EPISODE (CHAPTER) 4

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

"So a woman decides to criticize her husband, who happens to be the pastor," Pastor Langston Parker began his sermon with a joke, "Every Sunday that he preached, every single Sunday of their married life, the young wife never ceased to criticize her husband. Finally the poor preacher notices this and approaches her. He says, 'Sweetheart, why do you keep criticizing my preaching? I thought we were a team here.'

The wife answers, 'But your sermons are really quite boring, dear.'"

To which the pastor replies, 'If I promise to not preach a boring sermon, will you promise me you will stop criticizing my preaching? Or that you will not fall asleep, no matter how tempted you are?'"

The congregation laughed.

"The woman promised, of course," Pastor Parker continued, "And so the years passed and the young preacher and his wife grew old. On their fifty-eighth wedding anniversary, after the party that their congregation prepared for them, the wife took the man's hand and led him upstairs. She needed to show him something. In the drawer of the woman's dresser, among her things was an egg. 'What is this?' the preacher asked, curious.

'Well,' his wife said, 'Every time you'd preach a boring sermon and I was tempted to fall asleep or criticize it, I decided I'd bite my tongue and mark those moments with an egg.'

The old preacher was touched. She found only one of his sermons boring!"

The congregation burst into another round of laughter.

"Then the wife says to the husband, 'Open the closet, dearest. I have something else to show you.' The man opened it as directed, and to his surprise, there was a chest. Upon opening the chest, he discovered a pile of money worth ninety thousand dollars.

'What is this?' he asked, surprised and confused.

'That's the money I earned selling those eggs.'"

Everyone in the sanctuary burst out laughing once more, Jesse, Christina, and Mrs. Parker laughing the loudest.

"So, my friends," the pastor said, "You wouldn't fall asleep on me, would you? But enough with the funnies. I would like to request everyone to please rise as we turn our Bibles to this morning's text."

"Ephesians Chapter 5:8-16. For ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord; and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them; for the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of. But all things when they are reproved are made manifest by the light: for everything that is made manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee. Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil. May the Lord give us understanding as we study His Word. You may now be seated."

-oOo-

"Fools! Incompetent buffoons!" Lucifer said, hurling a javelin at one of his demons. "I have had to deal with millennia of defeat! And now this?"

"We have news from our spies, Prince!" a messenger came in, bowing long, his face touching the ground.

"Yes?"

"They are now…receiving…the…the W-word—"

Lucifer roared in anger.

"I see this as an opportunity, Lord," a demon, Screwtape, said, "If they sleep, they cannot listen."

"Make them sleep… Yes… Yes, that's it!"

"Like Eutychus, yes?"

"Indeed… Like Eutychus. This is a most splendid proposal, Screwtape!"

-oOo-

"I believe, sirs, ladies, brothers and sisters, that to be asleep here means to be inactive and stagnant in one's Christian walk," Pastor Langston Parker said, pacing up and down as he preached.

"I also think it means literal sleep," Jesse whispered to Christina, pointing to the sound booth at the back of the sanctuary, where Dave was nodding off. She giggled.

"Look, therefore, carefully how ye walk! Some have fallen asleep in their Christian lives—they have lost their passion! Their zeal! Some have joined the darkness and walk as children of darkness! Their motto: 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!' Shame!"

Darkness. That was what Jesse saw. Nothing but darkness. It was enveloping him, slowly enfolding him, covering him. He had to fight it. But he couldn't. He succumbed, falling asleep, his head tilted back, saliva dripping from his open mouth. It wasn't until Edmund Prince shook him hard that he realized he had already fallen asleep.

"Huh? Who? What? Where?" Jesse said, in quick succession, startled, looking around.

"See? Even my own son is falling asleep on me," Pastor Langston said. The rest of the congregation who were still awake burst out laughing. It was embarrassing. He wished he could crawl into a hole and die. But he would get over the embarrassment eventually. What he wasn't able to get over was the shock. The scare. His heart was racing, he was sweating, his mouth was dry and his pulse hammered away in his wrists and neck. All the signals of fight-or-flight. Before he fell asleep, he thought he saw shadows. Little men no bigger than a fingernail playing on the people's eyelashes. He thought he was only imagining things. When he woke up, he noticed the same shadows, still playing on the people's eyelashes. Half of the congregation was now asleep. He thought he heard giggling and looked back. No one from the back had made that sound. The children were in their Sunday School classrooms by now, and so it couldn't have been from a little girl. Although it sounded like it. He turned to look at Christina to see if it was her. She was asleep. This gave him the opportunity to take a closer look at the creatures…whatever they were. They were tiny, no bigger than a properly trimmed fingernail. Their features were tiny. Thanks to his glasses, Jesse could see them. Without his glasses, he wouldn't be able to. They had eyes like humans, a nose, a mouth, ears, muscled arms and torsos… But something alerted Jesse. This was not good. Something wasn't right. They had horns.

Demons! he thought, No wonder…

He scribbled a note to Edmund on the offering envelope. "Meet me before Sunday School. Important."

Edmund read it and nodded. He wrote back. "Should I tell the others?"

"Yes. Meet me in the Youth Room."

-oOo-

"Alright," JF said, pacing, "Give us the report, Jess."

"You guys remember I fell asleep, right?"

"Yeah?" Peter said, "I saw Ed waking you up."

"And most of the congregation was asleep. Dave was the first."

"Maybe he had little sleep," JF suggested.

"Seventy-five people had little sleep?" Jesse said.

"What's your theory?" Peter asked.

"Demonic activity. And it's not a theory, it's proven." Peter and Esther laughed.

"I…saw…them!" More laughter. "They were tiny—playing on the people's eyelashes!"

"Jess—" JF said, about to say what was on his mind—that it was ridiculous. But Edmund cut him off.

"Wait!" he said, raising a hand, "I saw them too. I saw some playing on Jesse's eyelashes." The laughter was replaced by silence. Jesse felt a shudder pass through him.

"And I saw them too," Phil Boggs said, nodding, "Small, tiny, shadow-like black things?" Jesse and Edmund nodded.

"What do you propose we do?" Peter said.

"Pray. As Jesus instructed Peter, James, and John. For the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."

"Wait!" Esther said, "If they're tiny, we can crush them."

"Not likely. Demons don't give up without a fight," Jesse said, "You should know that from personal experience."

"Besides," JF said, "They're spiritual beings. I doubt they'll be affected by being stepped on."

"Jesse, Edmund, Esther, go to your respective Sunday School classes," Phil said, "And Jesse?"

"Yes?"

"Tell Sandy to excuse Peter and JF. I need them for a bit."

"Yes, sir."

-oOo-

Jesse snuck in quietly, hoping no one would notice. But someone did.

"Ah… There you are," Sandy said, opening her Bible and her copy of the Sunday School lesson. "Where are the others?"

"They won't make it," Jesse said, shifting in his seat, "Pastor Boggs needed Peter and JF for something."

"Well, then," she said, smiling, "Maybe we could start. Jesse? If you would please lead us in opening prayer…"

"Dear Father," Jesse prayed, bowing his head, "may you guide us in all truth as we digest spiritual food from Your Word. Guide us with your Holy Spirit, anoint Sandy—may You tell her what You want us to hear, Father. And let us not fall prey to the fiery darts of the wicked, but let us triumph over him. We claim Your promise, Father, that You, the God of Peace, will soon crush Satan under our feet. This I pray in the Mighty Name of Your One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for us on the cross that He may purchase us… Amen."

"Oy!" John Prince said, doing a Gibbs on his seatmate Alfred, "Sunday School's over, bud." Alfred's head was bowed as though in prayer, but his mouth was open, drool dripping from the corner. He was snoring too.

Everyone laughed. Except for Jesse. What seemed funny to them was serious to Jesse—serious and alarming. It wasn't just Alfred who was sleeping. There were two others. And on their eyelashes, he could see the same demons.

"Very good prayer, Jess," Sandy said, smiling.

"I concur," Christina said, squeezing his hand.

"That makes three of us," Princess, Victor's older sister said.

"Thank you," he said, blushing, smiling.

"Where did your mom stop last week?" Sandy asked, directing the question at Jesse.

"In the middle of Chapter 4."

-oOo-

There was screaming outside. There was screaming inside. The children who had been let out to play in the church's playground ran helter-skelter, terrified. The old women in the church screamed the loudest. They could not run—they were frozen in their seats. Sandy's class was in the middle of their Sunday School discussion when they heard the commotion.

"What in the—" Jesse said, jumping up. Everyone jumped up. Christina clung tightly to Jesse. Sandy stood on her chair while John, Jesse, and Christina stood on Pastor Langston Parker's desk (he let the office be converted into a classroom on Sundays).

"Where did those things come from?" John asked.

The blue carpet of the church office was no longer blue. It was black. And it seemed to be moving. As though there was a swarm of flies on the floor.

"From hell."

With great effort, Jesse jumped from his father's desk to a chair, to another chair, to his own desk, then finally jumped off the desk onto the floor. Tiny cries of anger were heard. It sounded like buzzing, but Jesse was sure they were cries of anger. When he tried to push the door open, he could not. It was stuck—they were too numerous. He could see them outside. Perhaps thousands of them. They covered the parking lot. They covered every square inch of the church, including the backyard and front yard of the parsonage. Everything was black. There was a loud buzzing, which meant only one thing—they were all angry. Jesse finally forced the door open, sending the creatures flying in the air. He ran like crazy, crushing every imp in his path. He was the very picture of a knight sans armor, charging furiously into battle. But soon, that would change. He ran, searching for his comrades. He wondered where Phil, JF, Esther, Edmund, and Peter were.

"Pete!" he called, "Pete! Where are you?"

"Here!" Peter shouted back. He was on the roof.

Jesse ran as far as his legs could carry him, grabbed the branch of the oak tree on the south side of the church building and swung, climbing up like a monkey. He reached the top branch and decided to make a jump for the roof.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered as he leaped into the air, closing his eyes. But he was surprised to feel he was flying. It was Amichai. In place of Peter was Zeev, standing there. The angel landed on the roof of the church, as lithe as a cat. From that high point, it looked as though someone had covered the church grounds with tar. It was encouraging to see their leader, their general, down there, battling his way through the hordes of tiny demons.

"Zeev," Amichai said. Zeev nodded. Together, they flew down from the roof, landing on the ground, trampling every imp underfoot. They were soon joined by their companions. Eyal. Adara. Raanan. Suddenly, Amichai laughed, his laughter ringing loud and clear.

"What are you laughing at?" Zeev said, reprimanding his companion.

"And the God of Peace shall soon crush Satan underneath your feet!" he shouted, then laughed some more, going on a rampage, crushing every imp with the weight of his caligae. Michael smiled, leading the charge.

"Come!" he said, "Let us send these foul creatures back to their hellish master!"

"Adara! Amichai!" Zeev shouted, "Go in and destroy the ones who are within!"

The two angels nodded, obeying their second-in-command.

"Go!" Adara said to Amichai, "I'll follow!"

Amichai flew in through the open window and landed on the floor of the church library, which also served as the visitors' center and Sunday School classroom. He began stomping on the tiny creatures, crushing them. The children cheered for him, clapping. He smiled demurely and continued his mission. Adara, meanwhile, was in the foyer, doing the same thing. They were just too numerous. Michael and Zeev led the attack outside, Eyal and Raanan fighting alongside them, following orders.

-oOo-

"Jesse? Jesse!" Christina called, "Hun? Where are you?"

"Maybe he's like Clark Kent. Superman, you know?" John said, "Every time the White Angel shows up, he's gone."

"Yeah, and just when the White Angel's done with his duties, Jesse reappears," Sandy said, smirking, "Like Clark Kent. Come on, John! Put such silly thoughts out of your head!"

Maybe John's right, though, Christina thought to herself, Maybe Jesse is the White Angel's alter-ego. Like Clark Kent is Superman's alter-ego. Or one of the Angels. He could be the Red Angel.

-oOo-

"Do not panic!" Adara advised, as the people kept running and screaming. Some were on top of the table in the church's dining hall, some were standing on the pews, afraid to move, some were running helter-skelter. Suddenly, the mass of dark, tiny demons began to move—out. Adara followed the movement with her eyes and saw that they were all converging at the door, slipping underneath it. It looked like a powerful vacuum was sucking them into its dark, dusty belly. Or were they retreating?

"Adara!" Amichai said, "Come quickly! They're retreating!"

Adara flew out of the building and saw it. They seemed to be fleeing. In a couple of minutes, the parking lot was clear. Green grass showed once more in the parsonage's backyard.

"Yes!" Eyal said, "Go back to the Pit you came from!"

"Amichai!" Michael said, "See to it that they have gone."

Amichai went inside the church and searched for any signs of the demons. None whatsoever. He reported back to Michael.

"They have all gone," he said. Then a scream.

"Think again," Raanan said. The earth rumbled as though there were an earthquake. The band of angelic warriors looked and saw what appeared to be a giant, eleven feet tall, muscular, like a bodybuilder. It had horns and cloven hooves for its feet.

"Eyal!" Michael commanded, "Search for the demon who controls him!"

A demon controlling a man, controlling another demon. It was possible, just like what had happened with Kayla, or the summoning of Simon Magus. Eyal went in search of the demon's controller. He flew frantically, searching every nook and cranny. Then he saw Ulysses Vale, in a corner, smiling, his eyes as black as the darkest night.

"Yaaaaaahhhhhh!" Eyal screamed, flying towards him, his sword drawn. He was about to lop off the possessed man's head then stopped. He froze. He could not go through with it. The demon laughed, sending the angel flying back across the hall with merely one push. Eyal could not stop and smashed into the door of a room at the back of the church sanctuary where the late-comers go. Pieces of wood, tiles, parts of the wall, dust, and feathers flew through the air, sending people screaming. Eyal knocked some chairs down in the process. His left wing was torn and bleeding. But it was only a minor injury to him. His lorica segmentata dangled loosely, one of the straps that held it together having snapped due to the force of the impact. His tunic was torn, his left shoulder bleeding.

-oOo-

Zeev screamed as the giant-demon swung him around and hurled him across the parking lot. He flew backwards, crashing against the church steeple, breaking it. But the steeple wasn't the only thing that was broken. He had broken both his wings. But unlike Eyal, he wasn't bleeding. It was just bent and he could not raise or flap it. As for his lorica segmentata, it had completely fallen off. He landed on the oak tree. He jumped, curled himself into a ball, rolled on the church lawn and into the parking lot, straightened himself, drew his sword, and was about to strike the demon's heel when Adara stopped him.

"Wait!" she said, holding his arm back. She flew into the air, flapping her wings, and flying away.

"Deserter!" Raanan shouted.

"Nay!" Michael said, "Let her be. Amichai! Follow her. I will tend to the wounded and bring them to Beulah. Raanan, find Eyal and take over."

The angels bowed. Raanan went in search of Ulysses Vale, and Amichai followed Adara.

-oOo-

"Can't go any faster, can you?" Adara said, laughing, flying fast, circling, flying on her back, doing loops and vaults in the air, taunting her enemy. The demon growled.

"And just what exactly is your purpose in all this?" Amichai said.

"You'll see," she said, laughing.

-oOo-

"You think you lot can stop us," Beelzebub said, laughing, "Just look at what happened to your friend!"

"True, we have had our setbacks and we will have our setbacks. But I've read the last chapter of this story. We win. You lose," Raanan said, smiling.

Clang! Their swords clashed, sparks flying. The battle was on. Raanan and Eyal had left tents of ease behind. Eyal had refused to go to Beulah, deciding he wanted to fight. Eyal was standing by in case Raanan needed any help.

Clang! Beelzebub swung his blade, hitting Raanan's breastplate. "I'm afraid you'll have to try harder than that," the angel said, smiling.

Clang! He swung once more, but Raanan's shield was at the ready. Frustrated, he turned his attention on the angel's wounded companion. He threw his spear at him, aiming for the perfect, unhurt wing. But Eyal had dodged it, frustrating the demon once more. He charged at him with his sword, but Eyal's shield blocked his blow. Eyal was on the defensive, Beelzebub on the offensive.

-oOo-

"Where are you leading him?" Amichai said.

"Where do you think?" Adara said, smiling.

Amichai knew. She was leading the creature back to Gehenna. And there she would attempt to trap it. He smiled. Michael's words rang clear in his head. "Come! Let us send these creatures back to their hellish master!" His smile gave way to a chuckle, then to a laugh, ringing loud and clear in the thick, sulfurous air.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Adara said, irritated.

"I remember you used to hate this job! You even begged for Eyal to be given this job instead. You said you were content to guard the Holy City," Amichai said with another laugh.

Adara was not amused.

"So what's the plan?" she said.

"Why ask me? You're the one who brought him here! Not me!"

"Alright. How about I lure him in and you chase him?"

"So he has nowhere to go… Sounds like a plan!"

And with that, the two angels proceeded with the chase, Adara, flying in front of the demon, daring it to follow her, while Amichai was behind it, driving it onward and making sure it would not escape. They were leading it back to the mouth of Gehenna. They had no trouble at all, until they reached the entrance. The demon turned on Amichai, sending him flying back. He fell to the ground and skidded, burning his wings with the hot, sulfuric earth. He groaned, his feathers burning away. In anger, Amichai stood and used what little strength he had left to fight, painfully taking to the air.

"Rejoice not over me, o mine enemy! For if I fall, I shall rise!" With that, he plunged his sword into the demons heart. It howled and fell into the mouth of Hell where it would remain for all eternity.

"Seal it!" Amichai said.

"No!" Adara answered, "He will not dare."

-oOo-

It was a horrible scream—like that of a wounded boar. Eyal and Raanan watched as flames consumed Ulysses Vale. In a minute, his black eyes returned to normal and the fire went out. He opened his mouth to scream one more time, black smoke coming out of his mouth. But it wasn't a human scream. It was a diabolical scream—a scream from Hell.

"Wh-what happened?" the elder, now in his normal state of mind, said, "Where am I?"

Raanan ignored the man and bent down to pick his fallen brother up. Eyal had fainted, his wings badly torn. He had to be taken to Beulah—immediately.

-oOo-

"What do we do now?" Pastor Langston Parker said, inspecting the damage along with the elders.

"We just had our church renovated and beautified," Kevin, Sandy's husband said, "We can't afford another—"

"We'll fix it," Jesse said, running towards the group huddled at the end of the hall.

"Yeah, we'll fix it!" Esther said, smiling, putting her arm around Jesse. "Right Jess?"

"Right," he said, nodding.

"I concur," JF said.

"And I'll help too!" Edmund Prince said, smiling.

"We don't have money to pay you," Romeo Chase Sr. said, trying to turn them down.

"You won't have to. All we need are supplies and we're all set," Dave said.

"We'll work for free."

"We could make it a church project! All of us. Working together," JR Chase added, "You won't have to pay us."

"That's right—a church proyecto! It'll be fun!" John said. All the members of the Youth Group agreed.

"Not a bad idea, actually," Pastor Gene Jones said, rubbing his chin, nodding. "We won't have to pay. Won't have to hire someone. Make it a church group project…"

"When can you start?" Pastor Langston Parker said.

"When can you get the building permit?" Edmund said.

"Two to three weeks."

"Well then—"

Suddenly…

"Jesse? Jesse!" Christina, called frantically. When she spotted Jesse, she smiled, running to him as fast as she could, and threw her arms around him. She held her close—so close he couldn't breathe.

"I'm alright, Chris. I'm fine."

"Oh, thank God! Where've you been all that time?"

"I was hiding in the men's bathroom."

"You scared me."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You're safe—that's all that matters."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Hey! Lovebirds!" JF Chase said, smiling, "Let's get going! If you're not hungry, I am. Let's go get some food."

Jesse and Christina laughed, then the rest of the Youth Group, getting in line for lunch.