Jack Cavanaugh - Death Watch

“My angels,” Billy said.

“Yeah,” Sydney said, her hand shaking. “You could have given a girl a warning.”

“The book underneath,” Billy said. “Get it.”

Moving the figurines aside, Sydney removed the book. “It’s a Bible.”

“You said you went to Sunday school. Can you find the book of Job?”

“Yes.”

“Find it. Chapter one. Verse six.”

Sydney opened the Bible to the middle and found Psalms. From there, she tracked backward to Job.

“All right,” she said. “Is this some sort of code?”

“Begin reading with verse six,” Billy said.

Sydney looked around, knowing that all eyes were on her even though she couldn’t see them. Because of the floodlights, everything on the page was bathed in white light, or blotted out by shadow. She adjusted her stance so the light caught the page. She began to read.

“Aloud,” Billy said. “I want to hear it again.”

Sydney looked up at him. She cleared her throat and began again, this time reading aloud. At first, the open space and wind swallowed her words whole. She spoke louder.

“‘One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“‘Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”

“‘Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

“‘Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

“‘The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

“‘Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

“‘One day—’”

“You can stop there,” Billy interrupted. He was grinning. “What do you think?”

Sydney closed the book and offered it back to him. He didn’t take it, so she held it. “I think I remember reading this story in Sunday school,” she said. “But what does it have to do with reality?”

“Interesting story, wouldn’t you say? Satan roaming through the earth, going back and forth between earth and heaven. One minute among men, the next face-to-face with God.”

Someone in the darkness coughed.

Sydney was getting impatient. She shifted her weight, jutting out a hip.

“What of it?” she said.

“The way I understand it,” Billy said, “it’s happened again. Another convocation. Another challenge. Another agreement.”

“You’re telling me Satan and God have made an agreement and the result are these death watch notices?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

Sydney was nonplussed. “Is that the best you’ve got? Because I’m ready to turn around and let the men with the nets and straitjackets have at you.”

“Is it so hard to believe? You said you went to Sunday school.”

“I did. What of it?”

“You’re a Christian?”

“Yeah . but. ”

“Then why are you finding it difficult to believe what I just told you? I can understand them ” He waved an expansive hand. “They’ve bought into a closed system based solely on measurable phenomenon. They’ve elevated mankind to the status of God. If we can’t see it, or measure it, or understand it, it doesn’t exist. But not you. Not Christians. The very nature of Christianity is based on the supernatural.”

“So you’re saying the notices, the deaths, the intricate timing, all of it is supernaturally related?”

“Natural and supernatural. The two realms coexist in time and space.” He thought for a second. “Remember Elisha and his servant? They were surrounded by an army of men. The servant was afraid for his life. Elisha told him he needn’t be, because those who were with them were more than those who were against them. That poor servant counted only two, himself and Elisha. So Elisha prayed, ‘Lord, open his eyes,’ and the next thing the servant saw was a whole host of heaven, outnumbering the army of men! Sydney, they’re still here. They haven’t left!”

Sydney was shaking her head. She’d heard the story before. That was something that happened a long time ago. Things were different then.

“Another one!” Billy looked down, trying to remember. He snapped his fingers a couple of times. “In Genesis. Chapter thirty-four…thirty-two…somewhere in that area, Jacob was on a journey. He stumbled into an encampment of angels. Can you imagine that? Walking into an angelic camp? That’s what happened. He named the place Mahanaim. It means ‘two encampments.’ His and theirs.”

“This is nuts!” she said.

“I’ll tell you what’s nuts,” Billy said. “Believing in a supernatural God and not believing in the supernatural. That’s nuts.”

Sydney thought about that.

“I mean, Christians involve themselves in the supernatural everyday, Sydney. When we pray, aren’t we praying to a Being we can’t see? A Being who has revealed himself as Spirit, who inhabits a spiritual realm?”

“Now that’s something I can agree to,” Sydney said.

“Then you’re almost there. The next step is becoming aware that the spiritual realm is nearer than you think. It’s right here, Sydney. Natural and supernatural. Side by side. Sometimes touching. Sometimes overlapping. Men and angels in the same universe, sharing time and space. This is the universe God created!”

Surely, this couldn’t be the answer. A Sunday school story? Sydney held the Bible to her chest, hugging herself, bracing against the cold Chicago wind, but more than that, against the chill of reality she felt creeping into her life.

Billy Peppers, The Rev, was trying to recruit her as an evangelist. Sydney had been in church often enough to recognize the elements of a call to service. Billy would next zap her with guilt with a long, bony finger, then they’d sing Just as I Am, and he’d give an invitation—a call to commitment, pressing her to make his message her message. Only, she wasn’t ready to walk the aisle. While this was the most fantastic death watch story she’d heard, it was just that, a story told by an unwashed, homeless man from the streets of Los Angeles, a preacher with prison credentials.

She could just imagine Helen’s reaction if she phoned in this story. Or Hunz’s reaction. Or Cori’s. They’d think she was nuts.

It was obvious Billy Peppers was good at his profession. He had a preacher’s arsenal and knew how to use it. Knew where to aim and when to fire. But a reporter was not your typical church congregant. A good reporter should be able to sidestep the emotional arrows to get to the truth.

“Why now?” she asked him.

Billy was feeling the drop in temperature, too. He pulled close his jacket and folded his arms. “We’re approaching the end of history. It’ll be different than what has gone on before. History has always focused on political, economic, and social events. It’s time for the spiritual to come to the forefront. Soon spiritual events will overshadow everything else. This is but the first step.”

“Massive, worldwide deaths just to get people thinking about spiritual matters?”

“What’s more spiritual than life and death? At birth, the spark of the spirit animates us; at death, it leaves the body.”

Sydney shifted uneasily, crunching rocks beneath her feet. “Let me try it out on you,” she said. “This is what you’re asking me to do. You want me to go on the air and report that Satan and God had a discussion, the result of which, Satan has been granted the power of life and death, and as a consequence we have Death Watch. My source? A homeless suicidal man with pictures of angels plastered all over him.”