Super & Real
Chapter Twelve
I.
“Mother fucker!”
Ed’s shout echoed throughout the group as they gathered their damaged weapons and took them inside. Everyone present looked gloomy at the pronouncement having been made. Jericho and Jennifer sat just outside while everyone else took stock. The two sat exchanging glances, all the while thoughts of the events played out in their minds.
“The more I think about it,” Jericho said, “the more I think this fake Jesus is limited by the lack of imagination of Jack Hurst.”
“I figured that,” Jennifer countered, “but what’s your point?” These same thoughts had played out for her. What specifically was he referring to now?
“Jack Hurst probably thinks, ‘well, Jesus is the son of God, so he can do anything,’” he explained, gesturing, “but we haven’t seen him working at maximum efficiency.”
As it dawned on her, a storm of emotions crossed her face. “You’re right,” she said, straightening in her chair. “When I fought him the first time, he reacted to what I was doing.” She checked off items on her fingers. “He didn’t know what I was going to do beforehand, there were questions he couldn’t answer, and when I attacked his nervous system, it worked. For a while anyway.”
“Which leads me to believe,” Jericho added, “that he himself may only have a slight grasp on his powers.”
“What are you all talking about?” John said, approaching.
“This fake Jesus thinks he’s Jesus,” Raymond said, hearing the conversation from close by.
John looked between them. “We knew that,” he said.
“No, think about it,” Raymond countered.
“Oh!” John exclaimed, his head shaking as if stung by a bee. “I get it.”
“If Jesus knew everything, we wouldn’t be able to defeat him,” Jennifer thought out loud, “and if he didn’t, why not?”
“How could he know about modern society,” Annie asked, sitting on a rock, “and not know some of the other things?” She didn’t wait. She finished her own thought. “Because he’s based on a flawed mortal man.”
“Wait,” John said, startled. “How do we know he isn’t listening on this conversation right now?”
“He doesn’t think he can lose,” Jericho explained, cutting in. “Think about the way he’s carried himself. Jack Hurst thinks of the Second Coming of Christ as him returning as what?” He pointed. “A conqueror. He’s supposed to conquer the forces of evil in one climactic battle. It should be impossible for him to lose.”
“Except,” Jennifer cut in, “he’s not the perfect son of God, he’s a monster summoned by a man.”
“But,” Annie asked, “why isn’t he able to just kill us from afar?” She looked around, suspiciously, at the implications of her own question.
“Because we represent the enemy to him,” Jericho explained. “He has to be seen defeating us. That’s the point; he needs an audience.”
“So, how do we proceed?” Ed asked, wiping his face.
“I think,” Raymond said, “that based on the last battle, speed is going to be the make-or-break power.”
Jericho snapped his fingers. “Exactly,” he said. “By the time most of you all got around to fighting, we’d already had to deal with four speedsters and that was a pain in the ass.” He shook his head and wiped his brow at the thought of it. He took a deep breath and let it out. “I think because Jack isn’t used to fighting, and he doesn’t imagine this fake Jesus as being a fighter, we should force him to fight our way.”
John, who had been listening while tinkering with his gear, turned back to the group. “How do we do that?” he asked.
“Best way?” Jennifer thought out loud. “Honestly, I’d say we all use speed in some way.”
Jericho thought about it. “The way I see it, given that he hasn’t been able to shut off Jennifer’s power, if he wants to shut off speed, he’ll have to do it to where it affects him.”
“How do you figure…oh never mind, I got it,” Raymond said, his thoughts catching up to him. “If he can shut off everyone else’s, but not hers, that means he’ll have to affect himself as well.”
“Because his power and mine are at a similar level,” Jennifer stated.
Just then, their ally Davis Wilson popped in behind them. “Okay, we’ve got good news,” he said.
“My family is safe?” Jericho asked, turning to face them at once.
“What? Yes,” Davis said, stumbling over his words. “We check on them very often.” He blinked the confusion away. “No, what I was talking about is that we’ve got more allies.”
Jennifer stood up. “What kind?” she asked.
“Sam and I had been checking on any people in the government who didn’t follow orders,” he explained. “We just reconnected with a group of them who are resisting the official orders to follow Jack and his creation.”
“Excellent!” Jericho said. “And they can get the ball rolling on a project John was working on.”
“Oh,” Raymond said, chiming in. “You mean the containment?”
“Exactly,” Jericho stated, pointing.
“Man,” Ed said, “I never saw John work this hard.”
“He never had something so important to do in his life,” Annie explained.
“So, can you come with me to help?” Davis asked.
“Absolutely,” Jericho said. The two of them disappeared.
“While they’re gone,” Jennifer said to Annie, “why don’t we get some training in?”
Annie looked at her funny. “Training?” she asked, a mixture of startled and confused. “Like, anime-style training?”
Jennifer nodded. “Let’s face it,” she said, “we’re not in a comic book. We’re not trained combatants, and there’s no Batman here to train us.”
“So,” Annie asked, “how do we get better at it?”
Jennifer shrugged. “We just have to master our powers,” she explained. “This is an entirely new category of battle. Superpowered combat has never really existed before in this world, and we can’t count on what we know from fiction to get us through.”
The two women stepped away from the base and into the large open field surrounded by vegetation. They stood battle ready. “What do we do first?” Annie asked.
“Your speed,” Jennifer said. “She may not be speedster level fast, but you should at least have been able to fight at a super speed.” She took a deep breath, motioning for her friend to do the same. “Focus.”
Annie clenched her massive fists. She hadn’t read First Breaker in a while, but she knew what Jennifer was talking about. The goddess had fought against super villains at impossible rates of speed and based on what they’d experienced against Jack Hurst’s forces, speed would ultimately be the deal maker or breaker in the upcoming fight. Pushing her mind to focus on her inner self, she felt the abilities one by one. Strength and durability, she’d already figured those out. She could just act and those would act. But the goddess had other powers as well. A mental struggle passed by as she searched for the feeling.
“Nothing’s happening,” Annie said, clenching and unclenching her fists.
“It’s not like mine,” Jennifer explained, “mine is based on energy from another dimension. Yours is combat based, because Cyroya is the Goddess of Strength. She lives for combat.”
“Combat,” Annie reaffirmed. She nodded. “Let’s see.” She focused her mind on fighting. Being somewhat non-violent she had a difficult time picturing it. In a few minutes, however, pictures came to her mind of the rush of combat, the impact of explosions and heavy blows from powered enemies, and weapons of every type. Whether it was the goddess’s thirst for battle or something deep within herself, she found the air flowing differently around her.
Jennifer saw her friend’s head move rapidly from one side to another. Far too quickly to be normal. She shifted into a bit of super speed and saw her friend become normal again. “Good!” she commended. “You’re getting it!”
“It’s not easy,” Annie stated. “It’s requiring serious effort.”
“It wasn’t easy for me to figure out all these powers either,” Jennifer said, laughing a moment. “Just take it slow.”
Annie opened her eyes and saw that the insects in the air flew at molasses speed. She looked forward and saw her friend, smiling. “Is this how it works?”
Jennifer nodded. “Don’t lose concentration now,” she reminded. “Just keep this state in mind.”
“Alright,” Annie exclaimed.
She launched forward, her powerful legs propelling her. Jennifer took up defensive posture in response. A huge fist swung by the smaller superhero. As Annie launched blows, she found her state of mind easing into the combat. The goddess’s battle sense helped her plan the moves. Blows got dodged with shorter and shorter intervals.
Jennifer saw the enormous strikes from Annie coming, and she dodged. Fists and rising knees, kicks, and other frontal attacks tested her. At first, the blows came at a speed she could easily dodge. The armor-clad body of her friend made a large target, so she would soon test Annie for her ability to dodge, and switch from offensive to defensive in one turn.
“You’re getting it!” Jennifer cheered. “You’re…!”
Before she could finish her sentence, the rising knee streaked upward towards her abdomen faster than ever. Her breath caught in her throat as she pulled herself into a concave position. The knee missed her abdomen by inches. Her foe took initiative without hesitation. She had to push her speed further in order to duck her head backwards. The fist zoomed by and caught several hairs and shredded them loose.
Several more near blows caused Jennifer to push the attack into offensive. She pushed her speed even further and aimed for the exposed abdomen. Annie perceived the blow and pulled backward, focusing her combat sense. Her friend pushed forward, throwing punches and kicks, and Annie had to work extra hard to stop them. Jennifer’s forward onslaught gave her an idea. The goddess threw up her arms and absorbed several hard punches, using the opening to launch forward and deliver a hard straight punch to her opponent’s chest.
Jennifer realized her mistake when she’d delivered the last blow, absorbed by Annie’s forearms. With ever-hastening velocity, her foe moved forward lightning fast and smashed a hard fist into the upper chest. She flew backward and had to catch herself in the air.
Annie stopped. “Oh shit,” she exclaimed, “are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Jennifer said, righting herself midair and hovering back to the ground. “That was great! Your speed is getting faster!”
“How’s my strength?”
Jennifer judged. “If that was holding back,” she explained, “I think you’re on your way to really hammering our enemy.”
A blue spot of light in midair opened into a portal. John stuck his head out. “Hey, do you think you can spare Ed for a bit?” he asked.
The two women looked at each other. “Uh, yeah,” Jennifer said.
“You need me?” Ed said, walking up.
II.
“I think this is the place,” Davis said, focusing his teleportation.
Davis Wilson and his boss teleported into the room, the whole time several powers gifted to them active. Candles lit the room; the air smelled of air freshener and essential oils masking the odor of people trapped for more than a week. All at once a great ruckus came over everyone. Some thirty different people all reacted with horror, shouts and screams echoed, and every gun on a hip drew itself upward to point at the new intruders.
“Wait!”
A lone, female voice cut through the tension. Sam Louis recognized the voice at once. A gun lowered to reveal graying hair with flecks of blonde still present in places, blue eyes wrapped in dark circles, and wrinkles reflecting years of service. She holstered her pistol. “Brenda?” Sam said, arms wide.
“Hold it!” she yelled, retreating a step, hand hovering over her hip holster. “You’re not with the preacher, are you?”
“Christ, no!” Sam stated, miffed at the insinuation. “We’re with the good guys!” He looked at the squalor, the hallway behind a barricaded door, where waste was taken out to be disposed of, only when the coast could be proven clear. “How long ya been down here?”
Brenda waved behind her, and the group of government agents and their families lowered their weapons. “Holy shit, Sam!” she exclaimed, embracing him. “It’s been ten days. We fended off the attack, and got out of the last hiding spot, but we’ve been down here for a long time.”
“How’s the situation with the fake Jesus?” one young man asked from behind her.
“Bad, but we have hope,” Davis said, stepping out from behind his boss. He extended his hand for the woman. “Davis Wilson, FBI.”
“Brenda Jeffers, CIA,” she introduced herself. “Holy shit, this has been a disaster.”
“You’re telling me,” Davis interjected. “I just got word that a group of super-powered worshippers attacked our allies at their hideaway.” Quiet gasps and conversation followed for a few moments. “They survived, but this would-be ‘savior’ gave his final declaration: a week from now, in the Valley of Megiddo, he expects to face off against his enemies for the last time.”
One could almost feel the wave of anguish and horror wash over the group as they heard those words. “So,” Brenda said, resisting the urge to hang her head and cry, “this is the end.”
“Not if we have any damn thing to say about it,” Sam retorted. “How many people do we have here that are willing to fight?”
“Fight?” one voice cried out. “Are you fuckin’ crazy?”
“No,” Davis said, stepping forth. “Think about what we’ve had to do.” He gestured. “We’re all government agents here, or families thereof.” He scanned the room. “Every one of us started off as a naïve kid who thought they were going to be different. That they’d heard the stories of horrible things the government did, and we were going to change things. Right?”
A series of guilty faces greeted him. “We’ve all seen firsthand our government lie to and betray its people,” he continued. “This may be our one chance in this life to actually be the good guys for once. Who doesn’t want to take it?”
He looked around. Some seemed resolute in their desire to stay far away. He didn’t blame them. Hands flicked hair back, thumbs absent-mindedly wiped away sweat beads. Eyes darted here and there. The seeds of heroism had been squashed so deeply, beneath a tower of fear, yet he still saw them. “We aren’t warriors,” Brenda replied.
“We don’t have to be,” Sam cut in. “We just got to be there to stop the riffraff.”
“He’s right,” Davis argued. “We’ll have plenty of time to sift the finer details later. Right now, we have to provide help to those on the front lines.”
“When all this began,” Sam explained, “I had to oversee this brand-new type of fuckery straight out of children’s funny books. Dave here’ll tell you, we had to spend eighty-hour weeks turning over every leaf we could get our hands on.” He let out a huff. “I thought I was going to go crazy. But one of the things we found out was we had a few people we could absolutely count on. I was pleasantly surprised. Someone I was worried about was just what we hoped for.” He saw some familiar faces, having looked closer at the crowd. “Some of you reported to me. I know you know how hard it is for me to trust people.” A few minor chuckles escaped the awkward silence. “A few people, none of whom have any professional training at real action, have stepped up when we need them. The least we can do is help them.”
At first, only minor talk rose. Then, as people spoke to one another, a consensus began to echo above the rest. “I can guarantee you won’t be going into battle unarmed,” Davis reminded them. That seemed to push the boulder over the edge. Several shouts of approval resounded. “That’s more like it.”
“What do we do?” Brenda asked.
“Give me a moment,” Davis said. He teleported out of there. Almost a half a minute later, he returned. “Everybody join hands, a long line.” They did and a moment later, disappeared.
They rematerialized in a building surrounded by snow on all sides. Some of the agents recognized based on wildlife in the distance that it was northern Canada. “Why are we here?”
“Because of me,” Jericho said, appearing from a separate room. “This is one of the hideouts I’d established after the Lights.”
Brenda stepped forward. “So, what happens now?”
“We regroup soon enough,” he explained. “First, I don’t have time to explain everything. So, keep your hands joined.” He grabbed the first hand, and soon, everyone had shared memories and several new powers. “Thankfully, I don’t have to explain everything, so, I’m going to go now. I have to get back to the others.” He vanished.
“So, boss,” Davis said, “What’s the plan?”
Sam looked at his subordinate. “Oh no,” he said. “I’m not taking point on this one. You tell me what the plan is.”
Davis took pause, contemplating the vote of confidence. “Alright,” he explained, turning to the group. “We’re going to form into teams and take down certain members of the enemy’s entourage that have committed acts of terrorism against humanity.” He began to point. “If I give you a number, huddle together and we’ll discuss targets.”
A group of supers gathered in a church in Kentucky sat playing cards at a table set up where the wreckage of pews sat a few feet away. A pile of bodies had been removed from the building after an intense battle took place, the corpses in a hole with scorched grass around it. A number of believers in the church had decried this would-be Lord and Savior as a phony, as they refused to accept Jesus’s judgment, calling it murder. These loyal followers of Christ had taken it upon themselves to bestow judgment on behalf of their savior. Ever since the display of power in the United Nations building, the police had been delivering non-believers to them to be judged.
The front door exploded into splinters with a burst of white-hot plasma.
“What in the fuck!” a man shouted.
A bolt of power hit him in the chest and blasted him backwards through the broken pews. A partner of his threw a series of fireballs at the group of invaders. A young man in his late twenties, garbed in a flak jacket and cargo pants, kicked a pew towards them. It caught the fireballs and exploded into pieces. An agent behind him grabbed him and chucked him like a projectile at the group of bad guys. He went for another fireball, but the agent collided with him, slamming into them and knocking two of them into hard wood. Six others exchanged blows before being overwhelmed. Before they could recuperate, another agent arrived and held them together, while another wrapped them up in bonds of pure light.
“Alright,” a female agent shouted, “that’s one group down.”
In Cincinnati, a base of supers got interrupted in the middle of their sermon.
“Our Lord has returned,” the ‘pastor’ of the group began, “and…”
A bolt of power struck him square in the chest. He was out like a light.
The congregation of ten turned to see a group of thirty agents standing around them. Like a shockwave through a pile of straw, bodies collided, and plasma streaked across the room. Loud pops carried through the room whenever someone met fist to face or face to floor. A few unlucky believers turned into projectiles and sailed across the room to leave their mark in the walls. About two minutes later, a pile of bodies, writhing in their bonds, sat in the center of the room.
“Let’s bring them these,” a male agent said, motioning for the group to join hands.
In a pocket dimension, John, in his Doctor Anti form, watched as another group of enemies came in through teleportation. “How’s it going?” John asked.
A group of no less than a hundred agents carried a group of hundreds of bound enemies onto the platform inside the mobile base. “We’ve been hunting,” Brenda explained. “I know you guys are the ones who are going to be doing the fighting, but we want to make it easier.”
“Believe me,” John said, breathing a sigh of relief, “we’ll take what we can get. Put them over there.”
She motioned and the agents carried the group of connected, bound bodies to a platform. Grunts and huffs were heard as the group got placed in the center. John produced a handheld device and pressed a button, and a wave of purple light passed over them, and they became motionless. An undulating translucent violet light coated them like a blanket, and they sat like statues. “Are they frozen?” she asked.
“Just paused,” John explained. “Stasis. Once we’re done, we just hit the resume button and they go back to normal. It’s the only way to keep them from doing anything while we’re gone.”
An agent from behind Brenda stepped forward. “You think we’ll be able to win?” he asked.
John shot him a look. “Honestly,” he admitted, “I don’t know. But there’s cracks in this fake Jesus’s armor, and we’re going to find it.”
A thought occurred to Brenda. “How could he destroy an entire nation,” she stated, “and not be able to take you guys out remotely?”
“He probably could,” John said, “but that wouldn’t be very Christ-like of him. We suspect Jack Hurst’s thoughts influence the creature he’s summoned, and he’s too lost in his faith to see the inconsistencies in this ‘Jesus’ that he created.”
Brenda thought about it. “That’s messed up,” she admitted.
Davis stepped forward, having teleported in. “Guys, we’ve got a hell of a chance,” he said. “August Dietrich has been sent to collect some more loyalists. We’ve got a shot at taking him down.”
Brenda and John looked at each other a moment. “Tell me what you need,” John said.
“I think Ed should be enough for this,” Davis explained.
“Ok, I’ll get him,” John said, reaching for his portal device. A few moments later, their friend, in the body of the mystical swordsman, stood listening to their plan.
“No, I agree with Davis,” Ed explained to Brenda, “this is a great opportunity.”
They stepped through a portal into a wooded area, with a cityscape off in the distance. Davis recognized it and drew his weapon. “Be careful,” he said, “we have to worry about civilians they might involve.”
“I know,” Ed said. “I think I can pull it off.”
“You’re not getting the element of surprise,” August Dietrich said, approaching. “I was able to sense the portal from miles away.”
Davis cursed. “It’s a trap,” he exclaimed.
Ed looked around. “No,” he said, “not really. They underestimate us.” He looked. “They didn’t bring any speedsters.”
Davis thought about it. He didn’t bother to ask why not.
“We’ve noticed you taking our forces off the map,” August explained. A half-sneer painted itself on his face. “No matter. Regardless of what you have, the Lord will prevail. Reducing the number of our forces won’t change the outcome.”
“Then why do what you’re doing at all?” Brenda shouted.
August shrugged. “One does what the Lord asks him to do,” he explained. “We’ve been sent to convert hearts and minds to the Lord.”
“So,” Brenda explained, “The Lord brings about a perfect kingdom of happiness and eternal bliss by murdering lots of people? What sense does that make?”
“You haven’t read your bible, have you?” August said. “The world runs red with blood before the eternal kingdom on Earth can begin. Or didn’t you read Revelation?”
“My preacher growing up always taught me that the Lord was about loving thy neighbor,” Davis argued.
“The Lord shall return as a conqueror to defeat Satan and his forces,” August shot back. “Enough talk!”
Several supers, cloaked in a telekinetic bubble protecting them, shot out of the ground, pulled upward by power. The sudden increase in forces caused Ed to grit his teeth and draw his sword. It glowed several shades of dark blue as lightning and other powers crackled off its body. Several moments passed, with everything frozen in midair. Ed drew upon his knowledge of Kadosuke’s sword powers from the Spirit Blood manga and focused his mind. Tightening his grip, he stepped forward and slashed, a beam of power arcing forward and shattering the forcefields protecting one-fourth of the protected enemies.
August Dietrich saw several flashes of light shoot forward in multiple directions, and his telekinetic protection over dozens of individuals popped like bubbles. Bodies got launched backward as if balloons hit by an air cannon. Agents bounded over dirt mounds and other debris, and began attacking the prone enemies with plasma projectiles, lightning bolts, and various kinetic attacks.
Ed stepped forward and launched an attack, his curved arc cutting through the first line of defense around August, his bubble bursting and knocking him backward. The psychic barely dodged a lightning-infused swipe as he shot downward. An invisible pressure bullet exploded a foot-wide section of dirt where Ed had stood a moment earlier, the samurai dodging the telekinetic assaults and slashing again. A second pressure bullet met a plasma arc cut into the air by the sword and the two exploded, knocking both attackers backward.
The two sized each other up before attacking again. “You might defeat me, but you’ll never defeat the Lord!” August shouted. A moment later, sections of ground exploded as kinetic waves erupted upwards. Ed leapt just in time to avoid being pulped by a shockwave. As he readied his sword, a rock shot towards him. He tilted his body to avoid it.
Just then a kinetic shot caught him in the chest. Spittle flew out of his mouth as the wind escaped his lungs. He shot backward and clumps of Earth erupted from a ditch carved by his body. The surroundings seemed to spin as he struggled for balance. Eyes went wide as an invisible telekinetic field surrounded his body, lifting him out of the hole. “Don’t you…!” Ed tried to shout, before a force tightened around his throat.
“Oh no,” August mocked, “are you begging?” He hovered the man at a forty-five-degree angle over him. “No, you’re going to die for your service to Satan.”
Ed felt his chest burning as he struggled to get a hand on his sword. The invisible hand around his throat meant his time would soon be up. His mind began to scream at him to breathe, as his body began to feel faint. The truth became clear to him. Only one shot left.
August smiled as he saw the rapidly bluing face of his opponent. The Lord had instructed him to find more of those willing to be loyal, and to bring judgment to those who would not be swayed, but here was a chance to get one of the Deceiver’s generals! It would be near blasphemous to pass up such an opportunity. He looked around; the heretic’s allies were busy tackling the forces August had brought with him, and yet, there was no problem. After this fool died, it would be a trivial matter to stop the rest. The lord had given him a share of his power, after all.
Ed focused strength into his rapidly numbing arms. His right arm shot out and latched onto the sword on his left hip. Fingers clenched as tightly as he could muster. Only one shot, he figured. If I mess this up, that’s it! Crystal clarity wavered in an out as his consciousness struggled to remain. Thoughts of his friends and family burning in his mind, he focused. Light began to glow from underneath the scabbard. August saw his opponent doing something, and he readied an attack.
“Damn it!” August shouted. What was this fool up to? Couldn’t he just take his judgment like a man?
Ed drew his sword, slashing outward with impossible force. A white-hot arc of plasma curved into a tight boomerang shape, shot forward, cutting through the bubble around him like a needle on a balloon. August’s eyes went wide as he let loose his strongest telekinetic shot. It collided with his foe’s attack, and the two attacks stalemated for but an instant. August’s attack pushed forward.
Then it vanished, and Ed’s continued forward, impacting the forcefield in front of the telekinetic.
“No! This can’t…!” August shouted, as his forcefield popped like a bubble.
The wave hit and his entire upper body became vapor in less than a second. His breath had no time to escape in a scream.
The swordsman collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. The enemy combatants, having seen an enormous flash of light followed by the crack of two telekinetic forcefields collapsing, got distracted just long enough for the agents to turn the tide of the battle. Agents’ fists collided with heads, and bodies launched into others quickly made short work of the loyal followers.
“Are you alright?”
Ed looked up at Brenda’s question, easing his breathing. He shook his head. “I’m alright,” he said.
“Let’s get these assholes locked up,” she replied.
“Yeah, let’s.”
Jack saw his Lord close his eyes a moment. “My Lord!” he exclaimed, getting up from where he sat to come to his side. “What’s wrong?”
“One of our loyal followers has gone to his eternal reward,” The Lord spoke. He shook his head. “No matter, we will not falter.”
Jack closed his eyes and prayed a silent prayer. After, he blinked tears away. “Forgive me, my Lord,” he said, “but shouldn’t we not give them any more time? All they’ll do is take more of our followers.”
The Lord looked at him. “I understand your concern, my child,” he explained. “However, we want to attract all our enemies to one spot. There will not need to be another battle.”
“Yes, my lord,” Jack replied. “I won’t falter.”
“Your uncertainty and fear are natural,” The Lord stated. “Just put your faith in me and all things shall be as they should be.”
“My Lord, your kingdom is almost at hand!”
The Lord’s holiness washed over him like cooling rain on a hot day. Whenever he felt his faith waning, whenever the Deceiver sank his claws into the heart of Jack Hurst, the Lord would be there to set him back on the course of righteousness. The questions that popped up in his mind from time to time, creeping in to sow the seeds of doubt and confusion, got stripped away with a single statement from the Lord. Soon, Jack knew, all the children of the world would be receiving this message. Soon, the enemies who fought so hard for the Devil would be defeated.