CHAPTER 1

John Summers sat at his computer in his cubicle and looked at the time. He hated his job but it was Friday, so he was eager to get out of work and go home. Five o’clock was quitting time, but he still had forty-five minutes left. He closed his eyes and tried to take a small nap because he had finished his work early. Even though he felt like fifteen minutes had gone by, when he looked at his clock again it was only 4:17. He frowned and sighed. He worked as an entry-level accountant for one of the largest accounting firms in New York City. He had only been there for two years, but he knew this wasn’t what he wanted to be doing with his life. Today, though, he had decided that nothing was going to get him down because it was his birthday.

Turning thirty is a big deal for anyone, even for a man with few friends and no girlfriend. John tried to waste time by going to the bathroom, even though he didn’t have to go. He ran the water and cupped it in his hands, splashed it on his face, and looked in the mirror. What he saw was a very short African American man with short, black hair sprinkled with a little bit of gray that came from his father’s side of the family. He wasn’t very athletic, and he was a bit scrawny; he also wore thick glasses, and he wasn’t exactly being chased by women to get married. John wasn’t an ugly man; in fact he would be quite handsome if he only chose to wear contacts and dressed a little nicer, and he was most attractive when he showed off his charming smile. All in all, John was still grateful to God for his job and for his folks, who were currently living as missionaries in South Africa. John felt most grateful for his best friend, Camilla Adams.

Thirty minutes had gone by, and he figured now was a good enough time to escape this dreary work week. He took the elevator down, climbed on his nine-year-old bike, and rode it home as was his routine for two years now. It was his attempt at killing two birds with one stone, saving the environment and keeping in shape. He arrived at his small studio apartment and greeted Mrs. Roundtree, the old widow who lived on his floor. He took out her garbage whenever he was able because he was a “nice young man,” as she put it, and she was a “sweet old lady,” as he put it. Just outside his door was a package from his parents for his thirtieth birthday with a card attached. It read: “Happy Thirtieth Birthday, John. Sorry we couldn’t be there, but God is really moving down here. We love you so very much. Let’s video chat tonight if you can. To: Our favorite son, From: Your favorite parents.”

I’m your only son he thought and smiled. On this unusually hot spring day inside his drab one-bedroom apartment, he stripped down and put on the AC. He tried to video chat with his parents to no avail so he watched TV for three hours and had decided he was going to call it a night, when his smart phone rang. It was Camilla Adams.

“Hey, Cammy, what’s up?”

“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, dear Johnny,” she sang, which made him giggle. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Ah, I just got in and I was going to relax here for the night,” he responded.

“Yeah right, you were probably watching old reruns.” She caught him in his lie. “Why don’t you come out and meet me at O’Riley’s? We’ll have a drink or five and celebrate. You just turned thirty . . . that’s a big deal.”

“Gosh, ya know I would, but I just, it’s been such a long day, and I’m really tired maybe tomorrow or something.”

“Jonathan Michael Gabriel Summers,” she scolded.

“Wow, my whole name?” He was completely stunned.

“If you don’t get your lazy tail out of bed right now, I’m going to come over there and drag you out myself, and it’s not going to be pretty,” she reprimanded.

“Alright, alright, give me a minute. I’m coming.”

Satisfied with his answer, she let him go so he could get ready for his birthday night. He rummaged through his closet to find something, anything, to wear, maybe something that might even impress the young woman. He chose to wear a plaid shirt buttoned all the way to the top, white sneakers, and the cargo pants and jacket he wore to work earlier. He wasn’t impressed with his wardrobe, but it was the best combination he could come up with.

He rode his bike and by the time he arrived at O’Riley’s, it was close to nine o’clock. He walked in and looked for his friend, who was already on the dance floor. The music got louder as he walked closer to the center of the dance floor, and he had to scream just to get her attention.

“CAMILLA!”

“OH HEY, YOU MADE IT. YOU WANNA DANCE?” she yelled back and hugged him.

“NO, THEY’RE OLD PANTS BUT THANKS,” John screamed.

“WHAT?” she screamed back.

“THE MUSIC IS REALLY LOUD.”

“YEAH, ISN’T IT GREAT?”

“YOU WANNA GO?”

“KNOW WHAT?”

“NO, GO.”

“WHAT’S A NO GO?”

“WE SHOULD GO TO THE BAR,” he shouted.

“YA KNOW I CAN’T HEAR YOU. LET’S GO TO THE BAR,” she shouted back.

They finally left the dance floor, where the music was eardrum shattering, for the bar, where two people could have a normal conversation.

“Happy Birthday, John, I’m so glad you decided to come out,” Camilla exclaimed.

John looked at her and tried to not say anything stupid. He looked at his best friend of twenty years. She was taller than he was by two inches, four inches when she wore heels, like she had decided to do tonight. She was a very beautiful woman in her late twenties. Camilla was athletic and toned, with almond-shaped hazel eyes, and big, black and brown, curly hair that flowed around her face and shoulders. Her caramel skin was a gift given to her by her Caucasian American father and South African mother. Her father, Dr. Richard Adams, was a medical missionary who traveled to South Africa, where he met Abri Kagiso. They were married, and Abri traveled back to New York with him, where she gave birth to their daughter. Camilla worked for her parents in their private medical practice in New York City and was currently a medical student at NYU. She was obsessed with living a healthy lifestyle, both physically and socially, which is why she urged John to join her and was pleased to see him sitting next to her at O’Riley’s Pub. He was absolutely smitten with her and she knew it.

“Yeah, I’m glad I came out too. You look really nice today.”

“As opposed to other days?” she added with an incredulous look.

John quickly backtracked and tried to recover from his poor choice of words. “Yes, I mean, no, you look great other days too, it’s just you—”

“John, relax I was only kidding,” she interrupted. “I got you something . . .”

She pulled out a brochure for a brand-new McFadden folding bicycle. The one every cyclist was riding in the city.

“What is this?”

“What does it look like?”

“It looks like you got me a new bike.”

“Not just any bike, It’s a brand-new McFadden. The one that folds, it’s—”

“The best bike in the city . . . you did this for me?”

“Yeah . . . you’re my best friend.”

John stared into her big, mahogany eyes and fell even more in love with her than he already was.

“Wow . . . thanks.”

She gave him a big hug and the brightest smile.

“You’re welcome . . . now let’s drink.”

“Cola is fine.”

“Rum and Cola? Got it.”

“No, please no rum.”

“Don’t be such a wimp, Johnny, it’s your birthday. Bartender, can I have a rum and cola for the lady, and I’ll have a Green Apple Martini please,” Camilla said.

In about twenty minutes John was on top of the bar, dancing like a wild man, and having a great night, even though it was still very early. He simply wasn’t used to hanging out at bars or partying. He was a homebody and most times when he hung out with Camilla they were either at each other’s apartments, special events for their parents, or at church. Camilla had never seen John act this way but was happy to see her friend let loose. She often told him that he was going to “explode” if he didn’t find a way to let off some steam. When he fell from the bar, she laughed so hard and helped him up. This was clearly way too much for him to handle, and she decided now was as good a time as any to get him home. She helped him out of the bar as he was high-fiving new “friends” and “happy birthday” well-wishers.

“John, how did you get here?” she asked.

“I rode my bike and I locked it up riiiight . . . hey, where is it?” he slurred.

“Right here? Where this broken chain is?” Camilla asked.

“Aww man . . . somebody biked my stole,” John answered, clearly intoxicated.

“Well, good riddance to that old busted thing. Your present is at my place. You’ll get it tomorrow, okay?”

“This is the best birthday ever . . . and you’re so hot . . . like a hot . . . potato.”

Camilla laughed out loud at his response and fielded questions from other drunken strangers asking if he was okay. She offered to pay for a cab ride home but he refused, insisting that the walk home was just through Central Park and that he’d be fine and would call her as soon as he got home. She gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek, hailed a cab for herself, and went home. John began his long walk from Central Park East to Central Park West, walking slowly through the majestic park that could be quite dangerous at night. John grew up in the great city of New York so he wasn’t afraid, just cautious, as he made his way.

Ahadiel had been investigating Ornias for six months per his orders from the archangel Michael. Those orders were handed down from The One personally to Michael, who in turn chose the low-ranking, heavenly peace-keeping officer to find the demon and bring him into custody. Ahadiel had tracked Ornias from continent to continent and was hot on his trail when the demon entered into the United States. He finally caught up with Ornias over New York.

Ahadiel stood nine feet tall with blond hair and blue eyes. He was extremely beautiful, and he was very muscular with a ten-foot wingspan that resembled white eagle wings. He was shirtless with a big golden belt that held up his whiter than snow pants. The gold belt housed a sheath for his massive double-edged sword with a gold-plated and jewel-studded handle. He was a warrior angel that was always ready for battle. He rarely questioned his tasks, even if he felt one was beneath him. He was just happy to be in the service of The One. His only complaint was that he felt underutilized, but here was a chance for him to possibly earn a promotion and be useful in bringing in a fugitive demon. He didn’t know Ornias personally before the Great Rebellion. To him this was just another demon that “came across his desk,” and he was more than happy to bring him in.

Ornias was also a spiritual being of low rank. He wasn’t given the “privilege” of torturing the guilty in hell. In fact the demoness that he worked for thought it was beneath her and thus it was beneath him. He was charged with a simple mission: Find a woman who wants a child but has none. It was these menial jobs that Ornias had to perform at the discretion of his master. He was short by demon standards, just over six feet tall and with gaunt features. He wore a tattered black robe with black bat-like wings protruding from it.

He was completing the mission given to him by his master, but Ahadiel tracked him down in Kansas, and he had been running from the angel for four days now. When Ahadiel finally caught up to the demon, he tackled him in midair and they both fell, tumbling to the ground. Falling through the clouds, Ahadiel managed to direct them away from any buildings to a small clearing in Central Park, where they landed in a grassy area. Ornias was in pain from the long fall and could barely get up, let alone fight Ahadiel—an angel that he couldn’t beat on his best day or the angel’s worst day. Before the Great Rebellion, Ornias was a messenger angel under the leadership of the archangel Gabriel; physical confrontation was simply not his strong suit.

Ahadiel, being the warrior angel that he was, landed softly on his feet with his wings spread to brace for the impact. Once he landed he was instantly on top of Ornias, not giving the speedy, shape-shifting demon a chance to recover.

“Who are you working for?” Ahadiel said in an easy tone, which sounded like he was singing, but as if there were three other voices speaking with him at the same time, each at a different pitch.

Ornias, fearful of what would happen to him if he didn’t speak up, was more terrified at what would happen if he did, so he spoke in circles.

“Please, why are you following me? Is it the time of my torment?” he asked.

“Don’t play coy with me,” retorted Ahadiel. “I have observed you stalking women who are barren. What do you want with them? What is the connection?”

“Sir, I have no recollection of what you are talking about. I’m but a lowly demon going to and from earth . . . is that a crime?”

“You would do well to not consider me a fool, demon,” Ahadiel warned him. “I’m placing you under arrest. I will get to the bottom of this.”

As John walked through Central Park he saw something falling from the sky, bright white and red lights. He wondered if anyone else had seen what he saw, but there was no one around to ask, which was odd considering it was slightly after ten o’clock at night. Usually there were late- night joggers or pedestrians walking their dogs, maybe a passing car in the streets that cut through the park, or maybe even a horse and buggy with a dating couple kissing or holding hands. He looked around and saw none of the busy activity that he was accustomed to seeing in this beautiful park, so he slowly continued in the direction which the object, or objects, had fallen. Being a little inebriated, he wasn’t really sure if he was imagining things or if he really had seen two lights fall in the middle of the park.

He jogged across the street and stopped just behind some bushes where he was just far enough out of view but close enough to hear bits and pieces of a conversation. When he thought about what he was seeing, he was surprised he could hear the lights speaking at all. They were bright in and of themselves but not bright enough to light up the surrounding area, not enough to draw much attention anyway.

He could tell the bigger, white light was the aggressor and was dominating the smaller, red light. Beyond that he could not tell what they were or what the confrontation was about. So he decided to gain a better vantage point, and the nearby tree provided a perfect view. The last time John made any attempt to climb anything was in high school approximately thirteen years ago. He needed a physical education class to graduate, and to pass the class, he had to climb the rope and “ring the bell,” which was rough for him because of his irrational fear of heights. Yet John’s curiosity ruled over his fear, and he summoned the courage and began climbing the tree.

He couldn’t have picked an easier tree to climb. There were grooves and steps on the tree that seemed to encourage him to press onward. He made his way up the tree very awkwardly, slipping several times and even being rewarded with a splinter for his efforts. In fact, had the tree not been an easy one, he would have never made it up there at all.

He finally reached a branch that grew in the direction of the lights and decided it was the best limb to climb. As he continued onto the branch he could hardly believe his eyes. It looked almost as if the lights were people. At least they looked like people to him. Not aliens with big bug eyes or four fingers who spoke in a strange dialect, but people. He knew they weren’t American because they weren’t speaking English, and as he continued to look upon them he noticed that they had wings. One had what appeared to be very large white eagle wings, and the other had smaller bat wings, though they were large in their own right. He also noticed that the white being on top had a large sword adorned in gold, was shirtless, very handsome, and very well built, almost as if he was a part of some sort of royal brigade. The red being on the bottom looked nothing like the white being; he wore shabby, disgusting, black garments and appeared to be a sick old man.

John carried 150 pounds on his 5’5” frame, but it was just enough weight on the particularly weak tree limb to snap under him. He tried to make his way back but before he could, the limb gave way and he fell some twenty feet straight to the grass and had the wind knocked out of him.

Ornias was trying to talk his way out of the predicament he was in, but nothing seemed to be working and the weight of Ahadiel was causing him to become short of breath.

“How . . . can I give you . . . answers . . . with your knees in my chest?” Ornias said, gasping for air.

“You will do plenty of—” before Ahadiel could finish his sentence, he heard a noise that distracted him long enough to lose focus on his prisoner. “OOOOOW, MY LEG!!!” Then Ahadiel saw the human who made the pitiful yelp.

Ornias heard the noise too and seized the opportunity to get away from his captor. He kicked Ahadiel in the chest, which did little to hurt the enormous angel. Instead it actually annoyed him. Ornias got up to run off, but Ahadiel grabbed him by one of his legs. Ornias was hopping on his free leg while the angel had the other. What happened next both shocked and infuriated Ahadiel. Ornias grew his black fingernails into talons and scratched Ahadiel in a backhanded swiping motion across his face and eyes, causing the angel to howl and let go of the leg to attend to his injured face. Ornias ran straight toward John, and just as John saw him coming, he raised his arms in a blocking motion to protect himself, but it didn’t help in the slightest as the demon jumped right into the poor soul who had unwittingly stepped into a spiritual confrontation with no sort of spiritual protection. John fell and became paralyzed as his body no longer belonged to him. Another entity had taken control. Ornias possessed John Summers.

Ahadiel finally recovered, removed his hands from his eyes, and saw lines of blood on them. Although he was already healing, this made the angel extremely angry. Angry that he was bleeding, angry at the human who distracted him, angry at Ornias for scratching him, but angrier at himself for becoming distracted, which led to the events unfolding the way they did. He looked for the demon but couldn’t find him. He closed his eyes and concentrated on smelling where the demon went. If his eyes hadn’t been slightly damaged, he would have used his spiritual vision to track the essence of the demonic spirit to actually see where the demon traveled, but he was forced to rely on his nose. As he searched the air for the foul scent that all demons leave behind, he noticed the scent got stronger once he approached the invalid human. He was hoping that the demon hadn’t entered the young man, but his fears were confirmed when he smelled the tainted mixture of human and demon odors, a scent he hadn’t smelled since the days Jesus and the Disciples cast demons out of humans. According to him, those were the “good ole days.”

Ahadiel knelt down in front of John and didn’t know what to do. He had never attempted to cast a demon out of a human before. He could call for assistance from an angel that specialized in exorcisms, but the protocol to get the necessary clearance would take entirely too long. And if he left John to get help, Ornias could very well have total possession and be gone by the time he returned. The only other option he had was to enter John and evict the demon personally. Ahadiel decided upon the latter and positioned himself on top of John and fused into the human.

When Ahadiel entered John’s body, he could see many things—some good, some bad, neither impressed nor disgusted him. To Ahadiel, he was just another human. He had seen many humans like him throughout his many millennia of existence. His only goal for being there was to find Ornias before he could set up a permanent hold on John, which would make it immensely more difficult to remove him. He searched throughout John’s world and thought aloud, “If I were a demon, where would I be?” He assumed that the demon would probably go to the deepest, darkest part of John’s soul and that’s where he would find them both.

He took flight and traveled from where the skies were serene and peaceful to where the skies darkened, and the turbulence in the air made it too difficult to fly. He had obviously traveled to an area where John struggled terribly in his life, resulting in the storm that Ahadiel found himself in the middle of. This area of a person’s life is a perfect breeding ground for a demon to erect a stronghold and attempt to control it for his own demonic purposes.

Ahadiel landed and scanned the area. All he could see were the various idols built by none other than John himself. These idols were in the shape of women in suggestive poses, indicating what John struggled with most in his life. For other humans these idols might be in the shape of different things, such as cars, money, foreign gods, and even statues of themselves, for those who struggled with pride. They took lifetimes to create and no one but that person, in this case John, could have built them.

Ahadiel saw idols as far as his angelic eyes could see. As he weathered the storm, he used his wings for protection from the poisonous rain. Thunder thundered and lightning illuminated the surrounding region, emitting enough light that Ahadiel could see a dark figure at the edge of what looked like a cliff. He approached until the figure called out to him.

“That is far enough,” shouted Ornias with his talons across a young man’s throat. “Any closer and I will open his neck.”

“The moment you do, I will destroy you, Ornias,” Ahadiel responded.

“Would you rather this sinful soul be damned to the fires of hell? Huh? Would you like to explain how you lost one of The One’s precious souls?”

“BUT I’M A BELIEVER!” shouted John.

“Shut up you worthless human,” Ornias screamed. “You really think The One would accept you? Look at this place! You have destroyed your own temple, and you think The One will forgive you for this?” Ornias tightened his grip on John’s neck, making him cry out in pain.

“I didn’t put these here . . . well, it was me but not really me.” John tried to explain.

“Oh so you’re a liar too? Yes, yes, The One will be most proud of you.” Ornias scoffed.

“John, don’t worry. I will get you out of this.” Ahadiel tried to comfort John.

“Worried? Who’s worried? HELP ME!” John was beginning to panic.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, angel,” Ornias warned.

Then suddenly there was a fourth voice that no one recognized except for John, and he knew the situation had gotten significantly worse.

“Let. Me. Go,” said the fourth voice.

“Oh, no, no, NO, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!” John was terrified.

“Who said that?” asked Ornias.

And then suddenly the demon was attacked. A figure climbed on top of Ornias’s back and bit a huge piece of flesh from the demon’s neck. John fell to the floor and scrambled toward the angel. They both watched as Ornias was attacked by the hooded figure. It wasn’t the attack of a seasoned warrior; it was the attack of an undisciplined madman. A positively insane man who was full of the venomous rage that consumed him.

“We have got to get out of here. This is his part of the body and he will kill us both after he’s through with Ornias,” John warned and tried to encourage Ahadiel to leave.

“What is that?” asked the angel.

“It’s not what, it’s who. He is me or I am him.”

“What?” Ahadiel was truly confused.

“I’ll explain later, just know that this is his territory and we must leave NOW!” John responded.

“Not without Ornias,” Ahadiel said.

“What? Leave him.”

“I can’t. If he stays here, he will eventually find a way to subdue him . . . you . . . and take control of this vessel permanently.”

With that said, Ahadiel advanced on the being and the demon. The other John was quite smaller than the larger demon but had maintained the upper hand and continued to brutally attack the demon. Ornias was seriously injured from the confrontation. Whatever this thing was, it was clearly very dangerous. Ahadiel reached to grab the menace, but it looked at him with blood red eyes filled with hatred and malice, and ran off before the angel could get ahold of him. Ahadiel was stunned at how fast he was but decided not to give chase. He knelt down to carry Ornias, but before he could, the being ran and scratched Ahadiel in the face and ran off again. It came back for a second assault, but Ahadiel grabbed him by the neck in mid-run and looked at him as he struggled in his arms. The other John was unkempt and dirty with dirty hair, filthy yellow sharp teeth, and bloodshot eyes. He cursed the angel, himself, and God. This person was undoubtedly demented. Ahadiel walked the creature to the edge of the precipice and dropped him. He picked Ornias off the ground and walked back toward John.

“If you don’t mind, could you hurry up,” shouted John, trying to be heard over the thunder and lightning.

“I don’t see the need to rush. I have the demon and the other you is over the cliff.” Ahadiel said with confidence in his voice.

“You don’t understand, you can’t kill me here. This is my body. You’ve only slowed . . .”

And then a hand reached up onto the gravel over the edge, and both John and the angel looked toward the cliff.

“. . . him . . .”

And the madman pulled himself up to where all that could be seen of him were his terrifying red eyes.

“. . . down.”

And the other John pulled himself completely up the cliff and started to run toward the three intruders on his land. John and Ahadiel, carrying the bruised demon, began to run as fast as they could. They ran past the female idols that the other John built and noticed that he was gaining on them, until Ahadiel grabbed John by his shirt and flapped his majestic wings and flew straight into the air. He almost made a clean get away, but the other John grabbed the angel’s foot. Ahadiel looked at him and simply kicked him off, and the tortured soul careened to the ground, crashing into a few idols. The other John shook off the fall and watched as they escaped. Ahadiel traveled battling the wind and rain until the skies began to change from black to twilight and then to a very calm, peaceful, and beautiful blue. Ahadiel saw a paradise that could almost rival heaven. Its beauty was truly captivating, and then he heard John speak.

“This is my region; you can set us down here.”

It was a gorgeous meadow with flowers of all kinds, small trees, large trees, and even rivers. It was an amazing place for any soul to make a home.

“You built this place, John?” asked the angel, setting Ornias down on the grass. The demon had lost an eye, a big chunk of his neck, and part of his wing in the confrontation with the other John, but even now he was slowly but surely beginning to heal.

“Yes, I did,” John said with righteous pride.

“This place is wonderful. It’s almost as beautiful as heaven itself.” Ahadiel complimented. “I must ask you, what happened back there? What is this place?”

“I don’t know much. All I can tell you is that ever since I’ve been here, he’s been here”

“The other you?”

“Yes, and he is exceptionally evil. All he wants to do is destroy . . . everything.”

“And what about you?” asked Ahadiel.

“I don’t want to destroy anything. I only want to do what is good and see it prevail. We are inside the spiritual world of John, which is his inner body. We have been fighting for years, trying to control the body. Sometimes I win, sometimes he wins, but we always fight.”

“Why was he so strong?” Ahadiel questioned.

“We were deep, too deep in his control of the body. He derives his strength from his territory, like I do mine. Here, I am strong enough to imprison him, but only here. That’s why he never comes here and I never go there . . . if and when we do fight, it’s always on neutral ground.” John tried to explain as best he could. “But now I have questions for you. Who are you?”

“I am Ahadiel; Peace Keeper of the Heavenly Order of the Most High Elohim.” Ahadiel proclaimed.

“Elo-who?”

“Elohim . . . means ‘God’ and I am in his service.”

“Oh wow, YOU work for The Most High?

“Yes, I do.”

“That is great, just great . . . what in the world are you doing here?” John said, shrugging the angel off.

“My mission was to track down this . . . WHERE DID HE GO?” Ahadiel looked frantically and scanned for any sign of where the demon had gone, but there was no trail that he could see. The only thing that he could see was demonic residue where Ornias had lain, and then the vapor disappeared into a portal that was there but was gone.

“Did you not see him escape?” asked the angel in a loud tone, but he did not scream at the human soul.

“No, I was . . . I didn’t see anything,” John answered.

“I must leave at once.” Ahadiel tried to open a portal but couldn’t. He tried again and it still didn’t work. He concentrated harder and focused his mind on creating a third portal, and it actually held for a second before it collapsed again. Then suddenly a three-foot-long, black chain appeared and clasped onto John and Ahadiel. The manacles seared themselves onto the wrists of John and Ahadiel, and neither could hide how painful it was. The cuffs had barbs on the inside and dug into the flesh of the two individuals. Both began to bleed and the slightest tug or pull only made their small injuries worse.

Ahadiel realized he was trapped with John, stuck as a foreigner in a strange country with no way to return home. Neither John nor Ahadiel was pleased with the situation that had befallen them. Ahadiel took out his sword and was trying to figure out the best angle to swing that would cut the chains but not injure John or himself. However, John didn’t feel comfortable with the angel making any sort of attempt, so Ahadiel decided he would seek The One’s help, but finding a way to “gate out” of the body was the dilemma.

John woke up in pain with a leaf in his hair. He took it out and lay on the green Central Park grass in the middle of the cool night sky. A massive headache erupted and he clutched his head. His back hurt as well when he realized he was tangled in a fallen tree limb. He placed his hands under the tree to procure a better grip as he lightly pushed the tree limb off, but the tree flew forty feet into the air and landed across the street over seventy feet away. John was shocked at what happened and jumped to his feet, but his jump landed him at the very top of the tree that he fell from. He was now afraid and shouted, “What is happening to me?”

John looked down from his perch, and what he saw blew his mind. Not only could he see individual blades of grass, but he could see an earthworm slithering through the grass and trying to burrow its way into the soil. He could not only see the worm, he could also hear him. He heard the grass being moved by the sliding worm, but suddenly he heard a car horn outside the park and fell out of the tree again. On the way down John hit the broken tree limb that stuck out of the tree and landed on the ground. He cried out when the branch bore into his leg and protruded out the other side. John called for help twice but no one came, and he decided to try to pull it out himself, something that he had only seen in movies. He thought he was crazy for trying it himself. But he reached down and grabbed one end of the branch and pulled it out of his leg. He winced from the pain and even let out a small whimper. The tree limb was covered in his blood, and he put his finger through his cargo pant leg and looked to see how bad the wound was. It looked very bad but almost instantly began healing itself right in front of his eyes, until it was whole again with no trace of a scar. The blood that remained was the only clue to a rupture in his flesh. “My God,” John said as he stood up very slowly and began walking out of the park. The cacophony of sounds, from the honking horns, the screeching tires, even people having conversations on their cellphones, pounded his head and made his headache that much worse.

He came to a crosswalk and waited for the image of the “white walking man” to appear in the pedestrian traffic light before he crossed. When he had the right of way he stepped into the middle of the street, but a taxicab driver overeager to catch a new rider ran the red light and was about to hit John. When John realized he was about to get hit, he tried to brace himself for the impact with his outstretched arms. His hands met the hood of the car and dented it; he applied so much force to the front of the car that the back of the taxi went five feet into the air before it slammed back down. People looked at John with shock and awe. Although New Yorkers are used to seeing many things, they had never seen a man stop a speeding car with his bare hands. For at that moment the world stopped, and all eyes were on him, something he had never experienced before. Before anyone could ask him if he was alright, he ran off, and in a blink of an eye, he was gone.

John arrived at his apartment and opened the door with two fingers and closed it with his pinky so he didn’t cause further damage to anything else. He was tired from the day and exhausted from the ordeal he just had, promising himself that he would find out what was happening to him, tomorrow. It would be best to figure it all out on a full night’s sleep and fully sober. He took his clothes off and lay in his bed. Sleep not only came, it overtook him in a matter of seconds.

Ahadiel had been working on making portals for about an hour and most of his attempts ended in defeat, but he could tell with each passing moment that making them was becoming a little easier. A few of the portals were stable for more than a few seconds but not long enough for him to pass through, let alone with two beings. And when he wondered why, he realized that his portals were attempts to exit the body, but they weren’t attempts to go to another dimension, say heaven or even hell. When Ahadiel grasped that concept he decided to try another way. He opened a beautiful, stable, blue starry portal that led directly to heaven. Pleased with his accomplishment, he woke up the resting soul.

“Why are the skies darkening,” Ahadiel asked John.

“The body is resting; most vital operations are shutting down,” he replied.

“Do you rest with the body?”

“Not usually, we never sleep and we are rarely ever tired . . . but after tonight’s events I am very weary,” John explained.

“Well, there will be no rest tonight. We are going to see The One,” Ahadiel said.

“The One?” John asked. “Do you mean God? Like God, God?”

“Does this surprise you? Yes, we are going to see them,” Ahadiel countered.

“Them? We’re going to see Jesus and the Father both?” John inquired.

“Yes and no.”

“Why do you call them The One?” asked John.

“We address them by many titles. We call them by their Name or the Creator, Father, Son and sometimes we call them The One. Only they can help us, but we will not see them separately,” Ahadiel answered.

“I . . . don’t understand . . .” John was completely puzzled.

“It may become clearer in a moment. Hold on.” Ahadiel assured.

Before John had a chance to react, Ahadiel opened a magnificent gateway and walked through, taking John with him. Traveling through the portal, John felt a sense of euphoria, peace, and tranquility. He also felt love echoing through the cloudy, sky blue, starry portal. He could hardly believe his eyes or his feelings. He just kept thinking that this had to be a dream of some kind. The last thing he remembered was lying down on his bed, but everything seemed much sharper than being awake, which is incongruous with dream worlds. They walked only a few steps and then John saw a light in the distance. A white light. It appeared when he finally stepped out of the portal. He arrived in a great, white hall, and there was a man on the other side looking at him. John knew instantly that this man was The One.