The Awakening
SPOILER ALERT:
Do not read any farther if you A) haven't already read 54 and/or B) do not want to hear spoilers for 54. Although this book has been out for over a year, some new fans to the series may not want to hear spoilers.
Disclaimer:
Tom is not, unfortunately, mine (yet). He is the product of the creator of Animorphs (whose name I refuse to say, but you know who she is) and of Scholastic.
None of the angels, Saints, or anyone else in this story is mine, so if you choose to use them, by all means go ahead. (Just let me know when it's posted so I can read it. :)
Thank you so much, Ruby, for reviewing this story and letting me know about some things are were confusing/inconsistant. :)
Thanks everyone who reviewed the story, especially Jicklet. I've decided to redo this story and take a different angle on it. Hopefully it won't be offensive now. The Bible verses (well most of them) are staying, though. This *is* about Tom's soul in the afterlife, after all.
There are still distinctly Catholic themes, so if you're opposed to Catholic theology you might not want to read further, but I took out a lot of parts that were offensive to others before. I'm finally content with this version, but am totally open to any advice, provided you're constructive about it.
Note:
All Bible verses have been taken from the New American Bible. However, you can probably find the same meaning in just about any other version of the Bible. :)
Now onto the fic. :-D
************************
As the claws bit into my body, the Yeerk screaming, Stop her, Jake! as his last words, and the world becoming more and more blurry as my body's systems shut down, I knew I was dying.
I guess this is it, I told the Yeerk.
A second later my body died.
My body. Not me. Not my soul, only my body. I wasn't a ghost now, like the kind you see on TV. But I was a spirit. I hovered over my body for a second and then saw the light, brighter, warmer, and kinder than anything that could be imagined on earth. It was heavenly beauty.
I heard the angel, right "behind" me. Her name was Anna. She was my guardian angel.
*Am I. . .?*
*Yes, child, you are one of ours,* she replied in the celestial, the heavenly language. *I am here, with others, to take you to the Father, in Paradise.*
I took one last glance at my body, damaged beyond repair, already long dead. The Yeerk had died too, just a second after I had. He had tried morphing, but to no avail. He was taken to hell by some demons barely a second after his body had died.
On earth. . .when I was alive, my name was Tom Berenson.
As the angels took me to Heaven, my home, I realized just how temporary earth really was. "As we look not to see what is seen but to what is unseen, for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18)
Oh yes, the Yeerk had mocked me for my beliefs. Had ridiculed me to no end. But the only thing that was worth living for would be what was worth dying for. And true freedom is the freedom to do what is right. So in a sense, I was free the whole time.
But now I am only a ghost. A spirit.
I took one last glance at my body, now dead. Rachel had killed me with her morph, had practically eaten me. (She would be dead soon, too, I knew.) The Yeerk had made me morph, but it was too late.
Sorry, Tom, Rachel said to my body.
Don't worry, Rachel, I wanted to say, grinning with pure joy. I'm free now.
The Yeerk wasn't. He was going straight to hell. I felt some compassion about this; I had long since forgiven him.
I hovered over my body for a minute. Then the angels came. Five in total. One, I knew, was my Guardian Angel.
*Come, child,* one told me. *You are one of God's. You shall spend eternity with the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace. Mary, your Mother, the Queen of Heaven, will show you to the Lamb. The Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world.*
We traveled to Heaven. Past the clouds, past the stars. Past space itself. We crossed the dimension. On earth it would have taken billions of years. Here? Well, time doesn't exist in the afterlife. There is only eternity.
I saw Heaven. I heard the angels singing. There were four of them, four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:
"Holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty
who was,
is
and is to come." (Revelation 4:8)
"In My Father's house there are many mansions. If there were not, would I have told you I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I do and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you also may be." (John 14:2-3)
I then saw the Blessed Virgin, Mary. Christ's Mother, so my mother. Everyone's mother. She was dressed in blue, gold at the edges of her dress. She was more beautiful than anyone I had ever seen before. And on her head was a crown of twelve stars. (Revelation 12:1)
As though I had lived through it, I saw the scene from the Gospel of John. Jesus was on the Cross, at the highest point of agony. But still He looked down at His disciple, who He loved. Tears were in my eyes as I remembered. Tears of joy, because in Heaven there is no sadness.
When Jesus saw His Mother, and the disciple whom He loved, He said to His Mother, "Woman, behold your son."
The He said to the disciple, "Behold, your Mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (John 19: 26-27)
"Beloved child," said the Blessed Virgin as I came near her. She was humble and meek, and gave radiance of pure glory just by moving her mouth. Other than the Lord, she was the only one in Heaven with an already glorified body. Everyone else would wait until Judgment Day. "Come, let me send you to my Son."
She took me to Jesus Christ. He reigned on the right hand side of the Father Almighty. His kingdom would have no end.
I felt such love that it was impossible to describe. For everyone, even for my enemies. I was with Jesus now, in Heaven. There would be no more sadness, no more fear. I was no longer a slave. Not to sin, not to the Yeerk. I was free, truly free.
I sang God's praises with the Saints. Twenty four elders spoke to the Lord, saying,
"We give thanks to You,
Lord God Almighty
For You have assumed Your great power
and have established Your reign.
The nations raged,
but Your wrath has come
and the time for the dead to be judged
and to recompense Your servants,
the prophets,
and the holy ones and those who fear Your name,
the small and the great alike,
and to destroy those who destroy the earth." (Revelation 12: 17-18)
The angels exclaimed, prostrating themselves on the throne as they worshiped God,
"Amen.
Blessing and glory,
Wisdom and thanksgiving
be to our God forever and ever.
Amen." (Revelation 7:12)
And then I was given a white robe. White for purity. I joined the others, the martyrs for God. I sang the song I had never heard before, yet knew it better than any song I had known on earth.
"For this reason they stand before God's throne
and worship Him day and night in His temple.
The one who sites on the throne will shelter them.
They will not hunger ot thirst anymore,
nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepard them,
and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:15-17)
I am at peace now. I am in Heaven. No more pain. No more suffering.
Alleluia! I shall always praise the Lord, praise Him without ceasing, for all eternity.
The End
SPOILER ALERT:
Do not read any farther if you A) haven't already read 54 and/or B) do not want to hear spoilers for 54. Although this book has been out for over a year, some new fans to the series may not want to hear spoilers.
Disclaimer:
Tom is not, unfortunately, mine (yet). He is the product of the creator of Animorphs (whose name I refuse to say, but you know who she is) and of Scholastic.
None of the angels, Saints, or anyone else in this story is mine, so if you choose to use them, by all means go ahead. (Just let me know when it's posted so I can read it. :)
Thank you so much, Ruby, for reviewing this story and letting me know about some things are were confusing/inconsistant. :)
Thanks everyone who reviewed the story, especially Jicklet. I've decided to redo this story and take a different angle on it. Hopefully it won't be offensive now. The Bible verses (well most of them) are staying, though. This *is* about Tom's soul in the afterlife, after all.
There are still distinctly Catholic themes, so if you're opposed to Catholic theology you might not want to read further, but I took out a lot of parts that were offensive to others before. I'm finally content with this version, but am totally open to any advice, provided you're constructive about it.
Note:
All Bible verses have been taken from the New American Bible. However, you can probably find the same meaning in just about any other version of the Bible. :)
Now onto the fic. :-D
************************
As the claws bit into my body, the Yeerk screaming, Stop her, Jake! as his last words, and the world becoming more and more blurry as my body's systems shut down, I knew I was dying.
I guess this is it, I told the Yeerk.
A second later my body died.
My body. Not me. Not my soul, only my body. I wasn't a ghost now, like the kind you see on TV. But I was a spirit. I hovered over my body for a second and then saw the light, brighter, warmer, and kinder than anything that could be imagined on earth. It was heavenly beauty.
I heard the angel, right "behind" me. Her name was Anna. She was my guardian angel.
*Am I. . .?*
*Yes, child, you are one of ours,* she replied in the celestial, the heavenly language. *I am here, with others, to take you to the Father, in Paradise.*
I took one last glance at my body, damaged beyond repair, already long dead. The Yeerk had died too, just a second after I had. He had tried morphing, but to no avail. He was taken to hell by some demons barely a second after his body had died.
On earth. . .when I was alive, my name was Tom Berenson.
As the angels took me to Heaven, my home, I realized just how temporary earth really was. "As we look not to see what is seen but to what is unseen, for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18)
Oh yes, the Yeerk had mocked me for my beliefs. Had ridiculed me to no end. But the only thing that was worth living for would be what was worth dying for. And true freedom is the freedom to do what is right. So in a sense, I was free the whole time.
But now I am only a ghost. A spirit.
I took one last glance at my body, now dead. Rachel had killed me with her morph, had practically eaten me. (She would be dead soon, too, I knew.) The Yeerk had made me morph, but it was too late.
Sorry, Tom, Rachel said to my body.
Don't worry, Rachel, I wanted to say, grinning with pure joy. I'm free now.
The Yeerk wasn't. He was going straight to hell. I felt some compassion about this; I had long since forgiven him.
I hovered over my body for a minute. Then the angels came. Five in total. One, I knew, was my Guardian Angel.
*Come, child,* one told me. *You are one of God's. You shall spend eternity with the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace. Mary, your Mother, the Queen of Heaven, will show you to the Lamb. The Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world.*
We traveled to Heaven. Past the clouds, past the stars. Past space itself. We crossed the dimension. On earth it would have taken billions of years. Here? Well, time doesn't exist in the afterlife. There is only eternity.
I saw Heaven. I heard the angels singing. There were four of them, four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:
"Holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty
who was,
is
and is to come." (Revelation 4:8)
"In My Father's house there are many mansions. If there were not, would I have told you I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I do and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you also may be." (John 14:2-3)
I then saw the Blessed Virgin, Mary. Christ's Mother, so my mother. Everyone's mother. She was dressed in blue, gold at the edges of her dress. She was more beautiful than anyone I had ever seen before. And on her head was a crown of twelve stars. (Revelation 12:1)
As though I had lived through it, I saw the scene from the Gospel of John. Jesus was on the Cross, at the highest point of agony. But still He looked down at His disciple, who He loved. Tears were in my eyes as I remembered. Tears of joy, because in Heaven there is no sadness.
When Jesus saw His Mother, and the disciple whom He loved, He said to His Mother, "Woman, behold your son."
The He said to the disciple, "Behold, your Mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (John 19: 26-27)
"Beloved child," said the Blessed Virgin as I came near her. She was humble and meek, and gave radiance of pure glory just by moving her mouth. Other than the Lord, she was the only one in Heaven with an already glorified body. Everyone else would wait until Judgment Day. "Come, let me send you to my Son."
She took me to Jesus Christ. He reigned on the right hand side of the Father Almighty. His kingdom would have no end.
I felt such love that it was impossible to describe. For everyone, even for my enemies. I was with Jesus now, in Heaven. There would be no more sadness, no more fear. I was no longer a slave. Not to sin, not to the Yeerk. I was free, truly free.
I sang God's praises with the Saints. Twenty four elders spoke to the Lord, saying,
"We give thanks to You,
Lord God Almighty
For You have assumed Your great power
and have established Your reign.
The nations raged,
but Your wrath has come
and the time for the dead to be judged
and to recompense Your servants,
the prophets,
and the holy ones and those who fear Your name,
the small and the great alike,
and to destroy those who destroy the earth." (Revelation 12: 17-18)
The angels exclaimed, prostrating themselves on the throne as they worshiped God,
"Amen.
Blessing and glory,
Wisdom and thanksgiving
be to our God forever and ever.
Amen." (Revelation 7:12)
And then I was given a white robe. White for purity. I joined the others, the martyrs for God. I sang the song I had never heard before, yet knew it better than any song I had known on earth.
"For this reason they stand before God's throne
and worship Him day and night in His temple.
The one who sites on the throne will shelter them.
They will not hunger ot thirst anymore,
nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepard them,
and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:15-17)
I am at peace now. I am in Heaven. No more pain. No more suffering.
Alleluia! I shall always praise the Lord, praise Him without ceasing, for all eternity.
The End