A PALE HORSE

Peter sat up in his bed, noticing that the furniture and décor was from his house now and not the hospital room at St. Xavier’s, and he was relieved. He shook his head trying to dispel the last remnants of the dream, deciding he needed a glass of water. He got up and padded silently into his kitchen. He grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and poured himself some water from the pitcher in the fridge and, on a whim, decided to grab one of the sandwiches Momma Rose made for him earlier. He turned and went to the dining room table, sat down, took a bite of sandwich, and started replaying the dream.

Maybe it wasn’t a dream, though, he thought. Peter did remember Michael in his hypnosis session with Dr. Jo. Maybe this was a continuation of that memory. The more he thought about it, the more that seemed to be the case. Peter got excited and got up to find the journal he kept for Dr. Jo. She had insisted, as a condition of her continued assistance, that he keep a journal to immediately write down anything he remembered, or even thought he remembered. He hated to admit, but it had been super-helpful, and had gotten them to where they were at present. He needed to write this down before he forgot anything!

Peter ran back to his bedroom and knelt down by his bed to retrieve the journal he stored under his bed. When Peter stood back up, he saw a man sitting on the end of his bed, and three things happened in very quick succession: he yelped, dropped the journal he was holding, and banged his heel on the nightstand as he jumped backward in his fright. Peter opened his mouth to use one of Momma Rose’s wonderful swear words when the stranger, unexpectedly, spoke first.

“Yeah, don’t say that.” Peter hobbled to his reading chair by the window and slumped, swallowing the word he was going to say, while he rubbed his bruised heel.

“Who are you?” He asked, angry and terrified that this stranger was sitting on his bed, in his house, telling him not to swear, and him helpless to escape should he find the need. “What the hell are you doing in my bedroom? What do you want?”

“Think, my man! You remember me… I know you do!” The man asked. “Sorry to freak you out, though. Really, that was unintentional.” As Peter’s pulse slowly returned to normal, he finally stopped to really look at the man sitting on his bed. Still bent over, rubbing his sore heel, Peter first noticed a pair of flip-flops, next came the frayed hems of a pair of jeans that looked like they had been worn on numerous occasions, a vintage t-shirt, this time though it was not Superman that the shirt displayed, it was an anime angel brandishing a comically large sword, with two sets of wings fanned out around it. Finally, Peter looked upon a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar to him.

“Michael?” Peter croaked.

“In the angelic flesh!” he rose from his spot on the bed and embraced Peter warmly. “I heard that you had a breakthrough today in therapy and remembered me! Man, that’s great, because things are heating up and we need you.” Michael searched Peter’s face for a reaction and got … nothing. Peter was watching him with a dumb look on his face, obviously elsewhere in his thoughts. He waved a hand in front of Peter’s face to gain his attention. “Hey! You in there?” he asked. Peter narrowed his gaze, staring at the angel.

“You are here, aren’t you?” Thinking he may still be sleeping, Peter started to pinch his arm in an attempt to wake up, then remembered that he had just banged his heel on the nightstand and the resulting pain could not be part of any dream. Michael reached over and touched Peter on the foot he had just finished rubbing, the result was a warmth that spread to the offending heel, which stopped hurting immediately. The same as his shoulder in the dream! “Dr. Mike?!! That was you, too, wasn’t it, Michael? Of course it was… Superman.” said Peter, more thinking out loud than questioning his surprise guest. In answer, Michael briefly morphed into the young doctor from Peter’s recent dream, grinning. Peter shook his head, and wiggled his foot experimentally and found that he felt no pain whatsoever. “That’s a neat trick,” said Peter, then he remembered what had upset him, at least in dream-time, recently. “I wanted you to tell me so badly what had happened to me… why didn’t you? I was looking for answers and you had them!” There was hurt in Peter’s voice, and he was surprised to hear it. He guessed that it was a result of the revelation of the dream being so recent. He returned his attention to his now-pain-free foot, and wondered again at the power of the angel. He hoped that the work that lay ahead of him would afford him similar abilities. Peter had been thinking about this very thing since he awoke from his dream. He found his inner nerd excited at the prospect of saving the world with a host of angels and superpowers, and he smiled. Michael raised an eyebrow at Peter and smiled in a way that led Peter to wonder if he could hear his thoughts.

“Yeah, I can… and you need to slow down, brother. I need to explain a few things to you and answer some questions, but don’t worry… we’ll get to your x-ray vision and super strength soon enough,” Michael answered him with a wink. It was true- Peter did have a ton of questions, but before he could ask the first question Michael held up a forestalling hand and said, “Before we get to your questions, let me explain a few things to you, okay?”

“Okay, shoot.” Peter appeared to Michael to really settle in for the conversation, shifting himself in the chair to be more comfortable, yet attentive. Michael chuckled at Peter’s enthusiasm and began.

“Well, I will need to give you some backstory before you can get a clear picture of the predicament that we’re in.” Michael began. “Eons ago, before the worlds were created, the Master chose to make a race that would glorify Himself in all that was created. They were designed to protect and defend another of the Master’s creations, humans… you follow me so far?” Michael asked Peter.

“Master being God. Yes, I’ve got it. Keep going.” Michael got up and started pacing, and Peter could tell that this was something Michael must do on a regular basis. It seemed a natural response for him, like someone who thought or carried a great burden. He suddenly looked to Peter to be wearing an appearance closer to his real age, which would be… older. How old were angels? Thousands of years old? Millions? Peter’s mind reeled with the enormity of what was going on and the part he had to play.

Michael continued, “Humans were created to watch over the Earth, and we were meant to watch over the humans, but there were some within our ranks that were jealous of, not only the time the Master spent with the humans, but also the power the Master wielded. A plot was concocted, and a deal struck. Humans were brought down.”

Peter interrupted him, “Wait! Are you talking about Adam and Eve?”

“Yes… and no.” Michael answered. Now Peter was confused, and it must have shown on his face, because Michael went on. “Yes, it was Adam and Eve and, no, that is not all there is to this story.” Michael stopped pacing and turned to face Peter with a look Peter could only describe as sorrowful. “Peter, this is about the beings behind the fall of humanity.” Peter did not remember a mention of any “beings” responsible for mankind’s current Original Sin problem, other than a snake. He was confused. Michael went on, “There was a plot behind the fall of the humans… only the start of what turned out to be an extremely bad idea. These beings wanted the power the Master held over life, death, creation, and annihilation. As protectors of the Master’s other creations, they already had a lot of power. It wasn’t enough for at least some of them. They started to work against the very creation they were sworn to protect. When the humans fell to the machinations of these beings… we’ll call them the Fallen”, Michael air-quoted and continued, “they were sent out onto the Earth to watch over and protect.” Michael suddenly sat on the edge of the bed and faced Peter, letting him know that what he was about to say next was very important, at least to the angel. “Man is amazing, Peter! They are made to learn! They are made to laugh in the sun, cry in the rain, love without limits, and build wondrous things! Create! Like the Creator who lovingly breathed into them His essence, they are special! You are special!” Michael bounced up off of the bed and returned to his pacing, continuing the recitation. “The first man was made to steward the Garden, to fellowship and learn from the Master. The three of them, the Man, the Woman, and the Master would walk and talk together all of the time, each growing in their love for the others”. Michael noticed a look of puzzlement cross Peter’s face and he knew what he was thinking. “Peter, the Master loves all of you very much, otherwise He wouldn’t have made the sacrifices he did. Never forget that”. Michael went on, “The woman was his helpmate, and learned to create clothes and tame creatures to help them and feed them. She was also to bear children. Believe it or not, childbirth wasn’t originally intended to hurt. After the Original Sin, a lot of things changed, Peter”. Michael stopped walking and turned to face the window that looked down on the cobblestone street awash in the dim light and fog. He looked to Peter as if he was trying to recall an incredibly painful memory. “Their betrayal hurt. It hurt all of us. Although the Master was wounded by their transgressions, He made sure to help them in other ways. In His great love, the Master gave the couple sunlight and rain, materials to make things, and the intelligence needed to create a home.” Peter could tell Michael was a thousand miles from Louisiana, and thousands of years from where they were. Peter thought in awe of just how old, regardless of how he looked, Michael really was. The archangel turned and smiled knowingly, and again Peter felt Michael knew what he was thinking. Michael turned, returned to his pacing past the dresser, and continued, “After a few thousand years, the human population had grown, and the women of the Earth had become attractive to those sent to protect them. I believe you all call them guardian angels?” Michael checked. Peter nodded, and Michael spoke again, “So, these “guardian angels” decided that they could take for themselves the daughters of men and have children. The offspring of these angel/human combinations are called…”

“Nephilim!” Peter said with exuberance.

Michael smiled and nodded, “Yes, Nephilim! These are not what author’s today and Hollywood would like you to believe. They were giants, abominations, and were not pleasant in nature. During this same time, humans were being corrupted to the point where the Master felt it necessary to intervene. He was so hurt and felt such betrayal and loneliness that He decided to wipe the Earth clean and start over. The Master loved all but very few loved Him, and it hurt too much for Him to know that. Humans had lived very long, very prosperous, and very wicked lives for eons, so the Master decided to limit human kind’s life on Earth to 120 years.”, Michael said, and Peter gave a surprised look.

He said, “I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of anyone living 120 years, Michael. I’ve never heard of anyone living much past 100!”.

Michael smiled, “Well, Pete, just know that if you took care of yourself religiously, you would still only get 120 years under the best of circumstances. May I continue?” he asked. Peter shrugged and Michael returned to his telling of the tale. “He found a human that was free from corruption and chose him and his family to carry on the human race, because the Master couldn’t bring Himself to completely destroy it.”

“Noah,” Peter said, interrupting again. Michael smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Noah was the guy! The Master saw in Noah the same thing He would see in Abraham, and in David. He was an intercessor who convinced the Master that there was still part of humanity that was worth sparing. His love allowed Him to spare a man like Noah, who ultimately saved his family from death and assured that humans would populate the Earth once more, without interference this time. Noah was tasked with the building of the large ship and finding suitable wives for his three sons. This was no easy task considering the entire known world was corrupt, so Noah asked the Master for blessings upon the three women he found to become the wives of his sons. Noah did the best he could with the women that were available, but his time was short… he only had seven days to find wives for Shem, Ham, and Japheth. He picked the women that he felt the Master had pointed him to, and they were the soul inhabitants, or, at least, they were supposed to be. All of the evil and wicked people who laughed and jeered at the family building the massive boat found themselves true believers in the cataclysm when it fell upon them, and there was a mad struggle to board the large boat with Noah and his sons having to fight off many who would thwart the Master’s plan. And one did. A stowaway that was discovered only too late, spared the death due him by Noah’s youngest son. He’ll come up later… don’t worry about him now.” Peter stood, mouth agape, not believing what he was hearing. “The flood that rid the world of corruption also rid the world of Nephilim. Unlike the rest of the beings on the Earth, the product of humans and angels were not made by the Master and did not fit in his creation. He had planned and produced everything exactly how it should be in His time and in His way, but He never planned on the Nephilim, because they weren’t supposed to exist at all. The Master’s blueprint for you, for example, is exactly what you see when you look in the mirror, Peter. You were always meant to be exactly how you appear, as is every person on the Earth today, unless they have changed themselves in some fashion that is not of the Master. Upon the destruction of all living things except those on the ark, the souls of the Nephilim had nowhere to dwell, because no blueprint or plan existed for them in the physical world. They were adrift in the universe with nowhere to reside.”

Michael took a deep breath and looked at Peter. “I don’t understand, what do you mean by adrift?”

Michael sighed and said “Thinks of it this way, for every person and animal that was created by the Master there is a place for it to go after death. For Nephilim, no place like that existed, because they were not the Master’s creation. Nowhere to go for them after they died…”, Michael trailed off, as if lost in thought. He gathered himself and went on, “This presented a problem, since they never really died they could return by attaching themselves to the form of another, if there was any kind of tainted blood in them.”

“Meaning…” Peter prompted. “Meaning that of the three wives Noah found for his sons, there was only one free of corruption, the woman married to Shem. When Noah and his sons were tasked with repopulating the Earth after the flood, each son went his own way and fathered many children. Of those lines, Shem’s was the only one without taint. So those Nephilim souls found purchase in the bodies of the descendants of Ham and Japheth. Out of these lines stem some of the greatest myths and legends, because the Nephilim could not reside inside a body that had a soul for long.” Michael stopped as if to judge Peter’s reaction to what he had been told so far. “The Nephilim of this time used humans as guinea pigs, along with various other animals and creatures. They tried many different ways to extend the life of their host bodies and crossed them with other creatures. I trust you know the term ‘hybrid’?”, Michael inquired. Peter nodded and Michael gave a grim smile and came and sat next to him on the arm of the chair. “This is where it got really strange… you’ll see why in a minute. The abominations that came from breeding humans and animals were enough to sustain the Nephilim souls for longer, and this gave them hope and the idea of crossing different creatures with other creatures. Different cultures have alternate names for the products of those unions.”. Michael stopped and turned to Peter to search his expression as he named off the ones that he knew of from popular culture, myths, and folklore. “Giants, vampires, lycanthropes, satyrs, centaurs, griffins, … pretty much anything that you have been told as a fairy tale or legend, exists now or existed at one point. What do you think of that?”. Peter stood as Michael named off the impossible list and started to do his own pacing, not believing what he was hearing. The implications were far too enormous and terrible to comprehend.

“What the hell…” Peter muttered and saw Michael wince. “Sorry,” he said in response, “you’re telling me that the things we read about as legends are totally true?” Peter asked still in disbelief.

“Yes,” Michael answered, “and there are others in the world who know they exist as well and wish to preserve them… and make things worse than what you’ve already imagined while I was talking. Much worse. That’s why we need your help, Peter.” Michael finished with a hopeful expression.