Heaven Versus Hell on Earth

Maude's Diary - Maundy Thursday‭ ‬5th April

The angels came down from heaven today.‭ ‬At first, I thought it was just me but I could see my neighbors watching too.‭ ‬I turned on the TV,‭ ‬it was on the BBC,‭ ‬ITV and Channel‭ ‬4.‭ ‬The whole country was watching in a fascinated stupor.‭ ‬The heavenly bodies kept on plummeting.‭

One landed in our communal garden.‭ ‬Her wings were so beautiful,‭ ‬she spread them just before hitting the ground,‭ ‬so instead glided to a halt.‭ ‬Her wings folded and disappeared.‭ ‬She looked like a normal person.‭ ‬They gathered then separated,‭ ‬to take their positions.‭ ‬To stand like sentinels on every street corner.‭ ‬I had so much to do today but with the angels out there,‭ ‬waiting,‭ ‬I stayed indoors and prayed.

Good Friday

Emerson and I watched from our windows last night as Lucifina’s children grew up from the ground,‭ ‬like trees from Mother Earth.‭ ‬I know it sounds cliché but they have tails and horns.‭ ‬These accessories retracted,‭ ‬we could see in the garden security lights as the demons took on human form.‭ ‬There were so many.‭ ‬Many,‭ ‬many more than there were angels.‭

‬Jagged light shattered the sky,‭ ‬violent cracks ripped through my chest.‭ ‬Overhead rumbles threatened,‭ ‬followed by bolts.‭ ‬Deus‭’s ‬anger or the Devil’s delight‭? ‬Tip,‭ ‬tip,‭ ‬pat,‭ ‬pit,‭ ‬splodge,‭ ‬drizzle,‭ ‬deluge,‭ ‬shower,‭ ‬sprinkle.‭ ‬Grey sheets undulate.‭ ‬Tree fingers grasp at the window,‭ ‬I back away.‭ ‬Emerson hugs me close.‭ ‬

Shadows crowded blurred orange beacons of streetlights and the air hung.‭ ‬Then,‭ ‬the show.‭ ‬Millions of drops,‭ ‬hurled at my window.‭ ‬The population of the United Kingdom,‭ ‬urged by newscasters to get inside‭; ‬lock all doors and windows,‭ ‬watched,‭ ‬as all heaven and hell went to battle.‭ ‬I cried when the angels screamed.‭ ‬I screamed when the dark ones in threes and fours held their estranged brethren down and used what looked like ticket clippers to pierce a wingtip.‭ ‬A shiny ring attached,‭ ‬it glowed then became dull.‭ ‬Was it magic‭? ‬The smell of sulfur seeped in,‭ ‬rank,‭ ‬I gagged.‭

When we’d seen enough we climbed into bed and held each other,‭ ‬so very tight.‭ ‬He stroked my hair and hummed Stairway to Heaven as the sky wept. Corny, I know.

At last,‭ ‬a low rumble in the distance. I must have fallen out of consciousness and slept.‭

Easter Sunday

Lucifina and her spawn, outnumbering and determined to claim the earth for themselves, have won.

They rounded up all the remaining angels, clipped their wings, and banished them to hell. It was on TV. One second they were there in the center of all the big cities, Oxford’s Cornmarket to St Giles glutted with angels, the next, pouf, they’d gone. Never seen anything like it.

The TV reported on prisoners being released to make space for devout Deus worshippers, those on the payroll, as well as laypeople. Oh my goodness, should Em and I be worried?

Lady Lucifina appeared on a Panorama special. Some of her children were with her. She told us that she was here to put things right. Her grandfather had had it his way for long enough. The world needed a woman’s touch. Deus and his family had moved downstairs and she was now occupying heaven, for the foreseeable future.

Bank Holiday Monday

Em and I didn’t go on our jaunt to Felixstowe. All thoughts of a pebble beach and ice-creams have gone the same way as the angels. We had breakfast on the sofa, spooning cereal into slack mouths, staring at the TV, and wondering. Wondering about what’s going to happen tomorrow. Do we really go to work as usual? How are the evil-bringers going to treat us? The TV just keeps repeating the interview from last night, offering nothing new. Seems the whole country sits in bewilderment.

Tuesday 10th April

We went to work. Nothing had changed. Weird. Em said his office was as thrilling as usual, not a demon in sight. Well, if there were, would he have known it?

I thought Jackie was acting a little strange, not exactly possessed but she could have been. It was hard to tell. My boss, of course, was still mean but that didn’t make him evil. Everything was as it should be in our firm. Albeit, customers were calling to place orders for more angel statues than usual and wanting to chat for longer. We also had an influx of orders for rosaries and gold crucifixes, good and evil. I never knew how to handle the requests for pewter pentagrams before but I’m getting a lot better at it now.

Wednesday 11th April

Something odd is happening. Jackie had been trying to get pregnant for years, she found out yesterday that she’s a couple of months gone. What’s funny about that? Well, she’s not the only female who’s expecting. I stopped on the way home and got a test at the chemist. I am too. Lord, I’ve got to tell Em. We haven’t even discussed babies. I might have wanted babies before all this change happened but now? I don’t know. Is it wise?

I told him and now I know that when I chose Em, I chose a good man. He said it was the best news at such a dark time.

Tuesday 8th May

Weird continues. All the other women in the office are pregnant too, with the exception of Gladys who had a hysterectomy last year. Not everyone is as cheery about it as Jackie and Em. Trying to abort is nigh on impossible because abortion clinics have been converted into mental health centres and anyone who goes to have a procedure comes out all smiles and excitement.

Whose work is this? Deus or Lucifina? I pray to Deus for patience every day. Morning sickness must be a curse sent from Lucifina. Mustn’t it?

Thursday 17th May

My due date is 7th December. We’ll be parents. I’m going to give up work to raise our child. I’m going to write and bake and play with him or her. Oh my lord, how do we protect our baby?

Sunday 20th May

Went to the morning service, Father Derek was busy with all the new congregants. It was good to see renewed interest in Deus but who were all these people?

I know many choose to worship false idols, easier to believe in something you can hold or wear. But judging by the number of status symbols in the car park and dripping from these idolizers, it would appear their faith has only embraced designer labels. Are they wolves in Gucci suits? Think I’ll pray from home for a while

Jensen

“Have you seen my chain?”

“The one with the cross, Jensen?”

“Yes, Chrissy.” Does she have to use my name in every sentence? “The only one I own.” That came out harsher than intended. “Oh, for hell’s sake, don’t look so hurt, woman. You know what it means to me.”

“Yes I do, Jensen, but you don’t have ta be so mean to me. It’s probably in the bedsheets, all tangled up,” she smiled.

“I checked already, I can’t find it, will you look for me? You know you’re so good at finding things, chérie. I have to get to the station.”

“Sure, sugar, I’ll look but what’s the hurry?”

“Chrissy, I’ve got to go, see you later.” She’s going to pout.

“Fine.”

Yep. “Don’t wait up.”

“I won’t.”

He tried very hard not to slam the door but it did. My father’s cross, he’d turn in the earth if he knew I’d lost it. It’ll turn up, I’m sure of it. Lucifina, have mercy, show me where my cross is.

In the grey Ford, the radio crackled into action with a call to all intelligence agents in the area of the Shades Estate, to go immediately to 17, Foxglove Grove. Suspected Deus victims. The situation requires containment.

Oh heaven, what are they up to now? Better put my foot down.

The Crime Scene

Lieutenant Jensen Craven surveys the bedroom with Officer Ingrid Jameson. The amount of blood from the bodies seems impossible. The mattress and bed linens are sodden with yet more pools to the side of the bed. He sighs inside, disappointed once again by the being or beings that could do this. He’d been raised to respect life.

“This is the fifth pair in a week, Ingrid, some thing’s brewing.”

“Yeah, know whatcha mean, Jensen, whaddya thinks going on?”

“Something tells me they’re messing with the process.”

“Deus be praised, oh, I mean, Lady Lucifina have mercy on us all. Damn it’s so confusing!”

Jensen laughs. Ingrid joins him. He notices her blushing and wonders if it‘s more personal than word choice.

“Yeah, I get the same trouble, no worries.” He smiles at Ingrid. Lucifina, is anyone ever going to get it? “I leave it to the politicians… What have we got here?” Jensen walks over to the nightstand. He picks up a neon pink book.

“Maude Placid, deceased’s diary. Been checked for prints, hers only.”

“I’ll take this, Ingrid.” It might give me an insight into these Deus worshippers.

“Sure, Jensen, no probs.”

“How long before visuals are available?”

“Hour or so.”

“Okay, get the bodies processed”

“Will do. Laters.”

Jensen and Lady Lucifina - The Angel Makers

Jensen stops reading. “Mother, she was pregnant. If you’re listening, I’ve got this double murder case, the wife, Maude, was pregnant. I think Deus is meddling. Have you noticed anything strange?”

“No Jensen, but I will check the statistics.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

“How are relations with Chrissy?”

“I’ve had better relationships with hellcats, but for an angel, I suppose she’s bearable. I think she may have stolen my cross, though.”

“You must retrieve it, Jensen, it is imperative.”

“Very well, Mother.”

“Jensen, in addition, you must impregnate her, it’s vital for the plan to work.”

“Yes, I know Mother. I am doing my best.”

“Try harder, we must have a new saviour.”

Chrissy

Jensen is such a snake. I hate the way he says my name, makes my skin crawl with cockroaches. How is it possible for someone to lose stuff so often? Shoes, one at a time, of course, keys, never the same place twice, time, he loses track of that, all the time! I did enjoy the look of loss on his face when he couldn’t find his cross. He’ll never find it.

“Thank you, Deus, for giving me this opportunity to take an eye from one of the sons of Lady Lucifina. You know what they did to my sisters. I will take my pleasure in bringing Jensen and his godforsaken mother to their last breaths and then make them beg your forgiveness. Protect me from his fake love. Amen.”

Deus - In his new accommodation

Deus is in a meeting with St Peter, former Pearly Gatekeeper.

Chrissy is such a blessing. Her enthusiasm for revenge is quite refreshing. “Peter, make a note to restore the wings of Chrissy’s sisters when she delivers Lucifina’s son.”

“Do we have a date for that event my Lord?”

“We do not, Peter. Nevertheless, pencil it in for next month after we have analysed the latest figures from Purgatory. When things go the way I plan, I should have the power to oust the usurper.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Update me on the violent deaths and new births plan, will you. Who’s next?”

“Well, my Lord, there was that spree, which is still ongoing, another two score and four to go before we meet the target for this month. Plus the new recruits, friends and relatives of Amelia, have been busy.”

“Amelia? Remind me of her surname.”

“Dyer, my Lord.”

“Ah, yes, she used to work for us - the baby farm murderer, nice of her to help us out. Where are they all operating?”

“Hospitals, my Lord.”

“Good, there should be plenty of fodder for the new Angel Makers. Update me with the figures ASAP.”

“Certainly, my Lord.”

Ingrid

The phone rings. “Lieutenant, what’s up?” I wish I could speak to him without my vocabulary resembling that of a street urchin.

“Listen, Ingrid, Maude’s diary, she was pregnant.”

“Oh, did the baby survive?”

“That’s what I thought, can you call round the hospitals and I’ll go to the processing centre?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, call me the minute you have anything.”

“Sure.”

She finds her mark with the first call, the John Radcliffe Hospital was the obvious choice to start with. Ward Sister Joanne Roland was very helpful.

She takes a deep breath and tells herself to speak in a professional manner. After all, Jensen was her boss, not her boyfriend. She picks up the desk phone.

“Jensen, the John Radcliffe Hospital has a Boy Placid, born four weeks early, still receiving treatment in the Special Care Baby Unit. I spoke with the ward sister. She told me there’s no next of kin and she didn’t notice anything unusual about the parents.”

“Did she say anything else, Ingrid?”

“Yeah, she did. She said she had noticed an influx of babies since early April.”

”What‘s wrong with that?”

Ignoring his challenging tone, she continues, ”they were all premies, sorry, premature babies. Normally the infant mortality rate is quite low, what with all the new life-saving equipment, but the premies have been dying in extraordinary numbers.”

”Natural or suspicious causes, Ingrid?”

”She said she‘s never seen anything like this before in her seventeen years at the JR. I managed to tap into the hospital’s records of births. You won’t believe what I found.”

”Tell me.”

”Okay, okay. Boy Placid is the sole surviving premie since Easter.”

“Lady Lucifina have mercy. Deus!”

”Huh, what do you mean?”

”Deus. He‘s behind this. Leave it with me. Can you get down to the JR to watch over the baby?”

”Yes, sure. On my way, but….” Too late, he’d hung up. She frowns into the phone mouthpiece before replacing it in its cradle. What does he mean? Deus? He sounded so certain, how can he possibly know?

Panorama Special Report

“This is John Sweeney, reporting live from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where, until yesterday evening, premature babies’ lives were being stolen by an extremist group of Deus worshippers, known as the Angel Makers.

Lieutenant Jensen Craven, a child of Lady Lucifina, with the help of his siblings all over the United Kingdom, has put a stop to this tragic act. Jensen, can you tell us what this was all about?”

The camera zooms in on his face. Causing him to offer a tight-lipped smile.

“Well, John, Lady Lucifina realised Deus was meddling with the natural order. His plan was to create a new army of invincible angels and take back Heaven.”

“Invincible Angels, how do they differ from Lady Lucifina’s children?”

“We aren’t invincible in human form, nor are ordinary angels but this new breed could have taken over the planet and we’d have been powerless to intervene.”

“How did you stop them?”

“It wasn’t just me, John, Mother had the idea, months ago, of assigning guardians to all the babies from the moment they are born. These guardians are like shields, forming a life-protecting second skin in this world that becomes a second soul in Purgatory.”

“Does that mean the babies who had already started their journey to becoming invincible angels were saved?”

“Not exactly saved in the normal sense, but they can’t be converted to evil. And they will return to their parents in the next year or so.”

“Does Lady Lucifina have any more miracles for us, Jensen?”

“I’d say keep praying and have faith, Mother is here for us.”

“Thank you, Jensen. One last thing. I hear you have some news of your own.”

“Yes? Oh yes, my girlfriend, Chrissy is pregnant.”

“Congratulations to you both.”

Jensen smiles; bows his head and the light catches on his St Peter’s Cross.

The camera moves to a beaming John Sweeney and the picture fades out to credits.