Chapter 31
"SUSAN, YOU HAVE been brave."
"Angelino?” He stood before her enveloped in a golden aura. Behind him stood the rest of the Knights, smiling at her, each surrounded by a similar aura.
"Monsignor Cassidy! Billy! Nicole!” she exclaimed with joy. She rushed forward to embrace them. Angelino raised his hand to stop her.
"You cannot touch us in this form, Susan."
She stopped in her tracks, disappointed and confused.
"They told me you were dead,” she finally said.
"Do we look dead to you?"
She laughed with delight. “You scoundrel, how did you survive the atomic blast?"
Angelino abruptly grew serious. “The anti-Christ is about to reach the zenith of his power and influence. The Gathering is achieved. You have one final lesson to learn and then we will be ready for you."
"Lesson? What lesson, Father Angelino?"
"You already know what you need to know. Now you must become aware you know it. Your development is nearly complete."
With that, he and the others faded slowly from sight before she could say another word.
* * * *
Susan awoke with a start. It was only a dream. How long have I been asleep? She had not been aware of sleeping or of even wanting to sleep. Had it all been a dream? Angelino's destruction, the devastation of the cities, her astral projections ... had she merely dreamt it all?
Through her door she heard the sobbing of Gertrude Goldstein. No. It had been no dream at all, except the part about Angelino and the others. Was he trying to reach her from beyond death? What lesson was he referring to?
She rose from her bed and walked sleepily out into the kitchen. Terianna automatically started to pour her usual cup of coffee. Raji smiled his good morning to her without speaking.
"Good morning, dear,” Terianna smiled.
Susan declined the coffee.
"Aren't you feeling well, Susan?"
"No, I'm fine,” she said absently. “I'm just not in the mood for coffee this morning."
Terianna shrugged. “As you wish, dear. Are you hungry? Would you like me to fix you something to eat."
"No, thank you."
"Are you sure you're all right?"
Susan didn't answer. She rose from the table and stepped outside into the fresh morning air. She walked slowly, apparently absorbed in thought.
"She is not herself, Raji,” Terianna said.
"No, of course she isn't. She is going through her transformation. We must not interfere."
"Yes, I know,” Terianna conceded. As much as she knew about what Susan was going through, it went against her instincts not to be protective of her. She had come to love her like a daughter. She admired Susan's sense of commitment and courage. Her entire world had been shattered in a very short period of time. Then, her new life had been shattered yet again. Few could have endured such tumultuous change with the quiet strength this young woman had displayed. She was aware Raji was proud of his pupil, or he would have been if pride had been a part of his nature.
Maribella emerged from the other room, looking tired and haggard.
"How is Mrs. Goldstein?” Raji asked.
"She is managing, Father. She loved him deeply."
"Yes, I'm sure she did, but I doubt she loved him any more deeply than you loved Angelino,” her father responded sympathetically.
A small tear formed in the corner of her eye, but she did not allow herself to succumb to the urge to cry. Angelino would not have wanted that. It was odd. She had not seen Angelino for all those many years and had accepted it without complaining or rancor. She had missed him, but now that he was gone forever the ache in her heart was almost more than she could bear. Even though years and even decades might pass before he would return to her, she had always known she would see him again. That possibility was no longer available to her.
"I don't know if this will be of any comfort to you, my daughter,” Raji offered, “but Angelino knew his time had come. After all these centuries, he knew he must give up this earthly existence at last."
"I know, Father. Often he would speak to me of these days. I just never thought I would miss him so.” Her voice cracked with emotion. She quickly regained her composure. “I would not change a single thing, even if I had the power to do so. I loved him because of who he was. He would never have allowed me to compromise his mission and I would not have continued to love him if he had."
"He loved you deeply, Maribella. Love like that does not end at the threshold between this world and the next."
Maribella smiled gratefully for that. “Thank you, Father. I know.” Then, as much to distract herself from her own grief as anything, she asked, “How is Susan this morning?"
"To tell you the truth, it's hard to tell how Susan is. She keeps her own counsel these days. She's not yet ready to share her thoughts with anyone. We must be patient and allow her to find her way."
"Everything falls on her shoulders now. I am not even clear how she can fulfill her destiny. I'm sure that thought has troubled her as well,” Maribella offered.
* * * *
As she walked aimlessly, Susan's thoughts were drawn back to her dream. What lesson? Should she even take the dream seriously? There was a time when she would not have considered such a preposterous idea. That was a different Susan, a lifetime ago. Raji had told her once that those who become spiritually aware pay a high price for that awareness. She was beginning to understand his statement. As she learned she was responsible for her actions, she could never act again without considering the potential repercussions. That was a heavy weight to bear, Susan was discovering. There was a certain comfort in ignorance, where you could wail against circumstances rather than be held accountable for them. She remembered when she had been oblivious to her own responsibility, how she had denied causing her own career hardships through her dishonest actions.
How foolish she had been to be so dishonest. It was not so much the dishonesty itself. It was the indignation she had expressed in being caught in the lie. Had she really been that person once?
She found herself drifting upward out of her body again. It was becoming an effortless occurrence, happening almost of its own accord. It was really very easy to repeat, once she had discovered how to do it.
She was struck by an idea. If she could remove her astral body from her physical body, might this be the key to transporting her physical body as Angelino and the others had done so many times? She had traveled that way with Angelino a few times, but she had been a passenger on those journeys, not the initiator. How might she accomplish it?
She remembered how, when she returned to her body, she felt like she was being sprung back, as if attached to a rubber band. What if she could command the direction in which she was sprung back? She tried. She picked a spot about one hundred yards to the north of where her body stood, placed it on the inner screen of her awareness, and then recreated the spring-like sensation of returning to her body.
She was whipped to that position almost instantly and then whisked more or less horizontally back to her original spot. She found herself in her body, but also in her original position. She was on the right track though. She could sense it.
Once again, she rose out of her physical form, placed the new position in her consciousness, and willed herself to that spot.
She opened her eyes. She now stood precisely on the spot she had imagined herself to be. She struggled to retain a sense of calm rather than succumbing to the excitement she felt at her success. Such powers are not to be used frivolously, she reminded herself.
For the next fifteen minutes she practiced, moving herself from spot to spot until it became as effortless as transporting her astral body. Her final test was to transport herself to a spot over a mile in the distance. With satisfaction, she found herself standing on that very spot. Is this the lesson Angelino told me about in my dream?
She finally transported herself into Raji and Terianna's ho
me, startling MacArthur, who literally nearly fell from the chair on which he was seated.
"Don't be alarmed, Gregory,” she laughed in spite of herself. “I didn't mean to startle you."
"How did you do that?” he asked incredulously.
"It's a bit hard to explain,” she smiled back at him.
Raji smiled with pleasure at this development. “You are always a source of wonderment, Susan,” he beamed. “Very impressive that you discovered that ability on your own. Angelino had to work on it for weeks before he got the knack, or so I was told by my grandfather."
"Raji,” she said to her teacher. “I had the most vivid dream about Father Angelino and the others this morning. He told me I had one more lesson to learn. Do you think what I just learned was that lesson?"
Raji considered her question carefully. “It is difficult to say, Susan. What does your heart tell you?"
Susan frowned. “I thought you might say something like that. I don't feel it was the lesson he was referring to.” She shrugged her shoulders and said, offhandedly, “Oh, well. I'm sure I'll find out when I need to."
Raji again smiled at his pupil. How far she had come since Angelino had first brought her to him.
"I'm a little hungry,” Susan changed the topic abruptly. “I think I'll see if there's anything left over from breakfast."
* * * *
ONE OF THE only structures allowed to remain standing in New York was the United Nations building in New York. This was to be the new headquarters for the World Government that the anti-Christ had promised the people. He stood at the base of the stairway leading up to the main entrance, contemplating what the next step of his plan would be. The first thing that was going to be needed was an army. For the moment, the people had been quieted, but it would not be long before they would feel the effects of the collapse of their infrastructures. Food would be the first thing they would require and that would have to be provided as well. Looting and ‘law of the jungle’ survival would soon become the way of things. That was fine ... for now. The people would be even more malleable once beaten down by such a life. It wouldn't take long
Jesus had already sent out word he was convening what he called the First World Congress. The Overlords and the respective leaders of the nations they ruled would be arriving over the next day or two for the Congress. Finding aircraft, fuel, and pilots would be difficult, but they could be found by using special privileges and money. People were not yet aware present currencies would soon be worthless, but in the meantime, money was a useful inducement.
From each of the nations gathering there, a standing army would be formed to keep the peace. Food production would be centralized. Agricultural workers, and food manufacturers and distributors would be conscripted to get food production rolling again. Then they would begin rebuilding the infrastructure. It would take time to restore order to the chaos, but that would work to his advantage. Busy people would not have much time to think about what was happening to them. And this time, the emerging order would be of his own design.
Inside the building, Jesus made his way to the General Assembly chamber, where he sat down in the Secretary General's chair. He frowned at the ordinary design of the chair. Something more worthy would need to be put in its place, to remind all who sat in this body that any power they might enjoy existed by his consent. They must never be allowed to forget, for one moment, whose dominion they served.
Mathias and Warrenger had followed Jesus into the chambers, but remained behind, allowing him to survey the chambers undisturbed. Jesus looked up at them and smiled.
"Come here, my friend,” he said to Mathias. “You will sit here, on my left. David, you shall take the seat on my right."
He gestured to their respective positions, bidding them to sit. Mathias looked over the empty assembly with satisfaction. These were truly seats of power, mounted high above the rest of the seats in the chamber. He could envision this chamber filled with members sitting in rapt devotion as he and Jesus created the Golden Age together. He had at last been rewarded for his loyalty to Jesus. Yes, it was unfortunate so many people had to suffer in order for the transition to the Golden Age to take place, but such was always the way of things when the old was supplanted with the new. Revolutions were like that, he thought, and make no mistake about it, this was surely a revolution—one on a global scale. Some would have to suffer so all might enjoy the benefits of the new world to come. It could not be avoided.
* * * *
THEY WOULD BE needing gas soon, Ray noted with concern. That would be a problem. Unless they could find a working gas pump, they would be stranded.
"Worried about the gas, Ray?” Arnold noticed his concern.
Ray nodded. Luckily, he had filled his tank the morning of the day they made their getaway from Washington, so they had been able to put some distance between them and the city. They had stuck to back roads as much as possible to avoid any possibility of confrontations. The roundabout route, and the added weight of having seven people crammed into a car which only sat four comfortably, had caused them to burn gas faster than usual.
"What state are we in?"
"South Carolina,” Ray responded.
"How far to the next town?"
"I saw a sign for Frametown a few miles back. We should be there in a few miles."
"OK,” Arnold said decisively. “We'll find gas there."
They entered Frametown at 10 PM. Ray wasn't sure what he had expected ... perhaps he figured small town America would have escaped the insanity of the night before ... but when he saw the same destruction all around in this small community as in Washington, for the first time he grasped the enormity of the scope of the collapse of global society. Perhaps Arnold and the others were struck just as he was. The car grew totally silent as they drove slowly past houses in flames and bodies lying in the streets. There were no people, which lent an eeriness to the scene surrounding them.
"My God!” Steven gasped from the back seat, breaking the silence. Nothing else was said for the next several minutes. Ray almost forgot why they had diverted into this small town. He was rudely reminded when the low fuel warning light flashed on his dashboard and five pings in quick succession alerted him.
"We don't have time to waste, gentlemen,” he reminded them. “We've got to find a gas station fast."
Arnold kept his attention warily directed out the window. “The quicker the better. There's something wrong here. Where are the wounded? Where are the people who survived? It's too quiet out there."
"Don't stare a gift horse in the mouth,” Ray smiled wryly. “Maybe if we hurry, we can get out of here quick."
"Let's hope you're right,” Arnold said. In the back seat, Harold was dozing and Jacob was sitting on his lap, sound asleep. Rashi was leaning against him, also asleep. Steven and John were trying to get some rest, but the cramped quarters of the back seat made it difficult for them.
"Look, over there,” Arnold pointed to Ray's left. “It looks like a gas station."
Ray pulled into the driveway. There was no sign of anyone, but at least the pumps appeared to be undamaged. The windows in the building had been smashed out, and the store had been looted. He just hoped the pumps were still working. He pulled up to one, shut off the lights and engine, and started to open his door.
"No so fast, Ray,” Arnold cautioned. “Let me and Harold give you some cover.” He roused Harold from his sleep, startling him slightly.
"Harold, wake up. We need to watch Ray's back while he fills the tank."
Harold understood. He gently lifted Jacob from his lap and slid quietly out the door with his shotgun in hand.
Ray exited the car nervously. Harold and Arnold took up lookout positions on either side of the car, peering into the darkness while Ray reached for one of the pumps.
"Sonofabitch,” he hissed.
"What's the matter?” Arnold asked tensely.
"They have the fucking thing padlocked.” He pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the lo
ck. Arnold stopped him.
"Ray! Jesus! You might set off an explosion. Open the trunk and get your tire iron. Try to smash the lock with it."
Ray obeyed quickly and in a moment had returned from the back of the car with a long tire iron. It took a dozen attempts, but finally the lock snapped off.
He hastily grabbed the nozzle and inserted it in the intake. He squeezed the handle. Nothing happened.
"Shit. The pump's not on."
John slid out of the back seat.
"I'll see if I can get it started. I worked my way through grad school as a gas jockey."
"Ok,” Arnold said. “Take Steven with you. See if you can grab some batteries, flashlights, anything we might need for the rest of our trip. You're probably not going to find much left, but you never know."
Steven and John ran quickly up to the station. They stepped in through one of the windows. It was dark inside, but their eyes adapted quickly.
John found a flashlight lying beneath some debris. The batteries were almost used up, but it provided enough light for him to locate the pump control center. It appeared to be undamaged, much to his surprise and delight. He quickly found the switches and turned on all the pumps.
"Ok, Ray,” he called out. “Try it now."
Ray pressed the handle again and it responded. He sighed in relief as the gas rushed into the tank.
Inside the station, as Arnold had feared, the two scientists found pickings slim. They found some fresh batteries for the flashlight, matches, and a few bags of potato chips. There were a few open loaves of bread, apparently having been a bonanza for some local raccoons or other animals. They grabbed a couple and some donuts. It wasn't a feast to make a nutritionist proud, but they were not in much of a position to be concerned about such matters.
Just then, a rifle muzzle flashed in the darkness, accompanied by the loud report of gunfire. A bullet whizzed past Ray's head, burying itself in the blacktop behind him.
"Shit!” He ducked down and took cover behind the rear fender. Harold and Arnold scurried to the same side of the car.
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