be ready for anything."
Dar-Raven moved himself through time and space, then appeared in the captain’s helicopter right beside him. "Captain, when I tell you to do something, I mean it. Now, drive those kids back down the mountain like I told you to."
The captain was so surprised that he let go of his control stick, and the copter spun out of control. He thought he had seen everything, then this guy appears in full-black dress feathers.
Dar-Raven grabbed the controls and stabilized it while ordering the captain, "Go to the top of the mountain and drive them down, now! If you don’t, I will whittle on your with my pocket knife!" exclaimed Dar-Raven while patting on his sword for emphasis, then he put the captain’s hand on the controls and squeezed it so hard he almost ruptured the blood vessels. The captain got the point.
"Hey, chill out Big Bir…" He couldn’t bring himself to say it. "If you like flying so much, why don’t you do it yourself?"
Dar-Raven laughed at his insolence, "Take my word on it, I like flying, but not so close to the sun. You, on the other hand, can, so do it. I’ll be close by. Remember my promise." Dar-Raven dived out the helicopter to welcome his army.
Keel’s Destiny
Keel’s crew heard the church bells even louder as they turned right on to University Avenue and followed the crowds. Traffic was getting so backed up that they road their bikes over yards, curbs, trees, and between people carrying their ladders, ropes, and bed sheets. They were able to make some headway over the walking trail near a frat house by the white cross; and finally, they could go no farther. They abandoned their bikes and started running towards the commotion.
Anne stopped a man carrying a bundle of bed sheets, "What’s going on?"
He looked surprised and excited. He stammered, "The kids! We’re helping the kids! They’re coming up the mountain! Angels are all over the place! It’s unbelievable! Come on, we need all the help we can get!”
Anne and Carey grabbed each other and said, "Is this the right place or what?"
Keel got bogged down in a short cut, which ended up in a mountain stream and was about 50 feet behind them. They yelled at him, "Come on Keel!"
As Keel ran towards them, they heard explosions and saw airborne things bursting into flames. Keel bent down and doubled while over groaning, "I’m supposed to be part of this. I’m supposed to do something here. We got to hurry, let’s go!" They helped him up and started running together.
Black Birds, Bad Birds
Dar-Raven’s angels rushed at the kids trying to pull them off the sides of the mountain. As they picked them off and tore them away, Aaron’s outnumbered angels rushed them, one hitting an angel, the other grabbing a kid. The dark angels were blocked from the easiest pickings by people from Sewanee. Some were acting like human shields protecting the kids, and some were picking up the kids and hauling them up the mountainside. The Sewanee football team, practicing nearby, dived enthusiastically into the rescue, carrying kids
up the mountain the perfect workout. There were human chains with the Sewanee people locking their arms together and stretching themselves down to the kids while allowing help and protection at the same time. Others lowered their ladders, ropes, and bed sheets in long lengths while some threw rocks at the dark angels. Even the people lining I-64 up the mountain were pelting the dark angels. It didn’t hurt them, none of it did, but it distracted them from their job, a nuisance. The adults were lucky because the dark angels didn't have orders about them, only the kids, and they were in a state of confusion. If they had received orders against the adults, there would have been a terrible slaughter, not even rocks would have helped.
There were numerous groups of kids hiding among the rocks and trees. Some were too scared to move, cowering under the thick brush and trying to stay hidden. For the most part, it worked, but the unexpected happened in the kid’s favor. Several hundred of Dar- Raven’s group flew to the top in order to head off the kids. It was explosive. They had no idea where the boundary of God’s Mountain was located. Not until they hit the invisible wall near the top and burst into flames did they realize how destructive not knowing could be. They were always told about those Godly boundaries, but few of them had experienced it or seen it first hand, none except Dar-Raven. Black feathers filled the afternoon sky. When the dark angels hit God’s wall, they became flaming, feathered roman candles, the Sewanee people started hooting and hollering like they were at a sports event.
As the kids kept climbing, the dark angels cautiously swooped and dived towards them and tried to drive them down rather than pick them off. As they neared the mountain, they hesitated and pulled away. Their stark fear was keeping the kids from being taken.
Aaron knew his own reinforcements were arriving any moment. He ordered his angels to protect the most vulnerable children at all cost. Some were hiding kids in protected rock crevices until the rest of his legion arrived.
Captain Helix did what Dar-Raven suggested and attempted unsuccessfully to drive kids down. He caused more confusion than helped. All the black feathers from the flaming angels were caught up in the propeller drafts, and it sent a black snow that made it hard to see. Finally, the captain pulled off at a distance. He figured that he’d end up getting killed if he hit one of those crow men as he called them. The captain hoped he could outrun Dar-Raven when the time came, but he didn’t know how while his conscience was plaguing him. He was a weak believer, and his rebirth experience allowed the Holy Spirit to convict him for his actions. He felt his heart was going to explode, like those angels, and he just couldn’t do it anymore.
Aaron was in the middle of the fray, but the dark angels gave him a wide berth. They weren’t going to fight an angel like Aaron if they could avoid it. For them to tangle with Aaron was almost as bad as flying too close to the top, a little too dangerous, except with Aaron, they’d be around tomorrow but only in pieces, then Aaron saw his small army appearing over the horizon.
The lieutenant took a casual seat on the hood of a jeep with a big cigar and a glass of tea poured from a Mrs. Winner’s plastic-tea jug. He told his men to relax and enjoy the show. "If you see a kid that looks like they can be harmed, you have my permission to help out as long as you don’t hurt any civilians, including the crowds on the mountain road. Leave those birdmen alone. I haven’t figured them out yet."
That was all a certain small group of soldiers wanted to hear. Larry and four of his buddies were part of a base Bible study. They knew exactly what was going on. They gathered backpacks full of ammunition and headed towards the mountain.
They headed for the Eastside where most of Aaron’s group were located. They kept an eye on the dark angels, and noticed that up to this point, the dark angels hadn’t paid much attention to adults.
Larry knew they must be under orders like they were. Good soldiers do what they’re told, most of the time only what they’re told, end of story, and angels weren’t any different.
Larry’s crew reached the mountain in time to see Aaron’s reinforcements coming. They applauded and yelled, but they barely made it several hundred feet below some hiding kids when a dark angel made a clean catch without anyone around to stop him. The girl he grabbed started screaming, but Larry, a sharp shooter, took sight, fired quickly, and took a
chunk of feathers off his left wing. The angel dropped the girl from over 100 feet, and Caleb dived down and caught her just above a mound of boulders. Larry felt sick. He could have killed the girl by taking that shot.
Caleb yelled back at Larry, "Thanks Larry. I think you’re needed up near the road on the Westside." Larry couldn’t figure out want Caleb meant, but he and his men crossed over to the Westside near the road anyway. The dark angels were now in an evenly matched, bloody battle with Aaron’s reinforcements.
Five hundred of Caleb’s best fighters joined together forming a long solid line by locking their arms. It was one of Caleb’s best battle tactics. They rushed a group of dark angels and encircled them, acting like a strategic noose. They drew them in close and butchered them. Dark angels fell to the ground in clumps. Caleb smiled. How he loved that move.
A dark angel took a desperate measure by flying to the captain’s helicopter, which was decidedly withdrawn from the battle scene. The angel jumped in surprising the captain, "Not again! Get the heck out of my copter!"
"Not today," replied the angel.
He pushed the captain out the door and took over the controls. The angel activated the automated magazines, swung the gun barrels and the copter towards the top of the mountain at top speed. If he couldn’t get them, Dar-Raven had just given orders to kill them all.
Aaron saw the angel getting into the copter and knew exactly what was going to happen. He started to go after it, but spotted the captain falling and dived below him, then with one arm caught him by the waist.
"Holy Mackerel!" replied the captain. "Thank God, you’re around!"
Aaron flew at rocket speed until he was keeping up with the copter and a hundred feet directly under it. The copter was hovering and setting its guns sights. He spoke to the captain, who was seeing everything swirling in triplicate from the angel ride.
"Yes, you’re right, thank God, indeed. Captain, I don’t have time to put you down, now, so I’m afraid you’re in for a front-row seat."
Aaron pulled his sword from its sheath and pointed it directly above his head. His wings pushed him upward so fast that the captain could barely keep his breath.
The captain thought, "He must be going a 100 mph."
Before he could finish the thought, Aaron’s sword punched through the copter belly and opened it like an aluminum can, thrusting up through the pilot seat where the dark angel was sitting. The sword impaled the angel, shoving it through his torso with the point coming through his throat into his skull.
The Captain replied wide-eyed, "Cool."
"Sorry, Captain. You’re out of transportation. Let’s duck."
They rolled in an effort to avoid decapitation and watched the helicopter explode into the edge of the farmer’s field and spreading flaming pieces of metal for hundred’s of yards. Aaron carried the captain down to where the lieutenant was reclining. The lieutenant spilled his tea as he rolled off the jeep hood.
"Lieutenant," said Aaron, "take care of the captain for us, will you? Enjoying the show? Don’t answer; just keep the civilians out of the way if possible. Thanks for lending Larry and his men. They’re going to come in very handy in a couple of minutes. “
The lieutenant thought, "Everyone knows something about what’s going to happen but me."
His men were already making bets and placing odds on the winners. They were treating this like the Memphis Dog Track. Every time a dark angel got clobbered, people at the top of the mountain and the soldiers shouted and cheered. Even the dark angels had their own soldier’s cheering section.
As Aaron flew up the mountain, he looked for Dar-Raven. Dar-Raven was counting the odds, and it looked more like the top of the mountain was winning. With Aaron’s reinforcements, even Dar-Raven was having second thoughts. Aaron still didn’t see him, but he saw a young boy who had fallen back down the mountain past the safety zone. Aaron swooped down, grabbed him tightly around the chest, and flew him to the top of the mountain. He carried him over and put him down in front of Sister Bernard.
Aaron hugged the Sister and said, "Thanks, Sis. I knew I could count on you. We’ve been watching your good works for many years. We need more like you."
She smiled and said, "You betcha! You can count on me! Now, go nail another one of those black birds for me!"
Caleb saw Dar-Raven first and rushed him, then somersaulted over his head and plunged his sword completely through Dar-Raven’s back all the way to the hilt. A loud group moan rose from the dark angels when it happened. He pulled out his sword to do it again, but Dar-Raven swung his own sword so hard it created a fierce breeze knocking Caleb back 20 feet.
Dar-Raven’s sword was forged in the depths of hell, made of hardened, polished metal blended with thousands of crushed diamonds. It made a high-pitched scream created by the finely hewn blade only six inches across and five-foot long. It was his screaming sword that attracted Aaron’s attention.
Aaron suspected what Caleb had done and laughed. He knew about Caleb’s acrobatic style, but Caleb was way outclassed and should have known better. This fight was between himself and Dar-Raven, not Caleb. Aaron saw Dar-Raven retreat slightly as he looked down at the bloody gash in his chest where the sword had exited, then saw him put his hand on his wound, willing himself well. Few angels had the ability to heal that fast, especially after a wound so severe. It was a learned art, one, which served any dark angel well, all from the black arts.
Dar-Raven had changed back from his Commander Dar form to his hellish nature. His features were fierce and frightening. His hairless body looked ghastly, formed with iron muscles twisted and contorted like the branches of a tree wrapping through and around his body. There was nothing beautiful or appealing about Dar-Raven’s grotesque looks. This was Dar-Raven’s decision thousands of years ago. It was his choice to take on such terrible features. It was his way of rebelling against God for throwing him out of heaven. He was refusing to be or look anything like the angels of light.
Aaron shouted to Dar-Raven to stop, "Dar-Raven, you know this battle is with me!"
Aaron and Dar-Raven landed on the ground in an open space where the cornfields ended at the bottom of the mountain. They pulled their feathers into themselves and stood only 50 yards apart. They looked like two massive, human bulls. They discarded their swords, and some of their own angels came to watch over them.
The soldiers were going wild. There were more bets per second than at a Vanderbilt versus UT football game and better than Saturday morning wrestling. The mountaintop was yelling so loud that all the angels stopped to watch their own commanders poised for battle. Angels from both sides formed an awesome circle around them in the air. There were so many angels that Caleb found himself
only 20 feet from a dark angel at the end of their lineup. The dark angels were securely holding the Westside of the mountain near the mountain road in a wide semicircle while Aaron’s group was forming an equal portion near the white cross on the Eastside. Neither group paid much attention to the other. They all had more important things to do, to watch.
The majority of kids were safely at the top, except for some kids who had to be pried from their protected crevices. The Sewanee people were making an exerted effort to get them all up before the Aaron/Dar-Raven battle took place. They barely made it.
Aaron took off his heavy cotton shirt, leaving only his war-leathers, pants that were woven carefully with buffed animal leathers tied together with rawhide stitching. It reminded viewers of Indian buckskins. They rose past his waist and were attached to a large leather belt that looked like a weightlifter’s belt. It enhanced the look of his large frame. His muscles punched out in a dynamic, thick look, making it seem like he was made of slabs of hard-rock, rod-iron, not flesh and bones. He took off his leather boots, a personal choice of his own, no sandals for him.
Both prepared for the Herculean event. Within a split second, running with phenomenal speed, they charged. It happened so fast that hardly anyone noticed the
y left until they heard them collide. Their bodies crashed into each other signaling the start of the battle. They rolled in a tight-death grip, locked up so forcibly that Aaron threw Dar-Raven, and Dar-Raven threw Aaron, neither letting go.
Caleb yelled at Aaron, "Texas tip, Aaron."
Aaron heard and immediately switched his grip, putting one arm under Dar-Raven’s left arm pit and the other over his right one turning and twisting him till he flipped over on his back with Aaron on top pinning him to the ground. Seconds later, Dar-Raven lifted himself, arching his back and rolling himself over Aaron’s body, and with his legs, grabbed Aaron by his neck, throwing him 50 feet
away. Neither hesitated and charged again. This time, when they locked up, they planted their feet so solidly that when Aaron pushed back, Dar-Raven's feet were driven into the dirt up to his ankles. Nothing moved; there was no sound, except their grunting.
All the angels on both sides started chanting, "Thrones, thrones, thrones, thrones, thrones." The sound was deafening. They broke away from each other and ran with hands in the air to opposite ends of the field. The angels knew they were getting their request. They were going to see "thrones." All the angels started counting down from ten together, "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, thrones."
There were two enormous explosions as Aaron and Dar-Raven transformed into supernovas of burning power and raw energy, sometimes called "wheels." They spun towards each other with such incredible speed that when they collided the crowd was brought to their knees by the spectacle, knocked down by this angel power. This was pure, spiritual energy colliding. No stars in space were brighter. They were like glorious sunspots of bright light. Flames and sparking, showering light shot up for thousands of feet. The angels were yelling and shouting excitedly.
After the collision, there was a great silence until they both appeared in angel form again. They both bowed and prepared for another charge, but Dar-Raven seemed disoriented and was seeing three of everything and just couldn't focus. The throne challenge was too much for him. Still, he managed an admirable sprint directly into Aaron’s grasp, another mammoth lockup.
Saving Sister Bernard
Another child fell close to the road almost out of safety. Sister Bernard panicked and scooted on her backside towards the boy, then she started a free fall down and over rocks past him, way beyond safety. She was now on the Westside, too far from safety and too hurt to get back. Larry and his crew spotted the Sister, but so did Dar-Raven
He knew exactly who she was, and he wanted her dead. She caused too many losses for him today by her early warning, and he sent out a command to kill her.
A group of ten dark angels, with swords drawn, flew directly towards the Sister. Caleb saw the preordained conflict and yelled at Larry, "Go for their heads!"
Larry got the message and ordered his men to open fire. "You heard him. Go for their heads. Fire at will!"
They picked them off, chopping them to pieces with automated fire, but another ten left the ranks to replace them. Caleb still couldn’t help. He was blocked by the whole legion on the west. He knew what was going to happen, and it was part of God’s plan. He had to let it run its course.
Two of Larry’s crew made it over to the Sister while the rest laid down a vicious, protective fire, and picked the angels off best they could, but eight dark angels were circling them, moving in all directions to throw them off.
Keel saw most of the battle and was helping get kids up from the sides of the mountain with the others. He thought for a while that was what he was supposed to do. After that was over, he still had a feeling that he needed to prepare for something else. When he saw the Sister fall, he knew he had to help.
God said to him, "Help her. Protect her."
He ran as fast as he could towards the Westside, following the road past the rock gate of the mountain. Anne and Carey looked at each other and said, "Hey, where is he going?"
Keel was in a dead sprint barely able to keep his balance while he ran dangerously downhill. He finally made it close to where the soldiers where coming up with the Sister. As he tried to get down to them, the soldiers were yelling at him to go back, but God kept telling him not to.
Keel reached them and said, "The stone gate is only 100 feet to your right on the road. I know that on the other side is safety, and the dark angels haven’t been able to fly over it."
They continued carrying and pulling the Sister up the mountain while the others backed their escape and stayed as close to them as possible. When five more angels rushed them, Keel didn’t know what to do; but when three of the angels were shot down, one of their swords fell a couple feet from him. He saw the sword but didn’t think about it, then they were rushed again.
This time, the two remaining angels succeeded in severing off an airman’s arm. Larry was too concerned with taking care of his injured man to venture away from him. He was lucky this time since his unhurt man was a new medic and was taking care of his wounded comrade by applying a make-do tourniquet with a belt. Both Larry and the medic were squatting in front of their injured man while still taking potshots at other circling angels. The two with the Sister were in the open now, too far away to be advantaged by any of Larry’s cover.
A single dark angel flew high above them and dived directly between Larry and the Sister’s group. He landed in back of Keel and headed directly for the Sister. Keel felt the presence of God continuing to tell him, "Protect the Sister."
Caleb was frustrated because he was still blocked from helping, but he knew God’s plan for Keel. He yelled at Keel, "Use the authority God has given you."
He pointed to the sword at Keel’s feet. Keel picked it up, not knowing exactly what Caleb meant. It was so heavy that he could barely lift it. He held it in two hands while the tip dropped like it was being pulled by a magnet towards the ground. He wondered how he’d ever lift it high enough to use it.
He yelled at the angel walking towards the Sister’s group. "Hey, black bird, you forget something?"
The angel looked puzzled and couldn't figure out what a human was doing with a sword, and even more, what was he doing challenging him. It didn’t make sense. He thought Keel may be another kind of God-being, or maybe, another kind of angel. His curiosity made him turn towards him to find out.
Keel didn’t know what to do; but when the angel rushed him, he was able to swing the sword sideways barely fending off a hard, first blow that jarred his teeth. The dark angel was surprised that Keel handled it. Keel spun in one spot using momentum to lift the sword up, over, and down in a clumsy circle on top of the angel. The angel blocked it but shook his head. The blow wasn’t hard, but more than any human could do. What was Keel, he thought? Is he a new kind of "power”?
Keel started realizing what Caleb meant about authority. He shouted in a commanding voice the best he could, "I take authority over you in the Name of Jesus Christ the Son of the living God." He swung the sword and knocked the blocking angel sideways.
"I have strength and might from the Holiest of Holies in my body," he yelled as he swung again.
"I have victory. My feet stand in a wide place," he taunted.
Keel blocked the angel’s charge and immediately returned a blow that brought all his weight to bear. The metal on metal sound was ear-rendering with sparks spraying both of them at contact. The sword was light as a feather now, and he kept bringing it down on the angel with greater force each time.
"No hair on my head shall be harmed. No weapon formed against me shall prosper." This time the force of his blow drove the angel’s feet several inches into the ground. Keel felt the power of God pouring into him.
"I am not shut up into the hand of my enemies. A thousand shall fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand, but it shall not come nigh me." He swung so hard this time that he heard the angel groan as he blocked it.
Anne and Carey arrived at the gate in full sig
ht of Keel in battle. They were helping the teenagers by bringing them water, Gatoraide, and pop tarts from the campus cafeteria when they saw him run off.
"What in heck does he think he’s doing? That angel will cut him to pieces," said Carey in shock.
Anne squealed loudly and grabbed Carey’s arm when Keel delivered another successful volley. She was joined by hundreds of others from Sewanee who were yelling and hollering.
The Lord spoke to Anne and Carey, "This is My will. Pray for Keel to use the anointing, his authority."
Anne and Carey gasped because the message was so shockingly loud. They went to their knees; and as they did, so did all those around them. They held each others hands and started praying for Keel and for the Sister. It was an audible distraction to Keel’s opposing angel. He knew exactly what they were doing.
The dark angel wasn’t doing anything but blocking Keel’s blows now. He asked Keel, "What are you? Are you a new God-being, a new power?"
Keel swung again answering, "I am a born again believer, bathed in the blood of the Lamb, sanctified, and set apart for holiness. The indwelling Shekina glory flows in my veins. I am saved and kept by the power of God." This time the angel was forced to his knees by Keel’s blow.
Suddenly, Keel felt the overpowering urge to hit the angel with his fists. He couldn’t shake it. He stuck his sword into the ground and before the angel realized what was happening, Keel swung an upper
cut to his jaw that threw the angel’s face completely to one side. The angel was shocked. Never had a foe hit him like that. It was always swords, typical angel battle. He was so frustrated and confused that he
stuck his own sword in the ground and swung back, and he surprised himself with a lucky punch landing under Keel’s right eye.
Keel was knocked on his back by the force of the strike and felt the blood trickling down his face. He thought for a moment that his face was caved in. He kept remembering the Rocky movie, "To the body, to the body, to the head, to the head." He struggled to his feet and faced the angel who was poised confidently while bracing for Keel’s next move. The angel wasn’t going to let this young human or whatever he was beat him, swords or fists.
Keel moved directly within the angel’s reach and started pounding with combinations of blows learned from all those hours working out on his heavy bag at home. He punched the angel unexpectedly in the stomach, then to the head, then back with left crosses and short right punches directly to the angel’s face. The angel couldn’t figure out where Keel was going to strike. Since he had never fought this way, he had no idea what to do. He swung and Keel ducked, then punched him back. The power of Keel’s blows was increasing in intensity. He felt the strength of God rolling over him, wave after wave. His arms punched so hard his shoulders felt like they were coming out of their sockets. The presence of God shook Keel to his core, and out of his mouth came the "white anointing.”
The angel jumped back as if acid had been thrown at him, and. he scooted backwards on the ground trying to get away from Keel. This was the strangest thing he had ever seen. He could smell the Godliness on Keel, and it was repulsive and frightening. Terrible doubts and fear rose inside him; he wanted to leave, to run away. He was scared of this unknown. What kind of angel is this creature? If he left now, his own comrades would tear him limb from limb. He had no choice but to continue to fight Keel.
Keel turned instantly and ran away. The angel breathed a moment of relief, "Maybe this will work out after all." He ran after him, but Keel didn’t run far. Just as the angel reached for him, he turned into him with
his sword in his hands. The angel couldn’t stop in time and rushed right over the top of Keel, impaling himself.
Keel said with words mixed with the Godly anointing, "Sucker punch, in Jesus' name!"
The sword wasn’t all the way through the angel, but Keel started pushing him up the hill towards the gate. The angel shrieked wildly, clawing at Keel, but the sword kept him away. Keel’s sword was pushing deeper into the angel’s body while Keel kept getting closer. The Lord warned him not to let the angel get a hold of him. God knew that the angel’s wrestler grip could crush Keel in a matter of seconds.
Anne and Carey, with 20 others, some Sewanee, some of God’s Dozen, reached Keel as the sword drew Keel too close. They grabbed the angel from behind while Keel finished thrusting the sword through him until it stuck like a bloody-metal toothpick out his back.
Everyone started pushing and pulling on the angel. Some had pieces of rope while others had knotted bed sheets. The angel struggled against the many hands and binding lashes, but he couldn’t break free. They forced him along towards the gate. He smelled burnt feathers near the gate and shrieked even louder. There were so many in the crowd now that no one saw the angel until they reached the gate. At the count of three, they threw him into the air so hard that he cleared the top of gate by several feet and burst into a ball of flames. His black feathers floated down in a dark cloud. Sister Bernard picked up one and stuck it in her hair.
She yelled to Dar-Raven battling with Aaron, "You got anyone better than that last black buzzard?" Hearing nothing, she turned her back and said, "I didn’t think so."
Dar-Raven heard her and saw how his own was taken by humans. How he hated them. He was still locked in his mammoth struggle with his face hard pressed against Aaron’s, and he said, "I hate incompetence."
Dar-Raven surprisingly released Aaron from his iron-lock grip and hurled himself upwards. Dar-Raven’s angels looked surprised, then one standing next to Caleb looked over at him and shrugged saying, "Another day, another time, Caleb." It wasn’t even adversarial, just a matter of fact.
Caleb, answered, "Yes, it looks like it, Absalom. It looks like it."
Children of the Sanctuary Page 19