Dark Days

The A-men: Furnace

Dark Day

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

Some days you wake up and all is right in the world. Those are the days we all look forward to. They are best when they are unexpected. These are the days that give us strength and hope to endure the other days. These are the bright and shiny days. Then there are the days when all seems lost. You search for a reason to go on because nothing is happening the way it is supposed to. These are the days we dread. They are worst when they are unexpected. They are the days that make everything else look hopeless. They make you want to avoid all other days. These…..are the dark days.

No man’s Land

Gabriel woke up. He felt strange because he didn’t remember going to sleep. It was really weird because as an angel he knew he never slept. The only time he was ever unaware was when he was unconscious and that only happened once. He didn’t remember being in a battle so he looked for any excuse to explain why he couldn’t remember laying down on a bed and going to sleep. Perhaps he was training with Malachi and things got out of hand. They were known to fight rather ruthlessly with each other. Any bed would have looked pleasant to him after they fought. That is when shock number two hit him. He wasn’t on a bed at all. He was lying on hard ground. Gabriel looked around and saw that the ground was pitch black and smoldering. 

Now that he was aware, he could feel the aches in his body. His head was pounding and his entire being was burned. The ground he was on was extremely hot. He tried to get up and then realized that it took much more effort than he believed it should have. He saw that there was a large puddle of blue liquid around him. He recognized it as angel blood. After feeling over his body he came to find that it was his own blood. It was on his legs, his arms, his chest, and his face. Whatever happened had been violent.  That is when he noticed that he wasn’t just lying on the ground, he was in a ditch. After inspecting it, he came to the conclusion that it wasn’t dug up. Something had impacted here and that is what created this small crater. He climbed to the top of it and was then met with shock number three.

The last place he remembered being was the Counsel. What he saw was not the Counsel. In fact he didn’t know what he was looking at. That was until he gave everything a second look. He was standing in the middle of a major city. He knew it to be Washington D.C. However it didn’t look like it normally did. It used to look nice with grass and trees. The monuments stood out and defined this great land. Now he didn’t see any of that. All he saw was a lot of fire and destruction. The Washington Monument was nowhere to be seen. What now stood in its place was a statue of the demon general Goliath.

 Gabriel started to panic. He knew that D.C. had never looked like this. He limped toward it as his injuries kept him from running. He wished that he had a better idea of what was going on. What happened in D.C.? Why was there a statue of Goliath? Last time he checked, Goliath had been killed. What was going on and why couldn’t he remember anything? He proceeded to walk through the city. It wasn’t just the major part of D.C. that had been hit. The entire area had been demolished. Houses and government buildings were crumbling, flags with skulls were hanging everywhere. It was obvious that this was territory of the enemy. He fell to his knees. The mysterious injuries that he had sustained were too much for him. He could feel how weak he was and he knew he wouldn’t be able to go much further. He needed to find someone to help him. 

Right as that thought crossed his mind, he heard a voice. From the sound of it, it was a small child who was probably no older than ten years old. He was crying for help. It sounded like he was desperate as if he needed assistance immediately. Gabriel looked around frantically to see who it was. Finally he saw the boy in front of him. There was quite a bit of distance between them but Gabriel knew that the boy had seen him because he was suddenly calling out to him. Gabriel forced himself to stand and started walking in the direction of the child. He got close enough to tell the expression on the boy’s face. It was one of joy and relief. They were both glad that they had found help. However that expression quickly turned into that of sheer pain and fear. Gabriel looked on in horror as the boy was plunged with dozens of fiery arrows. He was dead before he even hit the ground. The death of humans was always bad but the death of a child was unimaginable.

 Gabriel looked up and saw at least twenty demons circling around him like vultures. He was praying that they wouldn’t see him because he was in no condition to fight but he didn’t think he would receive that kind of fortune. He was right. The demons flew low and came right to him. One of them approached him slowly. “Hey boss, this one is bleeding blue. It must not be human.” 

“I thought the angels were gone. Oh well. Kill it like the rest.” The second demon said.

Usually Gabriel would taunt his enemies just to throw them off. This time however he was strictly taking care of business. All he wanted to do was survive. He knew that it was going to take all of his energy but he had to muster up enough to get out of this mess. He instinctively reached for his bow which he always carried with him and met with yet another surprise. His weapons were gone. He had no bow or arrows. He was completely defenseless. The demons all drew their weapons. A few of them were sporting bows of their own. Gabriel could feel how weak his legs were but it didn’t matter. He dived out of the way just as the demons fired. He landed on his hands and pushed himself up so he would flip on his legs. It was extremely painful but he forced himself through it. Then he took off running. 

After he built some momentum he jumped, hoping he would fly. He hit the ground. Gabriel looked at his wings and noticed that they were completely messed up. There was no way he was going to be able to fly out of here. Instead he just ran as fast as he could.  He constantly looked behind him to check how close his enemies were and to ensure that he didn’t get killed by an arrow. He knew he was going to be caught soon. There was nowhere for him to go and there was no one to help him. He wasn’t going to stand still and let himself die but he accepted the fact that it was going to happen. The only problem he had was the fact that he couldn’t remember anything. An arrow soared through his left knee. He cried out in pain and fell. The ground once again started to burn his skin. He didn’t have time to get up. He desperately tried to crawl away. The demons landed in front of him. One pulled a small knife which Gabriel knew was going to be the weapon of his demise. He closed his eyes and waited for the finishing blow. All he heard was a yelp. 

Gabriel opened his eyes and saw that the demon in front of him had been killed. He noticed that it had been pierced by a projectile. The humans referred to it as a shuriken or a ninja star. He had never seen one used in these types of battles. The other demons started to advance towards him again and all but one of them was also killed by shurikens. Gabriel looked up and saw an armored warrior falling from a nearby low building. The figure was wearing a mask so Gabriel couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. However the person didn’t look friendly. Its armor was based on the look of some of the demons and the mask was black. The demon that had survived addressed his enemy. 

“I’ve been waiting a long time for you Serene. Did you come to die this time?”

Serene didn’t say a word. Gabriel watched as his rescuer pulled a short sword and stabbed the last of the fiends. Gabriel’s vision was starting to get blurry. He was sure that he would be unconscious soon. Serene walked over to him with the dead body. The monster was sliced into many different pieces. The black blood that poured from it was rubbed over Gabriel’s body. It burned him immensely and he did his best not to scream. Serene could see that he was in pain. 

“I know this stings a lot Gabriel. Demon blood isn’t supposed to touch angel skin. I have to do this though. It keeps your scent hidden from the others. Unfortunately it doesn’t take long for them to unravel this ruse. We have to move quickly.”

“You know who I am? Who are you?” Gabriel asked.

“If I tell you then you’ll need an explanation.” Serene said.

Gabriel could tell that Serene was a woman based on her voice. It was a familiar voice but he couldn’t place it. The pain from the mixing blood started to fade. Serene picked him up. “We don’t have much time.” She said. She ran as fast as she could. Gabriel’s weight was slowing her down but she knew she couldn’t leave him there; it wouldn’t be right. After she ran a few blocks, she pulled into an ally. She laid Gabriel against the wall and started searching the ground. Gabriel watched her grab two stones that she used to start a small fire. Gabriel questioned the wisdom in this decision. He really started to panic when she started screaming. They were insults and challenges to any demon that could hear it. It took seconds for one to show up. Serene promptly killed it. Right as he was about to ask why she did it, Serene silenced him. She placed her hands on the ground and pulled a big piece of wood. It had blended into the ground because of its color. She took it over to the corpse and smeared it with more demon blood. Then she took Gabriel to the hole that was in place of the wood.

“It is kind of a long way down so this will most likely hurt.” Then she pushed him into the hole. After she checked her surroundings one more time she jumped in as well and covered it as she descended. She caught onto the ladder that had been built. She almost missed it because of how dark it was but she was ok. When she got to the bottom, she accidently stepped on Gabriel. “Are you cozy down there?” She asked. 

“Very funny.” Gabriel said. “So what are we just supposed to wait here for the rest of our lives?” 

“Of course not. This is just the outside.” Serene started to feel around the wall. She finally came to rest on a handle. She turned it and pulled. A bright light burst through the room. Gabriel looked around and saw that they had been in a very small space. Now however he saw a much larger room ahead. Serene picked him up and carried him through. As he looked around, he saw people. There were a lot of people. Most of them were injured and none of them looked entirely fine. Their clothes were torn and they were all huddled around each other to keep warm. Serene found a group of people who weren’t doing anything. “I found him out there. He’s in pretty bad shape. Do what you can to help him.”

Serene left Gabriel in the care of these strangers. The people got really close to him and inspected to see what it was they were going to be dealing with. After they gave him a good look, one spoke to him. “We need to remove some things and tend to some pretty major wounds. It is going to hurt a lot.” Then he grabbed the arrow that was stuck in Gabriel’s leg and ripped it out. Gabriel held his scream in but his face gave his feelings away. “Come on you’re more put together than we are; you should be fine.” 

“I may be an angel but the demon weapons still hurt quite a bit. Would you like to try?” Gabriel asked. Usually he would bring out the fact that he was a celestial being but a mix of blinding pain and maintained confusion stopped him. For now he just needed to get one thing off of his mind so that he could focus on figuring out what was going on. He closed his eyes and waited patiently for his injuries to be taken care of. It felt much longer than it actually was because of how much pain he was in. When it was over he felt much better. He looked down at his leg. It had been wrapped but it still hurt. At least now he didn’t have anything sticking out of him. He tried to stand up. It still hurt him to do so but it wasn’t as bad as before. He excused himself from his caretakers and kept walking through this unfamiliar place.

It was impressive how so much could be built underground and how hidden it remained. It looked to be in the heart of the demon territory. However they did it, it was nothing short of a miracle. Then he started to question things again. As he looked around he noticed that he didn’t recognize any of the people he was looking at. He had met a lot of people during his existence but no one here looked familiar. There weren’t even any fellow angels for him to talk to.

“This is so weird.” He said out loud.

“It isn’t what you were expecting is it?” Serene had appeared yet again. “You reacted pretty much exactly the way I expected you would.” 

Gabriel tried again to place the voice but he couldn’t so he put it out of his mind. “Can you explain to me what is going on? I can’t remember anything right now but I know that this isn’t the world I was in.”

“I could try explaining to you but there is a lot to say and frankly I don’t have the patience to do so. However there is someone here who you can talk to. She will tell you everything that you want to know.” 

“Who is she?” Gabriel asked.

“Do you want to ask more questions or do you finally want some answers? Follow me.” 

Serene led Gabriel through the rest of this mysterious place. It was even bigger than he originally thought it could be. She found another wall and placed her hand on it. There was no door or handle and yet she cupped her hand as if she had grabbed one. Then she pulled and a golden door appeared out of nowhere and opened. Gabriel looked at her strangely. 

“She doesn’t like to be bothered unless it is important.” Serene said. Once they walked through the door, it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Now it was as if they were in a completely different dimension entirely. Gabriel looked around and saw that he was basically in someone’s mansion. However it was rundown and faded. He followed Serene up a staircase that seemed to go on forever. Once they finally got to the top there was another door.

“She is behind this door. You may be surprised by what you see. Go in whenever you are ready.”

Gabriel took a moment to try and decipher what she could have meant by that. Then he realized that he didn’t have to figure it out. He could just open the door and get the answer. He grabbed the handle and pulled. The door creaked as it opened. He walked through. His footsteps echoed as he walked. This room was a little creepy to him. He looked around and saw statues. They were all familiar to him. It was the first thing he had seen that he recognized. There was one of Uriel, Ananchel, Malachi, Aban, Meshe’, Shadr, and the other A-men. Then there were statues of people that he didn’t recognize. Under each statue there was a chest. Then he saw one of himself. He reached the end of the room and there was a large chair that was facing away from him.

“Hello?” Gabriel’s voice trailed. He didn’t get an answer. The silence was killing him. “Is there anyone there?” Once again he didn’t receive an answer. He was about to lose his mind but then he heard something. It was barely above a whisper. It was telling him to walk forward. He did as he was told. He looked at the chair and turned it around. There was nothing except a cup with some unknown substance in it. The voice told him to drink. He once again followed the command of the nameless tone. Once he drank whatever it was, he felt weird. His head started to glow gold. The light emerged from his head. Gabriel starred at it and saw a montage of memories. All of the right decisions he ever made in his life were being flashed in front of him. Then the images faded and only the light remained. It slowly formed into a humanoid shape. Gabriel was confident that he knew exactly who was standing before him. “Is that you Wisdom?”

The golden light started to walk toward him. With each step it faded more. As it did Gabriel became less sure about his previous accusation. “I haven’t heard that name in a long time.” The light faded even more and Gabriel saw a short elderly woman with a cane walking his way.

“That can’t be you.” Gabriel said.

The voice of the woman was soft and weak. “Most wouldn’t think so. I can assure you that I am who you think I am. I am Wisdom Woman.” Her skin that Gabriel remembered being a strong gold now looked human. Her clothing was very little more than rags. She had wrinkles and scars. The eyes that Gabriel had once confessed to being attracted to now looked like any other human eyes. Her hair was gray and unkempt. She no longer looked like the champion she once was.

“What happened to you?” The angel asked. “I thought you were eternal. How have you aged?”

“You are as surprised as I expected you would be, if only you had been sent to an earlier time. It would be much easier to explain why I look this way. Quite simply, this is what happens when the world doesn’t need you anymore.” Wisdom said.

“I don’t understand.” Gabriel stated.

“For a long time I asked myself a question. I was given eternal Wisdom. I knew my place but I could not help but wonder. What makes me less than God? What is it that I do not know that separates me from the knowledge of the God I serve? I discovered it when everything went wrong. I learned what my real purpose is. I exist because humanity needed wisdom. They needed something that would keep them on the right path. I was given knowledge that would be sufficient to look after them. I am eternal in Heaven but on Earth I only exist as long as they believe I should. Ever since these trials started less and less of the human species believe in the necessity of wise counsel. When you don’t use something, it grows old and weary. Some even question my existence entirely. In simpler terms; the world has changed.” 

“Hold on. I get that there will always be those who want nothing to do with us but the entire species? What happened that such a drastic amount of support just suddenly left you? Where are all of the believers? Where are all of the world’s ‘sages’? Where is your purpose?” Gabriel asked.

“There are approximately one thousand living beings in the area you were just in. They are the confirmed survivors of the entire country of America.”

“One thousand!? There used to be over three-hundred million people in America! What happened?” Gabriel was shouting now.

“When the world needed what I had to offer the most, they shunned it. They decided that they could overcome what was about to attack them. They took on that which they could never have understood without a mix of faith and wisdom. By the time they realized that they were wrong, it was already too late. We couldn’t possibly have known all of the things that were going to go wrong.” Wisdom turned away. “I should have seen it coming but I didn’t.”

Gabriel backed away from Wisdom. “Why am I here though? I don’t remember any of these things happening.”

“I was told back before this all started that I was going to see you here.” Wisdom said. “I am forbidden to tell you most things but there are a few key points that I was told to pass along. The first thing I need to tell you is that this is all a vision. You are being shown how the world can end up.”

“That’s why I don’t remember this.” Gabriel started to think. “From my time, this hasn’t happened yet. Then why am I being shown this? Are the others seeing visions like this as well?

“No Gabriel only you are seeing this. I am not allowed to tell you the specifics but you set off a chain of events somewhere in your time. These events happen one after the other and lead to things getting worse. The problem is that the first decision you make that starts this entire cycle is so minor. Unfortunately it leads to what you saw outside already.”

The expression on Gabriel’s face was clearly that of disbelief. “Are you telling me that I make one bad move and the entire world is destroyed!? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“No you misunderstand. A lot of what you see is completely unavoidable. What you are seeing right now is the time period known as the Dark Days. We knew that this was coming and that Earth was going to face this threat. That is why God has been fixing up the army. We have been forming the A-men as you already know.”

“Where are the A-men then? I know there weren’t many of us but you are the only one I’ve seen since I got here.” 

Wisdom became instantly more somber. “That is because I am one of the only surviving members. The rest of them were killed right before these terrible times started. We tried to save who we could but it didn’t matter. They were all doomed. The only reason we were able to make it out was because Uriel had been preparing this place for years.”

“The team is gone? Malachi, Rex, David, they’re all gone? Who survived then?”

“I am not allowed to tell you specifically. I’m sorry but I am under the strictest of orders.”

Gabriel took a deep breath. “Something still doesn’t make sense to me. There are plenty of angels that could help this cause. Where are they? Why is it strictly darkness, and how are you staying so hidden?”

“Think about it Gabriel. They were faced with the choice of staying in their lovely home or coming down to Earth and dealing with Satan and the rest of his kind. A legion was ready to come and assist but then the entire resistance was destroyed. There was nothing worth fighting for. So they stayed behind and left the humans to face these trials alone. That is why we simply wait. We wait for the seven years to end. As for how we stay hidden, it is really thanks to the stupidity of the demons. They can’t detect us like others. They have to smell us out. The demon blood and surrounding area keeps us hidden.”

“So let me see if I understand this correctly Wisdom. I’m in the middle of a vision where my entire team has been killed and a minor decision on my part leads to the basic extinction of the human race. When am I going to be able to go back and stop this?”

“Well first you must understand one thing. This time period is going to happen regardless of what we choose to do about it. The only thing you are out to change is who is still around to face it. If you find a way to keep your team alive, then you find a way to bring the angels here. Then the dark days will be bearable. You will return to your original time when you have seen what you are supposed to see. The choice you make will be between two seemingly unrelated instances. One will present itself as dire. It will take all of your courage to turn your back on it. The other will seem unbelievably trivial by comparison. It will take all of your courage to go after it. When the ocean blue cries out to you; do not ignore it.” 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Gabriel asked.

“It is your warning. It is all I am allowed to tell you. Now I have one more thing to give you.” Wisdom reached into her rags and pulled a small golden stone. She held it out for Gabriel to take. “This is for you.”

Gabriel took it from her hand. “What is this?” He looked at it and turned it over. He tried to scrutinize every detail.

“What you are holding in your hand currently is what I call a nugget of Wisdom. There are thirty-one in total but this is all that remains here. When your gateway back to your times opens, take this with you. Do not let anyone know you have it. In fact do what you can to make yourself forget it.” She answered. 

“Will I ever use it?” 

“I can see you have a lot of questions. Yes eventually you will use it. You will use all of them. For now just keep that one safe.”

As soon as Wisdom was finished speaking Serene came up the staircase. Based on the way she came running, Gabriel guessed that she had something important to say. She brushed past Gabriel and addressed Wisdom directly. “I just got word from Tranquility. She’s pinned down a little ways from here by Grotesque. I ask for permission to go retrieve her.”

Wisdom considered it for a moment. “You know every time you leave here you increase the chances of either being killed or leading the enemy here. We have already taken a huge risk in setting up here. The more we intervene, the less safe we become.” 

“Are you suggesting that I should just leave her out there? She has been my partner ever since this stuff started. If I can help her then I am going to help her. Please Wisdom Woman you have to understand.”

“I do understand Serene. Very well. I give you permission to do whatever it is you think you need to do. My only condition is that Gabriel goes with you and if you run into ‘him’ you alert me immediately.” She said.

“You mean the reject? Are you saying that the time for your confrontation is near?” Serene asked.

“I was told that when I saw Gabriel that it would be my sign. So if he just so happens to show up as I believe he will, you have to tell me.” Then Wisdom disappeared.

Serene looked at Gabriel. “I know you are still injured so try not to get in the way. Now if I remember correctly, you are the archer correct?” Although he was still unsure how this mysterious woman knew anything about him he nodded his head. “Then come with me. I have something for you.” Serene led him to the statue of himself and opened the chest under it. Inside was a very old bow and a quiver of five arrows. “If I were you, I would make all of these shots count.” 

Gabriel took the bow in his hand. He pulled back on the string to make sure it wasn’t going to break. Once he confirmed its sturdiness, he loaded the quiver on his back. “Let’s do this. I need to find whatever it is I’m supposed to see.”

The two left Wisdom’s threshold and followed back through the base. They were given a standing ovation as they walked past. It seemed as if everyone was excited about what they were doing. “Why are they clapping for us?” Gabriel asked. 

“In this day and age, even one who dares venture out into Satan’s land is considered one of the bravest of heroes. Just by walking down this isle you have gained their respect and their sympathy. Most of them expect to never see you again.” Serene said.

Gabriel laughed nervously as he realized that what she meant was that everyone was expecting him to be killed. It wasn’t a pleasant thought but it was the unfortunate reality so he didn’t say anything in response. When they reached the exit, Serene opened the door for them to walk through. Once they were both through she closed it and the two of them were once again in the darkness. “Find the latter and climb.” Serene said. Based on the direction of her voice, Gabriel could assume that she was already halfway up. He attempted to fly again but his wings were still too injured so he fumbled around looking for his way up. He finally found it and proceeded to climb. At one point he nearly tripped and fell but he was able to catch himself. “I hope you are ready this time.” Serene said. “Once I upon this, we are back in the fray.” 

Gabriel stayed silent which Serene took as a sign to proceed. She pushed the board out of the way and the two were engulfed in smoke. The smell was once again getting to Gabriel. Usually he only had to endure it when he was around a small herd of demons. Now it was all around him and he didn’t like it. Serene and Gabriel made their way through the smoke until they were standing in the middle of the street. The angel thought about how much danger he was in standing here. His enemy would detect him in mere moments. “Shouldn’t we move?” He asked.

“If you’re worried about getting caught, don’t worry. You covered all of your injuries so none of your blood is exposed. You are also near me which is giving off a demon like vibe. We are ok for now, although we do still need to move fast. I don’t know how long she will be able to survive with that monster.” Serene started running and Gabriel followed. 

“Who is it that we are going after anyway?” He asked. 

“It’s my partner Tranquility. We were together before I found you. In all the commotion you raised we got separated. I couldn’t risk contacting her because I didn’t want to give her away. Now she has called for help and I’m going to save her.” Serene answered.

“I mean what is her identity? Do I know her?”

“Well since you knew Rex you probably do know her. I call her Emmy.” Serene said.

“Emma Andrews, as in Rex’s sister? When did this happen?” Gabriel asked.

“I don’t have time to explain the specifics. We just need to go save her before it is too late. And when you see Grotesque, don’t try to go head on with him. He is incredibly powerful and I have only seen one who can defeat him so far.”

“So then how are we going to stop him?” Gabriel asked.

“She said she was hiding out in a blue building. I’ll keep the beast distracted and you find out where in the building she is. We aren’t going to fight him because I doubt our ability to beat him eve together. Just grab her and go.”

As they ran block after block, Gabriel tried to wrap his head around the idea that Emma was a warrior now. He definitely had a lot of things to catch up on. In an instant Serene grabbed him and threw him against a wall in an alley. She signaled him to be quiet. He looked slowly around a corner and saw a big black skinned dragon searching the area. He ducked down quickly. Serene pointed upward and then started scaling the building they were next to. Since it was all but destroyed, it was easy to reach the top. When she got there she signaled Gabriel to draw his bow. He did as he was instructed. He looked around the corner again to try and locate the blue building.

 Emma’s information was clearly outdated. He noticed a blue building but it was way behind the dragon. It was going to be quite the challenge getting to it. He looked up at Serene and gave her the go ahead. She started running across the rooftops. When she was close enough she jumped toward Grotesque. She rained down her sharp stars. They impaled the dragon in several places. He shrieked and Serene could tell that she had hurt him. Unfortunately there was backlash that she didn’t predict. He whipped his tail around and smacked her into the ground. The pain was pretty extreme. Gabriel saw it and rushed to her rescue. He shot his first arrow that hit the dragon in its chest. Grotesque lifted his hand and tried to crush Gabriel. The angel was quick and tumbled out of the way. Once he was safe he shot another arrow. The dragon looked down at him and blew a fire ball his way. It knocked Gabriel away and he landed near Serene. He tried to get up but his previous injuries coupled with his new ones were too much for him. The dragon towered over him. He opened his mouth and prepared to fire another fire ball. Gabriel was pretty certain that he wouldn’t survive this one. He looked over at Serene who was struggling to stand up.

“What do you think happens to you in you die in a vision?” He asked with a slight chuckle.

“I don’t know but you are brave to risk finding out. I’m sorry we failed. If this does lead to you going back to your time, do what you can to make sure that this doesn’t happen. The world will need a light in the darkness. The world will need the A-men.” 

Just then another figure fell from the sky and landed on Grotesque. It crushed the dragon’s back. Gabriel hadn’t seen it clearly but he knew that it was a male who had just crippled the beast. Once again a stranger had come to his rescue. The man who had fallen on the dragon searched around on its back. It found a certain spot and shoved his fist in it. He wrapped his hands around the dragon’s heart and ripped it out. The entire monster crumbled into black dust. Gabriel couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. He was grateful that he was still alive but he wanted to know why. He wanted to know who he had to thank. “What just happened?” He asked.

A giant muscular creature started walking toward him. The heart was still in his hand which was blackened by the blood. With every step Gabriel’s eyes grew wider because he knew exactly who he was looking at. A lot of things had surprised him since he got here but what he was looking at now took the cake by far. “What happened was that you were saved.” The voice was chilling. It was almost impossible for Gabriel to maintain his positive emotion knowing who had saved him. Standing before him was the brutal, merciless general of the demon army: Goliath.