CounterPoint

by Daniel Rafferty

  “When that demon, Lilith, talked about death she spoke as if it’s a person,” queried David, slowing down so as to not overtake a police car. He was speeding after all.

  “She is. Death is what you would consider a God. She is responsible for every single death in the universe, everything from planets to flowers.”

  “Are you trying to tell me that one being, even if it’s God-like, can do all that?”

  “You humans have come to believe that God is actually one person. It’s not, God is a title given to very few creations in existence. Our God actually has a name.”

  “Which is?”

  “Nothing that could be said in the human tongue.”

  “So Death is a God.”

  “Yes, Remember. Obviously his name is not Death per se but…She has thousands of bodies all over the galaxy and their job is to take you to your next existence. On Earth for humans that means taking you to a processing centre. Death very rarely ever presents herself. Death is rumoured to not have been on Earth since the First World War to personally advise his staff on how to cope with the huge number of deaths. She is, however, all knowing.” Ariel knew by David’s reaction that while he may have listened intently to what he said, he didn’t believe it. This frustrated Ariel as the hurdles ahead required even the most basic of understanding for the complex undertaking they were to undertake. He decided though it was against every indentation that had ever been scalped into him, that he must fully illustrate the view to David about the process of the world. He knew that in this instance, the more a human knew, the better.

  “David,” spoke Ariel knowingly. It was a significant moment; he rarely used David’s name, yet alone to begin a new conversation. Uncomfortable, he hesitated slightly, perceiving something that true angels should not experience. He peered out to the dirt-encrusted window, catching a brief glimpse of a flash of lightning vaguely resembling the sign of the cross before continuing. “A lot of humans, especially since the 20th and 21st centuries, have begun to question the origins of creation beyond anything ever experienced in the history of Heaven. Scientific progress, while predictable, was thrusting deeply held beliefs into crisis on a scale never witnessed before. Millions are beginning to question how this world operates. But we accepted that this was the natural process of evolution for humans. God said that the questioning of your origins and your primary faith was inevitable.”

  “The Church?” said David, referring to the Catholic Church which spanned over one billion followers.

  “We created religion as a way of trying to instil some order onto the world. Obviously it didn’t go according to plan and we lost control of the organisation soon after its official creation. Religion was created by us as humans were slaughtering themselves to the point of extinction. We intervened, but in the process started a religion as those un-evolved humans began worshipping us. We let this flourish as it was the only form of order humans seemed to abide by in those early years,” said Ariel, pausing momentarily. “We tried to take control of it when we noticed humanity was descending down another dark path by sending Jesus Christ to Earth, resulting in what you actually call the Catholic Church. Unfortunately that only strengthened the already corrupt religious faith. We are not saying all religion is corrupt, but humans are unperfected beings. As such, problems were inevitable. You must remember that you and many others see the possibility of angels, Heaven, Hell, demons and other intergalactic creatures as that of nightmares and nonsense.”

  David flashed another look at him again through the unclean mirror perched to his left, but this time it wasn’t a look of enquiry but one of confusion.

  Ariel pressed on, trying and failing to cross his legs in the cramped interior of the saloon against the grubby yet comforting shiny black suede seating. “As humans, you are the primary species of the planet. For illustrative purposes consider this. You purchase one of those horrendous man-made insect tanks and grow an ant colony. That colony could grow to five or ten thousand ants in one passing. You are their ultimate master, their God if you will. You decide when they eat and when they don’t. You create disasters for them by altering their natural habitat to suit your ultimate purpose. Now think on the grander scale of mankind. God, the creator or even the ant-keeper. He created angels and mankind and embattled us into this small world. Earth - in a way our own little tank. We may go about and live our own lives on a daily basis but it has all been pre-planned down to what minute and second you will die. You believe it’s perfectly normal for a child to buy and grow an ant colony as a pet project. Yet mankind’s self-righteous belief of dominance will not recognise that someone greater may have created them and enclosed them on this one planet you call Earth. If the ant colony has a God that rains down from the sky and changes their very existence on a daily basis, if required, why can’t mankind have an equal God? Our God has created many things in his existence since he created angels. But to our knowledge he has never created anything after humans…”

  “And now you’re saying there’s going to be a flood,” replied David.

  “Not by God, David. Imagine you had to go on holiday, and you leave your parents to look after your ant colony. You might come back and find your instructions not followed to the letter. Worse, you may never come back.”

  “Regarding what God has created since humans, I suspect your knowledge is slightly out of date, Ariel, but that is okay. Now is not the time for a history lesson,” said Pravuil who had appeared once more. The car seemed to have lengthened considerably as he now sat in an extra seat. “I have an assignment for the both of you.”

  David looked at Ariel, who continued to stare at Pravuil. Sensing this might need his full attention, he indicated off the motorway and onto the hard shoulder.

  “Now I know I didn’t return when expected but I do apologise. Finding the information I was searching for proved a lot more problematic that I had expected. But, I was successful and now I have two assignments that are of the highest urgency.” Sensing they were now waiting for more information, Pravuil pushed onwards. “We need an ancient relic of Heaven to aid us in our quest. The True Cross.”

  “You mean a part of the cross that Jesus was crucified on?” asked David. He had read about it once. Apparently there were so many ‘specimens’ of this true cross around the world, Jesus would have been bigger than a skyscraper had they all been genuine.

  “Yes,” answered Pravuil. He opened his red leather folder and handed a red piece of parchment to Ariel. “You’ll find everything there. I suggest you take a more human approach to getting to Jerusalem. Michael has quarantined the entire area and with the local human trouble in that part of the planet extreme caution is advised on all fronts. I have acquired a private aeroplane for yourself and David.”

  “What? No, David, you’re not going anywhere,” growled Catherine, more furious than David had ever seen his mother. She turned round in her seat to glare at Pravuil who bowed his head in acceptance of her concerns.

  “Mum,” soothed David. The last thing he wanted was a row. Clearly there was stuff to be done and if he was needed, then fine. Too many people had already died protecting them; it was time they did some fighting themselves.

  “No, David, I don’t care, I’m not losing you too,” shouted his mum.

  “Madame,” said Pravuil gently, “If we do not get this artefact then I fear our cause will be in vain and we shall all perish regardless. We need the tools to finish the job. I would go myself but I am unable to obtain it. I suspect David will be better equipped than myself. It will be a perilous mission, but one I feel he can succeed.”

  “David!” shouted his mum.

  “Mum, listen. There really is no time to argue about this. Now I’m going to go and get this done and you’re not helping me,” he snapped back. He loved his mother more than any other person but at the moment they needed to be objective. “Now, what do you mean I’m equipped?”

  “David. This mission will put you in a situation where you will have to be
lieve in yourself. Where you will have to assist Ariel in completing this mission. You will come in direct contact with some of Hell’s most fearsome warriors.”

  “Not to mention some of Heaven’s most brutally gifted angels” added Ariel.

  There was a moment’s silence as David looked between Ariel and Pravuil.

  “Okay then,” was his sarcastic reply, rolling his eyes and breaking into a smile. Hell, if he didn’t laugh he’d cry.

  Catherine sat silently, furious, but deep inside she knew that their options were now almost zero. She also had a daughter to think of, and she was growing to trust Ariel and Amber a lot more since the battle at the cottage. They had fought to protect her family.

  “Excellent,” said Pravuil taking charge of the situation, “Amber, Lana is waiting for you in Detroit. There is an old building I want you to investigate. It has come on my radar of late and sources tell me it could be an invaluable source of information.

  “Lilith,” Lilith had just appeared in another seat in the expanded car and bowed to Pravuil. His reputation knew no bounds. “I want you to continue heading to the dock with Catherine and Claire. I will be monitoring your situation closely. When you get to the dock, just wait there quietly. We shall all be back soon. Now, I will transport the both of you to the aeroplane which is already in mid-flight across middle Europe. I have ensured you will have no interference from human authorities and the plane will not run out of any required fuels. Ariel, keep me updated.” Nodding to both of them, he placed a hand on each and they vanished.

  “Typical, always leave the woman to get the job done. Let’s roll ladies,” said Lilith, appearing in the driver’s seat. Flinging the car into gear, they sped off.

  Chapter 26

  David sat quietly on the private jet, heading for Jerusalem. While it wasn’t the first private jet he had been on, the beautiful cream leather recliners were a welcome change from the past twenty-four hours. He stared through the window, gazing out at the blackened storm sky. Thunderous bouts of rain pelted the plane and unstoppable winds ensured that turbulence was now his constant companion.

  His mind felt physically sore, constantly straining to understand, comprehend and rationalise what had happened in only the last few hours. He had lost his grandmother, someone who had helped rear him from the day he was born, who he had looked after in her later years. They had, or did have, David thought with a brutal sting of sadness, a very close relationship. But he knew that he had no time to grieve. His anger would also not let him. He was full of an impossible rage, and wanted to inflict hurt on anyone else who would threaten them. He was finished with his family being threatened. Turning round to look towards the front of the plane, standing in the middle of the aisle was the same angel again from the very beginning. No one on the plane seemed to register that he had just appeared. Quickly glancing out the window, David could see the plane was still moving but the people in the plane seemed to have been very unaware of his arrival. He turned round to face Ariel, trying to work up a slight smile but it was impossible. If anything, he could use this time to get some answers.

  Standing tall, clad in black with a long black trench coat, gloves and shirt, Ariel posted an imposing figure inside the small jet. His shiny, diamond encrusted cufflinks glistened amongst the black. He had clearly done some cleaning up himself, David thought. He glided forward and sat down slowly in front of David, crossing his legs and resting his arms on top of them.

  “Sorry for my absence, but I detest clothes even when they’re clean and pressed,” said Ariel, referring to the particularly bad condition his former attire had been in after the battle.

  “Sometimes you’re more human than you realise,” said David jokingly. “What’s the mission?”

  “We are to obtain two sacred artefacts. Unfortunately it’s best I don’t tell you more until the time arrives,” said Ariel, “in case you are captured and tortured for information.”

  “How charming,” said David, not bothering to argue.

  “I believe you have other questions for me,” said Ariel with the usual business-like formality, directly looking at David.

  “I need a history lesson, Ariel. How did it come to this?” replied David, matching Ariel’s gaze directly. Seeing Ariel just staring, David pressed on. “You need to understand you can’t simply turn up and do and say everything about humanity being an experiment which your bosses now want to pull the plug on. You’ve even introduced me to angels, demons and monsters. All in one day!”

  “I know, but understand I am bound by my laws,” he replied. Ariel knew that David was not going to give up.

  “From what I’ve seen of your kind, laws don’t apply!” David shot back, trying to stay civil. “Angels seem to destroy, threaten and even kill in the name of God so don’t give me that bullshit that there are some grand laws you have to abide by. It seems to me like you do whatever you want whenever you want. This planet simply seems to be a toy for most angels.”

  Ariel bit his tongue, trying not to retaliate verbally. The situation was bad enough without trading personal insults. He had also been reminded sternly by Amber to remember David had just lost his grandmother. Tapping his fingers on the table, he looked at the human sitting in front of him. “David, I’ll tell you what I can, but only that and nothing more.’

  David’s reply was an unanswered wanting stare.

  Ariel breathed heavily and began.

  “Humans were not created as religious leaders on this world dictate. The theory of evolution generally accepted by your scientific community is correct. What most humans have failed to comprehend is that God created humans, but with a scientific method. God created the fundamental bacteria elements needed for eventual advanced life forms. These microscopic organisms were hurtled into the planet by God himself. This was the first experiment which actually allowed evolution. I was one of the few angels mesmerised as evolution permitted creatures to evolve and crawl out of the vast oceans. Everything God had created before this was created without evolution being allowed. God always created the final product before this. The Human Experiment has been going on for billions of years. You can imagine that God trying to create a set of beings with emotions, defects and most importantly free will did not go down well with my fellow colleagues and others in the universe. The fact that they were to be allowed to make their own decisions and not be the working civil servants of God was ground breaking in the cosmos at that time. He also decreed that he was to prioritise the Human Experiment as its success was critical to an extent which was incomprehensible to everyone but Death and God themselves. Nothing was spared in nurturing the experiment and humans eventually rose from the oceans to populate the planet. Heaven was created to administer the entire planetary operation. Hundreds of angels were now tasked with administering the experiment until instructed not to. Ultimately, without going into the politics, this led to a war unlike anything seen before. Lucifer, or as you commonly call him the Devil, led an insurrection against God and those still loyal to him. They refused to be slaves for eternity and demanded the same freedom in existence as was being granted to humans. The fighting was fierce and galactic in its size. No one was spared. Heaven was almost destroyed until the fighting descended to Earth.”

  “But then how...?” questioned David, but he was interrupted by Ariel.

  “When the fighting descended to Earth, God become infuriated, and sent forth his entire army of angels, led by Michael and the other archangels to crush the rebellion once and for all. We descended to Earth in our hundreds and had orders from God to end the war once and for all, whatever way possible. Earth was nearly destroyed in the process as the fighting descended onto all continents and the weapons used were fierce. Most of Lucifer’s followers were annihilated, the first time my kind had actually killed each other. We hunted and hunted until all but a few were left scattered across the planet. Lucifer was banished to his own prison deep in another realm.” Ariel paused for a moment, barely registering the flash of l
ightning which coincided with a quick drop in altitude before the aeroplane stabilised again.

  “When the War was over, the planet lay in ruins and only two humans had survived. You know them from history as Adam and Eve. These two were to repopulate and continue the experiment. At this point, God had left and instructed his archangels to ensure the smooth running of Earth and to watch over and guide it until he was to say otherwise. He has still not come back yet.

  “I’m sure you know the story of Adam and Eve and the snake tempting Eve. That snake turned out to be Lilith. We thought we had killed her in the fighting. She is considered Lucifer’s deputy and one of his most fearsome weapons. This is the definitive point in human history when evil and sin entered the human soul. Hence you can understand my feelings toward her, even when she does help us.”

  “I thought that evil had always existed within us, that it was according to ancient texts a test from God,” said David.

  “No, that theory was postulated by ancient human scholars. You’d be surprised how much of what you consider gospel, bible and ancient texts is actually very wrong….When evil entered into the human soul, it caused a calamity in Heaven. With God gone the archangels convened and decided to attempt to rid the Earth of evil. In a moment of panic our actions resulted in what you call the Great Flood. We decided to cleanse Earth of all evil and used the powers of Heaven to accomplish this.”

  “I’ve heard this story; it’s a common childhood parable taught in schools,” interjected David. ‘It was God who commanded the flood and saved Noah and the ark.”

  “As I’ve told you, God wasn’t then and still isn’t about. We ordered the flood in his name and provided a safe haven for those humans and animals that were untouched by evil. It was certainly not a wooden ark as your parables suggest. Heaven certainly did not empty its waters onto Earth either. We’re much more practical than that and used the vast oceans to our advantage. The flood itself was by all accounts a great success. We helped repair the Earth afterwards and allowed those pure humans to flourish again.”