AARON ANSAH-AGYEMAN
THE MACHINE GUN PREACHER
EPISODE 16
Jon Fii flinched from the sheer violence in the man in black.
He followed lethargically as the man walked almost casually to the edge of the lake… and simply continued across as if the lake was a solid concrete.
Jon Fii gasped and stepped forward, and immediately felt a swift, jarring electric shock bracing through him and making him scream with frenzied pain.
The handsome man standing on the lake turned swiftly and glared at him. For a brief moment, there was great concern on his face before the fury once more reigned supreme.
“Stay back, damn it!” he hissed fiercely, and Jon Fii moved back and sat down on the ground as painful ripples moved through his body.
He watched, awestruck, as the handsome man walked across the lake towards Sophia, and slowly the heatwaves on the lake began to increase. Jon saw moonlight dimming, and the darkness stealing rapidly across the lake.
The handsome man walking across looked into the sky briefly.
“If I be a servant of God, strengthened by His divine power, called into the vocation of an Unblind, I command the sun over this vile place, to remain, until I complete my call, in my Lord Jesus’ name!”
He had spoken softly, but in the unreal space of evil they were in, his words sounded so amplified that Jon winced as it hurt his eardrums. And then, wonder of wonders, unbelievably, amazingly, Jon saw the moon receding, and then incredible sunlight covered the lake!
“Dear God, who’s this man that even commands the elements?” Jon Fii whispered with indescribable wonder.
Suddenly, he saw Sophia screaming at the man approaching her as she remained suspended in the airspace above the lake.
“YE TURD!” she bellowed in a voice that was various, as if many voices were speaking at the same time. “YE MENSTRUAL CLOT! HALT THEIR PROGRESS OR THE MAIDEN BE TORN TO PIECES!”
“Shut the f**k up,” the handsome man said calmly. “You distort the righteous ways of the Lord, taking that which does belong to you! Come out of her.”
“NAY, NAY, NAY!” the demons bellowed. “THOU HATH NO…”
“F**k it, I have no time to dally with you!” the young man cried furiously. “In the name of Jesus git the hell outta her now!”
And the four-headed monster crashed out of Sophia, and shimmered with fear on the surface of the lake. The tall, handsome man reached out and caught the girl’s body as she fell from the air, and then he looked at the frightened demon on the lake with grim fury.
Jon Fii saw him speaking and commanding, but he did not see the hideous demon that had come out of Sophia.
“PLEASE, SERVANT OF THE MOST HIGH, CAST WE INTO THE FISHES FOR THOU HATH NO AUTHORITY TO END US!” they said in trembling voices.
“Death Cloud, to me!” he said softly.
Immediately, a fearsome, scary, ash-like entity appeared behind the four-headed demon! This new entity bulged with screeching fury, causing the lake to sizzle and boil in a frightening manner. There were hideous things in the cloud-like thing, hissing and trying to get at the demon!
And the demon made horrible sounds of terror now, trying vainly to disappear into the lake, but held in place by the divine order the handsome man had placed on it.
“PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE… NAY, NAY, NAAAY!” it cried.
“Take that vile thing outta my sight,” the handsome man said.
And the Death Cloud pounced on the demon with a wail that was as horrible as it was frightening.
The handsome young man turned away as the Death Cloud tore into the demon, shredding and consuming it with relentless fury, and then in a flash, it was gone!
The sunlight went out immediately, and a calm, beautiful moon shone on the lake. Jon Fii got to his feet with tears of gratitude in his eyes as the young man stepped off the beautiful lake and handed the inert figure of Sophia to Jon, who looked at her calm, beautiful face with horror.
“Oh, Lord!” he murmured with fear. “No, no, no! Is she okay? Please tell me she’s okay!”
“Take her home to her parents,” the handsome man said, and his voice was not so aggressive anymore. “Lay her in her old room, and pray for her. She will wake up then. Now go! I’m gonna release the inmates of the shrine and cure them, and the shrine will burn down. Believe me, you don’t wanna be here.”
Jon Fii nodded, too overcome with emotions to trust his voice for a moment.
“Thank you, sir,” he said finally as tears fell from his face and down on Sophia’s face. “Thank you so much.”
“Do not blaspheme!” the man said sharply. “I’m but a vessel, like you. You know where your thanks is due.”
Jon nodded again.
“I thank you, my Lord, my gracious, wonderful, omnipotent God!” he whispered frantically.
“Now git,” the handsome man said.
“Please, please!” Jon said frantically. “I know the Lord sent me here for a purpose… to redeem this district from bondage. I am a pastor, and I see you’re also a worker in the vine. I beg of you, really beg of you, who are you? Even a first name would suffice.”
The handsome young man glared at him fiercely for a moment.
“Name’s Boat,” he said calmly. “Yaw Boat.”
“Thank you,” Jon Fii said with a smile. “You’re not a pastor, are you?”
“Unblind,” Boat said. “God’s special soldier. Enough of the jawing. Git, Pastor Jon Fii.”
Jon Fii could not help himself.
Overcome with great emotion, his faith restored in the Lord he served, he carefully put Sophia on the ground and swiftly embraced Yaw Boat. The handsome man stiffened for a moment, but he did not embrace the young pastor back.
“Idiot,” Yaw Boat said calmly, and Jon Fii laughed shakily and stepped back from the tall, handsome, well-built man.
“Thank you, Yaw,” he said. “I’m also Yaw, you know, and I’m happy you also are. You’re indeed, God’s soldier. I wish that one day, my faith will grow to match your own.”
Boat said nothing.
Jon Fii bent to pick up Sophia, and then he heard Boat’s long sigh.
“The girl,” Boat said, and his voice was suddenly a bit sad. “What are your plans for her?”
Jon Fii stood up with Sophia’s limp body in his arms. He smiled radiantly in the moonlight.
“I love her,” he said with a rush of emotion. “For the first time, I love a woman. And I believe God made this union for me. But why? Why do you look like that?”
Boat’s face was screwed up with sudden emotion. He sighed again.
“She does not have long to live,” he said finally.
Jon Fii gasped as sudden pain hit his heart, and agony flitted across his handsome features.
“What?” he whispered painfully. “What did you say?”
Boat looked him squarely in the eyes.
“I’m sorry, pastor, but that girl doesn’t have long to live,” he said gently. “Her parents love the Lord now, ever since they repented, and they have prayed for their daughter continuously, beseeching the Lord to save their child. The Lord heard their prayers, and brought you here to redeem her, and the people here whom He has chosen to bless.”
“Yes, yes, that’s great news!” Jon Fii said, his voice agitated. “But Sophie? What do you mean she hasn’t got long to live?”
“It’s her destiny, man,” Boat said calmly. “You must be happy she was redeemed, and did not die in her sins. Baptize her, let her live in the Lord. But don’t marry her.”
“Damn you, Boat!” Jon Fii cried in agony. “I love her, did you hear me? Do you have a woman you love?”
He suddenly saw the beautiful golden ring on the man’s finger.
“You’re married!” he cried in pain. “You know what love is! I presume you love your wife, right?”
“Nicole,” Boat said simply. “I adore her.”
“And I adore Sophia too!” Jon Fii screamed. “Can’t you understand? I adore Sophie! If she’s going to die that soon why did God allow me to love her so suddenly and so fiercely?”
“I’m not God, idiot!” Boat said calmly. “It is appointed unto man once to die. The Lord knows best, man. Death is inevitable. Be happy for her that she goes to a better place.”
“Damn you!” Jon Fii screamed in pain. “Damn you, man! Whatever it is, pray for her! Heal her! I’ve seen the special powers the Lord has granted you! Heal this woman of any infirmity, please! I beg of you!”
“Stop the damn blasphemy, idiot!” Boat screamed at him. “I’m without power! Everything I do works only if it is in line with the wishes of the Lord we serve! You have a problem, take it to Him!”
“Yes, I will!” Jon Fii cried. “I will, and God will extend her life!”
“No, He won’t,” Boat said calmly. “It is her appointed time. And when it is appointed, she goes. It happens, man.”
“No!” Jon Fii screamed. “Shut up, please, oh please! I don’t want her to die! She won’t die!”
Boat sighed.
“With the power of the Lord I can help take the love you have for her out of your heart,” he said calmly. “That way, you won’t feel her passing too much. Is that what you want?”
“No!” Jon Fii screamed. “I don’t care if she dies today, or tomorrow, man! I’m going to care for her, and love her, and make her happy, and share memories with her! But I’m going to pray for her too, man! And God will listen, and extend her life, and let her live to a ripe old age with me!”
“She’s gonna die,” Yaw Boat said as he walked past Jon Fii. “Do what you have to do. But she’s gonna die as has been appointed.”
Jon Fii’s tears fell as he watched the blessed man walking casually away from him.
“Yaw Boat, you’re not God!” he screamed. “In the book of Isaiah chapter thirty-eight, Isaiah prophesied that Hezekiah was going to die! Hezekiah turned his face to the Lord and prayed fervently! Do you know what that prayer did, Boat, huh? It made God change His mind about Hezekiah, and God made him live for fifteen more years! I believe in scripture, Boat! And I believe in prayer! God is going to extend Sophie’s life, do you hear me? She will live!”
“Okay, Hezekiah,” Boat said without pausing. “Idiot.”
