After 30 minutes of driving, a gentle feeling of relief settled on the group.
“Phew.” Josh sighed and exhaled loudly. “I’m glad that’s over.” Adam looked at him in compliance as he could finally relax and slouched into his chair. Jaime also revelled in their success.
“Man. I can’t believe we just did that. We have literally just committed what could be deemed as terrorism against our government and country and now have the power to control demons in the palms of our hands.” He laughed nervously.
“Crazy right?” said Adam.
The car slowly came to a halt as they waited at a traffic light. Suddenly Coach Stevens leaned over the back of the seat, gun in hand, and let off one clean, crisp shot that hit Adam square between the eyes. The impact threw Adam’s head back with such force it looked like his neck was detaching from his shoulders. The blood spatter exploded from the wound, spraying over the monitors and Josh’s face.
Trembling from head to toe at what had just happened, Josh descended into shock and froze as he witnessed the lifeless body of Adam slumped on the chair.
He slowly touched his face and tried to wipe the blood droplets away, only to be greeted by the sight of his friend’s blood and brain particles on his hands. His mind snapped and his psyche broke. Jaime too was also in absolute trauma at the sight of his dead comrade but managed to pull his eyes away from the horrific image, only to see that Sean was aiming his gun at Josh now. Thinking only of his best friend, Jaime threw himself in front of Josh, shielding him. The bulletproof suit he was wearing took the brunt of the force and pushed him back.
Everything that had happened in those few minutes felt like it was in slow motion for Andrew. He looked over to his friends, as Jaime was now hunched over Josh absorbing fire from the gun. Turning his head back, he peered into the face of Coach Stevens and felt a cold tingle travel down his spine at what he saw. His features had changed. He recognized those eyes before.
Sean’s eyes were now completely black. No pupil, no iris or retina, just total darkness, accompanied by heavy bags underneath and a dry texture to his skin. The shock of this brought him back to reality and he sprung into action. Just as Sean aimed for Jaime’s head Andrew dived across from his seat into Coach Stevens. Grabbing his hand he slammed it against the car door, releasing the gun in the process. A close quarter’s fist fight ensued. Whilst the melee was taking place, Jaime, who was still reeling from the bullet impact, muscled himself to his feet and proceeded to drag Josh, who was still visibly shaken, outside of the truck.
Andrew managed to lock Sean in a sleeper hold but his constant wriggling made it hard to subdue him
“How did you get to him you evil piece of shit!” cursed Andrew.
The voice that emanated from Sean’s mouth was a dark one, not of this world. It was a much deeper tone, and the feeling of malice could be felt in every word.
“Is this how you welcome your brother?”
“You are not my brother Demon” shouted Andrew
Sean bit down into the arm that Andrew had around his throat and wrestled free. But Andrew anticipated his movements and as he lunged for him, Andrew dodged his attack and kicked him sending him through the open back door and flying into the road.
Stepping out of the truck, his head was instantly met with the down pouring of the early morning rain. The droplets trickled down his face, caressing his features before running down to his shoulders. The coldness of the dawn’s dew ran through his suit, refreshing his body. He felt energised and knew that he had a fight on his hands. He saw Jaime trying to console the now mute Josh by the side of hummer.
“Get inside and arm yourselves. Lock the door and do not interfere unless I knock. GO!”
Jaime helped Josh to his feet and scurried into the hummer, closing the door behind them. Grabbing a shotgun, he sat facing the door and waited.
Sean brushed himself off as he stood to his feet. They watched each other intently. Their gazes never breaking.
“Well look at you. Seems you’ve learned a few tricks since I last encountered Sean. Only this time he will not be your saviour!”
The words the demon spoke resonated in Andrew’s mind until suddenly the realization hit him.
“Anak? But there’s no way, Coach destroyed you. How is this possible?”
Anak let out a roaring laugh and smiled smugly. He explained that just before Sean decapitated him, he transferred a part of his essence into Coach Stevens when he spat his blood into his face. He rambled on, self-praising his own deeds.
“Then I simply waited for the right moment to unleash myself. Was a genius plan really if I say so myself. Now all I have to do is kill the remainder of your friends, take the Star of David and The Key of Solomon, then drag you back to hell with me…WHERE YOU BELONG BROTHER!”
The anger began to swell in Andrew.
“You killed my friend. He didn’t deserve to die,” he shouted.
Anak taunted him even more, “You humans, so weak, yet so easily riled up. Come on Mr Robertson unleash your rage upon me. You know you want to.”
Andrew could feel his rage beginning to take over. He gritted his teeth and tried to overcome his emotions but the situation was getting the better of him. The Nephilim continued to urge Andrew to release the evil within but unbeknownst to Anak, he still had his comms unit embedded in his ear and Jaime could hear the entire conversation.
“A.R if you can hear me, do not make it obvious, and just listen. I know this guy looks like Coach but it’s not Coach anymore. You’re gonna have to take him down, but not with rage bro. You’re better than that. Think smart. Remember your training. Show him you are nothing like him. Do it for yourself. And do it for Adam.”
These words spoken with passion and emotion motivated Andrew. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He thought of how far he had come. How Coach believed in him, when he didn’t believe in himself. This time he was going to save Sean but most importantly he had to avenge his fallen comrade and best friend.
Anak roared at him with every single ounce of power he could muster.
Andrew took up an offensive stance. He opened his eyes to reveal the glorious shimmer of righteousness within. This sudden change startled Anak, who was surprised to see how controlled Andrew was in his powers. Nonetheless, he continued to hurl abuse at him.
“You think you have power?! You have nothing! You can’t stop me, boy. I now control this vessel, and if you want to stop me, you will have to kill your mentor.”
Andrew began to advance step by step, quickening in pace, until he was fully charging at Anak. As he came closer and closer to his foe, he gently muttered under his breath, “So be it!” Anak did the same and they both rushed at each other. Their two fists met simultaneously, connecting with full impact, creating a shockwave that vibrated outwards shattering the traffic lights and windows on the hummer. The ground beneath them cracked under the immense force of the cataclysmic engagement of good vs. evil creating a crater and sending both opponents flying back.
Andrew lay motionless in a puddle of rain. He began to stir from the collision but was still dazed and dizzy. A ringing could be heard in his ear, which seemed to get louder and louder. Suddenly it changed in tone, and Andrew recognized the familiar rhythm but just as he was about to get up to his feet, a grenade bounced right next to him and rolled gently up against his leg. Looking up, he saw Anak holding the pin and laughing. In a brief panic, he rolled over and curled up into a ball, preparing for the blast impact…
Andrew shot up out of his bed. Looking around frantically, he found himself back at the base. Still trying to identify his surroundings, his eyes then searched the room for Adam, and to his relief there he was, struggling to get up.
Josh patted him on the back and shouted “Its game time baby” but as he said the phrase Andrews mouth lip synced the exact same sentence.
What is going on? He thought to himself.
Jumping off his bed, he ran over to check Adam. Patting his head and
spoiling his hair, searching for the gunshot wound, Adam looked at him puzzled.
“Bro, what are you doing?” he asked.
“You…you should be dead. How is this possible?” Mumbled Andrew
He sat down baffled on the bed. “Unless it was all a dream?” he said to himself.
The other 3 boys looked at him, worried for their friend.
“You ok bro? You look shaken up man.” Said Jaime
Andrew lowered his tone in a suspicious manner and motioned to his friends to move in closer. He explained what had just happened in his dream. “It felt so real.” He pleaded
“Sounds like you had a premonition of some kind.” said Adam.
“Yeah but how do we know it’s actually a premonition and not just a random dream?” quizzed Josh.
“When coach briefs us on the mission tonight, he’s going to reveal the place we plan to hit is The Royal Masonic Lodge of Windsor County.” proclaimed Andrew.
“Windsor County?” asked Adam.
“Yes.” Said Andrew.
To further prove his case he then explained the intricate plan that Sean had devised to infiltrate the lodge. He didn’t miss out any details and told his friends that Sean would say exactly the same thing he did.
“So what do we do now? If what you’re saying is correct then that means coach is possessed by Anak.” stated Jaime.
Andrew paused for a second and tried to think of a plan.
“We’re gonna have to perform an exorcism of some kind. It’s either that or we kill coach.”
The group looked deeply troubled by the latter of the choices. They quickly devised a plan to trap Sean, so that Andrew could perform the religious act.
Nervously they made their way to the meeting room. Although they were trying to act as if nothing was wrong, the boys sat down around the table with a sense of caution about them. Once seated, Sean began to divulge his plan to them. Just as Andrew had quoted word for word, Coach Stevens' method was identical to the statement Andrew had given. All 4 boys looked at each other in confirmation. They knew what they had to do, and they knew they weren’t going to like it.
With the mission briefing over, they headed towards the armoury to gear up. As they equipped themselves, Andrew gave them the subtle sign to move into position. Placing themselves strategically, the boys surrounded their mentor on all sides.
“Before we leave sir I thought we could just say one more prayer together.” said Andrew.
“Sure,” replied Coach.
They all huddled in, each placing a hand on Sean’s shoulder. He began to pray, but as he got a few sentences in, Andrew interrupted shouting. “NOW!”
Jaime grabbed a canister of CS-Gas and sprayed it furiously into the eyes of Sean, who immediately grabbed his face in agony and screamed out, “What are you doing?!” Disorientated and confused he winced in pain from the gases effects. Unable to see he swung wildly, trying to feel his way around the room until Adam eventually shocked him unconscious with a taser to the neck. The four boys then stood over Sean’s motionless body.
“What now then,” asked Adam.
“Let’s get him into the interrogation cell. Then I’ll prepare him for exorcism,” instructed Andrew.
They carried Sean into a cell and left him on the bed. Locking the door behind them, Josh and Jaime remained to stay guard whilst Adam helped Andrew get ready.
Walking into the library, Adam could tell from Andrew’s body language he was nervous. “You ever seen something like this before. Like a person possessed?
Andrew perused through some books before answering back.
“Yeah. Well, I say yeah but I wasn’t like up close and personal. One time when I was little, I was in church with my family. It was like a national convention of churches from all over the country. And this guy literally came out of nowhere and stood on the balcony, which was like 3 storeys up at least. And I remember him saying, WE ARE LEGION AND WE ARE MANY! Then he threw himself off the balcony.”
Adam looked shocked, “What?! Did he die?”
“Nope. In fact when he jumped off he literally glided down in slow motion to the floor. Then the church officials rushed to subdue him and perform the exorcism. Because I was only a child, I had to be taken into another room. Unless you’re covered you can’t be around stuff like that.” replied Andrew
Adam looked at his friend cautiously, “So you think you’re covered now?”
Pausing to really think about the questioned posed to him, Andrew said, “I’ve grown up in the church all my life. My mum always taught me that prayer is powerful and faith is everything. I know I haven’t lived my life in the best way that God would like, but I’ve never stopped believing in him and my love for him will always be there. This past year Sean has taught me a lot about having my own personal relationship with God, and right now I’m his only hope. So I have to be covered and I believe God wouldn’t bring me this far if I wasn’t.”
They both gathered up all the text they could find on exorcising and sat down to read. From the information, they studied Andrew came to the conclusion he would need Holy Water and Anointing Oil. These would help expose the demon within, causing it to surface and giving Andrew the opportunity he needed to cast the evil spirit out. For an extra precaution he also broke into Coach’s private cabinet and opened the box containing the 6 rings of the Armatura Dei.
He took rings and signified to Adam he was ready.
Meanwhile, Josh and Jaime sat and watched vigilantly. They both had nervous ticks that gave away their temperament about the situation. Josh would constantly throw a small bouncy ball against the wall whilst Jaime’s leg wouldn’t stop tapping against the floor. About an hour passed until Sean finally woke up.
He checked his surroundings and realised he was in an interrogation cell.
Looking around his eyes quickly identified Jaime and Josh through the glass outside. He rushed to the window enraged, “What is the meaning of this insubordination?” he shouted.
Jaime looked at Josh before answering, and then cautiously made his way towards the glass. “Sir, we have cause to believe that your battle with Anak exposed you to his demonic essence. We think you could be possessed by his spirit and we cannot take any chances.”
Sean looked on in disbelief. “What?! That’s ludicrous. Who planted such idiotic ideas into your heads?”
Again Jaime looked at Josh but this time Josh answered, “It was Andrew sir.”
Coach Stevens looked down in disappointment. He banged his fist on the window, “Let me out! I am not the enemy. Let me speak with Andrew, he’s clearly confused,” he pleaded.
Jaime looked on at his mentor and with a heavy heart replied, “I’m sorry sir we cannot let you out until we are 100 percent sure. Please remain calm; Andrew will be in with you shortly.” Then turning his back coldly, he sat back down and tried to ignore the pleading and shouting coming from the cell.
Josh put his arm around his shoulder to support his friend, “We’re doing the right thing man. We gotta stick with Andrew no matter what.”
Jaime nodded, “I hope he’s right on this. I really do.”
Just then, Andrew and Adam walked through the door. The boys stood up to greet their friends. The commotion was noticed by Sean who called out to Andrew.
“A.R what is going on? I want an explanation now!” he ordered. Andrew stayed calm and ignored his protests.
“How long has he been up,” he asked. Jaime replied, “About 30 minutes or so. He seems to be ok just agitated obviously.”
Andrew grouped them together.
“I am going to go in alone.”
Josh and Jaime protested but were interrupted by Adam, “Hear him out.”
Andrew carried on, “I understand we all wanna help but this is a very dangerous situation we are dealing with. Whoever goes in there must be covered; their faith has to be unwavering. Due to me having an angelic spirit inside me too I am the only one here who can’t be possessed.”
“I’m
coming in with you Andrew, and you can’t stop me. My faith is just as deep as yours,” demanded Jaime.
“Ok,” said Andrew. He gave strict instruction to Adam and Joshua to arm themselves just in case things got out of control and lock the door behind them.
Jaime and Andrew approached the door. Using the shutter they slid it open and shouted in, “Sir, we going to enter into your cell. Please stand with your back against the opposite wall.” Coach heard them and complied. Adam could see through the glass and gave them the all clear to enter. They did so attentively.
Once inside the cell, they welcomed Sean to join them at the table. Sitting down opposite each other, Coach angrily threatened the pair, “If you don’t tell me what’s going on in the next 5 seconds I’m going to kick both your asses.”
Andrew began, “Coach Do you remember your fight with Anak?” he asked.
“Of course I do, why? What does he have to do with anything?”
“Just before you killed him, he spat his blood into your face, do you remember that?” Sean began to get frustrated and slammed his hand on the table, “Yes, I remember. Where is this headed?”
Suddenly Andrew pulled out a small vial of holy water and threw its contents at Sean’s face. Reeling back off his chair he screamed in agony and held his face with both hands. His reaction instantly made the boys stand to their feet as they watched in anticipation of what was going to happen next. Slowly and freakishly his groans of pain began to transform into growls of rage. The boys distanced themselves from him, still poised and ready for whatever was to come.
Now on his hands and knees, the growls began to get louder and more beastly. Sean banged his fist against the floor. Smoke seemed to come off his face as if the holy water was burning him. He used his other hand to wipe away the liquid and as he did so Andrew immediately took notice of the all too familiar eyes he had seen once before.
Nephilim Page 18