Rise Of The Nephilim

“Shit!” Patel whispered. “They spotted us.”

“Stop right there!” The voice of a National Guard officer echoed through the subway tunnel.

Phillipo stopped immediately, his hands raised above his head, his eyes wide, heart racing, and limbs trembling.

“No, Father,” Pete insisted. “We don’t have time for this.”

“But they’ll arrest us, or worse.”

“They’ll have to catch us first.”

“This way,” Mike whispered.

Phillipo put his arms down and quickly turned to follow Mike as he led them down a dark tunnel. The guardsman fired off a few rounds. They echoed through the walls of the tunnel.

“Sweet Mary and Joseph,” Phillipo said, making the sign of the cross. They could hear the running footsteps of several officers pass by the mouth of the tunnel as they walked further in; Phillipo rested a hand on Pete’s shoulder for support.

“I think they went this way,” they heard one of the guards say.

“Shh, let’s stay here until they are gone,” Mike suggested as they pressed against a wall, surrounded by nothing but darkness.

I’m too old for this, Phillipo thought. He smiled despite himself.

The few minutes felt like an eternity. They listened and waited quietly as the voices of soldiers surrounded them. One shone a light down the very tunnel they hid in, sending a quake of communal nervousness up their spines.

“I think they’re gone,” Patel whispered, still holding the rifle in his hand.

“Woah, that was close,” Janine sighed, drawing her hand through her hair.

Phillipo breathed a sigh of relief. He still needed to find Maxine and somehow extract anything from her dreams that could possibly give them a clue on how to save the world.

“Let’s go this way,” Mike suggested.

They heeded Mike’s suggestion and followed him deeper into the tunnel, deeper into the dark.

“Damn, it smells like piss in here!” Stephanie blurted out, her voice low. She’d been quiet for the most part, so it took them by surprise when she spoke.

Branson agreed. “Probably rat’s piss and crap.”

“Either that or somebody died down here,” Mike said. They held their breath, breathing only when it felt like their heads would explode.

“Hey, Morry, I can’t believe you left the damn flashlight in the van. I can’t see past my feet,” Pete said.

“Hey, I’m not the only one who forgot.”

Cory pulled in a breath of air. “Maybe this was a bad idea.

They began hearing soft moans as they walked down the long tunnel.

“What the fuck was that?” Jake asked.

The moans increased in volume. They heard the dragging of feet.

Panic began to set in. Mike looked around in all directions, as far as his sight would allow him.

“Something other than rats is down here!” he said.

Pete agreed, “The Dark Dragon! Shit!”

Phillipo stood still. “Have faith and trust that the Heavenly Father will protect you.”

“We don’t have time for that mumbo jumbo!” Pete said. “We’re about to get eaten!”

“Help us,” they heard a voice say. “Help us.” The voices seemed to surround them―all asking for help.

Patel, holding up the rear, turned around to see a man marred with sores. Pus oozed down from the rotting flesh of his face. The leper held out his hands as he begged for help. Patel screamed, “What the—” and brought his rifle to bear. He fired a burst, killing the man instantly.

As if out of nowhere, more screams surrounded them.

Their eyes adjusted to the dark. They could see the group of lepers coming toward them from behind. It was clear that they had walked by them without ever seeing them lying or sitting against the tunnel walls.

Patel shouted, “Run!”

Phillipo crossed his fingers over his chest and kissed his thumb, mumbling, “Father bless their souls and remove them from their suffering.” He tried to keep up with the others, but every muscle in his body burned, and his heart felt as if it would explode from his chest.

Pete ran to his side. “Come, Father, let me help you.” He grabbed his arm. Without being asked, Janine grabbed his other arm, and together they helped him escape.

They came to a T-intersection. Mike, still at the helm of the group, tried to figure out which way led to Grand Central Station. He imagined the streets, the avenues, and their cross streets above ground.

Patel had his rifle trained down the tunnel, his eyes wide.

“Which way? Which way?” Jake asked in a rushed voice.

Mike responded, “Give me a fucking break! I’m thinking, I’m thinking!”

“Hurry up, man. I’m not ready to die, especially by one of those things.”

Phillipo welcomed the chance to catch his breath. He tried to slow his breathing by taking deep, long breaths, his hands resting on his knees. “It’s okay . . . the Father . . . will guide you. Just have a little faith. All of you.”

“This way!” Mike said, finally deciding on the best route.

“Are you sure, man? What if more of those things are down there?” Jake said.

Phillipo stood up straight and placed his hands on Pete and Janine’s shoulders. “Come, gather around.”

“What? We don’t have time for this!” Jake insisted.

“This won’t take long. Death can come to us at any time, by any manner. Do not be afraid. Instead, ask the Father to forgive your sins and accept your soul into his Kingdom if you should die.”

“Are you serious?” Jake asked.

“It is only a suggestion since it is only you who can make that choice.”

“Hurry up! I can hear them coming,” Patel announced.

“Okay, okay, I confess, I confess,” Jake announced.

“Me too,” Pete said.

“Now can we go?” Jake asked.

“Let’s get out of here,” Mike said as he led the group into the tunnel.

“I think we lost them,” Patel announced as they walked deeper into the tunnel. They began to feel more relaxed. Patel even slung his rifle over his shoulder.

Phillipo’s mind traveled back to the time he’d been on a dig for the Codices in the Cave of Revelation, between Chora and Skale, under the base of the Monastery of St. John. He remembered how he’d felt while walking through a dark tunnel held up by rock and dirt. How it had felt like the walls would cave at any moment, burying him alive.

“This place reminds me of the time I was on a dig in Greece.”

Pete rolled his eyes. Not another story.

“I was looking for the manuscript―a very important manuscript about the end times, the real book of Revelation.”

“My mother used to talk a lot about that stuff before she died,” said Pete. “She used to go around the house mumbling stuff about Revelation, Angels, some dragon with different heads. She was crazy.”

“Are you sure of that―that she was crazy?”

“She was! She couldn’t even remember her own name. She only remembered this stuff about Revelation.”

“Why am I here?” asked Phillipo.

“What?”

“Why am I here?”

You’re one crazy, old man, Pete thought.

“I’m here because you asked me to help you defeat some Dark Dragon. Right? How is that so different from what your mother believed?”

Pete took a second to think about what he said. “You know what, Father? You are probably right. But I still think she was nuts―”

Mike noticed the solid wall at the end of the tunnel. “Fuck! That’s a freaking dead end! What’s up with these freaking dead ends?”

“Damn it, we’re trapped,” Jake said, his voice raised. “Those freaking things will have no trouble killing us now.”

They drew closer to the end of the tunnel. Pete, overcome with anxiety, rushed toward the wall.

“Pete, wait,” Phillipo suggested. But Pete had noticed the colorful markings on the wall.

“Father, over here! Look at this.” Pete passed his hand over the intricately designed coat of arms carved into the wall.

Phillipo rushed toward him, forgetting that he was no longer a young, vivacious archaeologist. The others followed behind.

“Let me get a closer look at that,” he said, closing in on the strange markings. “Hmm, interesting.” He traced his fingers slowly around the lines of the circle. “Someone took great care in making sure that every mark was perfectly done.”

“Hey, it could be the work of a graffiti artist,” Morry suggested. “You know, like The Underground Man or the Paint Doctor.”

Phillipo squinted as he looked more closely at the markings. “Could be. Could be. But this work is chiseled into the wall―more like a tattoo or a relief, such as the ones you might find in an ancient tomb.

He continued to trace his fingers over the markings, feeling all its highs and lows. Then, as if he couldn’t stop himself, he pushed in on the wave of blue markings positioned at the center of the crest.

They all stood silent, waiting for something dramatic to happen as if they were in some kind of Indiana Jones movie, waiting for the tunnel to begin flooding or a massive stone to roll their way.

Patel looked behind him, his hand over the strap of his rifle. “Shh, do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Stephanie asked.

Patel removed his rifle and placed it at the ready. “That! That moaning. Shit, they found us.”

“I knew it,” Jake said in a panicked voice. “We’re dead!”

They grouped together as close as possible to Phillipo as if he could save them.

“Have faith. Have faith. Close your eyes and pray to the Father. He will protect you.”

The sound of feet dragging across concrete and the desperate moaning drew closer. Janine grabbed onto Phillipo’s arm as if her life depended on it. “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

“I confess! I confess!” Jake repeated, confessing his sins. “If this is it, Father, I surrender my soul to you.”

Phillipo closed his eyes and welcomed the many hands that held on to him. “Have faith and you will be protected.”

“Here they come!” Patel began firing on the approaching lepers. Some fell. Others continued.