CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Why do we fight even when the picture is clear to us that doom is imminent, and the gust of failure is caressing on our cheeks? Why suffer yourself to die tardily when you could embrace the cold sting of death in the moment? Only a fool will lose sight of the fact that a foe who is greater than him can be ignored in a battle. So why fight a battle when you are not assured of victory? It is not the size of the army that determines the outcome of the battle, but rather what you are fighting for. Our lives were not drawn on a canvas with mere brushes and paint, but of the breath of the creator who has embedded his DNA in us, this is the reason why we fight.

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They spent hours thinking of a possible solution that didn't require losing Marcus in the process. As it appeared to look, none were forthcoming. Then Seth asked them if there wasn't anything on earth to be done, couldn't heaven do something?

'Heaven can do plenty, but we are not supposed to call heaven into a matter unless it's absolutely necessary,' Calista said with no emotion displayed. Her words did not travel well with Seth, who had gotten up and walked to where she was standing.

"What do you mean by absolutely necessary?' Seth stood in front of her and waited for an answer. She paused for a while without saying anything.

She then explained, 'I meant it has to be a life-threatening situation that is beyond the both of us. That is Raphael and me. Then we are at liberty to call heaven.' Seth was so furious at the sound of her voice that his thought was to hit her in the face. 'Please don't try to hit me. Based on my calculation, I will step away before your fist touches my face, and you would fall to the ground and possibly break a tooth,' she added.

'Marcus is lying there.For all we know, he is dying, and you don't think it is life-threatening enough to dial heaven?'

Rico and Raphael stood by, watching Calista take the swings from Seth. 'I wouldn't want to be her in this situation,' Rico whispered to Raphael.

'We can only call heaven if it's a life-threatening situation for you, Seth, and not for anyone else,' she said. Those are our orders.' Seth was flabbergasted by what he just heard and was rendered speechless by Calista. He walked away from her and then went to meet Rico, who wasn't too pleased by what Calista just said. Seth reached down into Rico's holster and pulled out a gun. He tried to cock it, but he mistakenly pulled the trigger, scaring everyone.

He raised the gun and placed it on his scalp and was about to pull the trigger again when Raphael sped over to get the gun off him.

'What were you trying to do? Kill yourself and jeopardize the mission before it even started?' asked Raphael.

'Was that a life-threatening situation? You guys better make the call or else you'll find out something new about us humans,' said Seth.

'And what's that?' asked Calista. 

'That all humans are suicidal,' Seth answered her.

'We are in over our heads with this one. I guess we have no choice,' said Raphael, with his eyes fixed on Seth.

'You are right; make the call,' Calista concluded.

Raphael called in for help. He closed his eyes, and a warm breeze blew on his face. Then he called out, 'Gabriel, come. We need you.'

'Rico, hold on to something,' said Calista while she held Seth firmly.

A mighty light illuminated the room. A windy force came with the light, and Gabriel appeared. 'Whoa, that was a hard landing. I haven't been down here for a while,' said Gabriel as he tried to catch his breath. Then he looked and saw Raphael. A familiar face brought a mild grin to his face. They came together and greeted each other by placing their right hands on each other's left bicep. Calista came and they greeted warmly. There was some emotional feeling of love among them. When he was told of the situation, he hesitated. After some serious persuasion, he said, 'I cannot do that which you ask of us.' Rico's head swung to his direction. 'Can't or won't?'he asked, stepping forward.But the look he got from Raphael sent him back.

'If you cannot do it, then you shouldn't have come, so go back and get us one who can,' Seth replied with no emotion.

'It has never been done,' said Gabriel.

Seth walked to him and asked, 'It has never been done, but it can be done, right?'

'You are the reader, I presume?' He looked at Seth from his tall frame and perfect body build of pure muscle and flawless skin.

'Yes, I am, and I will tell you as I told them. Get it done, or this mission of yours is over. And remember this: You need me more than I need you, so let's not discuss this any further.' Then he walked back to Marcus. Gabriel was stunned by Seth's remarks, so he turned and looked at Raphael, who had no response for him.

'But you know that a demon's mind is dark, dirty, sinful, and constantly planning evil, which is absolutely the opposite of what we are, and you still want me to go in there?' Gabriel asked Seth. He did not even respond to his question.

'Then get a flashlight and some shampoo, 'cause you would be needing a bath,' Rico whispered, drawing the eyes of the angels to his position.

'You are not really going into the demon's head,' Rico continued. 'It's Marcus's head you are going into, just like Raphael said before.' He got no response from anyone.

Gabriel finally agreed, after a long hesitation, and went into Marcus's head to strengthen him and help him find a way out. Gabriel did help him. Marcus was out from Balthazar's head and blanked out for about three straight hours.

Meanwhile, Raphael, Calista, and Gabriel traded information on update reports. It looked more like debriefing to Rico, who stood aside and watched the three heavenly beings. It looked like things were very grave, but their manner was so calm and their confidence so reassuring. Gabriel had his own worries, which Raphael shared.

'As a person, I have my concerns on why the creator has refused to wipe out this rebellion instead of allowing it to go on this far,' Rico voiced his concerns.

Gabriel talked to all of them later that evening when Marcus woke up. 'One thing I am certain of is this: The Father loves the world of men. When they fall, He is so confident that they can always bounce back and fix their mistakes,' he said.

Gabriel's eyes locked into Seth's teary eyes. 'Even when it is beyond their power, they never stop trying. Human hearts are so beautiful, so much so that even in wrong, they try to do right from the ashes of their destruction and the wreckage of their weaknesses. Men will rise and build their faith in God.' He paused and gave a beautiful smile. It was so heart-warming that the three men grinned back boyishly. 'Even if it's just one human left on the face of the earth who still believes in God, then there is still hope.'

Raphael was also blaming himself for allowing Balthazar to foil their plan of ending the war. 'I should have taken him on myself the moment he entered. I should have been the one guarding the pages,' he said firmly.

'I sort of thought so too,' Rico mumbled not too loudly.

'Well, the war was still young, and I don't see that much could go wrong at this stage,' Gabriel said. 'Up at the celestial gates of heaven, the angels aren't fighting yet. The frontlines are just keeping away fiends and throwing down as many demons as possible, keeping our walls un-breached.' Balthazar, who was lying down half-awake, was listening to their conversation.

Balthazar laughed at Gabriel. 'Humour me,' he said. 'How long can you hold the gates of heaven? Keep it closed when you have failed to keep the gates of hell shut. We have our plan; it's not the heaven we are after but earth. We will burn it to the ground, along with the man He loves. It will be our trophy, and when He has seen that the man He loves is no more, He will be forced to open the beautiful gates and send Michael to lead all you self-righteous fools against us. Then we will come in, and our plans to step foot into Heaven unauthorized will have succeeded.' He spoke with a loose tongue, confident of an impending victory, thereby disclosing secrets.

'Thank you for sharing with me,' Gabriel replied. 'Brother, exorcise him, he said to Raphael.'

'I will be back,' screamed Balthazar.

'Oh no you won't!' replied Gabriel. 'To make sure you do not tell anyone else the whereabouts of the pages, I will have to wipe your memory clean.' Balthazar tried to struggle, as he was no longer finding it amusing.

'You can't do this to me. It is inhuman; you can't do this to me.' He screamed, begged, and tried to break free.

'Of course, I can. After all, you aren't human,' said Gabriel as he placed his palm on Balthazar's forehead. There was a bright glow of blue light between his palm and Balthazar's head, which caused the demon to let out a loud squeal, like a dying pig. Seconds after he was finished, the demon collapsed. Raphael fastened a large chain around his neck. He was exorcised, and with a shriek, he crumbled into a black mound of dust. Gabriel disappeared.

It was late into the night. 'Get some rest, mortal friends. We leave at the first light of dawn,' Calista said as she walked briskly past them to join Raphael on the roof where they mounted their guard for the night.

'It was an honour fighting beside you again, great friend,' Raphael said to Calista, as she approached where he stood. He balanced perfectly on one foot as he stood tall on a needle-sharp spire of the monastery's steeple. 'Heaven has not a braver warrior than you.'

'Your courage fans mine and these are the embers of my bravery, great commander,' Calista replied. 'With what I saw again today, a hundred of hell's fiercest warriors are no match for you.'

She continued: 'The journey begins today. The Father has sent a messenger that beholds his face, Gabriel, one of the chief princes with power yet unknown to us. Our essence overflows with holy energy from God. This assures me that you and I can complete this enormous task before us.'

'There are no kinder words shared in such a time,' Raphael said.'But I seek answers for a thought that troubles me, which only you can provide me with answers.'

'Ask and find peace to your troubles.'

His eyes fell on her beneath the pinnacle. 'I have heard you speak to them, in a manner of less worth, and your only anchor is the reader that we are sent to protect. But hearing Gabriel speak of the creator's love for man, I ask you, do you not have love for humans?'

Calista's countenance expressed her confusion. 'I have no desire of my own, and if my actions have proven anything, it's that the mission comes first. But then again, I am not oblivious of my behaviour so far, so I will take your words and realign my utterances hence forth.'

Calista had walked around the empty monastery while Raphael guarded against the rooftop. She went first to the armoury and picked out two twin swords and a scimitar for Rico and Marcus. In her previous discussion with Raphael, he said to her, 'The war is not of the natural, but the supernatural. For these humans to stand a chance, they need to have supernatural weapons.' She heated them with the blue fire until the sword glowed in blue angelic flame. These blades became twice-reinforced steel that was stronger than titanium and sharp enough to cut through any metal. She also spent some time chiselling out two dozen throw knives, sharp spikes, and high tensile steel stars for Marcus and magazines full of deadly silver bullets, darts, and a crossbow for Rico. Everything was reinforced with her celestial powers. Seth was not to wield any weapon until he was deemed ready. She, however, made a vest that could keep him warm in cold weather and cool in extreme heat as well as body armour.

Then, she went to the monastery orchard and picked up some apples and grapes. She stacked some of them up as supplies for the journey, and with the rest, she baked apple cakes and loaves of bread with flour and the ingredients she could find around the culinary.

Everyone woke very groggy and exhausted from the previous day's ordeal. By the time their bags were packed, breakfast was ready. It was a most delicious meal for the three humans. It lacked nothing of homey food, and every bite was delicious. The angels didn't eat. 'We'll be on our way in fifteen minutes,' Raphael announced. 'I suggest you eat quickly and clean yourselves up.' It had been decided by the crusaders that the first port of call to retrieve a page was in China.

The adventurous journeying to find the seven lost pages of the Necrom began that morning. They drove southwards and boarded a ship, traveling through the Mediterranean Sea route. The food was nice, and the crew members were very kind and supportive. They were of great help to Seth, who listened to their description of places and travel routes that they had to take to get to their destination in China.

'China has thousands of acres of arid lands to the northwest, which you might be facing since you are most likely going to be driving through Iraq and Iran and Pakistan and into China—a very dangerous and risky journey you are undertaking,' a crew member told Seth. 

The part Rico enjoyed the most was that every night, open-air bonfires where the sailors would sing all kinds of sea songs would echo into the endless darkness of the night. They would tell tales of pirate attacks, deadly sea storms, and some mammoth creatures of the sea, the sea serpents.

Something was different with Marcus at this point; he was a lot quieter than he was before. Everyone thought that he was still depressed from his ordeal with Balthazar.

His attitude and notions became radically different. The next day, the winds rose and waves pounded on the large ship. A crew member called out in horror as he signalled to a serpentine slithering on the horizon. It moved with the waves as it approached the vessel. The sea serpent came closer to the ship, and they could see it was about the same size as their ship, if not longer. That meant that it could do a lot of harm. They were suddenly at the risk of a head-on collision with the mother of all sea serpents when Calista fired a fiery arrow from her bow. The serpent squealed. While the attack was going on, Marcus was busy sleeping in his cabin below the deck. His dreams were overwhelmed with visions of Balthazar chasing him in the monastery alone; he kept saying that he had come to claim the soul of Marcus. In the lonesomeness of the monastery, Marcus could hear Seth scream, coming from diverse areas of the massive property. He finally ran to a corner in the east wing of the compound. There, he found Seth hiding while Rico was dead on the floor. 'What is going on?' he asked, but Seth was too frightened to speak, for all he could do was point with his shaky finger. Marcus turned his head in the direction of his finger, and there was a mighty serpent on the attack, which forced him out of his sleep.

The serpent came to the surface. It swerved with an amazing speed to the starboard side of the ship and started battering. Marcus got up and was tossed to the side of the cabin, hitting his head on the wall. He angrily ran to the deck. There he saw the serpent, battling to destroy the ship.

Without an ounce of fear or hesitation, he pulled one of the twin blades from Rico's scabbard and raced to the edge of the ship. He dove straight into the water and began attacking the serpent from beneath. The pain was too much for the serpent. It submerged the rest of its body and raised only its head, coming face-to-face with Marcus. The creature lunged forward and swallowed Marcus. Even then, he was still doing damage and inflicting tremendous hurt to the serpent, which caused the serpent to resurface, squealing and stretching to the sky. Eventually, it spat Marcus into the air and the sea.

The serpent turned and swam away because it was hurt and injured. Raphael dove into the water and brought Marcus on board the ship. Calista was asked to give him CPR, but instead, she punched him in his stomach. He woke up puking gallons of water.

Rico wanted to know what got into him. The Marcus they all knew had a tremendous fear of big waters, but he wasn't offering any answer to the barrage of questions flying at him.

Calista brought Marcus to her chambers and tried to check his soul's status.She pressed her hand against his chest and found an anomaly. 'He has a demon point on his soul; he can hardly feel pains or anything, and his heart is hardened,' Calista told the others, and she tried to show them proof by having an open spar with him. Marcus was faster and could take more hits than he could before.

'The only way to remove the demonic imprint would be to go into his head and wipe out the energy that is growing inside him before it would take him over and jeopardize our mission,' Raphael told Seth and Rico.

'So, this is how it feels like to be dead,' said Marcus.

'How do you mean, Marcus?' Seth asked him, but he was mute to the question. His behaviour was the opposite of the Marcus they were used to.

Rico walked up to him and pushed him slightly with his knee where he was seated. 'Hey, buddy, what's going on with you? Seth was just talking to you. Are you alright?'

'I feel like a corpse cold on the floor, because everyone is talking about me as though I'm not here, or I'm dead. I said I'm alright, and no one seems to care or believe me,' he spoke, letting off some steam.

'It's alright, Marcus,' said Rico, who then placed his arm around Marcus.

'No, it's not alright. As a matter of fact, I want you all to drop this topic right now.' He stood up and raised his voice to get his point across.

Marcus assured them that he was okay. At night, however, in his dreams, there were nightmares of being hunted by Balthazar. At one time, he saw himself looking in the mirror and the reflection he saw was Balthazar staring back at him. When he looked to the side, he found his true self tied up in one corner on the ground. Balthazar controlled his body, and before he could wring free from the bonds, he'd wake up.

That evening, he walked up to Calista, where she stood at the starboard of the ship, and told her, 'Help me!' He leaned on a pole, as though his legs could not bear his weight. Calista reached out to him in haste and placed him on a wooden bench without a backrest. He sat down and leaned forward as he gently gasped for air. Calista stooped before him and stared into his eyes, placing her index finger on his forehead.

'He's taking over your vessel, one bone at a time,' she said. Marcus was looking devastated as he tried to stand, but Calista would not allow him. 'You must rest, Marcus. You are not in a good place right now,' she urged him.

'I tried to fight it, but he's too strong for me. It's as though I'm becoming him. Am I?' he asked her.

Calista, being devoid of human emotions, gave him the blatant truth. 'Yes, he's gradually taking over your vessel, and if you can't fight him, then we'll have no other option but to eliminate the threat before you harm Seth.'

'The threat? You mean you'll have to eliminate me?' he asked her.

'Yes.'

Calista brought the issue to the notice of the team, and they argued over it through the night because Rico and Seth wanted them to save Marcus. Marcus was locked up inside a cabin, while the others were on deck discussing his fate. 'Marcus did not sign up for this. He did what we asked him to do. He wouldn't be in this situation otherwise,' said Rico.

'For which we are thankful, but we cannot keep breaking protocol every time there is a problem. We have rules, orders, that we are sworn to uphold, so don't ask us to do this,' said Raphael.

'Come on. For Christ's sake, stop acting like you are not human and bend the rule just this last time,' insisted Rico. As he spoke, he walked in front of Seth, signalling him to take the revolver that was sticking out the back of his pants. But Seth could not understand his signal. He used his eyes, lips, and even his nose, but Seth still wasn't getting the message. Rico finally had to do something to force their hands, so he pulled out his forty-eight-calibre pistol and took Seth in his arm. He placed the gun on Seth's head. 'Now, listen up. This is how it's going to go down. You guys are going to dial mission control and let them know there is a standoff here. If help is not sent down here for Marcus, Seth here is going to be reporting up there. Oh shit, I just rhymed,' said Rico.

Seth was also surprised at his actions.

'What are you doing?' he asked.

'I'm sorry, Seth, if these guys don't do as I ask, I'll be forced to shoot you.'

Seth was playing along with him, as he lay hold to the thought that help would come for Marcus. But Rico was going to do more than just hold him at gunpoint. Raphael reached for his sword behind his head. Placing his fingers on the hilt, Raphael asked, 'Calista, what is he doing?'

She gave him a stern look, as though she were looking into his soul. 'He doesn't plan on killing Seth, but he would give him a flesh wound if we do not comply with his demands.' Seth turned his eyes to Rico and attempted to break free, but Rico's grip was too tight for him.

'Let him go, Rico, before you do something that you'll regret,' said Raphael. 'He won't get the chance to, because he will be dead before his finger can pull the trigger. I'll plant an arrow half an inch above his right eye, cutting off his brain wave connection to the rest of his body, and he'll be dead in seven seconds.'

Calista's face had lost all expression, and the room was silent. Cold beads of sweat rolled down Rico's forehead.His heartbeat became the loudest sound in the room.

'You have to the count of two because, at the third, my arrow would be in your brain … one!' she started. And immediately, Rico gave in and left Seth.

'Okay, I give up. You don't have to be so serious and hard all the time; it was just a joke,' said Rico, putting his gun on the ground.

'If you ever do that again, I won't be counting,' said Calista. Raphael's hand left his sword.

'No wonder you don't get some, because you are too uptight. Losen up; suck a lemon or something,' said Rico.

'She doesn't like lemons,' Raphael answered. 'Apples are her favourite. Me, I'm a grape …' Rico interrupted Raphael. 'Shut … up. That was a figure of speech.' He stormed out, slamming the door behind. 

There was a moment of silence when Marcus stepped into the room. 'Marcus!' Seth was caught in surprise when Calista walked in front of Seth.

'What do you want, Marcus?' she asked him. He was too sickly to stand on his own, so he leaned on the doorpost. 'It's okay, guys. Just wanted you to know that I'm not mad at anyone for what happened to me. I accept my fate. And Raphael, I just want you to do me one last favour,' he said with pain and a shaky voice.

'What's that?' the deep baritone said. Marcus's left hand began to wrinkle, and veins protruded. He then put the hand in his jacket pocket.

'What's wrong with him?' Seth asked, making advances to go to him, but Calista stopped him.

'He's turning into the demon, Balthazar,' said Raphael, and Seth'sexpressionchanged totally.

'No long face for me, Seth. Raphael, do not allow me to turn before you kill me. Because I'll hate to be a problem to you all,' Marcus pleaded. Seth refused to accept Marcus's resolution, so he told the angels to call for help or else the mission was over. He said he would not stand losing another life to his mistake when there was something he could do about it.

Raphael and Calista stepped to the side and began speaking in their angelic tongue, and Rico stepped in. This was the first time that they had ever heard them speak in this tongue, so it was surprising to them. 'Hey, Seth. What are they saying?' Rico asked in a low tone.

'They said you are no longer needed on this team and that we should let you go when we hit the shores,' Seth replied with a straight face. Rico was devastated at what he heard.

'Really, they said that?' he asked.

'Of course not. How in the world do you expect me to understand angel tongue? For Christ's sake, Rico, get off,' Seth yelled at him. Rico was shocked at his response. Clinging to the rest of his thought in fear of a worse tantrum than this, he returned to the deck.

The next morning, Raphael called in Gabriel to come and help clean off the Balthazar imprint from Marcus. As usual, he was expected to whoosh in with a mighty bright flash, as he once did, but instead, he was seen seated on the railings of the boat, looking like a tourist.

Rico, who was out on the deck, saw him.'If this was some Hollywood movie, this here would have passed for cool, but this is reality, amigo.Lives are at stake, and you are wasting the little time we have left, so please come with me.The others are downstairs.' He spoke with a semi-serious tone.

'I've never been on a cruise ship before, so it's only appropriate that I enjoy what might be my only opportunity to be on one, don't you think?' Gabriel spoke wearing a smile.

'Sorry to disappoint you, Pablo, but this is not a cruise ship, where mojito and pina colada is served, with little umbrellas, so lose the act, and follow me downstairs.' Rico brought him to the others.

Seth sighed hope and relief, knowing that Marcus could be saved. Raphael and Calista began speaking in angel tongue to Gabriel. All three spoke for a while, and the others watched. 'I think they are briefing him of the situation. That's what I can tell from their conversation,' said Rico to Seth.

'You don't say?' Seth stood up and went close to Calista to know what the development was.'So, can he help with Marcus's situation?'

Gabriel interrupted him with his answer.'Yes, he can help, and the next time you talk about me like I am not here, there will be repercussions.' He walked straight to Marcus.

'He has sentimental issues, so don't let him get to you,' whispered Calista. Then Gabriel asked for a nice bed to be brought to him.

'Are you going to lay him on the bed to make him comfortable while you do your mojo?' Seth asked.

'First, I don't do mojo, and second, the bed is for me to lie down while I work,' he replied. Rico dragged in a three-by-six-foot mattress.

'Is this a joke? I asked for a comfortable bed, and not this bug-infested colony, that can't even take the whole of me. You must be joking, 'cause there's no way under the heaven that I will be caught drunk touching this rubbish, much more sleeping on it. It is not going to happen.'

Despite his displeasure, Gabriel laid down on the mattress and slipped Marcus into a reverie, while he wandered into his mind to finish the job.

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Flying through a sea of chaos, with wars and tears, then breaking through a literal firewall to get into Marcus's head, he realized that everything had changed inside Marcus's mind. Gabriel began searching for him in an abandoned town; there were salons, prison, and his own house. There were damaged cars, buses, and trucks that were parked everywhere.

Then he began calling out to Marcus, as loud as he could.

'Marcus! Marcus! Marcus!'

But no one would respond. All he could hear was the resounding echoes of his own voice. The weather began to change, the sky suddenly turned grey, and it became windy.

'He's got to be somewhere he believes is a sanctuary, somewhere like a …'

A church bell rang. 'A church. That's it!'

Gabriel made his way to the church, which was just within the neighbourhood. The chapel was an old, dilapidated structure with broken windows and leaking roofs. There were hips of debris from blasted concrete walls.

He got in, hoping to find him, but he couldn't see him anywhere around. As he turned to leave the church, he heard something or someone rustling up the stairs to the tower bell. He followed the sound in haste. He saw Marcus hiding in the shades.

'What are you doing here?' the angel asked.

When he got close to him, he saw how terrified Marcus was.

'He is here, and he is searching for me,' the priest said in a shaky voice. Gabriel stooped and got close enough to touch him.

'Who is here? Who wants to hurt you?' he asked.

'I can't say his name in here. He'll find me,' he spoke in fear.

But Gabriel knew that his fear was the shackles around his wrists. 'Look at me, Marcus. I'm here to help you get better, so you can take control of your life, and you can go back out there to help Seth and your friend. Would you like that?' Marcus nodded like a child. 'Good, so I'll need you to say his name. That's how you get back control, so what is his name?' He was careful not to push him too hard, lest he lose him.

'His name is Balthazar.' On the other side of the tower, a shape moved across.

'Good, very good, Marcus. You are doing great.' But Marcus was still expressive on that which hunted him. 'I hear if he gets hold of me here, he'd destroy me,' he whimpered. 

'Trust me,' Gabriel assured him. 'I wouldn't let any harm come to you. Just give me your hand, and I'll make everything go away.' He tried to assure him of hope.

'You promise?'

'I promise,' said Gabriel. Marcus went with him. They both came out of the church and hit the street. Marcus was still shaky, even with a mighty angel leading him. He kept looking around, as though something was coming to get him. Gabriel knew he had to get him to be focused, so he tried a few things.

'Has it always been like this around here?' the angel asked.

'What do you mean?' He wasn't sure what Gabriel was talking about.

'I meant the quietness, broken-down systems, infrastructures, you know.' He looked at Marcus from the corner of his eyes.

'Not all. This place used to be the hub of activities in this country. People used to come here from far and wide to have a taste of our coffee. And on the weekends, when there's no work to be done. Men, the party never stops … but now, this is how I remember it. But our beaches are another must-visit location. They are so full of life.' At this point, he was smiling and talking and wasn't scared anymore.

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On the other side, Seth was sitting close to Marcus, while Rico was cleaning his guns. Raphael stood to watch over Seth, and Calista was standing in the door of their cabin. They'd been patiently waiting for quite a while, hoping that any moment from now, they both would wake up.

'How much longer would we have to wait before something happens?' Seth asked Raphael, who had his hands folded.

'It's not a walk in the park, Seth. This thing is not one of those things angels are permitted to do all the time. This is the first time an angel would attempt to go into a human mind,' Raphael told him.

'You still did not answer my question. How long are we going to wait before something happens?' he asked again.

'It depends on the situation of things in his head. It might take one hour, one day, or one month, and if we are too late, we might never find Marcus again,' Calista said to him.

'What does that mean that we might not find Marcus?' Seth asked with a curious expression on his face.

'It means that if Balthazar takes over his body, we might have to free him of his burden,' said Raphael.

'I still don't get what you are saying,' Seth responded in frustration.

'They would kill him. They would have to kill Marcus,' Rico interjected, and Seth got the message.

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Meanwhile, Marcus and Gabriel were still walking the street with Marcus talking. As they reached the end of Marcus's street, a tall, powerfully built man appeared and stood before them. He wore a hood, and in place of where his face should have been, there was a dark, empty space. A strong, evil odour proceeded from the space on the creature's head, a sort of nerve gas that weakened Marcus until he dropped down to one knee, as his feet could no longer carry him.

'It's over,' he said to himself.

'It is okay,' Gabriel insisted.

The hooded man took off the hood. A face began to form in a rapid progression. Eyebrows, lashes, nose, mouth, and finally the eyes appeared, and it was Marcus's face on a body that Marcus never thought possible. The other Marcus laughed. 'Don't be fooled. That's not you. It's Balthazar. He's messing with your mind,' said Gabriel.

The other Marcus laughed even more. 'You fool. There's nothing you can do here to help him here,' said the character. And suddenly, he transformed into Balthazar.

'You just might want to step aside, for I own his body now,' Gabriel said. Marcus suddenly broke free from Gabriel's grip and ran off. A fight broke out between Gabriel and Balthazar. Gabriel didn't even break a sweat before Balthazar was on the floor. He stood up and lit off a burst of hideous laughter.

'It was easy to beat a single me. How about ten or much more? Let's say twenty of me?' He began to multiply against Gabriel, and a bigger fight broke out. This time, Gabriel was also taking in some beating from the mob. Over fifty replicas were fighting against him, while others were coming out from every crash and smash. The only option Gabriel had was to run, which he did, and he was being chased. The streets were littered with abandoned vehicles and debris from collapsed buildings. Gabriel ran through burnt-down buildings and shattered department stores, while the demon hid. The replicas were determined to catch him. Balthazar stopped and gave the chase a thought. Then, suddenly, an idea clicked. While Gabriel was running through a park, the mob came from every side, and then he realized that the race was over.

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Seth was still by the side of Marcus, cooling his body with a wet rag. 'He's getting hotter. What should I do?' He looked to Calista, who stood over him, with her figure blocking the ray of light coming from the window. She walked closer to Marcus and went down on a knee, placing her index finger on his forehead for a few seconds.

'There's nothing you can do for him.' She stood up as Seth's eyes followed her, seeking hope. 'There's nothing we can either,' she said, looking at Rico and Raphael, who were standing at a corner not far from where they were.

'But you mustn't give up.' Rico took a few steps close to Raphael after staring at Calista for a few seconds.

'What's the deal with you and her? Are you guys like a thing?' he asked Raphael. The angel was confused by his question, as he turned his gaze from the window to him.

'A thing? I do not understand what you mean. Perhaps if you would care to elaborate on the matter, I would understand you,' he replied.

'You know, Bonnie and Clyde kinda thing, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Will and Jada. You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?' he asked.

'I'm afraid I do not have the least inclination of what you are saying,' replied Raphael.

While he spoke, Rico's eyes saw something of importance. 'Jesus, Mary, and Johnny Walker, could this be what I think it is?' His utterance caught everyone's attention, as he slowly moved to a hip of junk and pulled out a bottle of blue label Johnny Walker. 'Yes, we have been saved.' He let out a scream, raising the bottle above his head.

Calista turned her gaze back to Seth. 'If there's anyone who can save your friend, it's Gabriel, but you must have faith.'

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Gabriel had to make a stand and fight, but this time around, they were up to three hundred in number, while more were still coming. The fight got to a point where he couldn't fight anymore. So, his rage built, and with a loud voice, he screamed, 'Enough!' His voice echoed through every street and alley, and there was a blast of light that came out of him and rippled across the park, knocking every one of the demons down. He stooped to catch his breath when suddenly more demons began trooping in. They were in hundreds. Gabriel knew he had to find Marcus, so he got up and ran. They eventually chased him to a dead-end corner in an alley. While he was getting ready to fight, he saw a manhole open up beside him. Marcus pulled him in, hiding him from the mob, as they raced by in search of him.

It was quite a close call, even for an angel, especially in such a controlled environment that the rule of play was totally different. 'This was my hideout as a boy, back when I was a very scared little boy. I would always come down here to hide from bullies,' Marcus told Gabriel. 'What an irony. Even as a man, I'm still a scared boy within.' The hole was a sewer line that led them into a tunnel. The air down there was so thick that they could barely breathe it in. Marcus had a nicely done arrangement. There was a make-shift bed and pillow, a small lantern, a standing crucifix, and a blanket. 

'Ever thought how much of a greater adventure life would become if we only brought God in with us to our secret caves of fear and defeat?' asked the angel. Gabriel had suddenly become calm and apparently oblivious of the war raging outside. He seemed more like a tour guide than part of the adventure of someone who narrowly escaped getting mobbed by a host of identical demons.

'Balthazar can never find me here because I can always make a way,' Marcus argued. Then he focused on a wall, and another tunnel appeared, and he closed the entrance to the tunnel. 'All can be well with me if I remain here, and you too. You can stay with me if you want.' 

'You are wrong because if your body dies out there, you are going to die in here, and if Balthazar takes over your body, Raphael will be forced to kill you,' Gabriel told him.

Marcus kept mute and then finally spoke. 'Death is not the end, for if I die here, it won't be so bad after all. Because I died in the place of my choosing. Isn't that something, Gabriel?' Gabriel reached to his shoulder and turned him around swiftly.

'I was called in here to save you, not to watch you give up on yourself and on those who love and care for you,' he said while Marcus's face dropped in frustration. 'I'm sorry. I don't think I'm strong enough to save myself. But don't worry, I know a place we'll be safe. Come, I'll take you,' said Marcus as he continued leading Gabriel farther into the tunnel.

Marcus then told him that when he was a boy, he was always afraid. That was why he went into the study of martial art. Now, all he had left was the fear, for Balthazar had possessed all that is strong.

'The image you see in the mirror is set out to stop you on your tracks,' Gabriel continued. 'Balthazar has assumed all the regrets, pity, disappointments, and failures. These negative feelings often team up to create imaginations that exalt themselves above the faith and power that we could have accessed through our knowledge of God. At such times, there is little God can do until you cast them down yourself. In other words, God cannot defeat anything we have by ourselves made bigger than Him in our lives.'

'So what you are saying is that I created and duplicated that monster that chased you and me in here?' Marcus asked wide-eyed. 

The angel answered in the affirmative. 'The enemy grows stronger on your innermost negative tendencies, inclinations, thoughts, and feelings. You would have stepped out of the cage after you have let go and let God be the one who redeems, restores, and completes you.'

A tear trickled down and then another. And yet another. The pictures all came back at the same time, all desperately digging their claws into him in the bid to stay leeched unto their prey. The bullying, the stern face of his father who always beat him and his mother to blue and black, the failed marriage at age twenty-three, the three children outside wedlock, the endless 'flings' he had with married women even as a young boy. They all came back. 'I am not a continuation of my past. Old things … pass away!' he screamed out suddenly. There was a reverberation that rippled through some hundred-mile radius like seismic tremors. The pictures clutched and clung with claws and teeth, but they were no match for the great wind swirling around Marcus, throwing things off in a centrifugal tangent. Some of the pictures and memories tore off flesh as they flung away into outer darkness.

************************************

Marcus began to shake on the floor while Seth became more worried. 'What's wrong with him?' Seth asked. Calista came and checked him. She placed her index finger on his forehead and paused awhile. 'So, what is it?' Seth asked.

'l really can't say. It is one of two things. He's fighting …' She paused for a few seconds and then said, 'Or he's dying.' Seth turned to Marcus and began cleaning his face with a piece of cloth. 'No, you can't die, so you must fight. You hear me, Marcus. I say fight!' Rico had drunk a fifth of the liquor, so when he heard Seth say fight, out of his intoxicated state, he rose his bottle and said, 'Touché!'

************************************

Marcus and his angel companion both came out of the tunnel through an emergency exit Marcus created and headed for the place where they had first met Balthazar. When they got there, it was not as easy as Gabriel made it sound. There was a mob waiting for them. Gabriel told him that they must fight. Marcus agreed, and they went in.

'At last, my chance for revenge comes on a platter of gold. The fates have pitched me against Gabriel, heaven's most beloved messenger. I will cut you to bits along with your newfound protégé and perhaps pin your head upon one of our battlements somewhere in southern hell.' There was a hideous cackle of fiendish laughter in chorus by Balthazar and all his replicas. 

The laughter hit a diminuendo the moment Marcus stepped in front of Gabriel and three more steps towards his opponents. 'Today, I confront and conquer you because I come in the name of the Lord and the armies of heaven.' As he said this, his scimitar appeared in his right hand, the one Calista had forged from her angel breath. It seemed an ordinary blade to him. Martial arts teaches one to convert any solid material into an instrument of death to strike not more than once for the death blow. Balthazar knew that it would be unwise to have Marcus gain control over his mind, so he began building doubts again. He started changing into different people who represented the sad memories he would rather forget.

All the pictures he brought had something to say, which were taking bites out of his confidence. Then Gabriel placed his left hand on his right shoulder and said, 'You are not alone here, Marcus. We are together as one, so let's evict every illegal occupant out of your mind.' With that being said, Marcus charged into the replicas.

The big fight broke out, and the replicas came at them. Marcus's first strike caught the first replica off guard. To his amazement, the blade cut right through the creature's enamoured hide. Each strike ended the life of one replica. As Balthazar saw this, he started replicating a whole lot more. Gabriel joined the fight. Gabriel fought calmly with no fire blasts, no swords nor weapon, but as he touched each creature, it either melted or burst into flames, depending on the angel's discretion. More of the newer replicas swarmed on Marcus while Gabriel burnt through other replicas to the main source demon, Balthazar.

Marcus got hit by a stray punch from one of the replicas that knocked him off his feet. Blood trickled from his temple, and his sight became hazy and blurry. 'I shall yet fight more battles for God.' He stubbornly stood to his feet with a renewed energy. He started cutting them down all the more.

At that juncture also, Gabriel had caught up with Balthazar's source. Gabriel caught him by the neck and slammed him on the floor. The angel held him by the foot and railed against him around everywhere and every way like a child who was sick and tired of a favourite doll.

Marcus was marvelling why the angel didn't just cancel him off because he was having a hard time with the remaining three. He had received quite some whipping, and though he was hitting home, he could not kill these. It was a long flight, and at last, they overwhelmed Marcus. One of the replicas pulled out a sword from its scaly reptilian armour and brought it down on Marcus's heart.

Gabriel finally exorcised Balthazar. He walked up to where Marcus lay on the floor. Marcus was smiling at him. 'What took you so long?' he asked the angel.

'Perhaps I was making a fine warrior out of you. But I had my eyes on you all the time, and that was why just before the demon's knife killed you, I laid him off.' Gabriel touched him, and all the wounds were immediately healed. 'We'd better start going. Your friends might become so worried about you.'

Man and angel walked hand-in-big-hand back to the realm of the physical, quite pleased with each other at the task well done. The exit sign was still up ahead, so Gabriel asked Marcus to walk through the door. While he did that, Gabriel turned around, and with a wave of his hand, the desolate town was brought back to normal. Then he walked through the door.

************************************

After that episode, Gabriel had to return to heaven, for his work was done, while the crusaders continued on their long quest. As they journeyed to China, they encountered wicked men, nightcrawlers, and demon hunters. They also came across the clan of the white lotus, which Marcus was quite familiar with, and swore a life oath with. In other areas, there were warlocks, shamans, and Satan worshipers. But that was a take for another time, for the hurdle in China was one for the books.