Dawn at Dusk

The angel reached the door of the Archive. Doors were not a necessity in any part of the Kingdom. They were used as a measure of courtesy, not for security or privacy. When he opened the door he saw his friend Pete sitting at the archive console.

"Troubled?" He asked when he saw his friend look up.

Pete shook his head and smiled at the presence of his friend. In his old life Pete was the charge of this angel. Pete would later come to know his protector as Seth.

"No, my friend. Just doing a little self maintenance." Pete said.

Pete got up from the console and moved around to embrace his friend. They were equally as large as the other.

"Maintenance, huh!" Seth said.

"You know as well as I that this war isn’t over. It’s just taking a thousand-year sabbatical. So I’m here reminding myself of the grace and mercy I’ve received at the hands of the King--hence maintenance." Pete said with a smile.

"Good!" Seth nodded his head in agreement. "Just don’t stay locked up in here all night. The Prince is feasting tonight in Jerusalem and he wants all section 117 administrators there to get their instructions for the coming season."

"I know, I know!" Pete replied.

"And--Raffa will be wrestling Asa tonight. It should be good." Seth said as an after thought.

"Alright, I’ll be there, don’t worry."

"I never worry!" Came Seth’s reply as he exited the room without using the door, more or less to stress the point of faith.

Pete went back to the Archive and sat down again, smiling. After a moment of thought he pulled up a scene. A three-dimensional scene came to life above the metallic orb that was the Archive. All things could be seen, both physical and spiritual. Pete could now see what he was not able to before. Before his eyes, he saw angels interacting with humans on a level that before the Change-- was unfathomable. Pete could see people moving about while right beside, above, and below, war raged between the servants of God and the angels of Lucifer.

Pete touched the console and brought up a particular scene that was dear to him. It was the day that he was raised from the dead. He saw himself walking down the street. Surrounded by a company of the enemy, they would guard him from any attempt by God to win him over. Behind them he saw Seth tailing them, the look on Seth’s face was unabashed excitement. It told him that he knew something grand was about to happen. Pete couldn’t suppress the smile that was forming as he looked at the expression on Seth’s face.

Pete followed the scene and saw himself walking toward a building that had a massive contingency of the enemy. He could see now and again the servants of God darting in and out harassing their flanks. The only difference he could see between the two sides was the faces and eyes. The servants of Lucifer had an arrogant, hateful look and their eyes were black and cold, while the servants of God had a peaceful and confident look to their face and their eyes burned with the fire of God. This war was continually raging with no quarter given.

As he walked toward the building he saw his future friend Rosa come into view. Beside her was an enormous Guardian, sword drawn and ready for battle. As the two approached his group, the Guardian stepped forward a pace and swung the sword in a high arc.

"The Lord commands, give space," he said with a voice that thundered with authority.

Pete saw the company of the enemy that surrounded him erupt into a frenzy of obscene gestures and cursing. Pete was unaware as he walked toward the building of the skirmish that was about to take place for his benefit.

With their attention on Rosa's guardian, Pete’s company forgot about Seth. Seth moved like lightning and swooped down on the enemy, slapping the top of their heads with the palm of his hand. Enraged, the enemies’ faces contorted into unnatural shapes and all but their captain took off after Seth. That left the captain alone against the Guardian. None of the enemy from the building would leave their post. They merely stayed there and made sport of their comrade’s misfortune. Rosa’s Guardian made quick work of the captain dispatching him to Tatarus. Now Rosa had the time she needed to do God’s work. As Pete surrendered his life over to the King of Kings, a brilliant light began to shine on them. The warm, intense light covered them both. It was if the light was alive. It pulsed with power and might beyond measure.

About that time, Seth was bringing the company of fallen ones full circle. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the light. They had seen this before! They could say nothing--they could do nothing. It was too late! Pete had been taken from them. An arm reached out of the light and with a finger wrote a name in blood-- the blood of the Savior. Then a voice came from the light and said, "The blood of the Son has covered him. He is now Mine!"

Seth and the Guardian both bowed in unison, then the light was gone. Pete saw that where his heart was, there burned a dim light. Pete saw that same light in Rosa, but Rosa's was brighter. In time Pete’s would grow as well.

Pete remembered that day well. He sat back absorbing it all, letting the archive run, but now he wasn’t paying attention. Instead he let his mind go back. Back through the Kingdom years, back through the wrath, back through The Change, through tribulation, to "the time". The time when it all started for the small group of unsuspecting friends that found themselves in the middle of a battle that would pit holy against unholy. A time when the limits of their faith would be tested and battered with grief. A time when the world would beat their plowshares into swords. A time when all hope would seem to be lost. Yet that is the way to test the metal of faith.