(4) The Gathering Remnant

An old silver car made its lonely way down the deserted road, lit up by its headlights. Dawn was still two hours away. Mark & Dianne had packed a few things in the car & left in the middle of the night. Dianne was in the back sleeping, while Mark drove into the country. He had kept just below the speed limit while passing through the city & into the smaller towns surrounding it so as not to attract attention. But now that most of civilization lay far behind him, he had pushed the old car faster.

The last time Mark had felt such an urgency had been several decades ago, when some fiend from the underworld had made a literal stab at him which Jonathan had taken in his place. The wound had sent the angel back to heaven, leaving Mark alone for two weeks. He had a sudden need to get out of that place then, just like now. Mark half-wondered if it was the Boss or Jonathan driving him forward as he navigated a high, dark pass through the mountains.

Suddenly, the road lit up bright as day. Mark came to a screeching halt, jolting Dianne awake. "What is that light?" She gasped, pulling long wisps of grey hair out of her face.

"I think," Mark stopped, opening the door. "Dianne, it might be the Boss coming back!" He got out & looked up to the sky for a split second before the direction from which the light came pulled his eyes downwards into the valley.

Dianne came to stand beside him. "Wouldn't He be in the clouds?"

There was a second bright flash near to where the old light was that was now fading. "That isn't the Boss," answered Mark. "That's the start of World War Three." He glanced at Dianne who had one hand over her mouth. "We left just in time."

"Ohh I hope those bombs weren't nukes!"

"Well," Mark opened the door for her to get in. "We aren't about to stick around to find out."

Dianne returned to her nest of pillows in the back, but didn't go to sleep. She stayed in shocked silence while Mark continued to drive away from the attacks on the civilized world below. The sun came up, dawning on what should be a beautiful day, but the daylight only exposed the escaping car to view of any passing bomber planes if they happened to fly by.

Mark didn't stop. He didn't know where they were supposed to be going but knew anywhere was better than what they had left behind. It was as if something was dragging him forward. He didn't feel like sleeping despite being up & driving all night. On a rare occurrence, he didn't even think of food, only to keep moving.

For the second time that morning, Mark suddenly came to a screeching halt once more. He let out a yell as the nose of the car came to within an inch of an outstretched hand of someone standing in the road before the car finally stopped. Mark leaned over to push open the passenger door.

"Don't DO that!" Mark complained as Jonathan got in. "Boy am I glad to see you."

"You couldn't run me over if you wanted to," Jonathan flipped the seat back to make room for his wings.

"Believe me, there are times I do," Mark groused as Jonathan finally got in. One of his wingtips went sideways into Mark's face, brushing his beard. Mark put a hand on the wing to push it aside before sneezing. Mark rubbed his face with the back of one hand. "Your feathers were bothering my nose."

"Sorry," Jonathan teased with a laugh.

Mark grumbled under breath before asking, "Were those nukes back there?"

"Not yet," said Jonathan. "Believe it or not, Canada is going to fire the first of those."

"Canada?" Mark & Dianne both exclaimed.

"That frozen wasteland has nukes?" Mark went on. "I thought they beat people up with hockey sticks."

"Mark, it isn't a frozen wasteland," Jonathan said.

"They build houses out of ice," Mark pointed out. "Case closed."

"Only up in Alaska," said Jonathan. "Which by the way is American."

"Canada," Mark scoffed under breath.

"Yes & that's where we are headed."

"What? Ohhh Jonathan!" whined Mark.

"Well, do you want to be here when the nukes come?"

"Here?" echoed Mark. "Whatever happened to our friendly neighbours up north? They want to blow us off the map all of a sudden?"

"Very soon, there won't be any such thing as countries anymore," said Jonathan. "New World Order will be one global country. The war is between that & those that oppose it."

"Oppose it," Dianne spoke from the back. "So it's the saints versus the Order then?"

Jonathan turned & looked under one wing to see her clearly. "Not all who oppose the Order will be saints. Some are just rebels who still want freedom from it but refuse to choose another path but their own wayward ones. Be careful of trusting just anyone who opposes the Order." He turned back to Mark, his wings rustling with the movement. "You'll have to be careful which roads to take now. The whole country is under martial law & there are road checks everywhere. If you don't have a microchip, you either get one or are detained."

Mark put the car in gear once more. "I wish you would drive, Jon. I remember you cleared about four hundred miles in one hour once while I was sleeping."

"I used the stuff."

"Can you give me some of that stuff now?"

"You already have it," replied Jonathan.

"I do?"

"You are one of the hundred forty-four thousand who can't die," Jonathan explained. "You have only enough to keep you alive."

"Wow! I got the stuff!" Mark tapped the palms of his hands on the steering wheel.

"Some stuff," Jonathan corrected. "Only to stay alive."

"So this multitude you mentioned," Dianne began. "Are they the only ones who will live to the end?"

"They are the only ones who can't be killed," answered Jonathan. "There are plenty others who are young enough to live to the end, but if they get caught by the Order, they will most likely die. Also, there are many from the other side who will see the end without seeing death...until then, but the end is the last thing their eyes will behold."

"I don't believe it," Mark muttered. Jonathan silently looked at him. "I meet people nowadays who don't even think God or the angels exist or that there is more beyond what's here. They think they're here for a time & then turn into nothing. Not even an afterlife. How can people even live like that? I mean what's the point of their life if they are nothing, from nothing & going to nothing?"

"It is all a matter of choice," said Jonathan quietly. "Some people don't even want to live eternally in whatever way they think an afterlife is."

"I don't believe it," Mark said again, shaking his head. "I've been there. I've told people about you. Even showed them your feather you left me. Know what I get? It's just a magic trick, they tell me. Do I look like a magician?"

"They who have eyes, let them see."

"It's like they tell me you don't exist when I know they're wrong," Mark went on. He thumped a palm angrily on the steering wheel. "How do you get through to people like that?"

"For some, they have already gone beyond the point of no return," said Jonathan. Mark scoffed under breath as he fell silent at last. After several minutes of driving in silence, Jonathan said, "Curling."

"What?"

"Curling," Jonathan repeated. "That's the real Canadian sport, not hockey."

"Curling is NOT a sport!" Mark declared.

"Yes it is!"

"Is Canada run by women?" Mark demanded.

"No."

"Then curling isn't a sport,' replied Mark stubbornly.

Dianne tugged on one of the wings to get the angel's attention. When Jonathan looked into the rear-view mirror at her, she leaned forward to whisper. "Do you want to tell him or should I?"

"You know that sport?"

"Not a sport!"

"I visited Canada twice," Dianne said as both she & Jonathan ignored Mark.

"Let's see how long we can keep this going," Jonathan whispered back. Both turned their faces away, snickering.

"Can't believe we're going to Canada," Mark was still complaining. "They're going to come at me with hot-irons!" This comment brought Dianne & Jonathan to tears of laughter.

Mark soon fell silent, internally fuming about ice houses & hot-irons. Jonathan soon pulled out a white ball of fluff & broke it in three. It was more of the same type of bread Mark had once tried when the Boss had spread a picnic for them the time He had come to retrieve Jonathan. A sweet bread with a hint of coriander & just one piece was as good as a full meal.

"What is this?" Dianne asked.

"Humanity has called it Manna for several thousand years," Jonathan answered.

"Manna. Isn't that what the Israelites found while they were in the wilderness?" Dianne pulled her piece into smaller parts to eat.

"Yes. It is the real angel food. We just call it bread."

"Never thought I would ever eat that stuff," said Dianne as Mark stopped the car.

Looking up, she noticed that they had come to a crossroad of four ways. Mark was thinking hard about which way to go. He knew they had to go north, but what if there was a road check on the way?

Jonathan leaned towards Mark. "Use the stuff Mark. See ahead."

Mark looked dead ahead at the road in front, going east. It seemed as if it suddenly lurched towards him as if his eyes raced down the road. He found not one but three blocks on that road. Mark pulled back to find himself still sitting behind the wheel. He knew he had never really left & it had all happened in his head, but that didn't make it any less real. He checked down the other two. All had road checks but the one going northwest had the least amount, only one which was the furthest away. He looked back the way they had come & knew he had to make a decision quickly. Not only were road checks being set up on the way they had just travelled, but also a contingent of squad cars was heading right for them.

Mark turned northwest. "There is one road check down here. Any ideas how to get through it, Kemo Sabe?"

"That's why I'm here," said Jonathan. "All roads you were headed towards had checks. Take the one with the least amount & I will get you through."

"Thanks Jon," Mark sighed, slowly relaxing. "You know, it's good to have you in the car again." He looked over. "Jon…oh great." The angel was gone.

"Where'd he go?" Dianne gasped. "He said he would get us through the block!"

"Hmm, he'll be back," was all Mark could say, wondering what his feathered friend was upto now.

After nearly half an hour, Mark rounded a curve & saw the block dead ahead. Jonathan still hadn't returned. Mark slowed & pulled to the side, letting two cars eventually pass him. Mark pulled onto the road behind them, driving slowly in no hurry to catch up.

Dianne leaned forward. "What do we do?"

"He said he'd get us through," Mark was driving so slowly now that a snail could win a race against him. He watched the guards checking over the cars in front. "I think we should go through it."

"Are you sure?"

Mark looked over the guards again, using the stuff to see closer than he could possibly do normally. The head guard was turned away so Mark couldn't see his face, but he had a feeling it was Jonathan. "He's one of them." He pulled over once more as requested. Their turn had come.

"I got this one," the head guard walked up to the old car. Sure enough, it was Jonathan, looking human once more. He leaned into the window when Mark rolled it down. "Keep going straight until you come to a second left." He looked around at the other guards before adding, "They have already detained three people for not accepting a microchip."

"You're here to bust them out," Mark half smiled. Jonathan nodded as he stepped away to allow Mark to pass. "To think America has come to this," he stated once they had left the road block far behind.

"The whole world," said Dianne. "Not just here."

Mark took the second left they came across, leaving the main road behind. The turn was just before another road check & spared them from getting caught. It took them nearly four days to reach the border, picking their way through country roads, turning often to avoid the checkpoints. Once, Mark even had to drive through a field to avoid them. They spent the nights with others they met along the way who lived away from the cities. They had left homes, families, even churches that were submitting to the New World Order. A Remnant of people from all walks of life was slowly gathering. Such people seemed to turn up whenever they were needed & both Mark & Dianne were sure they had run into more angels; though, Jonathan himself had yet to reappear.