The Herald of the Fiend

By Sir Ben Fortin

He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name (Rev. 13:1617)

A modern-day ninja armed with technology, Kat and her two faithful furry companions, Chaos and Mayhem, have been enlisted by the Council of Religions. Their journey unveils a government cover-up attempting to enslave mankind.

Satellite deployed . . . orbit holding . . . primary program status, on hold . . . secondary program status, initiate in twenty-seven minutes and thirty-two seconds. Looks like this got labeled as a weather satellite.

How many damn weather satellites are we going to put up there before someone becomes suspicious?

Wow! Your dogs are really cool, but they sure have strange names, Bobby stated as he continued giving affection to Mayhem.

Theyre not strange. Theyre unique. Besides, wherever I go, Chaos and Mayhem are sure to follow. With this last statement, they both began to giggle.

So, how long have you been marked? Kathy asked pointedly.

What do you mean? came forth a surprised and confused response.

The microchip implant in your handcan I see it?

Bobby held his open right hand out palm up for Kathy to see. In the Thenar Emanate, the group of muscles at the base of the thumb was a star-shaped tattoo that was about the size of a gold star sticker that preschoolers get on their homework.

What they learn and uncover along the way goes well beyond their perception and further than this spiritual world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524592615

Book preview

Part One

He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Revelation 13:16-17

1

Shortly after Kathy had turned five years old, Bill and Karen Forsythe (her parents) won the lottery. With 95 million dollars at their disposal (they took the lump sum instead of the annuity) they could have anything they wanted. They settled for twenty acres right next to Jim Thompson’s property and had their dream house built. They chose to live modestly.

Jim Thompson owns a small ranch, about fifteen acres, on the outskirts of Marfa, Texas, which he had inherited due to his parent’s untimely passing. Marfa, a small town of approximately two-thousand souls, is located in the high desert of far West Texas. Located between the Davis Mountain Range and Big Bend National Park, it is a great location to settle down if one enjoys the heat and remoteness. Jim, refusing to be titled a sodbuster, rejected the idea of raising any crops, and primarily utilized his land for hunting purposes. Jim was, however, an avid dog breeder. His efforts were focused on breeding and raising some of the best AKC show dogs from West Texas.

Jim’s wife, Sarah, had left him just two years prior to him getting his inheritance. Her resolution was to traverse the South American continent, to spread the good word of the Mormons. Jim, being quite resilient and a self-proclaimed survivalist, rebounded from the separation with ease.

When the end of the world proclamation was at its fullest hype, Jim invested a small fortune in a fully stocked, state-of-the-art doomsday bunker. He also allocated an arsenal of various weapons and gear, enough to equip a small army. His philosophy was, there is no such thing as being over-prepared.

Bill and Karen had invested the remainder of their winnings in stocks, bonds, certificate of deposit, and various accounts. Neither would be required to ever have to work again, since living off the interest alone was still more than enough income to cover all of their debts. However, they both shared the same belief: the mind is a terrible thing to waste, and therefore they considered what they did to be hobbies as opposed to work. Bill pursued his ever-elusive destiny of becoming an accomplished inventor, when he wasn’t on the golf course. Karen remained persistent with her computer programming skills, helping and teaching individuals from small businesses to big corporations to government officials.

That was twenty years ago.

2

Bill was a man of the world, having grown up as a military brat; he experienced many different cultures and ways of life. At 5’ 11", 165 pounds, he wasn’t a big man, but he was constantly alert, cautious, and a lot of times, adventuresome. He was a chivalrous man, just as a knight of the round table, although neither the knights nor the round table exist anymore except within the historical books and films, and chivalry was fading fast from the world as well.

His viewpoint towards the world was, Never dwell on the past, but use it as a reference, for the past is gone and can’t be changed. There are many paths to the future, choosing the right one requires knowledge, wisdom, and sound reasoning. Knowledge, the things that one learns, and wisdom, using that knowledge, has been around since the dawn of time and will continue to be until the end of time. Sound reasoning, however, seems to be following the path of chivalry.

Growing up, Kathy chose to pursue her father’s philosophy: more knowledge, more wisdom, more…more…more. She went far beyond the typical schooling that other children endure. Her mother taught her everything she knew about computers: different programs and programming, putting up, taking down, and getting through firewalls, establishing and maintaining back doors, various security features and ways around them, and many other things. Karen could make the most experienced hacker and the most computer literate government official look like a pair of monkeys, fresh out of the jungle, trying to figure out how to play Pong on an Atari.

Most of the time, when Bill and Kathy weren’t working on inventions, they would be over at Jims, where Kathy would learn about physical combat, various weapons, tactics and strategies.

That was ten years ago.

3

Thanks for the dogs, Uncle Jim. said Kathy

Uncle Jim, stands at 5’9" and weighs about 150 pounds, is a crude, gruff, to-the-point and in-your-face type of guy. Although, once you got to know him, and most importantly if he liked you, he was a sweet, gentle and caring man. The best way to describe him would be that he was half pirate captain Red Beard, and half Grizzly Adams.

In fact however, he did not have at his disposal a ship (or any other flotation device), or a pet bear. He did in fact have a nice thick red beard. Whereas most red haired individuals tend to shy away from the sun, leaving their fair skin slightly paler than that of the average Caucasians, not Uncle Jim.

At least once a year, he would intentionally go out under the blazing sun and work on his tan, as he called it. In reality, he would sunburn profusely which would match by comparison to a fully cooked lobster. His voice had a constant coarse and menacing tone to it, and his laugh could raise the hairs on the back of Satan’s neck.

Hey, after all that you and your parents have done to help me over the years, it’s the least I could do. Besides, I helped raise you into the strong and beautiful woman you are today. Jim stated.

I know, but…

No buts! Jim cut her off. You’re like a daughter to me, and look…they have already taken a liking to you. As he pointed to the two puppies sitting on the ground a foot behind her, and to either side, gazing up at the conversation taking place. I have plenty of dogs. Jim continued, Consider this a gift, from me to you.

Oh, alright. Kathy said. Unexpectedly, she threw her arms around his neck and gave him an affectionate embrace. Upon releasing from the hug, she quickly turned her head and kissed his fuzzy, red cheek and said, I love you Uncle Jim.

They parted. As an afterthought, Kathy says, Hey, have you heard about the latest thing the government is proposing to implement?

I don’t give a shit what the government says! Jim spat out. All they do is lie to the people and collect their constantly increasing taxes. Jim thrust his right arm up towards the clear blue sky and extended his middle finger. Fuck the government! I know they’re up there, looking down. Fuck-em! he roared as he shook his obscene finger gesture angrily towards the sky, and then lowered his arm.

Showing concern for his outburst, Kathy warns him, Be careful, Uncle Jim. You know as well as I, that besides all of those satellites up there, we have the drones flying around to worry about as well.

Again, I don’t give a shit! I’ve been able to dodge them for the last ten years. Jim stated with a note of smugness.

Anyway, Kathy continued "there’s talk that the government