Angel of the Apocalypse (5 page)

The
next day, pastor Abrams woke up early and made breakfast for Isaac.
Food was getting scarcer now, and no milk was available for cereal or
pancakes. He made his son toast and bacon, while he drank coffee and
went over his notes.

The
pastor made arrangements with a neighbor to take care of Isaac while
he was at the debate. After saying goodbye to his son, he got in his
car, looked at the directions he scribbled down on a piece of paper,
and drove to the news station.

*
* * * * * *

The
Devil reclined in his high-back leather chair and threw his feet up
on the mahogany desk. He was watching a newscast on a giant high-def
TV that was mounted on the wall in front of him. Two figures were
arguing about the cause of the pestilence that was decimating the
world's population.

The
scientist was an older gentlemen with a balding head and a quick
mind. He argued that the disease was most likely caused by the
overuse of antibiotics in cattle and chickens. For the last few
decades, the scientist argued, antibiotics became stronger and
stronger due to livestock developing an immune response. It is
theorized that 'super-bugs' developed to counter the overuse of
antibiotics.

The
preacher, a handsome but weary man in his late thirties, argued that
the pestilence is the first among seven plagues that marks the
beginning of the Tribulation. The preacher, Mr. Justin D. Abrams,
argued that six more plagues would follow, including the oceans and
rivers turning to blood, the world falling into darkness, and a great
earthquake...among other things.

The
Devil casually played with the Gary Busey bobblehead from his desk
while the news cast continued. “What would Busey do?”
mused the Devil, as he looked at the small toy. “What's that,
Gary?” the Devil held the bobblehead up to his ear, as if
listening to sage advice. “The Antichrist? Now? Why, I think
that's a fantastic idea!”

The
Devil put his feet down on the floor and leaned forward in his chair.
He pushed the intercom button. “Orville, Get in here!” he
commanded. He then thought for a moment and pressed the intercom
button again. “And bring me the
Book of Souls
.” He
took his finger off the button, then had another though. “Also
bring me a rum and coke.”

The
Devil could hear the scamper of running feet, as Orville sprinted
down the hallway on stubby legs, fetching his master's book and
drink. Impatiently tapping his fingers on the desk, the Devil finally
saw Orville run into the room, carrying a large book under one arm,
and a drink in his other hand.

Huffing
and puffing, the little demon unceremoniously slammed the book on the
desk, and handed the Devil his drink. “Did I do good, boss?”

Drinking
down the rum and coke in one swig, the Devil casually replied, “Yes,
yes...fine.”

Turning
the
Book of Souls
around to face him, the Devil opened to the
first chapter of the book. “Let's see here...Abrams,
Abrams...Ah! Here we are: Pastor Justin D. Abrams.” The Devil's
smile broadened into a Cheshire grin as he read the short biography –
“...a recently deceased wife, and...Ah! A son named Isaac.
Perfect, absolutely perfect.”

“
What's
perfect, boss?” asked Orville.

“
I
think I just found the perfect host.”

“
Perfect
host for what, boss?”

The
Devil ignored the little demon. “Justin D. Abrams...and do you
know what the 'D' stands for? Damien!” The Devil threw his head
back and laughed. “And just look at the name: Justin Damien
Abrams. Each name has six letters! 666! It's perfect, absolutely
perfect!”

“
I
don't get it,” said the diminutive demon.

The
Devil closed the
Book of Souls
and ordered Orville to get him
another drink. “It won't be long now,” he said with a
devilish grin.

*
* * * * * *

Pastor
Abrams continued to answer questions on the news special entitled
Science or Religion – What Caused the Plague
? At the
half-way point of the program, the debate was even. At least, as far
as the pastor could tell. The scientist made several good points, and
backed his positions with scientific data. The pastor did his best to
quote scripture, and gave relevant reasons on why this might be
considered the last days of Revelations.

Stacey
Kerbal, the interviewer for the news program, turned to the scientist
and asked him another question. “Dr. Stevens, it is your
position that antibiotics are to blame for the outbreak of disease.
However, most of the infections around the world happened
simultaneously. How do you explain that? Wouldn't such an outbreak
occur at one location, and spread out from there?”

The
scientist looked rather uncomfortable. “Well, that's just one
theory among many. We are working on several other theories to
include-”

Abruptly,
Dr. Stevens was interrupted, as the pastor sitting next to him stood
up and held up his hands in front of his face.

“
Oh
my God!” yelled the pastor.

“
Pastor,
is everything OK?” said Miss Kerbal in a concerned voice.

“
What?
I don't...” the pastor looked frightened, he then doubled over
in excruciating pain. “AAAaaaaargh!” He fell forward on
the desk, his body spasmodically jerking in pain.

“
Is
he...is he having a seizure? Is it the plague?” asked the
scientist.

“
Cut
the cameras! Cut the cameras!” screamed the interviewer.

The
entire news room froze as the pastor's fist slammed down on the
table. “No, I do not think that will be necessary,” he
said in a voice that was...not his own.

The
scientist and the interviewer wearily kept an eye on the pastor as he
stood up, straightened his tie, and looked devilishly into the
camera. “Sorry about that. Shall we continue?”

“
Sir,
are you OK?” asked the interviewer. She then let out a gasp as
she looked into the pastor's eyes, which now appeared to be bright
amber in color, and had slits for pupils – like a cat's eyes.

The
pastor's skin was extremely pale, almost alabaster white. Wicked blue
veins pulsed beneath the surface of his skin. “Well, I'm just
fine. Thank you for asking,” replied the pastor. “Shall
we continue our discussion?”

The
scientist and the interviewer were visibly shaken by his appearance.
“I don't know,” said the scientist. “Maybe you
should see a doctor.”

“
Dr.
Stevens, is it?” the pastor casually looked at the scientist.
“Why don't you sit down and shut the fuck up?”

“
Wh...What?”
replied the scientist, who was still trying to process what had just
happened.

The
pastor calmly took out a pen from his shirt pocket, removed the cap,
and looked at the scientist. “Maybe this will be easier to
understand.” With lightning speed, the pastor stuck the pen
into the scientist's neck.

The
scientist would have screamed, if he didn't have a pen jammed into
his windpipe. He slumped over the table, clutched his neck and made
gurgling noises. The interviewer and the rest of the TV crew looked
on in horror.

“
It
was a dreadful, and dare I say...incompetent theory anyway.
Antibiotics? Please. You would think that today's modern science
could figure this shit out.” The pastor reached over and
grabbed the pen that was still sticking out of the scientists neck,
yanked it out of his throat, wiped off the blood, and stuck it back
in his pocket. Blood from the scientist's neck sprayed over the
white table. The scientist, still clutching his neck, fell to the
floor and started to convulse.

“
Oh
God. Security, help!” shrieked the interviewer.

“
You
could
call in the guards, sure.” The pastor calmly
looked at the interviewer. “
Or
you could have an
exclusive interview with the Antichrist. Think of the ratings!”
he laughed. “What's it going to be?”

The
interviewer stood there, stunned and trembling. “You...you're
the Antichrist?”

“
Look
into my eyes.” said the Antichrist.

“
Oh
my God.”

“
Quite
the opposite, I assure you.” Again, the Antichrist laughed.
“Don't worry, I don't plan on harming anyone else.” He
then looked directly into the camera. “I'm going to give it to
you straight, world. Today only – ask me anything you want, and
I will tell you the truth,” said the Father of Lies.

Thinking
quickly, the interviewer sat down. If this person is who he says he
is, or even
thinks
he's the Antichrist, then the best thing to
do would be to calmly delay this madman...and hope that someone calls
the SWAT team.

“
Of
course,” the interviewer replied, still visibly shaken. She sat
down and gathered her notes. “Should I call you Pastor Abrams?”

“
Oh,
I'm afraid not. Pastor Abrams has left the building.”

“
What
do you mean?” asked the interviewer.

“
Pastor
Abrams is gone. Quite permanently, I'm afraid. I had to squelch his
soul – destroy it before I could occupy his body,” said
the Antichrist.

“
But
I thought the Antichrist was supposed to be some little kid named
Damien.”

“
Does
the bible say the Antichrist was going to be a little kid named
Damien? No, I don't think so. I'd quote scripture, but it leaves a
bad taste in my mouth. No, I possessed...No, possessed isn't the
right word.” The Antichrist paused, and thought for a moment.
“Possession is what happens when lesser demons invade the souls
of weak mortals. I
indwelt
Pastor Abrams. I destroyed his soul
and took his body.”

“
I
didn't think a soul could be destroyed,” replied the
interviewer. “According to Christianity, souls are created by
God.”

“
God
creates, and the Devil destroys. It is well within my power to
destroy everything He creates,” said the Antichrist
triumphantly.

“
Then
why not destroy everything?” asked the interviewer. And where
the hell was the SWAT team? She didn't want to give this lunatic
another opportunity to do something violent.

“
What
would be the point of doing that? If I destroyed everything, there
would be nothing left to do. No, that's not my purpose here.”

“
OK...What
is your purpose then?”

“
Glad
you asked!” The Antichrist clapped his hands together
gleefully. “I'm here to save humanity! God grew bored with you
humans. He decided that humanity was no longer worth saving, and
decided to get rid of the lot of you. Why do you think he caused all
this pestilence and mayhem? Don't take my word for it – read
the bible. It's not the Devil that causes the Tribulation, it's all
God's doing.”

“
But
according to the bible, God is going to save us from the Devil.”

“
No!
Absolutely not. Nothing could be further from the truth. Haven't you
been listening to what I've been saying? God is going to kill all the
unbelievers and all the people he finds unworthy of the Kingdom of
Heaven. The Rapture was supposed to save all the Christians, and lift
them up into Heaven before God would murder the rest of humanity in
retribution for their sins. But God decided that only one person was
worthy. You saw what happened during the Rapture – no
Christians were brought up to Heaven. He left all humans, all seven
billion of them, to perish on Earth. Not only do we need to deal with
this pestilence, but according to the bible, six other plagues are
going to decimate the population until we are completely wiped out!
The oceans and rivers will turn to blood, and the skies will fall
into eternal darkness, just to name two of the horrible things that
will happen soon.”

The
Antichrist looked directly into the news camera. “Don't you
understand? I'm the only one who can save you!”

“
That
doesn't sound right. The bible says you are the Father of Lies, that
you are not to be trusted,” said the interviewer.

“
For
thousands of years, I have been the victim of a smear campaign by the
Christian right. What have I done that was so horrible? Tempt a woman
in the Garden of Eden? I only did that so humanity could have free
will! If it wasn't for me, humanity would be a bunch of mindless
automatons, forced to worship a bitter and spiteful God. I'm the one
who has your best interests in mind, because I understand human
nature. In fact, I embrace it! God wants to destroy those who give in
to their human nature. I, on the other hand, think you're beautiful
just the way you are.”