“What?” he said, confused.
“She doesn’t belong here. She has to come with me.”
He looked at her with disbelief. “What do you mean?”
“She was meant to have been taken in the Rapture. She belongs in Heaven.”
“No,” he cried. “You can’t have her.”
He felt Aimi’s hand caress his cheek again. “Sam? Sam, look at me.” He did and he could see tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s Ok,” she said. “Gabriel’s right. I have to go with her.”
“No,” he cried again, sudden wrath threatening to overtake him. “It’s not fair!”
“I know,” said Aimi sadly, tears streaming down her cheeks. “But I have to.”
Sam hung his head. He knew that what Gabriel and Aimi were telling him was the truth. He was being selfish again. Who was he to deny Aimi the right to ascend to Heaven? Would he really condemn her to a further seven years of Hell on earth? He wanted to, despite this, but in his heart, he knew it was the wrong thing to do.
He felt Aimi’s tiny hand in his. She placed something in his hand.
“We will be together one day,” she said, smiling at him. “I know we will. Stay strong and remember me. I will love you forever.”
Gabriel gently removed Aimi from his grasp. The Archangel gathered Aimi into her arms and together, they took flight. He watched them soar up into the nave and through the gaping hole in the ceiling. Suddenly, they were gone.
He sank down onto his knees in an abyss of misery so deep that a cry of pain slipped through his lips. His heart felt like it was breaking. Just when he had her back, she was taken from him again.
He looked down at his closed fist. Slowly, he opened it. The cross and chain that had once belonged to his mother and that he had given Aimi many years earlier, lay cold against his palm. A small part of his mind registered that it did not burn him as it once did.
“I love you, too,” he told the empty air.
EPILOGUE
NEW BEGINNINGS
3 MONTHS SINCE THE RAPTURE
“He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”
Isaiah 53:3
The figure trudged along the road, sending tiny drifts of ash fluttering in his wake. He was dressed in jeans and sturdy hiking boots. The hood of his sweatshirt was pulled up, obscuring his features from the early morning light. He wore a backpack with a long sword strapped to it. Another sword was tucked into the belt at his waist.
The road seemed to stretch on for ever, angling towards the east. The figure looked neither to the left or the right as he marched on under the grey sky, his pace unwavering. Time passed. He came to a crossroads. On a large flat rock under a sign post sat a winged female.
“Hello, Gabriel,” said Sam. “Long time no see.”
Gabriel smiled and stood. “Good to see you too, Samael. How are you?”
Sam shrugged. “As well as can be expected,” he sighed.
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. Where the road takes me, I expect.”
“You know this isn’t over, don’t you?”
“Of course,” he replied, nodding his head.
“Satan has sustained a slight set-back, that’s all. The Antichrist will return, and I suspect that when he does, things will get much, much worse.”
Sam expected nothing else. There was still well over six years left before the Tribulation ended. The defeat of the Antichrist had done little to diminish the number of demons who appeared at night. Even L.A, where the demonic forces had suffered their greatest defeat, was still plagued by them.
“I know,” said Sam.
Gabriel tilted her head and looked at him sideways. “Why didn’t you stay?”
“You mean with Colonel Sumner?”he asked. “Because he didn’t need me. Looked like he had things well under control. Besides, I like to work alone.”
It was true; he did like to work alone. More importantly, despite his actions during the battle against the Antichrist, he had done little to allay the fears of the soldiers. They still regarded him with suspicion and he knew that he would never be completely trusted. He stayed only long enough to ensure that his wounds had healed. The other cuts inflicted by his brother’s hell-wrought blade were unusually slow to mend.
“And what about Grace?”
Sam winced with guilt at the memory. After Gabriel had taken Aimi, Sam had finally taken note of what was happening around him. Gabriel had done an excellent job holding off the horde of demons that had appeared within the nave of the Cathedral. Colonel Sumner’s troops had simply finished them off. The victory hadn’t come without cost though. Many of his soldiers had been injured or killed during the attack. Some had just disappeared. Grace was one of them. Sam had searched for hours but it was no use – Grace had gone.
He tried to tell himself that maybe she had become lost or disorientated but he knew that he was just deceiving himself. There was no trace of her back at the cash and carry either. There was only one possible solution. Grace had been taken to Hell. She had been taken to Hell because he had left her behind. He had left her. It was his fault.
“I don’t know,” he confessed. “She must be in Hell but how am I supposed to find her? There are countless millions of souls down there. I thought about just going there, but what then?”
“There might just be a way, you know,” said Gabriel, a tiny smile hovering on her lips.
“How?” demanded Sam. “Tell me. You must tell me.”
“Sorry,”she said, genuinely sounding like she was, “but I can’t. The rules again. You’ll figure it out eventually.”
He put his head down, rubbing his face wearily with one hand. It was never easy. Nothing was ever easy. He felt one of Gabriel’s hands on his shoulder.
“I’m confident you will find a way. Never give up hope, Samael.”
“And Aimi?” he asked. “How is she?”
“Happy. Content. She misses you of course. Like I said, never give up hope though. Don’t think that what you did went unnoticed. However, be warned that while some things change, others can never be.”
Sam nodded in understanding, fingering the chain and cross around his neck. They stood in silence for a moment.
“What will you do now?” she asked.
“Keep going,” he replied. “There are lots of innocents out there who will need my help. I’ll do what I can.”
Gabriel nodded in satisfaction. “Sounds like a fine plan to me.” She paused. “Anyway, it’s been good seeing you again. I have to go now but we’ll see each other again soon.”
“Ok,” said Sam, lacking anything better to say.
Gabriel took flight into the ashen sky. Sam watched her go, staring after her until she was but a tiny speck in the sky, suddenly feeling very lonely.
He sighed and looked back to the road. The crossroad appeared to give him choices but he knew he didn’t really have any. His path had been set the moment he was born.
He adjusted his pack, and making sure his hood was firmly on his head, he set off to the east again.
He had a long way to go.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
No novel is written in isolation, and the Rapture is no exception. It couldn’t have been written without the assistance and feedback provided by many. As John Donne wrote, no man is an island.
Thanks go to Linda Hold, Tony Forlong, Greg Muller, Adam Evans, Vicki Marsdon, Jamie Rooney, Tim Eade and Aly Park for their helpful comments and support. My thanks, as always, to my brother John Simpson, my parents Mike and Elaine and my sister Michelle.
Jill Marshall has been there for me all along, right from inception all the way through all the various edits. She started out as my manuscript assessor and ended up as my publisher. I couldn’t have done it without her and I am eternally grateful. Jill, you are amazing.
The biblical quotes I have used throughout the book come from various versions of the bible. Quotes from Miyamoto Musashi come from
(in my opinion) the definitive guide to samurai weapon use and strategy; A Book of Five Rings (2004, Allison & Busby, translated by Victor Harris). The quote from Demonolatry by Nicholas Remy comes from the 1929 version edited by Montague Summers. The original 1595 Latin version is entitled Daemonolatreiae libri tres.
Last but foremost thanks goes to my wife, Rose, for her unfailing support and love. She is my number one fan and has been forgiving and gracious when deadlines and other writing pressures have made me ill-tempered and cantankerous. Rose told me she was pregnant with our son Jack two days before I completed the first draft and I consider the timing somewhat miraculous. My love always to you both.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Phillip W. Simpson is an author of many children’s books, mostly for the education markets in the U.S, Australia and New Zealand. He has an undergraduate degree in Ancient History and a Master’s degree in Archaeology. When not writing, he works as a primary school teacher.
Phillip is married to Rosemarie and they live with their son, Jack and their two border terriers, Whiskey and Raffles.
Rapture is his first young adult novel.
For more information see:
www.rapturetrilogy.com
www.phillipwsimpson.com
www.phillipwsimpson.co.nz
www.pearjambooks.com
CONTENTS
1. JACOB’S LADDER
2. FATHER’S SON
3. DEVIL’S GARDEN
4. FOR HIS SINS
5. THE ROCKIES
6. JACOB’S LADDER
7. BLACK RIDGE
8. JACOB’S LADDER
9. BRYCE VALLEY CITY
10. JACOB’S LADDER
11. LAS VEGAS
12. HELL
13. THE CITY OF ANGELS
14. WRATH
15. REVELATIONS
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rapture Page 26