Seconds- Chapter 2

"The Vortex"

         The beasts emerged with a menacing presence, closing in. Hearing the same terrifying sound, Alex's grandfather yelled and tried to flee, but in one swift motion, the cheetah-like creature pounced on him. Frozen in place, Alex could only watch helplessly as his grandfather was attacked, bound, and tossed around like a rag doll. Defenseless and dragged by his feet, the creatures retreated into the vortex. Hearing his grandfather's agonized cries, Alex acted on instinct, diving in without hesitation—a choice he instantly regretted. Tumbling headfirst, he plunged into a dark, dusty void, chasing after his kin... and the beasts. Though he could no longer see the woman who had been with him, he sensed she lingered somewhere in the folds of time, falling miles behind him into the endless descent to Hades.

Falling—that was all Alex felt. Down, down... and further still. How could a reality exist beyond time? How could he be plummeting and still glimpse the hotel room they had been in? See the timeline stretched like a thread? Hear his mother’s voice on the phone in Kentucky? See the wooden chest in the attic and the dusty watch that had brought him here?

He fell until he didn’t. Abruptly, Alex hit dry, cracked ground in a dark abyss. Pain surged through his body as he gasped, trying to straighten his leg. Air escaped him, and he struggled to suppress the rising panic.

“Get up, Aonnis. You must get up.” The woman’s firm voice echoed, though she was nowhere to be seen. Swallowing the fear pounding in his chest, Alex forced himself to his feet. Every fiber of his being screamed, “Be afraid!” He felt like a fool for resisting it.

Squinting into the darkness, he strained to make sense of his surroundings. What was this place? Sight adjusting, Alex scanned the dark terrain. Surrounded by what seemed to be walls of damp, hot soil, he looked up to see how high they went. Miles went on, and still, a ceiling couldn't be spotted. Before him were outlines of mountains, valleys, deep pits and doors... So many doors. These doors consisted of different sized openings; some wide and tall, others skinny and short. There was no sun: there were no moons... Just a pitch black that lay so heavy and stagnant it cloaked him. Where was he?!

Suddenly, the deafening crescendo of noise returned, enveloping him completely. The hairs on the back of Alex’s neck stood on end. His breathing remained labored, and it was then he realized how heavy and the atmosphere was. Thick and hot, the very air pressed against him physically, as if it were trying to breathe as well. He could only take in short, laborious puffs, for a full gulp simply took too much effort.

Alex's sense of smell returned simultaneously, and with it, a pungent blow of decay, sewage and death. Gagging, he staggered, searching frantically for any sign of his grandfather. Where was he?

A scream pierced the air and caught Alex's attention. Far east of the abyss were great, steep steps that lead up to a horrifically beautiful palace. The creatures pulled his chained grandfather with such force, he cried out in pain when his feet couldn't keep pace, for the chains that bound him were constricting, and the rocks of the land were sharp. Ginormous gold and brass doors opened on command, and Alex instantly lost sight of them. Hurrying to keep up, Alex squeezed through the doors right before they closed, ducking behind a copper urn. In all of the beauty of the place, he sensed that everything, even down to the furniture, was cursed and evil. For that reason, he didn't touch anything.

Only yards ahead, his grandfather shouted helplessly. Tears pierced Alex's eyes, yet for some reason, they couldn't come out. He knew his grandfather was a rough man, but he couldn't think of any issue that warranted a punishment this devastating.

Entering an area Alex supposed to be a throne room, he scurried behind a stone creature, a grotesque gargoyle.

"Aonnis..." the woman whispered in his mind. "They can't see you."

Blinking, Alex paused, stifling a horrible cough. How could he be physically there, taste, hear, feel, smell, and still be unseen? God, he felt like he was suffocating! Against his will, he released a ragged cough, bracing for the response of the creatures ahead of him. Sure enough, though his cough echoed off of the walls, nothing ceased in activity. Cautious, Alex stepped into the open, taking note of his surroundings with acute and quick observation. The floors shined so, he saw a polished reflection of himself in a glance. Chairs sat in elaborate fashion, in the form of a U, with a throne at its base. The creatures threw his young grandfather in a heap before it.

When Alex saw the man who sat on the throne, he halted, still feeling exposed to the eye. Was that...?

Before him sat a tall man of 8 feet, dressed in a black suit. His head sat on enormously broad shoulders, and part of his head was crushed. In some glances, he appeared as the businessman... in others, a vile creature with horns, and in some instances, a serpent coiling and uncoiling. What remained the same to Alex were his eyes. They were a pale green; and the coldest eyes he'd ever looked into. Filled with hate and violence, within a single look, Alex understood that this man was responsible for the worst atrocities to exist in history. It were as if a mask slipped off, and Alex could see creation for what it was. His whole life, he understood people to be the reason for corruption... but what he saw changed that.

Standing, the man's height boasted, and he planted his feet in triumph.

"You don't know how long I've waited for his moment, Soter. It would seem my hard work has paid off... you're finally here." His voice rumbled with baritone, weakening the ears of those who heard it. His grandfather's name was John... Why was he called Soter?

Weeping profusely, his grandfather struggled to respond between sobs. "Hard work? Why am I here? I didn't do anything to come here. Please, I beg of you!"

Laughing viciously, the man strode back and forth, brooding in pride. "Why, why why... They all say the same thing! Don't you know it was all me? How could you be so blinded? I twisted your childhood.... I sent the woman that enticed your father's heart. He's here too, by the way. I overwhelmed your mother with the thoughts of regret and shame, and it made her sick. So sick, she hadn't the strength to hear the truth about who she was! I didn't get her soul, but she left before her time. Oh yes... I gave you a good start. They made their choices... But Soter, so did you. Truth spoke to you... told you the right way to go, but instead you used your pain as a shield. You listened to my servants of darkness and stole... drank... fought... slept around... did evil. And you believed you were God. You had no idea it was me telling you to kill yourself, did you?"

"No, it can't be true!" He cried in agony.

"It is. Your purpose was too great for me to let you live. You were called to help many people in the earth and lead a great awakening, an awakening that would have destroyed my forces! Stopped many of my plans! Alas... you're here now. Another soul

trapped in eternal damnation."

"No! It can't be! I repent! I'm sorry! Who do I repent to? Who cares for my soul?"

In the midst of the weeping, Alex became keenly aware of the hotel room of which his grandfather's body physically lay. An emergency team worked tirelessly, performing CPR in desperate attempts to revive him. Alex could see the woman who'd been there before, stepping graciously into the room, entering time. kneeling down, she spoke gently.

"Breathe."

All at once, the whispering voices of wind blew in ecstasy, and his grandfather's soul was snatched from the abyss, and placed back into his body. A sharp gasp sounded from his lips as he screamed upon consciousness. He was alive!

Leaping, Alex shouted joyfully. His grandfather wasn't lost after all! Paying attention to his present state, Alex realized he was still in the throne room. The ruler in the business suit thrashed violently, roaring in anger. Suddenly, a being appeared in the midst of the room, a being that emitted so much light, the creatures cursed and fled, and the darkness was chased away. Even the ruler cowered in fear, gasping.

"Why have you taken him? He belongs to me! He made his choice!"

"He belongs to the King." The being responded, emanating authority. Alex could see the outline of wings in the flame of light.

"I am the King! I rule the earth! I send my servants, and they answer to me!" The man morphed into the serpent, hissing and wailing like a petulant child.

"Even you must answer to the King Of Kings. You're allotted the earth until your time of judgement. He knows those who will repent and turn to Him. He knew that Soter need to see this place in order to do so. Others who won't repent even if they see this place do not get a second chance. Because in the end, they will still choose to follow you. Soter will fulfill his calling. Your kingdom will suffer. And he will pave the way for his family, and a generation will be restored upon the earth. Remember, serpent... You are working on borrowed tiiiiimmmmmeee-"

The being's voice droned out, and Alex could hear the gong of the antique watch getting louder and louder. Pulled out of the vortex, he was placed further down the line in a distant memory.

He saw his grandfather in blurred snapshots—praying in a bedroom, joining a church, getting baptized, meeting his grandmother, and marrying her. Together, they handed out food, he fixed roofs, she comforted children, and they both helped the homeless. The images came all at once, yet made perfect sense. To him, his grandfather was a man devoted to prayer, but not like anyone he had ever known, near or far. What he saw was a broken man, stripped of pride and security, lying prostrate in desperation. No matter the setting—home, work, church, shelter, even the bathroom—his posture never changed. In every circumstance, his response was prayer. At times, words failed to form, and instead, sounds emerged, piercing through the ceiling and reaching directly into the heavens in the form of light beams.

             Suddenly, Alex became overwhelmed with a feeling unlike any he'd experienced before. He was allowed to carry the burden of his grandfather's travail. Wrecked, Alex knelt in the place he found himself in, unable to bear the weight of it. His heart was overwhelmed with need, rejection, pain unimaginable, betrayal... and passionate obligation. He experienced all of the moments at once in a flashing blur that zoomed in on the individual instances of his grandfather's prayer life. Why did he feel them as if they were his own?

   Opening his eyes, he marveled at the scenes before him. This wasn’t the reprobate man Alex had been told about. He was a quiet force of good, a man who gave without asking, who bore burdens silently.

In another scene, Alex saw a woman clutching a letter—his grandfather’s handwriting. Her tears fell freely as she whispered, “He saved my life.” She wept over a check that read $10,000. So many instances were shown, and the sound of applause and victorious shouts sounded all around Alex.

The woman who remained unseen reappeared and stood next to Alex.

“He touched more lives than you know,” she said. “But he believed that true service required silence. He let others speak ill of him, if it meant protecting them.”