Chapter One – The Arrival
Day 1, Monday
“Help me God!” Zoose called out as he tumbled through large prickly branches. Zoose landed under a tree, a large evergreen, a whispering pine. Fortunately, he lay on a bed of pine needles. He looked up and saw the branches move in the wind. They seemed too big for the tree.
“Why am I here?” questioned Zoose. For the first time ever he experienced a sense of being lost and alone. Then he remembered, he had come to earth. He had actually volunteered. God needed someone for this mission and Zoose, known for his adventurous spirit, expressed his wish to travel to earth and take on the cause. At first God was somewhat reluctant to send Zoose, but he knew Zoose’s heart. What he lacked in experience, he would make up for in zeal and inventiveness.
Zoose was a schem, a special angelic being. He was not the first schem to be sent from heaven and certainly would not be the last. Many had come to earth before him and helped men through their troubles, even though only a few specially gifted men would ever know about them and their accomplishments. Zoose had been sent to earth to defeat evil in the heart of a child and free the child to live a life where good would reign. It was a rather poorly defined mission, and the truth was that Zoose had no plan
and no idea what to do.
(Later in the story)
A light was on inside the room. What he saw surprised him. Things were everywhere; the room was in total disorder. Do humans live in a mess? He was used to perfect order in heaven. It was the natural way of things. His thoughts on disorder were quickly interrupted as he again heard the mournful sound.
Getting closer to the window he saw a small person, a child, he reasoned, lying covered with tangled blankets. His heart quickened, he instantly knew that this small person was the reason he was sent to earth by God. He felt big surges of love welling up inside of him; it was God’s love coming forth through him.
Suddenly, a large man walked into the room. He had light colored skin and graying dark hair. He had a mean expression on his face. It scared him to see the man; he was so big compared to the little person in the bed. His mean expression gave Zoose the feeling that his intent was to do harm. The man kicked the bed while at the same time shouting a verbal threat. The little person grabbed at the tangled blankets and covered his head. He began to sob albeit without making much noise. The man turned, walked to the door and turned off the light.
(Later in the story)
Zoose placed the Bible on the sofa and stood up. He looked carefully at the demon. It was floating in the air, at the top of the stairs. It didn’t seem to have a distinct form; it appeared to have a head, a body with arms but no wings. It made him quiver all over. He could feel evil coming toward him in waves, making him feel sick. Zoose sensed that the demonic spirit could neither see him nor detect his presence. This too was a unique characteristic of schems, which made them extremely useful for doing God’s work.
“This demonic spirit must be here for a reason,” he thought. Zoose heard footsteps upstairs. He felt it must be Harry. “This evil spirit must want to do something mean to Harry,” thought Zoose. At that point, Harry appeared at the top of the stairs. He walked right past the demon who turned and followed Harry down the stairs.
Zoose then saw another unbelievable thing happen. In a wink, the demon jumped onto Harry’s shoulder, pushed its hideous head into his ear, and then disappeared completely into Harry’s head. Harry stopped and rubbed his forehead. “O God,” Zoose cried out, “what should I do?” God didn’t answer, leaving Zoose frustrated by his lack of understanding and knowledge of what he could do to help, if anything.