Preparation

Trepidation filled my lungs with it’s nauseating toxin. I fled, head spinning, a chest crushing vice making each breath punishing. Unlike Dillinger, I was caught ten minutes later. John found me cowering behind a metal rack in a utility closet.

“Guess I'm still a runner, you know, when the heat is on. My emotions, they just get the best of me sometimes.” I was embarrassed.

“You're troubled.” John’s face was empty and expressionless as he spoke.

“I was about to say the same about you. You're pale. Excuse the pun, but you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I said.

“Maybe I have, it’s just the way you're lying like that, behind that metal rack, in this closet.”

“You kinda dropped a big one on me there.” My neck tightened as he helped me up. Was John kidding? Nobody in their right mind would agree to a suicide mission like the one he proposed. His detachment hurt. He believed letting me get swallowed whole by a hell beast would be a productive venture. He’s the one who needed council.

“Sorry William. I came on too strong. Sometimes I forget how young you are and how much I’m asking of you.”

“It's ok. I know how much Judas means to you, wanting to help someone you can't … it’s hard.”

John swallowed the lump in his throat before turning to walk around a metallic table in the room, coming full circle before speaking. "I suppose you'd like to know how it’s going to work, how you’ll pull Judas from the pit.”

“Um … I suppose that would be nice.” I cracked a smile. John gave a wink.

“What do you know about possession?" He asked.

“Like spirit possession?”

“Yes.” John said.

“It doesn't end well.” My mind flashed back to the one and only experience I've had with possession, the Richmond farmhouse.

“Possession is nothing more than brainwashing and mind control, that being said, it's highly dangerous. The darkness uses fear and psychological trauma as a control mechanism."

“If you control a person's mind you can make them do whatever you want them to.” I said.

“Much like using punishment and physical force to control a small child, does it work? Yes, but at what cost. The darkness uses this phenomenon to its full advantage. The majority of possessions take place after a person dies. They occur on the astral plane, the realm between the physical and spirit world." John said.

"How does it work?" I asked.

"In every created being there exists three parts. A physical body, a spirit body, and a soul." John said.

"What is the spirit body anyway? It feels so much like my physical body, at least when I had one." I rubbed my finger tips across the middle of my torso, feeling the magnetic energy of my light body.

"In a lot of ways the physical and spirit bodies are very similar. The spirit body is less dense as it is comprised mainly of etheric energy or prana, as Eastern cultures call it. Ether is a compound like physical matter such as atoms and molecules. Ether exists in the earth's atmosphere on a much subtler level than atoms. Your spirit body is made of this etheric compound. It too will die, just like your physical body, leaving a spirit shell behind."

"You mean I'm going to die, again? I thought once you died that was it."

"There is also a figurative spiritual death, called the Second Death." John said.

"I've heard if that. I think."

"The bible talks about it. Once the spirit body falls away, only soul is left. Soul was created in the image of God. The soul, by design, can not act outside the laws of harmony and love. The brain exists in the physical body, the mind exists in the spirit body, the soul exists in God. Part of the reason you struggle, the reason all humans struggle, is that you still have a mind." John said.

"Isn't mind a good thing?"

"Mind is needed until it is no longer needed."

"Cryptic much, John."

"Obviously, the brain serves a function. It keeps you from walking into oncoming traffic and allows you to remember where you left your car keys. The mind, which exists on the spiritual level, allows for advanced thought. It allows you to contemplate the mysteries of spirit and God.”

“What about the soul? What’s its function?” I asked.

“The soul simply knows. It knows God is ultimate and love rules the universe. Too often, humankind places mind above the soul, creating blockages and causing the soul to take a backseat. When you reach the seventh spiritual sphere, the Kingdom of God, mind will fall away. From that point on you'll forever be acting in the laws of love and harmony."

"So, you just become a slave to God? What about free will?"

"Free will still exists. When you are pure soul, like I am now, your free will choices and actions will always be made out of love and for the higher good." John said.

"So you could never falter or make a mistake again?" I asked.

"No, because my soul, created in the image of God, will not allow it."

"But you say you still have free will."

"Yes, I do. I am free to make my own decisions but they will always be the best decisions because I am free of my mind. Does that make sense?" John paused to allow my contemplation.

"Maybe,” was all I could come up with. John tried to explain but knew I was unable to understand. He smiled kindly, fully accepting my ignorance. Deep inside, I knew John had my best interests at heart, even though things seemed so blurred at times.

"We'll come back to that. For now, I’d like to focus on the subject of possession.” John said.

“I’d rather focus on a deep dish pepperoni pizza … and a big old glass of fountain Coke … not diet either, John, regular.”

John paced the room, it was evident he was accustomed to teaching serious souls well advanced on the path to the Kingdom of God, not sarcastic daydreaming teenagers. I liked to push his buttons a little, it was good for him.

John fell back into teacher mode, pretending to ignore my comments. “When a person dies a natural death of old age, there is very little danger. Through the natural process of living on earth, the spirit body slowly deteriorates along with the physical body. When physical death occurs it’s easy for a soul to free itself, but when there's tragedy, there's concern for danger. During tragedy, the physical body is no longer able to sustain itself and dies, but the spirit body hasn't gone through the natural aging process and remains strong. This is how people become trapped in the astral, the world between the worlds.”

“Can they get free?” I asked.

“Often, a soul can shed its spirit body if that soul is genuinely good. It may have been a good soul that died prematurely due to a traffic accident for example. That soul will be able to pass to the realms of light and love with little resistance. The problem is that the soul leaves behind it’s spirit body. The strong spirit body becomes a shell that floats in the astral atmosphere until it decays. These astral shells possess the greatest danger. Souls from hell are always on the lookout for these shells. Using the dark arts, they can enter them for a limited time and freely roam the astral and earth planes. You remember, it was how you were able to remain in the Richmond Farmhouse, so close to the boy."

"I remember. Justin chanted some mumbo jumbo and I was able to create a body."

"Justin drew an astral shell to you through meditation and you stepped inside. Much like putting on a ‘space suit’ as you called it."

"I'm not proud of it." I looked at the ground so I wouldn't have to look at John. “I always thought meditation was a good thing.”

“Meditation brings spiritual energy to the practitioner. Beings of light and dark both use meditation to increase their spiritual energy. The difference, beings of light use their energy to serve God and others. Beings of darkness use spiritual energy to gain supernatural powers and to control others.”

“Are supernatural powers bad?”

“Depends how they're used. The Son displayed supernatural powers for the greater good. Turning water into wine, loaves and fishes, walking on water to show us the way. All of humankind possesses the potential to perform these acts. There's really nothing supernatural about them.”

“I guess the average Joe just hasn't learned the way.”

“Exactly. Someday it’ll be commonplace. Anyway, souls of the damned use meditation to possess the shells of former spirit bodies, hoping to cause tragedy and thus create new spirit shells to possess until they are destroyed. It's a never ending cycle.”

"How are they destroyed?" I asked.

"If left alone, spirit shells will decay naturally, much like a physical body does. Ritual and prayer can speed up the process. When you were driven out during the ritual of exorcism the spirit body shell you were borrowing was destroyed, causing you to be pulled back to the fires of hell."

“Is this the reason dark souls look to create and cause so much destruction and chaos?” I asked.

“Indeed.” John said. “When the Son of God was crucified his body was laid in the tomb but never found. There's a reason for that. Because of this tragedy, two angels came to earth to speed up the dematerialization of the Son’s physical body through a process of accelerated radiation that human science has not yet discovered. These are the angels Mary met in the garden, as recorded in the Bible. Are you familiar with the Shroud of Turin?”

“I can't say that I am.”

“The shroud is the burial cloth of the Son’s physical body. Earthly scientists have long studied the image on the cloth and have not yet been able to determine how it got there. The image was formed due to the radiation residue of the dematerialization process. The angels wanted to keep the physical body out of the hands of grave robbers and also to prevent the remaining astral shell from becoming a temporary home to some demented soul from the netherworld.”

“I can imagine if a dark soul found an astral shell as strong as the Son's, it wouldn't have been good.” I said.

"You’re correct. Possession of a spirit body is gradual, the entity must work hard to crack the owner's defenses, but possession of a spirit shell is not difficult. If no one is living there, there's no defense against attack."

"Like squatters." I said.

"What are squatters?" John asked.

"It's slang for homeless people who go around taking up residence in abandoned or vacant homes."

"I'll never be able keep up with the latest mortal slang, but yes, that's a good analogy." John said.

"During possession, dark souls, or demons as people like to call them, often use intimidation and supernatural phenomenon to create an atmosphere that excites fear. In reality, these demons are relatively powerless. The key is in the scripture. God gave dominion to man over demons. This holds true today as it did eons ago. No demon is more powerful than the human. What demons are good at are lies and deception. They make it seem like God is nowhere to be found. They play off this illusion. People begin to think God doesn't exist or God doesn't care, because if he did, he wouldn't allow bad things to happen."

"The Kingdom of God is built on faith. Faith strengthens the kingdom and thus strengthens the human. It's a two-way street. The way to defeat a haunting is to remain calm, remain faithful, and believe in God. The problem is that demons have become very good at making this task difficult."

"How?" I asked.

"The ego, demons are master manipulators of the human ego. They trick their way inside using illusion and deception. The ego is the part of man's mind that believes he is greater than himself. The ego sees itself as separate and apart from God. This is the farthest thing from the truth. Demons use this illusion to their advantage. People chase worldly things like money and power. They believe this gives them control. It's a lie. God is in control and always has been, but the ego thinks itself is in control. It sees power and believes this is the truth. Money and power on earth is always a temporary illusion. It always dies. Your friends, Justin and Corbin, have fallen under the spell of the ego's illusion. They believe that freeing the demons will grant them power. They're wrong, dead wrong."

"I always knew Justin could see never see anything greater than himself."

"Justin's not unusual. He's young and misguided. You can help him. You can show him the light." John said.

"What about Corbin?" I asked.

"He's not ready. You can't help someone who does not want to be helped." John said.

"How did it get so bad?" I asked. "How did he slip so far?"

"Corbin's story is not all that uncommon. He grew up in a broken home. There was no abuse, but there was no love either. Corbin's family simply existed. They rarely interacted with one another. There was no laughter, strangers living under the same roof. He was never misguided, he simply was never guided.”

“Corbin wasn't one for socializing and never had many friends. He grew angry because of this. Isolation, too much of it, it's never good. One must find the balance in all things. Time spent alone is good, but Corbin took it to the extreme. He once went four months without seeing another human being. He was gifted with a powerful and sharp intelligence, a genius, parallel with the greatest minds in history. Corbin could have been the next Isaac Newton, but he misused his gift. Corbin developed Gateway, but at what cost? Unlike Newton, it cost Corbin his soul. Newton brought advancement to the human race. Corbin will bring destruction, unless we can stop him."

"Can he do it? Can he break the chains that bind the evil?"

"Yes, but not alone."

"He still needs Justin?" I asked.

"Yes, and he needs you." My eyes grew large and my mind scrambled, causing me to pause before speaking.

"Well then he's screwed. That will never happen." I scoffed.

"Careful William, history is a great teacher even if the stories it tells aren't always absolute truth. Arrogance led to Lucifer's fall. Don't let it take you too."

"Really, you think they'll get to me? Not a chance." I said.

"Evil is powerful and intelligent, don't underestimate it. Dark souls are masters and turning a person's weakness against them. Nobody in history sets out to fall. Always a seed is planted and grows without awareness. When you plant a garden, you don't see the produce grow. You check one morning and it's there. Don't let this weed take hold." John said.

"How do I stop it?" I asked.

"Weed the garden of your mind everyday … then do it again." John said. I could see concern on his face. He wasn't joking, but falling under evil’s spell seemed like the farthest concern for my mind.

"So you think the element of surprise will work?" I asked, wiping my forehead with an uncertain hand.

"It has before, it will again. The darkness will underestimate you. To them you're nothing. I doubt you're even on their radar."

"Thanks for that." I said, again looking down at my feet. John could sense my lack of confidence.

"That's how a carpenter and a handful of fishermen beat the darkness." John said, snapping away my nagging doubt in an instant.

"I can see by your expression that the light bulb is gone off." John said.

"How'd you do it?" I asked.

"God didn't beat the darkness with a powerful king and legions of warring armies. That's not his way. The humblest, most unlikely, a child born of common means. From these common roots grew a charismatic leader of men who brought light to a dark world. A powerful speaker with the ability to stir hearts and grow love in the souls of men. To stir passions for spiritual glory, not the worldly glory that the ego stirs. True love, true spiritual glory, that same power lies in all of us, it lies in you, William." John said.

"I'm not him." I said.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." John said. "Those words survived. The Son spoke them and I wrote them down."

"Come on John, you can't be serious. You can't compare me to him."

"There is a difference, he had faith, you have doubt. The biggest challenge the host of heaven has today is getting humans to believe in their true potential just as we did so long ago. We can't float down from heaven. Mankind must learn to save himself rather than look for a miracle. The miracle is inside them. It's inside all of them. William, the miracle is you. Chose the spiritual path and you'll go far. People ask themselves where they'd like to be in five years. I like to ask people where they'll be in five thousand years."

John was right. It wasn't a powerful army with swords of gold, it was a peaceful warrior, a Robin Hood and his band of merry men that once upon a time beat the so-called devil.

"The only place to go is up, but sometimes we have to go down before going up." John said.

"I don't want to go to hell alone." I said.

"This has to be an inside job. The element of surprise is foremost and frankly, our only prayer. David versus Goliath. If I came it would only serve to condemn you. Your cover would be blown." John said.

"You really think I can possess Judas? Forgive me, John, but part of me thinks you're nuts."

"I've been told that before. When I left my job to follow the Son I had plenty of people telling me I was crazy." John said.

"How do you have such absolute faith in me?" I asked.

"You did it to the Richmond kid at the farmhouse." John said.

"Yeah, but the kid was easy. He had no faith. Part of him even wanted it." I said.

"You just illuminated the key to your advantage."

"If that were true it would mean Judas wanted to be saved. By the looks of the vision you showed me he wants no part of salvation." I said.

"Part of him does. Part of all of us wants to go home. A piece of Judas wants to be saved. The small speck of light you once found in your soul exists in his soul too. It's in everyone." John said.

"What's stopping him?" I asked.

"He'll say it's pride, but deep down it's shame. He's ashamed of his actions and can't face the truth. You can help him see the truth. Create a crack in the armor just like you did with the boy. Then you'll gain possession." John said.

"Say that I actually make it in, then what? My reign of terror was short-lived if you remember. I wasn't very successful."

"The darkness is manipulating Judas’ ego. You only need to control and influence Judas long enough to loosen the screws. Then, maybe Judas will see the light. The dark plague on Judas' mind can be lifted long enough to free him."

"How do you know it will work?" I asked.

John smiled, “have faith."

"Teach me." I said.

"Start with prayer. Prayer is the vehicle which strengthens faith. Pray as much and as often as you can. Create a mind which is in a constant state of prayer. Believe in its power. Prayer without belief is simply lip service." I lowered my head full of doubt, feeling I'd never reach the level of faith John had for me. "It's common, for people in our line of work to feel what you're feeling. Don't be alarmed, William."

"What’d you mean that it's common to feel this way?" I asked.

"The spiritual path is never easy, as you know. I felt it, my brother felt it, the Son felt it … fear and frustration."

"You mean the Son of God was scared?"

"The Son of God was fully human, William. He had all the feelings and emotions you and I do … hopes and fears. Frustration sets in when free will rules. The Son offered salvation to all who had ears to listen. Unfortunately, the souls who could hear and perceive the true spiritual meaning behind his words were far and few between.

"He did it anyway, that's what you're getting at, right?" I said.

"That's the beauty of his life. He knew full well the repercussions of his actions. He did it anyway. He had free will, just like you and I. He did it anyway. He could have stayed home, not embarked on his teaching mission, maybe raised a family. All fine things, all in the realm of free will, the father would have been pleased. He did it anyway."

"You're telling me God would have been OK with the Son not taking up the mission, not bearing the cross?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Because God respects choice. God doesn't want us to be robotic. The Son gave himself willingly so that others may live by his example. Deep down he knew if he left his home to proclaim the power of God's divine love changing the souls of men, it would mean his death."

"He did it anyway." I whispered looking down at my feet.

"He did it anyway." John said, turning his back and stepping through my door into the hallway.

“Wait, John.” I called out as he was walking down the hallway. “What did he look like, the Son?”

John turned and smiled, “like the rest of us … a sunburned Palestinian.”

***

John pitched a hard sale. He had a way of opening my soul, getting me to look deep. The problem, I saw darkness. I fought hard against the images of Reverend Channing and what I did to him. The depths of my being screamed that I was the one who needed redemption. I was the one who needed to be saved. Deep down I could feel it, a future void of happiness, empty.

I returned to my room and laid down on the bed. That's when the blinding pain bombarded my head, opening a vision in my mind. My soul seemed to float through the ceiling, climbing to the realms of the high heavens. Winds swirled me and I felt heat like fire. I couldn't see, the light was too bright, but I could hear. Voices spoke and I knew them immediately, James and John.

"There's a greater work at stake here. You know what I am talking about. We've worked so hard, so many years. We don't have eternity, not on this matter. You know it to be true, James. Time is limited here. William is our best chance." John's voice sounded from my right side.

"We've given so much, John. I know that. Neither of us are the type to give up. Nobody will question our efforts or our heart. Sometimes we have to let go. Some things are not meant to be. I'm beginning think this is one of those lessons. Free will rules here. It's Judas's will, not ours, and not God's, that will determine the outcome. It’s time to walk away, brother." James’ voice sounded from my left.

"I respect your opinion, but I'll never give up. I can't walk away. I’ll say it again. William is our best chance to bring Judas home." John argued.

"I don't know John. I've got to disagree. Call it off. William isn't the one."

"No James, it's him, he's the one. He's the one to pull Judas out." John’s tone intensified.

"But he can't see it. He can't see all of it, the whole picture." James pleaded.

"Nobody can. That's the point isn't it brother? The Kingdom of Heaven is built on faith, blind faith." John said.

"And you need William because of his blindness." James’ voice sounded condemning.

"He's no different than we were all those years ago, sitting on that log eating those fish. Why did we do it? Why did we follow the Son? We had no clue who he was other than speculation. We chose to follow anyway. We chose blind faith." John said.

"Are you sure about the plan, about how it'll all go down?" James said.

"I'm sure. It's the only way. It has to be William. It's always had to be him." John whispered.

"What about the price, John … what about the price?” James’ voice faded and the vision snapped away as quick as it came.

I jolted upright in bed, my soul feeling like it had been jammed back into my spirit body, those final words haunting me to the core.

I stood up and walked over to the only window in my room, clenching my stomach. Looking out over the colorful flowers and rolling hills of green had given me peace, this time was different. The colors weren't bright. The once fluffy white clouds grew heavy and dark. I turned from the window, sliding my back down the wall to the floor. A bad moon on the rise.