Stone of Truth by Donna J. Farris
Chapter 4 -Stormy Skies over Sheboygan County
“Hoards of Deceivers, Liars, and Destroyers are amassing north and east of the city,” declared Papa. “We know what they want. Jasmine My Faithful Healer, defend Beloved and lead your sisters accordingly. Aza’s troops have already been sent and await your command. Eli, you know what must be done. Direct your brothers as you have been commanded. At this time, Major Cyrus and his squadrons are moving to secure their positions and will soon be in place. Truthful Ones will be ready when the decree is issued.”
“Sir, given the scope and intensity of hell’s assault should not Colonel Ryak be alerted as well?” reverently asked Eli and Jasmine in one accord.
“Truth and Justice are the strength of his weapons! His Radiant Ones are aware of the dark spiritual forces empowering those in high places. They have engaged such wickedness from the beginning and understand the nature of our enemy. Ryak saw the need and has already recalled a Strike Team from the state capital. When the time is right, he and his holy ones will be ready.”
“Beloved, are you alright?” asked Jasmine softly.
“Well the hair on the back of my neck just stood on end and I’m covered from head to toe with goose bumps! Otherwise I’m fine. What on earth just happened?” asked a concerned Trinity, still wondering what other hidden threats may be lurking in her woods.
“Nothing of this world! But fear not, Dear One,” answered the gentle guardian.
Then, in an effort to divert Trin’s attention away from her near miss, Eli quickly changed the subject.
“You must be tired. It has been a long day and the rain begins. Come, climb on my back and let me carry you home. And I am told, if you sit in the very center of my back, in the spot where my wings meet, the ride will be pleasant indeed.”
Eli winked at Jasmine. He was hoping such an experience would at least temporarily take Trinity’s mind off the troubling events of the day. It worked. Trinity’s face brightened as she considered the white unicorn’s exciting offer.
“Really? I would love to ride on your back! Are you sure it’s…well…ok?”
“Be at peace, Dear One, and come,” patiently responded the white unicorn.
As both unicorns remained silently in place, Trinity stood to her feet and adjusted her coat. “Wow!” she said, “I can’t wait to tell my students about this!”
Gingerly climbing to the top of one of the taller tree roots, Trinity firmly took hold of Eli’s left wing and carefully slid down onto his back. As she wiggled around trying to find the center point as Eli had instructed, Trin remembered the object which had initially drawn her to the nut grove.
“Wait!” she cried. “The stone!”
“Have no fear, Trinity Rose Woodard,” replied Jasmine. “I will guard Papa’s gift.”
As the threesome began their trek back to the house, Trinity could not help but notice the droplets of water still falling from the ends of Jasmine’s feather-like wings. Finally, she could no longer contain her curiosity and had to speak.
“If you don’t mind my asking, how did you get so wet?” Trinity queried the small unicorn. “Was that you I heard playing around in my pond earlier this evening?”
“Well…not exactly,” answered Jasmine. With a pony’s giggle the unicorn added, “Let’s just say I was dipped in a fountain of living water.”
Knowing the others thoughts, Eli winked again at Jasmine. It was one of the many ways they said “I love you” when on assignment.
Neither Eli nor his sister spoke any further to Trinity about the unexpected intruder. However given her inquisitive nature, there were a thousand questions Trin was dying to ask. But during the short time she had spent with the two unicorns, Trin decided it may not be wise to press such fantastic beings for information they were not immediately willing to disclose. She concluded her questions would have to wait.
When the group reached the back porch of Trinity’s house, Captain Aza was waiting.
“Sir, a contingent of Healers has secured the perimeter. Warwick was discovered hiding in the woods north of the grove but has since been routed east, away from the property. He fled without a fight, no doubt rejoining his kindred rebels. There remains little doubt that preparations for a major assault in Plymouth are indeed under way.”
“Excellent work, Captain!” replied Eli. “Let them come. Heaven is ready!”
As Eli carefully positioned his body close to the side of the redwood deck, Trin slid off his back and onto the patio. Being unaware of the host of angelic warriors now moving freely about her estate, she looked directly at Eli and teasingly said, “I’d offer you both a midnight snack, but am not sure what you like. I don’t keep any horses on the property so I don’t have any hay or oats. But I might have some carrots and a couple of apples in the fridge. Would that work?”
“You are most kind, but that will not be necessary,” Eli replied with a chuckle. “Please Dear One, get some rest. And remember, whether your eyes see or your ears hear, heaven remains at your side.”
All of the sudden, Trinity could barely keep her eyes open. She yawned and for the first time realized how very tired she was. Wearily, she thanked her new friends for their comfort and support, lovingly rubbed the foreheads of each creature, and said good night. Locking the patio door, she turned out the lights downstairs and went straight up to bed. She was already half asleep by the time her head hit the pillow. She dreamt of brilliant, unicorn-like beings flying over Plymouth and of Cameron Mitchell.
That evening a hungry owl enjoyed a scrumptious rabbit dinner, a herd of deer munched contently on a midnight snack of sweet grass, and beavers happily scurried about their nightly rituals. The rest of the Woodward estate remained quiet until morning.
Vigilant, Jasmine stood watch at Trin’s bed side while Eli patrolled the grounds circling directly over the Woodard residence. Healing Ones extended the perimeter to include all of Glory Meadows, the Lawrence estate, and the marshlands. Captain Aza and the bulk of her troops remained in a state of readiness at various assigned locations throughout the state of Wisconsin.
Undetected by earth-bound eyes, scores of wicked unicorns and two-legged, human-like winged creatures stealthily entered the skies over Sheboygan County. Beginning at the intersection of Constitution Avenue and George Washington Square in downtown Plymouth, they flew north over City Hall and Plymouth Press. Turning east they flew over the baseball field at Lincoln Park, over Random River Golf Course next to Discovery Inn and over the buildings of Charter Airways on the outskirts of town.
Widening their sphere of influence, dark non-terrestrial soldiers continued eastward to the city of Sheboygan. They flew over the County Board of Education offices and the Sun Review newspaper. They flew over the Sheboygan County Airport and the building where Gary Simpson worked.
Before dawn, Deceptive Ones had secured designated targets as far south as Madison and as far west as downtown Minneapolis. Several contingents had also been deployed further north. At each location lying spirits fell by the thousands, gleefully capturing prideful hearts and blinding unsuspecting minds to the spiritual siege taking place in their own communities.
The Prince of Lies himself watched the deployment of hell’s army from his stronghold.
“We will not lose this battle! Do I make myself clear!” Zanti roared in a voice which made even the bravest of demons tremble. Commander Khan, Lieutenant Warwick and the deployed armies of darkness understood all too well such a declaration from their superior officer. They had served under the command of this major long enough to know the cost of failure.
“Oh Exalted One”, replied a confident commander. “Deceivers have worked tirelessly, turning multitudes away from the heavenly path they once held dear. Seductive Whisperers have them convinced that human reason is superior to God’s wisdom. Sir, they no longer value supernatural revelation. Today, humanity gladly rejects His law, His word and the sacrifice of His Son. In a generation no one will even remember His name. All gl
While the Woodard estate rested peacefully Wednesday night, the Simpson home was anything but peaceful. It was after 8:00pm when Edith walked through the front door of her home. She had been in a foul mood since her meeting with Victor Underwood, Editor of the Plymouth Press, earlier that afternoon.
“That man thinks he knows everything!” she fumed. “Boss or no boss, does he think I was born yesterday? Doesn’t he realize I have been a reporter for more than 15 years? I know how to write a story for goodness sake!”
Throwing her purse and coat on the couch, she marched straight into the kitchen not realizing her son was in the living room. Opening the top door of the refrigerator, she grabbed a large, frozen pepperoni pizza then slammed shut the freezer door. Ripping off the plastic, she plopped the icy round dough into the microwave and pushed the “Frozen Pizza” button.
“Derrick, I’m home,” she yelled. Turning around she added, “And get in here right now! The cat’s litter box stinks to high heaven and the garbage is spilling out all over the kitchen floor. Can’t you do anything I tell you to do?”
While Derrick was taking out the garbage, Edith answered a phone call from Victor Underwood. She listened quietly for a moment then exploded in a fit of rage.
“I don’t care who called you, Victor, or what they said. I told you earlier, I’m ready! I’ve been ready for months. Now it’s late and it’s been a hectic day for both of us. So how about we just give this one a rest already. Ok?”
Derrick quietly cleaned out the cat box then went back into the living room to continue his video game. About thirty minutes later, Edith and Derrick sat down at the kitchen table to their microwave pizza dinner.
“Sorry Derrick, but I’m just too tired tonight to make a salad,” Edith told her son.
The two ate their meal in silence. After several minutes, as Edith was finishing her third piece of pizza, she said,
“How was school today? Did that awful Miss Trin insult you again? She better not have. She is in enough trouble as it is. When we get through with that woman...”
But Derrick interrupted asking, “Mom, what do you mean? What’s going to happen to her?”
“Never you mind, Derrick,” replied Edith secretively. “Your father and I are handling the problem. Now if you are finished with your homework, you need to get into bed.”
“But Mom, Revenge of the Jedi is on television and Dad said I could watch it if I wanted.”
“I don’t care what your father told you,” Edith snapped back.
Continuing his rebellious plea Derrick argued back, “I don’t feel like going to bed. I’m not tired. I want to watch the movie!”
“I didn’t ask what you wanted?” coldly answered his mother. “I said, ‘Go to bed’ and that’s final.”
Derrick abruptly pushed his chair away from the table, stomped up the stairs into his room and slammed the door behind him. Edith hastily cleared off the table and put the leftover pizza in the fridge. She then quickly scribbled a note to her husband and taped it on the message board by the garage door. The message stated:
“I got tired of waiting for you to come home. Derrick and I have eaten and gone to bed. There are a couple pieces of pizza in the fridge if you are hungry. Be quiet when you come up the stairs. I have a busy day tomorrow.”
Gary Simpson pulled into his garage around 1:30am. He was exhausted! He quietly got out of the car, pushed the button to close the garage door then activated the home security alarm. As he walked through the garage door into the kitchen, the first thing he saw was his wife’s note on the message board.
“Just like Edith!” he quietly complained. “Always there when I need her!”
Gary had grabbed a quick bite to eat with a client earlier in the evening, so he was not interested in left over pizza. He deposited his briefcase and coat on the desk in his office then walked upstairs to the bedroom. Edith was sound asleep. Gary changed into his pajamas and was brushing his teeth when his cell phone rang. He answered the call as quickly as he could, but not quick enough to satisfy his slumbering wife.
Half awake and clearly agitated Edith grumbled, “For cry ‘in out loud! Can’t you take that call in your office downstairs? Do you have to keep the whole house awake at this ungodly hour?”
Ignoring his wife’s complaints and answering the late night call, Gary said, “Simpson! Yeah. Uh-huh. You got a call from who? But why?”
“Gary!” Edith yelled. “Take it downstairs!”
Gary walked out of the bedroom and slammed the door behind him. Awaken by all the commotion, Derrick opened his bedroom door and walked down the stairs hoping to see his dad face-to-face, if only for a moment. But when Derrick heard his dad say something about, “Miss Woodard” to the person on the other end of the phone call, Derrick decided to sit quietly on the staircase and listen in on his dad’s conversation.
“What do those guys expect us to do?” continued Gary, unaware his son was listening.
“We have all we need to convince the board it is in their best interest to terminate Miss Woodard. What else do they want?”
Getting out of bed and finding Derrick at the bottom of the staircase, an exasperated Edith hollered down to Gary, “Now see what you have done? Your own son can’t even get a decent night’s sleep in his own house! Derrick, go back to bed!”
Pretending not to hear his wife’s contentious comments, Gary continued his cell phone conversation.
“Are you serious? What guarantees do you have that they will succeed? Really! Your people sure know how to get the job done. Promotion? Doing what? In the Governor’s office? Sounds sweet… count me in! I’ll call you tomorrow evening once the ball is rolling to discuss our legal strategy for the Woodward hearing and beyond. Good night.”
Gary plugged his cell phone into the wall charger in his office and walked back up stairs. Derrick was already in bed when his father returned to his room and shut the door behind him. Derrick hated it when his parents argued, but their nighttime quarrels were the worst. Even behind closed doors, Derrick could still hear every word.
“Edith, for your information, that was the head office in Madison. If we succeed in getting the Woodard teacher fired, they have offered me a very attractive position which would allow me to impact similar school board decisions across the nation. Think of what I could do with that kind of power, Edith!”
“Well bully for you!” Edith retorted sarcastically. “What about my career? Underwood called earlier. Seems the owners of Plymouth Press and several other news-reporting agencies are also very interested in Friday’s meeting. He said a lot was riding on the outcome of this particular hearing. Powerful people in high places are hoping to use this hearing to create a national movement to once and for all remove Christian teachers from all public schools. If my local articles can influence people to support these goals, he said I could count on a job at a syndicated newspaper with national readership reporting on educational issues in America. I don’t have to tell you how much money we’re talking about here. We’d probably have to move to Minneapolis by the first of the year.”
“Well that’ll never happen! Promotion or no promotion, and that’s final!” Gary said sharply. “I’m tired. Good night!”
Edith had never allowed her husband to have the final word in any argument since their marriage, and was not about to start now. She yanked the blankets out of his hands and threw them over her shoulders. Quickly turning on her side away from Gary she mumbled,
“Christians! What idiots! Anyone who believes in some kind of invisible, all-powerful being, who claims to have the right to tell me how to live my life, has no business teaching the children of this country. The sooner these religious fanatics are banned from public education, the better! And I will work to make that happen whether you like it or not Gary Simpson! Good night yourself!”
Derrick lay awake long after the house was finally quiet thinking,
“What are they g
As dark thunder clouds filled the skies above Sheboygan County, sinister warriors multiplied along the streets, in the homes, and in front of more and more schools in eastern Wisconsin. With a steady stream of reinforcements now on the move, Warwick’s troops easily gained full possession of the Simpson home. While the family slept, demons danced wildly in the bedrooms, on the bookcases in Gary’s office, on top of the TV in the living room, and outside along the front of the home located at 666 Mockingbird Lane.
At Plymouth Press, Lying Spirits became more brazen with every passing hour. Dark shadowy figures crawled up and down the outside of the three-story office building like creeping black ants. As ravenous wolves they howled from the press rooms to the conference rooms to the cafeteria. They huddled in the parking lot, glaring, hissing and scratching at each another like wild animals, waiting their chance to enslave human souls with enticing lies and cunning deception.
As their numbers increased, so did the arrogance of Commander Khan and the cloven-footed warriors under his command. Especially brazen was one lieutenant in particular. Consumed with a supernatural evil from ages past, Warwick and his Destructive Ones danced like lunatics up and down Constitution Ave. They celebrated riotously along the runways of Charter Airways and on the green of Random River Golf Course. Presuming victory, they screeched and screamed in devilish delight all the way from the gym at Plymouth Elementary School, to Simpson’s office in Sheboygan, to newspaper offices in Madison.
Under heavenly shields, Captain Aza and her warriors strengthened their positions in and around Plymouth Press. In teams of two, Healing Warriors covertly stationed themselves in corners of the basement, on attic rafters, around the back side of the building behind the dumpster and in an abandoned warehouse on the other side of Constitution Avenue. In addition, four angelic guards positioned themselves underneath the editor’s car, which had been left unattended in the parking lot overnight.
Victor Underwood had been a successful newspaper man for twenty-one years. As an atheist, he had never believed in the existence of god or any other benevolent ‘higher power.’ For him, self-reliance and the determination to win at all cost was the ticket to real power and wealth. And even though his self-centered, heartless beliefs had been the primary cause for his divorce, such a world view had served him well in business. But tonight, Victor was beginning to question his ethical foundations. Sitting alone in the darkness of his living room, he answered yet another phone call in what had been a long string of deeply disturbing conversations that evening. He lite his last cigarette then threw the crumpled, empty cellophane package across the room and continued the call.
“But I’ve known Miss Woodard and her family for years. I still play golf with her grandfather, for goodness sakes. I didn’t think it would go this far! What you’re asking me to do is wrong! I won’t do it, I tell you. I won’t!”
“As I previously explained, Mr. Underwood, too many resources have already been invested in this endeavor,” the male caller on the other end of the line calmly stated. “There is too much at stake to back out now. You knew what you were doing and where the money was coming from all those years. We really don’t care what your personal feelings are for this family. You understand what must be done and you understand the consequences of failure, don’t you Victor?”
“I told you not to worry!” bragged the arrogant Lieutenant as he stood beside his commanding officer. “He’s been playing hard ball on the devil’s team his whole life. Underwood’s done everything in his power to destroy heaven’s truth. It’s time now for a home run. By this time Friday, our threat will have been eliminated. Then I will deliver the news to our mighty Prince that heaven’s ‘Beloved’ is no more!”