The Leader

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Chapter Five

  Devon drove Vanessa home a week later, once she was put on medication to help with her bouts of depression, as her doctor termed it. It fit, Devon thought. Who wouldn’t be depressed in their line of work? He glanced at her. She was huddled in the passenger seat, looking small and alone. He remembered her first day at work. She’d been full of life and energy. He had no idea they’d start exposing her to the deeper levels so soon.

  They must be getting desperate. It was the only explanation why they were speeding up their plan. The aliens weren’t supposed to show up this soon. They were supposed to wait for another ten years. But what if they aren’t aliens? What if they had a more sinister identity?

  He recalled the icy sensation on his arm and shivered. He hadn’t felt it since, but he’d become aware of something that seemed to be close by. He often saw some slight distortion in the air around him. At one point, he swore he saw a black shadow fade in and out of his vision.

  I’m going nuts.

  Swallowing the lump in his throat, he glanced back at Vanessa and asked, “You want to talk about it?”

  She continued to stare out the window, her head resting against the glass. “85 to 90% of the world’s population is marked to die, and we’re on the list.”

  “We don’t have to be. There are still places to hide.”

  Laughing bitterly, she asked, “And where would that be? They have cameras and listening devices everywhere.” Then she stopped and looked at him. “Are they listening to us now?”

  “No. I have a way to block them. They think we’re listening to the radio.”

  She sighed and turned her attention back to the window. “Why did you call the ambulance? Why didn’t you let me die?”

  “Because I have a hiding place in Alaska. I’ll take you with me when it’s time to hide. I have plenty of food and water stored up there. When they start taking people to the internment camps, we’ll head out. That’s when things will get ugly.”

  For the first time since he’d found her by the empty bottle of pills in her office late that Saturday night, a hopeful look crossed her face. “You really have a place you can hide?”

  “Yes. I’ve been carefully stocking supplies there. It’s a small cabin in the middle of nowhere. There’s no plumbing or electricity, but it’s somewhere to go.”

  “It beats what the Illuminati have planned.” She wiped the tears that trickled down her cheeks. “All this time you think the government is there to help its people, but it’s not. You sign up to help people but you find out your mission is to scare them into obedience. And all for what? So they can control our lives and then get rid of those who resist? We’re like a bunch of lab rats to them.”

  “Not everyone in the government is corrupt.”

  “No. But a lot take bribes. I have to wonder if most of them even know as much as we do.”

  He shrugged and turned onto another street. “Politics and money go hand in hand. He who has the most money controls what happens at the higher levels.”

  “And no one can stop it?”

  “How? The world leaders, the Bilderbergs, the Trilateral Commission, the United Nations... Even the aliens are in on it.”

  Her lower lip trembled. “What are we supposed to do?”

  With a resigned sigh, he said the only word that had echoed through his head for years. “Survive. Hide, wait, survive. People are taking measures to hide. I’m not the only one. We have to be our own hope.”

  She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the window.

  “When the time comes, you can go with me to Alaska. You don’t have to lie down and die. You have a chance.” She didn’t answer, so he added, “Just let me know if you’re interested, alright?”

  She nodded but continued looking out the window.

  How he wished she didn’t have to go through this. How he wished none of them did. He longed for innocence. The time when he was young and thought the world was a happy place where people wanted to help each other. Sure, there were a few bad guys, but the government was there to help protect and preserve freedoms. It’d all been an illusion. Once he got his job, he became aware of so many things.

  He rubbed his forehead and thought he saw a shadow in the backseat when he looked at his rearview mirror. It vanished as soon as he saw it...or thought he saw it. Maybe he was going crazy. Maybe he was seeing and hearing things that weren’t there.

  He glanced in the mirror again. Nothing was in the backseat. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned onto the street where Vanessa lived. Once he carried her suitcase to her apartment, he asked her to call him if she needed anything.

  “Okay. I will,” she softly replied, glancing around her living room as if she’d never seen it before.

  “I mean it. About that place in Alaska.”

  She nodded but refrained from making eye contact.

  Unsure of what else to do or say, he gently closed the front door and left.

  ***

  In the dark room lit only by thirteen candles stood the Bilderberg Group, one hundred and thirty of the most influential people around the world. They surrounded a man who had his eyes closed as he rested on the table in the center of the room. They wore cloaks and chanted. The power shifted through the room, subtle at first but undeniable.

  The thing formed, dark at first but grew lighter until it assumed the image of a man and stepped forward. “The Master’s DNA.”

  He held his hand out and one of the Bilderberg members stepped forward. He handed the needle to him.

  “Soon. Soon we shall inherit the Earth,” the creature said, carefully concealing its black wings lest the others see them. With slow methodical steps, it went over to the man lying down. “Our leader. What was started in Eden, let it now come to completion. Let that which God tried to destroy be achieved. Let man become as God, knowing both good and evil and having the power denied him for so long.”

  He injected the man with the DNA, and the Bilderberg group held their breath in expectation. Finally, all that they’d worked for and sought was about to come to pass. The air was thick with tension as they watched, waiting to see if their Leader would accept his host.

  A subtle shift wavered through the group, making them aware something was there, but they were unable to see it. It, however, wasted no time in assuming its host’s body and settled comfortably into it. The man had been trained to accept the Leader, and now the Leader was merging into a physical existence.

  With a smile, the Leader opened his new eyes and sat up, seeing things through the eyes of a mortal, feeling things only a man could touch and being confined to a third dimensional world of existence. The limits were binding but necessary. The time had come. The final battle would be soon. He must act in haste. He stood, quickly adapting to the fragile body that was moment by moment wearing down. Mortals. Such frail things. Quickly snuffed out. Disposable. Weak. Pliable. Perfect for his purposes, for as long as he intended to keep them around.

  The one with the carefully concealed black wings who had injected the DNA into the Leader’s new body gave the Leader a knowing smile, hiding a chuckle as the Bilderberg members stared on in awe and worship.

  The Leader smirked at the black-winged fallen angel before saying, “Be gone. Your purpose is served.”

  The creature faded into a faint blue mist until it left no trace of its presence.

  The Leader took in the simple humans who claimed to be the best of all mankind and said, “Engage the war between Israel and Iran. It’s time I arrived.”

  Chapter Six

  Autumn turned to Alicia two days later at work. They stared at the iPhone in Alicia’s hand and watched the morbid details on the news via the internet.

  “Why aren’t the aliens stopping this?” Alicia asked, looking at her friend.

  Autumn, who felt frozen in fear, could only stare at her. “This is World War III, isn’t it?”

  Gulping, she returned her gaze to the phone and watched the video on the
live news feed. Israel and Iran were actively preparing to strike each other, but the question was who would do it first. There was no longer a question of if they would go to war but when. And here Autumn and Alicia were sitting in a department store as if this Christmas season was going to be like any other.

  “Maybe it’s just talk,” Alicia weakly said. “How many times have we been hearing about a breakout over there?”

  “Yeah, but this time troops are getting ready.”

  “The aliens have to intervene. They can’t let us destroy ourselves. They have to stop it.”

  Autumn knew her friend was trying to convince herself of this since she spoke to herself. Not knowing what else to do, Autumn watched the news on the iPhone. Hampton had been warning them that a Middle East breakout was going to occur at any moment, but up until now, she’d hoped he was wrong.

  “Tensions are mounting as Israel is asking the United States to be an ally. So far the president hasn’t given an answer. It looks like if Israel engages in an attack, it might do so on its own,” the newscaster announced.

  Autumn decided she’d heard enough. “Mind if I smoke?”

  “No. Go for it,” Alicia replied.

  Autumn stood and numbly grabbed her coat from the employee lounge before she went outside. It was undeniable. Her life had become a horrible nightmare that never got any better. One bad thing happened right after the other, and it was becoming clear that things were only getting worse.

  She reached the bench outside and sat down. Her hands shook and she didn’t know if it was from the low temperatures or from her nerves.

  A warmth came from her right, a warmth which by now had become familiar enough to be comforting. She knew no one else saw the angel as it appeared next to her, but she spoke aloud anyway. So people passing by to enter the store might think she was nuts. So the security guard who checked IDs might glance over and think she was off her rocker. So whoever manned the security camera that scanned the entrance might take a look at the recording and think she was a loon. So what? What did any of it matter anymore?

  She lit her cigarette and inhaled before she spoke to the angel who decided to show his white wings today. “Is it possible that I can die from lung cancer before I’m nuked into oblivion?” she asked, realizing her joke was too morbid to be funny.

  “You will not be nuked,” the angel assured her.

  She looked at him, noting the peaceful expression on his face. “I guess if you’re immortal, you can’t fear death.”

  “Death only frightens you because it’s an unknown.”

  “You don’t know fear, do you?”

  “I do, just not on the same level you do.”

  “What do you have to fear?”

  “The choices humans make.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she was aware that a woman gave her a bewildered look before passing by. Autumn took another puff from her cigarette. “You mean whether or not we’ll blow each other up?”

  “No. I mean, whose side you’ll choose.”

  “Side? What side?”

  “God or Satan. I can only be a messenger. I can’t make you choose, nor can I make you talk to Devon.”

  She rolled her eyes, fighting off her frustration. “You’re upset because I wouldn’t talk to him at the hospital.”

  “No. I’m not upset. I’m worried.”

  “Worried he’ll make the wrong decision?”

  He nodded.

  She gave a bitter laugh. “I got news for you. He’s already made his decision. He works for them. One of the demons lurk around him.”

  “Not by his choice.”

  “He’s in league with them. He sets off bombs. He tells the governor to put people back to sleep. He was at Area 51 inserting something behind Alex’s ear.”

  “But he hasn’t made the choice.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t you see that thing that hovers by him?”

  “It’s by him. It’s not in him. There is a difference. Influence and possession are two separate things, and until he makes the choice, it will not leave.”

  “Unless he makes the wrong choice, right? Then it enters him?”

  “Yes.”

  Frustrated, she took another puff. “Why don’t you talk to him like you talk to me?”

  “I tried.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Tried? You’re an angel. That makes you powerful enough to do more than us mortals can.”

  “Angels are limited. I cannot will myself to contact Devon. He has to be open to it. He needs help getting there.”

  “And I’m it?” She laughed again. “Last time I told him about the spirit realm, he said I was nuts. He doesn’t want to talk to me, nor do I want to talk to him.”

  “He needs to talk to you, and he does want to talk to you. He’s trapped. He doesn’t know how to get out.”

  She finished her cigarette and put it into the trash can. “What about Alex?” When he didn’t respond, she took a good look at his solemn expression. “Has he made a choice?” she demanded, aware that as her voice rose, her body grew tense.

  “No.”

  “So why don’t I spend my efforts trying to help him? At least Alex is a nice guy who doesn’t go around hurting people.”

  The angel sighed and stared at the man who walked by. “Devon’s open. He wants help.”

  “Just not enough so you can talk to him.” She tucked her hands into her coat pocket and fought off the blast of wind that blew around them. “How is it you could talk to me in May? I wasn’t seeking out angels. I didn’t believe in God.”

  “You were looking for answers, and you know your sister believed in God. She made her decision. She was sealed.”

  Finally. Now they were getting somewhere! She turned to him and asked, “Where is she?”

  “It’s not the end, Autumn. It’s just the beginning, but the world is going to pass through some tribulations before it can enjoy peace. Your sister and others who made their choice before the aliens arrived have been spared the tough times to come.”

  She rubbed her forehead, closed her eyes, and groaned. “Are you ever going to tell me where she is?”

  Silence.

  Glancing at the space next to her, she saw that he had disappeared. She rolled her eyes. Naturally. She should probably be grateful that he bothered to answer any of her questions.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Surprised, she looked over and saw Devon standing in front of her. Standing up, she said, “I have to get back to work. Hampton will dock my pay if my break goes too long.” She didn’t care what the angel said. She had nothing to say to Devon, nor did she want to have anything to do with him.

  “I’ll reimburse you.” Devon stepped in front of her so she couldn’t move forward. “Please?”

  “No.”

  She tried to step past him, but he grabbed her elbow and whispered. “Fine. Let’s bargain. You want information about what’s going on, right? You want to know what’s going on and why?”

  She almost said that she didn’t want to know anymore, but then she remembered Alex and the mess he was in. Maybe Devon knew something that would help Alex. After a quick debate, she nodded.

  “Meet me at Sertoma Park by the zoo entrance. We’ll talk there.”

  “When?”

  “When do you get off work?”

  She couldn’t believe she was doing this. If it’d been anyone but Alex, she’d never meet up with Devon. “Seven. I can be there at 7:30.”

  “Good. I’ll see you then.”

  The shadow appeared next to Devon’s shoulder and snarled at her. In the same instant, the angel appeared next to her. The demon hissed but shrank back until it disappeared.

  Autumn decided not to dwell on it. World War III was about to erupt into full force. She had bigger things to worry about than Devon and his problems, whatever those were. Without another word to Devon or the angel, she took her ID out of her pocket and went into the building.

  The security guard chec
ked her driver’s license, nodded, and handed it back to her. “Have a good day, ma’am.”

  She tried to smile but couldn’t because as soon as she scanned the mall, she became aware of the spiritual world around her. Dark shadows hovered around some people while beams of light hovered around others. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, they were gone.

  I don’t want to see any of them. I just want to forget this is all happening.

  She hurried back to work. The safe and familiar world around her, where she avoided Hampton as much as possible, was the only comfort she got anymore. She hung up her coat and returned to the counter where she took a moment to gather her bearings. She wanted everything to go back to normal. But she had a sinking sensation that nothing would ever be normal again.

  Chapter Seven

  Devon checked his watch as he waited for Vanessa to get the clean bill of health from the psychiatrist. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. The day had been a long one, and tonight, he would have to fly out to Area 51. First, he had to talk to Autumn and find out what she spoke to in that hallway. Something about it was important. He sensed it was the key to what he’d been desperately searching for but had been unable to find.

  Realizing, he’d been staring at the wall, he returned his attention to the magazine in his lap. The headline warned of an approaching war between Israel and Iran. Beneath the headline was the question: Is this the beginning of the end? He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. If only people knew... This wasn’t where the real action was taking place. But soon after he’d begun to work, he learned that the media reported on events that masked the more pressing issues facing mankind.

  The front door opened, so he glanced at who was entering the building. As soon as he recognized Alex Cameron, he looked away, too ashamed to make eye contact. Devon’s business at Area 51 had to do with what he and Vanessa did to him there. He took a deep breath and pretended to be interested in the article in front of him.