"A Fate Less Human" (Chapter 1)
Copyright 2001 Jared Falvo
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Author's Note: Although this story is a work of fiction, certain elements of it are actually based in biblical fact, provided you believe the Holy Bible is inspired of God and not just a book of fiction in itself. I point you to Genesis 6:1-4. And to back it up, Job 1:6 to prove that the sons of God were, indeed, angels. If the scriptures are correctly interpreted to mean the sons of God (angels) took on fleshly bodies to have relations with the daughters of men , then the giants referred to were the direct offspring of those angelic/human relations. Needless to say, I don't think it was a good thing.
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It was in November of 2000 that it all first occurred...
But, years before then, things had taken place in my life that would give structure and substance to what took place to change my life forever.
I had originally picked 'Wolf' as my online handle in the late 80's. After a few more changes, a couple years on down, I finally settled on "Luposian" as my last and final handle. Little did I realize just how much fate had and would play a role in that particular name selection.
I was browsing around town, as I normally do on my bike, when I came to an old Magick Shop. I'd been there once before, but now it was empty and abandoned. Boarded up. Gone. I peered in to where the plywood wasn't covering. I heard a sound of someone approaching and turned. A stranger approached me with a smile.
"Whatever you'd be looking for inside there..." he said, pointing to the abandoned store.
"Is already right there." he finished, tapping my chest.
I was too surprised by his outgoing, slightly intrusive, nature to be offended by him touching me directly.
He handed me a card. It was blank except for a phone number. He turned and started walking away.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"A brother in Christ, but not one of you."
"And that's supposed to mean?" I asked, following after him.
"Call the number... you'll find out." he replied as he walked on, around a corner, and out of sight.
I stopped and looked at the number again. Strange fellow. Seemed to think he knew exactly who he was handing the card to. Did he? I decided to head home and call the number later on... if I remembered.
Around 9:00pm, my wife and I put our 2 year old son to bed and she headed to the computer room, letting me go into the workshop. I tinkered around on the computer awhile, but then decided to test the phone line. Good. It was open. That meant she was offline. I started to go online, when I remembered the card. I pulled it from my denim jacket pocket and looked at the number. Might as well find out what that crazy guy was promoting.
I quickly dialed the number and waited for an answer. I wasn't surprised I got an answering machine.
"Thank you for calling. We are a group of born-again Christians devoted to serving God in the most direct way possible. If your walk with God isn't what you've wanted it to be, feel free to come join in on one of our meetings and see if our walk meets your needs. We meet 7 days a week, at noon."
I listened to the address information. I wasn't much surprised that it was one of the small "churches" I'd ridden past before. In fact, I was pretty sure it was the mobile home converted for such use. I decided to take opportunity and visit the following day.
My wife took our son to her mother's house for the day, leaving me ample time to bike down to the place. As I pulled into the driveway, I saw about 19 others milling around, talking. It had the feel of a family gathering. Oddly enough, I remembered seeing a group of people, a few times before, in front of this same place. Not as large a group, of course, but enough to know "church" was going on.
As soon as I parked my bike, one of the people, which I sensed was the leader, came over and welcomed me to the meeting.
"Glad you could make it!", he said cheerfully.
"You sound as though you know why I'm here." I replied.
"I've seen you ride by a few times. I never forget a face. I sensed you'd be coming around eventually. You know, God never does anything by accident."
"Agreed. He's got the foreknowledge thing all figured out." I said, with a slight chuckle.
"Yup. Indeed He has. Well, the meeting is going to start momentarily, so why don't we start heading in?"
He made a slight gesture to the rest and the clamor of their combined conversations died down as they quickly and quietly filed inside.
They all took seats and the leader directed me to a seat near his podium. All eyes, including mine, were affixed to him.
"We all know why we are here. To serve God. But the majority of us know in what capacity we serve Him and how. There are some here today that have little knowledge of what brought them here or why. But they will know soon enough... even today... if they are willing to accept the truth of it. But regardless of all, it is their choice to change their lives as Christians. To remain as they are, or become more dynamic than they ever imagined. To remain normal worshippers or become powerful warriors. For the battle is now waged on two fronts most recently."
When he was finished with his speech, his sermon was about the tricks of Satan against God's people. It was interesting enough, but surprisingly devoid of any altar call. Having been, most recently, involved in a Baptist church, this absence seemed a little awkward. But I decided not to make any big deal of it, figuring this wasn't, obviously, a Baptist denomination.
When the service was closed, the people simply got up and began leaving, chatting a bit amongst themselves as they walked out. I couldn't see anything particularly special about this group of Christians, except for the slightly strange speech the leader gave. I decided to ask him about it. Little did I realize he would be waiting for me...
"I sense you had some reservations concerning today's service. Was their something that disturbed you?"
"Not really, except for the fact you never gave an altar call and... that strange speech you made at the beginning."
He laughed.
"That speech is given only when there are newcomers to our group. And, as for why there was no altar call... why have one? All of us are already saved... and so are you."
"How do you know that?"
"We found you, didn't we?"
My skin prickled with a tingle of concern.
"I take it then, the person who gave me the number was one of you, then?"
"Yes and no. I'm sure he said likewise."
"To some degree. Said something about being a brother in Christ but not one of us."
"Exactly."
"I don't understand."
He smiled and patted me on the shoulder.
"After tonight, you will understand why all of us, including you, have come to this meeting."
"What's supposed to happen tonight?"
"Wait and find out..."
With that, he escorted me to the door. As I walked home, I began to feel more and more like this was just some weird cult. But something kept stirring my curiosity like a simmering kettle. There were several unanswered questions in my mind. And the last remarks he made before I left sure didn't make it any easier to know what exactly was going on. I figured, if he meant what he said, I wouldn't have to do anything but wait for the answers I was seeking...
That night, as I slept, I had a dream. In the dream, I woke up, but I wasn't in my bed anymore, nor anyplace that even seemed the least bit familiar to me. I was in a forest. And I wasn't alone...
"The path you began is not the path you now desire. But the path you now desire is not the path desired for you. To take this path, will mean the loss of everything you know and knew. Nothing will remain except the path itself and those on it who, like you, are striving to do right on a different road. Do you accept this path?"
I was somewhat scared by the unseen voice which followed me as I walked the scarcely visible dirt path through the forest. Was this the path he spoke of? Or was it simply a representation of the path which he spoke of?
"What if I do?" I answered timidly.
"Your desires will be fulfilled, but not without it's price. Your life will have very specific rules to go by. Break them, even once, and the consequences shall be severe. Follow them and your reward shall be plentiful."
"What must I do, if I choose this path?" I asked.
"I will show you. Follow me..."
And suddenly the forest view blurred and zoomed along like I was racing through it like a bullet. Then, everything vanished in a flash of white. When I opened my eyes again, I saw a man, not more than a 50 feet from me, chanting over a sort of ceremonial-looking campfire. I sensed evil was about him. At the apex of his chanting, he raised his head and shrieked, causing the fire to burst high into the air. Just as that happened, my view changed again. To someone dealing drugs. Then, to someone stealing. Then, again, to someone killing someone else. The connection was obvious and immediate.
"The Fleshen seek to cause mankind to stray forever. To kill. To maim. To destroy. If you choose this path, your duty will be to cease their activities with extreme prejudice. Fleshen are not men, but fallen angels, in human form. You would serve God by stopping their ability to affect mankind in the physical realm."
Suddenly, it began to make sense. I could actually be the warrior for God I had always wanted to be. The enemy was finally going to be tangible!
"What of my present Christianity? Must I follow that path as well?"
"You trade path for path, rules for rules."
"Can I see what this path is like before I make my final choice?"
"Yes..."
And suddenly the view changed again, back to the man at the campfire. But this time, I felt different. I felt angry... and hungry. The man saw me and laughed.
"Think you'll take me down so easily, dog? I think not!" he screamed, as he came at me with a knife.
I rushed towards him, easily deflecting the knife from his hands. His eyes glowed, like heated embers, as he made a vain attempt at fighting me. But it was entirely too futile. I grabbed him like a rag doll and tossed him aside, smacking him against a tree. He shook it off and charged me again. I didn't see the knife he had spirited back to his hand, as he plunged it into my gut. The blow seared me like a sucker punch, causing me to reel from the pain. But it only made me enraged now. The backhand I delivered sent him sprawling to the ground. As I turned to face him, I saw the look in his eyes. No longer cocky and self-confident, but scared. I smelled the sweat streaming from his brow and soaking his clothes. I could hear his heart pounding. I could practically taste the fear he now had of me.
I reached down and grabbed him with one paw, as I lifted him into the air. He screamed a girlish sort of scream. The kind of scream a man makes when they lose every sense of manhood they've ever known, leaving them as weak and pathetic as a sissy. He flailed helplessly in my grasp as I quickly took his throat between my jaws and snapped them shut. His cries were silenced instantly as the demon left the body behind. After feasting briefly on the corpse, I dropped the remains. I pointed my blood-soaked muzzle skyward and let out a victorious howl.
And then the voice returned...
"These are the ones you must stop. Are you willing?"
"Yes!" I said, in a harsh growl.
"This is the life you must live. Are you able?"
"Yes!" I answered again.
"This is what you will be from now on. Are you ready?"
"Yes!" I said, without hesitation.
"So be it..."
I was suddenly back to my original self.
And then the view changed once more, to scenes of absolute destruction. Trees and land scorched. Buildings demolished. Roads and pavement torn asunder. I stared at it all in bewilderment.
"As you already know, this is the prophecy of the end of the 7 year Tribulation period. Afterwhich, there will be 1,000 years of complete peace and restoration. But a final battle is destined between the armies of God and the forces of Satan. You must not only endure the rigors of fighting the Fleshen during these last days, but also of the Tribulation period, and the final battle at the end of the 1,000 years."
"Sounds like a lot of work."
"And a lot of commitment. You may take whatever form you choose during this time and the Tribulation, but, during the 1,000 years thereafter, you must remain in human form, working together with mankind to fulfill the purpose and will of God. In the final battle, you will be able to fight in any form, but only so long as none of you reveal your true form in view of the others unlike you. You are a secret species, derived from the desires of your heart and imaginations, unknown to the world. Even the Fleshen do not know who is one of you and who isn't. Make sure they never find out, lest your task be that much more difficult. You are God's secondary line of defense. God's primary line of defense... those that fight in the spirit, know nothing of you either and it's forbidden you ever knowingly let any of them know. Remember this, lest severe consequences befall you..."
"What is our final reward for these years of service?"
"You may choose to either be restored to your former species and live in eternal joy with God or remain as you are and be taken to a special world specifically designed for you and your kind, doing as you please, populating that world with your kind, and tending to the resources as you see fit, from everlasting to everlasting."
"Sounds like it's a win-win situation."
"Think it not so. God will have no involvement in your lives, except as He sees fit to visit you from time to time. Order can easily turn to chaos given any number of variables. Without the Holy Spirit, your lives are governed and controlled solely by your own will. And, you will soon know what that is like during the Tribulation period. Your lives will be eternal as long as you are not mortally wounded."
"And if we are?"
"Forever bound to the planet, you will be an unseen, intangible wanderer therein, with little to no effect on any of your species."
"So, in other words, if we choose to remain as we are after the final battle, we get to control our own eternal lives and destinies with the ultimate consequence of becoming an endlessly wandering spirit, if we ever die."
"Exactly."
"That makes that win-win seem a bit more like a win-lose."
"It is, but it's your choice. To return or not. You needn't concern yourself with it presently. You have a long time to consider your options and you will know when you must make that final choice. But now, it's time for you to tread the new path you have chosen..."
"But... I...."
The voice faded away and everything trembled and shook, dragging me from the dreamscape I was in. I fought to remain, but it was a futile effort. When the dreamtime is up, you're outta there!
As I opened my eyes, I found myself in the same bed I went to sleep in, but I sensed something was different. I rose to my feet and looked around. Our son and wife weren't in the house. Obviously she must've taken him to her mother's. As I walked into the dining room, I glanced at some of the pictures on the wall. And, suddenly, the horror struck me. I wasn't in any of the pictures! I was, just last night, but no longer. Was I still dreaming? No. I knew the sensation of reality. No mistaking it. It was all real. All, very terrifyingly, real...
... TO BE CONTINUED ...
