ARMAGEDDON

Chapter 1

He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

This is the story of Annabel Perkins and it begins where most stories end, on the day she died. She was heading home from the library, passing through the park just across her home when a gang of men attacked her, raped her and beat her mercilessly. Through the flicker of the street light, she saw a muscled hand tattooed with a strange symbol, snakeheads pouring out of an ugly scaled dragon, the intricate detailing had caught her attention, just before the fist smashed into her face releasing an avalanche of pain through her entire body. She felt her bones crack as heavy boots kicked her sides. There was only one thought in her head, "Why?"

What seemed like forever, ended abruptly for she had fallen unconscious, but her merciless attackers persisted in making sure she never saw another sunrise. As she breathed her last breath she found herself in a white room, lying on the floor. As she rose she noticed that she was covered in a sparkling white garment, there were no scars on her body and the pain, the excruciating bone crushing pain was a distant memory. As she looked around she heard a voice, strong, booming but kind and gentle.

"How do you feel Annabel Perkins?"

She turned to find a man in his mid-thirties, strong features, rugged build that reeked of power but the kindest, softest blue eyes stared back at her.

"Where am I?" she stammered.

"You're dead, in case you are wondering." He said with a wry smile.

Suddenly the horror that she had just been through raced through her mind and she unsteadied for a brief moment and had to catch her breath.

"I ask again, how do you feel?"

She looked up at him, then at the room, stared at her hands, her dress, and tried to figure out what was going on. She knew what she just went through wasn't a dream or rather a nightmare, she believed she was dead because when death came for her she had been pleased it was finally over, so where exactly was she? It didn't look like heaven, at least from not what her nana had told her about it. No floating clouds, singing angles on harps, nothing, just a plain white room where you couldn't exactly figure where the walls met.

"Surely you have at least a question about what you just went through." He looked concerned.

"Yeah, where am I?"

Her answer made him smile, he looked pleasantly surprised and she could almost notice a hint of pride.

"This isn't heaven, we could go there if you like but then you won't be able to return." He paused to see if she had assimilated all of it. "This is a holding bay of sorts."

"A holding bay?" she looked around. "Why are you holding me?"

"To give you the option to choose."

"Choose what?" she asked looking very excited.

"Do you wish to become a warrior for God, a Proeliator of Deus, a demon slayer?"

"You made me go through all that to offer me this option?" her voice was steeped in anger.

"Do you actually think God would do that?"

She paused and let the anger abate, the emotions made her heart heavy, she felt a single tear drop well up in her eye and as she bent her head, the tear fell and she saw the arm stretch forth to hold it from falling to the ground. She looked up and stared into his kind eyes.