TWENTY-FOUR
'When one realizes one is asleep,
At that moment one is already half-awake' -
P D Ouspensky
The Angel Gabriel was now just feet away from Martin's kneeling form. The Angel's metallic wings folded by his side as, his 'scream' slowly fading, he gracefully landed feet first onto the TARDIS floor.
The living creature inside the suite was around eight feet tall, his features were dark and handsome, his jaw line perfect and strong. He looked at Martin with piercing green eyes and a look of almost total disgust as if, just by been in Martin's presence, he was been somehow contaminated.
"I told you I would hunt you… Until the End of Time…" Gabriel's voice was no longer metallic but it was still full of authority even though he spoke relatively quietly "Did you really think you could escape… Your fate?"
The other Angel had now landed in front of The Doctor and was leaning over as if to pick the Time Lord up from where he lay. With giant, metallic hands The Doctor was suddenly lifted up by his throat and was held at arms length, his legs kicking at empty air. He struggled against The Angel's grip but to no affect.
Gabriel glanced around at The Doctor's hanging form.
"This one is known to us… He is of The Fallen…He will answer to God for his lies and blasphemies…"
He turned back to face Martin, his eyes burning with contempt and betrayal. He lowered his head slightly; his eyes still transfixed on the human, and then raised his voice condemningly.
"As for you… You have chosen to side with Satan himself… You chose to run from God… You chose to listen to the lies of Demons… You chose… Hell…"
"I didn't!" Martin cried desperately "I didn't choose anything! I just wanted to know, that's all… Just 'know' the truth… The Real Truth!"
He looked over at The Doctor who was still frantically struggling as he hung in The Angels grip. "It was him! The Doctor! He brought me here… told me all these things! How was I supposed to know if he was lying or not? I didn't know… I didn't know!" He sunk down to his knees and cried deeply into his hands.
"Oh, that's right, Marty!" The Doctor said sarcastically between gasps for air "As soon as the going gets a bit tough it's all 'Oh, it was him, your honour, it was all his fault! Talk about 40 pieces of silver!" He looked genuinely upset "Well, cheers for that, Marty! I know not to rely on you in a tight squeeze" He shifted uneasily in The Angel's grip as if unaware of his own joke…
"You cannot blame others for your own choices… The Law of God is supreme and just… Sin must never go unpunished… There is a final reckoning for all souls… All will face the Judgment of God… And only The Chosen will have Life Eternal…"
The Angel Gabriel raised his head and then looked down upon Martin and began to stretch out his arms and wings.
"You are not of The Chosen… You are of The Fallen…" His voice was loud and metallic once more "You are a liar… A deceiver… A fornicator… A filthy sinner… Your Judgment has come…" His face was now contorted with anger and hatred as he came ever closer to Martin's sobbing form.
The eyes of The Angel stared into his soul…
"I am Gabriel… I am The Angel of Death… And I bring on you The Judgment of God!"
Then The Angel screamed it's deep, juddering scream and lunged towards the fallen man.
Martin clamped his hands tight over his ears, buried his head as far as it would go onto the metal floor and closed his eyes tightly shut. He screamed a deep, primitive howl that began to mix with The Angel's own wail and waited for the end to come…
"STOP!"
The shout came from somewhere behind Martin and it was followed by perfect silence. The Angel's scream had completely ceased and there was simply no noise at all.
After a few moments of the ongoing silence Martin relaxed his body very slightly and began to cautiously move his hands away from his ears.
He could hear someone gently clapping.
"Oh, very good… Very exciting" It was Jay's voice, as calm and serene as ever. "It couldn't go on any further, though, could it? That really was the end of the line…"
Confused and totally bewildered Martin began to open his eyes…
"Oh, I'd be careful looking up too quickly if I were you…" Jay said helpfully.
Martin looked above him and jumped as he saw Gabriel's contorted form inches away from his face. The Angel was like a statue hanging over him somehow frozen in time. He scrambled out from underneath the suspended colossus and moved towards where Jay was standing.
"What's happened?" Martin asked breathlessly. "Did… Did you do that?"
Jay shrugged "No… You did" He smiled warmly. "It was very good though, wasn't it? I was riveted watching it all. I can see why you like it so much!"
Martin was almost at a loss for words "Like what? What are you talking about?"
"The drama… The aliens… The chases through time and space… Oh, it's very good and a wonderful use of your imagination but…" He gently raised his shoulders in an almost apologetic shrug. "…It's not real"
"What?"
"None of this is real… I've been telling you that all along. You've just not really believed me before. But you'll believe me now…because we are going to see through the illusion. We're going to break down the forth wall…" Jay moved over to the TARDIS console and began flicking playfully at a few random switches. He laughed to himself as none of the buttons had any affect at all. "You can not solve the mystery of God in a Doctor Who story, Martin" He said casually.
"A Doctor What?" Martin frowned intently.
"Errmmm.. I don't want to bother you guys or anything but… I could do with a hand" The Doctor's voice rung out from behind Martin. He was still in his Angel's frozen, yet relentless, grip, his hands and legs hung limply below him.
"Ah, Doctor" Jay said warmly "Having fun?"
"Well, I'm The Doctor and it's what I do, isn't it? All that running away from the big, scary monsters…And I do it so well I just can't stop myself!" He grinned broadly and then nodded at the TARDIS floor "You couldn't pass me my sonic screwdriver, could you? I dropped it earlier and I think I can just about free myself if I can just…"
Jay located the Doctor's device and threw it up to him. The Doctor caught it eagerly and raised it to his neck.
"Nice one, Jay. I'll be down with you in a sec…"
He pressed the tip of it against The Angels fist and, after a flash of blue light and a short sonic blast; the creatures grip was unwillingly broken.
The Doctor dropped to the floor landing hard feet first. He then fell forward, rolling into a ball like position before finishing his expert roll back on two feet. He even clapped at the end of it… but then unfortunately tripped on a fallen piece of ceiling. This sent him in to an out of control, headfirst lunge from which his spiraling figure could never recover. He finally came to rest in a disheveled heap at the foot of the TARDIS console.
After a moment, he raised himself on one elbow and nodded at Martin. "Never do a clap after a roll, Marty" He said as if imparting some great wisdom. He then suddenly sprang to his feet, straightened his tie and flexed his neck confidently. "Now… where were we?" He said with a Cheshire cat like grin.
Martin was dumbfounded. "Can someone please tell me WHAT is going on?"
"I think you're the only one who can tell us that, Marty?" The Doctor beamed knowingly. "After all, this is your little adventure. And, I tell you what, I've been in some scraps in my time but that was pretty good! About to be judged by God? What a cliffhanger!" He looked over at Jay. "Mind you, shouting out 'STOP' wasn't the most original or inventive way to resolve it, I've got to be honest!" He put his hands in his pockets and strode around the console kicking bits of roof away with his battered plimsoles. "And, believe me, I've had some dodgy solutions to big massive, unsolvable threats in my time! I mean, I remember when Donna what's her face defeated the Mighty Dalek Empire by just twisting a few buttons…But shouting 'STOP!'?" He shrugged melancholy "Well, it's a new one on me…"
"But it's not resolved, is it?" Martin said confused as ever.
"No, because your story is far from over" Jay said softly.
"No, I mean… The Angels… The Angels are still here" He looked over at Gabriel's frozen form. "Is there a chance they could just…you know… come back to life again?" He added nervously.
"I don't know. Is there?" Jay responded.
"Well, I don't know! What are you asking me for?" Martin was tired of riddles now.
"Thought Creates Reality. That is a universal truth that you would do well to always remember. Your thought has created this reality." Jay moved over to stand in front of the statue like Angel. He looked up at its fearful face and then back at Martin. "So you decide what happens next. Do you choose to remain in your fear? Do you choose to believe in Your False Evidence Appearing Real? Do you choose to continue thinking of God as an angry, unknowable being who wants you to always live in this fear? Do you choose to spread this fear outwards to all those who are on this journey with you? As always, the choice is with you…" He walked slowly over to Martin and took his hand. "Or do you want to look through this illusion and start the next chapter of your journey? For your greatest adventure is always in front of you and is but moments away."
Jay then began leading Martin over to where The Angel Gabriel remained in its death like pose. Martin hesitated, as he got closer to the terrifying figure.
"What are you doing?" He asked Jay worryingly.
"You must look at your fear, Martin. And then you will see it as the illusion that it is"
"But I'm not sure I can…" Martin began.
"You can and you will" Jay told him confidently. "For I will tell you a great truth now and you must hear it and believe it…
… You are inside a fiction…
…And it is a fiction of your own making."
Jay held on to the back of Martin's neck so his eyes were locked on to The Angel's ridged presence.
"You have created this part of the story to get to this point now… Where you can look at your fear and see right through it. For your soul knows what is real and what is self created. And your soul knows that none of this has anything to do with love… And, above everything else, your soul knows that Love is what God is."
As Jay spoke Martin stared at The Angel and noticed that its features were getting softer as if slowly ebbing away.
"Your soul is love too. It is the highest part of you. It is a tiny part of God. It longs to be known and experienced as the pure love that it is. You have felt this pure love, Martin. You have 'felt' the truth of God and you have 'felt' the presence of your own soul"
The Angel was definitely fading from view and drifting out of reality. Martin's heart beat faster as hope began to enter into him and the illusion of fear started to relax its paralyzing grip.
"This has been an adventure long in the making for you…" Jay's voice remained calm and hypnotic, "But this part of the journey is over. Look through the illusion, Martin, and remove the fear of God from your heart"
The Angel's features were continuing to blur and fade…
"Before you fell back into the fear… Your 'self created' fear… You were doing so well. You were learning and remembering so much and it all spoke truthfully about God. But then you allowed fear to creep back in. By giving them your powerful and fearful thoughts, you allowed these creatures to exist. You created them…but they are not real"
Martin continued to stare at The Angel's slowly fading form…
"As your own experience of love has shown you and as every spiritual Master who has ever walked the Earth has proclaimed to all those that would truly listen… God is Love. And love has played no part in this tale"
The Angel was now almost completely transparent and it was as if it was taking on the form a comic book drawing. Martin was sure he could see the ink lines around the outside of the creature.
"Love is the missing link in this chain of fear. And any God that has no love cannot be God at all. As your soul knows and as every Truth seeker has discovered, if God is your question… Love is the answer"
Martin glanced over to see the other Angel slowly dissolving too. Both angelic beings now looked like drawings from his old comic books.
Both now looked like figments of his own, child-like imagination.
With that thought they disappeared completely…
Martin let out a deep breath of pure, blissful relief and then allowed himself, at last, to smile…
"And so love wins…" Jay said happily.
"Yeahhh!" The Doctor shouted and then moved swiftly over to Martin and embraced him excitedly. "Oh, well done, Marty… I knew you'd pull through!" He then embraced Jay and both of them laughed triumphantly.
Then all three men looked up through the TARDIS' destroyed roof. Where Yahweh's glowing sphere had once hung, now shone a beautiful, golden sun. Its light beamed down on all of them and lit them in an orange, bronze like glow. Martin breathed in slowly and let the heat from the sun warm him. It was the most perfect, pure heat he had every felt.
"Breathe deep, Martin. You can finally breathe again now for this part of the tale is over" Jay placed a hand on Martin's shoulder and looked the tired man directly in his eyes. "You are at the end of the dark night of your soul and a new dawn is coming"
Jay's eyes smiled at Martin who said wearily "I'm so tired… I feel like I just want to go home"
"You will soon be home and out of this ancient world and living where you should be… In the Now… You should always live in the Eternal moment of Now. You will soon know again the God of Love and, through you and others like you, your world will be transformed and mankind will finally achieve the next step in its spiritual evolution. And the God of Love will be experienced by all of creation…"
Martin looked hopefully first at the Doctor and then at Jay. "So there is a future? The world isn't going to end? There is hope for all of mankind and a peaceful world is achievable?"
"What do you think?" The Doctor asked the question as if the answer Martin was about to give was the most important sentence he would ever say.
"I think… It's a possibility" Martin spoke softly and slowly. "I think… I'd love to see it…"
Jay grinned and looked around at The Doctor and then back at Martin.
"Then, through love and your own creative thought, you shall…"
'If I have the gift of prophesy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing'
- Corinthians 13:2, The Bible