Electus [Working Title] Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO:

               I woke up the next day in my own bed, sweat matting my hair to my face as the sun shone through the window as it did every morning and I silently cursed myself for not buying darker curtains. I push my hair off my face, my hand catching my eyes. I look down at them first at my palm than at the back of them assuring myself there’s no mark there. Once I was satisfied there was nothing there I breathed a sigh and removed myself from my bed. 

               “It was all a dream,” I spoke to no one in particular. “It had to be a dream.” A knock sounded at my door, “Jules, it’s meeee.” Billie said in a sing song voice on the other side. I knew it had been her, no one else shows up at my house at this time of the morning. I opened the door and trying to smile. “God, you look worse than you did yesterday.” She informed me. My smile quickly turned into a frown as I almost snatched the coffee from her hand. “Thanks.” I mutter. “I’m only saying this because I love you…” she says. “Honey, are you feeling alright?” I nod, sipping at my coffee. “I just pulled an all nighter.” I lied.

               Since I didn’t remember how I even got to bed I decided it best not to tell her about the vivid dreams I had about a man, symbols, and angels. In fact I think it best I forget what happened entirely. “Oh because of the second crater?” she asked. I glanced up from the cup in my head; my eyes no doubt the size of saucers as I hesitated over my next words. “There’s another crater?” I had just assumed that was part of my dream as well, that it didn’t really happen but perhaps maybe I did see the crater and that’s what triggered my dream. 

               Inwardly, I shook it off chocking it all up to my imagination running wild. “Yes, you didn’t know?” She asked. “Isn’t it your job to know?” I roll my shoulders in a light shrug. “No it’s my job to keep Aiden and the other reporters in Coffee and pencils.” Billie wrinkled her nose, frowning a bit. “Are you sure you alright?” She asked again. I nodded once more before wandering off toward my room to dress quickly. 

               I ignored Billie’s pleas about changing this morning as I needed to get to that crater to see. I had hoped it would be in a completely different place but it was exactly where I found it in my dream and I resigned myself to it being somewhat of a coincidence. Nothing was different about it, it looked the same as the other and there was nothing in it but dirt. 

               By the time I got to work I had managed to brush off all thoughts of my dreams and go about work as usual. Once I was finished with all the running around I sat at my tiny desk in the corner of the building and began to write about what I saw this morning. “What’s all this?” Aiden’s voice peered over the top of my cubicle. I blinked a few times before glancing toward him. “It’s my report on the second meteor.” I told him.

               A laugh filled the small space within my workspace and I frowned. “What?” I looked away from him and down at my paper noting with a start that what I had written had nothing to do with the meteor. Instead, I had drawn the symbol I’d seen in my dreams over 100 times on the sheet of paper before me. “Be sure and have that on my desk before the end of the day.” He teased before walking away. 

               I scowled down at the paper in front of me, confused a moment over how this could have happened when I felt a set of eyes on me. I looked up, there was no one watching me from inside the building and when I looked outside I couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped me. The man from my dream was standing outside the building staring in at me. “That’s impossible.” I said to myself. 

               Without a second thought I had already gripped my bag and was moving toward the door when I ran into another reporter. “Oh I’m sorry,” I said before stepping around them. I had made it to the door faster than I ever have before but once I was outside I couldn’t find the man. It was like he had vanished. It wasn’t possible, unless he’d gotten in a car I would at least have seen him walking away. I wondered if perhaps I was going crazy. People didn’t just disappear and I certainly didn’t write all those symbols with a sound mind. 

               I tried to shrug it off and go about the rest of the day as normal but I couldn’t just let it go. This couldn’t be happening; could my dream have been real? I shook my head before placing the paper down on my desk. I turned out my desk lamp and after gathering my things I made my way back towards the entrance. I walked the same way home I always do, glancing in the direction of a large light the seemed to almost hum through the air. 

               The light lit up the crater where there was no doubt a ton of scientist and police working on trying to figure out what happened. After arriving home I let Rosie out in the front as I have done every day since I got her. I sat on the bench and for a moment allowed myself a second to think. I thought about what the man had said about the nephilim, about how they died out a long time ago and that they were certain no others existed. I wanted to know more about this, not that I believed it was true but out of curiosity. 

               I called Rosie back and I went inside. After sitting down at the table I opened by lap top and typed in the word, “Nephilim.” Some of what I found was no surprise to me, having read a bit about them a time or two but there was one passage that seemed to strike a chord: 

Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

I didn’t know my father; my mother only told me that he was a good man who made some bad choices. She didn’t speak of him often and when she did that’s literally what she said each time. She was dead now and I could no longer ask her who he was. I had been looking through some pictures as a knock came through the door causing me to jump. I glanced away from my computer and toward the door. Billie’s voice did not speak through the wooden frame at me as she so often did. 

Curiosity pricked the back of my mind as I got up from the table and started toward the door. I glanced through the peep-hole and gasped. The man literally of my dreams appeared through the small hole in the door. “Juliette,” he spoke my name for the first time, “Please, I need to speak with you.” I begin to pace behind the door, “This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening.” I repeat over and over as he speaks once more, “I understand your hesitation but I can assure you I will not hurt you but the demons…” I pull the door open quickly, gripping his shirt and dragging him into the house. 

“No! There are no demons and you; you cannot just say those things out loud while people are listening…” I point around the room, gesturing to the walls. “These are very thin walls and I don’t need my neighbors thinking I’m hanging out with crazy people.” I exclaim, “Listen, Ezekiel if that’s even your real name, I am not who you think I am and if I were you I would seek help because it’s obvious you’re having some sort of mental breakdown right now.”

“I assure you I am not.” He spoke evenly. “If I can show you something, if I can prove you are who I say you are will you come with me?” he inquired. I don’t know what to say, I can’t believe what I’m hearing, what my life has turned into. In just one short day I went from Juliette Lange, intern, to Juliette Lange possible nephilim, no longer a daughter of man but a son of god himself. 

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Electus [Working Title] Chapter One

 CHAPTER ONE:

               I sat just outside my small one bedroom loft on a bench that was located in the midst of a tiny garden. The flowers have closed up for the day but their sweet scent still wafted through the air that surrounded me. There was a slight chill in the air causing me to cross my arms over my chest. Sapphire gemstones take in the sight before me as a few cars make their way passed my house. A bark can be hard in the distance where my dog, Rosie, chases something that must only be seen by her eyes.

               Another moment passed before I called my dog back to me and turned to walk into the house just as the ground shook beneath me. The rumbling ended as quick as it began and I tried to both steady myself and while soothing my whimpering dog. “Was that an earth quake?” I questioned myself, looking around as other people filtered out into the street. 

               I finally made my way back inside and toward my door. Once inside my apartment I located my living room and took a seat. I grabbed the remote off the small round table that sat next to a large leather lounger and switched on the TV. I didn’t have to turn the channels much as it seemed the news was on every one. “Investigator began searching earlier tonight for where this meteor might have hit but all that remained was a deep crater in the midst of the central downtown area. I repeat, no meteor was found.” 

               I pressed the power button off and shook my head. My dog, a large golden retriever, placed her head in my lap. I ran my hand across her head, “I don’t know how to explain it either, Rosie.” I told her. She simply wagged her tail at the sound of her name and I found myself smiling down at her. That’s why I loved her, she was so oblivious to the world all she knows is how to love you and that’s what I needed in this crazy life of mine. 

               Being an intern at the Haven Sent Times here in South Haven, New York, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, in fact it’s nothing like what I thought. I thought I would be a reporter by now, reporting on things like this meteor rather than fetching donuts but alas things haven’t quite gone as planned when I up and moved to New York. I expected to be working at the New York Times not the Haven Sent but I would take what I could get at this point.

               Before a second thought crossed my mind I was up and out of my seat looking for some paper. I hadn’t gotten anything published in the newspaper yet but that didn’t stop me from submitting my work to the editor. I’m certain by now he has a pile up to his ears of stories I’ve written. Though Aide was only the editor of a small town newspaper that didn’t seem to stop him from being a pompous ass about it, of course his Senator mother and Sherriff father didn’t seem to help things either.

               I scribbled a few notes on the meteor and my experiences making a mental note of finding the meteor site tomorrow and get a full account of what had happened prior to going to bed. That night I had a dream I was riding a fiery rock straight into the New York Times building.

              

               The sun shone through the lightly colored curtains on my window just as a knock sounded at my door. Rosie barked a few times before I was able to tear myself out of bed. I didn’t need to check through the peep hole to know who was outside my door. No, I was certain it was Billie, my best friend. She’s a writer too but more like mystery novels than reporting the news. I meet her at a writer’s convention a few years back and we’ve been almost inseparable ever since. 

               She has a nasty habit however of showing up at my house several hours before I need to be awake. “Knock, knock.” Her chipper voice sounded on the other side of the door. “Rise and shine sleepy head… I brought coffee.” The word ‘Coffee’ perked me up and I opened the door to let her in. “Good morning, Jules…took you long enough, its cold outside.” She went on and on as she walks towards the small kitchen. I closed the door and followed after her. “Did you know a meteor hit in the park? Of course they haven’t found the meteor so one can’t be too sure what it was… Maybe an alien!” she offered. “Billie, I love you and all that but I don’t think I can deal with your theories until I’ve had my coffee.”

               She smiled crookedly, tilting her head to look at me. “You look terrible, did you sleep?” She inquired. I made my way toward where she’d set down the coffee on my table. After removing the lid I lifted it to my lips and allowed the warm liquid to burn my throat. I sighed into the cup before putting it back on the table. “I guess I just had weird dreams last night and also, it’s 6 am.” I informed her. “Oh it is? I’ve been up since 4, you know us writers gotta go where the inspiration hits.”

               I shake my head, “Speaking of, you want to go with me to see where this supposed meteor struck; I need to get a closer look.” Billie frowned, “You’re writing another paper for the snooty editor of yours aren’t you?” I lift my shoulder in a light shrug, “I figure if I bother him enough he will publish something just to get me off his back.” Billie smiled, patted my head and then after picking it up she handed me my coffee back. “You’re going to need more of this.”

               It didn’t take long before I was dressed and ready to go but Billie insisted I go back to my room and change three times before she was satisfied. “You never underestimate a good pant suit, Juliette…that could mean the difference between being a published news reporter and…you.” I huffed on my disapproval as she just smiled at me. 

               We made our way to the center of town where there was a small park. It wasn’t much but it had several park benches, a fountain and a swing set. However, now smack in the middle laid a large crater at least as wide as I am tall which for me is short but for a crater it seemed huge. The cops that were still on scene wouldn’t let us close enough to really get a good look inside but we noted the vast emptiness of the hole. If it was really a meteor we assumed there would be rubble from the rock in the hole whereas this looked as though it were simply dug out.

               I was jotting down a few notes when someone walked by me, running into my arm and causing me to scribble across the page. “Hey!” I exclaimed turning toward where the man was now walking away. “Rude!” I hollered after him but he didn’t look back instead he simply kept on walking. Billie was looking at him as well a curious grin on her lips as she turned back toward me. “Did you get a good look at him?” She asked. I shook my head, bending over to grab the pen that he’d knocked out of my head. “No,” I said, standing back up to turn and look at his retreating form prior to connecting with Billie’s gaze. “He was cute.” She said. I rolled my eyes. “You would notice that.”

               After leaving the site of the meteor Billie went on about whatever it is she does during the day as I went to work. The day seemed to drag on with the same old activities, save for the one moment I got to myself where I wrote up my report on the meteor and the many theories that surrounded it. Before I left I found Aiden, “Mr. Reece,” I said, feeling silly calling someone who was merely a year older Mister but he insisted. “Yes, Miss Lange.” He turned away from what he was doing to look at me, a smile etching across his features. “Here’s my report on the meteor.” He glanced down at the paper in my hand before taking it.

               “Why Miss Lange, you quite efficient aren’t you? Even my own field reporters have yet to get their papers into me.” I hoped that meant I would get the credit and he’d print it but I wasn’t about to get my hopes up. “Thank you, I read it right now.” I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or polite but since he wasn’t often either of those things I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d really read it. “Thank you.” I said before turning to make my way out of the building.

               I made my way across town and back toward the building in which I lived when I saw it. A bright white light, streaming across the sky like a shooting star but instead of fizzling off it plummets towards the earth. A loud rumble rocks the earth beneath my feet as I take off running toward what I thought to be a meteor. 

               It seemed to hit not far from my home and upon arriving on site all that was found was a tiny glowing white globe. The light within the sphere pulsed as it seemed to dart around in the hole made in the earth. Soon, it stops and for a moment it’s almost as if it’s observing me. Like it’s taken a moment to assess its options before it moves once more, this time in my direction. 

               It came at me at an alarming rate and I took a few steps back before turning to run away. I looked back as it continued to chase me down but just as I turned to continue running I ran into someone. The orb didn’t stop its pursuit of me and just as I fell onto the person in front of me the gleaming light hit me. “No!” a voice hissed in my ear. That light had vanished just as it hit me and I glanced around for it before feeling two hands pushing at me, “Oh.” I said moving to stand.

            

           “What did you do?” the man asked. I shook my head looking around once more for the sphere. “Where did it go? Did you see it?” I looked toward the man who was now swiping at his clothes before frowning at me. “It’s inside you, how is this possible. There are no nephilim left on the earth.” My gaze widened, “Excuse me, nephilim?” I wasn’t always the church going type but I knew enough about the bible to know what the word ‘Nephilim’ meant. “Are you drunk?” I ask him. He reaches for me and I move out of his grasp. “You need to come with me now before they find us, surely they saw the light.”

               I watched the man curiously, taking another step away. I hadn’t smelled alcohol on his breath but anyone who’s rambling on like he is must be on something. “Look, I don’t know what you’re on but I’m not going anywhere with you, alright?” The man glanced around frantically before talking a solitary step forward. “You aren’t going to believe anything I’m about to tell you but I need you to listen.” He began. “That light you just saw, that was my grace… I lost it when I fled from heaven and fell to earth.” My eyes close into slits as he continues, “The children of god, otherwise known as the Nephilim were thought to have died of thousands of years ago but now my grace is inside you.”

               I pulled in a calming breath, “You’re right I don’t believe you.” I inform him before starting away from him. He began to follow me, “Please, go back to the crack house or something.”

              

             “Stop, you need to listen. My name is Ezekiel and I am an angel of the Lord. Without my grace I will surely die…” He moves at a pace that seems almost too quick and comes to rest in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. “Look,” he nods toward me. “Look at your hands.” I lift my hands and glance down at my palms within them are two small designs. “What – What are they?”

               “They’re glphs,” he holds out his hands. “I have them too, we all do. They represent the nails that Christ received on the cross.” I shake my head. Those marks were not there before today, of that I can be sure. I began to rub at them as if they would come right off. “This—this is crazy.” I stutter, still trying and failing to remove the marks. “They won’t come off.” He told me. “They are yours now.”

“I don’t want them,” I said, hysteria corrupting my tone. “I don’t even know what’s happening,” the man who called himself Ezekiel stepped forward. “I’m sorry you have to find out this way, but they will surely be upon us soon we must go, do you have a safe haven?” I glanced toward the road that led to my house. I could see the building from where I stood and I turned back to him unsure of whether or not I should invite him into my home. 

What if all this was some sort of hallucination and next thing I know I strapped to a chair in his basement having a tea party with his last girlfriend and his mother. I glanced back down at my hands; the marks that started out a charred black seemed to slowly fade as they were now shimmering silver. “They will return when you need them,” Ezekiel spoke again. Almost as though his words just struck me I look up. “Who? Who’s after us?” I inquire, panic rising in me again. “The demons.” He answered plainly and with that the world went black as I fainted.

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Electus [Working Title] Prologue.

PROLOGUE:

“Juliette Lange here for the Haven Sent Times, reporting on all news that’s fit to print,” I said allowed to my own reflection in the mirror. I stood in my bathroom, my hair light golden tresses tied into a messy bun on the back on my head and a white skin mask covering my face as I held my hair brush in my hand. 

This is often how I started my mornings, daydreaming about the day when I’m a real news reporter prior to getting dressed and going to work as an intern at the Haven Sent Times, where I was mostly sent off to get coffee for the higher ups and the occasional bear claw. I arrived at work at the same time I do every day just tickled with the idea of another day of humiliation at the hands of one Aiden Reece the head honcho around these parts. 

His parents are senators and sheriffs and he’s the editor to the Haven Sent Times, which in reality isn’t a big accomplishment but he takes it very seriously. “We must be a well-oiled machine, working together as one to get the news out to the people,” he said in yet another one of his rousing speeches about solidarity.

The day went on much like any other day. I was sent on endless trips to Dunkin’ Donuts and the supply store, because they couldn’t order everything at once, oh no that’s what my job entailed. It was like I was surrounded by bad karma and was now being subjected to the same mundane activity every day of my life but if this is what I had to do to get to the New York Times then I would do it.

South Haven is a small town just outside of the city where little ever happens but all that’s about to change when a sudden meteor hits the earth but it’s not just any meteor and it’s not just a rock that causes the large indention in the earth’s crust but I’m getting a head of myself, perhaps I should start from the beginning.

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