The Influence (Supernatural Thriller)

by Matthew John Slick

  “I see,” said Pastor Tim. “A lot of people have the same objection. But, if you don’t mind, can I read you something Jesus said? I won’t bug you about it. It is something that he said that relates to what we’re talking about here.”

  Kathy inhaled and exhaled slowly. “Sure,” she answered, only to be polite.

  The pastor could sense her hesitancy, so he flipped through the pages of his Bible quickly. “Here it is.” Though he had the verse memorized, he wanted her to see that it was there. “John 14:6 is where Jesus says, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life, and nobody comes to the Father but by me.’” With that, he closed the Bible. “Kathy, Jesus said that. Now, I don’t know about you, but I find myself unable to say he was mistaken, no matter what I might feel.”

  Kathy looked at her father. The words were a direct contradiction to what she believed, and that obvious fact was amplified by the silence. The pastor’s point was made. But Kathy could sense no arrogance in his tone. He was sincere. After a few seconds he spoke.

  “Well, when are you going to get out of the hospital, John?”

  “Believe it or not, the doctor said I may get out in a few hours.”

  Kathy looked surprised. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

  “Uh, maybe because we were a little preoccupied?” John had raised his eyebrows along with his tone while he motioned with his hands to the hospital room. Then he smiled.

  “You got that right,” she responded.

  “My side is still hurting a bit, but the doctor said that everything is healing up very well and that, if I want to, I could head out of here sometime this evening.”

  “That is pretty fast, isn’t it?” asked Kathy.

  “Yep, praise God. I’m healing up very well. It has to be all the prayers. And, of course, that laparoscopic surgery sure makes recovery easier.”

  He looked at the pastor, then back to his daughter. “I wanted to surprise you, but what happened last night was more important. Besides, the doctor told me just this morning before you got here. He said I was doing great.” John smiled and flexed a bicep. “Yep, this old body still has what it takes.” Tim chuckled.

  It was obvious to everyone that John was trying to relax his daughter with some humor.

  Kathy got up and grabbed his hand. “I’m so glad to hear that. I know how you are, wanting to get home and work on your garden.”

  “Yep, and I want to get to church tomorrow, too.” He looked at the pastor. “What is your sermon going to be about tomorrow?”

  “Well…coincidently,” he said as he pointed up, “it’s going to be about spiritual warfare. I’m going to be talking about angels and demons and how they can affect us.”

  “Oh, I have to be there for that. If I get out tonight, I’ll be sitting in my usual spot in the morning. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  “Dad, you aren’t planning on driving yourself to the church tomorrow, are you?”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  “But, Dad, I don’t think you should be driving so soon. I can take you home tonight, but you’re still pretty sore and maybe you should take it easy for a day or two longer.”

  “I appreciate that, but I really do want to go to church.”

  Kathy sighed, realizing that the only thing she could do now was to offer to drive her father to church. She quickly resigned herself to that predicament and then volunteered, “All right, Dad, if you get out of the hospital today, I’ll take you to church tomorrow.” It was obvious she wasn’t happy about it.

  “I would love that. You’re such a good daughter.”

  “That’s only because I had such a good dad,” she offered with a fake smile.

  With that, the pastor took the opportunity to stand up and excuse himself. “Well, I think I’ll get going and head back to the church and do some more prep for tomorrow’s service.” He looked at John and said, “I hope that you get out of the hospital this evening and…” he looked over at Kathy, “…I hope to see you tomorrow, as well.” He smiled and moved towards the door.

  “I’m glad you confided in me, Kathy. Don’t worry, everything will be all right.”

  He gently pulled open the door and disappeared into the hallway.

  Kathy took a long look at John and exhaled hard. “I’m getting hungry. This spiritual stuff is a lot of work.”

  John snickered a bit, “Yep.”

  “Dad, if you don’t mind I would like to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat and then maybe head to your place afterwards. I’m a bit stressed, and I wouldn’t mind relaxing for a while. Is that okay with you?”

  “Of course. You just take as much time as you need and I’ll be here waiting for you. Who knows, maybe the doctor will give me an early release. If he does, I’ll call you at home.”

  With that, Kathy got up and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek, squeezing his hand yet again. She looked at the IV and the machines all over the room and headed out the door. “See you in a little while,” she said, disappearing into the hallway.

  John lay back in his bed and looked up at the ceiling. He relaxed and let himself fall into its comfort. On a stand to his right was a Bible. He reached over and brought it to his lap, where he opened it to Ephesians 6, a chapter dealing with spiritual warfare. He read for a few minutes, and then closed his eyes as he began to pray for his daughter and the pastor.

  In a corner of the room, a demon watched him. It could not stand to be in the presence of a man who was praying to the true and living God, so it slowly turned its face to the wall, stepped through it and let itself fall downward, opening its wings, and gliding away.

  ***

  Mark found himself having difficulty expressing his feelings. Ever since the vision of the fall of the devil, he had been unable to speak. It wasn’t that he couldn’t, he just didn’t want to. He looked at Sotare through intense eyes and said nothing. The memory of the incredible sight of countless angels, of the glorious light of God emanating and filling the universe, of the beautiful and immense being that fell and became ugly, left him without words.

  Why had he been allowed to see such an incredible thing?

  Mark turned his eyes from Sotare and looked past him into the garden. A small butterfly had landed on a flower and was slowly beating its wings. He focused on it, studying its colors, memorizing it. He remembered the one he had recently crushed. A twinge of remorse surfaced. He had taken a life, a small one, needlessly. Somehow, the butterfly wasn’t insignificant anymore.

  Mark saw past the garden and visualized the realm where God dwelt. His desire to have questions answered had mysteriously vanished. He had discovered that hard questions had hard answers.

  Mark thought again of the vision and the indescribable majesty of the glory of the light that radiated from the presence of the Almighty. He contemplated his insignificance, his utterly minuscule stature in the grand scope of creation. He felt like that butterfly. He felt like he deserved to be crushed. Yet, the Almighty had sent an angel to speak to him. It made no sense.

  Sotare broke the silence. “What you have seen is remarkable and you are highly privileged.”

  Mark didn’t feel special. On the contrary, he felt unworthy. “Why would God be concerned with me?” asked Mark, his eyes still focused on the butterfly.

  Sotare responded carefully. “He is concerned with you because of who he is, because he loves you. It is not because of who you are.”

  Mark was gleaning from these experiences that his own fragile and helpless life was not for his own enjoyment: it had purpose. Only, he didn’t know what it was.

  Mark slowly slid out of his seat and dropped to his knees. Tears welled in his eyes, not because he was in anguish, but because his heart was humbled as he reflected on the greatness of the vision and the exceedingly rare, perhaps unprecedented privilege he had just experienced. With his head bowed, he allowed his tears to fall without the slightest desire to hide them or wipe them away.

  Chapter 10

 
KATHY HAD RETURNED TO her father’s house and was sitting on the couch, endlessly flipping through the TV channels. Occasionally, she would check behind her, a little uncomfortable with the memory of last night’s events so fresh in her mind. Somehow, she knew that whatever had happened had passed and she was able to relax. She dozed off a couple of times, only to be awakened by some obnoxious commercial on the television set. Just when she was getting overly bored, the phone rang.

  “They are releasing me,” said her father, happily. “I’m ready to leave when you get here.”

  “Great, I’ll be right there.” She gathered herself together and hurried out the door.

  When she walked into the hospital room she found her father already dressed and in a wheelchair. A volunteer hospital worker, a woman around John’s age, was sitting in a chair next to him waiting to wheel him out. He was smiling and tapping his feet impatiently. “Where have you been?” he kidded. “I’ve been waiting here for hours.”

  The woman smiled, as did Kathy.

  Kathy said, “I thought you’d be out of here a lot sooner than this. You must be slipping.” Kathy enjoyed her father’s continual good nature. He had always been that way.

  They chided each other for a bit as the volunteer began to wheel John out and towards the elevator. In a few minutes they were at Kathy’s car. John stood up, wincing a little bit in the process, but managing to get himself inside. Both Kathy and John thanked the hospital worker. “Thanks, Angela,” said John cheerfully.

  “My pleasure. Now you take care of yourself.” She smiled and disappeared back into the building, pushing the wheelchair ahead of her.

  They both buckled up. And after Kathy made sure that her dad was ready to go, she headed out of the parking lot.

  On an outside ledge of the fifth story of the hospital, a demon was looking their way. As the car drove off, the creature leaned forward and fell. Plummeting, it opened its wings and arced downward towards the car. As Kathy navigated the turns, the demon followed until it quickly was at their car. Bracing against the wind by opening its wings wide to slow down, it latched onto the roof with its clawed feet and folded its wings in close to its body. It tucked low and then it peered down through the roof, growling and spitting. The spittle passed through John’s chest and disappeared.

  John felt a twinge of nausea in his stomach, but ignored it. He was happy to be going home.

  ***

  After Pastor Tim arrived at home, he greeted his wife, Susan, and told her about meeting Kathy at the hospital and what she had said. He also mentioned Mr. Smith’s visit to the church.

  “That is certainly unusual about Kathy,” responded Susan as she made Tim a snack. “And I hope Mr. Smith comes to church tomorrow.”

  Tim didn’t tell her how uneasy he felt being alone with him. “I’m going to the study for a bit, okay?”

  “That’s fine. I’ll bring this to you when it’s ready.”

  “Thanks.” Tim headed off.

  Susan watched him as he walked away. There was a feeling of foreboding in the air and though she didn’t know why, she was concerned for his safety.

  Tim was having difficulty concentrating. So much had happened in the past few days and with Kathy’s description of a demonic being, he was all the more convinced that something significant was on the horizon. But what?

  He looked at his sermon notes on the computer and read for a bit. He began to rewrite a sentence, when an urge to pray for Kathy and John popped into his mind. He hurried to finish the sentence and then sat back in his chair as he stared at the computer screen and then at the Bible which was open on his desk. “It’s all in there,” he said.

  Tim knew that the Spirit of God was always with him, but he was still feeling particularly vulnerable. Through the years he had learned not to trust his feelings, and it did not matter whether he felt close or distant to God. He knew that such emotional ups and downs could be deceptive, and he had learned long ago not to trust them. Instead, he had always relied on the Word of God. Through his years as a pastor, he had discovered that sometimes the dry spells were precursors to spiritual struggles and victories. As he thought about it, it became more and more apparent that this battle was going to be different.

  He sat there in his office and thought about tomorrow, about the church service. And the more he thought, the more he had an indescribable and acute awareness that “something” was going to happen; something significant. He decided to open his Bible. As he brought it to himself, it slipped from his fingers. He tried to catch it and as he groped for it he inadvertently ripped a single page from its binding. The Bible thudded on the ground.

  “Great!” said Tim, exasperated. He’d had this Bible for years. It was like an old friend to him. Upset with himself that he had damaged it, he placed the single page on his desk and retrieved the book from the floor. He took the ripped page. It was Psalm 23.

  “Hmm,” he said contemplatively as he slowly slipped it back in place. He frowned at the damage and fought back the soft wave of disappointment coursing through his heart. He exhaled hard and stared out the office window.

  He was a stickler about books, especially this well-read and lovingly worn Bible. It was his constant companion. Damaging it irritated him greatly. He pounded his fist on the desk gently, then after a moment he sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. Immediately, he envisioned the church and himself standing in the pulpit preaching. He would not let this minor incident get the best of him, so he began to pray for John and Kathy.

  From outside his office window two demons hovered, waiting and watching.

  ***

  John was having a little difficulty staying comfortable.

  “What is it, Dad?” Kathy was concerned.

  “My lower back hurts a little. I think it’s from lying in that hospital bed for too long. It’s a little difficult sitting up now. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. It’s nothing.”

  “Would you like to stop at a convenience store? We can get some aspirin.”

  “Naw, I have some at home, and besides, the doctor gave me a prescription for stronger medicine for when the over-the-counter stuff doesn’t cut it. If I need it, you can go fill the prescription for me. But right now, I’m okay.”

  They continued to talk about the operation, Mark, the pastor, and whatever else flowed to their minds. Kathy was glad to have her dad out of the hospital, and, of course, John was glad to be going home. He was watching the scenery pass by and realized how much he missed it, having been cooped up inside the stale medical environment. He looked out the window and enjoyed the scenery. The trees were particularly enjoyable to look at.

  “It’s going to be great being home,” said John.

  Kathy glanced at him but she was wondering how Mark was doing and had already begun to plan when she might be able to return home.

  The demon continued to peer at them through the roof. It let more spittle fall into and through John.

  John laid his head back on the seat and closed his eyes.

  “Tired?”

  “Yeah, just a little,” he replied, rubbing his stomach.

  Kathy kept driving and let her father relax. She thought about Mark and wondered when would be a good time to call him.

  The demon knew that Kathy was unprotected and that she was susceptible to its influence. But, she was also very concerned about getting her father home safely which would mean she’d be careful about driving. The creature realized attacking her directly was probably not the best option. Should it wait until they got to John’s home and look for something there or should it try and use the vehicle or another driver to hopefully cause an accident? It did not know which was best, so it raised its wings, caught the air and lifted away from the car. With several quick flaps it rose above the traffic and looked around. If it could find a demon assigned to a person in another car, perhaps it could persuade that demon to use the driver to cause an accident. Or, perhaps there was a pedestrian somewhere that it could influence to jump out in f
ront of the car. But this was difficult to achieve, especially on such a short notice. Perhaps, something in the home could be used: a poison, a gas line, or medicine. Its assignment was to kill both or either, and, at the very least, stop John from praying. There wasn’t enough time to plan a car accident, so the demon headed towards the house, frantically flapping its wings.

  John opened his eyes and looked at Kathy. She glanced over at her father, “What?”

  John stared at her, saying nothing. He turned and looked ahead.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He did not respond. He just looked at his daughter and nodded slowly. He turned his attention back to the road.

  “Dad?”

  He didn’t respond. She kept glancing at him as she drove.

  “Dad? Are you okay?” She began to pull to the side of the road.

  John was looking straight ahead, but he did not see the street. Instead, he saw Pastor Tim in the pulpit of his church and a masked man with a gun nearby. He raised the gun. John could see that Kathy was there. Tim looked at the gunman and John saw the gun go off. The vision ended and John could see the street in front of him again.

  “Dad? Dad? Are you okay?” She had pulled off the road and was now shaking her father’s shoulder. “Dad! Dad, are you all right? Dad?”

  John slowly focused on her eyes.

  “Pastor Tim is in danger,” he said. “We need to warn him.”

  ***

  In the garden, Mark had been sitting silently for quite some time. His heart and mind had calmed enough for him to sort through the clutter and he had finally managed to quell the emotions that were so vividly left over from his vision.

  Sotare had been waiting patiently. Finally Mark spoke.

  “I’m beginning to really see that this world is not limited to the one I am living in. The real world consists of both the spiritual and the physical and the only right way to view things is to know them both.” He glanced at Sotare, surprised at the clarity and assurance of his new understanding.