“Rev, what did God say to you?” Aaron was glad that Churchie asked the question because he had run out of steam.

“He told me, ‘You are to pray for two bodies that appear today. They are not dead but soulless. You are to bring them back to life and restore their souls. It is for my glory. It is for revival.’ That’s it.”

Aaron felt a quickening in his heart. “Are you for real, Rev?”

“I am.”

“Do such things happen?”

“Yes. We talk about the powers of a supernatural God, but do we actually believe it? There are examples of people being brought back to life. But I believe God does it for His glory and for a particular reason. Because, if you think about it, we’re sojourners on our way home—when you get there, heaven that is, why would you want to come back? Unless God had something that he wanted you to do.”

A surge of energy filled Aaron’s emptiness. He noticed Churchie looking at him. Did he expect some kind of response? Sojourners? He sometimes got totally lost when these spiritual people got into their discussions—it sounded like another language. The thought of Mackenzie being brought back to life freaked him out, but also planted a glimmer of hope.

“Did you pray for them, Rev?” asked Churchie.

“No. I need to get close to the bodies so I can lay hands on them. But there’s a larger problem. The parents wouldn’t allow me to pray as they believed it would serve no purpose.”

“Mackenzie’s parents?” asked Aaron.

“Yes.”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

“Because they believe that God wants us to pray for the living, not the dead.”

<°)))><

James could hear the sound of a dog barking.

A newspaper lay on a small table on the back porch. James Gordon picked up his orange juice. A droplet from the condensation build up at the bottom of the glass fell on to the newspaper. It landed on a paragraph in the main news story. James Gordon watched as the paper absorbed the moisture, highlighting a sentence. It was a quote from the Reverend Peter Thomas that a reporter must have heard, about bringing Mackenzie Gordon back to life.

Kathy Gordon stood there with a cloth, looking at the highlighted words.

A mobile phone lay on the table. It started to vibrate.

<°)))><

Aaron had to do what he was doing. He’d taken the day off work—the boss was okay with him taking off any time he needed. He waited for his phone to be answered.

“Hi, Kathy. It’s Aaron here.”

“Hello, Aaron.”

“Sorry to disturb, but I was wondering if I would be able to drop by and see you both.”

“One moment, Aaron.”

Aaron knew that Kathy would be checking with James.

“That’s fine, Aaron. We’ll see you when you come by. We have no plans except for later this morning. When were you thinking of coming?”

“On my way now.”

About an hour later Aaron pressed the doorbell. Aaron could see a shadow approaching through the door’s frosted pane—James. He hoped that James could not see through the door as there were a number of shadows outside. James might not open the door.

The door opened.

“Hello, James. Sorry to bring uninvited guests with me, but I believe it’s really important that you listen to what we have to say.”

Was James going to let them in? Kathy walked up to his side.

James spoke. “Aaron, you know this has been a traumatic time. And later this morning it’s not going to get much better as we need to go to the mortuary. So I hope your visit is not going to add to our grief.”

Yes, it was a negative response, but Aaron expected it. “Please, hear us out.”

Aaron watched as Kathy touched James’s arm and nodded to him. Kathy’s touch seemed to release some of James’s tension. He relented. “Okay then, come in.”

They were led down the passageway and into the living room, where two comfortable couches greeted them. Kathy gestured towards a three-seater couch while she joined James on the smaller couch. Aaron sat between his uninvited guests. He tried to ignore the pictures of Mackenzie that hung on the wall and sat on the buffet.

“I believe you may have already met the Reverend Peter Thomas.” They nodded. “And this is Churchie.”

Aaron sat forward. “You know that I’m not of the same cloth of you both, I mean in terms of my religious beliefs. But can I tell you my beliefs have been challenged of late. There’s been strange goings-on in the city for the past six months or so. Somebody’s been experimenting with technology. The same thing, the vanishing, that happened to Mackenzie has happened to this man here.” Aaron pointed to Churchie. “I also believe the technology was involved in my dad’s death.”

They all looked a bit puzzled by that last statement. Churchie let out a little cough. Aaron guessed he was feeling uncomfortable.

Aaron continued. “And it’s happened to others. Churchie is a street person and a few of them have been used as guinea pigs. The technology appears to be unpredictable, but the operators are still playing with it and with devastating results. We need to stop them.”

Kathy placed her hand on James’s lap.

Aaron looked toward Churchie, then back to James and Kathy. “What I’m about to tell you, you will find hard to believe. But, please, try,” Aaron said as he let out a dry cough. He turned and looked at the Rev, who gave Aaron a nod.

“Churchie isn’t the same now. It’s a result of the technology doing something to him. It’s flicked some kind of switch and he now sees things.”

Kathy looked at Churchie. “Sees things?” she asked.

“Yep. I can see angels and demons.”

Aaron watched James’s response to this. James closed his eyes and started rubbing his forehead. “Aaron—”

“Your dad’s name is George,” Churchie said.

They would believe Aaron told him that. “Churchie, you’re going to have to find something better than that.”

James was now standing. “I think—”

“Okay, here’s something Aaron wouldn’t know. Angels communicate. You spilt something on your morning newspaper and it landed on some words about bringing Mackenzie back to life.”

Kathy had placed her hands over her mouth and turned to James. James took her hands and rubbed them. “I think it’s true, James. He can see things unseen. Do you have news of Mackenzie? Has she gone to be with the Father? Is she in heaven? Is that why you have come around, Aaron? Bless you, thank you.”