Chapter Nineteen
Reading the final word's Gabriel closed the book. The longhouse empty, candles burning out and the fire pit turning to a charcoal. The information, though little was to much to completely absorb. Too many name's, too many god's. Though it was just the god's of old and not all the information on all of them. Looking down at the book it had at least two thousand pages. As Odin said, the book was massive, but the mind of the human reader limited.
Getting up and walking through the haze of smoke in the room Gabriel sat down at the table in the center of the room. Limited glow from the charcoal lit the longhouse just enough to see shadows. While sitting down Gabriel could see the shadow of the table on the wall. Though it was just him sitting at it, there was shadow's of others as well as his.
Rubbing his eye's to clear the smoke, and the words of the god's the guests at the table revealed themselves. Across from him was Odin, Loki, and a woman he did not recognize. She wore gray fur's from wolves, and had tightly braided hair. It wrapped from the front of her head down both sides. She was a very voluptuous woman of pale skin. Deep blue eye's distracted from her brawny features.
“Gabriel, I would like you to meet my wife Frigga.” Odin said.
“Nice to meet you Frigga.” Gabriel said trying to be polite even though he was tired.
“Have you finished the kingdoms of old?” Odin asked interrupting the introductions.
“It is my pleasure to meet you Gabriel, please forgive Odin patience is not his viture. Yes my love, he has read it.” Frigga said.
“Good!, I want you to know what you are up against in the coming days.” Odin said.
“You have told me the war is coming, I know the kingdoms that will go to war. But what I don't understand is why?” Gabriel said
“Why war? hah, for peace, yes so we can love. Save those who are tormented we will. WAR! is for plunder, power, sex, ART! None of these from war you say? Then do not deny..... You lose!” Loki shouted.
“Well Loki is partially right. No civilization in the history of mankind has been free from war. Man wants wealth and power, and so he goes to war. The gods are no different, we wage war for the same reasons. Any man, or god who convinces his kingdom that he fly's the banner of war for something else is fooling his kingdom.” Odin said.
“So the nine kingdoms will wage war for power and wealth?”
“As I have said, we always have. There is one more key reason to the coming battles. Mankind is made up of more bacteria than human cells. There is a link between you and the bacteria you are made of. You are a disease, spreading out of control. The only antibiotic for the disease is self destruction, or divine intervention. The atomic creations you have made will be your end. So the god's will step in, for without man to serve why would there be gods. All of the god's want to be the one who stops the atomic age. The one who does will have the ultimate power over man, their true savior.” Odin said.
“Save, bleh I say sex enslave!” Loki said followed by an awkward moment of silence.
“Gabriel, as you must know I am the goddess of prophecy. I came to ask you to join me in my ritual of seeing the coming dawn.” Frigga said.
“No...no no no, don't be savior. Gods be fine, let mankind be Atlantis again. Ohhh you so smart, all knows you. Oh no you don't need gods now? Boom, you monkey again...I watch you throw POOP! Loki said laughing frantically.
“Loki, I believe the time has come for us to leave, and not soon enough!” Odin said grabbing Loki by the arm and stepping into the darkness. Just as they did Loki's laugh faded.
“So will you join me?” Frigga said standing up from the table.
“Uh..Okay, what must I do?” Gabriel said worried.
“Do not fear, come” Frigga said guiding Gabriel to where the desk with the book once was. Now it was lit up and the desk, and Loki's art was gone. A Norse spindle, with spun wool and old key's hanging from it. A pure white wool blanket was on the floor at the foot of the spindle. On the blanket below the spindle was a branch from a birch tree. In the middle of the blanket was a pitcher.
“Now, please you must be clean before joining me in prophecy. If you are not, the visions may be blurred or even wrong.” Frigga said pointing to a bucket with a wash cloth and water.
“Do I need to clean my clothes too?”
“No, do not clean them, remove them.”
“Well that's a subtle way to getting me undressed...” Gabriel said. But Gabriel's humor seemed lost to the Norse. Frigga removed her wolf pelts and laid down on the blanket exposing herself. While doing so she turned to her side, as to see Gabriel. Hesitantly he took off his shirt and laid it on the floor. Feeling very awkward that he was being watch by a nude goddess he left his pants on. Grabbing the washcloth he cleaned his face and chest while turning away from Frigga.
“No, I must see you!” Frigga demanded.
“I am sorry, I don't think I want to be a part of your ritual after all.” Gabriel said still turned away and reaching for his shirt.
“Do not be embarrassed, I know the flaws of man and have seen them. I must be sure you are clean, or a nightmare of lies awaits us.” Frigga said with her voluptuous smile.
“So once I am nude and clean then what will you do with me...?”
“Show you the prophecy of course!” Frigga said laughing and removing the tight braids from her hair. Watching Frigga, watch him Gabriel went back to cleaning his upper body. Frigga letting her hair down was not exactly helping the strange situation. But after all what rituals are not strange. Frigga's hair was very long, it could wrap around her body and that was no easy task for anything in Asgard. Now with his upper body clean, Gabriel had to bare all before her.
Looking away Gabriel could no longer watch her, watch him clean his private parts. The ritual was becoming more violating than those of a Christian priest. Making sure to clean everywhere so he would not have to do it again, Gabriel dropped the cloth back in the bucket.
“Now come and lay with me!” Frigga said still smiling.
“Are you sure Odin is okay with this?” Gabriel said confused and violated. After the prophecy with Frigga Gabriel was sure not to be a saint. For all he knew the world was exploding that very moment when he laid down next to Frigga.
“We drink” Frigga said holding up the pitcher.
“What is it?”
“Mead, and milk”
“I am not so sure I want the milk of Asgard, after reading about what Loki did for eight years. That and mead and milk do not mix so well.” Gabriel said turning away.
“Just lay down, close your eye's and open one's mouth.” Frigga said. Laying down with a look of panic Gabriel laid down on the blanket and closed his eye's. Taking a large drink from the flask Frigga chugged down the milk and mead, but saved some within her large cheeks. With eye's closed and mouth open she leaned over Gabriel and let the mead milk run from her lips and into Gabriel's mouth. Feeling it drip into his mouth and run down his throat he went into a deep trance.
Everything went black and then a vision. Looking down on planet earth from outer space. seeing only in vision, No human form, only senses. In the sky over the America’s was a nuclear war head. Gabriel could not see where it came from, or tell its destination. Then from continents all over the world warheads took flight. The skies filled with them, all heading for one enemy, mankind.
The antibiotic that Odin had spoken of. The cure for the vile plague of centuries of viruses. The vision, was miraculous to Gabriel's eye's. The savior of Gabriel would be the destroyer of mankind. Just as Gabriel's vision of hope took flight he could see what looked like a super nova exploding from earth. An electric ray shot outward from earth in a circular shield.
Reaching up towards the sky the ray engulfed the war heads. The ray changed their apacolyptic course so that they turned and left earth's atmosphere. Gabriel's last hope left planet earth and floated into outer space. One warhead flew harmlessly past Gabriel's vision. Then a moment of darkness no longer than a blink
.
The next prophecy, and looking down Gabriel could see what was a helicopter view over a Californian beach. Mass panic had hit the beach, thousands ran from the water seeking safety from the warheads. Just as the nova burst from the ground, all stopped and looked to the skies. It defied all laws of physics, and could not possibly be man made. As the war heads changed their course the people on the beach cried in joy and hugged one another.
Just as they did the beach shook, and from the beach just at ocean line a crack erupt from it. Possibly the plates giving way, Gabriel assumed. It was something far worse though, from the sand in front of the crack rose a man with his hands held high above his head. It was Apollyon with a massive grin on his face. The people of the beach just looked at him in confusion.
“Please....Allow me to introduce myself!” Apollyon said brushing the sand off his clothes. As he did from the crack in the earth came a legion of hell charging the beach. Demons and foul corrupt dead men and women of all sorts charged the people on the beach. One man with a surf board stood in awe as a young, dead man from the shadow army of old swung a sword slicing off the mans head off. The first blood to spill upon the beach.
All the other beach goers screamed in horror and ran for their lives once more. Some horrific beasts in the legion ran on all fours. Hell rained down on the beach tearing flesh into with hands, teeth, claws, and ancient weapons of war. The California beach turned red as the legion engulfed the beach and began flooding into the city near by.
One cop in the street jumped out of his squad car and fired at the demon horde. Only one demon fell as his clip emptied. Jumping in his squad car the cop tried to flee but it was too late. Thousands swarmed the car shredding through it. Nothing but blood and twisted metal remained. Then the vision went black again.
Within a blink Gabriel was above the arctic coast in the north pole. Giant walls of ice shook and crumbled into the icy sea. One of the walls split in half and a massive viking long ship was splitting it in two. Behind it, an entire fleet coming from the frozen sea's. The leading ship made it out from the walls of ice. On it was hundreds of berserkers rowing. The far side of the sail's hanging over the ocean was a swing made for an insane god.
Loki swung back and fourth over the sea. His feet would skim the top of the waves and he screamed in lunatic glee. An endless fleet continued to pour out from the ice. On a ship behind Loki's Odin stood on the bow looking up at the brewing storms. A somber look was on his face, he was savoring the moment. His kingdom may be out numbered, but as any Viking knows victory comes with death.
Among the fleet of Odin's ships were wolves, giants, and all kinds of Viking warriors. Their days in Asgard were over and their true heaven awaited, war. Over the fleet were thousands of ravens, and crows with more coming in from all directions. Wind and mighty storms pushed their sails. Their ships designed for speed, and they revolutionized the world once more. They were headings straight for the coasts of Norway. Viking's of old would once more set foot on their battle hardened pastures and shores.
Within a blink a new vision, now the view was just above the green fields around Stonehenge. Its purpose all but unknown as tourists stood around it. They were no longer looking at Stonehenge but the chaos in the skies. The unknown stone formations were as good of a protection as any in the area from a nuclear Apocalypse. Unlike the people on the beach, no one ran. After all there was no use in running and the intelligence level was definitely higher at Stonehenge.
Out from the center of Stonehenge a small purple glowing orb appeared. It spun in place getting larger and larger. Until it was big enough to swallow a person and out from the orb came a woman. It was a witch and from her hands strands of electricity danced around. She had pale skin, black makeup and black tribal Tattoo’s on her face. She was wearing a dark blue, baggy hooded robe.
Holding her hand's together she raised them to the sky. A weak, and small ray burst from the ground of Stonehenge. Then it died down and quickly retreated back to the ground. For a moment the witch stared at her hands angry. Screaming in agony she raised her hand once more. Electricity surrounded her like a Tesla coil.
The hair of the tourists frizzed into the air from the electricity riding the air. Then not just from Stonehenge but the whole world came a powerful ray that changed the fate of the warheads. After the ray made it to the warheads the witch fell to the ground. The electricity around her died down with her last strength.
From inside Stonehenge many colorful orbs appeared and spun into a portal just as before. From them came the other Celt gods and goddesses. Then their army of Celt warriors. The men and women only wore colorful trousers and no shirts. Their body's riddled with Celt Tribal tattoos. The women looked just as fierce and battle hardened as the men. They poured out from Stonehenge with shields, swords, bows, spears, and twisted wood stave’s.
One of the tourists ran to the aid of the fallen witch. She helped her on her feet while the other tourists cheered. They were either happy to be safe from the apocalypse, or cheering the coming age of madness. Luckily for them the kingdom of Celts greeted them with open arms. Their goal seemed clear, win over the hearts of man. While Apollyon preferred horrifying and then eating their hearts.
The quick blink of darkness and a new vision. Over the Egyptian pyramids of Giza now. A bright, golden light shot from places of the galaxy unknown into the center of the pyramid. It made a straight line and went right into the middle, top of the pyramid. The sands surrounding were empty but in the city near by everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the nuclear chaos and ray of gold.
Sandstone blocks burst from the side of the pyramid that Gabriel could see. Leaving a large opening that lead into the sandy desert. Once the stones and sand had settled a golden chariot came riding out from the pyramid. Behind it chariots for all of the gods as well as many more. It was an ancient golden parade.
Pharaohs of old riding chariots, mummies on elephants, and warriors on horseback charged out in a line. They did not head for the city, but the solitude of the desert sands. Small black house cats charged out with lions and tigers. It was a odd combination, but a deadly one since more people have been maimed by domestic house cats than lions and tigers.
Then the vision went black again and now Gabriel could see the town of Axal, then a blink and he could see mount Olympus. Then another blink of disarray and he was sitting at a wedding ceremony. But it was no normal wedding, or wedding chapel. The vision was from a bench seat, but the chapel was at the gates of hell.
Large red flame gates were in front of the congregation. Overhead was a massive chasm of red volcanic rock. Pillars came down and rows of bench seats like in a chapel from hell were on the ground. Sitting in the congregation were demon's and dead monsters of all sorts. Hitler, members of the pope, and even an image of Jesus sat and waited.
A large pipe organ with a crafty demon playing it. His head and tail flung back and fourth as the sound of here comes the bride came out from the pipes with flame. The vision turned down the isle and Tiffany walked down it with a black dress and her abusive father holding her hand. She made the gleefully sickening walk down and at the end stood next to Apollyon who was the priest. The man she was to marry had his head turned and Gabriel could not recognize him.
“Speak now or forever hold your peace” Apollyon said as Tiffany made it down the isles. No formal wedding would be had but quickly forced.
“I object!” Bob the murdered trucker shouted from the crowed. With his objection the soon to be husband turned his head. It was Gabriel who was about to marry Tiffany at the gates of hell. Tiffany turned as well and the vision of her in her black dress was breathtaking to Gabriel. Looking at her in his vision she was as a portrait, A painting of infinite and beautiful possibility’s.
“I am a madman god, bent for hell and I cannot stop it” Gabriel tried to say through his vision. The words might have remained unsaid but Gabriel could feel it. Love was after all the greatest power that Apollyon wielded over manki
nd. Of all the prophecy's Gabriel truly hoped for this one. An impossible love and marriage at the gates of hell with the whole world of sanity objecting.
The marriage bound in hell touched Gabriel's self destructive side. It was an impossible madness that he knew was hopeless. Tiffany would not love him, and hell would not allow it. The vision's were no longer clean and on a hallucinogenic course. The vision of bob turned to Gabriel's dead wife who always loved another. It was clear she too would object from the vows only possible in Gabriel's dreams. She shook her head and her fist, as to claim Gabriel even in unfaithful death.
Within a blink the image changed once more. Now Gabriel could see himself back in his old apartment holding an infant child. In the light of the moon he rocked the child back and fourth. But looking closely the swaddled child was a miniature spawn from Apollyon's legion. Gabriel held the monster tight and rocked it to a demonic sleep.
A blink and a new image, Gabriel as a child hanging from his rainbow shoe lace noose. This was no longer prophecy but a twisted crash course in history. Ever since he was a child there was a prominent self destructive side. It was not only from his mind, or selfish longings for death. It was from his immune system as well.
He was born with multiple auto immune diseases sending his immune system on a destructive path. Multiple sclerosis, Crohn's, and undiagnosed depression. Each disease pleading with his will to die. Looking at himself hanging in the closet he was amazed he made it to see the visions of his adulthood insanity. The feelings of destruction in his mind as uncontrollable as the ones in his body.
Anything could trigger his body, or mind into a fight. His addictive personality was simply fuel to the flames that killed him since birth. The dangling and determined vision of Gabriel's youth was a frightening sight. Within a blink he was still just a boy sitting in his bedroom. Around him a few toys, all but worn out.
The young vision of Gabriel had locked the door to his room. In his hand a butter knife, the only tools of suicide he could reach. He was in one of his fights with himself. Placing the knife to his chest he pushed it as hard as he could trying to pierce his heart. There was no use though, the blunt end would not go through.
Digging it hard into his chest his hands trembled with force. Tears running now his face due to the frustration. Even Gabriel had forgotten about the battles of his youth. If there was ever a time he felt sorry for himself, this was it. How could they not have seen this, he thought. The young vision of him struggled until exhaustion.
Giving up the boy of his past fell to the floor in agony. The boy on the floor, no different from the man he was today. Frustrated with his internal and now eternal fight to die. Now thinking back at all the times he sought destruction. He no longer needed the vision to take him through his dark past. The drugs he had taken, the mushrooms and other forest plants he ate to test their potency. The first time he found a shroom it was by mistake.
Eating a handful of mushroom he found under a dead tree. Laying down in his bed like he did so many times after ingesting a piece of the forest. Then the lights in his room became so much more vibrant than ever before. Like seeing through Van Gough's eye's when he painted starry night from the mental hospital. Even thinking with the brilliant painters mortally entrapped mind of undoing.
Another time while in high school he was high for six days straight. He had not slept in the same amount of time and simply trying to read the books at school made his mind play tricks. The words all meshed into confusion and ran off the pages onto the floor. The kids and teacher knew he was a problem child, but it was doubtful their minds could possibly understand the dark cloud he was on. Shadow's danced on the walls as he came down from the cloud he was ridding on for days.
Out of drugs and luckily out of school, his only thought was how to further intoxicate his mind. He could no longer stay awake, or deal with the missing toxins from his veins. The thoughts of the hermit fiend of the night made his crashing immune system sick. All he had was alcohol, a half gallon of his favorite whiskey.
When he was high, the whiskey had little, to no effect on him. Regardless though he always drank it, and in doing so he could consume massive amounts while high. Now though he had crashed and was no longer high so drinking his normal amount, left him vulnerable to its effects. From his pickup out in the woods he drank down over half of the bottle of whiskey. Just like all that he consumed it was enough to kill him.
In a forgotten, and dark drunken coma Gabriel passed out inside his truck. The truck was not running when he passed out. He would not awake for many hours, and the freezing Axal night was taking over the land. Sometimes, with the right amount of intoxicants, and elements Gabriel's will to live through thoughts of death were astonishing and possibly divine.
That night it was as cold as 20 degree's below zero. Axal in the winter was one of the coldest and most depressing shit holes on the planet. The harsh winters were what fed the towns folks enthusiasm for a rude and asshole filled humanity. The night itself was unknown to Gabriel, but the morning he will never forget.
It was a cold he had never felt before. As though he was put under the knife in a freezer for days. Only to wake up hanging on the farthest edges of life, and near reach of death. Snot was frozen and plastered to his face. His brain felt like it was being crushed by the weight of the cold world. With hardly any strength Gabriel started his truck and sat up.
The heater barley worked, if not at all. It was possibly responsible for him being alive though. Hypothermia had most certainly set in as Gabriel drove the truck home to free himself from the cold. It was a long drive home though and the feelings of humiliation still in Gabriel's mind today. The people who dared look in to see the frozen man driving home. Snot still plastered to his face, and the grim reality of sober existence on his mind.
Now thoughts of his suicidal past passed as he watched the boy of his youth fall asleep on the floor. Remembering the days and vicious nights of withdrawal. No one knowing what was really wrong with him. Years of depression, drugs, alcohol, and disease bared down on him. Trembling in a cold sweat in his bed as the moonlight shined down on him.
Not even the creatures of the night, or his family could understand the intense pain he was going through. They all assumed it was his immune disease, but it was much more. His inside burned and organs jolted and shook against his walls of flesh. Looking down at his midsection he could see what looked like a monster inside of him trying to rip its way out.
The hours spent in the bathroom crying in pain. The blood in his system so thick that his bowl movements were completely uncontrollable. Having to sleep on trash bags with one eye open so that the vile clash of addiction and disease would not spill out on his bed. The one moment society would consider him doing a decent deed.
Fighting the bacteria of addiction and suicide that he was. Society's better judgment of him being the antibiotic to his disaster. All of him wanted to crawl back on hands and knee's to the drugs. Though the thought of disappointment to society weighed heavy on his teenage mind. One thing at that time to keep him alive, the fear of disappointment to society. That feeling of frozen disgust while driving home that morning was enough to light the flames of hope.
The vision of dream filled prophecy and nightmarish history changed and Gabriel was once more back to reality. Or just a new vision of madness in Asgard with Frigga hovering over him in the nude with meadmilk dripping from her lips. War was brewing, maybe the same one of old inside of Gabriel. Or one more easily defined as the divine, and the war of the nine kingdoms.
Apollyon's Saint The Collection: Books One through Ten Page 19