Phillip W. Simpson

“If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.” Revelation 14:9,10”

“His scream was more of a roar, pouring out of him in a great torrent. Screaming for his loss, venting his pain.”

“He sank to his knees, absolutely full of despair and sadness. For a long time, droplets of blood continued to fall into his lap.”

“He felt something trickle down his face and he wiped it away irritably. When he looked at the back of his hand, he found trails of red. He had never cried in his life; in fact, he could not cry with no tear ducts. But now, at last, he was. He was crying tears of blood. For her.”

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Corinthians, 15:52”

“How was he meant to find the Antichrist? Just walk down the street and say ‘Hello. Excuse me, but could you please point me in the direction of the son of the Devil? I want to kill him.’ It all seemed rather far-fetched.”

“He’d tried to tell Aimi to do something once, and that hadn’t gone well at all. One thing he did know: when a woman got an idea into her head, there was no changing it.”

“You don’t ask for much, do you? It may look like we’ve got a whole lot of supplies here, but I’ve got five hungry boys to feed, plus I give whatever I can to Adam and the Black Ridge lot. You need to give me a real good reason, otherwise the answer is going to be no.” Sam took a deep breath. “I’m going to kill the Antichrist.” Big Tom sat completely still for a moment. Then he smiled. “Yep. That’ll do it.”

“And remember your promise,” said Sam, wagging a finger at him. “Don’t follow us.” The man glared at him but kept silent....“What?” asked Sam, slightly confused by his good humour. “I can’t believe you said that.” “What?” “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. Do you think you’re the hulk or something?” He laughed again. Sam found himself smiling although he was just telling the man the truth. He wouldn’t like him when he was angry. No-one did.”

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” Revelation 13: 16–18”

“You really are pretty stupid sometimes, you know that? I think you must be more man than demon.” With that, she stormed off. Sam sat where he was, feeling bewildered. “Did I say something wrong?”

“The way he looked at me? Sam, you need to understand. Josh and I are friends. That’s it. He might have feelings for me – though I don’t think he does – but I do and always will, view him as a friend.” She put one small finger under his chin and lifted his face up to hers. “Besides, there’s room for only one man in my heart.”

“I should have resisted somehow. I should’ve done something, anything. Instead, I just stood there and let them ... touch me.” Sam’s face crumpled with disgust at the thought. “No man has the power to resist their charms. You did what any other man would have done.” “But that’s just it, isn’t it?” He sat up angrily. “I’m not just any other man. In fact, I’m no man at all. I’m a demon.” “You are a man, and a good one. Have you even considered that your demon blood would make you just as susceptible to their charms?”

“Judging from the fact that you’re out here by yourself, I’d say that you were probably embarrassed,”

“What has that little tramp got that we haven’t?” asked the brunette archly. “We’ve got a whole lot more.” The red head ran her hands suggestively down her womanly curves. “And there are three of us,”

“The feeling made him wonder what he would have become if only he’d been allowed to live a normal life. Sports, he knew, would’ve suited him. He was bigger, stronger and much faster than most boys his age. Football was probably the game for him. He liked watching Joshua playing at quarterback, imagining what it would be like to be in his position. To hear the crowd cheering as he made a pass, to feel accepted by his teammates – they were experiences forever denied him. It was nice to daydream though.”

“As with everything she did, Aimi excelled. Academically, she was in the top one percent of students in the state and was in the track team that had just won the nationals. She said she only went in for cheerleading because she liked the physical activity. It made sense though, Sam thought. Because of her bright, cheerful attitude, she was also incredibly popular. At times Sam felt slightly jealous of her, but mostly he was just immensely proud.”

“Does that mean you aren’t going to be so grumpy?” she teased. He gave her a crooked smile. “It depends on how nice you are to me.” Aimi laughed and threw a napkin at him.”

“It’s not often that you have me at a disadvantage, is it? I wouldn’t get used to it.” Aimi laughed. “All talk, big man. We’ll see how you go at training this afternoon, sunshine.” She blew him a kiss and closed the door softly on her way out.”

“One year before the Rapture "...that proves how marvellous God's love is, even for the most miserable human beings, being that demons can never take a human figure in a perfect form, and so the most stupid people are able to discover them." Nicholas Remy, Daemonolatreiae libri tres, 1595.”

“So let me get this straight,” said Adam eventually, leaning forward on his crate. “Jesus came back and took all his righteous believers with him, right? Now the rest of us are stuck here for the next seven years while demons emerge every night to drag our sorry arses to Hell? Is that the gist of it?”

“I saw you fight last night. You sure have got some fancy moves with those swords of yours. Haven’t seen anyone move like that, well, ever, and I was in the Special Forces.”

“Experience itself, to our own great loss and bane, affords us sad proof that Satan seizes as many opportunities of deceiving and destroying mankind as there are different moods and affections natural to the human character.” Demonolatry, Nicholas Remy”

“Part of you isn’t demon,” she said. “You’re all human – you just have those horns for decoration.”

“Because I had to see for myself. I had to see inside the church. To see who it is that I’m fighting for.” “And did you see?” (remembered Jesus, the son of God and his saviour smiling at him.)Sam smiled. “Yes, I most certainly did.”

“Stained-glass windows glowed faintly in the moonlight streaming through, illuminating the sculpture of Christ on the cross that hung above the altar. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Then the sculpture seemed to move, and Christ’s body twisted on the cross to look directly at him. ...Jesus, the son of God and his saviour, seemed be smiling at him.”

“4 years earlier “This is truth: when you sacrifice your life, you must make fullest use of your weaponry. It is false not to do so, and to die with a weapon yet undrawn.” Miyamoto Musashi, A Book of Five Rings.”

“You should be more careful,” said Josh with a crooked grin, the barrel of his gun still smoking. “It’s dangerous around here. You could get hurt.” Sam grinned back savagely. “I’ll try to remember.”

“Apology accepted. Everyone makes mistakes. You are part-human after all.”

“Did they really deserve this?” “Why is it that I always end up having these conversations?” Gabriel sighed. “The answer is yes and no. Yes, they deserved it because they didn’t believe in Our Lord. And no, they didn’t because they were innocent of sin. They made their choice, however. God has a plan for all of us – including the innocent.”

“What was it like?” .... “I mean, long ago.” “Not too different to now,” ...“You humans – sorry, even part- humans – never seem to change much.”

“Where did you learn to use a gas cooker?” Sam asked.... “And couldn’t you just, you know, use magic or something?” He wriggled his fingers dramatically. Gabriel smiled ... “I’ve been around for a long, long time. Thousands of years, in fact. Don’t you think I would’ve spent at least some of that time here on earth amongst you humans?”

“You must be hungry,” said Gabriel. “I was,” replied Sam. “My appetite just disappeared.”

“We should bury the bodies,” Sam said. Gabriel shook her head. “We haven’t got time. There are two hundred and sixty seven bodies here. Do you know how long that would take?”

“6 weeks since the Rapture “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” Corinthians 15:50”

“But I have one more thing to tell you, Samael. Something that is more important than what any of us want. Listen to me. The last thing Gabriel told me is that during the Tribulation, you will have a mission.”... “She wants you to kill someone. To kill the Antichrist that has risen in your stead.”

“And I won’t get to see Hikari or Aimi again? How can that be fair? What have I done to deserve this?”-“It’s not what you’ve done, Sam. It’s who you are. You are destined for greater things because of who you are.”

“So what you’re saying is that while you and all the other believers enjoy heavenly paradise, I’m stuck down here protecting those who hate me. How am I meant to protect them in the first place when they run at the first glimpse of my horns?” - Sam”

“9 years earlier “Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it.” Isaiah 13:9”

“Hello, Samael,” she said, her voice like rustling silk. Sam was speechless. How did such a creature even know his name? He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. What to say? He had never been good at talking to girls –”

“Go with a demon? I don’t think so.”

“5 weeks since the Rapture “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” Thessalonians 2:3”

“You know, school’s not all that great,” she said. “I’d much rather stay here at home with you and Papa.” - Aimi”

“Sensei, why can’t I go to school?”...“I am truly sorry, my son. I know this is hard but you have another purpose. A greater purpose. Something far more important than playground games and making friends. I wish it wasn’t so, but it is.”

“Twelve years earlier “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Thessalonians 2:8”

“Five weeks since the Rapture “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Thessalonians 4:16-17”