The Second Woe by Ezekiel Kincaid PART TWO
(Check out Part One HERE)
Betzalel and Ariella stood at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the valley they just left. The smell of human and demon carcasses arose from below and filled their noses.
“I don’t know which ones smell worse,” Ariella said. “The humans or the demons.”
“The demons,” Betzalel said, “But the humans aren’t far behind. Worse smelling sentient beings by far. Time to eliminate the smell.” Betzalel gave his sister a sideways glance. “Better back up, sis.”
Ariella took a few steps back.
Betzalel held his sword in front of his face, then brought the Flaming Eye of Yahweh to mouth level. He tilted his head and the sword to where the Eye was aimed at the valley and blew. When his breath connected to the Eye, flames of fire shot out of the Eye and into the valley. Betzalel walked along the edge of the cliff, blowing into the Eye. The flames continued until all the dead bodies were set ablaze.
“A true Valley of Gehenna,” Ariella said, squinting and sweating because of the heat of the flames.
When Betzalel was certain he had engulfed all the bodies in fire, he ceased his blowing. The flames blasting from the sword halted and he lowered the blade.
“Come sister,” he said. “Let us go to the Pit.”
The two witnesses made their way to the Pit and the smoke from the burning bodies ascended from the valley and into the heavens.
Ariella went to look over her shoulder at the fire.
“Don’t,” Betzalel said. “Remember Lot’s wife?” He gave his sister a smirk.
She returned the look. “Well, aren’t we the clever one.”
Betzalel put his arm around his sister, and the two traveled to the Pit.
#
When the two witnesses were about five hundred yards from the opening of the Pit, they noticed something in the distance. A shadowy mass moved toward them. Groans arose from the blackness, and as it moved into the rays of the sun, they saw what it was.
“They’re infected. The plague has taken hold already,” Ariella said.
“The plague of the Second Death,” Betzalel shook his head. “The dead coming back as mindless eating machines.”
“What do they call them here? Zombies?” Ariella spun her staff then held it in a ready position.
“Among other things,” Betzalel said and gripped his sword with both hands at the hilt.
The two witnesses broke out in a sprint. When they were twenty yards from the infected, they paused. The plague was still fresh. The skin of the infected hadn’t began to rot and they still held a semblance of humanity.
Betzalel raised his sword and looked into the Flaming Eye of Yahweh. The orange eye was almost open all the way.
“We have to make this quick,” he said. “Time is short.”
“Looking to set a new record, brother?” Ariella smiled.
Betzalel remained stoic. “No, I’m looking forward to dying and getting off this miserable planet.”
“Well, who am I to deny a dying man his last wish.” Ariella let out a battle cry and charged into the sea of flesh.
Betzalel followed his sister.
The blade of Ariella’s staff connected with the first four as she swung and sliced through their necks. The heads fell to the ground, where she stamped them with her feet and smashed the skull.
Betzalel followed with a destructive blow of his own. Two of the infected stood stacked, one standing behind the other. Betzalel raised his sword over his head and brought it down with brute strength. The blade connected with the crown of their heads and cut all the way through them – from their heads to their crotch. The bodies of the two infected slipped in half and thudded to the ground.
Steel met flesh under the scorching sun. The blood glimmered like dark rubies as rays from earth’s light source shinned on it. All the siblings could hear were the sounds of crunching bones and shattering skulls. In a matter of minutes, they had worked their way through the infected, killing every last one.
Ariella stared at her brother. He looked as if he had been baptized in a crimson river. Something warm dripped into her eyes. She wiped the blood with her finger, then saw her forearm. Chunks of it were missing, having been chewed off by some of the infected.
“Good thing we are immune,” Betzalel said, motioning with his hand at her wounds.
“Still doesn’t mean it feels good.” Ariella winced as she touched the mangled flesh.
“You don’t have time to lick your wounds. Look.” Betzalel pointed at the Pit with his sword.
A pulsating, red light appeared from the opening. The earth trembled, and smoke arose from the pit as its doors opened. A thundering, buzzing sound was followed by the locust demons emerging from the Pit.
The demons were black and red in appearance. Insect wings carried them through the air and their scorpion tails were poised to strike. Their legs were those of a horse. Their chests were covered in breastplates of fire, and their arms were human except for the hands, which were a single claw resembling a sickle.
These demons were similar to the previous ones, except for their faces. The skin from the human like face and lion jaw had been stripped away. The skulls of the demons were sleek and shiny, and they had no eyes.
The demons were on a course to find more humans to torment, but when they saw the two witnesses, they changed directions.
“Be ready. The ones that make it through my fire will not be happy,” Betzalel said.
“Ready,” Ariella said and stepped in front of her brother. She crouched into a fight stance with one hand gripping her staff as the blade rested on her other forearm.
Betzalel raised his sword up to his mouth and blew into the Flaming Eye of Yahweh. The fire erupted like a solar flare, blanketing the demons in its burning fury. The howls and screeches of the demons arose in a harmony of pain.
Their wings disintegrated under the scorching heat and the demons spiraled to the ground. Some of them, too overcome by the flames, laid on the earth and let the fire take them. The more resilient ones extinguished themselves and turned their rage on the two witnesses.
Betzalel and Ariella could feel the ground vibrating under them as the hoofbeats of the demons pounded on the rocky earth. As more demons arose from the Pit, Betzalel continued to cover them with flames. Ariella stood ready and waited for the first demon to come in range.
She didn’t have to wait long.
A demon came within fifteen yards of her. She threw her bladed staff like a spear and struck the demon in the neck. The point sank into its flesh and protruded through the other side. Ariella sprinted towards the demon as it staggered. She grabbed her staff with both hands and twisted, then retracted the blade from its throat. The demon made gargling sounds as it held its hands over the wound to try and ease the flow of blood. Ariella used the blunt end of her staff to strike it across the face. The demon stumbled to the ground and bled out.
When Betzalel was certain no more demons were going to be released from the Pit, he ceased the flow of fire from his sword. He turned his attention to his sister. Ariella was using the length of her bladed staff and the power of the wind to keep the demons from getting close to. The speed and quickness in which she was able to swing the staff enabled her to keep checking her perimeter. She killed with deadly force every demon coming in range of her weapon.
Betzalel ran to join his sister in combat. The demons were so preoccupied with Ariella, they never saw Betzalel. He was able to decapitate ten of them before the rest were aware of his presence.
Though the demons’ breastplates were forged in the fires of the Pit, their strength crumpled under the powerful blows of Betzalel. So strong was Betzalel, and so sharp was his blade, each strike was powerful enough to kill.
One by one, and sometimes two by two, the demons fell to the ground in a death twitch. The stench of demon blood and innards began to rise in the air. When the final locust breathed its last, the two witnesses heard more sounds coming from the Pit.
Betzalel looked at the Flaming Eye of Yahweh. It wasn’t closing.
“Sister, I think it is time to face our death,” Betzalel said, his eyes going from the sword to the Pit.
“What do you think it will be like?”
Betzalel shrugged. “Don’t know. I’ve never died before. But Yahweh says it is necessary. As a sign for these wicked people.”
“But it won’t be the end for us, will it?” Ariella’s face had traces of doubt in it.
Betzalel shook his head. “No, my dear sister. Yahweh said we would rise again, and He can be trusted.”
“Very well.” Ariella still seemed to be plagued by uncertainty.
“Now,” Betzalel said and placed a hand on his sister’s cheek, “Let’s face him. We have to let him kill us. The bite from his tail. We must allow him to strike. This won’t be like all the previous times.”
Ariella went to answer, but the ground shook again, and a creature emerged from the Pit.
The beast arising from the Pit was the size of a small mountain. Its head was a black goat skull with no eyes. Its body was feline with black and red stripes. Its feet were paws but its hands were human. Its tail was a gigantic serpent.
The creature stepped out the Pit and glared down at the two witnesses.
“So, Abaddon, we meet again. Or what is it they call you on this planet? Tetromet?” Betzalel said, staring up at the monster.
“Your souls will taste oh so good,” the Tetromet said. Its voice was deep and forceful. It was the voice of nightmares. When it spoke, tentacles retracted in and out of its mouth hole. “You have interfered with me for the last time.”
“I doubt that,” Betzalel said, then raised his sword over his head. He brought the blade down in a stabbing motion, sinking it all the way through the foot of the Tetromet.
The Tetromet’s scream sounded more like a roar.
Following her brother’s lead, Ariella jammed her blade into the other foot.
The Tetromet reached behind his back and over his shoulder. He unsheathed his sword and brought it in front of his face. The blade was flame of fire, and the hilt was bone. He swung it at the two witnesses, but they were able to roll out of the way.
But the Tetromet was quick. As Ariella rolled, the Tetromet used his paw like foot to trap her. Ariella laid helpless on her back, feeling the roughness of the paw on her skin. The claws from the paw were out and dug into the ground.
She tried to fight it.
“No!” Betzalel cried. “Don’t fight it. You have to let him!”
Ariella gazed into her brother’s face. He looked so confident, yet she looked so terrified. Tears glistened in her eyes and she tried to be brave. She didn’t say a word. She only nodded her head in agreement.
Ariella stopped fighting.
The Tetromet retracted his claws and sheathed his sword. He reached down and scooped Ariella up with both hands. He grabbed her by the hair and let her dangle in the air.
Ariella shrieked.
Betzalel cried. It took everything in him to hold back—to just sit there and watch his sister in agony. But he had to. Those were the orders.
The Tetromet’s serpent head poised itself, ready to strike.
The serpent bit.
Ariella groaned.
Betzalel screamed her name.
The head of the serpent was so large, its bite radius encompassed half of Ariella’s body, from her left shoulder down to her left foot.
The warm venom flowed through Ariella’s body. The places where the fangs struck hurt, but the venom began to numb everything. Ariella felt a deep sleep coming over her body. Her last waking sight was seeing the angst in her brother’s face.
The Tetromet dropped Ariella’s body to the ground, then fixed its sight on Betzalel.
“Old nemesis,” Tetromet said. “You are making this way too easy.”
In a fit of rage, Betzalel held the Flaming Eye of Yahweh in front of his face and blew as hard as he could.
Flames exploded from the eye and devoured the Tetromet.
The Tetromet let out its screaming roar again.
The smell of singed hair filled Betzalel’s nostrils. As the Tetromet burned, Betzalel ceased the fire from his sword. He ran to the serpent tail, and thrust his sword through, just behind its head, pinning the snake to the ground.
Betzalel stepped in front of the serpent and stared deep into its black eyes.
“You will only win because Yahweh gave orders for us to let you.”
Betzalel took both hands and pried open the snake’s mouth. He placed one foot on its jaw and a hand on the top of its lip, keeping the mouth open. Betzalel gazed at a fang. He took a deep breath, then thrust his other forearm into it.
Betzalel winced in pain. He felt the warm venom pump through his body. His final waking sight was seeing the Tetromet pat out the last of the flames on its charred body.
The Tetromet picked up the carcasses of Betzalel and Ariella and carried them to the city of Sodom. He threw them in the street to the entrance of the city.
“Here are the ones who prophesied against you!” The Tetromet hollered. “Look at them now! What do you think of God and his promises and his threats and his judgments! He can’t even protect the ones He sent!”
The people gathered around the bodies of the two witnesses. For three days they celebrated the death of the two prophets who tormented them with their preaching and with their judgments.
On the third day, while the entire city of Sodom was gathered around the bodies, the heavens opened. One like the Son of Man appeared in the sky. Waves of light descended and rested upon the two witnesses.
Their flesh was restored, and their wounds healed.
And they came back to life.
The people of the city gasped in fright and stood frozen in fear.
The Tetromet watched on in disbelief.
Betzalel and Ariella stood to their feet.
“The second woe has passed,” Betzalel said, shouting at the people. “Behold! The third woe is soon to come!”
After he was finished speaking, a cloud surrounded the two witnesses and took them into heaven.
A violent earthquake hit the city and destroyed a portion of it, killing thousands. The rest of the people who survived repented and gave glory to God.
The Tetromet returned to the Pit and waited until a more opportune time.
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