Author's Note: Thank you for continuing to read! Again this story takes liberties with and different interpretations of Judeo-Christian beliefs. If this possibly could offend, please stop reading.
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Matt
Demon Run
And God, wanting something that would be of his own, created man and woman in his image. And he was pleased. - The Book of the Nephilim
August 28, 2012
Albuquerque, NM
***
Jason lay in bed unable to sleep. His mind was racing about the previous day's events. He had run from three strange men, which turned out to be just random guys sitting in a coffee shop. He had then proceeded to bring home a guy that he barely knew for fear for his safety and now they were laying next to each other naked.
In his hands was the photo album that he had shown John of the rock that was discovered in Rome at the dig. He tried to think about what the rest of the area looked like, the people around him, but nothing but fear came. He looked over at the pants that lay on the floor. Inside one of the pockets was a smaller rock.
He flipped the page reviewing the other photos he had taken of the dig site. There was Dr. Rogers standing next to a set of stone feet. The rest of the statue had been destroyed by the ages. There were ten of these foot statues surrounding the black stone, but no indication of who or what they were of. The whole dig had been much like those feet: Many new discoveries, but more questions than answers.
Jason felt John move next to him, and his hand slid across his waist.
"What ya doin?" John asked, still half asleep.
"Light picture reading." Jason said, closing the book and placing it on his nightstand. "Couldn't sleep, so figured I would just get some ideas out of my head." He leaned over and gave John a kiss.
"Nice." John said with a grin.
How was it that he had only known John for a couple of hours, but felt as if he had known him for his whole life? No, he concluded. Even longer.
"Yes." Jason patted John on the check and closed his eyes. He could get in a couple of hours of sleep before having to get up for work.
"Get out!" a scream came from downstairs, followed by a loud crash.
"The hell?" Jason opened his eyes, and jumped out of bed. He pulled on the pants lying on the floor and quickly ran out of the room.
John lay in bed dazed, but got up slowly, found his pants and put them on, and followed Jason out the door, moving cautiously. He found Jason at the bottom of the stairs holding onto a long staff about 7 feet in length. John stared at it for a moment, not recalling ever seeing one that size lying around. Next to him was the girl from the coffee shop watching helplessly at something in the living room. His gaze found what she was looking at.
Sam was in the middle of a brawl with two men. She was swift, and John was amazed at the speed in which she could move. The other three men were not as agile and could not keep up with her movements. She scored a chest kick on one of the men and caused him to fly up and land on the coffee table between the couches, causing it to collapse under his weight. She quickly moved to deal with the second man who had attempted to flank her by moving behind her. A third guy stood still as he watched the fight. John's eyes widened as he recognized them from the coffee shop.
"It's them." John said in a whisper. Jason nodded as Sam quickly swirled around on one leg and hit the other guy in the knees causing him to collapse to the floor. She then brought her leg up and down on his chest causing him to gasp for air and pass out.
"Okay." Sam said, sounding a bit winded, but turned to the third guy with her hands up in a defensive position. "Are you ready to join your buddies?"
"No." The man said with a smile. He made no movement.
Sam eyed him for a moment, and then charged at him. As she reached him John could see that the man's eyes glowed with a red fire, and he moved in a blur hitting Sam square in the chest sending her flying back into the opposite wall near the stairs. It must have been a good 10 feet. Tina screamed as she ran and moved to check on Sam. She moved her hands to her neck and found the pulse. Tina nodded her head and pulled Sam into her hands and held her tight.
Jason moved forward slowly flipping the long pole in his hands, which seemed to move as if it was an extra arm. John reached out and grabbed his shoulder to stop him.
"I will be okay." Jason smiled and patted John's hand.
"Johnathan Benthum." The man said, turning his attention towards John.
John just stood speechless. He was not sure how to respond, but couldn’t take his eyes off the man. There was no red glow from his eyes anymore, but he could see the anger, as well a need in them.
As Jason passed over the man that Sam had knocked out with her legs an aura of light emitted from Jason.. The staff did the same as it passed near the man that was lying on the coffee table.
"So," the other man moved into a more defensive position as Jason moved in closer. "You're one of them?"
Jason charged at the man at a blazing speed that John was sure not possible for a person to move at. The man turned just in time to deflect the blow from the staff that was aimed right at the mid section. Jason was able to use the back end of the staff to continue the motion causing the man to lose balance and fell backwards. Jason continued the circular motion to maneuver the staff into a vertical downward motion, aiming for the face. The man placed his arm in front of his face to avoid getting hit. He was able to deflect the down stroke causing the staff to slam into the floor.
The man used the open opportunity to aim a punch for Jason's chest, which had caused Sam to fly across the room. Jason was able to recover faster than the man had anticipated, sidestepping the blow, and at the same time bringing the staff under the man's arm. He grabbed the other end of the staff so as to trap the arm with the staff and twisted causing the man to flip in the air, falling to the floor with a howl that John had never even heard a wild animal use.
Jason quickly twirled around with the other end of the pole and brought it down square on the man's chest. The man sucked in air, and then fell silent. Jason left the pole motionless as it glowed again. Sweat fell down his shirtless chest, which glistened in the light.
"Everything that is holy." Jason said as he walked over to Tina who was holding Sam in her lap.
John walked over to Sam and kneeled down. He reached out and put his hand on her forehead, and checked her pulse with the other one. "She is going to be out for a bit. He just knocked the wind out of her." He turned to look back at the man lying on the floor. "I just want to know how he was strong enough to fling her across the room like that."
"I swear his eyes glowed just before he hit her." John said looking at the man Jason had just knocked out.
Jason turned and looked at John as if he had said the craziest thing ever. "Glowing eyes?"
"Sure." John said, shaking his head. "They turned bright red just before he made contact with her. Just like you would see in a movie."
Jason turned his head and looked at Tina with a confused look.
"I didn't see anything." Tina said, looking at John. "I mean it was pretty fast, but I am sure glowing eyes would be something I noticed."
"I am sure you will tell me you didn't see Jason or his staff glow white when he passed over those two guys, and then when he knocked the third one out?" John was getting pissed. Surely they wouldn't play a joke on him at a time like this.
Jason shrugged and looked at the staff lying on the floor next to him. "Just a normal staff."
"Come on!" John said put his hands out in desperation. "Sure you all saw it. Not that hard to miss!"
Both Tina and Jason shook their heads in the negative. John sighed in frustration as he walked off to look at the body of the third man. He was not in the mood to be played with.
Sam groaned which turned everyone's attention to the woman lying on the floor. She opened her eyes slowly and groaned.
"What in the hell happened?" She croaked out as she rolled her head in Tina's hands.
"That guy way-laid you." Tina said, rubbing Sam's head with her fingers.
Sam's eyes seemed to focus on Tina and Sam smiled. "I think I will be okay." She turned her head to face Jason who was now kneeling next to her. "So did you take care of him?"
Jason smiled. "He was fast. But I got him in the end."
"Way to go old man." Sam laughed a bit. "So where is John?"
Jason pointed at John. He was standing over the body, looking down. Sam lifted her head a bit to get a better look at Jason's handy-work. Her eyes grew large and she started to scream. She screamed so loud Jason and Tina had to cover their ears. Sam's screams stopped, her mouth still open trying to scream, and then passed out again.
***
Sam rolled over in the bed and placed her hands under the pillow and sighed, but did not awake from the deep sleep she was in. Jason and Tina were standing at the foot of the bed watching.
"That was the highest pitched sound I have ever heard before." Jason rubbed his ears, which were still ringing from the scream. "I am surprised no one else in the neighborhood heard."
"I wonder why she started to scream." Tina walked around and sat on the bed, rubbing Sam's back. "She looked at John and acted like she saw something."
Jason sighed and walked to the chair on the opposite end of the room. "I wonder how long she will sleep."
Tina sighed hard, and lay down next to Sam. "I think sleep might be the best option for now. She was hurt pretty badly."
Jason tapped the side of the chair. He knew Tina was right, but he was more curious to know what she had seen that caused her to freak out as she did.
***
But the Angels, owing their immense love for God, also found the humans to be lovely as well. - The Book of the Nephilim
August 28, 2012
Albuquerque, NM
***
John sat in the living room keeping an eye on the three men in the living room. They were tied up so that if they woke up, they should not be a problem. He had no skill like Sam, and definitely Jason was out of his range. He had never seen someone so agile and quick.
He reached in his pocket and reached for the stone. He flipped it around in his hand as it reflected light from the lamp on the table next to him, around the room. He smiled as the stone hypnotized him. It made him forget his troubles, and the unconscious guys tied up on the other side of the room.
As he flipped it between his forefinger and his thumb, it slipped out of his hand, fell to the floo and rolled about two feet from him. He paused and looked at the stone with curiosity.
He reached out for the stone and just before his fingers touched it, the room started to change around him. The furniture, decorations, and carpet all stayed the same, but were now covered in a red and blue haze that shimmered as if in a liquid state. The walls themselves seemed to move in and out, as if they were trying to explode and implode at the same time.
He turned around and looked around the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the painting that looked like it depicted some kind of battle. Odd that he had not seen it prior to now as it was quite prominent.
He moved in as close as he dared, as he was not sure what contact to the wall would do to him. The painting showcased two large trees that stood over a large river. In the air above were winged creators, all of different colors and holding various weapons. His eyes focused on two that seemed to be the most prominent. A black winged creature holding a large scythe, and a white winged creature holding a spear of some kind.
"The great war." A voice behind him startled him. John spun around, expecting one of the men to pop up and start attacking him. He had his fists up in front of him ready to defend himself.
The shock of the individual standing in front of him did about the same as a punch to the stomach. In front of him was a tall man dressed in a black suit, black button up shirt, and a black tie. The shocking thing was that he looked exactly like John.
"Shock?" the man said with a bit of a laugh.
"Who are you?" John asked, putting his fist down.
"I am that stone." He thought for a moment. “Well the soul caught in the stone.”
John lowered his arms. "What does that mean?"
The man walked over to the stone that John had dropped and looked at it. "Eons ago I broke parts of my soul off to give to man." He flipped it around in his hand, much the same way that John had done so. “I gave it to man, in order to protect them.”
"What is it?" All of this started to feel familiar and he knew that this place was one of the safest places he could be. Even the questions he wanted to ask were being answered by his own personal memories.
"This is a Soul Stone." The man grinned. “Little did Joshua know by picking this thing up, he would be binding his soul to mine” He spread his hands to where they were standing. “And you bound it to yourself when you picked it up.”
John looked at the man with a look of disbelief, but he knew deep in his heart that this was the truth.
"Everyone that has ever lived, that has held this stone" the man sighed as if caught in his own memories. "I look like you because I take on the visage of the current, “ he mused for a bit trying to find the word. “...owner."
John found a chair and sat down. He felt he should be totally shocked by this revelation but again, it was as if he already knew the answer before it was asked.
"The stone also connects you to powers.” The man frowned. “Great and impulsive powers.”
“Is that why my father died?” John asked, not really wanting the answer to the question.
“No." the man's face scrunched up. “I…” he paid and looked at John with concern. “Stay with Jason as much as you can.”
"Will I find the same fate?" John asked, looking around the room. He could feel fear and that urge to run.
"No idea." The man shrugged. "The stone will grant you a range of powers. You just have to learn to tap into them.”
John sat silent for a moment. "Why did they attack us?" John pointed at the men. He wanted something more pleasant to talk about. "They attacked us and almost killed one of my friends."
"They were possessed by demons.” The man walked over to one of them and knelt down beside them. He reached over and pulled up one of the eyelids to look into the eye. “Terror Fiends I would wager.” Joshua stopped and tilted his head thinking for a moment. “Thy are attracted to soul stones.”
“Why?” John asked.
“Soul stones are the remnants of angels.” The man stood up and wiped his hands together as if he were dusting them off. “Even a fragment such as yours would be enough to grant lesser demons great power.”
“So you are an angel?” John was getting a picture.
“Yes.” the man smiled.
“And why did Jason glow white when he passed over the men?”
The man paused and frowned. “Time grows short. But you will receive help soon.” He reached his hand out to give John the stone back.
“I want more answers!” John protested, but he felt the urge to take the stone back. As he grasped the stone the room twisted around him, and everything went black.
***