Rapture (25 page)

With a heavy heart, he trudged back home.

“If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.”

Las Vegas had come off relatively unscathed by the Tribulation. Sure, there was some superficial damage caused by the earthquakes and a few buildings gutted by fire, but nothing like what Sam had expected.

Joshua and Grace dismounted and led the horses along the Great Basin Highway that threaded its way directly into the city. It was completely devoid of the abandoned cars that Sam had learnt to expect from most roads. It was even ash-free. Someone had obviously scraped it clear with something like a mechanical snow plough. Surprisingly, they even encountered a few moving vehicles that honked their horns at them as they passed, some of the occupants shouting abuse. Even now, foot traffic on a state highway was obviously not encouraged.

Eventually, sick of the hurled insults, they decided to get off the road and found a smaller tributary road. The sign said East Flamingo which Joshua said would take them into the heart of Vegas. There, he said, was the best chance to find transport to Los Angeles.

Sam took him at his word, knowing no better, while Grace offered no comment, having never been to Las Vegas before.

On the sidewalk, Sam was surprised to see that there were absolutely no demons around. He could sense them – just – but so far they had not made an appearance. There also seemed to be a great number of people around, in stark contrast to Boulder City that had been completely abandoned. It was almost morning and the crowds were beginning to thin, but there were still more people around than he had ever seen before in his life. Most seemed to be unaffected by the Tribulation. He saw people laughing and smiling, all seemingly having a good time. Very strange.

People seemed to avoid them, many giving Sam’s swords a hurried appraisal before quickly looking away. Eventually, unable to take it any longer, Sam stopped a stranger in the street. The man looked well groomed and fed, with slick-backed hair. On his arm was a teenage girl wearing very little in the manner of clothing.

Sam put one hand on the man’s arm. “Hi. Can you tell us what’s going on around here?”

The man looked at him strangely. “What do you mean? This is Vegas where anything can and will happen.”He exchanged looks with his young companion and they both burst out laughing.

Sam kept his frustration in check. “I mean, what’s happened since the Rapture? Where are the demons?”

“What do you mean?” the man asked suspiciously. “They are where they normally are. In the churches and probably in hell.”The girl giggled.

“Why aren’t they out here dragging people back with them?” Sam asked.

The man’s eyed narrowed. Next to him, his girlfriend went quiet. “You’re not from around here, are you? Where’s your mark?”

“Mark? What mark?” Sam was thoroughly confused now.

The man waved a hand at him. “I don’t think I can talk to you any longer. In fact, I think you need to talk to those in charge. Here you go. Just in the nick of time.”

Beside them a police car was pulling up. Two uniformed officers got out and eyed Sam and his friends with obvious interest. “I think you kids need to come with us,” said one of them, opening up the rear door. “Leave your horses. We’ll send someone to take care of them. Get in.”

Sam glanced at Grace and Joshua. They didn’t seem to be able to do anything useful so Sam shrugged. Why not? They had nothing to lose and in fact, these officers might just be able to help them. Besides, he really wanted to know what was going on around here and who better than the police to get answers from?

All three piled into the car, Sam being forced to take his katana off in order to fit in. Curiously, the cops had not removed the weapon. In fact, they hardly seemed to

care that he was carrying it.

“Where to, officer?” asked Joshua.

The officer in the passenger seat turned around. “To the heart of things. There’s someone who wants to have a word with you.”

The cops drove them only a short distance, pulling up outside Caesar’s Palace Hotel and casino. Sam felt decidedly nervous, fidgeting with the sword in his lap. Next to him in the back seat, Joshua and Grace seemed even more agitated, both peering out the car windows, trying to catch glimpses of the people and places they passed.

The foot traffic was definitely dwindling now with the approaching dawn; Sam had always heard that Las Vegas came alive at night and it seemed that this was even more so since the Rapture.

The cops got out and opened the back doors for them. The three of them followed the two uniformed officers to the front entry of the hotel. There were a couple of large men dressed in hotel uniforms standing in front of the main doors. Sam knew instantly that they were not normal porters or hotel staff - they carried themselves with the assured professionalism of trained military. Why would whoever was in charge here need soldiers on the front door? There were no demons in evidence and there certainly didn’t appear to be any obvious unrest in the city.

Both hotel employees gave Sam and his companions the once over, their gazes lingering on Sam’s swords. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, lady, but you need to hand over your weapons here please. There’s no weapons allowed in the hotel.”

Sam hesitated, seriously considering refusing the request. He’d very rarely been parted from his swords and certainly not since the Tribulation began. Every instinct in his body told him not to but he desperately needed answers and this was obviously the place where he was going to get some. He didn’t really have a choice.

Joshua handed over his baseball bat while Grace quietly produced a knife from under her clothes. Sam hadn’t even been aware that she’d had one. Everyone looked at him expectantly. He sighed and eventually passed them to one of the guards. The man smiled at him and assured him they would be looked after, telling them they could reclaim their weapons on their way out. Sam felt hardly reassured. Some niggling doubt began to worry away in his stomach. If he made the wrong decision now, not only his but the lives of his companions would be forfeit. It was too late now, though.

Still smiling, the two guards opened the doors for them, one of the two policemen going ahead while the other brought up the rear. They were led through the plush lobby. Reception staff behind the main counter smiled at them as they passed, almost as if they were expected. The cop brought them to the elevators and ushered them inside, pushing the button for the penthouse. The brief journey was conducted in utter silence.

On the top floor, they traipsed down a corridor to a pair of very large doors made of polished mahogany. Four guards, all carrying themselves in the same way as the two at the hotel entrance, stood in front, very alert.

“Thank you, officers, you can go now,” said one of the men. The officers departed and the same man opened the doors for them. “Go in,” he said, nodding. “You’re expected.”

Sam glanced at him suspiciously, the feeling of disquiet growing. Why were they expected? Why were they being given this special treatment? Something wasn’t right here. Surely, not every newcomer to the city was treated like this?

They found themselves in a tastefully-appointed chamber that must have taken up a good quarter of the entire floor. It looked like it had once been a suite but had been hastily converted into an office. What appeared to be kitchen fittings were still piled in one corner. Floor to ceiling windows offered an impressive view out over the cloud covered city to the west. The only furniture consisted of a giant polished desk and a large leather-covered chair. Three smaller chairs sat in front of it in a semi-circle.

Behind the desk sat an immaculately dressed man in a pin stripe suit, his black hair swept back over his head. He was extremely well manicured and groomed with a goatee that looked like it had been drawn on with a stencil.

He smiled broadly when he saw them, showing perfect teeth. “Ah, welcome,”he said, “welcome. Please. You must be tired after your long journey. Take a seat.”

Sam and the others did so, casting wary glances around them. As the man shook hands with each of them, Sam noticed that his palm was extremely soft and a little sweaty. If he didn’t know better, he would say that the man was at least as nervous as he was.

“I’m Jonah,” he said. “You two,” he said, indicating Grace and Joshua, “I’m afraid I don’t know so please excuse my apparent rudeness.” Josh and Grace introduced themselves.

“A pleasure, a pleasure,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “Can I offer you any refreshment? No? Perhaps later then. Now you,” he said, turning towards Sam, “must be the boy I’ve heard so much about. It’s Sam, isn’t it?”

Sam nodded, taken aback. How on earth did Jonah know his name?

Jonah grinned at him. “And before you ask,” he said, casually leaning on his desk, “I have heard about you from, ah, a source. Told me I should keep an eye out for a boy with two swords. Have to say – there’s not many around that meet that description.” He laughed, a high-pitched yelping that Sam found highly irritating.

“Who told you about me?” asked Sam suspiciously.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not important. Now, surely you must have some other, more important questions for me?”

“What’s going on around here?” Sam asked.

“Right. Yes. I’m sure this may look a little odd to you. Let me tell you though – straight after the Rapture, this was a different city. Chaos really. Looting, people getting killed, demons everywhere. Not a very nice place. We’ve turned it around since then.”

“So, how have you stopped the demons?” asked Grace.

Jonah nodded at her. “Good question, young lady. Good question. That answer to that is really quite simple.”

All at once, Sam felt the hairs on his neck rise at a presence behind him, and stood up so suddenly that his chair toppled backwards. The four guards that had been outside the door had entered silently. They must have been well-trained. Even Sam with his extraordinary hearing had only just heard them. All four were pointing weapons at him. Before he could move, they fired. Eight taser darts flew out and struck him at various points on his torso. They must, he realized belatedly, have been tipped with iron barbs.

Almost two hundred thousand volts surged through him, causing his body to dance around like a puppet. On a normal man, this amount of voltage would be sufficient to kill, but Sam was not a normal man. Despite the pain, he was able to dislodge two of the barbs and unbelievably, take two shaky steps towards his attackers. Three of them drew iron batons with their free hands and advanced.

Through the pain, Sam could hear Jonah still carrying on talking as if nothing unusual was taking place. In his peripheral vision, he could see Grace and Joshua still sitting in their chairs, too shocked to move.

“The reason why the demons don’t molest us is because we have made a pact with them.”

As the three guards began pummelling Sam into insensibility, he could hear Jonah laughing.

When Sam came to, he found himself in a small windowless room. His body had been forced into a foetal position in order to fit within the pentacle that surrounded him. Jonah, he reflected, had been extremely well prepared and briefed by someone. He suspected he knew by whom.

He sat up, a groan escaping from his mouth as he felt the back of his head carefully. There were some serious bumps on it; clearly the guards had gone to town on him, not willing to take any chances. He had no idea how long he had been out.

As he began to take further stock of his situation, he heard a bolt being drawn and the heavy door opened in front of him. Jonah, accompanied by two of his guards, entered the room. Sam noticed they were very careful not to disturb the chalk marks of the pentacle, placing their feet precisely in the small room.

“Comfortable?” Jonah asked with a sneer.

Sam glared at him but refrained from answering.

“You don’t know how easy you’ve made it for me, just waltzing in here like you did. We’ve been looking out for you for some time now. My master is very keen to know of your whereabouts.”