Fiction - Week 25 - A Fiasco in a Restaurant.

All Characters in this story are fictitious and bear no resemblance to any living or deceased person.

A story based on Biblical truth.

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                                                                 15.

At Waterloo Underground station, on the Northern Line northbound platform, Tom Lawrence and Phil Banks felt helpless as they watched others find refuge from the hostile world outside. A mass hysteria broke out among some, but not all, who were there. It took a while before Phil realised that everyone who was panicking had the Mark, either on their foreheads or their right hand.

Phil looked at his own wound on his hand as it was healing, although the tattoo of the three intertwining sixes, known affectionately as the Clover Leaf, was still fully visible. He was hoping that this was now nothing more in God's eyes than a tattoo. Being in Tom's company meant that he learned more of the Scriptures, and the threat of eternal damnation for all who had the Mark troubled him. Neither Tom, his new friend, was able to reassure him.

He felt a deep sense of pity towards those who groaned in their pain. They claimed that the pain was sharp, like the sting of a scorpion, a bee or a wasp. But with greater intensity. What amazed the two believers was that none of the sufferers bowed their knees to God and called for mercy. Instead, in a fit of rage, they cursed God while kicking the curved wall of the tube station.

Many found refuge underground.

Tom, Phil began, do you think that the microchip implanted under their skin might be connected to the pain?

Yes, I believe there is a connection. Tom answered. In every human and animal that has a nervous system, a faint current of electricity passes through the nerve, carrying messages to the brain. The same current activates the heartbeat. The implanted microchip utilises this power to send signals to Central Intelligence and to all shop door scanners. This intrusion of a foreign body into the system looks to be the cause of their agonising pain. This is only a guess, but the chip may generate extra anger hormones in the brain, which are responsible for the rage they feel instead of desperation.

Phil sat there, astonished.

Tom, I remember you showing me the ninth chapter of Revelation, and it mentions something about these locust-like creatures with human faces, scorpion tails, long hair, lion's teeth, and breastplates as if of iron. They were told not to harm any tree or grass, nor any Christian believer, but only those with the Mark.

Phil then continued, What we are seeing now is the fulfilment of that prophecy, except that we don't see any of the grotesque creatures flying around. I have come to believe that they are spirits, and if true, we can't see them. But they must exist. Yet, the presence of the microchip makes sense! Only those who have them feel the pain.

But not everyone has the pain. Tom said. This has been going around for some months in different parts of the world. It's only now that this judgment has arrived here in the UK.

I wonder how many of us are taking refuge here? Phil pondered, despite the commotion.

Three Tube lines pass under Waterloo mainline. Tom replied. The Bakerloo, the Jubilee, and the Northern lines. So there must be six platforms. If they are all as crowded as ours, who knows, there could be up to a thousand down here. Most were there to escape from the scorching heat. But now the temperature has lowered to normal in this confinement. A few had left to escape from the commotion, perhaps to return home.

At least some more food and water have been brought in by those unaffected by either the heat or the stinging pain. Phil concluded.

Across Central London, at an unspecified police station, Peter and I were escorted back to our cell by Bill and Gregory. The three agents had gone. But we all knew that they would return. The question is when.

Days passed. During that time, Gus began to feel intense pain like a scorpion sting on his right arm. At first, he tried to tolerate it, as befits a police officer; he must keep a tough exterior. But the pain became unbearable. In a state of panic, he took a knife and stabbed his hand precisely where his Clover-Leaf mark was, as he believed that the microchip may be the cause. He let out a scream as he dug the chip out of his flesh with the knife. Then, taking a bottle of drinking water, he bathed, then bandaged the wound. Gradually, the stinging pain began to subside.

When Peter heard the scream and then found out how the officer dealt with it, he also knew that Gus was already earmarked for execution under the orders of Caligula himself. However, Peter was already aware that Gus' loyalty to the World Leader was waning. He wondered how many more affected people had realised the cause of this pain and did something about it, as Gus did. Disillusionment with the Antichrist seems to be growing among the population, as it became obvious that his demands for loyalty had become overbearing. At the same time, he has demonstrated his sheer powerlessness when faced with one crisis after another inflicted on our planet, yet still insisting that he is God.

Ten days after their initial visit, the three agents returned to the station. Led by Christopher Pike, Bill was ordered to release everyone in the remaining five cells. As predicted earlier by Peter, twenty prisoners emerged, fourteen men and six women. Bill glanced at Cell 8, hoping Pike or his assistants wouldn't ask to see who might be inside. Meanwhile, Gus feared that his bandage might give away his diminished loyalty to Caligula, so while Pike and his team of agents were present, he hid in the gents.

Bill and Greg stood with the three agents, and Pike asked, Where is Gus?

Immediately, Bill answered, I'm sorry, Gus is under the weather, and we sent him home to rest. As he said this, he hoped that none of the three agents needed to visit the loo. However, one of the agents felt a need to urinate and made his way to the gents. Although Bill was concerned for his colleague, he needn't have worried. Gus was shrewd. He had all the cubicle doors left ajar. He sat inside the one nearest the door, leaving his own cubicle door ajar. It was a very dangerous tactic, but it worked. By sitting silently, the agent relieved himself without suspecting anyone else in the restroom.

All of you, Pike announced, are to board a coach parked outside. We are taking you all to Trafalgar Square.

There was muttering among the twenty prisoners. Among the more discerning, they already knew their fate without being told. One of the men whispered to a frightened woman standing next to him,

Don't be afraid. Do you trust in the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ?

She replied, Yes, I do. Never will I take the Mark of the Beast!

He replied, Shortly, we shall be in glory! Then you will see your two little sisters run up to greet you.

They who went up in the Rapture? She asked.

You said it. He concluded.

After the coach was loaded with twenty prisoners and five officers, the vehicle pulled out to make the journey to Trafalgar Square. After a while, the square came into view. Standing in front of Nelson's Column and the four lions was a French guillotine! A large crowd of spectators filled the square. Before alighting, every prisoner was handcuffed.

Crowds gather at Trafalgar Square to watch the execution.

They were led from the coach to stand next to the guillotine. Someone dressed as a Catholic priest then stood up on a temporary platform to address the massive crowd of onlookers filling the square.

Ladies and gentlemen! The priest began to speak before a cluster of TV cameras and microphones. Our God became incarnate in a man to save the world from crisis and to usher in world peace and prosperity. However, in the past few years, there has been one major crisis after another. Let me tell you straight: these crises have nothing to do with our God and Saviour, Gaius Caligula. Rather, these people standing here - (the TV cameras begin to pan to each prisoner, one after the other) - are responsible for these natural disasters. They are the ones who must give an account to Gaius Caligula for the loss of millions of lives around the world!

Today, you will witness their execution here at Trafalgar Square. They claim to be believers in the fable of a condemned Jew who was crucified two thousand years ago. We have credible scientists from several fields all agreeing that this Jew never existed. These scientists are among the most highly educated and honoured. If they deny the truthfulness of the Bible and insist it's just a collection of fables- yes, fables to teach morality, and nothing more - then it's no surprise that these Haters - haters of world peace and prosperity - are the reason for the terrible disasters that strike our planet.

Today, they will pay with their lives. We pray that Gaius Caligula will have mercy on each of them.

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To be Continued.