Novels2Search

Chapter 10

After the chaos that followed the rapture, Warren took Faith to his parent's farm on the east coast. It took them some time but they settled into their new life. Warrant’s parts farm provided them with a steady source of income in the rough times and economic disbalance that followed the rupture. Warren continued to use his legal expertise to help those affected by the Rapture.

Over the years, the world has changed in many ways. The mass disappearance of people left behind a void that was difficult to fill. Corporations and wealthy individuals took advantage of the situation, trying to seize control of the abandoned properties and resources left behind. The resulting power struggles led to political instability and economic inequality on a global scale that only now fifteen years later started to settle.

But, Warren found a sense of community and belonging in their small town. Faith was three when Rapture happened, so she didn’t know how life was before the rapture. She became part of their family as soon as they came and was loved and cherished as their own blood. Warren’s parents treated her as their own grandchild and she quickly adapted to her new life.

As years passed Warren became more relaxed and less protective over Faith. But when the Angels came back five years after the Rapture he barely managed to hide her in time. He promised himself he would never let their absence lower his guard.

Faith did not have the Mark on the forehead as everyone else did, so he painted one for her to protect her from people, the church, and other cults of worshipers that arose after the rapture, but good and bad ones. She did have a mark on the back of her neck, similar to the one they had on the forehead but the symbols were different.

Once she was old enough, right before her fifteenth birthday, Warren set her down and told her the whole story and the truth. How the angels came for her right after they took their parents and how she hurt the Angel who ran away screaming in pain. Faith said she deep down knew the truth, as she always felt different. That’s when she admitted that both times when angels came back, her hand started to hurt and dimly glow in the dark, each time the pain was harder. Warren was worried about the revelation but reassured her that was nothing, she would be safe and protected from these creatures as long as he is alive.

Another five years passed, and Faith was now an eighteen-year-old troublemaker who Warren could barely get through. Luckily, his mother had a special connection with the kid and Faith listened to her most of the time. As the world awaited the third coming of the angel after the initial rapture Warren would let Faith leave the farm until that day passed.

Faith stood in front of Warren with her arms crossed, an impatient expression on her face. "Dad, I'm eighteen. I should be allowed to go out with my friends and enjoy my life," she said, her voice laced with frustration.

Warren sighed deeply, looking at his daughter with a mix of concern and sternness. "Faith, you know I can't let you go out there. Not until they leave for five years once again, be patient."

"But Dad, they won’t be here for another three days. Nothing will happen. Why do you have to be so overprotective?" Faith argued.

"Because we don't know what's going to happen. The angels could come back at any moment, and I won't risk losing you," Warren replied firmly.

Faith was furious but ultimately decided to stay at the farm until the Angels came and left. But she told Warren that should go off to College, far away from the farm. She said she needed to live her life, to be a normal girl.

A few days later the sky opened once again, and Warren did not leave Faith's side the whole time they hid below the barn. Faith was fidgeting, tapping her foot against the concrete floor. Warren knew she was getting restless, but he couldn't let her go. He promised her mother he would protect her, and that's what he intended to do.

“Will they ever stop coming back," Faith asked. "I'm tired of living this way in fear. Maybe I should face them next time they come and see what happens."

"No, Faith," Warren replied softly. "It's not safe. We have no idea what they would do to you."

"But nothing's happened for fifteen years now," Faith argued. "You really think those beings can’t find me on a farm if they wanted to."

Warren shook his head. "I don’t know. I can't let you risk it, Faith. We don't know what could happen."

Suddenly, Faith let out a scream. Warren turned to see her doubled over, clutching her arm. The scar appeared on her arm and was glowing faintly, and Faith was in immense pain.

"Dad," she cried out. "It never hurt this much!"

Warren rushed over to her side, holding her as she writhed in agony. He didn't know what to do.

As suddenly as it started, the pain stopped, and Faith collapsed into Warren's arms. He held her, waiting for her to catch her breath.

"What was that?" Faith whispered, looking up at him.

"I don't know," Warren replied, his voice shaking. "But that’s what I am telling you. You are special Faith, we don’t know what happened that day and what your role in all this is."

Faith nodded, tears streaming down her face. Warren held her close, reassuring her everything would be okay.

A few weeks later Faith had been out with her friends in town, visiting the town fair. Faith's friends had been haggling with a vendor over a beautiful scarf, but Faith had drifted away, all of a sudden feeling restless and out of place. As she walked down a deserted alley, she felt a sharp pain in her hand and the glowing scar appeared once again. She winced, clutched at her chest, and leaned against a wall for support.

Her friends had not noticed her absence and were likely engrossed in their shopping. Faith tried to calm her breathing, hoping the pain would subside soon. She could feel her heart racing, and the pain was getting worse. She knew she couldn't stay here any longer, so she stumbled towards the nearest public restroom. Once inside, she locked herself in one of the stalls and leaned against the cold metal door.

The pain was unbearable, and Faith could feel her body trembling. She tried to focus on her breathing, but the pain seemed to be consuming her. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the pain subsided, and Faith was able to catch her breath. She took a deep breath and slowly stood up, feeling weak and disoriented. She splashed some cold water on her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her scar was glowing faintly, but it quickly faded away.

Faith was supposed to spent the night at her friends, but she knew she had to return to the farm as soon as possible and tell Warren what had happened. She couldn't ignore the fact that her scar was acting up again, and the fact that there was no rapture today made her scared. As she left the restroom and rejoined her friends, she couldn't help but wonder what was causing these strange episodes.

Faith made up an excuse to her friends that she was not feeling well and needed to go home early. Her friends were disappointed, but she looked pale and disoriented so they supported her in the decision to leave early.

Faith quickly called Warren and explained to him what had happened. She told him that her scar was acting up again and that she needed him to come to pick her up. Warren didn't waste any time and told her that he was on his way. He could hear the worry in her voice, so he dropped everything and rushed toward town.

When Warren arrived in town, Faith and her friends were waiting for him on the curb. He could see the worry etched on her face, and he knew that they needed to get back to the farm as soon as possible, the farm was her safe place. She felt like nothing could touch her there, even though she was acting out lately, she was still that little scared three-year-old girl to Warren, a little girl he vowed to protect. He helped her into the truck and drove back to the farm, trying to calm her down and reassure her that everything would be okay.

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“What exactly happened?” Warren asked her.

“I don't know. It just started hurting again all of a sudden,” Faith replied.

Warren glanced over at her, concern etched on his face. “It started glowing again?”

Faith nodded. “Yeah. It felt like it was burning.”

Warren reassured her everything is going to be ok and as they drove in silence, Warren couldn't help but worry about what was to come. They had managed to stay under the radar for so long, but it seemed like their luck was running out.

Browsing the internet Faith saw that there were trending news articles about a single Angel sighting over Egypt. Angel flew straight to one location and left after less than 3 minutes, a similar time frame of her scar acting up.

The revelation that Angel had returned alone did ease some of the tensions and worries that Warren and Faith had been feeling, but it also opened up a whole new set of worries and questions.

Once they reached the farm and Faith finally calmed down and fell asleep. Warren browsed the web for news articles regarding Angel’s visit to Egypt. There were many images and videos, most of them blurry, but one user on Twitter managed to capture the creature floating above a mansion. The size of the Angel, the grace with which its wings flapped allowing him to float, there was no doubt in Warren’s mind, that Angel was the same one that came for Faith that day.

He couldn't shake off the feeling that this was no coincidence, that there was a deeper meaning behind Angel's sudden appearance in Egypt. Maybe he sat idle to much, maybe it was time for him to look for some answers.

**********

Present day, Antarctica.

As the team unloaded their equipment, Marcus instructed them to be cautious around the fire pit, where blue fire danced. He reminded them that they were dealing with an otherworldly force that they knew nothing about. They had to be careful with what they did and said, or they could trigger something that they were not prepared for.

The team split up, with some members starting to research the symbols on the ice walls, while others focused on the walls of the pit that was decorated with a plethora of symbols. Marcus took the lead on the latter, carefully approaching the pit and examining the flames. He could feel a strange energy emanating from the fire, and he knew that they had stumbled upon something that was beyond their understanding.

He began to study the walls of the pit, trying to decipher the symbols etched into the ice. As he studied the symbols, he began to realize that they were part of a larger sequence that seemed to be describing a ritual of some kind. He used his tablet and notebook to carefully translate every inch of the wall while Max and his team paced nervously around the cave.

“What is this, do you have any idea?” Max approached Marcus near the pit.

Marcus turned around to face Max, who was now standing beside him, gazing into the pit. "I'm getting close to translating the symbols," Marcus said. "Just give me a moment, and I should have a better understanding of what we're dealing with here."

Max nodded, his curiosity piqued. "This is incredible," he said, staring into the pit. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"I know," Marcus replied, his eyes still focused on the symbols etched into the walls. "I think we will change the course of human history with this."

“For better, I hope,” Max said and left Marcus to finish his work.

As he continued to work on deciphering the symbols, Marcus felt a strange energy emanating from the pit. It was as if the flames themselves were alive and communicating with him, urging him to understand their meaning. After some time he began to notice a pattern. There were markings that seemed to indicate some sort of puzzle, a series of interconnected symbols that needed to be activated in the correct order.

He shared his findings with the rest of the team and they immediately set to work, carefully tracing the symbols with their fingers and studying the reactions of the blue flames. It was slow and painstaking work, but as they progressed, they began to see some progress. Every time they activated a symbol, the flames would flicker and dim, they were close to turning them off and finding whatever was hiding underneath them.

As the flames gradually subsided, the team turned on their lights and lamps, illuminating the cave. They continued to work, and after the last symbol was pressed, the cavern walls began to shake, and the sound of ice cracking filled the air. Marcus and his team braced themselves as the pit began to shift and move. Suddenly, the sound of cracking wheels could be heard, and the pit split open, revealing a small platform that rose up from the depths.

The platform carried a large sarcophagus decorated with intricate symbols of horns, fire, and other mysterious images. The team could feel a sense of awe and wonder as they gazed upon the ancient artifact. Slowly, they approached the sarcophagus, their lamps illuminating the area and casting eerie shadows on the cavern walls.

“What the hell is this?” Max asked. “Did we really just discover the devil?”

“I don’t think the Devil as we know him exists…” Marcus said closely inspecting the sarcophagus. “But we found something or someone the Angels went through a lot of trouble to hide.”

Max nodded approached the sarcophagus and ran his fingers along the intricate carvings. Suddenly, he gasped as the lid of the sarcophagus began to move. The team quickly gathered around, their eyes wide with anticipation, as the lid slid off, they expected to find a human figure inside it, but instead, they were greeted by a mysterious round object, a little bit bigger than the basketball, gray in color and decorated with more of the strange symbols. Some of them Marcus have seen before on the ancient sites and cave walls, but some were completely new.

Marcus and Max exchanged a look of excitement as they carefully reached for the mysterious round object in the middle of the sarcophagus. As their hands touched the cool surface of the object, it suddenly activated, causing the sphere to shake violently. Suddenly, a bright light filled the cavern as the object sprang into the air, hovering above them.

The team shielded their eyes, watching in awe as the sphere hovered with an otherworldly presence, it did not look like a device humanity could create with technology, but rather an object with its own mind. The sphere slowly opened, revealing nothing inside. However, a few seconds later, a strange, ethereal substance resembling liquid smoke rushed out, filling the cave with its presence. The substance moved with a life of its own, swirling and twisting in the air, seemingly searching for something.

The team watched in amazement, unsure of what to do next. The substance continued to move, swirling faster and faster until it finally began to take shape, forming into a humanoid figure. The figure was tall and slender, with long, flowing robes that seemed to be made of the same ethereal substance as the smoke.

*******

Present day, Warren’s parents’ farm

Faith had become increasingly anxious and afraid since the day a single Angel visited the Earth while she was in town with her friends and her scar started acting up. She didn't want to leave the safety of Warren's farm, not knowing if the Angels would randomly start to descend. The thought of being alone out in public and experiencing that pain was enough to send shivers down her spine.

Warren tried to reassure her that everything would be fine, but he himself was full of anxiety and uncertainty over their future and what should they do next. He had hoped that the Angel coming down in Egypt was an isolated incident, but there was no way of knowing it. And increasing pain from Faith's scar every time Angels appeared only worried him more.

He took a few days completely off the work to spend them with Faith. They spent most of their time on the farm doing some walking around the property and inside the nearby forest. Today they have decided to call up some of their relatives and neighbors and fire up the grill. The company of familiar people suited Faith and Warren could see the anxiety and fear were gone, at least for the moment.

As the day progressed, Warren noticed a sudden change in Faith’s demeanor. Soon after Faith pulled Warren aside, away from the rest of the group, and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Warren, something is wrong," Faith said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know what it is, but I can feel it. Something huge has just happened moments ago." Faith could feel it in her bones, and it made her uneasy.

Warren looked at Faith with concern etched on his face. He knew better than to dismiss her intuition.

"What do you mean?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Is the scar acting up again, does it hurt?”

"No," Faith replied. "I don’t know what it is…It's just a feeling. Like something big is about to happen, something we can't control. It's like a storm on the horizon, growing stronger with each passing moment and it's making me anxious."

Warren looked at her, concern etched on his face. "What do you mean, Faith? What kind of storm?"

"I don't know," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "But it's coming, I can feel it. It's like a darkness, a shadow that's slowly creeping towards us. And I don't know if we can stop it."

Warren hugged her and tried to reassure her that everything was going to be ok. He would not let anything happen to hear, they were about to figure this out.

Deep down Warren knew they were idle for too long, they had been hiding for too long. He knew they needed to come out of the shadows and find out the truth of what happened that day, the truth about Faith and her special gift, the truth about the Rapture and the Angels. He postponed it for a way too long, in the years following the Rapture he investigated everything about it and read every single article published on the topic. He found multiple organizations trying to figure out the same thing, some of them good, some of them a bit sketchy, but nonetheless a lot of people shared the skepticism about that day. It was time to go out and find the truth.