Gideon could not believe who it was walking towards them. But unlike the other three Horsemen, Gideon made it well known that this creature, whatever it may have been as the dark star of death, was none other than John Drache, once President of the United States 1 000 years ago. This man had once waged war upon the People’s of the Earth. And the man, as it had been claimed ever since, was the Anti-Christ. Although the others, Goodwin, Khan, & Wong, found it hard to believe Gideon’s sudden realisation, it all now seemed to make sense to Gideon.

Regardless, however, of what the other three thought, Gideon knew better & began to move towards Drache who was still at some distance from where the Four Horsemen were standing. Having been transformed, from the dark star of death back into human form, it appeared that the opportunity had finally come to kill the Beast & send it to Hell for eternity.  Yet, Drache did not look completely human. Apart from the fact that he was somewhat surrounded by the same menacing blue mist, which had always been present around the dark star, there was also something else eerily different about Drache.

Gideon could not see it at a distance, even though he had recognised Drache without any mistake. But as Gideon left the other three , at first at a walking pace, which soon became & jog, & then finally a run, he could see that Drache’s eyes were of the same dark blue colour as that of the star of death. It was completely clear to Gideon the truth about Drache. He was not simply a man who had been seduced by the power of the office of American President. Instead Drache was the Anti-Christ. And he had returned to complete the destruction of Humanity 1 000 years after his initial attempt.

In the first encounter with Earth, Drache had seen the deaths of well over one hundred million people. This time, however, only 30 million people had been killed on Earth so far. But the destruction of Babylon, albeit a hideous place, nonetheless still saw the deaths of over 250 million people. Furthermore an entire planet had been laid waste. Every living thing, not just the humans who lived there, had been killed. Even the plants had been turned into ash, either by the nuclear weapons that the Babylonians, or the great destructive power that the Beast had let loose.

Yet Drache had only just started his attempt to rule the universe when he destroyed Babylon. Earth would be next. As far as Gideon was concerned, the Beast would continue, if not killed here & now, throughout the galaxy leaving death in his wake. And so Drache still had billions upon billions more to kill. Instead of the galaxy being united in peace, it would be united in death. But things had changed &, strangely, even Drache knew that he was in some trouble. Having digested the souls of 30 million good souls, it was he who was now under attack as a stranger, armed with no more than a sword, came running at him with the intention to kill.

But now it was Gideon’s turn to be surprised. Thinking that the Beast Drache was vulnerable, Gideon attacked on the run. Being an expert swordsman, Gideon could swear that he had struck Drache well on the chest. Yet, as he looked around to see a gaping wound, all he saw was Drache smiling at him. This angered Gideon & he tried to strike Drache again. This time Gideon failed as Drache was able to deflect his attack using the blue mist which still obeyed his commands. Then, when Drache struck back with the blue mist, instead of harvesting his soul, all that Gideon received was a nasty burn on his left arm.

Noticing that battle had commenced, the other three Horsemen, all armed with swords, charged from their vantage point & began desperate combat with Drache. Drache, however, proved more than capable with their attacks, relying on his blue mist to act as an armour whilst lashing out at the same time. The Horsemen tried several attempts, regardless of total failure, to kill Drache all the while suffering injuries themselves. And as these injuries began to mount up, each one of them grew more & more angry. Their own hate seemed to be driving their attacks &, in many respects,  they had become no better in their evil as the Beast that they wanted to destroy.

The Four Horsemen could not understand what was happening. Each time they tried to attack Drache, even if they managed to get past the defence he offered, none of their blades could penetrate the blue mist that continued to surround him. Again Gideon tried another attack only to be foiled. Furthermore, Drache was able to counterattack, when given the opportunity, which resulted in either a burning or bruising for Gideon. The same thing happened to the three others, although Wong was confident that he had a broken right arm due to the combat.

Gideon took a step back to think. As he did, Khan made another wild & angered attack. He had no discipline left & was behaving more like an angry animal than a Human. Goodwin, Gideon noticed, was not all that much better. Then Gideon took a good look at Drache. It appeared, as the Horsemen became more angry with every failure, that Drache was enjoying the action. It even seemed at though Drache was getting slightly more powerful with every attack. Furthermore Drache was tormenting the Four Horsemen, making them more angry.

This became even more obviously when Drache deliberately targeted Wong with another shot of blue flame. Although not lethal, as in Drache’s previous incarnation, it still burnt with much pain. Thus, with Wong screaming in agony, only increased the anger in Goodwin & Khan, & drove the other two Horsemen onto the attack once more. Again their attacks went without success, only resulting in defeat. Furthermore, Khan took a jolt of blue flame in his face which resulted in a hollowing scream reminiscent of a primeval ancestor. Goodwin, on noticing his friend’s demise, readied for another attack, but was interrupted by Gideon.

Goodwin looked at Gideon who showed no sign of emotion at all. He was in complete contrast to the other three Horsemen. He appeared at peace with the world, even though the Apocalypse ragged around him. Now was Gideon’s time. Now he was in the right frame of mind, body, & spirit, to attack. He had released his anger & all his hate. He was at peace with all things. At this moment David Gideon was humanity’s last hope for peace. He was also humanity’s last hope for life. Now fearing nothing, Gideon made several faints against Drache, who knew something was wrong, just not what. Everything had turned reverse circle. Now the Beast was devoid of information as the Four Horsemen had been for so long.

Gideon soon tired of this deceit, but had to wait patiently until the right opportunity. This soon happened thanks to a distraction made by Goodwin. Gideon swung his sword at Drache’s neck. Before Drache could counter, the blade of Gideon’s sword past through the blue mist that had acted for so long as his impenetrable armour. Drache had hardly the time to scream as he felt the blade first cut the skin of his neck. But it would cut much deeper than that. Next the blade cut deep into the flesh & continued into his neck bone. Still it continued until slicing through his neck bone & once more into more flesh. Finally, Gideon’s sword exited from the other side. The battle was all over within a second.

All Drache could do is give a look of complete horror mixed with surprise. A second later, gravity had taken over & the head of the Beast fell to the ground. But as Goodwin & Gideon expected the body to fall to the ground, like the head had done, they were mistaken. Similarly no blood gushed forth from the neck as one would expect. Instead the body just stood there in front of them as if frozen in time. Just as Gideon was about to stab the body with his sword, a thin ray of white light shot up into the sky from the neck.

Up into the heavens this ray of light continued & disappeared into the galaxy. Not long afterwards, only a few seconds as a matter of fact, the ray of light began to increase in diameter albeit slowly at first. As it grew in size it began to travel outward faster. The Four Horsemen began to watch, regardless of what pain they were in, as curiosity had grabbed their attention. No one knew what was happening, yet everyone was speechless. Still outward the light continued to grow. Soon it had engulfed all of Drache’s body & showed no sign of stopping.

Yet instead of fearing the sight before them, the Four Horsemen felt an unusual feeling of calm & love. It was unmistakable. It was completely unique. Something none of them had ever experienced before. It was as if they were on some fantastic drug that brought some great high. Yet they were on no drug. There was no artificial hallucination. No false feelings. No fake emotion. It was real. Very real. It was the beginning of the Rapture.

Without warning the light that had beamed out of Drache’s body transformed into the most dazzling blinding white light imaginable. It was pure white as white could ever be known. The Four Horsemen could no longer see each other or anything else for that matter. Yet a friendly face appeared to all of them. It was one they had never seen before, but one that seemed so familiar. The Four Horsemen were not afraid. They felt no pain. Instead they welcomed & embraced what came next.

And then the light exploded. Out from this small area, amongst the ruins of Jerusalem, a wave of pure white light sped through the solar system within a twinkling of an eye. Further out it sped, faster than the fastest of space ships. It stopped no where & waited for nothing. Within seconds it had reached Alpha Centauri. A few seconds later it flashed through the Corvus System & beyond. It continued at the same pace until it reached the edges of the galaxy. And then the light stopped, having completed its purpose.

Initially, the survivors of this light wave thought some great disaster had taken near their respective location. But it was soon realised that no great explosion, crash, or some other mishap had occurred, until it was realised what had actually happened. The Humans had disappeared. Each & every one of them had vanished into thin air, regardless of their location. They had all simply gone.

No one knows where they went.

No one knows if they will return.

Although they numbered 10 billion, spread out across the galaxy, they were in reality, no greater in number than any other civilisation. Yet the Humans were the best of us. Their example to the rest of the galaxy was beyond comparison. Even at their worst, they were better than most. Few, however, have followed suit. Nonetheless, with the example of the Humans still within our memories, many have tried to live up to their example. For it was they who, within a few centuries, had set an example for the rest of the galaxy to follow.

They shall be sorely missed. Yet still keenly followed. Many of us hope that some day we will meet them again. Whether it be through their return, or better yet, our own Rapture, we will once again be with our friends now currently lost.  In the meantime, however, we will endeavour to follow their example until another time & place.
 

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