5
** This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this story are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**
It was snowy and very cold. Such was the weather for northern Minnesota during the winter months. Even though it was only 9 p.m., the darkness had sunk over the land and everything on it for several hours. The silence was amplified from the sheer drop of the temperature that often accompanied the darkness. It was enough to drive anyone mad.
The silence was cut off by an old, junky car that spat and sputtered on a nearby road. When it rolled to a stop, three teenagers stepped out of the vehicle.
One of them shivered and watched their breath fog up the too still, too silent air. "Bro, why the fuck are we out here again?" he asked his friend Thomas, the driver of the beat-up Chevy Impala.
Thomas lifted his phone and pointed it at his friends and himself, pressing the record button and smiling hugely for the camera. "We're looking for the angel, Zeke! He's supposed to show up around here." Thomas switched to his back camera and began filming the riverside and empty street they were parked on.
Zeke scoffed and kicked an ice chunk. "Do you even believe in that bullshit?"
"I do," said the third teenager as she covered her neck with a long red scarf.
"See?" Thomas aimed his phone at her. "Beca believes in angels! And tonight, we're gonna catch one!"
They took a moment to look around. Zeke kicked another ice chunk and sighed, casting a shy glance at Beca and inwardly chastising himself for his comment. They were on the outskirts of a small town named Mole with a population barely reaching 500. Thomas had heard a rumor about a man who was "covered in light like an angel." Once Thomas had heard that Zeke's crush was a Christian, he rounded up the three of them to find this mystery man. No footage had been captured of such a man, but Zeke knew that once Thomas had a wild idea, he was going to see it through.
"Alright! It's-!..." Thomas's face twisted in thought. He looked at his friends. "What's the date again?"
Zeke rolled his eyes while Beca snickered. ""January 4th,"" they both said. Zeke blushed and looked down.
"Right," Thomas resumed filming. "January 4th, 2022. Covid can kiss my ass!"
"Ew, don't bring that up," Beca said with a frown. Zeke could not help but chuckle. "But fuck covid." Zeke echoed the same sentiment.
"Where is this dude supposed to be anyway?" Zeke asked, zipping up his coat to his neck. "It's too cold to be out here for too long, Tom."
Thomas walked off the road and began descending the nearby riverbank. "It's said that he shows up in the darkest of places and shines a light." The last part was said in a whimsical tone, which warranted a giggle from Beca. Zeke frowned. "What darker place is there than under a bridge during the night?"
Zeke flicked on the flashlight of his phone and followed his friend. "Fine," he lamented. Beca followed them. The snow caved under their feet, reaching up to their thighs by the time they made it to the frozen river. "Ah! Shit, Tom!" Zeke spat as snow sunk between his socks and skin. "You could have at least told me to bring boots!"
He groaned as Beca and Thomas laughed as they faced him, both wearing winter boots. "Ain't my fault you're stupid," Thomas teased. Beca laughed even harder.
Zeke groaned again and sprinted forward under the bridge. "HEY, ANGEL!" he shouted, his voice bouncing off the old rusty underside of the bridge. Some startled pigeons flew away.
"I hope they shit on you," Thomas said with a laugh. He followed his friend onto the thick ice and scanned the area with his phone. "ANGEL OF MUSIC!" he sang in an opera voice. When both Beca and Zeke looked at him, he smiled hugely. "What? My older sister is a nerd."
They were quiet for a few moments as Thomas scanned underneath the bridge again with his phone. Zeke rubbed his freezing hands together. "Dude, there's nothing out here," he said after a while. He caught a small glimpse of disappointment on Beca's face when he shone his phone's flashlight over the other two. A thought came into Zeke's mind as he shone the light around. "Maybe it only responds to verses? Or something like that?" he suggested.
"What, like the bible?" Thomas asked, disbelief covering his face. When Zeke glared at him, Thomas nodded. "Yeah! Yeah, try that!" The two boys looked expectedly at Beca.
"I don't know a ton," she said shyly.
"It's worth a shot," Zeke encouraged.
"Okay," she said after a few seconds. Her breath surrounded her as she spoke. "For God so loved the earth that He gave His only son, so that whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." The distant hum of a car driving on a nearby road was the only thing that followed.
Thomas reached out and padded Zeke's arm. "Shut your light off," he said. "He only comes out in complete darkness."
"Says who?" Beca asked nervously.
"The internet," Thomas replied. "Just do it!"
"This is so fucking dumb," Zeke muttered. When Thomas reached for Zeke's phone, Zeke pulled away. "Alright! Fine! Let's all huddle together first. You know, to stay warm." The other two obeyed and they all huddled close together. Zeke felt his heart beat faster when he could smell Beca's flowery perfume. "Okay, here goes." He shut his light off, and complete darkness enveloped everything.
"Should I keep going?" Beca asked.
"Yeah," Thomas's voice sounded to Zeke's left.
Beca took a deep breath. "Lead me in Your truth, and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation. For You I wait all the day long."
"This is so fucking creepy," Thomas whispered. They all laughed quietly.
Suddenly a twig snapped nearby.
"Who's there?!" Thomas asked loudly. Zeke unlocked his phone to turn on the flashlight again.
A man stepped into the light. He was in his sixties, with snowy white hair and glasses. He was tall and, albeit handsome, every single alarm went off in Zeke's head upon seeing him. The teen instinctively stepped in front of Beca. The man had a calm look upon his face. "Nice verse," he said smoothly.
"Who are you? Why are you out here?" Thomas asked tensely, pointing his phone at the man without wavering.
The man put his hands in his leather coat pockets. "I live nearby. I go for walks on the river. I heard you guys all the way from my house."
Zeke shone the light right in the man's face. "There are no houses near here," he spat.
The man simply ignored his comment. "I heard you're looking for an angel."
Thomas perked up. "Have you seen it?"
"Dude," Zeke hissed, smacking his friend.
The man smiled and stared at them despite having a light shining right in his eyes. "Yes," he said. His eyes lingered on each of them for too long. "I can show you. Just put the phone away."
Chills ran through each of the teenagers, and not from the cold. "No," Thomas said.
"Let's go," Beca said nervously.
"I am the way, the truth and the life," the man spoke. Zeke stared in disbelief when what appeared to be light started emitting from the man's mouth. Each teen froze in complete terror. "None shall enter the kingdom of Heaven except through me."
"RUN!" Thomas screamed, throwing an ice chunk at the man. Zeke grabbed Beca's arm and bolted. He barely made it five feet before halting in his tracks.
The man had somehow moved behind them, and he was glowing. He lifted a hand and snapped his fingers and pointed at Thomas's phone. A tendril of light formed from his fingertips and shot towards the phone like a whip, breaking it instantly. "I am the way, the truth, the life," the man repeated. More light flowed from his mouth as he spoke.
"Shut up, you bastard!" Zeke yelled, pulling his friends backward. Suddenly the man flung his arm out in front of him, conjuring two more light whips and striking Thomas and Zeke right in the middle of their chests. Both boys were sent flying. Thomas hit the bridge and fell to the ground, his body motionless. Zeke hit one of the iron support beams, all of the air in his lungs abruptly leaving his body. He fell to the ice, unable to move.
The man smiled as more light enveloped his body. "None shall enter the kingdom of Heaven," he recited, taking a step towards Beca. Zeke snarled as the man touched the petrified girl's face. "Except through me."
Beca flinched under his touch. "You're not real," she breathed. "This isn't real."
The man's hand ran down her face and onto her neck. "You remind me of my daughter. So pretty and perfect…" His fingers began to wrap around her neck. "Too perfect."
"911. Where is your emergency?"
The man gasped and looked towards the sound of the voice.
"Help," Zeke managed to say into his phone. "Mole. Under the bridge. There's a man attacking us. He's-"
The man kicked Zeke's phone away and smashed it with his foot. Beca screamed. The man placed a hand on Zeke's head. "I'm sensing an evil presence within you." Light emitted from his fingers and into Zeke's head like water into a sponge. Zeke screamed in agony. "I am the only one who can save you."
Thomas grunted and lifted his head up. "The police are on their way, you fucking son of a bitch." Unbeknownst to the man, Beca had dialed 911 and hid her phone behind her back.
The man, without ceasing on Zeke, lifted his other arm and slammed it downward. Thomas was slammed into the ground by a bolt of light, letting out a pained groan. The man stopped glowing and slunk away into the night, leaving the three teenagers in the cold darkness upon which they came.
