Phillip Simpson - Rapture

“I love you, too,” he told the empty air.

3 MONTHS SINCE THE RAPTURE

The figure trudged along the road, sending tiny drifts of ash fluttering in his wake. He was dressed in jeans and sturdy hiking boots. The hood of his sweatshirt was pulled up, obscuring his features from the early morning light. He wore a backpack with a long sword strapped to it. Another sword was tucked into the belt at his waist.

The road seemed to stretch on for ever, angling towards the east. The figure looked neither to the left or the right as he marched on under the grey sky, his pace unwavering. Time passed. He came to a crossroads. On a large flat rock under a sign post sat a winged female.

“Hello, Gabriel,” said Sam. “Long time no see.”

Gabriel smiled and stood. “Good to see you too, Samael. How are you?”

Sam shrugged. “As well as can be expected,” he sighed.

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know. Where the road takes me, I expect.”

“You know this isn’t over, don’t you?”

“Of course,” he replied, nodding his head.

“Satan has sustained a slight set-back, that’s all. The Antichrist will return, and I suspect that when he does, things will get much, much worse.”

Sam expected nothing else. There was still well over six years left before the Tribulation ended. The defeat of the Antichrist had done little to diminish the number of demons who appeared at night. Even L.A, where the demonic forces had suffered their greatest defeat, was still plagued by them.

“I know,” said Sam.

Gabriel tilted her head and looked at him sideways. “Why didn’t you stay?”

“You mean with Colonel Sumner?”he asked. “Because he didn’t need me. Looked like he had things well under control. Besides, I like to work alone.”

It was true; he did like to work alone. More importantly, despite his actions during the battle against the Antichrist, he had done little to allay the fears of the soldiers. They still regarded him with suspicion and he knew that he would never be completely trusted. He stayed only long enough to ensure that his wounds had healed. The other cuts inflicted by his brother’s hell-wrought blade were unusually slow to mend.

“And what about Grace?”

Sam winced with guilt at the memory. After Gabriel had taken Aimi, Sam had finally taken note of what was happening around him. Gabriel had done an excellent job holding off the horde of demons that had appeared within the nave of the Cathedral. Colonel Sumner’s troops had simply finished them off. The victory hadn’t come without cost though. Many of his soldiers had been injured or killed during the attack. Some had just disappeared. Grace was one of them. Sam had searched for hours but it was no use — Grace had gone.

He tried to tell himself that maybe she had become lost or disorientated but he knew that he was just deceiving himself. There was no trace of her back at the cash and carry either. There was only one possible solution. Grace had been taken to Hell. She had been taken to Hell because he had left her behind. He had left her. It was his fault.

“I don’t know,” he confessed. “She must be in Hell but how am I supposed to find her? There are countless millions of souls down there. I thought about just going there, but what then?”

“There might just be a way, you know,” said Gabriel, a tiny smile hovering on her lips.

“How?” demanded Sam. “Tell me. You must tell me.”

“Sorry,”she said, genuinely sounding like she was, “but I can’t. The rules again. You’ll figure it out eventually.”

He put his head down, rubbing his face wearily with one hand. It was never easy. Nothing was ever easy. He felt one of Gabriel’s hands on his shoulder.

“I’m confident you will find a way. Never give up hope, Samael.”

“And Aimi?” he asked. “How is she?”

“Happy. Content. She misses you of course. Like I said, never give up hope though. Don’t think that what you did went unnoticed. However, be warned that while some things change, others can never be.”

Sam nodded in understanding, fingering the chain and cross around his neck. They stood in silence for a moment.

“What will you do now?” she asked.

“Keep going,” he replied. “There are lots of innocents out there who will need my help. I’ll do what I can.”

Gabriel nodded in satisfaction. “Sounds like a fine plan to me.” She paused. “Anyway, it’s been good seeing you again. I have to go now but we’ll see each other again soon.”

“Ok,” said Sam, lacking anything better to say.

Gabriel took flight into the ashen sky. Sam watched her go, staring after her until she was but a tiny speck in the sky, suddenly feeling very lonely.

He sighed and looked back to the road. The crossroad appeared to give him choices but he knew he didn’t really have any. His path had been set the moment he was born.

He adjusted his pack, and making sure his hood was firmly on his head, he set off to the east again.

He had a long way to go.