The Secret Chapel (god's lions)

by John Lyman

  “Yes. At first it looked like an old woman covered in black robes, but the eyes … they weren’t human … I saw glimpses … glimpses of a winged beast when it changed shape.”

  Moshe looked shaken. “It changed shape? You’ve got to be kidding.”

  Everyone grew silent, but the image of the thing in the tunnel continued to dominate the thoughts of those who had seen it. Had they really just uncovered an ancient nest inhabited by one of humanity’s oldest enemies? The shaken medic reached into his bag and pulled out a plastic bottle filled with capsules. “The doctor just looked at Father Leo’s heart rate on telemetry and wants him to take a sedative.” Leo shook his head and pushed the medication away.

  Lev reached out and put his hand on Leo’s shoulder. “No arguments right now, Father. Doctor’s orders. You’ve just been through a terrible ordeal, and I feel partially responsible. I should have seen something like this happening.”

  “You can’t blame yourself, Lev. There’s no way you could have known what was down there. That thing we saw in the tunnel was very powerful … I’m sure we only witnessed a fraction of its power … and it plays tricks with people’s minds.” The priest watched the surface of the desert slide beneath the open door as the helicopter skimmed the earth. “We all knew we were in the vicinity of an area claimed by Satan. He’s still protecting something of great value to him … and he knows we have come for it. Based on what we saw today, I don’t think there’s any question that we’re dealing with a demon, a very powerful demon left by Satan to guard whatever’s down in that cave. The tunnel is the way in, and I suspect that the object we are looking for is located somewhere past the spot where we encountered the entity.”

  “What about the Bible code?” John asked. “Has anyone come up with any new information about this area since we arrived?”

  “Daniel and Moshe have both been working nonstop,” Lev said. “It’s like the code has become a black hole when it comes to encoded messages about the forces we are up against out here.”

  With shaking hands, Leo lifted a bottle of water to his lips and took some large gulps. “We’ve got to keep looking … there’s bound to be something. If we want to have any advantage at all over that thing guarding the tunnel, we’ll need to know more before we go back down there. I mean … we still don’t even know what we’re looking for.”

  Camp the dog was barking furiously beside the landing pad when the helicopter swooped in and touched down. He ran beneath the whirling blades and scratched at the sides until the door slid open and he saw Ariella inside shaking uncontrollably. He began to whimper and followed along behind the team, refusing to leave their sides as they entered the medical tent. Still cold, Ariella picked up the worried dog and held him in her lap. The dog seemed to have a calming effect on her and the shaking slowly ceased as her body temperature returned to normal.

  The only member of the team who required medical attention was Father Leo. He was showing pronounced symptoms of dehydration, prompting the doctor to start an IV and give him fluids intravenously. He remained resting on a cot with his eyes closed while Ariella quietly led Camp outside and motioned for John and Alon to follow.

  Away from the confines of the tent, they breathed in the fresh air and felt the warmth of the sun against their bodies. Life was a gift … and no one had to tell them how fortunate they were to still be able to enjoy it.

  John brushed the hair back off his forehead as they headed for the mess tent. “After what we just saw, I think this might be a good time to bring up the fact that I’ve been having strong dreams about a dark storm over the desert since I arrived in the Holy Land.”

  Ariella stole a glance at Alon. “We were wondering if you were having those dreams.”

  “Come again … how do you … what do you know about my dreams?”

  “All of us who were listed as chosen in the Bible are having them … something special is happening to all of us. Those who were meant to go down into that cavern out there are all having the same dream.”

  “When were you going to tell me about this?”

  “It had to come to you without any suggestion from us. It’s a gift from God, John. If you were meant to receive it, it had to be without any prior knowledge.”

  “Has Leo said anything about having these dreams?”

  “Yes, he told my father about it the night we arrived in camp.”

  “This is too much, Ariella. Group dreams? Do you guys know what any of this means?”

  Ariella took him by the hand. “We believe those mentioned in the Bible code as chosen are the only ones experiencing them. My father dreamed about this spot in the desert before the rest of us, which leads me to something else I have to tell you … my father is a prophet, John.

  “A prophet?” John stopped walking. “You’re kidding.”

  Ariella gave him a patient smile. “No, I’m not kidding. There’s something going on here that none of us fully understand yet, but it’s important. It could even be the most important thing to happen in the past two thousand years. We are being allowed glimpses into God’s realm through our dreams. My father believes it’s similar to living in the era when the Old Testament was written, only these events are happening now, in our own time.”

  John looked off into the distance and thought of the words in the Bible when the Hebrew prophet Joel quoted the apostle Peter. “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams… Before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.”

  Alon and Ariella waited quietly until John turned his attention back to them and they began making their way slowly across the camp. Once they were in the calm shade of the mess tent, they found a table and poured tall glasses of cold lemonade.

  Ariella brushed her long hair back into a ponytail and secured it with a hair band. “My father is the only one who seems to know anything about what is happening down in that cavern. He’s made some connection with that thing down there.”

  A connection? John felt like someone had just poured ice water down his back.

  “He still has no idea what the demon is protecting … or why it’s protecting it,” Ariella continued, “but he said he’s pretty certain that we’ll all recognize whatever it is once we find it.”

  Just like the seal in the catacombs, John thought. Once again, they were searching for an object that would reveal itself only when they laid eyes upon it … only this time the object was guarded by a demon, and apparently, Lev had made some kind of connection with it. John was well aware that demons were capable of great deceit. They could influence anyone they came into contact with … or anyone open to suggestion. He was finding it difficult to adjust to everything he had just been told as chills ran up his spine.

  Glancing at Ariella, John decided to keep quiet until he learned more. The news that Lev had made some connection with the entity was weighing heavily on him. He would have to talk to Leo as soon as possible … but keep an eye on Lev.

  As if on cue, Lev entered the tent and took a seat next to Alon. “I hate to repeat myself, but what I said earlier still holds true.”

  “Refresh my memory,” Ariella said. “What are we talking about?”

  “The longer we wait, the stronger that thing out there becomes. Ever since that demon appeared today, I’ve started to get some powerful flashes of what I believe are its thoughts. I feel it’s drawing its strength from Satan himself and that others like him may be on the way. Despite the danger, we have to go back into that cave tonight. If we wait any longer, we may never find what we were sent here to retrieve.”

  “There is also the possibility that we might end up like that British convoy out there,” Alon said.

  John wondered if he had heard Alon correctly. “Am I missing something again?”

  “The British have no record of any military action in this area. The remains of those British soldiers we found out there s
how they didn’t die from combat injuries. Whatever happened to them occurred so quickly that they didn’t even have time to radio for help. The charred bones we found indicated they died from extremely high heat, only there was no shrapnel or residue from explosives found anywhere at the site. We’re starting to think they encountered the same malevolent force we saw today in the cavern. If that’s true, anyone who enters the area is at risk of meeting the same fate.”

  “Alon’s right, my friends,” Lev said. “I think we should send everyone away from this area except for the team that goes back down into the cavern tonight.”

  “You can’t be serious, Professor,” Alon said. “The team that goes back down there, if anyone goes back down there, will need some serious backup.”

  Lev finished off his lemonade and poured another glass from the metal pitcher. “Any weapons will be useless against it. Having more people here only means more people will die if the demon unleashes its full fury against us. That thing down there could take out the whole team and the entire camp just like it probably did with the British convoy. You can double that probability if another one like it shows up.”

  John felt himself getting lightheaded. He knew it was either the heat or the encounter with the entity in the tunnel. “We all owe our lives to Leo. Without his intervention, none of us would be standing here talking about it now. Going back into the cavern without Leo would be a huge mistake, and it’s up to him alone to decide if he wants to risk facing that thing down there again.”

  Lev sat back and closed his eyes. “You’re right, John. Maybe I am rushing things a bit. Leo needs to rest before we discuss it with him.”

  “Discuss what with me?”

  The group turned to see Leo standing behind them, holding his IV bag over his head and munching a sandwich.

  John jumped up from his seat at the table. “Father… you shouldn’t be up walking around. The doctor said you needed to rest.”

  “I know, but I feel great. Pull this needle out of my arm, and give me a cup of coffee.”

  Lev turned to the medic who had followed Leo into the tent. “There’s just no arguing with an ex-boxer exorcist priest.”

  The medic smiled at his noncompliant patient. “Fine, but you can forget the coffee for now. Coffee’s full of caffeine, and it’s a diuretic. You need to keep the fluid we just gave you.”

  The majority of the camp’s staff filtered into the mess tent behind Leo, but no one seemed interested in eating. The usual gaiety that had dominated their gatherings over the past few days had taken on a somber air, and the staff seemed interested only in the close comfort of each other’s presence. By now, everyone had heard about the events that had occurred in the cavern, and the reality of their situation was becoming more apparent as talk centered on the evil that lay beneath their feet.

  John swirled the lemonade in his glass and looked across the table at Alon. “I can barely remember what my family looks like anymore. So much has happened over the past week.”

  “What we’re doing is very similar to combat, John. In the army … whenever I was far from home and locked in a life-and-death struggle with a formidable enemy, nothing else mattered but the job of survival. It’s like I became another person, and thoughts of home and everyday life seemed like a distant memory.” Alon reached out and clasped John on the shoulder. “I’ve been watching you, John. You’re a brave and smart man. You’ll do fine.”

  John looked at Alon and wondered what it took to mold a man like him. A lethal force to those who stood in his way … and fiercely protective of his family and friends, he was also kind and almost overly sentimental at times. Even though John had never been a soldier, he realized that Alon was right. Their present life and death struggle with a terrifying enemy was just like war, and the camaraderie they shared and the bonds that were being formed were just as strong.

  At the end of the tent, Leo and Lev were engaged in quiet discussion and it was clear that the two leaders were already formulating a strategy for reentering the cavern. When both stood, everyone knew that a decision had been made and a plan was about to be revealed.

  Lev looked around at the Bible Code Team before facing the rest of the staff and quietly calling for everyone’s attention. “In a few hours from now, a team led by Father Leo will reenter the cavern. He will be joined by John, Alon, Ariella, and myself. The five of us will be supported by a second team in the helicopter led by Moshe. This team will include Daniel, a paramedic, and our two helicopter pilots, Nava and Gabriella. The two teams of five will be the only one’s allowed in the vicinity. We’ve decided that it’s just too dangerous for the rest of you to remain in the area. Because time is a factor, we will leave the camp in place and evacuate the entire staff back to the villa in the next few hours. Moshe will be in charge of the evacuation and making sure that everyone is out of the area except for the two teams that will remain.”

  A murmur went up under the tent. A young man stood and shouted from the back of the tent. “We’re not leaving you, Professor!”

  A few tables away, a young woman stood up. “Yes, we’re not afraid. God has called us all here together in the desert. We’re not leaving you alone.”

  “Thank you, everyone,” Lev said. He pushed his glasses up into his mass of curly gray hair. “By now we all know that we’ve been called to this place by God, but only five of us were chosen to enter the cavern tonight. The five names of those who will go were specifically found encoded in the Bible, and I firmly believe that this is God’s way of telling us what he wants us to do.”

  Leo leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. “Some of you have heard rumors about what occurred in the cavern this morning. I will tell you now that we face an evil entity that grows stronger by the minute and that there may be more than one of them down there now. They are endowed with terrible powers and can play tricks on the mind.”

  “We believe an entire British convoy encountered the entity out there over sixty years ago,” Lev added. “Thirty heavily armed soldiers were no match for it. Every one of those men died a horrific death. Those who will be on the first team tonight were chosen by God for a reason, and we believe He has given us His blessing and divine protection in this mission. The second team will only be supporting the first team from a distance. If they don’t hear from the team down in the cavern after midnight, they have strict orders to leave the area at once. The first team will have no backup from the second team after that time period. We will be left in God’s hands at that point.”

  Both men looked around at the silent faces staring back at them. The mess tent had taken on the aura of a church, and it seemed an appropriate time for Father Leo to ask everyone gathered together, Christian and Jew alike, to join him in a prayer. After everyone bowed their heads, the priest clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

  “Father, we beseech you. Grant us your protection in the hours ahead. We face your avowed enemy, Lucifer, and his dark angels here on earth. We call upon you to give us strength as we do battle against him in your name. We call also on Michael the Archangel to come to our aid with his most holy army of bright angels in this fight against an unspeakable evil, and we humbly ask you to bless us as we strive to be worthy of your everlasting grace. Grant us your peace in the days ahead, and protect those of us who enter that dark world below tonight. Give us your holy armor against the demons we face in your name, and throw down your mighty sword against them. If any of us shall perish, please forgive us our sins and welcome us into heaven this very day. Amen.”

  Father Leo raised his head and scanned the room. Everyone remained with their heads bowed, lost in his words.

  Then one of the Jewish staff members asked to say a prayer for the safety of the Christians. “Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam. Blessed are you, Adonai, our God, ruler of the world. Protect our Christian friends in their fight against the evil that lies beyond in the desert and give them the strength of Almighty God, for they are our brothers and we are thei
rs. Amen.”

  Leo broke the silence that followed. “I want to thank all of you who will be leaving camp for your service to this expedition and your willingness to stay in the face of great danger. Those who are evacuating back to the villa, please grab only your personal belongings and find a place in one of the trucks or other vehicles. We want everyone out of the area within the hour.”

  The camp sprang into accelerated activity as the two teams of five prepared for this last ditch effort to find the unknown object hidden by Satan in the desert. Alon assisted Nava while she flushed the sand from the air intakes and went through a complete preflight check of the helicopter. She didn’t want any mechanical problems tonight. Gabriella, meaning God is my strength in Hebrew, was performing preventive maintenance on the rescue hoist they would use to lower the first team down into the cavern.

  Out at the excavation site, everything around the cavern had been loaded onto trucks and transported back to camp. The crushed backhoe had been winched up out of the cavern with the help of two large truck-mounted steel cables and a large bulldozer that had just arrived from Jerusalem. Now, only a large, bare hole remained in the desert floor.

  Since the camp was being abandoned in place, there was no equipment to be packed away, and soon, those leaving were ready to go. Within minutes, a small convoy began to roll out of the desert toward Jerusalem. From the rear window of the mobile kitchen, the little brown dog began to bark at the ten team members who were remaining behind. They all stood alongside the path of the departing vehicles and waved until the convoy faded into the distance.

  Lev turned away and motioned for Leo to accompany him to his tent. When they were inside, Lev invited the priest to sit while he poured each of them a small glass of wine. He sat and gazed out of the open tent, watching the orange globe of the sun sink past the horizon.

  “I’ve been thinking since this morning, Leo, that, if we were able to identify the entity down in the cave, we might have the upper hand when we go down there tonight.”