The Second Messiah

"Armageddon has arrived!" Jason Reeves murmured as ominous visions flashed across his consciousness assuming a life of their own.  Firstly, he saw the images of twelve life forms gathered around a circular table with a cross at its center. Then the agreement was reached. Lastly, was the pronouncement: “The Earth must be destroyed!"

The words echoed in his mind like the forlorn cry of a lost cave dweller.  The cascading images of death and destruction accelerated through his mind, portending the end of the planet earth. Images of children playing in the park sent a dark chill through his spine as his eyes widened in horror.

People ran frantically without purpose or destination.  Then suddenly, everything went dark like a candle being snuffed out. All the streetlamps, electric lights, vehicle headlights and all instruments generating light mysteriously turned off. The engulfing darkness swallowed the landscape reducing all of the varied contents to a uniform blackness.

  As the visions continued, he could feel the screams and terror of the people meandering in the dark. The panic spread with a fury akin to the ripples of a large boulder violently thrown in a still pond. Parents tried to comfort their grieving children. Strangers tried to succor other strangers People embraced each other for comfort. The darkness seemed to dissolve individual identities while affirming a common humanity.

"My mission!" He exclaimed.  "I must accomplish my mission."

The Ford Thunderbird continued roaring down the California foothill highway.  The road was two lanes, smooth and well maintained despite mudslides of several years ago.  It twisted gently, with gradual rises and dips as it headed into the low valley.  It was like a lazy serpent- its body curving and undulating.

Jason Reeves pressed harder on the accelerator.  The speedometer rose steadily: 70 miles per hour  . . . 80 . . . 90 . . .  There isn't much time, he told himself.  So little time.

***

Thunder rumbled in the distance as lightning daggered across the darkening landscape.  It wasn't raining, but fog had crept in from the west, moistening the April night sky.  Cold droplets had gathered on the windshield, creating a milky mush for his wipers to scoop aside.  It was what the weatherman on the car radio, with a dubious sense of humor, had forecast as a "frizzle" - a combination of fog and drizzle.

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, he saw the glaring beams of headlights as they leaped like the eyes of a darting cat from over a rise in the highway.  Jason's eyes widened as the lights grew huge, transforming the wet windshield into a white, translucent soup.  A horn blew its raucous warning.

Jason swerved to the right to avoid a head-on collision.  There was a shattering crash, a crushing jolt.  The Thunderbird spun, twisted, and plunged into what seemed an endless blackness.  Pain slashed through Jason's arms, legs, head, and chest.  He howled a piercing scream that reverberated through the black emptiness.  He felt a thumping and a crash as the thunderous impact hurled Jason away from the car.

Maybe this is it, his mind pondered.  Maybe this is the end. And so soon.  I've failed!

A short time later, from out of the blackness came a bobbing light.  He barely heard the crackle of feet through the underbrush.  An anonymous voice said, "Good Lord!  What a mess!"  Strong hands pulled him away from the car.

A moment later, as he smelled the sickening odor of gasoline, there was an explosion.  From the outward periphery, he could feel the intense heat and hot light touching his body; in sharp contrast to the cold dampness of the dark earth.

"Hang on, fella," said the man's voice.” I’ll get help."

An eerie silence was broken only by the hissing of flames in the background.  Jason Reeves closed his eyes, struggling to remain at least half conscious.  The agonizing pain seemed to slow the passage of time.