The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle

by Len du Randt

  ‘And where do we get such a device?’

  ‘We already have it.’

  ‘We do?’ Malcolm asked. ‘Where did we get it?’

  ‘Let’s just say that our martyr friend, Benny the Fist, was...how shall I put it...a very resourceful person.’

  ‘And you want to use this...G.O.D bomb on Al Jalil?’

  ‘Correct.’

  ‘But millions will die.’

  ‘All of them loyal followers of Victor.’

  ‘Your mother is there!’

  ‘Our Lord will protect her.’

  ‘That’s not good enough!’

  ‘Father,’ Timothy said. ‘Everything I do, I do by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He will not lead me astray, nor will He allow anything to happen that must not happen.’

  Malcolm thought for a while. ‘Is there some way that we could contact her perhaps? Maybe warn her to get out of the city?’

  Timothy shook his head. ‘There is none. Four of our scouts there have been captured and have perished in the gladiator arenas.’

  Malcolm realized the futility of his situation and made peace with the fact that HaShem had total control over everything. ‘Victor will come after us with a vengeance,’ he said softly.

  ‘That is the idea,’ Timothy said.

  ‘It is?’

  Timothy nodded. ‘It is time for prophecy to be fulfilled. It is time for the final showdown between God’s people and Satan’s army.’

  ‘Armageddon?’

  ‘That’s correct.’

  Timothy hated the formality with which he had grown accustomed to speaking, but he knew that his life had taken a certain course for a specific reason. He believed that nothing happens by accident, and being banished by his father was the turning point in his life. He also now knew what it was that he had to do, and it was just a matter of doing it. God had entrusted him to lead the men and women into the last battle, and he was going to do it the best way he knew how.

  ‘You know,’ Malcolm said after some thought. ‘This really brings a new meaning to the term: unleashing the wrath of God on the unbelievers.’

  They both chuckled and, for a brief moment, they were father and son again. There were no boundaries, no ranks, and no formalities. It was just a boy and his dad, bonding and being together.

  ‘Sir,’ a scout said as he entered the tent, and instantly all formalities and barriers were back.

  ‘What is it, number seven?’

  ‘We have just received word from our man in Jerusalem, sir.’

  ‘Yes...?’

  ‘All the fresh water supplies in the world have turned to blood too.’

  Timothy turned to the little television screen, and sure enough, all the freshwater rivers and lakes had also turned to blood.

  ‘How is the river in the cave?’ Malcolm asked.

  ‘The river is fine, sir.’

  ‘Praise the Lord,’ Malcolm said relieved.

  ‘Now,’ Timothy said after he had dismissed the scout. ‘Let us plan the attack.’

  - - -* * *- - -

  It was the explosion that woke Trevor from his sleep. He instinctively felt for his backpack, and was relieved to feel that it was still there. Another explosion and some people screaming made him decide that it would be best to get up and pack his blanket away in his backpack.

  He jogged to the end of the alley and squinted as the late morning sun stung his eyes. He could see fire and billowing smoke, and people were running and screaming as N-Force officers shot at them with machine guns. He flinched when one of the bullets whizzed over his head. Trevor decided that it would be best to leave through the other end of the alley, but when he turned, he saw an N-Force truck driving toward him.

  He had no choice but to run into the chaos that was ensuing in the streets.

  ‘Get down!’ someone yelled and Trevor turned in time to see an Indian man running toward him. The man jumped and tackled Trevor, and the both hit the concrete with an oomph!

  ‘What are you trying to do,’ the man asked, ‘get yourself killed?’

  ‘I was trying to get away,’ Trevor said after he managed to regain his breath.

  ‘Well, if you don’t keep your head down, you won’t be going anywhere. Get it?’

  Trevor nodded. ‘What’s going on?’ he asked as another explosion nearby ripped through one of the N-Force vans.

  ‘Don’t you know?’ the man asked. He had assumed that Trevor was part of the group that had initially gathered together.

  ‘No, I don’t.’

  ‘It’s the water wars. It’s finally broken out in South Africa now.’

  ‘The water wars?’

  ‘Yeah man, you know, the water turning to blood, and N-Force not wanting to give us some because we don’t have that stupid Shield.’

  ‘Blood?’

  ‘Rivers, lakes, you know...’

  The man pulled Trevor by the arm and the two of them ran to a more secure position. The scene was one of a war ridden country straight from the pages of National Geographic. It no longer resembled the city that he had lived in for most of his life.

  ‘Anyway,’ the man said as more bullets whizzed through the air. ‘We decided to unite and ‘convince’ N-Force to give us some water this morning, but they didn’t want to give it to us because we didn’t have the Shield.’

  ‘And they didn’t arrest you?’

  ‘They wanted to, but then all Hell broke loose.’

  ‘Who started it?’

  ‘A few men in the group, I think were Jews or something; and armed to the teeth!’

  ‘Where did they get the guns? Weapons have been outlawed for years now.’

  ‘No idea.’

  Another explosion tore the ground open where Trevor and the man were hiding only a few minutes ago. Trevor shuddered at the thought of what might have happened if they decided to stay put.

  ‘Oh, by the way,’ the man said and extended his hand toward Trevor. ‘I’m Sumen.’

  ‘Trevor.’

  ‘Pleased to make your acquaintance.’

  ‘Likewise.’

  Trevor found the pleasant introduction between the two of them quite amusing under the given circumstances.

  ‘Where do you live?’ Sumen asked.

  ‘Well,’ Trevor said and pointed to the entrance of the alley where a few bodies now lay motionless. ‘That alley there used to be my new home, but I think that I will have to relocate after this little...incident.’

  ‘I know someone who has a farm out in the middle of nowhere. He and his wife will offer shelter to a few of us later this afternoon. Do you want to join us?’

  ‘Most certainly,’ Trevor said.

  ‘Great,’ Sumen said. ‘Let’s get out of here before they make Swiss cheese out of us.’

  Trevor found Sumen’s analogy amusing. ‘You lead,’ he said. ‘I’ll follow.’

  The two of them sprinted to the next building as a car exploded nearby, and more bullets whizzed past their faces.

  - - -* * *- - -

  ‘How long before we reach Egypt?’ Victor asked.

  ‘It will take roughly a year to invade Ethiopia, Sudan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia,’ Ryan said. ‘And then we can mobilize our forces against Egypt.’

  ‘Good,’ Victor said. ‘The terrorist threat is almost over. Soon, the people of this world will worship me in peace and harmony. There will be no more sadness, for I will wipe away every tear.’

  ‘I look forward to that day, my Lord.’ Ryan hesitated, then added. ‘I just have one question, though.’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘If we’re coming down so hard on the Christian terrorists...’

  ‘Yes...?’

  ‘Why do they keep growing in numbers?’

  ‘Because they’re fools!’ Victor spat. ‘Evil begets evil. They’re the lowest form of...’

  Victor looked at the sky. It was becoming increasingly warm. In the distance, Victor could see his N-Force soldiers dropping one by one.

  ‘Is
it just me,’ Ryan said, ‘or is it getting—?’

  ‘Hush!’ Victor commanded and held up his hand. ‘The tent! Get there, quick!’

  The two men ran to the shadows of Victor’s tent. The soldiers that had fallen in the plains had combusted and were burning. Those still alive swarmed toward the tent.

  ‘They will crush us,’ Ryan said as the horde of soldiers ran toward them.

  ‘Keep still, Ryan,’ Victor ordered. ‘They will do no such thing.’

  It was a matter of minutes before every soldier was set ablaze, and a few minutes after that, all of them lay lifeless on the ground, totally engulfed in flames.

  ‘They...they’re all dead,’ Ryan said. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

  ‘It’s those terrorists again,’ Victor said and spat. ‘I want you to command N-Force to kill anyone not bearing the Shield. No questions asked. No second chances. Is that understood?’

  ‘Understood, my Lord,’ Ryan said as he looked at the thousands of dead soldiers lying in the open plains. ‘And what about them?’

  ‘Leave them,’ Victor said and retreated deeper into the shadows of the tent.

  - - -* * *- - -

  ‘Get everyone into the caves!’ Timothy ordered. Men, women, and children all ran for the caves.

  ‘It’s the sun,’ Timothy said to the respective leaders of the various groups. ‘It’s burning everything out there.’

  ‘How long will it last?’ one of the leaders asked.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Timothy said. ‘But every night we will hang a cloth outside. Each day we will monitor the cloth and see if it burns like you see those bushes burning over there. The first day that the cloth doesn’t burn anymore, we will know that it is safe to go out again.’

  ‘Is it just here, or Jerusalem too?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ Timothy said truthfully, ‘but I will establish contact with our scouts and try to find out.’

  ‘Why?’ a woman shouted loudly and everyone turned to look at her. Her husband tried to calm her, but to no avail. ‘Why doesn’t Hashem just end this? Why do we have to suffer through this?’

  ‘We are suffering,’ Timothy said, ‘because we didn’t accept His suffering. We made our beds, and now we have to sleep in them.’

  The woman just sobbed softly as her husband wrapped his arms around her. He looked apologetically at Timothy.

  ‘I can understand that you all feel this way,’ Timothy addressed the crowd. ‘But there’s not that much longer left to go. Before we know it, we will be reunited with our loved ones, and also be in the presence of our Lord, forever and ever.

  ‘I just ask that you have faith. In the meantime, I will have my men feed you and supply you with water.’

  Timothy nodded at his next-in-command and left the cave through a side tunnel that led to their communications section. He wanted to know how the super heat wave affected the rest of the world.

  - - -* * *- - -

  The drive to the farm was an intense four hour prayer session for Trevor. They were literally in the middle of nowhere; surrounded by huge black blots which Trevor figured might be mountains. He would know for sure in the morning.

  ‘Why don’t you have a Shield?’ Trevor asked Sumen, trying to make polite conversation.

  ‘I just never wanted one,’ Sumen said. ‘I consider it a basic violation of my human rights, and have never bothered. Many others have more or less the same reasons.’ He pointed to Trevor’s hand. ‘You?’

  ‘More or less the same,’ Trevor said and smiled. ‘Are you a Christian?’

  ‘Nope,’ Sumen said. ‘But I had a few Christian friends before the aliens attacked. Most of them were vaporized.’

  ‘That’s most probably why you haven’t taken the Shield,’ Trevor said.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Those friends of yours must have been praying for your salvation years in advance.’

  ‘Those friends were terrorists.’

  ‘Do you really believe that?’

  Sumen sighed. ‘I don’t know what to believe anymore. The world is tearing apart at the seams, and no one appears to give a damn. I finally understand the term: Hell on Earth.’

  ‘That is more accurate than you will ever know,’ Trevor said.

  Sumen raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you a Christian?’

  ‘I am,’ Trevor said. ‘But I can assure you that I’m no terrorist.’

  ‘And why should I trust you?’

  ‘You will just have to trust me,’ Trevor said, ‘as I will have to trust you.’

  Sumen thought deeply for a minute and then nodded. ‘Okay. Sounds fair.’

  Trevor smiled. He silently thanked the Lord for the privilege of being able to witness to the man.

  ‘I never caught what this whole Christian business was all about,’ Sumen said. ‘Maybe you could explain it to me?’

  ‘I sure could.’

  - - -* * *- - -

  ‘The scorching sun,’ Victor said as he spoke into the live GMN camera, ‘the blood in the seas and rivers, the sores on our skins: these are all part of the terrorist’s onslaught against the Empire and its loyal, peaceful citizens. The Christians and Messianic Jews have spread their hate filled war to all the innocent people in the Empire. In fact, their hatred spreads even beyond the Empire; and touches the world.

  ‘This has gone far enough. I urge the countries who do not hold allegiance with these hate mongers to join me in cleansing this world once and for all.

  ‘We have a right to live just as much as any other. We will rid the world of this plague, and prove to them that their leader, this ‘Jesus’ that they represent, is nothing more than a dead, pathetic, conman. As of today, I institute a new law that declares that any Jew, whether he or she is a citizen of the Empire or not, is to be arrested and sentenced like the other terrorists. They shall be put to death for the mere fact that they represent the chosen nation of the ‘God’ that these Christians worship. I will wipe them from the face of the Earth as if they had never existed.

  ‘I urge those loyal to the Empire to keep the faith, and to keep praying to me so that I can become stronger and defeat this growing menace. I will let you know once it’s safe to go back out into the sunlight again. You have my richest blessings. Go in Peace.’

  .XVIII.

  Fall of the Mighty One

  Woe! Woe, O great city,

  O Babylon, city of power!

  In one hour your doom has come!

  - Revelation 18:10, NIV

  So what you’re trying to tell me,’ Sumen said after carefully listening to Trevor’s theories of what was really going on, ‘is that the world is going to end in less than two years from now?’

  Trevor nodded. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about those with the Shield growing exponentially evil on a daily basis. Those without it would soon cave in, or die. A friendly parade where hundreds of people waved Don’t Yield for the Shield posters, turned into a bloodbath when the Imperial Army moved in and slaughtered them all; even the onlookers.

  ‘This is deep stuff to digest,’ Sumen said.

  ‘No one said that it was going to be easy. It took me years to finally see the bigger picture, and I still don’t know everything yet.’

  Sumen rubbed the back of his neck. ‘If what you’re saying is true,’ he said, ‘we’re in for one Hell of a ride.’

  ‘The worst is yet to come,’ Trevor said, his voice shaking a little. He looked at his hands as he thought about how—a few years ago—the course of the world had been changed in the blink of an eye. He finally understood how Norman felt when he had tried to reach out to Trevor. He felt sad for the fact that Andrew had been left behind, and wondered how alone his friend must have felt, being the only real Christian at a time when the rest of the planet had been under Victor’s delusion. He wondered why René turned out the way she did, and he wanted her to be there. He wanted to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be all right. It wasn’t. ‘Trust me,’ he said, ‘th
e worst is still to come...’

  - - -* * *- - -

  ‘It’s over, my Lord,’ Ryan said. ‘We can go out into the sun again.’

  ‘Excellent,’ Victor said. ‘The time has come to expand our horizons.’

  ‘Still further, my Lord?’

  Victor nodded. ‘I’m sending you to Canada with two million Imperial Soldiers. It will be easier to take America from land, than to attack her from the oceans.’

  ‘Brilliant, my Lord. When shall I leave?’

  ‘As soon as possible. Two days.’

  Ryan nodded and kissed Victor’s hand. ‘It shall be done.’

  ‘While you’re away, I will be taking Egypt and its surrounding countries. Once they fall, all of Africa will return to the Empire. It is then that we take America. It is then that peace shall reign at last.’

  - - -* * *- - -

  ‘With the super heat wave in the Middle East over, many people had hoped that life would return to normal. This, unfortunately, has not been the case. The seas and what used to be fresh water sources remain thick, unusable blood. Many people worldwide resorted to drinking the blood out of desperation. Thousands have already died of dehydration and blood poisoning, and the body count keeps growing daily in every country.

  ‘Thousands of bodies litter the streets of virtually every city in the world, including mega cities such as Bangkok, Japan, London, and Washington as people die of starvation, dehydration, plagues, or at the hand of Imperial Soldiers. Many more are expected to die in the coming weeks.

  ‘N-Force Medical has upped its efforts to dispose of the bodies. The outbreak of a new plague has ravaged most of India and certain parts of Afghanistan, killing many more. It is believed that the outbreak started when starving citizens started eating the half decomposed bodies that litter the streets.