Tag Archives: The Second Helper

Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.34 The Masque of Red Death

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Book III: Chapter 34
December 21

Despite the agony of my pain on the cross, I knew that death would not come easy.

With a nod, the man who was Ghaz al’ Ridwan Ma’bus signaled to The Pope to carry out his orders…

To deliver death to the immortals.

I watched as Benedict picked up one of three spears that were lying before the altar. Each of the weapons had one of the Nails of Jesus affixed to its head as a killing blade.

Spear in hand, and in full battle array, Pope Benedict looked like a legendary knight from the fantasy world as he proceeded to walk over towards the cross upon which Lazarus hung.

The Pope was ready for action

Standing beneath my friend’s limp body, Benedict waited only for a moment – as Lazarus’ blood dripped down and stained the pontiff’s white robe – and then the leader of the Church slammed his pike up and into Lazarus’ side.

“YAAAAAAAAAR!” Lazarus suddenly came to life, his arms and legs nearly ripping themselves away from the cross.

Closing my eyes against the gruesome sight, I failed to see that Lazarus’ screams woke Mary from her own snatch of death but my ears soon ached as I heard Miriam begin to wail. I opened my eyes in time to catch a glimpse of Benedict as he stoically twisted his spear up and into Lazarus’ heart – an action that abruptly ended Lazarus’ screams.

The Nail that killed Lazarus

My God, he’s dead! I panicked. It’s finally going to happen? But alas, Lord, I am NOT ready yet! 

Believe it or not, I was suddenly afraid at the unknown of Death – a specter that hadn’t threatened me in nearly two thousand years.

In the silence that followed, I looked upon our unexpected Deliverer – after killing Lazarus Pope Benedict had removed his blood spattered helmet and I saw that face was as hard as stone. He appeared to study the Nail that was now dripping with Lazarus’s blood at the end of his lance.

<BOOOM! DOOM!> <BOOM! BOOM!> <DOOM!>

The drums started up again at a signal from Bates.

I watched as Benedict looked over at The Beast. 

And then, I saw the Pope take a deep breath before doing something that I have never seen anyone other than myself or my two friends do…

Benedict reached up and took hold of The Nail.

“You Fool! Don’t touch it!” I roared, even as Mary screamed a similar warning.

Yet, Benedict did not die.

In fact, if nothing else, he seemed suddenly more alive!

Bates and Klaus Schwab began dancing around triumphantly at the sight – surely reading this as a sign of Bates’ coming victory – now confident that The Pope was indeed The Second Helper.



For his part, Benedict’s face remained hardset while he proceeded to tear the Nail off of the spear. Discarding the staff, he affixed the dripping Nail to his belt. Next I watched him proceed to confidently walk back towards the Altar and pick up another pike, before heading over towards his next victim.

Mary’s screams bespoke of sheer terror. Unable to look away this time, I watched Benedict prepare to deliver a deathblow to her as well.

“Oh, Babylon,” I roared out, suddenly finding new strength. “You will be destroyed!”

Hearing me quote from Psalm 137, for a moment Benedict paused, and I watched a strange shadow pass over his face.

“Happy is the one who pays you back for what you have done.” I tried to goad him away from Mary. “You shall be smashed against the rocks upon this very day.” Then, looking up to heaven, I cried, “Father, do not forsake us now!”

Yet, The Lord did not come to save the day.

And with Lazarus already dead and Mary soon to follow the skies only roiled blacker than before.

For The Moment had not yet arrived, and I knew that the Prophecies — my own prophecies – were still waiting to be fulfilled.

Pope Benedict knew this as well, and therefore he took only a moment to prepare himself to forge on – after which he pushed his spear into Mary’s heart, killing her as well.

Unable to control myself, I vomited up the last of the bile from my stomach – its acidity scorching my throat and mouth. Tears streamed down my face as I wailed in regret, “Their torture is because of me. My friends are paying the price of my sins!”

Yet Fate no longer cared about my feelings and in truth I knew that what was happening went far beyond my small part in this Divine Event.

And so, with two bloody Nails hanging from his corded belt and his robe now blotched red, Pope Benedict began to approach me with the final Nail – and his face was Death.

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35 – Deliverance
Book III Table of Contents
Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.25 Paradise Lost

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Book III: Chapter 25
December 20

“I just don’t understand.” Alan lamented. “Tomorrow is the big day, yet we are powerless to stop The Beast. Would the Lord really have brought us all this way, only to leave us at the very end?”

Alan, Miriam, and I were sitting under the shade of an olive tree, within one of the many interior courtyards of Bates’ palace – despite the earthquake that had occurred here in Baghdad after the death of Elijah and Enoch, amazingly (rather conveniently) Bates’ stronghold was still in good condition – and ever since our capture at Whitby Abbey this locale had served as our prison.

There was no longer any question in my mind about who was The Beast – it was Bill Bates’ Ghaz al-Ridwan Ma’bus. As for Pope Benedict, given his involvement in our recent rather unfortunate events, it seemed we had no choice but to conclude that he was The Second Helper.

Revelation Two Beasts
The Two Beasts

As you can imagine, this was not a happy time for us.

And yet there was nothing we could do but wait for our fate to unfold.

And while we knew that masked guards watched our every move, on the whole we’d been left to ourselves – thankfully Bates didn’t make us wear those silly face masks against the made-up virus and he let us venture most anywhere we pleased within our section of the palace and our every needs were met.

We simply could not leave.

On most days, we usually ended up in this little garden, debating our fate – there wasn’t much else to do and the garden was lush and beautiful. That said, none of us could truly take solace in these confines, as the beauty of the place only made Bates’ fast approaching victory all the more wretched.

For we three knew that when The Beast rose to power at last, all that was good and beautiful in this world would vanish forever.

Paradise Lost

“The Lord helps those who help themselves, Laz.” Miriam replied, her next words cutting like a knife into my heart. “In the end, it was WE who failed – not Him. Had we just been patient and stuck to His plan, everything would have worked out. It’s just like Gabriel always told me – we were given a choice. Unfortunately we made the wrong decision. As a result, Bates not only has all three of our Nails, but he also now possesses my Book of Life, and John’s sacred scrolls.”

“We’ll see.” I muttered, my anger having returned in the last few weeks – especially after Bates robbed me of the priceless Scroll of the Illuminated Angels – one of the keys he would eventually need to complete his Armageddon Rite. “Damn shame if you ask me. What a waste.”

“But is that really it?” Alan asked again. “Are we just going to give up and accept fate? Are we done fighting?”

No Mas

“Our Moment of Truth has passed.” Miriam replied. “We failed in our mission. If the world is to be saved, it will not be from our actions.”

“She’s correct.” I agreed, feeling small in my faith. “All we three can do now is wait it out. We’ve been reduced to mere bystanders. If there is still anyone left to help, the task of saving the world will become their job now.”

“But who could it be?” Alan wondered. “Is there anyone left who has the power to oppose The B—“

He was interrupted by some activity off to our right – the guards parted to allow one of the interior gates to open, but just then the haze of the sun’s rays beamed suddenly brighter, obscuring the doorway…

Who could it be?

As if Nature herself was contending the way.

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Book III Table of Contents
Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.23 Out of the Frying Pan

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Book III: Chapter 23
November 13

At the revelation of my rescue attempt, a newfound hope was evident on the faces of my friends – therefore I repeated my earlier question, “Are they safe? Do you still have The Nails?”

The Nails of Jesus

At that point the smiles fell from Alan and Miriam, and I didn’t need to hear them answer to know that it wasn’t good.

Even still, Alan advised, “After we left you, we went to Rome. We found Miriam’s Letter from La Papessa. Unfortunately Cardinalate Marrollo found us.”

Cardinal Marrollo

“He forced us to see Benedict.” Miriam took up the tale. “We thought Marrollo gave The Pope La Papessa’s letter and that Marrollo was working for Benedict.”

“The good news – at the time anyway,” Alan added, “was that Benedict convinced us that he was NOT The Second Helper and that all of his overtures to support Bates in the world spotlight were just a ruse – meant to allow him to keep tabs on Bates. Sort of a keep your friends close and your enemies closer type of a deal.”

“Well, given what went on out there tonight, I’m not sure we can trust Benedict anymore.” I replied. “This is a VERY private meeting and he would have had no reason to show his support for Bates’ Ma’bus persona… unless he really meant it.”

“That’s what we feared.” Miriam agreed. “We could hear all the shouting when they were sentencing us.”

“OK. OK. But what happened with you and Benedict?” I tried to change the subject.

“Naturally he wanted our Nails.” Alan answered. “We told him we would go get them and bring them back, but after we left him we chased after Marrollo instead. For although I could do nothing to stop him, I realized that Marrollo never gave La Papessa’s letter to Benedict but instead used a slight of hand to slip him a worthless re-creation.”

Marrollo’s slight of hand was good but not this good, eh?

“So you noticed that ruse too, eh?” I smiled. But when he didn’t understand how I could have know about the trick, I added, “Never mind, please continue.”

“So anyway, when we learned that he did not in fact give La Papessa’s letter to Benedict, we surmised that Marrollo was actually in league with Bates.”

“And we reasoned that if Benedict was not the Second Helper, then Marrollo must be!” Miriam added.

“So we chased Marrollo to Baghdad.” Alan continued. “Miriam used her mind tricks to help us to infiltrate the infamous Dr. Ma’bus’ palace. She tracked down both of our villains and then we stormed in upon them in one of Bates’ private chambers — ready to send The Beast and his Helper back to the Fiery Pits! But then…”

A long pause.

“And then?” I prompted (now regretting the fact that my power of Sight had been taken from me!)

“To this day, I still am not sure what was really was going on there.” Miriam eyes were distant. But it was a scene I will never forget…”

“Well, did you find Bates in there or not?” I asked urgently.

“Oh, we found Bates…” Alan explained, “And Marrollo… and they were indeed in the Chairman’s chambers. Furthermore, they were quite… distracted – which allowed us to sneak in on them. But they were not in fact alone – Mystery was there too.”

Mystery

“Mystery, but why?” I asked.

“Because Marrollo was crucifying her to an upside down cross right there within Bates’ bedroom!” Miriam blurted. “And all the while, Bates was looking on… and laughing.”

Ma’bus or Jafar?

“Oh how Mystery writhed in agony upon that cross.” Alan closed his eyes tight against the image. “Regardless of the fact that she was an evil wench, the sight itself was horrible. The blood… the screaming… her eyes…”

“Yes. Yes. I get the picture.” I replied anxiously. Then, running back to the door to listen, I urged my friends, “We’re running out of time here. What happened next?”

“This is where it gets confusing.” Miriam answered. “As we barged in, Bates was handing Marrollo the case that held Alan’s Nail. Marrollo was wearing some sort of glove that apparently allowed him to pick up The Nail and he grabbed it just as Bates turned around to face us. And then it was as if we all got caught up in a sea of… er… emotional mystery.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s hard to explain.” Alan said. “Mystery was barely alive and when she saw us barge in, for a brief moment, a ray of hope crossed her face. But when she recognized us, and especially when she laid eyes on Miriam, she knew we would NOT be saving her from her fate.” Here I noticed that Miriam couldn’t help but smile even as Alan spoke on. “As for Bates, he stopped laughing and instead began to rain down curses upon us.”

“But none of this sounds too surprising to me.” I interrupted. “They reacted just as I would have expected.”

“Let me finish. You are correct — Mystery and Bates didn’t do anything that surprised us.”

“It was Marrollo!” Miriam couldn’t resist. “As he was holding The Nail, and while Bates was facing us — with his back towards Marrollo – I caught hold of the cardinal’s eyes – if only for a moment. And… I caught a glimpse into his mind… and the <thought> I saw there was amazing!”

Nobody said a word as Miriam took a moment to collect herself, “I would swear on my life that, in that moment, Marrollo was contemplating using The Nail… to stab the demon that has become Ghaz al Ridwan Ma’bus!”

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24 – Into the Fires
Book III Table of Contents