_______________________________________________________________________ Bones of Redemption an episodic tale of good and evil written by: Nix and Storm
Episode Two: Entering Limbo
-"My Master leads me by another road out of that serenity to the roar and trembling air of Hell. I pass from light into the kingdom of eternal night."
"Nix what exactly have you done?" HellStorm asked the devil's advocate as they stared at the lifeless body of the blonde haired boy through a mirror in the main hall of Lexetan's fiery palace. "When he awakens, he will feel no compassion, no guilt, no regret, and he will be our perfect soldier," Nix replied with pride inher voice. "I must commend you advocate, you certainly have succeeded with phase 1, but what do you actually plan to use him for?" Lexetan asked her curiously. "Well with him, we will be able to recruit even more souls and I charge him to get the other chosen ones before the other side gets them," she answered. "Wonderful, where is Maverock with the latest report on our army????" Lexatan boomed as suddenly the angel of death materialized out of nowhere. "Sorry I was detained," he said as he bowed accordingly to Lexatan, and nodded his head to HellStorm and Nix. "My ladies, there is both good news and bad news. The bad news is that an alarming number of people seems to be repenting their sins in the name of Christmas." "I hate this season..."Lexatan muttered angrily as Maverock paused briefly and then continued his report. "The good news is, we've found our next target who has almost the same capacity for evil as the first chosen son of Adam. She is exceptional in the musical arts, and when she is converted I think I have a suitable role for her..." Maverock concluded as he looked at the three women for their response. "Yes, she will play the music of destruction!!!! Well done!!!" Lexatan laughed evilly and the whole palace shook again. HellStorm stuck her tongue out at Maverock who grinned backhappily. "Suck up!" she hissed. "Your just jealous!!" he retorted. "STOP IT! Both of you!!!!!" Lexatan screamed furiously, her red battle aura glowing dangerously. Both of them muttered their apologies and Lexatan continued. "Nix I want you to get Jonny to find this girl and bring her to our side. What was her name again Maverock?" "Claudette my queen, Claudette Monchier," he replied. "Go then Nix, enforce my bidding onto the world," Lexatan smiled as Nix bowed and then faded out of the room.* * * One could hardly understand the importance of the church. It stood as the cornerstone of faith here on earth. Without which the people would be doomed to fall into the palm of hell. No one understood why it was established. Many celestial beings entered churches all around the world in order to communicate better with the Lord while at earth. Father Alejandro Benito knelt in front of the modest marble altar in solemn prayer. He was worried over the event he witnessed last night. The young girl did not experience any medical seizures, that he knew from his days in medical school before he entered the priesthood It was as if she was seeing something horrible through someone else's eyes. Nothing had ever frightened him this much. "Father Benito," a voice suddenly called out quietly inside the scarcely filled church. He performed the sign of the cross and then stood up. Father Benito turned around to see the calm face of Hadji Singh, a regular volunteer. The young Indian male often came to the church to offer his services despite that fact that he wasn't a Christian himself. But afterall, the house of the Lord was open to everyone. "Good morning Hadji," Father Benito said as cheerfully as he could manage. "Good morning to you as well Father Benito," the young man paused thoughtfully before continuing,"I sense you have gone through some degree of excitement in the last twenty-four hours." "Oh what made you arrive to that conclusion?" the priest asked him curiously. The young man smiled softly. "The dark circles under your eyes shows that you obviously didn't get much sleep or none at all in the past twenty four hours, which means something alarming had kept you up the whole time. There is also a coffee stain on your robe, suggesting you took the coffee to prevent from going to sleep. Finally there is also a small wine stain on the robe from yesterday's communion which says that you didn't have time to change, or you were to preoccupied with something else. I merely hope that whatever happened last night has nothing to do with your health." Father Benito let out a chuckle. "Hadji my boy I am deeply grateful for your concern. But I am fine. I am just tired, a lot of paper work to sort out thats all. In fact, you can help me by arranging the schedule for the charity funds." Hadji nodded and followed Father Benito into his office. The priest then began to shuffle through mounds of paper work all scattered on his desk. He stood near the doorway, waiting for Father Benito to give him the papers he needed to sort for the charity funds. Suddenly nature called. He excused himself from Father Benito, informing him that he was going to the men's room. The brown skinned boy hurriedly made his way down the hall where the bathroom was. A small spark of light caught the corner of his right eye as he walked towards the toilet. He stopped and peered through the crack. The room was lit by a dozen candles which gave it a serene and mystical atmosphere. It only contained simple furniture, a small dresser, a mirror, a bed, and a cross above the bed. Hadji moved closer to the bed because in it was a fiery haired girl around his age asleep. He looked at her carefully becayse she looked like she was having some kind of nightmare. Her facial expression wore the look of fright and aggravation. Jessie Bannon was running at top speed through the dense and thick forest. Something was chasing her and whatever it was frightened the hell out of her. She was also carrying a scroll, but she didn't know why or what was inside it. She could feel the cold air touching her skin, making her shudder. Suddenly someone grabbed her arm and when she turned around she came face to face with the most horrifying thing she'd ever lay her eyes upon. The girl suddenly let out a bloodcurling scream and Hadji jumped back in surprise. Father Benito ran inside with a frantic expression on his face. The girl woke up and sat straight up, sweating and heaving as if she had gone through an intesnse physical workout. "Jessie are you alright?!" the priest asked her worriedly. "I was running through the woods, and..and..and it was so cold..." she stammered. "You were just having a nightmare, thats all," Hadji tried to comfort her. "Take a deep breathe, you are in the church Jessie. You came here last night, do you remember?" Father Benito asked the shiveringgirl calmly. *So she must be the reason! But what had happened?* Hadji thought curiously to himself. "The church? I need to go home..." Jessie said stood up from the bed. "I'm sorry I was so much trouble Father Benito. I remember some parts of what had happened, but its all blurry right now. I think I need to rest in my own room." "Alright, just be careful," Father Benito said quietly. "Would you mind if Hadji brought you home?" "I appreciate the gesture, but I need to be alone right now. It will do me some good to get some air on my way." "May the angels watch over you my child," the priest whispered, barely audible but to himself. Once she was gone he turned to Hadji who bore the look of wanting an explanation. "Hadji, its a long story. I will tell you when the time is right."* * * "There is no light without darkness, Jonathan..." "darkness..." "darkness..." "darkness..." He jerked himself awake and found that he was sitting down on the road of a loittered alley, with papers carried by the cold morning air. He tried to recall the events that happened last night but he couldn't seem to remember anything. "You know your mission..." Jonny stood up quickly looking around to see where that voice had come from. But the alley was abandoned, no one was there but him. *Where was this voice coming from???* he asked himself confusedly. *Am I going mad?* "Who said that?!?" Jonny cried out loud, his eyes flashing tensely. He was probably hallucinating. Maybe he had been hit in the head and then passed out. *My mission....* "Claudette Monchier..." "Claudette Monchier?" Jonny repeated in uncertaintity. But then everything became clear. His thoughts had never reached such clarity ever. Now he knew exactly what he had to do. Jonny started to walk towards the horizon, with his back turned, and he never looked back.* * * "This is Juliana Chung reporting live from Nicaragua to bring you up to date coverage of the flood which has devastated thisnation..." Mishelle Taylor-Jenks was slumped on the couch watching CNN intently on tv. It was a Saturday and she was determined to spend to get some rest, meaning no thinking about any form of work. The leggy brunette was in old boxer shorts and a baseball jersey with her hair pilled up messily on top of her head. She was a journalism major at New York University or NYU and CNN was always on her tv screen. Mishelle says it the only piece of television she watches, aside from BBC and the local news of course. Her dream was always to write for a living, and for her nothing could possibly be any better. Sometimes she just wanted to be a part of the action, but she was stuck on the other side of the world where nothing ever happened to her. "Hey Shelle, why are you still in your boxers?" a voice suddenly asked curiously. "Go away Bryce, can't you see I'm resting?!?" Mishelle fumed as she tried to concentrate on the report Juliana Chang was giving. Mishelle shared her apartment with her musically talented friend Claudette Monchier, and Bryce Crenshaw was Claudette's latest and longest boyfriend. Her friend was rather picky with guys but Mishelle knew it was her young innocent look that always attracted them. "What are you watching?!?" he asked her as he plopped down onthe couch. "Geez can't you see its CNN?!?" she retorted in obvious state of annoyance. "Well sorry....we aren't all journalists you know..." Bryce snapped back sarcastically. "'Allo! I am here!!!!" a perky voice suddenly entered the room. Both Mishelle and Bryce sighed in relief. "Oh no...that iz zo zad...I feel zo bad zat zo many people have died already..." Claudette watched the tv screen with a downcast look. "Bryce, cherie you are here!" "Oui, I got of work early and missed you..." Bryce smiled as he stood up and walked over to Claudette. "Argh, I can't take this mushiness, please take it someplace else!!!!!" Mishelle groaned out loud. "Sorry Mishelle..." Bryce laughed as Claudette and him made their way out of the apartment leaving her. She sighed thankful for the peace and quiet. As her attention went back to the chinese reporter on tv, Mishelle couldn't help but think how horrible that there have been so many natural disasters occuring throughout all around the world. First there was the earthquake in Kobe, then volcanic eruption in the Philippines, and now all the storms bringing floods from Hong Kong to Nicaragua. Sometimes she got to thinking if there was some connection to all of these catastrophies, and she'd often ponder if the weather was actually controled by corrupt members of governments around the world. *Jenks, you have seen one too many episodes of the X-Files,* she scolded herself inwardly. Her imagination did tend to runaway with her from time to time. Mishelle was still watching tv when the phone suddenly rang. She picked up the cordless and spoke. "May I please speak to Claudette Monchier," a smoothe voice came out of the receiver. "Who's this?" Mishelle asked inquisitively. "I am a close family friend of hers, I need to speak with her immediately," the voice replied coolly. "Well I'm sorry but she is out at the moment," she told the stranger on the phone. She wrinkled her nose and frowned. There was something odd about his voice and she didn't like it at all. It sounded too flawless to her. "Oh alright, thank you for your time," he said as Mishelle heard a soft click on the other line. Her instincts told her that something just wasn't right. It wasn't the first time this had happened. The first instance was a very traumatic for a young girl. Her brother Michael was killed right before her very eyes and there was nothing she could do about it. The whole day she felt that something horrible was going to happen but she didn't know what it was, or what she could do about it. Over the years, she had developed a neccessity for knowing the truth, ever since the identity of her brother's killer was never discovered by the authorities. That is probably what drove her to take up journalism in the first place. "This is another tragedy in the long line of catastrophic events that have hit us this 1999. This is Juliana Chung reporting live in Nicaragua for CNN world report." * * * The sun was setting behind her as she briskly walked down the rubble filled path on The Ophel Archeological Garden. She hardly had the time to even notice its majestic beauty as she quickly made her way into the inner chambers of the temple ruins. She hadn't been called to the temple in nearly a decade since she's been on assignmentin earth. "You know why you have been summoned," a voice suddenly spoke as she entered the inner chambers of the temple ruins. "Its been awhile since the last time we've seen each other," the fiery haired figure commented quietly. Neither of them spoke for a few seconds as silence filled the air like a thick blanket. "Good grief enough already! You'd think we were lost lovers or something!!!!" the voiced cried out in exasperation as he finally stepped out of the shadows to reveal the face of the captain of the celestial guards, Matthew. "Well you haven't changed one bit," smirked the figure oppositeof him. "I can't say living on Earth has in anyway made you humbler Kathe," retorted Matthew who tugged on his collar shirt. "I hate being in these clothes!!" "You'll have to get used to it, why didn't Ina come? I thought she was the captain of guards..." "She used to be, she got promoted to head of the intelligence department," he replied. "So you are stuck with me." "I suppose I am, I could use all the help I can get anyways. Things are going to get mighty ugly," Kathe replied in absoluteseriousness. "I know, most of us are all thinking of the same thing," he quietly told her. "And we all know there is little we can do to stop it. It was foretold, and we can't change what is pre-destined." "So what are our orders?" she asked him curiously. "We must begin to assemble the chosen ones," he replied darkly. "144,000...so little time..." Kathe muttered quietly. The two angels walked out of the temple ruins side by side towards the holy city of Jerusalem. * * * "Oh yes, there you go. Thats the spot!" Lexatan sighed as her personal massuse dug deeper onto her aching back. "Where is Hellstorm?!?" she boomed angrily. "What? What?!?!" the general cried out as she ran into Lexatan's chambers. "I'm in the middle of watching Toby Danger rightnow!!!!!!" "What is it with you and these useless programs?!?" she groaned in exasperation. "You know what, I don't want to know. What is our current status?" "Well Jonny the son of Adam is already undertaking his mission to find the daughter of eve Claudette. We are still on the search for the third chosen one, but our best news is that Maverock has found that human soul that will lead our army on earth to welcome your reign." "HellStorm, do I detect a bit of anger in your tone of voice?" Lexatan asked her right hand woman. "HEY!!! I said not so hard!!!!!" The demon massaging the devil's back squirmed as she poked his bum with her fiery fork. "Now I said stern but not painful!!!!!!!!" Storm just looked on in exasperation. She was in no mood for any teasing, she was missing her show, and the fact that she was not going to lead the army into the earth for the reign of blood and chaos was peeving her. "If there isn't anything else???" "Alright alright! Since I am in a forgiving mood, go back to your meaningless form of entertainment!" Lexatan scoffed as she put her concentration back onto her massage. Lexatan's general huffed in annoyance as she left the chambers and returned to her own quarters to do some thinking. Storm was no longer in the mood to watch her favorite show. Instead, she was trying to decide on her own plan to be back under Lexatan's favor, that Maverock was just so slippery. She'd have to watch her back double time. "We'll see who'll have the last laugh!" she burst menancingly as her eyes shifted into a insane shade of crimson.
* * *
"Jessie! What happened to you last night?!?" asked a concerned male voice as a dishelved Jessie Bannon walked through the large oakfront doors. "Morning Travis, its nice to see you too," Jessie smiled weakly as walked towards her room at the end of the corridor of the small home in the French Quarter of New Orleans. "I spent the night at the church with Father Benito, I kind of had a dizzy spell I think," she told him calmly. "Your dad would have freaked you know," Travis laughed in relief knowing that she was in safe hands last night. "I know...hey...what are you doing here anyways?" she suddenly asked him in curiousity. "Can't a guy visit???? Yeeesh, you sure are rude!" he scoffed pretending to be hurt. "Yah, I know you don't have any food over at your place. Understood!" smiled Jessie as she walked into the relatively small kitchen and grabbed an apple. "But I'm sorry to say, I did not cook anything appetizing to munch on. Not even leftovers!" "Damn, what's a guy to do to get some food around here?" he said sadly. "Well, aside from food I'm here to get your butt to the history exhibition at Du Marier St. We are to meet Tai-Lee there promptly at 1:30. Sooooo get moving!" Jessie groaned inwardly as she rushed to change out of her rumpled clothes. "Hey Trav, what kind of history exhibition is this anyways??" she called from inside her room. "Tai-Lee said its an exhibit of old biblical texts, and that there was a professor who was coming in to discuss various parts of the bible as well as rabbinical writings such as the Book of Enoch," he answered her promptly. "How'd you memorize that?!?" Jessie asked him in amazement as she reappeared in a fresh pair of jeans and a white polo shirt. Travis laughed at her comment. "She made me memorize it cuz she knew you were going to be inquisitive." * * * Jerusalem by night was lively and brightly lit along the streets despite the constant chaos brought about by the Hebrew-Palestinian conflict in the West Bank. There was always the tension present, but its citizens made the most of the situation and tried to be happy and contented. "The Fifth Seal is nearing isn't it?" Kathe asked Matthewcuriously. "Its coming extremely soon and this time the wait will not be long at all (he is reffering to how they have watched before the opening of the first four seals)," he replied calmly. "We will have to prepare the seal of the Father to mark the believers. We've got to assemble all others on Earth for the sealing." "So where are we off to first?" asked Kathe in a serious tone. "New York," Matthew answered gravely. "We'll be meeting Lesli and Shawn there." Humor was their only outlet for the weight of the tasks they had to perform. So when everything was serious, both archangels Kathe and Matthew felt out of character. But, there would be other times of laughter, there were pressing things that needed to be done. * * * "Hey Claud, someone called for you awhile ago," Mishelle told her friend as the French born female entered their apartment. "It was really weird too, do you know anyone with such a cold voice?" "No cherie, I zo not znow anyvon vith zuch a cold voize!" Claudette answered her quizzically. "Zat iz ztrange!!!!" "Well, I'm off to the..." the brunette trailed off as Claudette finished the sentence for her. "...the Carter Hall?? Oh Mishelle! I zought you were going to rest today!" the blonde female sighed at her friend's hard headedness. "I apologize Claud," Mishelle grinned uncontrollably. "You know I'm a workaholic!!! I'll bring home some chinese take out!!! I won't be too long I promise!!!!!!!" Claudette laughed as her friend ran off to the department of Journalism at NYU. She knew Mishelle wouldn't last too long not doing anything, especially when she could be off finding a new story or criticizing one. She in the meantime was going to spend her Saturday night practicing a new piece that she was having difficulty in. Claudette opened her violin case and went to her room to look for her score sheets. Meanwhile Mishelle was already down in the streets, all bundled up in her warm black coat. It was always extremely cold this time of year and she had always hated it. Winter wasn't always this cold for Mishelle, her childhood was filled with many warm Christmas mornings, but that was all in the past. Ever since Michael's death, she distanced herself from her parents and hardly ever returned during holidays. She spent most of her christmases in New York, where she busied herself with schoolwork. Mishelle bought a hot cup of latte from the nearby Starbucks before proceeding on her way to Carter Hall. She was going to look at some old slides of past articles from 1991-1999. She was just curious at the amount of calamities that have hit the world from then till now. It was better than sitting at home doing nothing. At least this way she'd get some information out of it. Suddenly a tall towering figure bumps her shoulder aggressively. Mishelle reeled back in surprise and as she was about to give him a piece of her mind. But one cold stare from his icy blue eyes silenced her. She just stopped in her tracks and followed his silhouette as he speedly went the opposite the direction she was going. "Miss, are you alright?" an elderly man tapped her left shoulder in concern. "Huh? Oh yes, I'm fine," she replied hesitantly. Mishelle turned away and slowly began walking towards Carter Hall when she stopped again. A horrible feeling suddenly hit her like a brick wall. The voice...and those eyes. It was him! She knew that he was the man who called for...Claudette!!!! Mishelle realized the urgency and didn't stop to think. She spun 180 degrees and raced home as fast as she possibly could. * * * "Are there any questions from the audience?" the elderly Professor Elijah Hadden asked the large group of intent listeners that arrived to hear him speak. Tai-Lee Natsume had been waiting for this moment to finally ask the question thats been looming in her mind for the past month. She quickly raised her hand before anyone else could and prayed that Professor Hadden would call on her. "The young lady with the black hair," he spoke softly as he nodded to Tai-Lee. All attention was drawn to her as the young Asian girl took a deep breathe and asked, "To be more specific, I was curious about the events that were written in the Revelations. I've been doing research on it, and came upon other materials such as the supposed gnostic texts of Nag Hammadi which were supposed to have been included in the original Bible. My question is if do you think that it is possible that the events foretold in the Revelations could actually be occuring at this time." The elder man paused for a moment as he thought of the right words to say. "My dear, I'm assuming you are familiar with the Seven Seals that was written in the book of Revelations, proclaiming that there would be seven seals would have to be broken that would usher in the second coming of Christ. There have been many studies on that, and yes many have said that the first few seals have been broken because of all the events that have been seen throughout history. The second seal itself tells of the Red Horse, or one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse that would bring in war. Many have argued that all the wars and chaos that have happened in the past few years are because the second seal was being broken. Honestly, its difficult to say if that seal has been broken because everything is arguable. All I know is that I haven't encountered evidence so solid that would give me a definite answer." There was a murmur of excitement pulsating through the crowd while Tai-Lee sat there in quiet frustration. She was searching for an answer that no one knew and it was leaving her in a state ofaggravation. "Now if there are no further questions?" Professor Hadden asked aloud but no one else had raised their hand. "Thank you for a wonderful afternoon. You all have been a pleasure to speak too." The room erupted in applause as the Professor shook hands with the organizers of the exhibit and the sponsors. People then started to stand up from their seats and made their way to the exits. "Wow Tai, that was some question you asked!" Travis grinned as they left the exhibition hall. "Was this just one of those spur of the moment things?" The brown eyed girl was silent as they walked to the parking lot where Travis's green 1999 Jetta was parked. She was still preocupied with her own thoughts. Tai-Lee was not at all satisfied with the vague answers Professor Hadden had provided her. But then, the old man didn't know and there was nothing she could do about it. It was just disapointing that everytime her hopes are raised, she is met with the inevitable slap in the face. It felt like no one knew the answers that were burning through her mind. "Oh no!!!" Jessie suddenly exclaimed as they entered the car. "What what?!?" Travis cried out in shock. "Don't DO THAT!!!!" "I left my bag in the church! We've got to go and get it, my wallet and everything is there!!!" Travis groaned out loud. "Jess, you've really got to work on your people skills. You shouldn't freak people out with your high pitched scream. Its not very becoming." "Travis, do you just enjoy pestering me like this??" Jessie asked him sarcastically. "Or is this just the pick on Jessie day???" He laughed as Jessie continued fuming all the way to the church. None of them were aware of the events that would take place just as soon as they reached their destination. * * * "So what do you suspect Hadji? Could she have been possesed by some spirit? I have never seen anything quite like it," Father Benito spoke softly. "Its hard to say what exactly happened, but one mustn't discount the possibilities. Jessie may have been having an actual siezure due to some medical reasons, however unlikely that may be. She may have also actually seen something...but for what reasons..." Hadji said softly, "...hasn't presented itself." Father Benito massaged his temples slowly. Fatigue was showing in the old man's tired face due to last night's events. He was very perplexed with the entire situation, it was probably more of his parental instincts toward Jessie. He'd never had a daughter. He had a son a long time ago, but he sadly passed away at a young age. It was partly the reason why he decided to enter the priesthood, so that he would be able to help and counsel others through the great pain he himself had bared. "Father, I will finish of this paperwork, you should go andrest," Hadji said as he tried to coax Father Benito to get some much neededsleep. "I will Hadji, but first I think I'll say a prayer," theelder man smiled as he got up from his chair inside the office and walked outside to the where services were held. The wooden bench was ice cold as Father Alejandro Benito sat down to begin his prayer. He took out his rosary and began to recite, "Our father who art in heaven, hallow be thy name. In kingdom come, thy will be down on earth as it is in heaven…" Then suddenly out of nowhere, two masked men burst in throughthe main doors. Doves fluttered from the broken window panes up above at the sudden motion, while the sunlight behind cloaked them as if heavenly creatures from above, yet they were here to do the opposite. One of the men whipped out a small revolver and aimed directly at Father Benito's back. The priest was still continuing his prayers as the revolverwent off, striking him right at his upper right back. He fell onto the ground, barely conscious as Hadji rushed to his side in frenzy. The blood was oozing from the shot, and Father Benito was holding onto life by a thread. "…forgive us this day, our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation. For thine is the kingdom now and forever…" Father did not manage to finish the prayer as his eyes fluttered and closed forever. * * * "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake," Lesli whispered as she watched in horror from behind the police line where other spectators were located. She stood there quietly with Shawn as they saw from a distance, the body of Father Benito being brought out of the church. They were on their way to New York, to meet up with Kathe and Matthew. "So the Fifth Seal has begun…" Shawn commented softly. "Everything is taking its course, we haven't a lot of time left as it is," she told him as they gazed at the sirens of the ambulance driving away. "We've known all along the bloodshed that would happen, but it doesn't make it any easier to see." They were both silent for a moment. It was a emotional seen to have witnessed, and an even more emotional bondage to carry having known. But they could do not interfere with what has been planned. They can only change what is not yet known. "Lets go," Lesli said as the two archangels left unnoticed by the humans around them. Chaos and frenzy surrounded the small New Orleans church, only small in comparison to the colossal chaos that would await mankind in the end.
**** END OF EPISODE TWO