by Laura Sweat
He leans forward and I am backed against the counter by the fridge. I don’t remember ever being this close to him and completely alone. It is quite alarming. He leans slightly closer and to my left pressing his face into my hair. He stands there for a while and I calm down. My breathing levels out and my heart stops trying to escape my chest.
“Adrian,” I say his name softly, but evenly in hesitant opposition.
“Shh,” is all he says as I feel him drop my hand and place both of his on either side of me bracing against the counter. I’m struck dumb. I cannot speak or move. I close my eyes. My thoughts are jumbled and start to spin out of control. Then there is blackness in my mind, something that never happens. As soon as I realize the emptiness, my breath catches and I push him away, but only slightly. This halfhearted attempt to create some space between us gives me a moment to catch myself. I feel like I am falling.
I am looking down at his feet and he lifts my chin with his finger making eye contact and holding me entranced there. I don’t know how long we stand that way before he speaks.
“What’s the matter, Jeriley?” His voice is like the waves outside my window.
“Nothing. I’m fine.” I am speechless and I don’t know what to say, but I feel like I have to get out of here suddenly. “You know what? I haven’t eaten. Will you take me to get a bite?” My voice is breathless and weak.
He begins to grin as if he is going to laugh at me. He breaks eye contact and looks down shaking his head. “Sure. Where do you want to go?” He asks looking back up at me.
“Just down to Boomer’s. We can hit the drive thru. I’m starving.” I begin to go back into a panic mode. I have got to change the situation.
“Okay. Get some shoes on.” He backs away and I turn to get my flip flops from the doorway into the living room. As I walk past him, heading to the door, I can feel his eyes following me.
We get into the car and head down the drive. I begin to relax and feel like I can breathe again and my mind starts to wander.
“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
The verse. The one I read before Adrian called. I wonder what it means.
Adrian reaches over and takes my hand in his, distracting me from my random thoughts with his electricity.
“Why so quiet?” He asks.
I turn myself in the seat to face him and begin to explain that I was just thinking about what I was reading when he called. His brow wrinkles when I mention the verse. I have just enough time to notice the change in his demeanor when we are slammed. I hear the loudest crunching of metal and glass and I feel a wall of unimaginable pain in my back and head. Then all goes black.
Neither of them is aware of the SUV about to run the stop sign, accelerating instead of slowing. He watched them leave the house and timed it just right. He would take her out even if it would win Adrian his prize. It would ruin Adrian’s plans and that was good enough for him. Zain prepared his vanishing for the last quarter of a second before impact. The unfortunate drunk behind the wheel was an easy tool for this job. He listened with ease to the voice “in his head” telling him to push the pedal all the way down. Zane wanted to make sure the SUV accelerated until the last possible instant to ensure maximum impact. She would never live through it.
His timing is impeccable. He could not have done it any better. He vanishes from the vehicle and watches it from about fifteen hundred feet away. He watches her head flop back, breaking the glass and grins his most wicked grin as he watches her body thrust backward through the passenger side window unnaturally. Her long hair fans out in a cloud around her head and tangles in the gnarled metal of the two vehicles. He watches it in “slow motion” in the realm he has shifted to. The natural realm is slower than the spiritual and this makes for wonderful shows of destruction. Carnage in slow motion is so much sweeter. Zain watches Adrian look over at Jeriley and shift out for a split second to find him in the distance. They make eye contact and Adrian shifts back in the same second. He is unharmed. Zain decides to hang around only long enough to make sure he has finished her.
As he waits around, he begins to marvel at the idea of taking the news to the Master. What pride he will own when he tells the Master that he has completed Adrian’s assignment. This is going to be wicked fun.
One eye witness sees the wreck from a distance of about fifteen hundred feet up the road. The SUV runs a stop sign and it is a bad hit. He was flying through the stop and hit the car so hard that it pushed it over into the opposite ditch, stopping only when it hit the embankment. Someone is hanging out of the car and the whole thing looks really, really bad. He calls 911 and pulls over shaking with adrenaline.
Running up to the car, Jack sees a guy on the driver’s side with his head leaned back. As he approaches, he calls to him.
“Sir? Sir are you alright?”
Adrian raises his head slowly and looks stunned. “Yeah. I think so. What happened?” He asks with a perfect impersonation of someone stunned and a little out of it.
He looks over at Jeriley and masters the act of a concerned boyfriend.
“No! Jeriley! No!” He shouts leaning over to her, touching her neck and slyly feeling for a pulse. It is faint. He doesn’t panic, after all, he has to keep up the charade.
“Jeriley! Please, no! Jeriley wake up!”
Jack runs around the car trying to get next to Jeriley whose hair is entangled between the vehicles and broken glass.
“Did you say Jeriley?” He asks, realizing when he sees her up close that she works for the same company he does. He tells Adrian that he has called 911 and help is on the way. He reaches over for her wrist and feels for a pulse. He doesn’t find one.
Meanwhile, Adrian climbs out of the window and runs around the back to stand on Jeriley’s left side. His actions now aren’t so much of an act. He touches her ever so lightly, calling her name over and over. He knows she is close to death at this point. He has seen this enough times to recognize it. If she dies now, she will certainly belong to his leader, but this is not part of his plan. He isn’t finished.
She looks at him, making eye contact, as he stands by her side. She attempts to move and winces. She tries to say Adrian’s name but can’t get it out. The pain overtakes her and she blacks out.
He can feel the rage building inside of him. He replays the accident over in his mind remembering the look on Zain’s face.
The ambulance arrives in a matter of minutes, along with a team of firefighters and police officers. People begin to pull him away from her. He answers their questions in the expected manner of stunned disbelief coupled with heartbreak.
The firefighters quickly inspect the wreckage and begin the careful task of separating Jeriley and the SUV from the side of the Maserati. He notices how one of the men take on the task of pulling her hair from the wreckage, finding this odd. He listens carefully to hear them discussing the faintness of her pulse.
“Sir, she is alive.” Adrian looks away from the wreckage and makes eye contact with the paramedic who has approached him with the news.
“She’s alive,” Adrian repeats the words, continuing the perfect impression of someone suffering from shock and disbelief. He looks over and sees Jeriley being removed from the wreckage with extreme caution by the other paramedic and three firefighters. He looks back at the messenger.
“Where are they taking her?”
“We are taking her to Bay Medical Center once we get her out. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. My neck hurts a little. I think I’m ok, though.”
“Are you sure?” He looks as if he doesn’t believe Adrian and asks him if he can look at his neck.
Adrian starts to get up to turn around.
“No, no. Sit down and just turn around a little.”
He examines his neck and goes through a series of questions re
petitively. He is surprised that there appear to be no injuries at all.
“Ok. You um, you seem to be fine. If you want, you can ride with her and we can watch you on the way, just to make sure.”
Adrian agrees. At this point, he does not want to let her out of his sight.
CHAPTER 10
Stephen answers the call of the Lord, anticipating the reason for this sudden request. He has been given charge over Jeriley with full trust. He has the occasional specific order, but for the most part, his assignment is to interact and guard against major intrusion.
“Most Holy Lord.” Stephen approaches and bows before the Throne.
“She is in danger. There is one who intends to take her life. I want you to intervene. Do not prevent the incident, but her life is to be spared.” The voice, though still smooth and omnipresent has taken on an air of anger. His compassion for her is apparent in His tone.
“When, Lord?”
“Within the hour after she reads. Go and prepare yourself. She will live.”
With a solemn nod of his head, Stephen leaves the Throne and goes to Jeriley’s house. He waits just outside and watches closely, not knowing what to expect, but ready.
He hears the phone conversation. He watches Adrian arrive. When they leave he goes just ahead of them and ascends to get a better view. Moments later he sees it: the SUV is accelerating at tremendous speed. He also sees Zain and stays high and out of his sight until the last instant. He was told to intervene, not to prevent the accident. It all happens so fast, it is almost inexplicable. Zain leaps out of the SUV. Adrian swoops out of his car. Stephen cuts in between the cars and leaves as Adrian returns. All of this happens within a fraction of a second in natural time.
While Stephen is between the SUV and the car, he slows the SUV just enough to lighten the blow and trauma to Jeriley’s body. He cradles her head and protects it from the full impact. She will have some internal injuries that could be life-threatening, but the I Am will take care of those. Once this is all over, he stays close by giving no opportunity for further harm to come to her.
This cannot be. He had arranged everything perfectly. Zain watches as Jeriley is removed from the twisted mess he’d made and is placed on a gurney. He sees her protector beside her, the one who softened the blow ever so slightly by getting in the way. Stephen has caused a rift in his plan that no one would have noticed with natural eyes. It was so slight that Zain would have missed it if he had not been watching so intently, anticipating her last breath.
Stephen looks up at him with no expression. No anger. No sorrow. No fear. He is solid. He is calm and steady. He does not leave her side. Seeing the resolve in Stephen’s stature infuriates him. He should just go over there and finish it once and for all. He is too close to having what he wants to just leave. He approaches Stephen carefully.
“I will take over from here,” he says to Stephen as if relieving him of his duties.
Stephen does not respond, nor does he move. He remains with his eyes fixed on Jeriley as if he is counting her heartbeats.
“I said you are done here.” Zain’s voice takes on a tone of authority and is louder this time.
“You cannot have her. She has the protection of The Lord of Hosts. You will do her no more harm.” His words come out calmly but firmly.
When Zain makes a move towards her, Stephen is between them in a blink, towering over him as if he is daring him to come any closer. They remain this way until Zain backs away. He is no match for Stephen and he knows it.
Zain leaves and seeks to cause trouble in another part of the world. It would be wise to be far away when Adrian comes looking for him. He will not make finding him easy.
Adrian catches sight of Stephen’s involvement as he “exits” and though it goes against his very nature, he is relieved to see him there. It is ironic really. His ultimate goal, after all, is Jeriley’s demise. However, he had a plan. It was not supposed to end like this. Not at the hands of another. This assignment was given to him and he has never failed to carry out his work. There will be a hefty price to pay for this infringement. He will see to it that Zain’s commission is terminated. How miserable it will be for him to be doomed to live forever with no purpose.
A few hours before all of this takes place, right after lunch time, a prayer goes up and reaches the throne. It is an earnest prayer, by someone with a sincere burden for a friend. This prayer joins the prayers of others from over the years and they are collected and considered. These are the sincere petitions of those who believe. Each one is important and is remembered. Each one serves a specific purpose as if the prayer itself has a job to do. Lydia’s prayer is heard and recruits are prepared, just in case. Stephen is called and sent. Help stands by, ready. She is spared.
CHAPTER 11
The ambulance arrives at Bay Medical Center where a trauma team awaits. They meet her outside the doors, receive the report from the paramedics, and take over from there. Adrian is urged to be looked over once more but quickly refuses. He will not leave Jeriley’s side until there he absolutely has to. He has had time to go over everything in his mind. He remembers what Stephen said to him about Jeriley being protected. She will pull through. He listens to the medical staff and their bleak diagnosis of her condition. They do not expect her to live.
Her vitals are not good at all. Her blood pressure is 56/37 and her pulse is extremely weak, indicating internal bleeding. Her breathing is shallow and irregular. She has bruising and swelling on her right side and back, and she has a nasty cut on the back of her head. An MRI is ordered to locate the bleeding and distinguish any other problems she may have. She has been in and out of unconsciousness since she blacked out at the scene.
The MRI reveals three broken ribs, one of which has punctured a lung. Her right shoulder is bruised and swollen from a broken shoulder blade. There is a tear in her liver and the C5 vertebrae in her neck is fractured. Her head suffered no more than the cuts from the glass.
She is rushed to emergency surgery to attend to the more life-threatening injuries. If she makes it, they will repair her shoulder next.
Stephen walks into the hospital and goes directly to the trauma center waiting room to find Adrian sitting very still. He is bent over looking into his folded hands. Stephen enters the room and closes the door behind him. He sits across the room from Adrian.
“She is going to live.” Stephen’s tone is confident and steady.
“Yes of course,” Adrian answers without looking up from his hands.
They are alone in the room so they speak openly.
“I had nothing to do with this.” Adrian, still looking down, explains his position to Stephen.
“I am aware.”
“You saw it.” He begins to sort out Stephen’s part in the whole thing.
“I did. I was present before you left the house.”
“It would seem that she has an accelerated level of protection for a non-believer.” Adrian begins to realize that this one will prove to be his hardest assignment in a very long time.
“She has been protected for quite some time. Petitions were made on her behalf before her conception.”
“Then you are saying she is untouchable.” Adrian looks up at Stephen, moving only his head.
“She still has the freedom of choice.”
“They all do.”
“Yes.”
They sit in silence.
The door opens and Lydia rushes in and looks at the both of them with a fearful, questioning look.
Stephen stands to greet her.
“What happened? Where is Jeriley?”
“There was a car accident. She is in surgery now.” Stephen’s voice calms her and he leads her to a chair so she can sit down.
Adrian looks over at her and recognizes her immediately. He gets up, walks over, and stands close as if to comfort her.
She lo
oks up and immediately realizes that this must be Adrian. She understands Jeriley’s attraction to the one she has been mooning over. He smiles at her and reaches out to shake her hand. He is indescribable. She sits staring up at him and begins to feel unsettled. Stephen places a hand on her shoulder and draws her attention away from Adrian.
“Is she going to be okay?” With all the questions swirling in her mind, this is the one that matters most. When they don’t answer her immediately, she asks them again. “Is Jeriley going to be alright?”
“The doctors are doing all they can. They don’t know if she is going to make it.” Stephen chooses his words carefully. He cannot tell Lydia what he knows and he cannot lie. He simply tells her the truth.
She sits back in her chair, closing her eyes. Her mind goes back to earlier in the day and the conversation they’d had. Then she remembers the urge to pray for Jeriley and how she didn’t understand it, but she prayed anyway. It began as a leisurely talk with the Lord but quickly turned into a feeling of fear for her friend. The longer she prayed, the more urgent it began to feel. Before the prayer was over, she had that peace that she has experienced so many times before. That unexplainable peace fell over her like a soft blanket covering her and whatever need she might have had.
The door opened and a nurse came into the room. Jeriley had been back for quite some time now.
“Are you family?”
“I am a co-worker and her friend. She doesn’t have any family here.”
“Is there any way to contact a family member?” She is hesitant to divulge specific details to anyone other than family, but this is a special circumstance.
“She just moved here several months ago and I don’t know of any family to contact. I work for her. I am her assistant at Donovan. My name is Lydia Jordan.”
“Okay, Lydia. We have gotten her stabilized. It took a while and she has a long way to go. Jeriley has three broken ribs, one of which punctured her right lung. She also has a tear in her liver that they are still trying to repair. Her right shoulder is broken and she had some cuts on her head. If they can get her bleeding under control and repair her internal injuries, she should be fine.”