John Lyman - The Secret Chapel

Ariella stole a glance at Alon. “We were wondering if you were having those dreams.”

“Come again … how do you … what do you know about my dreams?”

“All of us who were listed as chosen in the Bible are having them … something special is happening to all of us. Those who were meant to go down into that cavern out there are all having the same dream.”

“When were you going to tell me about this?”

“It had to come to you without any suggestion from us. It’s a gift from God, John. If you were meant to receive it, it had to be without any prior knowledge.”

“Has Leo said anything about having these dreams?”

“Yes, he told my father about it the night we arrived in camp.”

“This is too much, Ariella. Group dreams? Do you guys know what any of this means?”

Ariella took him by the hand. “We believe those mentioned in the Bible code as chosen are the only ones experiencing them. My father dreamed about this spot in the desert before the rest of us, which leads me to something else I have to tell you … my father is a prophet, John.

“A prophet?” John stopped walking. “You’re kidding.”

Ariella gave him a patient smile. “No, I’m not kidding. There’s something going on here that none of us fully understand yet, but it’s important. It could even be the most important thing to happen in the past two thousand years. We are being allowed glimpses into God’s realm through our dreams. My father believes it’s similar to living in the era when the Old Testament was written, only these events are happening now, in our own time.”

John looked off into the distance and thought of the words in the Bible when the Hebrew prophet Joel quoted the apostle Peter. “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams… Before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.”

Alon and Ariella waited quietly until John turned his attention back to them and they began making their way slowly across the camp. Once they were in the calm shade of the mess tent, they found a table and poured tall glasses of cold lemonade.

Ariella brushed her long hair back into a ponytail and secured it with a hair band. “My father is the only one who seems to know anything about what is happening down in that cavern. He’s made some connection with that thing down there.”

A connection? John felt like someone had just poured ice water down his back.

“He still has no idea what the demon is protecting … or why it’s protecting it,” Ariella continued, “but he said he’s pretty certain that we’ll all recognize whatever it is once we find it.”

Just like the seal in the catacombs, John thought. Once again, they were searching for an object that would reveal itself only when they laid eyes upon it … only this time the object was guarded by a demon, and apparently, Lev had made some kind of connection with it. John was well aware that demons were capable of great deceit. They could influence anyone they came into contact with … or anyone open to suggestion. He was finding it difficult to adjust to everything he had just been told as chills ran up his spine.

Glancing at Ariella, John decided to keep quiet until he learned more. The news that Lev had made some connection with the entity was weighing heavily on him. He would have to talk to Leo as soon as possible … but keep an eye on Lev.

As if on cue, Lev entered the tent and took a seat next to Alon. “I hate to repeat myself, but what I said earlier still holds true.”

“Refresh my memory,” Ariella said. “What are we talking about?”

“The longer we wait, the stronger that thing out there becomes. Ever since that demon appeared today, I’ve started to get some powerful flashes of what I believe are its thoughts. I feel it’s drawing its strength from Satan himself and that others like him may be on the way. Despite the danger, we have to go back into that cave tonight. If we wait any longer, we may never find what we were sent here to retrieve.”

“There is also the possibility that we might end up like that British convoy out there,” Alon said.

John wondered if he had heard Alon correctly. “Am I missing something again?”

“The British have no record of any military action in this area. The remains of those British soldiers we found out there show they didn’t die from combat injuries. Whatever happened to them occurred so quickly that they didn’t even have time to radio for help. The charred bones we found indicated they died from extremely high heat, only there was no shrapnel or residue from explosives found anywhere at the site. We’re starting to think they encountered the same malevolent force we saw today in the cavern. If that’s true, anyone who enters the area is at risk of meeting the same fate.”

“Alon’s right, my friends,” Lev said. “I think we should send everyone away from this area except for the team that goes back down into the cavern tonight.”

“You can’t be serious, Professor,” Alon said. “The team that goes back down there, if anyone goes back down there, will need some serious backup.”

Lev finished off his lemonade and poured another glass from the metal pitcher. “Any weapons will be useless against it. Having more people here only means more people will die if the demon unleashes its full fury against us. That thing down there could take out the whole team and the entire camp just like it probably did with the British convoy. You can double that probability if another one like it shows up.”

John felt himself getting lightheaded. He knew it was either the heat or the encounter with the entity in the tunnel. “We all owe our lives to Leo. Without his intervention, none of us would be standing here talking about it now. Going back into the cavern without Leo would be a huge mistake, and it’s up to him alone to decide if he wants to risk facing that thing down there again.”

Lev sat back and closed his eyes. “You’re right, John. Maybe I am rushing things a bit. Leo needs to rest before we discuss it with him.”

“Discuss what with me?”

The group turned to see Leo standing behind them, holding his IV bag over his head and munching a sandwich.

John jumped up from his seat at the table. “Father… you shouldn’t be up walking around. The doctor said you needed to rest.”

“I know, but I feel great. Pull this needle out of my arm, and give me a cup of coffee.”

Lev turned to the medic who had followed Leo into the tent. “There’s just no arguing with an ex-boxer exorcist priest.”

The medic smiled at his noncompliant patient. “Fine, but you can forget the coffee for now. Coffee’s full of caffeine, and it’s a diuretic. You need to keep the fluid we just gave you.”

The majority of the camp’s staff filtered into the mess tent behind Leo, but no one seemed interested in eating. The usual gaiety that had dominated their gatherings over the past few days had taken on a somber air, and the staff seemed interested only in the close comfort of each other’s presence. By now, everyone had heard about the events that had occurred in the cavern, and the reality of their situation was becoming more apparent as talk centered on the evil that lay beneath their feet.

John swirled the lemonade in his glass and looked across the table at Alon. “I can barely remember what my family looks like anymore. So much has happened over the past week.”

“What we’re doing is very similar to combat, John. In the army … whenever I was far from home and locked in a life-and-death struggle with a formidable enemy, nothing else mattered but the job of survival. It’s like I became another person, and thoughts of home and everyday life seemed like a distant memory.” Alon reached out and clasped John on the shoulder. “I’ve been watching you, John. You’re a brave and smart man. You’ll do fine.”