6:10pm
Susan arrived at Alice's house. She knocked on the door.
A woman opened it. She looked like she was about fifty years of age, but had a youthful attitude about her, a person full of energy to help people. "Oh, Susan. Please come in."
Susan walked inside as she closed the door. She laid a book on the
coffee table. "Oh, here's that book. On the old symbols and stuff?"
Alice nodded, sitting in a chair. "Right..the angelic script."
Susan arched an eyebrow. "The what?"
"Angelic script. According to some legends, God marked all his angels with a sign, a marking."
"Like a brand?"
"Exactly. Why do you ask?"
"Well, Mark said that someone named Gabriel spoke with him at his
mother's funeral."
"As in, Gabriel the archangel?"
"Yeah. You know, the angel who visited Mary."
"Annunciation visit, before the Nativity. He's also known as the Angel of Death. The Old Testament doesn't paint a pretty picture about them."
"How do you mean?"
"They're not at at all like the childish babies with wings--you know, rosy-cheeked cherubs--like they're depicted in Medieval paintings. No. The Old Testament shows them as warriors, powerful beings used to pour out God's wrath on the wicked. Look up in the index for any scriptural passage with 'angel of death' or 'warring angel'. Or any angel with a trumpet. One good example is the destruction of Sodom and Gomhorra. Of course, these are all legends and beliefs passed down throughout time. There's no real proof that they truly exist."
"Do you believe in..uh.."
"I believe there's a reason for everything..we just have to find it. I don't really think of bad things as evil..it's just situations that are out of control. However, it's good to have faith. Everyone needs to believe in something, to have hope. Does Mark believe?"
"I don't know. I get the feeling that he doesn't realy believe in God much anymore..because of his mom dying, and that's understandable. He does believe in right and wrong, though."
"What about this 'Gabriel' person that Mark spoke about. What can
you tell me about him?"
"Okay. Well..."
"Yes?"
"This man, Gabriel. Mark said his symbol was a crown. It matches
the same cabalist in your book. Here.." She opened it, showing the
page. "See? The *same*."
"Oh..yes. I see. Maybe we're dealing with a cult that worships angels."
"Maybe they've seen 'Highway To Heaven' or 'Touched By An Angel' too many times and went crazy."
"It's a possibility. The members probably mark themselves as the
angels who have their names. Remember, lots of kids are named after
Biblical characters nowadays. Jacob, Isaac, Joseph, Gabrielle,
Michael, Ezekiel..it's common."
"Makes sense. There was a man who came to see me this morning."
"Who?"
"Danyael, he said. I saw a scar on him too. Wait, I got an idea.." She flipped through the book's pages, until she found a series of symbols. "Here, Samayel, Gabriel..Danyael." It looked like a zig-zag or a wave-type lightning bolt going downward. "There it is, Alice. Same as I saw on his neck."
"Interesting. Did he say anything unusual?"
"No. He spoke of Creation, peace, love. And hope. We talked about
my experience..you know, about Richard. He said that I'd be faced
with a sad truth someday, but I must face it to go on. And, uh.. 'don't be afraid', whatever *that* meant. Somehow, I don't think he's like any of the other 'members' of this cult. He was nice, compassionate. I could tell he was sincere. When he left, I felt this great peace, that..it was..I can't explain it."
"Oh."
"Is there any more material here on angels?"
"Not really, that book is all I have. However..I returned a book to the library a few days ago. A book on angels, written by Thomas Dagget."
"Who's that?"
"An expert on the subject, the best you'll find. He was a monk for years, went to seminary. Rumor has it that he backed out of the ordination for presthood and became a cop. Unusual."
"What's the title of this book?"
"It's called..'Thesis On Angels In Religious Scripture'."
"Okay, I'll check it out." She got up and went for the door. "Oh,
Mark should be able to see you soon."
Alice smiled. "I know. Wallace informed me earlier."
"Well, Alice, it was nice talking with you. Bye."
"Bye, Susan."
Susan arrived at Alice's house. She knocked on the door.
A woman opened it. She looked like she was about fifty years of age, but had a youthful attitude about her, a person full of energy to help people. "Oh, Susan. Please come in."
Susan walked inside as she closed the door. She laid a book on the
coffee table. "Oh, here's that book. On the old symbols and stuff?"
Alice nodded, sitting in a chair. "Right..the angelic script."
Susan arched an eyebrow. "The what?"
"Angelic script. According to some legends, God marked all his angels with a sign, a marking."
"Like a brand?"
"Exactly. Why do you ask?"
"Well, Mark said that someone named Gabriel spoke with him at his
mother's funeral."
"As in, Gabriel the archangel?"
"Yeah. You know, the angel who visited Mary."
"Annunciation visit, before the Nativity. He's also known as the Angel of Death. The Old Testament doesn't paint a pretty picture about them."
"How do you mean?"
"They're not at at all like the childish babies with wings--you know, rosy-cheeked cherubs--like they're depicted in Medieval paintings. No. The Old Testament shows them as warriors, powerful beings used to pour out God's wrath on the wicked. Look up in the index for any scriptural passage with 'angel of death' or 'warring angel'. Or any angel with a trumpet. One good example is the destruction of Sodom and Gomhorra. Of course, these are all legends and beliefs passed down throughout time. There's no real proof that they truly exist."
"Do you believe in..uh.."
"I believe there's a reason for everything..we just have to find it. I don't really think of bad things as evil..it's just situations that are out of control. However, it's good to have faith. Everyone needs to believe in something, to have hope. Does Mark believe?"
"I don't know. I get the feeling that he doesn't realy believe in God much anymore..because of his mom dying, and that's understandable. He does believe in right and wrong, though."
"What about this 'Gabriel' person that Mark spoke about. What can
you tell me about him?"
"Okay. Well..."
"Yes?"
"This man, Gabriel. Mark said his symbol was a crown. It matches
the same cabalist in your book. Here.." She opened it, showing the
page. "See? The *same*."
"Oh..yes. I see. Maybe we're dealing with a cult that worships angels."
"Maybe they've seen 'Highway To Heaven' or 'Touched By An Angel' too many times and went crazy."
"It's a possibility. The members probably mark themselves as the
angels who have their names. Remember, lots of kids are named after
Biblical characters nowadays. Jacob, Isaac, Joseph, Gabrielle,
Michael, Ezekiel..it's common."
"Makes sense. There was a man who came to see me this morning."
"Who?"
"Danyael, he said. I saw a scar on him too. Wait, I got an idea.." She flipped through the book's pages, until she found a series of symbols. "Here, Samayel, Gabriel..Danyael." It looked like a zig-zag or a wave-type lightning bolt going downward. "There it is, Alice. Same as I saw on his neck."
"Interesting. Did he say anything unusual?"
"No. He spoke of Creation, peace, love. And hope. We talked about
my experience..you know, about Richard. He said that I'd be faced
with a sad truth someday, but I must face it to go on. And, uh.. 'don't be afraid', whatever *that* meant. Somehow, I don't think he's like any of the other 'members' of this cult. He was nice, compassionate. I could tell he was sincere. When he left, I felt this great peace, that..it was..I can't explain it."
"Oh."
"Is there any more material here on angels?"
"Not really, that book is all I have. However..I returned a book to the library a few days ago. A book on angels, written by Thomas Dagget."
"Who's that?"
"An expert on the subject, the best you'll find. He was a monk for years, went to seminary. Rumor has it that he backed out of the ordination for presthood and became a cop. Unusual."
"What's the title of this book?"
"It's called..'Thesis On Angels In Religious Scripture'."
"Okay, I'll check it out." She got up and went for the door. "Oh,
Mark should be able to see you soon."
Alice smiled. "I know. Wallace informed me earlier."
"Well, Alice, it was nice talking with you. Bye."
"Bye, Susan."
