CHAPTER 10:CHRONICLES OF ROUTE NO: 7

CHAPTER 10: CHRONICLES OF ROUTE NO. 7

The way I feel is like this, is like that

The way I feel is like this, is like that

Sin, I wanna break your face tonight

I'm a dynamite in the hand of my God

If you got the guts you better put up a fight

Devil, stay away, get the pit bull bite

I don't even know if it's day or night

If you got the guts you wanna turn off the lights

Then if you know I'm wrong, then you know I'm right

The way I feel is like this, is like that, is like that

The way I feel is like this, is like that, is like that

The way I feel is like this, is like that

Man, you gotta slap that bass alright

Let's go rock the town coz I'm outta ma box

I don't feel no sin coz it's outta ma sight

Jesus paved the way coz his ways are right

I don't even care if it's day or night

If you got the guts, you wanna turn off the lights

Then if you know I'm wrong, then you know I'm right

God so loved the world that he gave his Son

His name is Jesus Christ

Transitpoint, "Way"

Jay was on his third and final year at Murdutch University. He had been so busy he had not visited home once since coming to the UAE. He still made it a point to attend church weekly. He went to Lanz and Tasha's church, called Wells of Worth, in Al Barsha. It was a long ride for Jay from Mirdif, but he didn't mind.

Route No. 7 had brushes with some of the bands who had differences in their faith and didn't like their whole Yeshua vibe. Cain took digs at Route No. 7 and Jay from most of the stages that his band headlined, but the Trinity used the opportunities to bring awareness about Route No. 7 as a band.

Route No. 7 was still playing gigs that Lanz had brought to them with Scott's help. Scott knew exactly what the meaning was of "easy come, easy go." He knew it was important for the band to start playing in front of small but loyal crowds and then gradually growing a committed fan base. Route No. 7 was trained to play even in venues where hardly ten people would show up, while Fallen Angeline was playing headlining shows, even outside the country and all over the Middle East. Route No. 7 used every opportunity to get their performance more tight.

Scott heard about how Cain had poisoned the club owners' minds by not allowing Route No. 7 to play. Scott was not in the country for a few weeks as he had gone abroad to take care of some of his other business. He was upset, but he contained himself and remained a silent observer. There was not much he could do anyway from outside the country, but he was positive that things would have a different result once he got back.

Jay and the band still hadn't even met Scott. Lanz had done a great job of never telling Jay and the band about Scott. He knew there would be a right moment for that.

Although Fallen Angeline had been taking the city by storm and with a heavy winning streak, Jay's epic freestyle battle against Bite Force 13 and Cain was still talked about. Some still argued that Cain would have won the battle if he had gotten another round, but others said he had an outburst because he had no comeback. The subject was still debated in the metros, clubs, and even at dinner dates by the Murdutch students.

One day, a huge ad appeared in the Khaleej Times: "P.O.D. Tours UAE." The multiplatinum, award-winning band P.O.D. was on their first Middle Eastern tour and would be hitting Dubai for the first time. The four-member band's nu metal songs were a huge hit among the youth. They were very popular in the mainstream industry.

Bands of all different rock genres from the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and all over the Middle East were called to compete in a battle of the bands. The winning band would open for P.O.D. in Dubai and also receive top-of-the-line musical equipment from top-notch brands for the entire band—guitars, bass guitars, drums, and microphones. This was a huge opportunity coming for all the bands in the UAE. This was the break they were all hoping for.

The battle of the bands was going to start with an elimination round sponsored by Murdutch and other colleges in the UAE, along with separate competitions in the other participating countries. Three bands from each competition would be shortlisted to go on to the final battle. Many bands would be flying into Dubai for the battle. The event had huge sponsors.

Scott called Lanz and told him to ask Jay to register for the competition.

Jay was so thrilled to tell his band the news. This battle of the bands would be the biggest rock competition ever held at Murdutch. They registered for the battle of the bands.

Route No. 7 rehearsed for the next three whole months. They met at rehearsal rooms and rehearsed every minute they had. They never jammed on campus again but kept a low profile about their music.

When the weekend of the battle finally came, Jay and his bandmates met on the campus and went together into the school gym.

A standing crowd of about five hundred students began to pack into the indoor basketball court at eight in the morning, all eager to watch their favorite bands.

There were twenty-three bands on the list. There were a few new bands, but the others had been around for a few years rocking clubs around the city. With metal becoming the new fad, a lot the bands on the competition list were pretty deadly in both name and skill, such as Fear Face, Bloody Talons, Gut Wrenched, Wolf Hybrid, Embedded Nails.

Cain came onto campus with his band in a huge, black SUV with blaring music. On the floor of the back seat, he had a carton of beer for him and his friends.

Cain had spent most of his days working on his music and his private business as he was pursuing higher studies. Though he had gotten into so much trouble and had been kicked out of so many schools, he somehow graduated from Murdutch with honors. He stayed in Dubai and was now running a private import/export business of his own, which he funded with his band money and through a bit of help from his parents. Cain's father was a very successful businessman and he had two more sons who were older than Cain who helped him to do his business.

As the bands began to tune their guitars, there was a hush as the members of Fallen Angeline walked into the basketball court for the battle of the bands registration. Cain was dressed in all black with black nail polish. He had his long hair down to his hips and a single blond braid.

There was a rumor that Cain was a Satanist. The word started spreading after two members of another band from Murdutch had seen Cain do what looked like a Satanic ritual during a party at a friend's apartment. Nobody knew for sure, but many thought it might be the reason for all their success. It was said that whenever Fallen Angeline got onstage, they were just unbeatable. By now, Rolling Stones magazine and the local newspapers had already covered these guys several times, they had put out three albums, and had gone on a tour of the Middle East and a few countries in Europe. They opened for quite a few international bands in the UAE and were often invited to play at the Hard Rock Café and huge music festivals.

As he walked across the basketball court, Cain looked menacingly at some of the bands.

Some stared back, cussing under their breaths and in their minds. A few bands were his friends—those who were on the dark side like him.

The demon hordes also assembled. There were huge snakes and scorpion-looking spirits on many of the bands. Each band was characterized and controlled by the evil spirit that was on the leader. In most cases, it was the lead singer, but in some bands, it would be the lead guitarist, bassist, or even the band manager.

Three of the battle of the bands judges came in and took their seats. Two of them were well-known session artists, and one was a very famous local singer.

The bands had fifteen minutes to sound check and three songs to play. They would be judged on their delivery.

The first several bands had a more generic sound, with a mix of alternative rock, blues rock, punk rock, some hints of rock 'n' roll and some metal. They usually did some covers or some confused mix of genres. The number of people in the audience was unsteady by the third band as some were losing interest, which was evident by their yawns and looking at their watches. Some made their way to the cafeteria to get a hot dog or a coffee.

By the time about a dozen of the bands were done, it was three in the afternoon.

Jay was watching from behind the stage, and he saw the demon horde begin to move in with the band Fear Face. With faces painted black and white and wearing all black clothing, the five-piece band got onstage to deliver a twenty-minute set of heavy metal with growls. Many of the girls were hugging their friends as the band sang their scary tales.

As demons began moving through the crowd and gaining control over it, the crowd began to mosh. As the crowd was getting louder and angrier, the university prefects had to announce a few times to not let things get out of control, though they didn't really mind the moshing.

Finally it was over, and the next band, Wolf Hybrid, got onstage with their overgrown mohawks and ear and lip piercings. As they were playing, suddenly there was heavy rebellion in the crowd. They divided into groups doing circle pits, typical of a metal concert. People were running around in a circle, pumped up on the music and adrenaline. It was dangerous because if someone were to stumble, they would be trampled on violently. The band was spewing out some filthy lyrics and had to be stopped after their first song, but the judges loved it.

Next up was Gut Wrenched. The seven-piece band was not allowed to play half their set because their sound was extremely brutal, with unbearable pig squeal vocals. After a brief discussion with the judges, they played a softer genre—a couple cover songs from hard rock bands—before leaving. The crowds were disappointed, but it was already becoming evening.

Embedded Nails was next. They sounded a bit like classic rock and were well received by the crowd. The demons were moving strongly among them already—guys were eyeing girls, and crack heads were about to induct new members into their gangs. The freshmen were like lambs in the wolf's lair, and the demons were busy making conversions of them into the drug culture.

Bloody Talons was next on the stage with another grilling death core set, leaving the crowds panting for breath and thirsty for water.

At 10:00 p.m., the judges were marking their scorecards. The whole place was reeking of expensive perfume, beer, and cigarettes.

Fallen Angeline walked onto the stage next, wearing neck chains with occult symbols. Demons also came and took their places at the edge of the stage. From off stage, Jay could see that the demons were huge and menacing. The band members walked up and down the stage, checking their sounds.

Suddenly, Cain walked onto the stage. He looked into the crowd as he pulled the mic stand toward him. In a low, guttural voice, he said, "I summon the Fallen Angel."

Then the demon Fallen Angel descended on Cain. The girls screamed, and the crowd size suddenly began to swell, so security was summoned. After six crashes on the cymbals, Cain hit a super high note with his vocals, ripping ear drums as he began to deliver impeccable power vocals into the air. At the sound of his voice, the huge demons descended from the stage into the crowd, moving through many people. The crowd was all over the place. In a frenzy, the girls flocked as close to the stage as possible to touch at least Cain's shiny boots.

He sang, "Darkness descends on the watery grave, as I float to save your soul to hold."

The crowd sang along in unison.

The lead guitar broke into crazy riffs and out-of-this-world lead guitar licks. The band was as explosive as a keg of dynamite. Even as the first song ended, the judges were showing the corna—the "devil horns" hand sign—and clapped for the band.

Long strands of hair fell between Cain's eyes. He had the crowd under his fingers and the spell of his voice. He said the name of the second song, and the crowd began to chant while many popped some pills into their mouths when others weren't looking. The crowd began to go into a trance. The twin lead guitars and the perfect, high vocal harmonies were psychedelic, making girls faint, so that they had to be carried out.

Jay was still backstage. He went into the green room and bowed his head and prayed, "Oh Emperor, be with us as we get onstage. I can't go without you." Jay felt a surge of power on his shoulder. He looked back, but there was no one. Then he knew it was Fireball being the extension of the Trinity's hand on earth.

Jay looked out and saw his band members backstage. Duke was practicing his scale runs. Ashley was spinning his sticks and pretending to hit the hi-hats and toms on his invisible drum kit. Stanley was practicing his low tunes and slaps on his five-string bass. Then they all heard the crowd screaming as Fallen Angeline had just completed their set.

Cain was still interacting with the crowd as the judges spoke highly of him and his band's caliber. Then the judges announced that the next and last band for the day was Route No. 7.

There was absolute silence among the crowd as Jay's band got onstage and began to set up. Duke, Ashley, and Stanley were checking their sound. Ashley fixed his double pedals to the drum kit.

As Jay was leaving the green room, he caught Cain coming from the side of the stage.

Cain gave him a cold stare and an evil smirk. He said, "Let's see what you got, Jayden."

Jay felt an evil presence and, as he walked toward the stage, something sealed his mouth so that his lips froze. He felt like a demon had gotten a hold of him. In a second, he closed his eyes and prayed to the Trinity.

Then Fireball arm-locked the demon and thrust him off of Jay.Jay's lips were loosed.

Jay took his place onstage with his dreadlocks bobbing up and down. He had changed his style for performing onstage. He was dressed in loose, brown, khaki cargo trousers, a black tee shirt and an armband. He also wore silver earrings and a chain on his neck.

"Your time starts now!" the judge called out.

Jay closed his eyes and lifted his hands as the distorted guitars filled the air. The drums began to roll, and Duke played a nu metal riff on his guitar that was in drop D tuning. Jay pulled the mic off the stand with his right hand and lifted the stand with his left and threw it behind himself. "Five... four... three... two..." Jay counted down and then began to spit his rap rhymes. He was like a keg of dynamite on an explosion spree. Route No. 7 was pioneering a music genre in their university.

The crowd was ecstatic. Soon, they were all bouncing in the air.

The power of the Trinity came upon Jay as he began to rap his first song: "Flapped and rapped, put Satan in the trap, / you point the finger, I pull the trigger."

As the crowd was going crazy, the demons from the band Fallen Angeline were getting jumped by Fireball and the angel squad that had come with Route No. 7. The demons were getting busted left, right, and center.

Jay was rapping like there was no tomorrow:

See the days where the enemy's busted

Blessed by the prayers of the faithful and trusted

Backed by the Primus Script, bring down the rival

Burn the soul-slayer with ma God who's braver

Jay was not just a rapper, but he could hit the high notes, too. The girls were screaming as they rushed to the stage, all crazy over Jay's performance.

The band harmonized their voices. It only took them once to sing the chorus before the whole crowd was singing with them the second time. Then all of a sudden, the band began to head bang and bounce all over the place in perfect choreography. Duke moved into some crazy sound effects on his guitar processor, and the crowd went wild. Stanley's bass was pounding, locking in with Ashley's drumming. All of a sudden, Ashley began to go double pedal, and the music got the whole crowd headbanging. A party broke out with everyone having fun.

In twenty minutes, they finished the set. The judges stood up with raised hands clapping and rooting for the band. There was a huge noise from the crowd at the finish of their set. Jay went to the edge of the stage, high-fiving the crowds.

Cain's band stared at Route No. 7. Cain's eyes were locked on Jay. He had found his match. Jealousy burned in him as he watched them get off the stage.

The judges gave the final announcements. "Alright, everybody. The results will be sent out within the next couple of days. There will be three winners who will battle it out at the finals."

The crowd was still going crazy, chanting all kinds of phrases and different band names.

Jay's friends came onstage to congratulate him and his band. So did some girls. They asked for his phone number, but he made some excuses, saying that he had just bought a mobile phone and had forgotten the new number.

After meeting all their friends, Jay and Duke were riding home on their motorbikes. They saw a black SUV pulling out from behind them with the headlights on high beam. Jay gave way to the car, but the driver pulled up right next to him and opened the window.

"Congrats, guys! You guys were the best tonight!" It was a group of friends from Murdutch.

Jay and Duke thanked them as they drove away. A little further down toward Sheik Zayed Road, he left Duke at his house.

Jay rode toward his home in Mirdif. He was unaware that a black SUV had been following him for the past fifteen minutes.

Fireball was on Jay's bike. He caught sight of Fallen Angeline's demons looking at him from inside the SUV. Jay suddenly remembered a song he learned as a child at Brown Chapel, so he began to hum it to himself. This caused a few angels to immediately descend and join Fireball.

As he reached Mirdif, he stopped to grab a can of cold orange juice from a small shop. As he stood outside and began to drink, the black SUV stopped next to the shop. When he looked, the members of Fallen Angeline dismounted, dressed in black leather jackets. Some had beer cans, and others had cigarettes in their mouths.

Cain walked up to Jay and said, "Hey, saw you perform. You guys aren't that great, so stop thinking big. This is my field, and I don't entertain someone else taking it. I mean no one. The crowd has been mine ever since I stole it from other bands, and once they are mine, they are mine. So I don't wanna see you and your weasel-faced friends anywhere onstage again, you get that?"

Jay didn't say a word. He was outnumbered by six tall guys. He knew he didn't stand a chance, but he kept his composure.

"You heard the captain?" Judas asked.

Cain walked up to Jay and stepped in really close. "You don't want that pretty face getting hurt, do you?" He smirked as he mockingly pinched Jay's cheek. "Drop out of the competition, or I'll skin you like poultry, chicken."

The band laughed hysterically, making chicken noises as they got back into the SUV and pulled off.

Meanwhile, Fireball had shoved the demon Fallen Angel on the chest. It was Fireball and the angels who had warded off a gang attack on Jay. It could have resulted in serious injury, but the Trinity was not going to let that happen.

Jay was angry. He crushed the can, threw it down, and walked off to his bike. He started it and rode back to his house in Mirdif.

As he walked into his villa, the family he lived with had already gone to sleep. He walked up to his room, feeling angry and frightened at the same time. Jay knew the Fallen Angeline members had seen his band as a threat, and one of these days, if he wasn't careful, it was going to get out of hand. He knew he needed the Trinity's presence and help. He text-messaged Duke about the incident and called for a band meeting on Sunday at the Dome Café on campus.

He didn't even have a shower and plopped on the bed, kicking his shoes and socks off. He lay tired and drained. He was happy with the victory and uncomfortable at the same time. He couldn't fall asleep until 3:00 a.m., even though he had church in the morning.

He woke up in the morning with twelve missed calls on his phone. The first three missed calls were from an unknown number, and then there were nine missed calls from Duke. He called the unknown number.

The call was answered by a voice with an American accent. "Am I speaking to somebody from Route No. 7?"

"Yes," Jay said. "It is the lead vocalist."

"Oh, that's great. I'm Scott, an event organizer in Dubai, and I came to watch the battle of the bands at Murdutch University. I was very impressed by your band and would like to know if you guys would be interested in meeting up tomorrow," Scott said.

"Of course. We'd love to," Jay said.

"Okay! See you guys at 5:00 p.m. at the Deira City Centre Mall? The Blue Cockatoo Café downstairs."

"See you there," Jay said.

Jay called Duke next.

"Hey, Jay!" Duke said. "Tried calling you a couple of times. Guess you were asleep."

Jay explained everything to Duke about the incident with Cain's band and the call from Scott.

"We gotta be on our guard and stick together, man," Duke said.

After they ended the call, Jay jumped into the washroom to get ready, and then he was out of the house, ripping on his bike to church.

The next day was Sunday, and Jay had classes. As soon as he parked his bike on campus, he saw that Duke was already waiting for him at the parking lot.

Just as they walked past the glass door of the main entrance of their building, he saw Cain and his bandmates looking at Jay and Duke. They made chicken sounds as they walked by. Jay controlled his urge to talk back and just kept his head up and walked. As soon as they got into class, the lectures started, and they scribbled into their books.

After the first three hours, they had a break between classes. Jay and Duke met Stanley and Ashley at the Dome Café, which was on the Murdutch campus. They were talking while having some lunch and coffee when suddenly, they saw there was a crowd gathering around the official campus notice boards.

When Jay raised his head from drinking his coffee, he saw it was mostly musicians and bands. "Guys, the results!"

They all slammed down their cups and grub. Ashley had just taken a huge bite of his chili dog, and ran with his mouth still stuffed. Stanley dropped half of his cinnamon cookie as they ran to the notice board.

It took them a few seconds to tear through the crowd, and they got to the front. Looking at the list of bands that just competed in the battle at Murdutch, they saw that out of about two dozen names, the three winners were highlighted. When Jay saw the three band names, he put his finger on the notice and read them out loud, "Fallen Angeline, Wolf Hybrid, Route No. 7! Oh, my God!"

The boys began to jump in excitement. They gave each other huge hugs and high fives.

The crowd began to dissolve very quickly, but Jay and his bandmates didn't notice. After a moment, Jay realized that everyone, including his bandmates, had suddenly become quiet. A tall creepy shadow blocked the sunlight that had been on the winners' list in front of him as a strong, uncomfortably familiar scent of cologne and cigarettes hit Jay. Jay turned around.

The boys made way as Cain walked right to the front with his bandmates behind him. He looked at the list and then looked at Jay. He went near to Jay and spoke in a low, deep voice, "Told you to quit or have repercussions."

Jay froze as a shiver went down his spine. He saw a huge demon behind Cain. It looked murderous. Fireball was right in front of Jay. Jay looked away and walked off with his boys.

Cain called out, "Come back here, Jay!" but the bell had rung, and Jay and his bandmates ran back to class.

Cain and his friends huddled and discussed something before breaking off to their classes.

Duke sat next to Jay in class as the professor wrote on the board, engrossed in his teaching. Duke whispered to Jay, "Cain's got something on you after he lost the rap battle, dude. He wants to hurt you, and we need to defuse this."

"Yeah, I think he has a personal vendetta against me more than anyone else," Jay said with sadness in his countenance.

"Hey, he's gotta get past me to get to you, buddy," Duke said, showing his knuckles.

Jay smiled in recognition. "Thanks for having my back, bro."

When classes finally ended, Jay and Duke walked together to be cautious. Fireball walked right next to Jay, his eyes on the lookout.

Suddenly, Fireball sensed trouble. Then he saw that a few demons were standing in the corridors looking at Jay and Fireball.

As Jay and Duke walked outside, Jay sensed evil. He saw one of Cain's band members—it was his lead guitarist, Judas. He gave Jay a smirk and winked at him.

Jay and Duke glanced around and prepared for an assault. When they saw a small crowd of students hanging out near the parking lot, they moved into a brisk walk toward the middle of the crowd so they would be surrounded by people on all sides. As they passed through, they saw Ashley and Stanley standing with some of the Fallen Angeline members threatening them.

"Drop out, or we will pick you all apart," Jezz said.

Nobody dared to interfere, until Jay and Duke stepped in.

Cain turned and looked straight at the few people who stood watching. "Something interesting here for you, guys?"

They quickly shrugged their shoulders and walked away.

"Oh, here comes the leader of the band," Cain said. In a mocking way, he sang some lyrics of the song "Leader of the Band" by Dan Fogelberg. "The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing old."

Then he said, "Hey, now that we got all of you, there's just one thing we haven't done to all of you yet—that's to hurt you physically. If you want to keep it that way, just drop out of the competition because we said so. Don't tell anyone, and don't do any more competitions at this university or anywhere else, okay? Do I have to repeat myself from the other night?" Cain asked through clenched teeth.

"We can't drop out," Jay said. "We earned this the right way, we got selected to move to the finals, and we will compete in it."

Cain closed his eyes. His face was becoming red, a vein began to show on his neck, his fists were clenched, and his knuckles showed white. He opened his eyes and walked up to Jay.

Jay was ready, and Duke, Ashley, and Stanley came to support him.

Fireball stood right in front of the demon Fallen Angel. "You have to get past me to touch the servant of the Emperor."

A crowd began to build up as people were running to the parking lot.

Cain and his band looked up fearing the fight would be discovered by authorities, the Fallen Angeline members said, "It's not over. We will catch you guys later."

Jay, Duke, Ashley, and Stanley rode back home.

Later that day, Jay and his bandmates met up at Deira City Centre Mall to have dinner with Scott, who talked about a few prospective gigs for the next week. He still didn't tell them he knew Lanz.

After Scott left, they discussed their rehearsal plans and warned each other to keep an eye out for the Fallen Angeline members.

That night, the boys were rehearsing hard. After band rehearsal was over, Jay was riding back with Duke as far as Duke's home. Then he continued on his own.

It was almost midnight and hardly any vehicles around, Jay was riding with his helmet hooked onto the backrest of his bike to allow the air to run through his hair. As Jay was entering Mirdif, he heard a vehicle racing toward him. The vehicle was coming from the opposite direction in the lane adjacent to him with a concrete barrier between them. He couldnt believe it. It was Cain's SUV. As soon as Cain drove up right next to Jay, he threw an empty beer bottle toward Jay's head. Fireball hit the bottle just inches away from Jay's face.

The SUV sped on with AC/DC music blaring. Cain planned to make a U-turn to get into Jay's lane and continue chasing him from behind. Then an angel sent by the Emperor held Cain's car at the traffic signal with a red light for a full four minutes. He had to wait until Jay almost reached his turn off the main highway.

Jay cut into the residential street leading to his neighborhood. Cain started driving up and down the street looking for Jay but then realized he couldn't keep chasing after him in such a quiet residential area. He gave up the chase and drove away.

Jay went inside the tall gate and concrete walls surrounding his house and locked the gate. He was so shaken as he parked his bike. He sat down on the front steps of the house. The family's Maltese dog licked his hands and face as he lay on the steps and looked at the moon shining above. He was safe at the house.

Fireball sat on the roof, keeping a lookout. He saw that Jay forgot to say a prayer of thanks, Jay heaved a sigh.

Jay texted Duke, "Dude, Cain almost busted my face with a beer bottle."

Duke replied, "Dayumm son! That cain he's crazy."

Jay didn't reply. He went into his room and showered. He was in his books for an hour, then he grabbed some ketchup from the fridge and a wrapped up hotdog that was all that was left in the fridge he brought it to the table. He ate his meal and crashed for the night. Jay knew there could be a fight building up on this, and he needed to be really careful as Cain and his friends seemed to be stalking him near Mirdif.

THE CALL

Jay and his band realized they needed new material to add to their shows and also to start putting together an album. As Jay was writing lyrics, many of the songs were reflecting his inner battles. Sometimes he would get writer's block because he was feeling spiritually dried up.

He knew that he needed to read the Primus Script to keep up the constant flow. He had a Primus Script which he would briefly read every day before he rushed to classes. But Jay had not been going to church regularly due to the travel distance. He missed going to Brown Chapel and Earnest's life group.

He had made a few friends at Murdutch who invited him to their life group that met in Bur Dubai at the apartment of a couple named Tyke and Macy. A few other international students joined them, and they would pray together. The people in the group loved Yeshua and being in his presence.

Jay knew he really needed it, so he started attending. He also invited his bandmates, who came to pray together, and they all loved the life group. After attending the life group for a few weeks, it started reawakening his spirituality. Jay began to be more aware of the Wise One's presence around him again. He also experienced the Prince's love through the people around him. It was as if the Prince had broken himself into many fragments and deposited a piece into each of the people in the life group. Jay often felt like the Prince's voice was speaking to him through others during the life group meetings.

Jay was also becoming more aware of his supernatural abilities. He could see into people and forecast things that would happen to them. He could sense certain things about situations, and he kept seeing a lot in his dreams. He thought he should share these things. He knew the Trinity was with him and felt they had given him these gifts.

He was able to tell people about the experiences he had with the Emperor in Blue primus at the life group. Tyke and Macy acknowledged the gifting in Jay.

One day, he sat in the cafeteria at Murdutch with Dan. Dan was playing with an apple, rolling it around on the table.

Jay asked him, "Hey, Dan, I keep having these dreams."

"What kind of dreams, dude?" Dan asked. "About girls with bikinis and stuff? Because I love those dreams."

"No, no, no," Jay said, laughing. "It's not about that. It's dreams about the future and stuff."

"Really? Did you have one about me and that girl? Do you think we'll hit it off?"

Jay laughed it off and then said, "I'm being serious, dude. I keep seeing dreams about the future. I think it's a gift from the Emperor, but why would I have it?" Then Jay leaned forward and asked, "Can you see angels and demons?"

Dan stopped rolling the apple. "What? Yeah, I do when I see horror movies."

"No, like real angels and demons," Jay said.

Dan gave him a strange look. "No, man, I don't. Are you okay?"

Jay sighed. "Every one said the same thing back at Logwood High. I keep seeing Angels and demons near people.I have met the Trinity. I've even seen demons and angels battling."

Dan listened intently, then asked, "have you smoked crack before ?" He reached out to Jay with an apple. "Here, eat this, it will clear you."

Jay shook his head and walked off to his class.

Dan ran after him, saying, "Jayden, take it easy!"

"I'm okay, man," Jay said as he continued walking.

Dan put his hand on Jay's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jay. Let's talk more about this. I am interested."

Jay smiled. "Okay, buddy." He sat down again. "I know this sound crazy but I am seeing angels and demons and having dreams about the future because it all has to do with my purpose. Every human has a skill, and I know we're on earth for a purpose."

Jay told Dan how he was beginning to have dreams about accidents, mishaps, friends, and what happened in their homes. He would sense the Wise One saying that he needed to warn them. He would walk up to people he knew and tell them what he saw, and they would stare at him in disbelief because that was exactly what they were going through. He felt he was given this gift to help people from every sphere and every area of life.

He knew he had a lot to do in this game of life, and it was serious business. People were living on the words he said because he was an influencer. He was herding people, but to whose side?

The world was a big, blue planet of lost people. It was like a ball spinning slowly to an eternity of hell in a race against time. And there are some who are chosen to show others the way to Blue primus and some who choose for themselves to show the way. Either way, there is a choice to follow through, and both groups could quit anytime by way of distraction. Many start the race with great enthusiasm, knowing their call early in life, and some discover the call later along the way, but few make it to the end. The few who make it save themselves in the end. Yet there was another group who, as they ran, seemed to slow down their place in order to help the ones who couldn't run or got distracted and saved them—these were the true heroes.

Jay went on. "Sometimes I ask myself, 'Who am I?' I feel like I'm in all of those groups at times. What bugs me the most is this question: 'What group am I gonna be in at the last part of life's journey?' Everywhere you look, you can see people working hard on their goals," Jay said, sweeping his hand to refer to all the people in the cafeteria. "They invest, and they reap the reward, but the day of death is still inevitable—everyone is going to die. Then who will make it to Blue primus is the question."

Not knowing what to say, Dan silently nodded and put the core of the apple, which he had finished eating, on the table.

Jay continued, "I've been wondering: why did the Emperor place me in Murdutch University? Could it be that he wants me to be an influence? Based on my experiences so far, I think the gift opens the way for the giver to fulfill his calling. Do you think the Emperor would give us these gifts without a purpose? My parents taught me I should always be a giver. But I think it's not just about material things. For example, a word of encouragement has power and a negative word could kill the years of a human. I feel my call is to equip, build, and to promote, but I'm still learning the ropes."

"Who is the Emperor?" asked Dan

"He is the Creator of the universe," replied Jay.

"Dude, whatever you said is so deep and philosophical," Dan answered in serious tone. "You could win over any girl you want."

"Okay," Jay shook his head, laughing. He gave him their personal handshake as he left for his next class.

CORNERED

As the term went on, Jay got caught up in a long stretch of hectic days of rehearsals and classes. He sometimes skipped the life group because he was too tired to ride home late, and it began to affect him spiritually. The angelic protection around him began to be more permeable as his prayer life was fast declining once again.

Jay had been avoiding Cain and his friends by leaving early and always changing his routes and timings.

One Wednesday afternoon as he was walking the corridor of a campus building, he saw Cain leaning on one of the pillars. Cain had his cell phone in hand and was talking to somebody. The moment Jay saw him, he turned around, but Cain's eye caught a reflection of Jay in a window. He ended the call and began to follow Jay.

Jay was not aware that Fireball was unable to detour Cain because of Jay's many days of prayerlessness. It was confusing Fireball as his vision was blurred at certain points.

Jay reached the parking deck and pulled his bike out from the basement floor. As he was riding it out, an SUV blocked him. Jay stopped the bike and flickered his lights for the car give way, but it didn't move.

Then Cain got out of the car and walked right up to Jay. Cain switched off Jay's bike and pulled the keys out of the ignition.

"Hey, what you doin'?" Jay asked in fear and surprise.

"You still on the list for the competition?" Cain asked. "Didn't I give you a fair warning for a few weeks? You don't understand, do you?"

Jay replied, "We never had a problem with you guys being selected. So why are you having a problem with our band?"

Cain put Jay's keys in his pocket.

"Hey, I need that back, please," Jay said politely.

"If you need it, come and get it, son," Cain replied with an evil laugh.

All at once, his band members came out of the car. They began to play catch with the keys as they moved away from the SUV and Jay's bike.

Jay was getting angry, but he knew he stood no chance. His boys were not around.

The Fallen Angeline band members began to make a very wide circle as they threw the keys around.

Jay stood next to his bike, angry and disturbed at the way he was being bullied. He prayed it would stop.

Cain and his bandmates were laughing and having fun when all of a sudden as the keys were in the air, Duke came out of nowhere and caught the keys. He threw it to Jay as he ran to the entrance.

Jay started his bike and cut diagonally to the SUV and got to the entrance.

All six members began to chase Duke, but Duke was a fast runner. He outran everyone and was at the entrance right in time. He jumped onto Jay's bike, and they ripped away.

"How the heck did he do that and get away?" one of the members asked, disappointed.

Fireball winked at the demons with a smirk as he walked out.

Jay was out riding with Duke. "Dude, thank you tons for that," Jay said. They laughed and did a fist bump as they rode for home.

Duke asked Jay to pull over at a café for some grub. "This Cain guy is really pissing us off," Duke said.

"If it wasn't for the One Above and you, I think today I would have gotten beaten up," Jay said.

"I always follow you around on campus unseen, especially after classes, because that's when Cain and his goons try to mess with you," Duke said.

"How do we get this fixed?" Jay asked.

"Well, telling the authorities doesn't really help without proof. Cain is very manipulative, he will deny it. I think we just need to be very careful."

Duke and Jay ordered some iced teas and cheesy fries, and they ate and drank as they talked about the ordeal.

"If we make any wins with them around, they are gonna try to hurt us," Duke said.

"I figured that," Jay said. "They want us to drop out of the competition, but we won't."

"No way, man," Duke said. "We are not dropping out."

Jay was extra careful about the next few days. He managed to read the Primus Script and pray. He also took a different route home and was careful to park his bike in front of a crowded area. He knew Cain was never going to attack him when a crowd was looking. He was sneaky and liked to attack him when there was no one around.

Jay called up the whole band for a meeting at his house. They were just days away from the big competition, and the posters were being put up all over the colleges, so they needed to be alert. Jay told them that though they were having constant trouble with Cain's band, they were not to feel discouraged but to fight it out, no matter what. They prayed that day, and with the strength of his Emperor the band members went back home assured and hopeful.

THE COMPETITION

On the day of the final round of the battle of the bands, the Rock Fortress Café was ready to explode. It was a huge, rock music-themed restaurant and brewery owned by a sheik. The place was packed and overflowing with mostly college students. The whole place was swarming with the strangest of clothing and a freak show of hairstyles—mohawks, emo hairstyles, rat tails, and hair dyed every color—one would think it was the gathering of the aliens. Some wore tee shirts of their favorite bands. Fallen Angeline fans were all over the place wearing the band's customized tee shirt. There was somebody representing each band, but Route No. 7 was the newest on the block.

The bands from the UAE and all over the Middle East had come for the final fight-out to clinch the trophy of opening act for P.O.D. Playing with the multiplatinum band was the holy grail for every promising band because it also meant huge exposure.

Most of the crowd vouched on Fallen Angeline, but there were lots of fans supporting a few other really good bands that had fought hard to stay on top.

Scott drove his huge Hummer SUV into the underground parking lot of the café and came in with his wife to watch the battle. He had backstage access because of his connections from being an event manager and managing bands. Due to his connections, he and his wife had seats right in the front, so they were able to watch everything.

The air was buzzing with journalists and people with cameras. All sorts of merchandise from the bands were laid out in the stalls. In a few minutes, the whole place was going to be high-energy rock music followed by a mess of puke, beer, and fainting bodies. Many came in to get wasted while drowning themselves in music.

The stage was filled with the best of equipment—huge amps, monitors, and hanging speakers. There were crane cameras and moving cameras onstage. Huge LED screens were at the sides of the stage so people standing way at the back would be able to see.

There were three judges sitting at a table near the stage. A separate jury of music artists and critics was also there to be active in the decision-making. Some of the top musicians and music critics of different genres from all over the Middle East and a few from Europe and other parts of the world were called in as the jury.

The judges introduced themselves and called out the list of band names. The bands had been asked to be in their green rooms while the judges inaugurated the ceremony. Each name caused the crowd to go crazy. The judges' powerful mics were the only reason their voices could be heard. One of the judges announced that the battle would start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 11:00 p.m. Each band would get no more than fifteen minutes to check their sound and could perform three songs only. Out of the twenty-one finalists, only one would emerge as the winner. Then the judges read out the title sponsors for all the bands.

The battle was on, and the bands went onstage and began to perform one by one, with the crowd roaring and speakers blaring. Each genre had a fan following.

There was a break, and a beatboxer went up to do some of his art. He couldn't get past thirty seconds before the rock-loving crowd went mad and booed him off stage. The frustrated beatboxer threw a couple of verbal shots at the crowd, only to be cussed and booed off so badly that the stage bouncers had to carry him out.

During the break, the Route No. 7 band members arrived for the evening segment and went to their green room with their gear. Seeing them go in, a group of a few musicians of other bands strolled into Route No. 7's green room to chat with the band.

Cain also followed behind them with the intention of threatening Jay and his band again. As he was entering the room, he immediately noticed Scott, who was six foot three and had an athletic build, with Jay and his band.

Unknown to everyone else there, Cain had a brief stint working with Scott many years ago, which ended after he tried to cheat Scott off of a music deal. Although Scott was all about fun much of the time, he was not one to pick a fight with.

Upon seeing him, Cain ducked back out before Scott or anyone else in the room had noticed.

A young intern knocked on the door and walked in with an event schedule, handing it to Jay. "You guys are second to last onstage."

"Oh man, why are we second to last?" Jay asked.

Duke, Ashley, and Stanley huddled around to look at the schedule. Ashley pointed to the band list. "Fallen Angeline is right at the end."

The intern gave a puzzled look. "Hey, I don't know. I gotta go," he said as he ran out to deliver the schedule to the other bands.

Scott smiled and said, "Just go do what you always do. Don't worry about where you guys are placed."

The band nodded. Then Scott left the green room to watch the battle.

The next band onstage was Wolf Hybrid. The band had classic rock vibes with lead guitars engulfing the atmosphere and high-power vocals filling the venue. The band got the crowd dancing, jumping, and air guitaring from several sections of the audience.

Cain raised his head and lifted an eyebrow with some interest as he watched the lead singer, but then he turned and said to his Palestinian girlfriend, "They're good, but not even on our level."

The next was a metal band that had the entire place headbanging in unison. The harsh overtones and heavy distortion made people think they were in a world war as the crowd moshed at the pit.

From time to time, Jay and his friends went behind the curtains backstage to watch the bands by peeping through the spaces between the thick backdrops. Many bands came in and displayed their amazing creativity, which got the crowd to behave in the strangest of ways. Jay saw that each band had a demon that was being represented by the front man or band leader.

Fireball was with Jay. He sensed something wrong, so he started walking down the corridor behind the stage. Fallen Angel and three other huge demons were waiting for him, and as he passed by, they sprang from behind and held him in a full nelson. As he struggled, there were a few more demons that came in. He got a few punches on his face, but he kicked a few demons with his legs, throwing them off balance. More demons came in, dodging and landing punches on Fireball as the strong Fallen Angel and his associates held Fireball in place. Fireball was not able to see or hear clearly because prayer had been low in Jay's life in those days again. Fireball was dragged through the darker corridors into a restroom.

Then Fireball sensed strength coming in, due to prayer that had gone up to Blue primus from somewhere, and he was able to wrestle. He kept twisting and turning in the vise grip of Fallen Angel till he managed to set himself free. Fallen Angel and his associates dodged him and ran into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Cain was hiding in the dark spaces backstage, waiting patiently with Judas the lead guitarist with a plan to sabotage the show for Route No. 7. They knew that all the bands were obligated to give a brief interview and take a band photo for the event organizers. They watched as an intern knocked on the door of Route No. 7's green room and listened to the conversation.

"It's time for Route No. 7's interview. Can you all come out to the lounge right now?"

"Should we bring our gear?" Stanley asked. "There's no lock on the door."

"No, you can just leave it. This should only take five minutes or so, and the lounge is right around the corner over here. All the other bands are leaving their stuff behind too. And we really need you right now."

The time was getting close to their performance slot, so the band hurried out with the intern. They left their instruments tuned and ready inside their cases and their processor settings set and checked in the green room.

"Perfect," Cain whispered to Judas with an evil smile. "Do what you gotta do, and do it quick."

While Cain stood guard, Judas went into the room. Judas took out Duke's guitar from the case and turned the tuning knobs, detuning it. Then he pulled out a small screwdriver from his pocket and used it to turn some of the screws in the bridge of the guitar. He put the pick back exactly as it had been between the strings at the second fret and put the guitar back into its case. Cain tapped the door as a sign for Judas to come out quickly before anyone noticed. They moved to a restroom for a smoke and shared a laugh.

The interview took a few minutes longer than expected, and Route No. 7 was up next. Jay and his bandmates rushed back into the green room to pick up their instruments. Scott popped in to wish them the best. Then the band huddled for a quick prayer, grabbed their gear, and went out.

When their band was called to go onstage, they raced against the clock. Jay carried the guitar processors and was helping the guys out to make sure everything was set up in time. People in the crowd were calling out to Jay as many recognized his performance at the first round of the battle of the bands and a few from the clubs around the city. Jay rolled his dreads between his palms as it was his nervous habit. Jay looked at some of his friends from his life group who had come to watch his band. He made eye contact with them and mouthed the word, "Pray!" Then he removed his mic from its stand, which made the crowd go crazy as they were expecting to see something spectacular.

Ashley fixed his double pedals and began to play his drums to check the sound. He got the whole crowd going crazy. Stan began to thump the bass. Duke plugged in his electric guitar last. They only had seconds left before their start time when Duke heard the sound of his guitar. The tunings were off. He played again in disbelief. "How could this happen? I just tuned it!" he said under his breath.

In Blue primus, the angels fixed their eyes on the screen as they saw the Rock Fortress Café down on the earth realm. The Trinity had seen how the whole thing happened. They also saw people praying for Jay. Don, Shelly, Earnest. and Tabitha were praying because Jay had told them this competition was very important for him. The life group led by Tyke and Macy were also praying. Even Lanz and Tasha, who had come to watch the competition, prayed where they were standing on the floor.

Suddenly, the judges took their mics and one of them announced the band. "Next up is Route No. 7. Your time starts now!"

Unaware of Duke's problem, Jay opened the show with his rap lines.

Duke had started tuning his strings hastily, but there was no more time. Then he suddenly had an idea. He started to play the guitar riff in a different way. It even started to sound quite crazy, and Stanley followed suit.

Jay dropped his head low with his dreads hanging down. He began to get the feel of the riff. It wasn't how the song was supposed to go, so he decided not to sing the part but went on to rap instead. All of a sudden, the song went to a whole new level musically. It sounded like an improved version of what it was supposed to sound like.

People were going crazy. As Jay began to rap the chorus, the whole crowd bounced on their feet together as one.

Jay was all over the stage, and so was his band. Duke and Jay were standing back to back as Duke sang into the mic. The mix of rap and singing was incredible. Stan went into slapping the strings as he also invented something new on the spot. The band was completely in sync. When they began to jump all over the place, some started to crowd surf

Suddenly they paused where the guitar's lead solo was supposed to be played, and Jay began to hum the lead guitar part, and the other three harmonized with their voices. It sounded so awesome that the crowd screamed.

Jay jumped on top of the crowd and was crowd surfing all the way to the back. He kept going until he landed safely onstage with the crowd at his heels, screaming their lungs out.

The Fallen Angeline members were dumbstruck as they watched in horror.

Meanwhile, Fireball caught Fallen Angel backstage and gave him a flying knee to his chest. Giving him a smirk, Fallen Angel ducked and lunged toward Fireball to headbutt him. Fireball raised his feet and with a kick to the head sent Fallen Angel reeling. Fallen Angel got up again and began to advance with roundhouse kicks, spinning elbows, and punches, but Fireball was ready. Fireball got down and gave him a leg sweep, and Fallen Angel dropped to the floor. Fallen Angel stood up, stunned.

Then one of the judges announced, "The last band for the finals is Fallen Angeline."

"I'll deal with you later," Fallen Angel said to Fireball as he escaped through the curtain.

Fallen Angeline got onstage and began the sound check. Cain was staring at Jay, burning with jealousy. Cain shifted his stare and looked at Judas. When their backs were turned to the audience, he growled, "How did they do that?"

Judas looked at Cain in fear. "I have no clue! I screwed up his tuning."

Cain picked up the mic as they started playing their music. The crowd turned crazy again as Cain delivered his flawless power vocals and growled into the microphone. Then he picked up a guitar and joined Judas, and they started playing twin lead guitar parts.

When they played the next song, the judges felt their music was getting monotonous, and the delivery wasn't as powerful as it was supposed to be.

The Trinity was fighting for Jay and his band. The Blue primus angels descended into the restaurant. It was Fireball and his battalion versus Fallen Angel and his demons. The fight raged on as the angels picked apart the demons. Fireball threw a kick to the shin of Fallen Angel. Then Fireball blocked his left hook and gave him a spin kick, throwing him hard on the floor. A roar escaped from Fallen Angel's mouth.

At the same time, Cain let out a roar on the stage.

Fireball sprang on top of Fallen Angel and pounded his face with his fists. Fallen Angel tried to defend himself, but Fireball was busting his mouth up and breaking his fangs. Fireball rolled him over onto his stomach and picked him up by applying a rear naked choke hold, draining the power out of him.

"The Trinity is our strong tower," Fireball declared as he choked out Fallen Angel and threw his unconscious body to the floor. As Fireball turned to attack another demon with a kick to the chin, a demon swooped in and dragged Fallen Angel out.

On the stage, a couple of Judas's guitar strings broke. All of a sudden, Trip the drummer's leg got a cramp, and he couldn't kick the double pedal, and he lost the timing. Miko the bassist tried to correct it, but the whole band got confused, and it was going out of control. The music changed, and it was sounding so terrible. Cain couldn't make heads or tails of what he was singing—when he was singing the chorus, Judas had already moved into the verse. Finally, the time was up, and they managed to somehow bring it to a close.

By then, the angels of the Emperor had gagged and tied up the demons.

The crowd gave mixed reactions. Then one guy got up and shouted, "Route No. 7!" Another person said the same, and then another. Soon the whole crowd, including the cooks and the waiters, were all shouting the same. The crowd was crazy and started to chant in unison for Route No. 7.

Cain couldn't believe his ears. He became angry as the crowd continued chanting, "Route No. 7! Route No. 7!" Cain lost his temper and started yelling foul language at the crowd, but the crowd was getting even wilder.

A few minutes after the band had cleared their gear and exited the stage, all three judges appeared onstage. The jury had already given their votes.

The main judge walked up and announced, "This has been an incredible event, and it has been extremely hard to judge this competition with the best bands in the Middle East coming together. We had to have the entire jury help us out. Well, the winner is... any guesses?"

The judges looked at the wild crowd. Many chanted, "Fallen Angeline," and others called out, "Route No. 7."

The three judges announced it together, taking turns. "The winner is... Route..."

"Number..."

"Seven."

The crowd cheered and roared. People were jumping and dancing. The judges called out the members of Route No. 7. In the presence of all the bands, the jury, and the swarming crowd, they gave them the trophy. The crowd roared.

Jay picked up the trophy as tears rolled down his and his bandmates' cheeks. He looked to Blue primus and said, "This is for you." He took the mic and said, "I wanna say we got this because of the Trinity."

The judges clapped. The main judge took the mic and announced the dates for the show with P.O.D. as the crowd kept cheering on.

Fireball and the angels bowed down in worship to the Trinity.

Jay, Duke, Ashley, and Stanley went back into their green room. They knelt down and worshipped and thanked the Trinity for the victory for a few minutes.

Then they were escorted to a private room to enjoy a fully paid dinner. A feast was laid on a large table for them: Buffalo wings with dips, fried calamari, cheese balls, cheese, a large plate of pineapple and meat skewered together, lamb cutlets, baked beans, huge burgers and club sandwiches with tall glasses of cold lemonade. The boys had huge appetites, so they gorged on their food and ate till they couldn't move. Dessert came in late, which was good for them as they needed to make space in their bellies.

Later on, Scott, Shannon, Lanz, and Tasha came in together to congratulate the band for their first big award. Since Jay had not come on his bike, Scott dropped him off at his home.

Jay was so excited and happy as he lay down in his bed while Fireball stood guard in the room. Fireball was aching from the attack, but he was alright.

* * *

The members of Fallen Angeline had left the venue hastily. Cain was driving like a maniac with Judas, Trip, Miko, and their girlfriends in his car. He headed to a nearby beach so they could have a smoke, clear their minds, and talk about what happened. Cain didn't put on any music, and there was dead silence in the car.

After fifteen minutes of driving, Cain pulled off the main road and onto an empty beach. He stopped the car and snarled, "Everybody, get out of the car! I wanna talk to you all!"

Then he looked at Judas and cussed at him. "What the **** happened? The heck did you do? Then he looked at the drummer and the bassist. "What the * * ** were you guys playing?"

They were silent.

Cain's girlfriend put her arms around him and held him, hoping he wouldn't start a fight.

Judas quickly answered, "Cain, I detuned their guitar! I even messed up the intonation so there was no way he could retune it right there! He was having trouble—I could see it—but he just invented some new kind of playing! That's what busted us."

Cain stared at Judas till Judas looked away. "We've beaten so many bands and got to the top, and this kid comes outta nowhere!" Cain yelled a series of obscenities. "Screw Route No. 7! Screw the competition, screw Jay, screw it all but What happened to our band? I cannot believe we lost! I'm not entering Murdutch for a time. I'm going to Sweden for a couple weeks."

Cain drove his SUV back home with his friends. They were disappointed and angry. They drank till they passed out.

WHO IS THE BOSS?

Down in the depths of the earth, the gates of hell opened as the demons entered. General Fear and General Temptation went to see Fallen Angel and the other demons. They sat down for a conference in the remodeled and newly furnished conference room. Lucifer sat at the head of the newly replaced conference table.

"They handed us our first loss," Fallen Angel said, still aching from the attack.

Another demon said, "We almost got them, but Jay got backup prayer from his home in Oman and from his life group. That's when I knew we were losing. It's time we changed our method of attack on him. Maybe we can take him out if we could get him to stop praying."

"It's time to tempt him harder, you idiots," Lucifer said. "Music is my field, it's my forte, it's my talent, and you fools couldn't even beat these humans. You are spoiling my name, you illegitimate children!" He yelled in anger.

"I even detuned the guitar," another evil spirit said.

"Then why didn't it work?" Lucifer asked.

"The believers of the Prince say that what the enemy meant for evil, he will turn it for their good," the evil spirit said.

"Shut it!" Lucifer growled.

Then he stood up and began to proclaim in a loud voice, "I was the Guardian Cherub. I had music flowing through my veins and sounds from my pipes. My beauty was perfection. I had precious stones that adorned me. You remember the way all of you watched me lead the worship? The music—it was second to none. You all knew there wasn't one singer like me. Who can you find? Name him. Come on, name him! The way I played my instrument, the way I channeled the wind through the pipes, the chords, the notes that I hit, the way I walked in the midst of fiery stones! Oh, I knew I was so beautiful!

"What's wrong if I am worshipped when I am so beautiful? Why couldn't he at least allow a few of the angels and Elders to bow before me! What harm was there in that? Why couldn't I be the Lord of Lords? Why couldn't he share his throne with me? Why couldn't I be Emperor for a day, an hour, a minute? Why did he expel me? If it could be the Emperor, the Prince, the Wise One, and me, imagine what they could do with me! Imagine what we could accomplish!

"But then they were grieved, I suppose. The Emperor who created everything was ready to send his son to die before the foundations of the world for that wretched mankind race of his, but for me to share his throne, he was not ready. Double standards? What was wrong with my idea of bringing a bit of sin and pleasure? If the Trinity would have agreed, then we could have even had an allegiance with sin and enjoyed things our own way. This would have been my creative world.

"But the Trinity opposed my idea, my plan, and my desires, so you, my followers, and I fought like warriors. We fought for me, my kingdom, my name, my fame, but we were thrust out and abandoned. Why? Do you remember the Warrior Angels—the way they drew their swords against us? The way the Warrior Angels assaulted me in the presence of the Elders of Blue primus? The way Michael fought me and the way he stomped me in the sky realms and through the portals of glory? I thought Michael would join me, that backstabber! And Gabriel—I had thought that even he would not leave my side! The Messenger Angels—they dug their swords into our sides. They stood with the Emperor, the Prince, and the Wise One.

"Remember how they routed us out by the millions. They even cast us from the Blue primus—the place of our birth, our birthright, our territory—and we fell. It was torturous to hear the sound of worship from the lips of those wretched Morning Star Angels as we fell, giving praises to the Trinity, whom we detest. If they could stay there, then we should be able to as well!

"I will reclaim this. I will bring my dominion. I will, with my power. One day, by my might, my arm, my strength, my beauty, my power, my wisdom, my influence, my..."

"Silence!" A loud voice from Blue primus exploded into the atmosphere.

Lucifer and the demons jumped off their seats and hid under the conference table, trembling with fear. Their terror made green liquid start flowing out of them. The fear of the voice caused their muscles to contract with such an impact that they had a flow.

Their lips trembled and their knees knocked together as they saw a bright light and a pair of feet at the end of the conference room. The light from the feet even pierced through the walls and darkness of hell. It was so bright that the demons ran from aisle to aisle and the ones outside the conference room fled from corridor to corridor.

Lucifer was physically stunned. He didn't have the nerve to even raise himself up from the floor. The glorious power from the feet of the Prince was so great that he felt he was about to die. The air was so thick he couldn't breathe. It was like poison to him.

The demons had to get away from the feet. Some drilled holes into the floor with their heads and kept clawing with their hands and feet as far as they could go. They couldn't even stand being within sight of the light of his beautiful feet. But as they all tried to crawl away, they were paralyzed.

Lucifer opened his eyes slowly. He was under the conference table. All he could see was the feet. His vision was blurred, but for a moment, he saw nail wounds on the feet. "The Prince," he whispered with his eyes wide open, struck with terror. Vomit rose up into Lucifer's mouth, and he spewed it out. The filth inside of Lucifer began to ooze from his eyes, nose, and ears and made a pool around his own feet. He knew he wouldn't make it if the Prince did not leave. He curled up as he felt death and stiffness taking over his body.

The Prince said in a loud voice, "Don't forget that I crushed you on Calvary. My blood has the power to win humankind, and I will win them. You deceiver, your time will come. All your evils will be weighed, and my father and I will end you once and for all—you and all your demons."

Lucifer fell prostrate. Every muscle of his was pulled, his skin began to dry up and break, and his joints had popped out of their sockets.

The demons around him vomited excessively and couldn't utter a word. Lucifer and the demons blacked out, one by one.

* * *

"O Prince Lucifer, wake up! O Prince Lucifer, please wake up!o O mighty Luci..." False Prophet stopped speaking when he saw Lucifer suddenly start blinking.

Lucifer opened his eyes. His vision was so blurred that he was almost blind. The room looked like several tsunamis and earthquakes combined with a few nuclear bombs had hit it. The conference table was shredded to pieces like rotten wood, the corridors were ruined, every tile and stone was pulled out and the ceilings had collapsed. Demons were still crawling out of the dust and splinters. The rescue teams of demons from earth had arrived. They were doing everything they could to help. A huge group was standing around Lucifer to help him, and they finally managed to have him stand.

Lucifer's knees knocked against each other as he spoke with a slurred tongue, "Howsh didsh he come heeeaa?" "How didsh he accessh dis corridorrrr? Wh-h-ho letsh himm insh?"

Lucifer was very sick. He needed attention. He and the affected demons in the conference room were in great distress. The other demons with him were also in very bad shape, but since the Prince left, they began to feel better.

"How many came with him?" False Prophet asked as he watched Lucifer.

Lucifer could not answer. He was holding his head and his horns in great fear. He was pulling his own hair. He seemed to feel the pain that was dealt to him two thousand years ago all over again. Lucifer was delirious.

Every demon who practiced demonic healing came with all their potions.

Lucifer begged all the demons, "Please don't mention his name! Please, please don't! Can't you see what it does to me?" Lucifer cried bitterly. His body broke out into fever as it discharged foul-smelling ooze.

All of hell was affected by the visitation, so False Prophet calmed all the demons using telepathic communications. "Just give it a few days. Prince Lucifer and the generals will be okay. Please make sure nobody brings this topic up ever again. Dispatch demons immediately to earth and get people to commit all kinds of sin. Move it!"

Hosts of demons flew out to the east, west, north, and south of the earth realm.

False Prophet continued, "Apply all dark magic, wizardry, and occult arts to heal Lucifer, the generals, and all who went through this tragedy in the quickest manner possible." The rest of you, get to work and rebuild the corridors. Just abandon the conference room. No one is going there anymore. I want the whole area sealed off! This has been one of our worst hits since the crucifixion."

False Prophet walked to the entrance of hell. He questioned the demon guards sharply. "Why didn't you warn us? Were you asleep?"

One of the demon guards replied, "O False Prophet, we are always fully alert! It was the Spirit of the Trinity—we couldn't even see him on our radar. He jammed all the signals. The Prince used a supernatural way to enter. We could feel the vibrations, and then we fell down paralyzed and unconscious, not knowing what was happening. After some time, we woke up but have been hurting from head to toe."

False Prophet suddenly fell down, convulsing and vomiting. The aftershocks were still going on. The demon guards helped him up and supported him as he staggered into the depths of hell to inspect the rest of the places that had been affected. Hell was filled with vomit, sweat, and foul-smelling odors discharged by the convulsing demons. The entire place was shattered and needed heavy reconstruction. Every carefully built-up structure of demigods and idols and every vile image was smashed to pieces. The conference room, which had just been repaired after much hard work, was demolished once again.

Throughout the next few weeks, all hell could hear the shrieks and groans of Lucifer as he looked like a rabid dog frothing at the mouth and rolling all over his bed of sickness. The presence of the Prince weakened him greatly. The memory of the wounds and the feet of the Prince made him almost insane with fright. He had nightmares constantly for the next few weeks, but the evil, sickness, and sin that the human race increased upon the earth—the greed, the lust, the murders, the adulteries, the filth—gave him and the demons an evil strength to revive slowly.

* * *

Many thousands of miles above the earth, The Prince appeared on the Hillock in Blue primus.

The children ran to him as he entered the garden. "Where were you, Prince?" the children asked in a chorus.

"Oh, I just went down to remind an old fool and his foolish friends that I am the boss."

He threw his head back and laughed so hard that even the children were affected by his contagious joy. They were rolling all over the lawn laughing.

The Emperor and the Wise One laughed with him from the throne as they lovingly looked at the Prince. The angels who were watching the video of the throne room on the cloud screen laughed. Soon, the whole of Blue primus began to laugh.

All of a sudden, the climate changed on many parts of the earth, and there was an atmosphere of peace and blessing in several countries, towns, and cities.

BAND MANAGEMENT

The night after the battle of the bands, Jay got a call from Scott Nelson asking him and his band to come over to his house for breakfast the following weekend.

On the morning of their meeting, Jay and Duke picked up Ashley and Stanley from Deira and rode to Scott's house at 8:00 a.m. They arrived at a luxurious house in the Business Bay district with a huge pool, a big garden, and a backyard.

Scott and his wife Shannon came outside to receive them warmly and walked them into their house.

When they all sat down for breakfast, Scott and Shannon said a prayer before they started. Then Jay and his friends listened as Scott and Shannon began to share about their background.

Scott grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he was brought up in an average home. As a young man, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he worked his way up in the music scene, starting as a band lead singer and guitarist. He was a great vocalist when he was young. Then he began to manage bands and later started to manage events. His expertise became so well known that several countries began to hire him to put shows together.

He had married Shannon when he was just twenty-two and she was twenty-one. They had three sons in their twenties, and all three were now working in Europe. Scott became an established businessman who also worked with restaurants and real estate. He had his own restaurant chain running in three countries in Europe and the US. He had been all around the world working as an event organizer while his wife took care of the other businesses.

After doing this for over two decades and making a huge amount money, they moved to Dubai a decade ago. He started to manage the best bands in and around the Middle East, even helping work out international tours. He also helped bands get signed. Scott was now fifty years old.

Jay and his bandmates could see that Scott was a good, kind man without a dishonest bone in his body. Scott and Shannon were hardworking, humble people, and they had a lot of respect for hardworking people.

Scott said to them, "We were so impressed by all of your performances, and we felt it's time you guys considered me to manage you guys."

Jay and the boys listened with mouths wide open. They couldn't believe they were about to be managed by Scott Nelson, a famous event organizer.

Scott went on to say that he believed in the bands he worked with and wanted to bring out their full potential. He believed in creativity. He and his wife believed in transparency and complete integrity regarding money with bands and did not promise them more than they could offer. He worked very hard to establish many bands, but many had backstabbed him over the years. There were times they even let bands stay in their house, and they fed and took care of them. However, some people had been vicious to them, and some were cunning, using Scott and his influence to curry favor for themselves. Scott forgave all of them, but he never forgot; he learned to be careful.

Scott continued with a smile. "I see a different spirit in you all. I have watched you guys since some of your first gigs at" Lanz Stand "and heard about you praying in the green rooms at your gigs. I have seen how much work you have put into your music and how you wanted to work more on originals than playing covers like everyone else."

Jay, Duke, Stanley, and Ashley looked at each other. They nodded with big smiles.

Then Scott asked, "Can we pray together now? You can give me an answer only if you feel peace in your hearts about it. Or you want to go back and pray about this and come back to me later? That's also okay, but feel free to finish your breakfast and have a good swim in the pool. We have extra swimming trunks too."

It was getting really hot and everybody in the Middle East loved to be in a pool. The boys laughed and said, "Yes!"

"We could have a swim," Duke said.

Scott and Shannon prayed with the boys, and Jay began to feel the presence of the Trinity.

Jay told Scott and Shannon that he wanted to speak to the boys privately and that by the end of their discussion, he could give them an answer.

"Perfect," Scott said, and they enjoyed the rest of their heavy English breakfast.

After breakfast, the boys went into a room to pray about the decision.

Then Jay said to the band, "I think we need a manager like Scott because he honors God, he is respectful, and he is an ace at his job."

Duke said, "Yeah, and he was with us from the very beginning at the gigs we played around Dubai."

"That's right," Jay said. "I have a good feeling about this. How do you guys feel about it?"

"Yeah, man," Ashley said. "I'm at peace with it. It's totally awesome!"

"I agree," Stanley said. "Let's go ahead with this."

"Awesome!" Jay said.

They all gave each other high fives.

When the boys went out of the room, Scott was sitting with his wife in the living room.

Jay walked up to Scott and Shannon and said, "Yes, Mr. Nelson, we want you to be our manager."

Scott and Shannon were so happy.

"That's my boys!" Scott said as he hugged everyone. He smiled and said, "Just call me Scott."

Scott pulled out a few papers. "Okay, so please read these and fill out these forms, all of you. How many original songs have you guys written?

Jay answered, "We have about twelve, and we can play a live gig for about an hour."

Duke said, "We are also writing a few more as I am working on some riffs."

"I have had some ideas too," Ashley said, "and wanted to work them out."

Stan said, "We've been talking about getting more creative by putting in a lot of our recent music influences and combining it with music we listened to in the past and putting a new twist in every song."

Scott replied, "Okay, so here is what I want you guys to do. Practice every day, whether you guys all meet together or not. Work out new music, keep writing songs and keep practicing them. I also want you guys to get physically fit enough to rock the stage for three hours. So jog, do pushups, pull-ups, and eat right. If we work together, we will be able to accomplish our goals. Be transparent with me about anything that bothers you, and if you need any help, my wife and I are here for you. I'd love to meet your folks someday so they are aware of who you are working with. After we play for a year and boost your street credit, that's when we will work on getting you signed to the right label."

"Is there anything else?" he pondered out loud. "Oh, and most importantly, you guys need to start rehearsing as a band way more, starting from tonight. In three weeks, P.O.D. will be playing in the stadium, and the place is gonna be jam-packed. I'm in charge, along with a few of my friends, of the stage and event so I want you to burn the place down. Feel free to hang around until I also finish filling out your forms and give you guys a copy. Now who wants to go for a swim?"

They changed into swimming trunks and splashed around in the pool. Afterwards, they had lunch, and then the boys got ready to leave.

Just before they drove away, Scott said to them, "You surf the crowd, you rule the tide."

That night, the boys met up for rehearsal and worked hard on their music, knowing that in three weeks, they were to hit the biggest stage they had ever played.

Jay remembered a tip he had gotten from Scott: "You wanna be a dynamic stage performer, then you gotta sing as you run. Try to hold the pitches accurately while running the entire time, and do as many songs as you can like that. Also, get into headbanging and perform like you would onstage."

Jay and his bandmates did as they were told. Gradually, the whole band improved.

One day, Jay was invited to a party by his friend Evonne, whose brother gave him a full glass of strong wine. Jay drank it and began to feel very light-headed and started talking too much.

Duke pointed out, "Jay, you sound a bit drunk, man."

Jay was embarrassed. In most of the venues where his band played, they would give the band beer, but he and his bandmates never drank it, though they would often drink wine with their dinner. Jay had never gotten tipsy before.

He drank some juice and began to eat his chicken salad, and the effects of the alcohol wore off quite quickly. He still felt guilty afterwards.

That night during his weekly call with his parents, Jay asked them for Brother Earnest's phone number. When he called Brother Earnest, he asked him for his take on alcohol.

"It's not wise for a leader to be drunk," Brother Earnest said. "Would you trust your pilot to drink alcohol before he flew?"

"No way!" answered Jay.

"Then when you are doing the Emperor's assignment through the talents he has placed in you, you must not."

After their conversation, Jay called his band members and told them about his new take on alcohol. "I don't know about you guys, but I have made a decision not to drink alcohol anymore and to stay away from any drugs, because we have been chosen for a purpose, and people look up to us. You can think about it and make your own decision, but today, I have taken an oath."

Later that night, Jay called up Scott and informed him of his decision. Scott and his wife were pleased.

Scott said, "That's a good idea because some bands we managed in the past had fallouts due to alcohol and drug problems. I hope the rest of your band follows suit."

PUBLICITY IN THE CITY

The concert posters were out all over the colleges and most of the cafés and restaurants in Dubai. There were even huge billboards of P.O.D., with Route No. 7 as the opening band. People in the city remembered Route No. 7 as the small-time band of enthusiastic college boys who had been playing in most of the cafés and clubs around the city. People began to recognize them on the streets and to congratulate them. Some girls and guys came up to them in malls to take pictures. They were starting to feel like celebrities, but Jay had to remind himself, "Pride goes before a fall."

Jay, Ashley, Duke, and Stanley saw the concert posters all over their university campus and also on three big billboards on the main road toward the university. All of Murdutch was ecstatic about a band from their own university opening for such a famous band as P.O.D. Even many of the Fallen Angeline fans had begun to like Route No. 7.

The publicity was creating jealousy in the Fallen Angeline members at a whole new level.

Jay and his bandmates walked together everywhere on campus because they were aware of the threat they had become to Fallen Angeline.

One morning during the week of the concert, Judas watched the four guys walking to their classes. He called up Cain, who was in Sweden. "All the four knuckleheads are here," he said.

"Hmm... don't do anything till I get back," Cain said. "I'll be landing tomorrow morning. Meet me at Business Bay. We shall discuss."

The next day, Cain and his friends vandalized some of the notice boards on the campus.

When Jay was at home in the evening, he got a call from an unknown number.

"Listen very carefully. Don't open for P.O.D. If you do, you will suffer consequences that you will seriously regret. So just go injure yourself or something, but if you don't listen, it's not going to be good for you," the caller said and hung up.

Jay called up Duke and the rest of the guys and told them about the call. "Do you think I should tell Scott? We have only three days left before the gig."

"I think you should," Duke said.

Jay called Scott that night after band rehearsal and told him about all the threats they had received from Cain.

Scott heard everything patiently. "Okay, since we're just three days away, all of you will be staying at my house. I have a big jam room, and you guys can rehearse there."

Cain tried using his influence to get the dean to take down the posters at the university. He also began to call the university student council members he knew and his friends to discourage them from attending the concert and to boycott Route No. 7. He and his band even tried to threaten their own fans not to attend the concert.

They even made up a story that Route No. 7 had sabotaged his band before entering the competition. As the rumor spread, it resulted in a lot of confusion. Some students who were fans of Fallen Angeline began to tear down the concert posters and tried to vandalize some university property out of anger, but the campus security brought the situation quickly under control, and those students were fined for damages. The concert organizers put new posters up in place of the ones that had been destroyed.

Despite Cain and his friends' efforts, they could not stop the publicity from spreading infact it spread even more thanks to all the lies Cain and his band cooked up. The newspapers started to cover Route No. 7, and many more rock magazines followed after them.

CONCERT NIGHT

Outside in the desert, General Jinn and the demon general who oversaw the region, known as Prince of Persia, gathered a huge army to fight against the concert as they approached in the dust storm that was directed to hit the venue.

There was an unusual darkness in the city, and the moon was hidden. Cars on the roads began to crash into each other. The traffic was held up. Many were injured and cars were dented, but nobody got killed because angels were working as the Emperor had instructed.

Scott was still maneuvering in the traffic with all the boys in his Hummer. "Pray, guys. It's a huge spiritual attack."

The boys began to pray. Jay called his parents and his life group and asked them to pray as they were all on the way to the venue.

Don and Shelly had flown down to see their son live in concert. Their flight had almost been canceled because of bad weather, but as they prayed, an angel was dispatched to clear the skies with his battalions against the Prince of Persia. They landed and safely got to their room on the fourteenth floor of Gloria Hotel.

Many were getting stuck in the traffic because of the crazy dust storm and zero visibility. There were hazard lights everywhere and pileups. The demons attacked people's cars in front of the Hummer. They saw Fireball and advanced to attack him and the Hummer, but Fireball defended them all well, with the help of angels dispatched to help the police force on the ground.

The vehicle safely entered the venue, and Scott, his wife, and the band were escorted backstage.

Don and Shelly also got into the venue without a scratch. They got front row seats.

The evening was cool. The concert venue was roaring with a mostly standing audience of fifty thousand people. The ones who could afford it got seats in the front rows. The crowd was mostly girls and guys from the age group of fifteen to thirty. There was an assortment of college students, high school students, famous actors, and popular musicians from around the world.

There were stalls at the back with merchandise from all the performers, and fans were swarming all around the P.O.D. merchandise stall. There were tattoo stalls and couches placed a few yards from the big video screens around the venues.

Lanz and Tasha with their crew from Lanz Stand were running the food stalls. They were zipping around with hot dogs, burgers, club sandwiches, buffalo wings, lemonade, and other beverages. They had so many sales that they had to keep a staff of twenty in each to handle the incoming crowd.

The event started at 7:00 p.m. The whole performance was being broadcasted on live TV. There were so many lights and a mountain of huge speakers on the massive stage. They had top-notch amplifiers and line array speakers. There was a separate mixer onstage other than the main one. The lighting and sound looked and sounded like a mighty storm rolling. Several cameras followed the sheik, the chief guest of the night, as he walked up to the stage to inaugurate the event. He was a man of high standards and had developed the country to the next level in a short time. He was well praised and greatly respected by the crowd.

There was an elaborate pre-opening act that included special performances by Arabian dancers, flame throwers, deejays, renowned solo performers on instruments like the harp, the Japanese flute, and the violin. Every artist who performed was nothing less than perfect, and after each finished, the press chased them down in the green room for interviews.

Scott was with the boys in the huge green room praying. After that, the makeup artists did up the band members' faces. The band members were wearing their typical nu metal style of clothing—loose, baggy jeans with chains attached to them, black tee shirts, and Adio Shoes. Jay had a black armband below his elbow and silver rings on almost all his fingers. Jay and Duke had painted their nails black, and Jay had his dreadlocks tightened up for the show.

The Russian emcee came up onstage in her shimmering dress and announced, "Well, we have a young group of guys who won the battle of the bands against some of the greatest bands of the Middle East and are now here as the opening band for the evening. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Route No. 7!"

The crowds roared in full support as thousands of hands went up in the air. They screamed for Route No. 7 as they began to play an intro.

Jay knelt down with his brow touching the floor carpet in worship to the Trinity before he got up and stood before the crowd. The band sounded incredible as they played the intro guitar leads and heavy riffs with double pedals on the drums sounding like bullets from a machine gun and a pounding bass that felt like a heart that was about to burst from its chest.

Jay lifted his head and looked at the crowd. He couldn't see the end, but on his right he saw the Prince.

"I am with you," he said.

Then Jay was possessed with a surge of power he had never felt before.

Thousands upon thousands of angels descended upon the crowd and the stage. Fireball was dressed in shining armor.

An Assassin Angel appeared to hand him a sword. "Raid, you'll need this sword for this battle."

Fireball immediately recognized the sword with the ivory handle. "It feels as good as new, just like the last time I used it!" He closed his eyes, put his hand on his chest and said, "Thank you."

Once the dust storm cleared, General Jinn began to create an eerie fog all around and tried to get it to descend into the stadium.

The Warrior Angels fought the demons. They slashed Jinn across the chest, and he was thrown onto his back.

Suddenly, a neighboring hotel caught fire, and the smoke alarms were not working. But many churches had begun to pray even before the event for the Emperor's will to be done, so Warrior Angels sent by the Emperor began to descend with powerful east winds that blew away the fog. Then a huge thunderstorm came, and rain began to fall. It cleared up the dust, and the fire was doused. The angels stood arm to arm, forming a force field that did not allow the rain to fall into the open-air stadium.

Jay picked up the mic to perform his first song, "Life." He began to sing flawlessly and hit very high notes. As the song progressed, Duke began to play his guitar leads and sing harmony along with Stanley.

The crowd was packed like sardines in a tin can. Many were sitting on their friends' shoulders for a better view. The music was getting people to sway from side to side and move around.

Then the band moved to their next song "Coming Back," which had the band singing the high-pitched chorus and dancing. The crowd received these well, and they began to get wilder. The next song was a technically complex, progressive rock song called "Aisle," and then they flowed into the next song, "Microphone." Jay began to interact with the crowd with his crazy rap lines as he entertained them, making them crowd surf to the music.

Jay got the crowd to chant the chorus of their song, "Way." Many people in the crowd felt something tugging their hearts as they sang along. Then Jay began to freestyle rap and got the crowd bouncing. As he did, they were almost breaking down the barricade in front of the stage. The energy was volatile. Some people tried to climb up the barricade. They were given a warning and sent back into the crowd.

Jay finished the set by climbing onto the barricade himself and diving into the crowd. Fireball jumped into the air with him, and thirty angels below prodded the people to put their arms up stiff and strong as the angels placed their arms behind theirs. Jay fell on the hands and began to surf the huge crowd. The music was getting more and more intense. Jay floated all over the place till the security crew helped him to land back onstage.

At the end of their set, the crowd began to shout for an encore.

Jay looked at Duke. "Reasons?"

Duke smiled as he began to play the riff. Ashley and Stanley were ready as they pounded out the song.

Though the crowd went berserk, the people were all aware of their surroundings and made sure everyone was safe.

As Route No. 7 left the stage after their set, Scott and Shannon congratulated them. As they walked back together toward the green room, Jay saw the dreadlocked lead singer Sonny Sandoval standing with Marcos Curiel of P.O.D. Jay was ecstatic that he could meet the lead singer and guitarist of P.O.D. and blown away at how humble they were.

Jay and his bandmates went into the green room for a quick washup. There were twenty minutes before P.O.D. would hit the stage, and Jay and his bandmates were interviewed by many, many people from the press. They ate catered sandwiches and lemonade before being escorted to the area immediately in front of the stage where there were a lot of other musicians and celebrities waiting to watch P.O.D. perform.

Suddenly, the display on the stage changed to the P.O.D. logo of the Trinity. The stage lights were off as the P.O.D. intro anthem, "Celestial" began. The presence of the Trinity permeated the venue. Thousands of people began to feel a surge of power as Sonny Sandoval walked in out of nowhere. Marcos Curiel opened up with a powerful lead guitar part as he walked in from behind fist-pumping Sonny. Traa Daniels began to play his pounding bass, and finally Wuv Bernardo came and sat on his drum throne. With a blasting roll, they started their electrifying set with a crazy display of pyrotechnics.

The stage was lit up, and the song "Set It Off" set the temperature of the crowd so high that they went wild, causing the barricades to sway back and forth. An army of bouncers and security guards swarmed the gaps, trying to contain the crowd. Many were crowd surfing, while many others were jumping and dancing.

The band played the crowd favorites "Satellite," "Boom," "Alive," "Rock the Party," "Youth of the Nation," "Breathe Babylon," and many more. The fans seemed to know every song. There was a beautiful atmosphere in the stadium .Many discarded their cigarettes and drinks because they felt so good listening to the music. There was power behind the music.

People were sweating bullets and dousing themselves with water. The barricades were crowded with security making sure nobody tried to jump onto the stage.

Jinn and the demons were fighting back during the entire concert, but to no avail; the angelic armies were too powerful. Jinn saw the Prince of Persia still fighting, but it wasn't looking good. The angels routed out the demons and thrust them into the portals. Jinn began to flee.

Then P.O.D. began to play their final song, "Goodbye for Now." They ended their set with an encore of "Set It off."

P.O.D. had interviews and a press conference for about an hour. Then they had a chopper lift them to their hotel for dinner and to retire for the night.

The rest of the mass of humanity leaving the stadium was moving at snail's pace. It took hours for the traffic around the venue to clear up completely.

After the concert, Jay met with his folks, who were ever so proud of him. He introduced them to Scott and Shannon, who had great things to say about Jay. It was a very proud moment as they all gave thanks to the Trinity. Then the whole party followed a private passageway out of the stadium and went back to the hotel.

On the way, they saw police all over the roads, clearing the traffic. There were cars with smashed hoods and bumpers and many people injured. The angels stood in a line all along the way, helping the police clear the debris and helping all people, even the complaining, injured, and fearful ones.

As they reached Jay's parents' hotel, they were shocked to see a huge crowd. That was when they saw that the hotel next to them was burned. The hotel had lost four of the floors to the fire, which was put out by the rain. By the help of the Emperor and his angels, the rescue operation was to save all seven hundred people.

Jay needed a holiday in a few days he made some plans.