He was glad he’d insisted on heading off as soon as possible. Adam had wanted him to wait while the rest of the force he was assembling prepared itself but the Colonel had agreed with Sam. Thankfully. If they had both been against him, he would’ve struggled to get out of the camp without permission. As it was, it had still taken him three days to prep and finally get out of the base.
The Colonel, more than Adam, accepted how effective Sam could be by himself. That was why he was being sent into New York before the defensive force. Sure, Colonel Wheat had also sent demolition squads ahead too but theirs was an altogether different mission. The demo squads were to take out, destroy and ruin whatever church they could find in the New York area, especially in and around Manhattan given that was where the forces of the Antichrist were most likely to invade and establish a foothold on American soil. Without churches, the demonic forces couldn’t transport themselves instantaneously to the area. Instead, they’d have to travel in a somewhat normal sense. This, presumably, included Sam’s brother himself.
Adam had asked him about this earlier. They were making an awful assumption that Semiazas possessed very similar powers to Sam. But what if his powers were different or greater than Sam’s? What if he was able to transfer to Earth without using a church? Sam had to admit they were good, relevant questions but the bottom line was that he didn’t know the answers. They would, however, find out in short order.
Still, by destroying the churches, it would hopefully even up the odds. Then the Antichrist would have to rely on his conventional forces who fought in a way that any man could cope with. That was the demo squads’ job.
Sam’s was altogether different. He would use his ability in sensing minds to gather a resistance force in New York. He would find any human survivors and direct them to where they could gather supplies and weapons. Of course, if they were demon worshippers…
Also, Colonel Wheat wanted some forewarning about demon strength in the area. What about demons already in New York? Most, Sam knew, travelled back to Hell during the day, but some who had darkened places of refuge didn’t bother. What about if the church demo squads failed or missed some? Sam would be able to warn the Colonel in time.
Hopefully.
So, here he was. Alone again. He’d contemplated asking Grace to join him but she was just too unpleasant as company these days. Just thinking that made him smile. The thought that she was more unpleasant than him was almost funny. But it was true. Even though she’d come a long way from the teary girl he once knew, she would still have slowed him down.
Besides which, he hadn’t been able to find her. He’d gone to the barracks that they shared but she wasn’t around and he didn’t have time to look for her. It was a shame. He’d wanted to say goodbye. This mission was described by Colonel Wheat as ‘high risk.’ Sam didn’t know whether he’d be coming back or not. They might not see each other again, and it saddened Sam to think that their last words had not been pleasant ones.
He jogged on, increasing his pace along the interstate, enjoying the challenge of weaving in and out amongst the empty cars. So preoccupied was he with his game that he almost missed it in the gloom — a motel, just off the road. He swerved without breaking stride, examining it with his senses as he got closer. He slowed to a walk, just in case he missed something with his hearing. Nothing. The place was completely empty. If someone or thing had been here, it was long ago.
He tried some doors. Several of the rooms were locked and he didn’t want to advertise his presence by smashing them open. Perhaps he was being overly cautious, but he didn’t want to use his telekinesis either. It was a power to be used as a last resort, not like a pocket knife, to be pulled out at every convenient opportunity. He thought like a normal person. Where would the keys be? He’d only been in one other motel in his life and that one had been unlocked. And then he had it. The office. He looked around. Several doors down, a filthy sign was swinging back and forth in the warm breeze. He wasn’t sure but he thought some of the letters potentially spelt ‘office’.
He jogged towards the sign, conscious that he didn’t have very long. There was a church nearby — he could sense it — which meant that demons wouldn’t be far away. His guess had been a good one. It was the office. Behind the counter he found a row of hooks. Three of them still had keys on them. He grabbed all of them and walked back along the line of doors, trying any that were locked with all three keys. Finally, one of them worked.
Not willing to throw caution to the wind just yet, he checked out the room carefully, including the bathroom. Caution was one of the reasons he was still alive. The one time he forgot it, it would kill him. The room was empty and surprisingly, rather clean. Sam suspected that it hadn’t been opened since the Rapture. There was a light film of ash and dust on the bedspread but he shook that outside first, making it relatively dust-free.
He stood outside the door for a few moments, relishing the gathering darkness. The dark was still his time. It still filled him with a sense of power. Under other circumstances, he’d be out in it, but he had priorities. A job to do. He couldn’t shirk his responsibilities. In the distance, he heard a howl. Lemures. They were out, and not too far away either.
With a sigh, he returned to the room and locked the door, ensuring the curtains were pulled so that no prying eyes could see inside. It was almost pitch black. Perfect. He sat on the bed and settled himself into lotus position, mentally preparing himself for a good three hours of intense meditation.
A noise roused him out of his trance some time later. He checked his internal clock. It had only been just over an hour. He scanned around with his senses. Nothing… but something felt amiss. Something was different and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. And then he noticed it — a slight glow from behind him.
He rolled and drew both swords in one graceful movement, landing in a crouched position facing the shimmer of light. What he saw made his heart lurch and then almost burst. Unnoticed, his swords clattered onto the carpet, swords that usually no man could knock from his grasp. But this was no man and this certainly was no combat situation. It was something he wasn’t and couldn’t prepare himself for. Something that he’d prayed for during the last three and a half long, long years.
“Hello, Sunshine.”
Sam didn’t know what to say. His tongue felt thick and swollen in his dry mouth. He felt dizzy. He didn’t know what to do, how to act. It had been so long. And then, his body started moving of its own accord as if it, and not his brain, knew what to do. He walked towards her and into her welcoming arms. Into the arms of the only woman he’d ever loved. The woman he’d grown up with, spent his childhood with, and whom he’d thought lost to him forever when she ascended to heaven.
Aimi.
Chapter Fifteen
“ I call'd the devil, and he came, And with wonder his form did I closely scan; He is not ugly, and is not lame, But really a handsome and charming man. A man in the prime of life is the devil, Obliging, a man of the world, and civil; A diplomatist too, well skill'd in debate, He talks quite glibly of church and state.”