Emmanuel: The Infidel Books

By Angela R. Watts

"Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery. . ."

In dystopian America, with civil unrest and wars among the states, illegal activity is rampant and only the strongest survive. Reese Burns is one of the strong fighters. He doesn't need Jesus to fight, either.

Ezekiel, a ten-year-old child living in a fight dome, insists he get the answer about the story of Christmas. On Christmas Eve, Reese sets out to find the boy the best gift he's capable of giving. The story of Jesus. The story only brings Reese pain at first, but then he's forced to make a choice when a miracle happens. Can Reese choose faith in an unseen God in the midst of chaos?

An Infidel Books short story prequel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Angela R. Watts
• Release date: Feb 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386209492

Book preview

To Mom and Dad, who taught me how to find Light in the darkness.

The West Side fight dome closed down for the night. The gambling crowds dispersed and drove away, some with new cash and some with empty pockets.

Wounded fighters moaned in their cells as their owners or wannabe doctors patched them up. The fighters were mostly all skilled, with only a few weaker ones who would probably be moved to another dome before the end of the year. A few rowdy men jeered amongst themselves as they played card games in a cell, though being slaves, they had no money to gamble.

Reese Burns headed down the corridors to his cell, which was one of the last, more private ones. He had no use for the fighters who messed around like fools. Even if there was little to do in a dome, there had to be something better than playing cards mindlessly or picking fights with other slaves who took more rations than given at mess hall.

Reese heard the faint screams come from the cells but had little sympathy for the injured. Too many fighters got cocky in the ring. They wanted to make a show and earn more cash. It didn’t work that way. If a man got over his head, he paid for it in one way or another. Those suffering were lucky they weren’t dead.

Reese didn’t consider himself lucky. He was strong. A fighter who didn’t need to be bossed around by his owner. He didn’t need to prove himself to the crowds. He earned respect by his skills. His skills were hard-pressed at West Side. Only a couple fighters matched his physical strength and abilities.

Tonight, he’d fought a slave called