Serpents's Heart

“Erase any doubt that still lingers within you Robert, and accept who I am. Accept your destiny.”

A few hours went by, and the rain died down, but the winds were howling with incredible ferocity. It was looking less and less likely that we would be leaving. Virginia went to call her fiancée and to inform him of my offer. I on the other hand decided to browse local hotels on my tablet, all the while cursing nature.

“What did he say?” I asked as Virginia returned.

She sighed. “Well, he was surprised. I’m not completely sure how he felt about it. I told him I don’t know yet if I’m going to take the job, but it still felt like I said to him I wasn’t coming home.”

“If you do decide to stay, I will pay to bring him with you should he want to join you,” I assured.

She smiled a moment. “Thank you, Doctor. I will tell him that next time I see him. I don’t know if he could commit to that. I just figured he’d be happier for me…”

“A major decision like this, especially one that makes you choose between who you love and what you love will not come easily,” I said. “This will affect the people you care about just as much as it will you. The choice you make will be the right choice, and I will stand by it no matter what. Like I said, you needn’t worry about making the decision any time soon.”

A flash of lighting and the accompanying thunder signaled a resurgence of the storm. I groaned in frustration, and I continued looking for a nearby hotel that hadn’t filled up. I looked up from my tablet, and I saw another man in a coat. Just a single man this time; no others with him. I looked away and back and he was still there. Our eyes met, and he nodded slowly and walked behind a corner. Against my better judgment I decided to find out what the hell was actually going on.

I found the man waiting for me at an exit to the back of the airport. I was surprised we both were able to go back here without some sort of security attempting to stop us. In fact, I didn’t think I had seen a single soul for a little while. I followed the man outside, and that’s when I lost him again, just as it started to rain.

“I’ve finally gone nuts,” I growled.

“I’m afraid things are far grimmer that you can ever imagine, Doctor Robert James Hunter.”

I turned around to see the man in the trench coat standing before me. He was an imposing figure, unflinching and standing tall. He had piercing blue eyes that just locked onto me in a mesmerizing gaze.

I took a step or two back. “What in the bloody hell is going on?”

The man lifted up a hand, and pointed a finger to me. “You have in your possession an object of the purest evil.”

“What do you—” I paused when I realized what he meant. In my back pocket I pulled out the satchel containing the ruby the bishop gave me. “You mean… this, don’t you? Who are you?”

“My name is Erik,” he replied. “I am an Angel of the Celestial Army.”

“You?! An Angel?!” I cried. “Do you take me for a fool?!”

Erik’s expression shifted for a moment to that of frustration. He took a step back and held his arms out from his side. He took a deep breath, and shut his eyes. A flash of lighting and a clap of thunder lit up the area, and his shadow… His shadow showed a large pair of wings from his back unfurling into their full glory. Wings that I could not see otherwise. He opened up his eyes, and for a moment, they flashed in a brilliant white light.

“Erase any doubt that still lingers within you Robert, and accept who I am. Accept your destiny,” he said.

I thought a moment. “So the others I saw…”

Erick nodded. “Angels as well, they are my brothers.”

“What do you know of this?!” I demanded, holding the ruby out in the palm of my hand.

“You know all too well what this is,” he replied. “‘With the Serpent’s Heart I curse you! With the Serpent’s Heart I curse Man!’ A mortal has touched the ruby and thus the game has begun. I am here to protect and guide you.”

“This gem… you mean to tell me this is the heart of the Tempter cut by the Angel in Eden?!” I shook my head in disbelief. “This can’t be a coincidence. What about the bishop? He was the one who gave me the ruby! Why isn’t he the one being visited by the Angels?!”

“Because the game only begins when the jewel is touched by the hand of a mortal,” a distorted, but familiar voice replied to my answer.

My hair stood on end. Erik’s eyes shifted focus and he glared at whoever, or whatever, stood behind me. Cautiously, I turned to see for myself. Draped in tattered clothing was a humanoid figure. Its hands and feet were not covered by the rags, and were animal like. His hands were long and skinny, with claws protruding from the fingers. The feet were almost lion like, with three large, clawed toes and a dew claw emerging from the back. Its face… looked familiar, but it was elongated, and twisted into a fang-filled smirk. The eyes were pools of black, with no sign of pupils or life. Though faint, I could detect a trace scent of sulfur.

“You were never mortal,” I said, realizing who this creature was at one point. “How could a Demon infiltrate the Church as a bishop?”

The Demon chuckled. “You are naïve to think I am alone. There are many of us who lie and wait for our orders. Since the game has started, I expect orders to change.”

A warning to all mortal men who yet walk the Earth: the game has begun.

“What kind of game is this?!” I asked.

The Demon smiled. “The Angel never told you? I suppose you’d better ask him…”

Erik hung his head. “I am the reason for this happening. I am the Angel who cut the heart from the Serpent. I am the one who cursed Mankind and the Serpent, using the ruby to torment them both.”

“Once or twice a century it seems, the ruby is found by a mortal,” the Demon continued, “and when touched, somewhere on Earth, the earth is swallowed by a gaping maw that goes to the very depths of Hell, where he is bound… and he is freed.”

“That crater in Siberia!” I gasped. “Wait… who is freed… you do not mean—?”

“Of course I do,” the Demon nodded. “Our Master… Lucifer: The Dark Lord of Hell!”

“Lucifer has been freed?!”

The Demon chuckled. “The touch of your hand allows him to walk upon the earth for a time,” Erik said. “It is part of the curse I placed on Mankind. You are tasked with throwing the ruby into the pit, forcibly sending him back into his seclusion. Should you be killed and he touches his Heart, however, that which has been foretold in Revelations will come to pass.”

“Yet you play this game, knowing you may lose,” I said. “You even had the ruby, yet you didn’t return it to Lucifer yourself.”

The Demon chuckled. “We all enjoy a good sport. And even if I wanted to give it to him, I couldn’t. He will only be allowed out to walk the earth once a mortal happens to finger the gem. I could just as easily kill you now and bring it to him, but I have my orders to let you linger for now. I was just lucky to happen upon it instead of your friend, there. If one of us finds the Heart before you creatures, we have an advantage of finding someone we want to be the bearer.”

“So you chose an atheist who is more bound to ignore the warning signs in an attempt to gain an upper hand,” I concluded. “What of the other Angels? If all you Demons are upon one side, surely the Angels side with me.”

“They are here merely as observers,” the Demon continued. “Sure, a few may aid you, but most don’t care which way it ends so long it does.” The Demon smiled and chuckled. “What you Humans don’t realize is that most Angels rather dislike Humanity. However, most keep their objections quiet. I’m sure you’re well aware of what happens to those who don’t listen to daddy…” The Demon pointed to me. “I must part for now. My Master is calling for me. But I’m sure we will meet once more. Farewell, Doctor Hunter. Should we meet again, perhaps there will be a bit more fun in it.”

The Demon vanished in a blaze of fire and maniacal laughter, leaving nothing but a scorch on the ground and the nauseating stench of sulfur. I fell to my knees, gazing at the ruby. Such a magnificent gem belies a terrible evil, and now the fate of Mankind had been thrust upon me. I wanted to wake up. I wanted to scream and realize this was nothing but a nightmare, but yet there I remained.

“I fear you may still not understand the circumstance of which you are a part,” Erik said.

I clenched my fist tightly and slowly stood. I turned to Erik and glared at him. “What I don’t understand is how in the hell you let this happen in the first place! How many of these people have been forced to play your wicked little game? What I don’t understand is why God didn’t send your ass to hell for your insubordination instead of letting this thing continue for so long. And you better not say ‘God works in mysterious ways!’”

Erik sighed. “I do not know for sure why Father cast me from Heaven, yet not damn me to Hell.”

“In those documents… It said that you need to learn to love Mankind again. What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means in truth, I never liked Mankind,” he answered. “The curse I placed upon the Serpent’s Heart was out of spite: For both you and Lucifer. My brother, for betraying us all; and you because Father started to forget about us, little by little, after he created Man. I resented Mankind. For this, he understood my jealousy, and my penance was to live among you and help those whom I’ve cursed prevent the coming of the End of Days.”

“Then take it!” I said holding out the ruby. “Take the damn thing, and send it back into hell yourself! Leave me out of this!”

“I cannot do that.” Erik said.

“Why the hell not?!” I demanded. “Don’t actually answer that. I can infer your response based on the rest of this nonsense.”

“You seem reluctant to accept your destiny,” Erik remarked.

“Reluctant isn’t the word I’d use,” I quipped.

“Ultimately what you do with the gem is up to you,” Erik said, “however, I hope you choose what is best for Mankind.”

The door I exited from squeaked open and Virginia poked her head out. “Doctor Hunter?!” She looked around for a moment and saw Erik and me. She sighed, and pulled a hood over her head, and gingerly stepped out into the rain. “What are you doing out here?! Who is this?”

“I’m… not entirely sure how to explain this,” I stammered.

“I will return to you tomorrow for your decision,” Erik said.

“For what decision?!” Virginia asked. “Who are you? What’s going on?!”

“I recommend you rest.” Erik took a few steps back, and nodded. In a blinding flash, Erik vanished.

A bewildered Virginia and I stood in the rain in silence for a few moments. Both of us were trying to comprehend what had just happened. I looked to her, and she to me. Her eyes begged me for an explanation, but for the life of me I couldn’t. All I could do was look down at the ruby still held out in my palm. The fate of all of Mankind. The Serpent’s Heart. And it all rested upon me.

With few words, we made it to a nearby hotel. She and I got two separate rooms. As we entered, we shot one another a disparaging glance and we slowly entered our rooms. I sat on my bed, and my head fell into my hands. I… didn’t know what to do. Trying to process what had just happened went nowhere. Streams of tears fell from my eyes and down my cheek.

Everything I’d come to know to believe had shattered. I was afraid. The literal Devil was supposedly walking the Earth. I’d met a creature from the underworld. I had with me the most evil thing in existence. And as afraid as I was, I think I was equally as angry. Why me? Why me?! I lifted my head and I stared at the ruby sitting on a stand next to the bed. I took it in my hand, and with a scream, I threw the damned thing at the door, hitting the wall with a great thud.

Without missing a beat, the door opened, and Virginia looked in. Twice it seemed she tried to speak, but nothing came out. After another moment, she took a deep breath. “Doctor Hunter…”

I took a breath myself, and tried to gain some composure. I walked to the door, and let Virginia in, picking up the ruby as well. “I think I owe you an explanation… to the best of my ability, that is.”