Suddenly Free, Purpose off Joy is the second in the series. Suddenly Free is a chronicle of what life might be like immediately before the Rapture, and the Coming of Jesus Christ.
In Volume 1, Rise of Evil, the Antichrist was in the world, seeking to become the god of this world. Satan, Lucifer, the Enemy of men, had promised that the beast could be worshipped when the end of Time arrived.
Lucifer continues his battle to overcome the people of Earth. He still attempts to destroy and enslave as many as he can before Christ returns. In this atmosphere, a surprising champion arises.
He and his family, and his security fellow Michaels, continue to oppose the Enemy. The woman he loves becomes his partner in spiritual warfare.
As the spiritual battle continues, the action moves from the Throne Room, where Satan accuses the saints, to the Earth where the battle is raging, to the places where Satan creates his plots, plans and schemes.
Excerpt
George asked Ives, “How many people work at Headquarters?”
“About 27,000.”
“How many people work for world government worldwide?”
Ives checked his computer. “Yikes!” His eyes bugged out and he looked at his boss with amazement. “Right around 220 million.”
“Does government employ everybody?”
“That’s just between 7 and 8 percent of the world’s population.”
“That’s a lot of money to spend to govern. Let’s start finding out what we really do.” George rubbed his eyes. “And this building. Find out, tomorrow, how much it costs to keep it running. I’m going home.”
BOARDROOM OF THE UNDERWORLD
The Reaper responded to his summons. He appeared in the Boardroom without preamble and said nothing. A seated demon disappeared and left his chair twirling by his sudden exit. The Reaper sat down.
The enemy welcomed the Reaper and said, “I want carnage. I want indiscriminate death and mayhem. I want blood, exploding eyeballs and gushing bodily fluids of every kind. And I want death. Lots and lots of death. Can you do it?”
“Is this intended to be genocidal, master?”
“Not yet.”
“Then I need names.” The Reaper sat silently, face unseen.
The Destroyer held out his hand and a list appeared there. It was a long list that fell to the table, and then the floor beneath. “About 30,000 of them, give or take a few. The certified public accountant demon should speak up right here, if she’s here…no?” The Destroyer laughed his maniacal laugh, which reverberated to the very viscera of his minions. “Ok boys and girls. The word is given.”
MICHEALS AND GEORGE AND JOY
Joy had mixed feelings about Michaels’ assignment. She could not deny her feeling of inadequacy. Yet, she trusted the God completely. He could not make a mistake. Michaels’ addition and her continuing presence, both, had to be the right thing to do.
“I’m coming to Headquarters today at lunchtime. Is that OK?”
“Of course. But Michaels and I will be working out this afternoon, so it will be a very light, very early lunch.
“Do you work out with him every day now?”
“No! That would kill me. His work is amazing. He never seems to get tired. We all do his warm-up now because it seems to stretch every muscle and extend every joint. It’s easy to follow and smooth as silk. He makes this sound….”
“I have heard it,” offered Joy.
“…this sound that he says helps breathing, that’s a cross between a trill and a warble. It’s also invigorating to the rest of us. He punctuates the moves, especially the steps that brace you for kicks and strikes, with the tribble….”
“Tribble?”
“….. with the tribble and it seems to give us all a kind of power to sync our energy…”
“Okay so you like working out with the new kid on the playground. I understand.”
“And just kick some butt! It IS fun.” George changed from his light tone to a more serious mien. “I need some fun. It’s been good for me.” George left the table to prepare to leave.
Joy left the table and followed Michaels following George. “So you’re his new best friend.”
“Jealousy does not become you,” Michaels said with amusement. “Besides, the storm approaches. He will be more prepared than he has ever been to do that which the God requires of him. He will be safe.” Michaels looked down at her and smiled a comforting, gleaming smile.
At the Field House that afternoon, Michaels decided to introduce fighting sticks to his routine. He said loudly, “If you don’t mind, suh, it occurred to me that a change today would instructive for everyone.” He leaned in to speak in low tones to George. “I overheard you tell Miss Joy that you were having fun. This is strictly for your entertainment. With your approval. Suh.”
George looked around at everyone with a serious expression. “Proceed, Michaels.” He looked at Michaels and whispered, “My man!”
None of the operatives or fellows were fooled by the conceit that this was just a workout. They all enjoyed the idea of George having a little combat fun in the afternoon.
Michaels instructed them. “This workout will resemble gatka, but it is not exactly the same. For those of you trained in the tradition of broadsword, it will resemble singlestick as well. Look and learn. Follow carefully. When I think you have mastered strike and counterstrike, we will pair off.”
The group of nearly 100 men and women, operatives and fellows and staff, all moved together in an unchoreographed dance of combat, punctuated by the tribbles of Michaels. To the onlookers who trickled in, they looked like a martial chorus line. Soon, Michaels instructed them to form groups of four.
“Stand back to back with your partner. Face one from another team. As you strike and counter-strike, be conscious of your partner covering your back, and you his.” It was not complicated. Michaels stood back to back with George, and the first tribble sounded.
For the participants, the movement was electrifying and organic. They moved as one. Strike. Counterstrike. Block. Feint to the left. Feint to the right. Pivot. Block. Pivot. Strike. It was difficult to know how much time had passed, and how many cycles from strike to strike they had performed, when Michaels halted the combatants. They were covered with perspiration and they were exhilarated.
As they exchanged compliments and drank water, Michaels became aware of the number of persons who had entered the Field House, and were now standing by and watching the group. He recognized some of them, but felt uneasy. “Suh,” he said, and nodded toward the onlookers.
George looked around, literally. He saw the crowd, and became aware of the fact that hundreds of them surrounded those who had just finished working out. “What the..?”
George saw that they were staff from Headquarters. Although he had a moment of confusion, he simultaneously experienced the thrill of the rush of adrenaline that comes from the desire to fight or flee. Everything slowed down, as his brain sped up. His own question surprised him.
“Who are you?”
The onlooker nearest him, whom he recognized, responded and said, “Who are you?”
Wrong response. Everyone here should know who he is. Heck, everyone in the world should know what he looks like. Michaels spoke from behind George and asked,
“What do you want here?” Everyone was silent, listening to the exchange.
“Which one of you is the President?” No one responded and no one moved. Every operative, every fellow and every staffer who worked out with them, understood that even a movement to protect George would give him away. They did not know exactly what they were dealing with—group psychosis, hypnosis, poison or gas—but they knew that their first duty was to protect the President, even with their restraint.
Michaels knew who and what they were. He said, “Who is asking?”
“Never mind,” said the one who was doing the talking. They all stood, surrounding George and his protectors, waiting for the spokesman to finish his discourse. “WE know who YOU are. He must be nearby or you would not be here.” He turned to the horde around him and shouted so that all could hear him, “Kill them all!”
The only arms were those in the hands of Michaels and George and the others. Notwithstanding the fact that they were out-numbered two to one, the attackers were dispatched in no time. They were bound and lined up against the walls of the Field House.
“Michaels, what did they mean that they know who you are?” George had taken him aside.
“These people have been influenced by demon spirits. Undifferentiated demons of the horde. They don’t know anything, but have been given orders to kill and destroy. That is all they know how to do. We have stopped them for now. But they will seek out other people to use against us. Against you.”
George knew the truth of Michaels’ explanation. George recognized the look of the person who had a spirit not their own, animating them. On the heels of this understanding, came the recognition that there were 27,000 in Headquarters who were the demons’ next victims. “Let’s get to Headquarters.”
“Suh! It is dangerous to return to the building. We should get you to safety.”
“No. I have to see that my people are safe.”
“Joy can take care of herself, suh.”
“I know, Michaels, but she’s not my only concern. I’m the Commander in Chief, the President. The buck stops here. I’m responsible.”
Michaels responded quickly and enthusiastically. “Then I will stand with you until the end.”
“Let’s rock.”
On the run back to Headquarters, George, Michaels and the one hundred formed a skeleton plan for taking back Headquarters. George squawked Grey. There was no response. He squawked Ives.
“George? Thank God you’re ok!”
“What’s going on in there?”
“These people have gone crazy! It’s a good thing everybody doesn’t know where the laser firearms can be found. I’m in our suite with the doors locked. I had to shoot my secretary and your Dude!”
“Can you get out?”
“I think so.”
“Did Joy go home before this all began?”
“I don’t know. She left right after lunch, but you know she knows everybody, so she might have been schmoozing somewhere when everyone went crazy.”
“It’s not crazy, Ives. Evil spirits. Demons. Remember the dark spark.”
“I thought this all seemed familiar. Now I understand why I’m not affected.”
“You always said that you weren’t afraid of being possessed. Do you know what has happened to Grey?”
“I haven’t seen him. I’m locked in here:
“Get out of there. Find Joy. Keep me informed.”
JOY UNDER ATTACK
Joy was not caught off guard by the horde. She was in a stairwell when reality shifted. She reached her floor and opened the door cautiously. As she took a few steps away from the door, she heard running steps coming toward her. She turned and ran at full speed down the hall in front of the oncoming menace. She slowed to let them pass her by so as to be sure they weren’t after her in particular. After they passed by, she neared an office door, which opened to admit her.
She ducked inside quickly, just in case another assailant was running behind her. Joy looked around her to see if she could tell whose office she had entered, as no one sat at the reception desk. She approached the desk and saw only the light from the monitor atop the desk.
Puzzled, she asked for Ives’ address. He came on the screen immediately. “Where are you!” he shouted desperately.
“I’m not sure. I left your floor after talking to Monica a while, and went straight to the stairwell and walked down one flight. I came out and people were running, so I ducked into an office. What’s happened?”
Ives related his conversation with George. “That explains why there is no one in here. Demons. Why didn’t they know who I am?”
“I don’t know, Joy, and I don’t think I can stop one and interview it to find out. I’ve got to get you out of here or George will have my head on a platter.”
“You don’t have to protect me,” she said with offense. “Demons from the horde are not smart, just vicious. I’ll get back to you.” She closed the communication with Ives and went to the door.
Ives talked to his darkened monitor. “Joy? Joy!” He stood up and grabbed it and shook it with both hands. “Urgggg!” He shouted. He calmed himself by talking aloud. “The George method of using technology works only when George is the one hitting, shaking and barking.”
Joy walked boldly to the door, which opened for her. She stood just inside the threshold and looked out. She heard someone quickstepping in the corridor. She stepped out to meet them face to face. It was Gayle, the receptionist from the office at the end of this hallway. “Hi Gayle! What’s up?”
‘Gayle’ looked at Joy without recognition and did not slow down as she approached. Demon Gayle attempted to hit Joy square in the face with the stapler she held in her hand. Joy sidestepped and then decked her. She looked into her unconscious eyes and said, “Demon withdraw!” The grimy little diaphanous bugger rose out of Gayle’s body and turned to Joy. Recognizing her, it fled.
“Sorry, Gayle.” She dragged poor Gayle into the office that she had vacated. When Joy checked Gayle’s vitals, she detected none. “No,” she whispered. She knew she had not killed her.
Joy asked the computer to get Ives again. “OK I guess we’ve got to get out. I can’t save them. And I don’t want to lose you, too.”
“Too? What happened? Who did you lose?”
“Gayle. She came down the hall...”
“You went back out into the corridor?” He felt like screaming.
“..and she was coming fast. I spoke to her but she didn’t know who I was. I hit her and knocked her out…”
“…good for you!”
“…and got rid of the demon. It left, but then Gayle was dead.” There was silence from Ives. “That means that the people they’ve taken over will die when the demons flee. That means they’re dead already, even if they are walking around. The demons are animating them.”
Ives spoke intensely. “George, Arlene and I have seen this before. Not this violence, but the possession. Some died, some did not. In any event, can we get out of here now?”
“Why did they leave you alone, Ives?”
“They didn’t! They tried to kill me!”
“No. I mean, why didn’t they take you over?” Before he could respond, Joy said brightly, “Because you are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit! They can’t. That means they won’t possess George….”
“They’ll try to kill him, Joy! Let’s get out of the building, please!”
“Oh, you’re right, let’s go.” She turned off her screen and headed for the door.
“Wait! Where are you?” His screen was black. Joy was gone.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” He grabbed his hair and pulled. This inadvertently squawked George.
“What?” George was running.
“Uh.” Joy burst into his office. “Oh thank God. Joy is here.”
“Is that George? Tell him they are all dead. Maybe we can exorcise them all at once,” said Joy.
“What did she say about exercise?”
“Too late.” “Too many of them.” Michaels and Joy spoke to George and Ives at the same time.
“Joy, Michaels says too many. George, Joy says too late.”
“Why too late?” asked George.
“The ones they’ve taken over, are dead already.”
“Michaels says we can’t get rid of them all at once because they are reinforced by the Reaper.”
Ives said to Joy, “The Reaper?” Joy raised both fists to her chest and screamed, “Not again!”
George asked Ives, “Is she in pain? What’s happened?”
“Yes and no. How do we know the Reaper?”
“I’ll explain later. The parents. Tell her to protect the parents. Then get out of the building, both of you! I’ll squawk later.”
Ives said, “When we get out of here, George said, protect the parents.”
“I’m not leaving without warning them. Ives, aren’t there operatives and fellows in North America who can go get them, put them in a safe house or something?”
“Ah, yes!” Ives used his comm to skype New York. When he had given the orders, he turned to Joy. “It’s done. Now let’s go.”
Joy opened her mouth to speak, and Ives bent over from the waist. She said, “Ives are you OK….”
Ives grabbed her in the middle and lifted her onto his shoulders in the fireman’s carry. He carried her out into the hallway and into the nearest stairwell.
George and Michaels and the 100 entered the building from its sub-basement. “The security chief before me had his security complex in this sub-basement. When I dismantled it to move it from here to the floor with no number, I discovered an elevator shaft that privately accessed every floor from here to the topmost floor. We’re going to use it to get to the security complex and put an end to this occupation.”
Michaels spoke as he ran. “But it is not an occupation, suh. This building is under attack. The building! It is being destroyed.”
“No! Too many people will die. I can’t let that happen.”
“They are dead already!”
“Michaels, there are people on the street, occupying buildings, all of whom are in danger from the falling debris from a building this tall. I have to try!”
Michaels and George and 10 operatives were on the first car that rose to the 100th floor. They quickly exited the elevator and ran for the security complex. They fought all the way. It was sickening to kill those whom they recognized, animated by demonic forces. When they reached the complex and were locked inside, they took a moment to hydrate and catch their breath.
George asked the computer to fire up, but some of the monitors gave no coherent signal. Some of the floors that he could see that were higher than the 100th floor, were filled with mayhem. Demon-filled men and women were breaking windows and killing each other. The lower floors gave him no signal at all. “I don’t think I’ve forgotten how to use the equipment.”
George squawked Ives. “Ives. Are you two out of the building?”
“Yes, finally. We are about two blocks away. George, something crazy is happening.”
“Explain.” George continued to try to get the monitors on the lower floors to give him a view.
“The building is coming apart.”
George’s eyes widened. Michaels moved up behind him. George asked, “What do you mean it’s coming apart?”
“It’s coming apart from the foundation. Pieces are falling off.” Ives paused. “George, I can’t believe the evidence of my own eyes. Concrete and steel are coming away from the building, and I am seeing semi-transparent somethings separate themselves from the debris and float away in every direction.”
“Fly away, Doctor Ives. Fly away. Suh.” Michaels addressed George. “Demons. This building is not built with only concrete and steel. Your brother worshiped the Evil One. The demon horde held this building together for him, as a monument to evil. Now that his antichrist is no longer rules here, and you, a man of the Living God, rules from this place, it is being destroyed by the one who built it. We must go.”
“And you’ve got to get out fast, George. There’s no telling when the whole building will collapse, since it’s coming apart from the bottom.”
“But the only way out is down,” said George. “Michaels, wrangle everyone, we’ve got to head back to the express shaft and get to the ground as fast as we can.” Just like when he was a spy, George knew that this could be his last day on Earth. If he lived, so be it. “But if I die now,” he thought, “at least I have loved and been loved by a Godly woman, and I will be with her eternally with Christ.”
They made their way back to the shaft and found that a car would not come. No one in the 10 who came with him could squawk those still on the ground. They pried the doors open. There was no car in sight. They knew what to do. One at a time they took to the ladders on the walls of the shaft and started down. It was a long, long way. As they descended they heard attackers at every floor, attempting to open the doors. A few floors down, the cable began to vibrate.
George shouted. “The car is coming!” There was no time for the neat and tidy athletic plunge. As the car approached, George squawked them to leap atop the car. When they were on top, he signaled them to carefully open the car’s safety door. There were no demon-possessed people inside. They stopped the car and sent it back down the shaft.
It would not stop on the first floor of the building. Instead it took them to the bottom subfloor. They looked at each other, knowing that they might have to fight their way back up to the lobby of the building to exit. Michaels said, “There is another way. Doesn’t the tube line run nearby?”
They exited the elevator and examined the walls of the sub-basement corridor. One of the operatives removed his phone and asked for the schematics of the building and the tube line. They knew just where to break through. They had never abandoned their fighting sticks, so they used them to excavate as quickly as they could.
When they broke through, the found the tube platform filled with the possessed. They turned to return to the elevator corridor and found that their pursuers were pouring through the hole in the wall.
George braced himself for attack and said to Michaels, “Well it’s been good and it’s been fun. It’s been good fun and I’ll see you on the other side.”
“Not yet, suh, “said Michaels. “Remember our exercise. Follow my lead.” They stood back to back. The other ten did the same in pairs. They took their first position and waited to hear from Michaels. When the possessed attacked, Michaels sounded his tribble. George fought without thinking. At some point he realized that he could not feel Michaels behind him, or hear his breathing. He could see his shadow from time to time. He felt surrounded by Michaels. He thought he might be hallucinating or unconscious without remembering the blow. They moved. As they did, the enemies fell. When he executed a strike with his stick, the attackers bled with every thrust and parry. He looked at his stick, and it looked like a saber. Each time an attacker fell, a gnarly semi-transparent viscosity flew out and away at top speed.
Finally there were so few left to fight, the rest fled in terror. When they were all gone, and only bodies lay all around them, George felt as though he was waking from a dream. He looked around for Michaels. He stood behind George, leaning on his saber. His fighting stick.
“You are a mighty warrior, suh.” Michaels had not broken a sweat.
When they emerged from the tube stairs onto the street, George looked toward Headquarters. All 287 stories were completely gone. There were no bricks, no mortar, no concrete, no steel beams. No debris of any kind remained.
Only the shaft. Only the security elevator shaft stood 287 stories high from the sub-basement.
Joy screamed his name from across the boulevard when she saw him and Michaels. George dropped his stick. Joy ran and jumped into his arms. Ives was right behind her, pummeling George on his back and hugging them both.
George hugged them and kissed Joy and said, “Please. Somebody tell me what happened to the building.”
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