part0018

Fire Control Technician Second Class Joshua Swindell returned to the forward torpedo room, where his bunk and locker were located. With space in short supply, submarines doubled or even tripled the function of every room, and that meant sailors were rarely alone. An off-duty roommate lay in a bunk supported by chains over two torpedoes. He looked up from his book. “Hey, Josh.”

“Hey, Robbie,” Joshua said, his voice jittery. His heart had calmed, but the lingering unease remained. The second vision had been more fearful than the first. Joshua nodded and closed his fist tighter around the object in his pocket. No one could see the commandment from the Lord.

He opened his locker and pulled out a toilet kit. He would need the small mirror inside. He also pulled out a magazine with a teen girl on the cover. “I’ll be in the head,” he told his bunkmate.

Joshua paid no mind to the taunt. Sins of the flesh were common for sailors on lonely duty. But the darker thoughts rampaging through his mind would surely bring eternal damnation. He’d even acted upon those thoughts at their last port of call. Twelve years old, the Indonesian girl had told him as she’d put her clothes back on. Her confession only made him want more.

Bypassing the nearest head, he sought a quieter location two decks below. He opened its door and peeked inside. No one there. There was no lock, but he flipped a paper tag stuck on the door from green to red, an unofficial marker that privacy was sought for a few minutes. Most sailors respected it.

Not bothering to drop his pants, he sat on the toilet seat and laid the magazine across his thighs. Sturdy enough. The mirror from his toilet kit was small, but it was all he had. The Lord had been specific. Spin upon mirrored glass. Joshua’s redemption for his sins would begin today.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the oversized coin. The writing around its edge confirmed the Lord’s verbal instructions. As he placed the coin against the mirror and snapped his fingers, Joshua’s heart raced once more.

The coin made a hum that grew louder, though the overhead ventilation fan would probably drown out the sound for anyone who might pass by in the hallway. As foretold, the coin spun faster. Sweat appeared on Joshua’s forehead. The hum became a high-pitched shrill and then, thankfully, went away.

A cone of light popped upwards from the spinning coin, startling Joshua, but the spinning image inside held his attention. It finally settled—a bearded man with long gray hair dressed in a hooded robe with wide purple stripes on both sleeves. The man stood at the base of a tall building with a golden spire that soared to the heavens.

Joshua began to tremble as the man spoke. “My son. A higher duty calls to you. Listen and obey, but fear not, for your path is virtuous.”

The voice was low in volume, but the Lord had assured him it would be. The bearded man spoke about every man’s duty to confront the evil that walks among the righteous. He became more animated as he talked, waving his arms and punctuating key words with angry shakes of his head. It was a sermon much like those given each Sunday by Pastor Stephan back home.

The man’s face was now flushed red and he yelled his final commandment, a call to arms. He stopped, breathing heavily, and as the man calmed from his fiery oration, a young woman joined him. She wore a veil that reached to the floor, made from a thin translucent material. The veil flowed in the wind like angel’s wings, and Joshua could make out her shapely figure beneath the graceful folds of cloth.

Olivia, she called herself. She walked closer, her three-dimensional image growing. In one hand, Olivia held a coin much like the one spinning. She hooked a fingernail under a sliver of metal on its edge and spoke of a hidden chamber within.

She came closer still until her beautiful face filled the spinning cone of light. Her voice became sultry and beckoning. “My love. Your task is difficult, but do not falter. I will be waiting for you in Heaven.”

Her image twisted into spinning lines and disappeared. The cone of light went dark; the coin slowed and finally fell to one side. Joshua picked it up, searching for the sliver of metal he hoped he would find.

It was there, along the edge opposite the stamped words. He could just get a fingernail under it. He lifted, and a small slip of paper poked out from a tiny compartment. Joshua withdrew the paper and unfolded it to the size of a fortune from a Chinese cookie. The paper displayed a single line of printed numbers and letters.

On his shift later that night, Joshua logged in to the launch simulator system on the fire control computer. Simulation was a normal part of his workday; no one would notice. He withdrew the slip of paper from his pocket and typed the code into the system. A map came up, showing the submarine’s current position just south of Adak Island in the Aleutian chain that stretched from Alaska across the Pacific. Two red lines started from the sub and arced in opposite directions, one ending at Vladivostok, Russia, the other at San Francisco, California.

Russia was one thing, but targeting his own country? Was it even possible? The simulation didn’t lie. Its software was an accurate representation of the real fire control system. Joshua began to tremble. As foretold, his task would indeed be difficult, but it had been commanded by a power higher than any other that walked this mortal world.

The Lord’s voice had been clear. “Do not fear your task. Those who have strayed will die. All others will receive everlasting salvation.”

He looked again at the map, confirming the targets. Then he noticed a third red line. Like the other two, it started from the sub, but it arced in a loop and ended back at the sub’s position.

Joshua closed his eyes, the trembling becoming uncontrollable. He understood now why the beautiful woman had told him she would be waiting in Heaven.