Archangel Chronicles 1: Warriors of God

The Archangel Chronicles

ACT 1
Warriors of God
By Joshua D. Vesper

Chapter 1

Swords clash and sparks fly in the open field outside Settonburg in the pre-dawn

hours of an early autumn morning. An unseen battle rages. It is an intense struggle between the

forces of good and evil.

“Give up, Moloch! You can’t win and you know it!” The Archangel Michael shouted at

his demon foe as they both went at each other with an incalculable fury; punches and kicks

thrown between stikes of metal and waves of angelic and demonic energy. Minute by minute as

the ethereal carnage waged on Michael gained the upper hand of the battle.

“Damn you Michael!” Moloch snarled at its great adversary and began to look for a way

to escape. It spotted a young child walking out of the nearby farmhouse. Smiling viciously, it

turned to Michael.

“Okay, Archangel, you got me. But how can you take me out and save that kid from my

imp minions ripping him to shreds?”, it then said to Michael with a devilish grin on his face. It

was a look of pure hatred and evil.

Michael turned to go rescue the boy. Moving at the speed of thought, he instantly got

between the boy and the imps. The archangel drew his flaming sword and with one mighty

swing slashed one of the imps in half. With a move as swift and fluid as running water, he had

sheathed the sword and vaporized the other imps with holy energy. The young child went on

about his business with no knowledge of the peril he was in as Michael slew the last of Moloch’s

imp minions.

When Michael finished mopping up the last of the imps, he turned his attention back

toward his demon foe Moloch. But by this time Moloch had run away.

“Man, that creep is slipperier than a wet barracuda in water.” Michael said to himself

aloud.

“Yeah and the fish is more cuddly!” came a voice from behind. With a smile, Michael

turned to greet his comrade in arms, the Archangel Raphael.

“How’s it hangin’, Raph?” he said to his friend in a calm yet happy voice.

“Fine, just fine, Mike!” Raphael replied. Michael’s facial expressions suddenly changed

to a look of disgust and grim realization.

“Moloch got away again!” Michael gritted angrily through his teeth.

“But,” Raphael responded, “It was severely injured in your confrontation. It doesn’t

have the strength or power to get too far away.”

“Your right!” Michael exclaimed.

“So it probably went to hide in the nearby town!” Raphael added.

“But,” Michael interrupted, “we both know how it regenerates his power by having

children sacrificed to him- “

”-So it can drain the energy from their souls!” Raphael finished, “So if it did go to that

town, and in all likelihood it did, then it’s probably going to look for a way to get the children of

the town sacrificed to itself!”

“So we’ll go and watch over the town, er, Settonburg I believe it’s called!” Michael then

decided. The two Archangels then turned toward the town and started to walk out of the field.

“Oh,” Michael then piped up, “I almost forgot to ask, What business do you have here,

Raph?”

With a sly grin he replied, “Two young men named Johnny Waters and Brendan Davis

are about to die . . . ” as they vanished into the Predawn morning.

Chapter 2

“Johnny, it’s time to get up! The new neighbor’s daughter will be here any time now for a

ride to school.” Mrs. Waters spoke through the door of her son’s bedroom.

“All right Ma’!” came the muffled reply.

“Johnny!” Mrs. Waters screamed through the door even louder. Inside the room, Johnny

stirred about sluggishly, using every bit of his will to keep his bloodshot eyes open and focused.

“Dang! It’s morning already.” he thought to himself as he dragged himself from bed.

Awkardly he stumbled on piles of clothing placed erratically throughout his bedroom as he made

his way to his bathroom.

“Johnny! Hurry up!” his mother called again from outside his door, “The new neighbors

daughter will be here for a ride to school at any time.”

Johnny quietly went through his usual morning routine before quickly getting dressed for

school. Within fifteen minutes he was ready and downstairs with the rest of his family at the

dining room table for breakfast.

He started to complain about breakfast being cold when he first noticed the beautiful

blonde girl standing out on the porch through the window. The doorbell rang. Johnny was up

and over to the front door before his mother could say, “I’ll get it.”

“Hi!” Johnny exclaimed to the girl as he opened the door. He found himself staring into

piercing ice blue eyes.

“H-Hello.” She replied timidly, “I’m Beth. Beth Hankison”

“ I’m Johnny. Nice to meet you, Beth!” He went on, trying to hide his nervousness, “I

guess you’re the one I’m suppose to show around school.”

“I guess.” She responded quietly. He then led her into the dining room where the family

was just finishing breakfast.

“Family, this is Beth.” He introduced her to them and vice versa, “Beth, this is my

family.” Pointing at his dad, he said, “This is my old man.”

“John Waters, Sr. Ma’am.” Johnny’s father said as he puffed on an old pipe and turned

the page of the small book he was reading.

He then turned to his mother and declared, “This is my mom.”

“Nancy Waters.” his mother responded with a nod, “It’s a pleasure to meet, Beth.”

Johnny then looked at his little sister Katie and exclaimed with a smirk, “And this is the

rug -rat, Katie!”

“Hey!” Katie shouted as Johnny laughed.

“ It’s nice to meet you all.” Beth said shyly.

“Well, we gotta get going if we’re gonna get to school on time! Later family!” Johnny

then exclaimed as he ushered Beth toward the door. The two went outside to Johnny’s truck and

climbed in.

Once they were in He turned to her and said, “I have to pick up my best friend Brendan

on the way to school.”

“Okay.” she simply replied. Johnny started the engine and slowly backed out of the

driveway.

A couple of minutes later they were pulling into a driveway three blocks over. The name

on the mailbox said “Davis”. A young man about the same age as Johnny and Beth came up to

the truck.

“ Mornin, B!” Johnny exclaimed.

“What’s up, J” Brendan responded as he climbed into truck cab, “ Who is this pretty

lady?”

“Beth, meet my best friend, Brendan Davis.” Johnny said as he threw the truck into

reverse, “B, meet my new neighbor, Beth Hankison.”

“Tis a pleasure to meet such a beautiful lady.” Brendan told Beth as Johnny finished

backing out of the driveway. The trio drove off into the morning sun toward school...

Chapter 3

“Damn I hate that Michael!” Moloch snarled as it pounded its scaly, clawed fist into the

table in the abandoned warehouse it was hiding in. “At this rate I’ll never regain full strength

before I can escape that accursed Archangel.” It roared in disgust.


All of a sudden the vile creature started grinning a most sinister and evil grin. “I know!”

it cackled in a sly tone as it summoned some imp minions.

It turned to the small demons and told them, “Find me a human who is willing to do

anything for power and bring them before me.”

As the imps left to do their master’s bidding, Moloch thought to itself, “ I’ll get a

human to sacrifice some children to me and quickly regain my power and strength.” And as it

thought on it more, the demon became giddy with excitement and began to laugh a most hideous

and unholy laugh.

Chapter 4

As Johnny and Brendan led Beth to the lunchroom at school, the trio came across the

local bullies Mary Wilson and Butch and Sam Robeson. They were up to there usual antics of

picking on freshmen and stealing their lunch money.

“Can’t you jerks find something better to do than pick on kids!” Johnny shouted at

them.

“Yeah, ya’ jackasses, leave em’ alone!” Brendan added.

With a foul look on their faces the trio of bullies turned toward the two challengers and

responded with malicious glee, “Well look who we have here.”

“We’re warning you three, back off!” Brendan and Johnny repeated again.

“I think these three need a lesson in pain.” Mary exclaimed as Sam and Butch rushed

Johnny and Brendan. She then set her sights on Beth and started walking slowly toward her.

“Mistake!” Johnny exclaimed as a sly smirk came across his face. The two quickly

dropped into a martial arts stance . The two running at them had no chance.

In moves as fluid as water, Johnny and Brendan flipped and threw the two attackers

hard across the hall, slamming them into the lockers built in the wall. Then they turned their

attention to go protect Beth. But when they saw her deck Mary, figured she had it under control.

After all was said and done, The three walked on to lunch, laughing and carrying on. As

they walked away, the three bullies regrouped and with revenge on their minds stared intensely at

the three.

“We’ll get you sons of bitches for this, no matter what!” the three whispered under their

breath. In the shadows another creature heard this threat.

“Those three are willing to do anything for revenge.” The Imp thought to himself, “They

will serve the master nicely!” on his vile face a cracked evil grin spread.

Chapter 5


After school, Brendan, Johnny and Beth drove to the local hangout spot, Mama’s Café.

As they walked in, they were greeted by the diner’s owner, the old woman everyone

referred to as Mama.

“Johnny boy! Brendan! I ain’t seen ya’ll in a dog’s age! Howse ya’ll been doin’!” The old

woman asked excitedly.

“We’re doin’ good, Mama!” Johnny replied in a happy voice.

“Dat’s good. Dat’s good.” Mama continued, “Who’s yo’ new fren’, dere wit ya’s?”

“Mama, this is Beth.” Brendan introduced Beth to the old woman, “She’s a new neighbor

of Johnny’s!”

Johnny turned to Beth and said, “Beth, this is mama. She’s the best Cajun cook in these

parts!”

“I’s de only Cajun cook in dese pawts!” Mama retorted and laughed. “Okay, okay. Wut

can I geet fer yuse chillen’s teday?” she then asked.

Johnny spoke up and said, “Mama, we’ll take an order of today’s special and three tall

glasses of your famous iced tea!”

“Awright.” Mama then said, “Yo food wi be owt in a few minutz. Jus’ sit tite ya’ll.”

With that ,the old woman turned and walked back into the kitchen.

As Johnny and his friends carried on their conversation, two strangers walked into the

diner and sat at the counter.

“So those are the two young men who are about to die?” Michael asked Raphael.

“Yes.” came the response.

“So why not send a normal angel to lead them to heaven?” Michael then asked.

“What do you mean?” came the next reply.

“Come on. You think the Master would send one of his Archangels to lead a couple of

kids to heaven? What gives?” Michael said to Raphael.

“I don’t know anything about that. I am just following orders.” Raphael replied. The two

then disappeared as the mama came back out with three glasses of iced tea.

Chapter 6

Across town in the decaying industrial district, Butch and Sam Robeson were also going

to a hangout of sorts. The two of them had found strange notes in their lockers telling them of

the place. They had searched for over an hour before the duo finally found the place. A small

abandoned warehouse that was beginning to disintegrate loomed ominously before them.

“Man this place is a dump!” Sam said to Butch with a sneer.

“Yeah, I know. Who the heck would wanna hangout here?” replied Butch.

“Enter, enter!” came a voice out of the shadows of the building, “Meet my master, the

great god Moloch!” Cautiously the two boys crept into the shadow filled building. Butch notice

a slight fluctuation and rise in temperature as the they entered the building.

“Welcome young ones!” an unearthly deep voice boomed out of the shadows, “I am

Moloch, the great god of power and strength.”

“Well what do you want with us?” Butch asked sarcastically.

“I have need of your assistance.” the crafty demon replied, “If you will serve me and do

my bidding, I will make you two the most powerful people on earth.”

“Bullshit!” Sam snapped.

“Now now,” Moloch said to the two in his most reassuring voice, “don’t rush to

judgement on my generous offer. Take your time to think about it and come back later with your

decision!”

At once the voice disappeared and the temperature returned to normal. The two brothers

sat there in the darkened warehouse, contemplating what they had just witnessed.

Chapter 7

After finishing the food they had ordered and paying, Johnny and Brendan escorted Beth

to her home. After leaving the girl, the two decided to take the long way back into town to work

at the grocery store.

Johnny turned the truck down the old industrial road and drove into the industrial district.
They drove past the only modern place in the area, Ranier Chemical co. The large plant was

busy at work.

“So B, What ya think about Beth?” Johnny asked point blankly.

“She seemed alright to me, Jay. Why do ya ask?” Brendan replied. By this time the

truck had entered the oldest section in the whole district. The roadway was lined on both sides

with warehouses, some collapsed and some still on the verge of collapsing.

“Well I was thinking of asking her out on a date.” Johnny answered, his mind starting to

wander a little. He began to look toward the warehouses on the lefthand side of the road.


“Go for it dude!” Brendan then said, “She’s nice. And definitely hot!” Johnny laughed at

that remark.

“What? I ain’t lying!” Brendan said in response to Johnny’s laugh.

“I know. Its just that- OH SHIT!” Johnny exclaimed and slammed on the brakes. He

narrowly avoided hitting the Robeson brothers, who had just ran wildly out of one of the older

warehouses.

“What are you idiots doin’ in da middle of the darned street!” Johnny screamed

furiously at them. They ignored what he said and jumped into the bed of his truck. They each

were white as a sheet.

“GO! GO! GO!” Butch screamed at Johnny and Brendan.

“We gotta get the hell outta here now!” Sam chimed in. When Johnny saw the look of

terror on their faces, He immediately threw the truck into gear and sped away from the area as

fast as legally possible.The two brothers looked back in holy terror. Johnny checked his rearview

mirror and saw for an instant what appeared to be a black mass following his truck.

“Hey Jay. Why are we helping these two jerks?” Brendan asked, snapping Johnny back to

reality.

“Because B, I’m the last person whose going to try and ditch someone having a panic

attack. Even if they are jerks.” He replied to Brendan and smirked.

When they had finally drove far enough away from the industrial district, Johnny pulled

off the road. He wanted to know what had happened in the warehouse that had spooked these

two so much.

After a few minutes of attempting to calm them down out of hysterics, Johnny and

Brendan had finally calmed Butch down enough to tell what was going on.

“Well, it all started just after you two embarassed us at school today.” Butch elated to the

two, “We both found these strange notes in our lockers. I don’t think Mary got one. Anyways,

the note said ‘If you seek revenge, come to this warehouse after school!’ Since we were both still

pretty sore about how you two had humiliated us, we came out here. When we got there, there

were voices all around us. One particularly deep voice claimed to be the great god Moloch. The

voice claimed that if we served it, we would become the most powerful beings on earth.”

“Well?” Brendan prodded.

Butch continued, “ Well, we pretty much pissed it off by rejecting the offer and telling it

that it was full of it!”

“Nice! So did you get a good look at it?” Johnny asked with a smirk.

“Yes.” Butch then told them solemnly, “It was a massive group of what I can only

describe as demons.”

“Demons?” Brendan queried with a puzzled look.

“Yes. When I saw their appearance, what I saw were the most vile and foul creatures of

my worst nightmares. They had to be demons!”


“Your absolutely sure of what you saw?” Johnny then asked.

“Your damn right I’m sure!” Butch then stated.

Johnny and Brendan looked at each other with puzzled looks. There was no way the

two of them were going to talk Butch and Sam out of what they saw.

After a minute of thinking, Johnny told Butch “Okay. So why don’t we give you two a

ride to your home.”

Butch climbed back into the bed of the truck with his brother. Johnny and Brendan

slowly climbed into the cab. Johnny put the truck in drive and pulled back onto the road slowly.

“Jay. Can you believe that stuff they’re selling us? Demons. Hah!” Brendan said to

Johnny.

“Yeah I can, B. They weren’t selling anything. I think that they just might have seen

what they claim.” Johnny retorted.

“How so?” Brendan asked.

“Well for one they are scared out of their minds!” Johnny replied.

“And?” Brendan then asked.

“For two, as we were speeding away from the area, when I checked the rearview mirror

we were being chased down by what appeared to be a floating black mass.” Johnny responded.

“Your kidding me?” came Brendan’s reply.

“Fraid’ not B.” Johnny told his friend.

“Well, what can we do about it?” Brendan then asked. Johnny got a smirk across his

face.

“I Don’t know. Call a priest to perform an exorcism?” he said sarcastically. Brendan

laughed as Johnny pulled back out onto the road to drive the brothers home.

Chapter 8

Shortly after Sam and Butch ran for their lives out of the crumbling warehouse, another

person walked in. She had been hiding in the shadows outside the decrepit building, listening to

the entire conversation between the two boys and the demons.

“Hey, Moloch!”, she cried out in an arrogant tone, “That deal stand for anyone?”

“Why yes. Yes it does, my dear little witch.”, The inhuman entity slyly replied, trying to

hide its annoyance over the girl’s arrogance.

“Make me the most powerful sorceress on the planet and I will do anything you wish,

Moloch!” the girl then told the demon.

“Really.” it responded.

“Yes.” she retorted indignantly. Moloch was silent. The girl was indeed arrogant it

thought, but it liked her style and she was willing to serve it.

“So do we have a deal or not, Moloch?” the girl queried audaciously.

Grinning evilly, the demon simply answered “It’s a deal.” Standing up from its makeshift

throne, raised its massive arms. Pointing one at the witch and one at the recently recovered

halves of the imp Michael had hacked down. The girl knelt down before Moloch.

With a surge of demonic power, Moloch transferred what was left of the fallen imp’s

demonic aura and life force into the witch, tranforming the girl into a halfling. When all was

done, the girl stood. Her eyes glowed like burning coals.

“What do you bid of me, master?” The halfling asked.

Moloch commanded her, “Go and sacrifice some young ones to me, that I may regain my

full power.”

“It will be done, my master.” She solemnly replied and left the building on her macabre

mission.

Chapter 9

After dropping off the Robeson brothers, Johnny and Brendan rode on to the Water’s

grocery store in town. When they pulled into the parking lot, Johnny saw his mother surrounded

by Katie and a small army of her friends. He tried to throw the truck into reverse and drive away,

but was spotted by his mother first.

“Johnny, over here!” She shouted to her son over the throng of children. Sighing, he put

the truck into park and got out.

“Yeah mom. What’s up?” he replied to her as he walked toward the entourage.

“Would you do me a-“ Mrs. Waters began to speak.

“Don’t go there, mom!” Johnny said sarcastically.

“-a big favor for-“ she continued.

“Don’t do it!” Johnny kept with his warning.

“-for work tonight.” She went on.

“Don’t you do it!” He retorted again.

“Would you please take your sister and her friends to the movies for me.” She finished.

“Crap! You done went and did it!” He exclaimed.

Mrs. Waters laughed and told Johnny, “Go clock in and get back here!”

“Okay! But I still have to go pick up Mary and bring her back here first.” Johnny laughed

with her and walked on inside the small store. A couple of minutes later, Johnny reappeared.

“Alright. Let me go pick up Mary and bring her back.” he said to his mother.

“Go get her and hurry up.” his mother replied with a hint of edge. Brendan had joined the

group by this time.

“Go ahead and clock in, Brendan.” she ordered him.

“Yes ma’am, Mrs. Waters.” He acknowledged and walked on inside. Johnny walked on

back to his truck. Slowly he climbed into his cab and started the ignition. He put the truck in

reverse and backed out.

He left the store and within minutes was at the Wilson residence. Mary was waiting for

him on the porch.

“Your late.” she uttered viciously as she climbed into the cab.

“Hello Mary. Nice to see you too.” he returned with the same edge. The two of them

used to be an inseparable item until her mother was killed in a mugging a few years before.

Something changed in her and now they can’t stand each other very much, if at all. It is why she

hangs out with the Robeson brothers.

“What’s buggin’ you?” she snapped.

“Well, other than the charming company I’m with now and having to babysit a bunch of

brats tonight, life is peachy. You?” he sent right back at her.

“Just drop it!” she then retorted. The rest of the trip back to the store was silent.

When they got back, Johnny was in a completely foul mood. His mother saw the look on

both their faces and knew right away that the two of them had been arguing again. Thinking

quickly, she called Brendan over.

“Brendan.” She said.

“Ma’am?” he asked.

“Why don’t you go with Johnny tonight? Help keep him out of trouble.” She told him.

“Yes ma’am.” he answered and took off his work apron. He walked over to where

Johnny was brooding.

“Come on, J. Lets take these rugrats on over to the movies.” Brendan told him. Johnny

let out a big sigh and walked out the door. Outside his mother was loading the kids into the van.

Brendan followed. Johnny walked over to his mother.

“Here you are Johnny.” she said and handed him the keys.

“Gee, Thanks!” he replied sarcastically.

“Don’t take that tone with me young man! I brought you into this world, and I can take

you out.” She retorted with even more sarcasm. Johnny laughed and hugged his mom.

“Later ma’!” He exclaimed and climbed in the drivers seat of the van.

“Later Johnny. Later Brendan.” She responded.

“Later Mrs. Waters.” Brendan answered while climbing into the van’s front passenger

side.

Johnny started the van and packed out of the parking place. He pulled up next to where

his mom was standing. He had a smirk on his face as he rolled down his window to talk at her.

“You know, ma’. B and I should be getting hazard pay for this.” He told her and pulled

out of the parking lot. Mrs. Waters laughed and turned to go inside.

Chapter 10

After a quick stop at Mcdonald’s and the adjacent gas station, the throng in the van pulled

into the movie theater parking lot. Johnny and Brendan had all the kids line up single file at the

box office. The two of them walked up to the box office window to pay for all the tickets.

“Hi Johnny! Hi Brendan!” Came the same shy voice from earlier in the day. They were

shocked to see Beth ringing up the tickets.

“Why hello there, Beth. What are you up to?” Brendan replied, trying his best to imitate

Lando Calrissian.

“Heya Beth. What you doin’ here?” Johnny inquired. He began to turn a little red and

fidget around.

“My family owns the place, so I work here.” she answered then asked, “So how many you

want?”

“Oh, uh let me see 1, 2, 3, 4...7 tickets please.” Johnny answered, snapping back to

reality. Beth printed up the tickets and tore them.

“What do we owe, pretty lady?” Brendan asked, making her blush.

“It’s on the house.” she replied and handed them the tickets, which had no charge printed

on them.

“Wh- Thanks.” Johnny stuttered, stunned. He and Brendan ushered the entourage of

Katie and her friends into the building. Beth stopped the two of them from the box door inside.

“Stop in and say hello to my parents before you leave.” she instucted them.

“Will do.” Johnny replied, his usual charisma and cockiness now returned.

“You bet ya.” Brendan answered. He went over to the snack bar where Katie and her

friends were giving the concession attendant a terrible time. Johnny hung around the box.

“What is it, Johnny?” Beth asked after he didn’t walk over with Brendan. Johnny turned

beet red.

“Oh, uh nothing.” he quickly stated and ran to catch up with Brendan, who was herding

the kids into the auditorium. Beth smiled and turned to get back to work.

Unkown to Johnny and Brendan, they had been followed from shadows since they left the

grocery store. Outside the theater, the mysterious stalker watched all that had transpired from

afar.

“So, you like her now, do you! You will pay for this Johnny Waters! You will wish you

had never betrayed me!” The mysterious stalker raged in silence. Moving from shadow to

shadow, the person came up behind the minivan. With one quick swipe of a razor, the stalker

slashed the back left tire of the minivan and disappeared once more into the shadows.

As she ran from the scene, she thought to herself, “Now to hunt for Moloch!”

Chapter 11

Down the road at Settonburg Middle school, the school’s valentine’s day dance was

beginning to let out. Groups of kids were walking to their respective homes nearby. From the

shadows, the evil halfling watched the kids, looking for a chance to snag one as a sacrifice. As

one particular group walked by, she saw her opportunity in a young girl whom was straggling

behind the others.

“There’s my sacrifice!” she thought with evil glee. Quietly the vile succubus crept closer

to the crowd, anticipating the moment when she would strike. Suddenly the girl dropped her

purse.

“Now!” the sorceress thought and sprang into action. Moving swiftly and silently, the

predator struck. The poor girl didn’t see her abductor coming, nor did her friends notice she had

disappeared from the crowd until it was too late. The girl fainted in her captors arms as she ran

away from the scene.

A short while later the girl awoke in a confined and darkened room. The girl was bound

and laid out upon a table. The table was marked all over with strange and archaic symbols.

Looking around, the girl saw a small light flickering in the corner. Focusing in on it, she

realized it was the flame of a candle. The light started to close in on the unfortunate girl. All of

a sudden whole room lit up.

The girl could see that the arcane symbols were not only on the table she was on, but

marked the entire room. Ceiling, walls, floor, everywhere was covered. There was a person

holding the initial candle she had seen. The person sat the candle on an ornamental stand and

drew out a gilded dagger from inside the robes it was wearing.

Extreme fear encapsulated the girl. She struggled to free herself of her binds, but to no

avail. The person in the robes began to circle the table, chanting an ancient incantation in a dead

language.

“Please don’t do this!” the girl pleaded, but the figure in the robes does not listen. After

two complete circuits around the makeshift altar, the robed figure stopped and turned toward the

girl. The witch halfling raised the gilded dagger above the girls chest.

“Master Moloch! Please accept your humble servant’s sacrifice!” she said aloud and

plunged the dagger into girl’s heart. After a few moments, the girl let out a small sigh and died.

At that point Moloch appeared. It walked over to the makeshift altar. With a scaled claw

it reached into the deceased girl’s lifeless corpse and drew out her soul. In one coarse gesture the

demon swallowed the soul and drained the remaining life and spirit energies out of the body.

“Master Moloch,” the sorceress asked, “How shall I dispose of the body?”

“Eat it.” It commanded. The witch responded with a puzzled look, so Moloch explained,

“Eat it. If you do, your demonic power will grow exponentially.” The witch smiled.

“Yes. Your will be done, Master.” She said to her demon lord. Moloch then turned to

leave.

Looking back, it said, “Keep up the good work witch!” It then disappeared. The witch

had already started in on the corpse.

After decapitating the body and sitting the head aside, the halfling began to devour the

still warm body. With an overwhelming eagerness to her demonic and occult powers, the

sorceress feasted upon the lifeless body until all that was left was the girl’s bones and head.

She looked at what was left of the girl and was going to discard it when an idea came to

her mind. A very twisted idea. The witch quickly gathered a few of the bones and the head of the

girl and left the archaic temple for the night.

Chapter 12

Back at the movie theater, Brendan and Johnny were keeping an eye on Katie and her

friends. The two of them had never known how much they hated a certain yellow sponge or

David Hasselhoff until they had to watch them on the big screen.

“I can’t believe they like this. It’s dumb as a stump!” Brendan whispered to Johnny.

“Actually, I think the stump is smarter, B. When we get back , I’m demanding hazard

pay from my parents for both of us!” came the reply in a hushed tone.

“Thanks, bro. So did you ask her out, J?” Brendan inquired.

“No. I froze.” He responded. Brendan gave him a smart ass look.

“Whaaat? I got nervous.” Johnny told him.

“Wuss!” Brendan picked on Johnny.

“Shut up!” He retorted.

“Do I have to do everything myself?” Brendan said as he stood up.

“Where are you goin’?” Johnny asked.

“I’m goin’ to set you up on a date with our lovely friend out there.” answered Brendan

with a smirk.

“Don’t you do it!” Johnny warned.

“Then you go ahead and ask her out like you said.” Brendan then told Johnny, “Because

you know I will set you up with her in a heartbeat!”

“Fine. I’ll go ask her out.” Johnny said to Brendan and stood. Brendan sat back down as

Johnny made his way down the row to the aisle. Johnny walked up the aisle and out into the

front lobby of the theater. Beth was still sitting in the door to the box.

“Hey Beth.” he called to her.

“Johnny. Hi.” She replied with coy.

“What are you up to?” He queried.

“Not much. Can I help you with something Johnny?” She returned.

“Na, just had to get out of that stupid movie.” He replied then asked her, “So, you like it

here in Settonburg?”

“Yeah. I like it a lot here.” she answered.

“You want go out tomorrow after school?” He blurted. They both seemed to turn red.

An awkward period of time managed to pass. Looking at the two, you wouldn’t know who was

more shocked.

She finally answered “Yes.”

“Really?” He responded.

“Yes.” she quietly replied again. The two smiled goofily at one another. Then something

caught Johnny’s eye. A shadow passed from behind the minivan outside.

“What the heck was that?” he said to himself aloud.

“What was what?” Beth queried.

“Oh. Uh... I thought I saw a figure running away from the back of my parent’s van.” He

answered.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I’ll be right back. I’m goin’ to check it out.” He then told Beth.

Johnny turned and walked out to the minivan. After close inspection, he found the back left tire

slashed.

“Darn!” He swore aloud.

“What’s wrong?” Beth asked as she walked out to join Johnny.

“Someone slashed the tire.” he replied, then queried, “Do you have a phone I could

borrow?”

“Sure. Come on in.” She answered. The two walked in and she led Johnny to the office

phone.

Johnny first dialed the grocery store. He got a busy signal. So he called his parent’s cell

phone. No one answered. A few calls later and he gave up in disgust.

“Guess I’ll have to walk to the store to pick up my truck and tools.” He thought to

himself.

“Could you get up with anybody?” Beth pried.

“No. I’m gonna have to walk to the store and pick up my tools.” He returned.

“Can I help you in any way?” She then inquired.

“Would you mind keeping an eye on the rugrats until Brendan and I return?” he asked

her.

“No problem.” she responded.

“Thanks.” Johnny then told her and gave her a peck on the cheek. She blushed. He

walked into the theater and tapped Brendan on the shoulder.

“Whats up, J? Did you ask her out?” Brendan implored.

“Yeah, but right now I need you to come with me.” Johnny answered.

“What’s wrong, bro?” Brendan responded.

“Someone slashed a tire on the van.” came the reply.

“What the heck?!” Brendan exclaimed.

“Thats what I said.” Johnny retorted then said, “Beth is going to watch the rugrats while

you and I go get my truck to change the tire.” Brendan smiled and shed a small tear.

“What’s wrong with you?” Johnny asked, puzzled.

“Thank you. You got me out of that stupid movie.” Brendan smarted off. Both laughed

and walked out of the theater.

Chapter 13

Johnny and Brendan walked from the theater to the grocery store in about 20 minutes.

The store looked as if it had been ransacked. The front doors hung wildly from their hinges and

the windows were shattered. In the parking lot, there were large archaic symbols painted in

blood. Johnny’s truck was missing from the lot.

“What the-?!” Brendan exclaimed in shock and horror.

“Where’s my truck?” Johnny then asked aloud.

“Your truck? What happened to your parents?” Brendan corrected.

“No B. My truck. My parents are old enough to take care of themselves. My truck

isn’t.” Johnny retorted. Brendan laughed.

“Okay, J. Let’s go check on everyone.” he then said. The two ran in the store building.

His father lay unconcious next to checkout stand.

“Dad! Dad! DAD!” Johnny hollered at his father as the two tried to revive him. Brendan

slapped his face. The old man grunted. They kept up the assault. A minute or so later and the

old man grunted again loudly and opened his eyes. He focused in on the two boys.

“Johnny? Brendan? What’s going on? Aren’t you two supposed to be at the theater with

Katie and her army of delinquints?” His father asked as he rubbed his eyes.

“The people that own the theater are looking after her.” Johnny explained, “ We came

because someone slashed the back tire of the van. Where’s my truck? I need my tools to change

the tire.”

“Someone slashed the tire? Did you get a look at the person?” His father then inquired.

“No. All I saw was a shadowy figure of the s-o-b running away. The jerkoff.” johnny

responded.

“Well your mother has the truck, delivering a load of groceries to the Bakers. She should

be back anytime.” The old man told the two as they helped him from the ground. The three of

them then looked around for Mary. But she was nowhere to be found. Nor could they find what

had caused all the damage.

A few minutes later Mrs. Waters returned in the truck. And after explaining the situation

they were in, she told why she was late in returning from the Baker residence.

“There was a massive search going on in the area surrounding the middle school.” She

explained, “Apparently a young girl went missing earlier in the evening. Well that’s what

Marshal Wilson was saying.”

“That sucks. We don’t know where Mary is either, Mom. We need to go fix the tire on

the van.” Johnny then told his mother.

“Alright. I’m going with you two. Then I can be sure the children get home safely.” Mrs.

Waters declared.

“Okay, Mom. C’mon B.” Johnny responded. The three walked out to the truck. Mrs.

Waters then noticed the large archaic symbols in blood.

“What in the world are those?” she exclaimed.

“Oh.Those. Those are Canaanite circles of protection. Very old witchcraft. Wouldn’t

you agree, B.” Johnny blurted out.

“Oh absolutely, J. Definitely Canaanite magic. At least four thousand years old.”

Brendan concurred with him. Mrs. Waters jaw dropped.

“How do you two know that?” she screamed. At that point their jaws dropped.

They didn’t know how they knew what the symbols were, they just knew. In the distance

Michael and Raphael watch the situation with a new interest in the two boys.

Chapter 14

“Did I just hear them correctly, Raphael?” Michael asked his compatriot.

“Yes you did. They were both able to read the Canaanite symbols like a book in their

own language.” The other replied.

“But how is that possible when-“ Michael started.

“-when anyone else on the planet who could have read it has been dead for five thousand

years?” Raphael finished.

“Yeah.” the former stated.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” Raphael answered. The two Archangels

immediately vanished from the scene at the store.

******************************************************************************

On the other side of town, the parents of the poor girl sacrificed to Moloch pulled into the

driveway of their home.

“I don’t know where else to look, honey.” the girl’s father spoke solemnly to his wife as

they exited their vehicle.

“I don’t know either. It’s just that-“ the wife started to say but broke when she noticed a

strange package sitting on the porch. It was a small box wrapped in paper that said “Jesus loves

the little children” and had a bow with a card sitting on top.

The father picked up the card and opened it. A small electronic chip inside the card

started playing “He’s got the whole world in his hands”. The father read the grisly message

aloud as his wife opened the box: “We have no further use of your daughter. You can have her

back.”

The woman screamed and fainted. The father looked down into the box. Staring back at

him was the bloody severed head of his daughter. The man felt his stomach drop. He turned

away from the box and threw up all over. When he finished spewing, the man dropped to his

knees and began to cry out uncontrollably. From the shadows, The witch watched with

malicious delight.

She vile enchantress ran from the scene, laughing the entire way.

Chapter 15

The next mornings headlines read: “SLAYING IN SETTONBURG: Head of missing

child left on parent’s doorstep!” A few paragraphs down had the second story: “Marshal’s

Daughter Missing!” Johnny looked at the paper in disgust. Sure he didn’t get along with Mary,

but he didn’t wish what happened to the child on her.

“That’s sick!” he thought to himself as he read the headlines over and over again. There

was a knock at his bedroom door.

“Johnny, you have visitors.” Mrs. Waters spoke through the door to his bedroom.

“Give me a minute, ma!” he answered back. He heard footsteps walking away from his

door.

The sounds of two pairs of footsteps returned a few moments later.

“Yo, J! What are you doin’ in there?.” Brendan hollered

sarcastically through the door, “Well whatever it is, put it up cause me and the love of your

young life are comin’ in!” Johnny laughed and opened the door to Brendan and Beth.

“Yo, B! Whats that you were sayin’? Something about playing?” Johnny retorted.

“Nope. I said we’re coming in!” Brendan responded. Then both laughed. Beth stood

quietly to the side, seemingly nervous. The two of them saw this and quickly changed the

subject.

“So, B. Did you see the newspaper this morning? How about you Beth?” Johnny

inquired of both of them.

Beth quietly replied, “No.”

“What are you talking about?” Brendan queried in response. Johnny handed him the

newspaper. He quietly read it as Johnny pulled a shirt on over his head. By the time he had

finished, Brendan had thrown down the newspaper.

“ Ugh! Thats some sick stuff, man!” Brendan shouted.

“Tell me about it. And Mary is missing as well.” Johnny responded.

“What about her?” Brendan edged up.

“Well, even if we don’t get along, I wouldn’t wish what happened to the girl on her if she

was my worst enemy.” Johnny exclaimed.

“Dude!” Brendan responded. He walked away shaking his head.

“I don’t get it, Johnny. What do you two have against this Mary?” Beth chimed in.

Johnny turned his head away and walked over to a corner, not wanting to discuss the issue

further.

“The Mary we’re talking about is the same one you decked yesterday. She works with us

at the grocery store, or she did until yesterday.” Brendan explained, “She and Johnny used to be

really close. Then her mother died and she dumped him. Not only that she constantly bites his

head off over any little thing.”

“Just drop the subject.” Johnny fumed.

“No. You were messed up real bad when she pulled that mess on you! And now your

defending her like it all forgotten. How do you know she isn’t the one that killed the girl?”

Brendan yelled. He then stormed out of the room.

“Maybe I should go.” Beth said timidly. She turned to walk out. Johnny stood in the

corner with his head hung low.

“Don’t go. He spoke quietly to the girl.

“Well, I didn’t come over to get into the middle of a fight between you two. I came over

because you and I are suppose to have a date today after school, and because I needed a ride to

school.” She told him. Johnny lifted his head. He had a smirk on his face.

“He’s right, you know.” he said to Beth, “I do keep trying to defend her, even though she

treats me like shit. But she and I had been friends for a long time before we ever went out. She

was friends with him,as well. The three of us used to hang out like the we did yesterday. When

her mother first died and she turned on us, we both did everything we could to try and help her.

She kept going at us, though. Finally Brendan got tired of it and told her, ‘Fuck it! We have

tried to be there for you and all, because it hurt us when your mother died as well. But all your

self centered little mind can focus on is trying to hurt us. No fucking more! Bitch, you are on

your own.”

“He didn’t want to give up hope on her, but I guess he got a belly full of her poor pitiful

me antics and then getting his head bit off for trying to help.” Johnny finished.

“That’s really sad.” Beth lamented, “To get to a point where you feel there is nothing else

you can do for a person and cut them off. But I don’t think he’s mad at you for just your wanting

to help your old friend. He sees you like a brother and wants to protect you like a brother.”

At that point, Brendan returned to the room. A smart-aleck look was on his face.

“Now you two quit your he-in’ and she-in’ and lets go to school.” He said with a laugh.

The others broke out laughing.

Downstairs, Mrs. Waters heard the commotion and smiled. It had been a long time since

she had heard laughter like that, and she began to reminisce of the old days when Johnny and

Brendan were little. She then heard the commotion of the three running down the upstairs

hallway.

The trio raced down the stairs and out the door. They ran and jumped into the truck.

Within seconds, the truck had backed out of the driveway left for school.

Chapter 16

“Master, how were those mortals able to read the Canaanite script?” Michael asked God

as he and Raphael stood before the Great White Throne in Heaven.

“Because I gave them the ability, My servants. No need to worry. It’s all part of My

plan for them.” a giant voice boomed from reaches unseen, “Now go. Get thee down to earth.

Keep an eye on the two of them until the time is right for my plan. And don’t be alarmed, for a

few more ‘abilities’ are about to manifest in them.”

“Yes, Master.” Michael replied.

“Aye, Your Highness.” Raphael answered. The two Archangels vanished from before the

Throne. They reappeared just inside the gates of Heaven. The gates, made of the finest pearl in

existence, glistened in the light. The two met up with Peter, the gatekeeper.

“Mikey, Raph! Whats goin’ on guys?” He greeted them.

“Not much. How you been, Pete?” Michael saluted back.

“ Ello’ Pete.” Raphael hailed him as he walked up to them.

“Can’t complain. You two headed back to earth already eh?” Peter queried.

“Yup.” Michael answered.

“Aye.” Raphael responded.

“Well, then I won’t hold you guys up from your jobs with my jabberin’. It was good

seein’ ya again.” he then told the Archangels.

“Same to you, Pete.” Michael and Raphael said in unison. Peter turned and opened the

gates for them. The two walked out the gate and disappeared.

As Peter closed the gates, he thought to himself, “There must be something big goin’

down if the Master is sending down both Archangels on the same assignment.” He then turned

to wait on the next human soul to appear.

Chapter 17

The three teenagers went their separate ways once they got to school. Johnny went to his

science class and Brendan and Beth to English class.

“I wonder what the other two are up to?” Johnny thought as he daydreamed through first

period.

“Well, for one I’m bored out of my skull, J. This English class blows! But Beth seems

alright, though.” Brendan replied, “What about you?”

“Yeah, B. Chemistry is dull! It really sucks!” Johnny responded aloud. Sudden

realization came over them when both of their teachers asked who they were talking to.

“Well, Mr. Smithson,” Johnny began, “I was just talking to my best friend Br- Uh I think

I need to lie down.” He quietly got up and walked out of class. At the other end of the building,

Brendan was going through the same ordeal.

“I was just talking to J. Whats the- Oh shit!” Brendan said aloud.

“Brendan! We’ll have none of that kind of language in here.” the Teacher gasped.

“Sorry Mrs. Henry.” he retorted cynically then continued, “I think I should go see

someone, like an exorcist!” The kids in class busted out laughing. Brendan got up and walked

out of class.

Outside the room, Johnny waited for him in the hall.

“Let me guess. You heard me talking to you, didn’t you?” Johnny queried.

“By your question I assume that you heard me as well, J.” Brendan answered.

“Right on all accounts, B.” came the response.

“What is going on, J? Last night we were reading five thousand year old spells

that nobody on this planet should have been able to comprehend, and now we’re communicating

with each other from opposite ends of the building through by all accounts, Telepathy. I

heard you like you were right beside me.” Brendan exclaimed.

“I know, B. I don’t know what’s going on, and right this second, I’m not sure I want to

know.” Johnny told his friend. The two walked down past the library. A group of cheerleaders

were walking out.

“Ooh, these two are sure cute.” The two boys heard one say.

“Why thank you, ladies!” Brendan exclaimed. The girls looked at him funny.

“Thank us for what?” The captain of the squad asked.

“Didn’t you just compliment us?” Johnny answered with a question of his own. The girls

blushed and walked away, giggling.

“Oh, this is just perfect. Now not only are we reading five thousand year old script and

talking to each other through our minds, but now we hear what others are thinking as well!”

Brendan shouted after the girls were out of earshot.

“This just keeps getting better and better!” Johnny laughed.

J, Just what is happening to us?!” Brendan asked. Down the hall, Michael kept

watch with Raphael.

“Quite the mouths those two have, eh Raph?” Michael chuckled to his companion.

“No more than yours was when you first got it, Mike.” Raphael retorted. The two

laughed and disappeared. Johnny and Brendan heard the laugh and turned just after the two

Archangels disappeared.

“Great. Now we’re hearing things that aren’t even there!” Brendan quipped.

“B, I’m not so sure we shouldn’t go see that exorcist you were talking about!” Johnny

replied. The two laughed wearily and walked on out of the school.

Chapter 18

Brendan and Johnny drove to Mama’s diner from the school. The small restaurant’s

parking lot was filled with bikes. As the two entered, they saw a group of bikers sitting in one

corner. A couple of girls were with them, but thet didn’t look like they were having too good of

a time.

“Johnny boy! Brendan! Wut yu tuse doin out da skoo so uly?” Mama saluted.

“Hey Mama!” Brendan stated.

Hey there Mama!” Johnny greeted and explained, “We’re here because weird stuff has

been happening to us in the last twenty four hours or so. We figured you might be able to help us

out.”

“Plus,”Brendan added, “Your cookin’ is a heck of a lot better than cafeteria food!” The

old woman laughed.

“Dat’s true! I gives ya dat one!” The old woman replied. One of the girls with the bikers

yelled.

“Why don’t you jackasses leave us alone?” The other girl stated. Johnny and Brendan

lost their tempers. The two of them walked over to the corner the bikers were lodged in.

“Hey guys. Now why you gonna go and hurt two beautiful ladies.” Johnny told the leader

with a smirk.

“Yeah guys! What did these two ever do to you?” Brendan chimed in, “besides state the

obvious?” He winked at the one that called them jackasses. The bikers stood up and surrounded

the two.

“Well, well. I suppose you two must knights in shining armor.” the leader snapped.

“Nope. But it shouldn’t be that difficult to whoop yer butts.” Johnny replied

sarcastically.

“Wusses!” Brendan exclaimed. The girls giggled. This infuriated the leader of the gang.

“Boys get these two assholes!” He barked the order. The gang began to close in on

Johnny and Brendan.

“Hold it!” Johnny shouted. The gang stopped for a second.

“What’s up, J?” Brendan inquired.

“We should take this outside. We don’t want to mess up Mama’s diner.” he replied.

“I dun care. Ise can geet mo dishes an chairs.” Mama piped up. The old woman smiled

at the two.

“You heard the lady!” Brendan said to Johnny

“Yup!” Came the reply. The two boys dove into the throng of bikers and began to beat

them down. After a few minutes of furious fighting, the bikers all ran for their lives. Johnny and

Brendan chased after them. The leader rounded a corner and ran into an alley way. Johnny

followed him as Brendan chased down a couple of others down another alley. The biker leader

drew out a gun. He fired wildly behind himself as he turned the next corner of the alleyway.

Johnny ran point blank into the path of the bullet.

Chapter 19

Across town, a young cub scout was walking home from the den meeting. The sun was

casting shadows on everything. As he walked along, he began to notice a certain shadow ahead

of him seemed to be rising from the sidewalk. He began to feel afraid and turned to walk back to

the den leaders house.

Suddenly the shadow rushed him, appearing as a blur of black. In the next instant they

were both gone. The witch had claimed another sacrifice.

A few hours later in the makeshift temple to Moloch, the young cub scout awoke, bound

and gagged. The dim flames of a candle danced wildly across the arcane symbols on the walls.

The appearance made a creepy chill travel down his spine. The boy struggled to get free of the

bonds holding him.

Suddenly the entire room lit up brightly, temporarily blinding the kid. He heard someone

start a strange chant. When his eyes focused in again, he found a mysterious robed figure

circling whatever he was laying upon.

After the two circuits around the makeshift altar, the robed figure stopped and turned

toward him.

It raised a gilded dagger above him and shouted, “Mater Moloch, Please accept your

humble servant’s sacrifice!” and plunged the dagger into his heart.

The boy felt an excruciating pain in his chest. The pain was so intense that the gasped for

air and began choking up blood. His heartbeat began to slow and breathing became increasingly

difficult.

Suddenly, the pain disappeared. It seemed easy for him to breathe again. A monster

appeared before him. The boy felt the monster pick him up with a scaly claw. The last he saw

was his body laying upon a table as the vile creature swallowed him whole.

*************************************************************

After Moloch had devoured the boy’s soul and energies, he truned to the witch.

“A few more and I’ll be back to full power and you’ll be the most powerful sorceress on

earth!” Moloch roared in appreciation.

“Yes, my master!” the halfling witch answered. At that, the demon disappeared. The

halfling witch began to cannibalize the boy’s corpse, again eating eveything except the head and

bones. She had another idea for this one.

Chapter 20

Johnny froze. The bullet had passed straight through his heart. He felt as if

he was paralyzed in that particular moment in time. He tried to scream, but nothing came out of

his mouth. He saw his life pass before his eyes.

And then the pain appeared. Excruciating pain traveled throughout his body. He felt his

knees go weak and give out beneath him. Johnny dropped to his knees and fell face first to the

pavement. He felt his nose break as his face planted. Johnny Waters, age 16. Dead of a gunshot

wound.

“But I can’t be dead!” he thought as he lay there in agony, “The dead shouldn’t be able to

feel the excruciating pain I feel. And the dead shouldn’t be stuck to the earth, as I am.”

Johnny began to pray, “Lord, forgive my sins and many mistakes. Save me and keep me.”
He prayed it over and over for what seemed like an eternity. All at once the pain went away. He

heard footsteps approaching him.

“Get up boy! You ain’t hurt anymore!” A gruff voice spoke. Johnny looked up. A man

appeared to be standing over him. The man had on what looked like old fashioned battle armor,

though his gleamed as if he had just put it on for the first time.

“Who are you?” Johnny asked as he pulled himself up.

“My name is Raphael. You are to come with me at once.” The man with the gruff voice

ordered.

“What?” Johnny spoke.

“The Master wants to see you at once.” Raphael replied. He held his hand out to Johnny

as if to shake hands. Johnny, puzzled, returned the favor. The two of them vanished.

***************************************************************

Brendan was beating down one of the bikers when heard the gunshot.

“Oh no!” he thought to himself. The biker he was fighting noticed the distraction and

pulled a knife. He shoved the blade into Brendan’s stomach and twisted. Brendan’s eyes bulged.
His grip on the biker loosened. The biker smiled and laughed.

He pulled the knife roughly out of Brendan.

“Not so tough now, eh pussy?” the biker gloated. Brendan lost his temper and with the

last of his strength palm struck his assailant in the ribcage above his heart. The bikers heart

exploded and the biker dropped dead.

“Tough enough to take you with me, pussy.” Brendan spoke at the corpse as he

dragged himself over to the nearby wall. There with all the strength he could muster, he propped

himself up and prayed.

“God, I know I haven’t been the perfect angel. I have many sins on my conscience, and

have made many mistakes.” he began, pausing long enough to spit up some blood, “Maybe if

your not too busy, you could forgive me and save me.”

Instantly the pain from the knife wound was gone. A man in gleaming armor walked up

to him.

“Stand up, young man.” the Man told him, “My name is Michael, and I’m here to take

you to see the Master.” Confused, Brendan blindly obeyed and the two transported away

instantly.

Chapter 21

Marshal Andy Wilson sat alone in his office. His desk was covered with files and

folders. On top sat three new ones. The girl whose head had been found on her parent’s

doorstep, his own daughter was missing, and now a young boy had disappeared. He was

contemplating his next move when a deputy walked into the room.

“Marshal, we just got a call in about a triple homicide down near the jewelry store.” The

deputy told him solemnly. He looked up at the deputy with strained, bloodshot eyes.

“Alright. Thank you Sam.” He replied in a tired voice. The old man wearily stood up

from his chair. Slowly he walked over to a clothing rack on the wall and grabbed a beaten and

weather worn ten gallon hat. A tin badge on the front of it said “Settonburg Town Marshal.”

“Marshal, are you all right?” the deputy asked, concerned.

“I am. I was just thinking.” Marshal Wilson replied.

“About what?” the deputy queried as he accompanied the Marshal out to one of the

department’s cars.

“For thirty years this town has had almost no crime whatsoever.” the Marshal answered as

the two of them climbed into the car, “Then five years ago just after I was elected Town Marshal,

my wife was killed in a mugging. Now we have some sick som’bitch killing children, and my

daughters missing, and now a triple homicide.”

“Yes sir.” the deputy answered, “Kinda makes you think.” The deputy put the car in

reverse. The car slowly backed out of the parking place on the side of the street. He then put it

into gear and drove off toward the crime scene.

“Yes Sam.” Marshal Wilson continued, “Kinda makes you think that we were blessed to

have thirty years of peace.”

“Yes sir. “ the deputy replied, “ but then, I don’t think the previous Marshals of this town

could be handling this stuff any differently than the way you are now, especially since it hit you

all at once.” He cocked a smirk on his face. Marshal Wilson saw it and laughed.

They pulled up to the scene about five minutes later. A couple of deputies were already

there, putting up yellow tape around the whole area.

“Marshal, we’ve secured the area and are waiting for the meat wagon to arrive.” One of

the deputies on the scene told the Marshal as he climbed out of the car.

“Okay. Do we have any ID on the victims?” he replied. The deputy looked toward the

ground. Solemnly he spoke.

“The first vic is a John Doe. But the other two are kids from town, Johnny Waters and

Brendan Davis.” he quickly told Marshal Wilson.

“No. Not Johnny and Brendan. Where were they found?” The old man gasped in horror.

“Johnny was found over here.” the deputy pointed down the first alley. Johnny’s body

still lay where it fell. He walked with the deputy over to other end of the alley. Brendan’s body

sat partially upright against the jewlry store wall. A few feet away the bikers body lay where it

fell after Brendan heart punched him.

“Brendan it looks like fell next to to this guy, then somehow managed to pull himself

over to the wall and prop himself up.” the deputy continued.

“So, you think they went down fighting, eh Chris?” Marshal Wilson then asked the

deputy.

“No doubt in my mind, sir.” The deputy answered. The Marshal smiled.

“Thats my boys!” he said aloud. The deputy looked at him funny.

“Sir?” he queried.

“These two used to be friends with my daughter. And my daughter works at the Water’s

Grocery store with them.” The old man answered.

“Should I notify their families, sir?” The deputy then asked. The ambulance from the

county coroner’s office pulled up next to the scene. A couple of men piled out of the cab of the

vehicle.

“No, I’ll notify them personally. I owe these boys and their families at least that much.”

Marshal Wilson told the deputy and then hollered over to the deputy that drove him over to the

scene, “Sam, come on. We have to ride over to the Water’s grocery store and the Davis

residence.” He then walked over to the squad car he had arrived at the scene in and climbed in.

Deputy Sam followed suit. As the two drove off toward the Water’s grocery store, Everything

that had been happening the past couple of days hit Marshal Wilson like a sack of potatoes. He

began to cry inconsolably.

Chapter 22

At the Water’s grocery store, Beth had walked in looking for Johnny and Brendan. Mr.

and Mrs. Waters told her that they had not seen them since the three of them had left for school

earlier that morning.

Mr. Waters was about to go out and look for them when Marshal Wilson pulled into the

parking lot. Teary-eyed, he got out and related the bad news to the family. Mrs. Waters and

Beth broke down and began to cry. Mr. Waters held his composure but was still deeply disturbed

by the news.

With a quivering lip he asked, “How did they die?” A tear streamed down his cheek.

“They died protecting mama and a couple of girls who were being harassed by a biker

gang from out of town. They-” the Marshal said, getting choked up for a second, “they went

down fighting.”

Outside in the shadows, another listened in on the conversation. The halfling, full of

anger thought of the bar on the outskirts of town. There had been a biker gang hanging out there

recently.

“So bikers killed them, huh?” The vile sorceress thought, “Well I’ll just pay the sons of

bitches a visit!” In an instant she was gone, headed toward the City Limits Saloon on the edge of

town.

Running at unnatural lightning fast speeds, the halfling witch arrived at the small old strip

mall that housed the bar within a few minutes. Slowly the demoness walked through the front

door of the bar. A few of the bikers looked to see who had walked in. At the back of the smoke

filled room, a group of bikers were all sitting around a table dimly lit by a light fixture hanging

off the wall.

The bikers were all talking about how two brats who had humiliated them in town were

probably wishing they hadn’t. The witch walked up to the throng. The leader looked up.

“Can I help yuse wit somtin toots?” he asked her.

“Oh I was just wondering if you were the big guys at the diner earlier?” She asked coyly.

“Who wants to know?” The leader responded.

“You killed my friends earlier tonight.” The witch answered.

“They shouldn’ta messed wit us!” the leader snapped and laughed. The halfling’s eyes

began to glow red. Her hands transformed from the petite hands of a young girl to the bony

claws of a demon.

A look of terror fell across the gang leader’s visage. A few of the others swore out

loudly. The halfling began to claw her way through the entire gang, slashing anyone in her

sights. Many screams came out of the bar that night.

Chapter 23

Johnny stood before the Gates of Heaven. He was more than a little confused. A small

line of people stood ahead of him. A black haired man stood at the gate, letting some in and

turning some away.

“Yo J.” A voice called from behind. He turned to meet Brendan.

“B. Whats going on? You died too?” he inquired.

“Yeah, J. I took a knife in the gut. How bout you?” Brendan replied.

“Gunshot to the chest. Last thing I remember is this guy in this weird armor walking up

to me and then I was here and you came up behind me.” Johnny told Brendan.

“Same thing happened to me. This guy in armor came up as I sat there.”Brendan

explained, “Said his name was Michael and said the Master wanted to see me at once. I didn’t

know what he was talking about, but he reached down and offered to help me up from the

ground. I reached for his hand and the next thign I know, I’m running up to you in this line.”

By this time the two boys had reached Peter at the gate. The old gatekeeper looked at the

both of them with a wary eye.

“State your names please.” He requested of the Johnny and Brendan.

“Johnny Waters, sir.” The former replied.

“Brendan Davis.” came the latter’s answer.

“From Settonburg?” Peter then asked as he scrolled down to their names on the scrolls of

life.

“Yes, sir.” the two of them answered simultaneously. Quickly he rolled up the scroll in

his hand and opened the gate. The old gatekeeper ushered the two of them in hurriedly.

“The master wants a word with you two right away.” he told them as they walked into

Heaven. On the other side of the gate they were met by Michael and Raphael.

“You two.” Johnny exclaimed.

“Come with us, both of you.” Michael spoke. The two archangels grabbed the two boys

and they all instantly transported to beneath the great white throne. The area surrounding the

throne was filled with tables of the most delicious foods imaginable. Angelic chiors sung praises

to God in all languages, ranging from contemporary music to songs that seemed ancient.

“The Master will see you two shortly.” Raphael told them, “In the meantime, feel free to

look around.” With that the two Archangels vanished.

Johnny and Brendan survey all of the paradise they could see. Green fields as far as the

eye can see. Groves of trees with some of the plumpest, best looking fruit in existence. Streets

paved of pure gold and mansions built of pure silver and embedded with the finest gemstones in

the universe.

“It’s a very beautiful place, isn’t it?” a voice inquired from behind the two. Johnny and

Brendan spun around to find themselve face to face with a simply dressed yet somewhat built

man. The man smiled at the both of them.

“Yes it is.” Johnny answered politely.

“So why are you two just standing around doing nothing?” the man then asked.

“We were told the Master wanted to speak with us, so we waited.” Brendan responded.

“Well then Johnny and Brendan, I think we should take a little walk.” The man then

stated. He gestured with a hand to walk with him down a street of gold. The man’s hand was

scarred, as if something had at one time been driven through it. It finally dawned on them who

“the man” actually was.

“Jesus?” Brendan asked. The man simply smiled and beckoned the two to follow him.

After they had walked some distance, Jesus turned to the boys.

“I have a little job for you two, if you’re up for it.” He declared.

“What is the job?” Johnny asked.

“Yeah, Master.” Brendan chimed.

“Well boys,” Jesus began, “I need Raphael and Michael up here training my army. So

I’ve chosen you two to take their place. If you choose to accept this assignment, I will be sending

you two back to earth as protectors. Warriors of God, so to speak.”

“Will you take up this mission?” He finished by asking. The two boys talked amongst

themselves for a short time after hearing Him. Finally they turned back to him.

“Master, what do we have to do?” they replied in unison.

“Lucifer’s demonic hordes are scattered throughout the earth.” He explained, “Your

mission as protectors are to thwart them from harming or destroying human life.”

“Yes Master, we accept the mission.” They replied. The two boys knelt before Jesus.

He extended His arms over the boys heads and placed His hands upon their shoulders. Holy fire

and light surrounded the three of them. An immediate transfiguration took place. The boys

became clad in the gleaming armor that Raphael and Michael wore. At their sides were swords

sheathed in gold sheaths. When all was said and done, Jesus removed his hands from Johnny and

Brendan and took a step back. Michael and Raphael reappeared.

“Rise, Johnny and Brendan.” Jesus commanded. The two stood up.

“From henceforth, you two are Archangels, charged as Warriors of God and given the

unending mission to protect mankind from the forces of evil.” He then stated, “Michael and

Raphael shall give you a quick course on how to use your new abilities.”

“Come on, you two.” Raphael spoke, “First lesson, speed of thought travel. Think about

standing at the Gates of Heaven.” The two boys complied and all four vanished from Jesus’ side.

They immediately reappeared at the Gates of Heaven. Peter was there waiting.

“Hey guys! Off to save the world again?” the old gatekeeper asked.

“You know it!” Michael responded. The old keeper opened the gates and let the four pass

out. Once they had passed out, the old keeper closed the gate again.

“Catch you on the return trip.” Raphael said to Peter then turned to Brendan and Johnny

and ordered, “Think of the largest farm field outside Settonburg!” The four all pictured the place

and vanished. In a flash the four were back on earth just outside Settonburg.

Chapter 24

“Whoa! We’re back!” Brendan exclaimed as the four Archangels materialized on earth.

“Yes.” Michael told them, “Thought travel will take you anywhere in the universe. It is a

great ability to have when tracking down the Morning Star’s minions.” He then turned to Raphael

who had his sword of flame drawn.

“Now to teach you two how to fight!” Raphael said to the Johnny and Brendan and

swung at them. On pure instinct the boys drew their own swords of flame and parried Raphaels

attack.

The three of them engaged in a fierce and speedy battle. Not one gained an advantage as

every sword blow was blocked and punches and kicks were deflected. This lasted for an hour

before Michael finally stepped in.

“Thats enough! We don’t have the time for you three to spar for a millenia.” He ordered

them. The three stopped, still as full of energy as when they had started. This fascinated Johnny.

“With as much as we did in the past hour, how come we’re not completely worn out?”

He inquired.

Raphael laughed and replied, “Thats the thing with us Archangels, me boy. Our power

comes directly from the Master, so we don’t run out of energy.” The answer satisfied Johnny’s

curiosity. Michael stepped forward.

“This is the last we have to teach you. How to use holy energy.” He stated and raised his

hand toward the sky. At once he fired a massive wave of pure holy energy. He turned back to

Johnny and Brendan.

“Now you two try.” He instructed. The boys aimed their hands toward the sky and

focused. They felt a surge of power begin to travel through their bodies, building in their

outstretched hands. When the power had built to great enough strength, they released it and two

waves of pure energy flew harmlessly into outer space.

“You now know the basics. We have nothing else to teach.” Michael announced once the

two had fired the energy waves. At once another angel appeared .

“Hey guys!” The newcomer greeted.

“Whats up Gabe?” Raphael responded. Michael said the same.

“Orders, fresh from the man upstairs!” Gabe replied then inquired, “Who are the new

guys?”

“Oh. Johnny. Brendan. Meet the Archangel/ holy messenger Gabriel.” Michael said to

the boys and then told Gabriel, “Gabe, this is Johnny Waters and Brendan Davis. They are

taking mine and Raph’s place as protectors so we can go start training the army.”

“Cool.” Gabriel returned and greeted the two, “Nice to meet ya guys. I’m Gabriel, but you

can call me Gabe.”

“Hey Gabe.” Johnny saluted, “I’m Johnny, but Brendan calls me J. You can too.”

Brendan stuck out his hand to shake.

“I’m Brendan, but you can call me B.” He said to Gabriel. The Archangels shook hands.

Then Gabriel got down to business.

“Mike, Raph. Here are your new orders. You are to help from the sidelines if these two

need it, then once this whole Moloch mess is taken care of, report to the Paradise recruit training

center and begin training the army.” Gabriel told them. Then he turned to Johnny and Brendan.

“J, B. You first assignment is to stop Moloch, the demon causing all the trouble

in your former hometown.” He told the two boys. After a quick see ya, Gabriel vanished from

the four.

“Well guys, its up to you now.” Michael then stated, “We will be here if you need us!”

At that point, he and Raphael vanished.

“Well, B. Looks like we have a job to do.” Johnny declared.

“Yep, J. We might as well get to work on it. I wonder how long we’ve been gone from

here?” Brendan replied. The two turned toward the town and vanished.

Chapter 25

Brendan and Johnny materialize outside of Mama’s Diner. Johnny looked on the

newspaper on the front of the dispenser. He couldn’t believe what he saw.

“Hey, B! Get a load of this! We’ve been gone for six weeks!” He exclaimed.

“No Way!” Brendan responded. But he read the paper too. There was no mistake. They

had been dead and in heaven for six weeks, though to them it was only a matter of hours. It was

a great amount for the two of them to take in.

“Well, J” Brendan inquired, “What do you want to do first?”

“Let’s get some of Mama’s home cookin’!” Johnny replied.

“What?” Brendan queried, puzzled.

“Yeah, we haven’t had it in six weeks. Let’s have some.” Johnny answered.

“You want to walk into Mama’s diner and order some food when we’ve been dead for six

weeks to them. And whats more, we’re wearing Archangel armor. How do you think the people

inside are going to react?” Brendan argued.

“Good point. Well taken.” Johnny answered him. He sat on the sidewalk to ponder the

situation. “I wish I had some street clothes. And maybe a trenchcoat.” he thought aloud. At

once his armor began to transfigure. It changed completely into a set of street clothes with a

trenchcoat.

“Hey, B. You were saying about the armor?” Johnny retored.

“Alright on the armor, but what about your face?” Brendan rebutted. Johnny stared at his

reflection in the mirror.

“Oh, Yeah. I bet if we thought about it, we can change our appearance to look like

someone else.” Johnny exclaimed. He quickly thought of a bearded man with green eyes and a

small scar on his cheek. Almost instantly his appearnace changed to match that of what he had

thought of.

“Okay. You win, J.” Brendan laughed and changed his appearance as well. The two

walked in the diner. The two made their way to one of the corner booths. At the other end of the

building, Beth sat with the Robeson brothers. All three seemed to be crying. Mama came

walking over toward them.

“Can I take yuse orda’s, gennelmen?” the old woman asked.

“Yes, Ma’am. I want the daliy special and a tall glass of iced tea.” Johnny ordered.

“Make that two orders, ma’am.” Brendan added.

“It’ll be a few minutes gennelmen.” The old woman replied and walked into the back.

The two of them continued to converse about their mission until the Mama returned with their

food. She overheard the two talking about their mission as she walked up to the table.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen yuse two befo’.” the old woman stated, “Are yuse new ta

town?” Johnny quickly thought of a cover story.

“Yes, Ma’am. We’re here to investigate the recent child slayings.” He told her.

“Tank goodness yuse finly comes. Lawd knows wes needed sum help on this awful mess

for sum time nows!” Mama declared then asked, “So, may Ise asks wut departmeent yuse twos

wuk fo?”

“We’re uh, private investigators from a higher power.” Brendan responded. Johnny

nodded in agreement.

“Oh. Ukay.” The old woman replied and walked away. The two quietly finished their

meals and got up to leave. As they walked toward the counter, they overheard Butch and Sam

trying to console Beth.

“B, would you mind going to pay for the meal?” Johnny asked.

“What?” came the response. But Johnny had already walked over to the table where Beth

and the Robesons were sitting.

“May I ask what is wrong?” He inquired politely of the three.

“Some friends of ours were killed a few weeks ago. She was really close to the two of

them and has taken it hard.” Butch explained, “We have been trying to console her since the day

of the funerals, with no success. But we keep on trying.”

“Well, don’t worry. I’m positive they’re kicking butt and taking names in the afterlife as

well as they did here, if not at a higher level.” Johnny comforted the trio. He turned and went

over to where Brendan was waiting. The two finished paying and walked out the door.

“So, what’d you tell em’?” Brendan asked as the two began walking down the sidewalk.

“I just told em’ that we’re kicking butt and taking names on a whole level.” Johnny

responded with a smirk.

“True that. True that.” Brendan replied. The two laughed as they vanished from sight.

Chapter 26

“Master Moloch, I await your command.” The halfling spoke as she entered the darkened

warehouse that housed the small arcane temple. Moloch appeared to the halfling.

With an evil smile across its face, the vile creature declared, “ One more sacrifice will

bring me to full power.”

“Then I shall go and find one last sacrifice, my master.” the demoness replied. The

halfling then walked out of the old building. Outside, a platoon of zombies loyal to the witch

waited for her. She had created most of them from the bikers she had slain. One walked to her

and knelt down.

“Mistress, how may we serve you?” It spoke in gutteral tones.

“Find me a sacrifice. Also bring me Katie Waters.” The succubus instructed the unholy

creatures. At once the zombies left on their grisly mission.

The monsters found Katie Waters an hour later with a group of friends from church. The

Monsters grabbed her and another girl as the rest of their friends ran for their lives. The lead

zombie grabbed one more kid.

“Listen, Kid.” the creature snapped, “Tell Beth Hankison and the Robeson Brothers if

they want to save the girls, they’d better come to the abandoned warehouse in a hurry.”

It finished by telling the kid that if he didn’t do as it instructed, the it would come after

him. The Zombie leader let the kid go and turned with its comrades to go back to the Temple at

the warehouse.

The zombies returned to the darkened warehouse. The halfling appeared at the door with

a sadistic look across her face.

“Mistress, we have done as you commanded!” The lead zombie exclaimed as it knelt

before her.

“Excellent my servants.” she responded with malicious enthusiasm, “Bring me the

sacrifice and hold Katie Waters prisoner out front.” The monsters obeyed and the demoness took

the other girl from Katie’s Sunday school group into the arcane temple. The zombies meanwhile

tied Katie to a rusty bar jutting from the ground.

Inside the temple, the succubus had already began the incantation. She had the girl laid

out upon the makeshift altar. The girl screamed and begged for her life. The girl went unheeded

and like so many before her, died at the end of the gilded dagger. From outside, Katie Waters

winced at the sounds of the girls final moments.

Chapter 27

The boy whom the zombie had told to find Beth and the Robesons ran screaming and

crying down the street. He almost ran out into traffic when he was caught by Brendan and

Johnny. He screamed even more, thinking that the monster had come for him.

“Whoa, take it easy Sammy!” Johnny said, trying to calm him down.

“Yeah kid, Whats scaring you?” Brendan inquired. The boy calmed a little. When he

saw the two who had caught him looked human, he struggled to get free.

“Lemme go. Lemme go or their gonna kill Katie and Sarah.” He yelled as he struggled

to get free. Johnny let go of the kid and he ran for it. Brendan put a quick end to it by

transporting in front of the boy and catching him.

“Whoa. How did you do that?” the kid asked in amazement.

Smiling, Brendan responded, “I’ll show you if you promise not to run.” The boy agreed.

Brendan set the boy down and took him by the hand. Instantly they transported back down the

street to Johnny.

“Now. You were saying something about they’re gonna kill Katie and Sarah?” Johnny

inquired as the two of them returned.

“Yeah these monsters came out of nowhere and grabbed Katie and Sarah.” the boy

explained, “then one grabbed me and told me to get Beth Hankison and the Robeson brothers and

tell em’ to go to this old warehouse if they wanted to see the girls alive again, then threatened it

would come after me if I didn’t.”

“Okay Sammy.” Brendan then said to the boy, “Your safe now. You go on home. We’ll

take care of the monsters.” The two smiled at the boy and turned to go.

“Hey misters, how come you know who I am?” Sammy queried. Turning around, the two

showed him their real faces. They then vanished. Sammy ran off again, claiming that Johnny

and Brendan were back to kick the butts of the monsters attacking the town.

The two of them appeared in front of the warehouse. The zombie slaves were waiting

with Katie. The lead zombie stepped up to the intrusion.

“Who the hell are you two?” it snarled. Johnny just stood there with a smirk on his face.

This infuriated the walking corpse.

“Boys. It looks like we have a couple of uninvited guests.” the lead zombie snapped. The

entire platoon of zombies began to surround Johnny and Brendan. The two Archangels ditched

their disguises and now stood in the midst of the monsters in full battle armor.

“Ready for round two, B?” Johnny asked.

“You know it, J.” Brendan replied. The two drew their swords of flame and charged into

throng, slashing through one zombie after the other.

Inside, Moloch had just finished devouring the soul of the final child and the halfling had

began to consume the girl’s body. All of a sudden, one of the Zombies burst through the door of

the temple.

“Master, Mistress! There are two warriors of extreme strength and power outside. The

cutting through us like nothing!” He exclaimed.

“Oh shit!” Moloch growled.

“Master, what is wrong?” The halfling inquired.

“The forces of Heaven have caught on to us, my dear.” it hissed.

“What shall we do, my master?” the succubus then asked.

“Delay them from following me.” Moloch instructed, “I shall go into town and raise my

army to defeat these accursed Archangels.”

“It will be done, Master.” the demoness replied. Moloch vanished from the temple and

the witch turned to go face the intruders.

Chapter 28

Outside the abandoned warehouse, Johnny and Brendan were finishing off the last of the

zombies. The two of them suddenly heard an explosion coming from the direction of town.

They quickly untied Katie and sent her running.

“Is that the last of them?” Brendan queried.

“Nope. There’s one more.” Johnny replied with grim realization. Turning to the shadow

filled entrance of the warehouse, he called out, “Come on out, Mary.” The halfling appeared in

the doorway.

“So how long have you known, Johnny.” The vile sorceress asked.

“Since the night you disappeared.” He replied. Brendan looked on with disgust.

“How could you do that, Mary?” he yelled. The vile witch smiled evilly at the two.

“Mary hasn’t been around for some time.” The demoness stated.

“Then who are you?” Johnny queried.

“My name is Marin Teaolos.” The succubus replied. This shocked Johnny as he

immediately recalled the name.

“But Marin Teaolos was a Canaanite witch who was killed when Israel first conquered

the holy land some five thousand years ago!” He exclaimed.

“Then wheres Mary?” Brendan demanded. The sorceress began to look around aimlessly.

“Oh she’s in here, somewhere.” Marin answered and began to laugh. Another explosion

occurred in the distance. Brendan drew his sword of flame.

“J, Go check on the town,” He commanded Johnny, “I’ll deal with this bitch personally.”

Johnny sensed anger and sadness in the voice of his compatriot.

“She is all yours, B!” Johnny replied. He gave him his trademark smirk and vanished.

The halfling drew a sword of darkness and charged Brendan. A fierce conflict ensued.

**********************************************************

Johnny rematerialized in downtown Settonburg. It looked as if the downtown area had

been carpet bombed. He heard a scream coming from the circle at the center of town. He

disappeared again.

At the circle, a demonic imp army had captured all the inhabitants of town, separating the

children from the adults.

“Now this is more like it!” Moloch roared. The townspeople cowered in fear as the imp

army began to close in on them.

“Boys, eat hardy!” Moloch oredered. The tiny demons charged the throng of people.

They were almost on top of the townsfolk when a wave of pure holy energy wiped out fifty of the

imps along the front of the mass.

Johnny appeared in between the townspeople and the demonic army. He had his sword of

flame drawn.

“Not so fast, Demon!” He exclaimed.

Chapter 29

Brendan and Marin fought each other with deadly ferocity. Enormous sword blows sent

sparks in all directions. Marin sent demonic energy waves at Brendan, who deflected them with

ease and returned the favor with holy energy waves. And in between sword blows and energy

attacks, the two contestants threw punches and kicks at phenomenal speeds.

The amazing spectacle went on for over an hour, the two performing a graceful yet deadly

dance of sword strikes, melee attacks, and energy blasts. At one point, the demoness lured

Brendan into the temple, hoping to confine him with the arcane magic of the temple. He in turn

destroyed the entire complex with a massive wave of holy energy.

After a half an hour more, Marin’s powers were completely exhausted. The vile halfling

began to look for a means of escape.

“You wouldn’t dare destroy your friend’s body, would you?” the crafty demoness asked.

Brendan responded with a massive energy wave the vaporized Marin completely. Before him

two souls appeared, one light and one dark. Brendan sliced through the dark soul of Marin with

his sword, sending the enchantress to hell. The light soul transfigured into that of Mary.

“Mary?” Brendan inquired softly.

“Hey, B.” She responded. A tear welled in Brendan’s eye.

“I’m so sorry for bailing on you all those years ago.” He told her, almost crying.

“Hey! You saved me.” She replied, “You freed me from that witch. Besides, I’ll see you

again in Heaven.”

“She’s right, Brendan.” Michael declared as he materialized, “You saved her and you’ll see her

again in Heaven.” Brendan dried his eye.

“You here to take to heaven?” Brendan inquired.

“That I am.” Michael answered. He then turned to Mary’s soul and said “Its time to go

home, m’lady.” Taking Mary by the hand, Michael turned to leave. “Oh yeah, Brendan. The Master

asks that you don’t use that kind of language that much.” Michael then stated.

“Huh?” Brendan responded puzzled.

“The B word. The Master said not to use that kind of language so much.” Michael

explained, “It makes for bad PR.” The older Archangel smiled. Brendan laughed as Michael and

Mary vanished from sight.

*************************************************************

In town, Johnny had been joined by Raphael. The two Archangels had hacked and

blasted their way through Moloch’s army. The demon scowled in anger.

“I must do something or these Archangels will destroy me!” it thought. Looking over at

the crowd of people, it formulated an idea. Slithering as silently as a snake, the demon made its

way to the crowd of children.

It began ripping the souls out of the children and devouring them in a vain attempt to gain

power. Johnny noticed the demon and began to hack his way toward the children. When

Moloch saw him coming, it grabbed Beth and vanished. This changed matters, as the demon

now had a hostage.

“Hey Raph. Can you handle the last of these imps?” Johnny called to his comrade.

“Aye, me boy.” Raphael replied. Johnny smirked and vanished, chasing after Moloch.

In the large field outside town, Moloch stood with its hostage. It stared upon the green

wheat stalks with a troubled look.

“This. This is where this whole bothersome ordeal began.” It snarled in fury.

“And this is where it will end, demon!” Johnny exclaimed as he materailized on the open

plane.

Chapter 30

Johnny stood before Moloch in the open field, his sword of flame drawn. Moloch

conjured a demonic sword and held it to Beth’s throat.

“One step closer and I’ll kill the girl, Archangel.” It snarled at Johnny. At once a small

blast of holy energy hit the demon in the back of the head, knocking it to the ground. It released

Beth who ran toward Johnny. Brendan stood behind the vile creature with his hand outstretched.

Wafts of energy rose between his fingers like smoke. He vanished and reappeared next to

Johnny.

“What up, J?” He asked.

“Not much, B. I assume you won your fight.” Johnny replied.

“You assume right, J.” Brendan then stated.

“Well, this one is mine, B.” Johnny declared.

“Works for me.” came the response. Beth at this point made it to the two Archangels.

She recognized them right away.

“J-Johnny? Brendan?” she gasped. The two smiled at her.

“You were expecting maybe the Easter bunny.” Brendan retorted. Johnny laughed.

“But how?” Came her next question.

“Long story short,” Johnny stated, “We died and became Archangels with the mission of

defend mankind from evil.” The demon had stood back up and was scowled at the two

Archangels. “Excuse me.” Johnny then stated and vanished.

He reappeared face to face with Moloch. He had a smirk on his face. The demon roared

in fury.

“I told you, Moloch. It ends here.” Johnny declared.

“So true, Archangel. So true.” It hissed. The two flew into ferocious battle. Swinging

their swords with all their might, the adversaries began to lift off the ground, neither giving an

inch. The battle became aerial. Between sword blows, the two began to fire energy blasts at one

another. The sword fight energy blasts continued for over an hour.

After one intense sword blow, the weapons fell like lightning to the ground. Johnny and

Moloch began to pummel each other with a melee of puches and kicks all the while firing energy

each other.

On and on the adversaries fought. The melee assault went on for over three hours.

Johnny began to gain the upper hand as Moloch’s acquired powers began to give out. He flew in

with a flurry of punches and kicks. The demon wasn’t able to protect itself.

“Damn you, Archangel!” It swore as it was hit with strike after strike from Johnny. It

fired an energy blast at Johnny which he easily deflected and returned the favor. The intense

struggle continued with no end in sight.

Suddenly Moloch stopped. It just floated there in the air. An evil grin formed across its

face. It began to chant an arcane incantation. This lasted for several minutes.

Once the demon had finished the incantation, it said to Johnny, “Lets see what you can do

against the power of an entire legion of demons rolled into one.” The demon began drawing in

demonic energy.

Johnny smirked and in a move quicker than lightning, moved into range and punched

Moloch square in the stomach and fired a massive wave of holy energy, leaving a gaping hole in

the monster.

At once all the souls of the children who had been used to gain power were released.

Those whose bodies were already in town returned to their bodies. Those who the witch had

consumed appeared in new bodies.

Moloch began to slowly descend toward the ground. Johnny raised his hand at the demon

once more.

“I told you, your evil ends here, demon!” Johnny declared and released a massive wave of

holy energy at Moloch. The demon was vaporized in a spectacular show until all that was left

was ash.

Johnny descended toward the ground. As he landed, Michael and Raphael appeared.

“Whats up guys?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Well we came to see if you two needed our help,” Michael replied, “but it seems that

you handled the problem thoroughly enough yourselves.” At once Gabriel appeared.

“Hey all.” He greeted, “Good job, J and B.”

“Thanks.” Johnny and Brendan responded. Johnny stretched his hand toward his sword.

The blade flew through the air and into his hand. He just as quickly sheathed it.

“Here are your new orders.”Gabriel then stated. He handed Michael a scroll stating for he

and Raphael to return to train the army. The scroll he handed to Johnny and Brendan stated the

duo’s next case on earth.

“Well guys, I guess we’ll catch you on the flip side.” Brendan said to Michael and

Raphael. The older Archangels smiled and nodded. In an instant they vanished.

“Well Gabe, I guess we should get goin’ too.” Johnny told Gabriel.

“Yeah, I gotta get back to work as well.” He replied, “Later, B. Later J.” He then

vanished. Johnny and Brendan turned to leave.

“Wait!” Beth Shouted.

“What’s the matter Beth?” Johnny queried. He looked back at the girl who seemed to

have tears welling in her eyes.

“It was you two, wasn’t it?” she inquired. The two men in the diner earlier, that was you

two, wasn’t it?” Brendan smiled and Johnny gave her a smirk. The two ascended into the sky,

vanishing in the first rays of the new dawn.

Epilogue

A full moon was casting shadows in the small city park in Denver, filling passers on the

nearby street with dread. The silence of the night was suddenly shattered by the screams of a girl

in trouble. The pleas for help emenated the most secluded section of the park, where two

demons were attacking a teenage girl who had been reported as a runaway two days beforehand.

The vile creatures were about to rape and murder the poor girl when two mysterious

figures appeared a few feet away.

“Hey B! You know what?” Johnny casually asked Brendan.

“What’s that, J?” came the reply.

“I could sure go for some of Mama’s cookin right now!” Johnny exclaimed.

“Yeah, I hear ya, J!” Brendan then responded, “But shouldn’t we send these two bozos

back to hell first?” The demons turned their attention from the girl and focused at Johnny and

Brendan. The air began to thicken with heat and fumes of sulfur and smoke.

“Yeah B, you’re right.” Johnny then said with his trademark smirk on his face, “But the

retards always want to do things the hard way!” At that the demons lost their temper. They

threw the girl to the ground and began to stomp furiously toward Johnny and Brendan.

Johnny then said, “See what I mean? Retards!”

“Yep. Retards!” Brendan replied. The two let out a small chuckle as the air thickened

with extreme heat and sulfur fumes and smoke. The two demons charged at them. The two

Archangels drew their swords of flame and rushed into battle.........



End of Act 1