Heaven's Darkside

Heaven’s Darkside

By

Daniel Millhouse

Heaven’s Darkside

By Daniel Millhouse

Published by Daniel Millhouse at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Daniel Millhouse

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or invented, without permission in writing from the publisher/author.

Prologue

Enoch sat on his bed with a tourniquet biting into the flesh of his left arm. Slowly, he pulled the needle out as the heroin coursed through his veins. He began to enter a state of euphoria, but the desolated apartment that surrounded him was far from something you would call happiness. The apartment was sparsely furnished and decorated only with a couple of old rock concert posters pinned directly to the walls.

As he drifted into a high, the sounds of traffic and sirens outside of his bedroom window faded away. Enoch’s upper body collapsed onto his unmade bed and his breathing slowed down. Everything within his field of vision faded into a field of white and a smile crept up on his thin face.

In his post on Earth, Enoch could not speak to God directly, so he had to enter a different level of consciousness to do so. God trusted Enoch dearly and for that, Enoch became God’s voice on Earth. He was dedicated to the Creator, so much so that he was the only human to ever ascend into an Angel. Initially, this made the other Angels jealous, but they had grown to accept him over the years. His work ethic proved that his assigned position was a wise choice by God.

In being trusted with the amount of responsibility that God handed to Enoch, Enoch was unfortunately the representative of God that had to be present for some of the most intense moments in human history. He informed Jesus of his significance and he led Moses and his followers out of Egypt. And now he had to find out who God wanted him to contact next. One of Enoch’s inexplicable abilities was knowing when God wanted to communicate with him. He couldn’t explain how he knew, just that a feeling similar to a tingly sensation would grow inside him when he was needed.

When he would drift into the euphoric state that the heroin produced, his soul would wander into a white room that seemed to go on infinitely. It was in this endless room that God would speak to him. His voice boomed when He gave direction to Enoch, so much so that to Enoch, it was as if he could feel His voice through his body as well.

God had summoned Enoch this time because something was wrong. Heaven’s back channels had informed Him that several of the Fallen had gone missing. Rumors had spread in the netherworld that they had taken corporeal form and were planning on disrupting life on Earth. Unfortunately they could not identify how.

How will we handle the situation at hand? Enoch asked Him.

Untapped for decades, God informed Enoch that He had activated members of Heaven’s splinter cell team known as Heaven’s Darkside. Upon the news, a chill ran through to Enoch’s soul. The situation at hand must be more serious than what God was willing to admit if he called upon this team. They were only called on at times when a crisis was perceived to be at hand.

God continued on, informing Enoch that he was to lead the team once they presented themselves to him on the Earthly plain. Enoch was used to being His voice on Earth, but he had never personally been associated with any battles among Heaven and Hell. When he ascended to his position as the Metatron, Lucifer had already been thrown out of Heaven. Since then, it was usually other Angels such as Michael that had protected Heaven and its interests from the residents of Hell. Enoch only considered himself as the Angel who would pass on the information to those who needed it. He never got his hands dirty.

After receiving all the information that he needed to get started, the euphoric state that the heroin provided Enoch, began to gradually wear off. He could no longer hear God’s voice. The white room slowly faded away and the rundown apartment Enoch called home, materialized in front of him. The morning sun snuck in through the broken blinds of his bedroom.

Enoch was now back on Earth. Despite God’s presence always being within Enoch in some form, being away from Him while he was on Earth felt like a vacuum sucking in his chest. When He was around, Enoch felt safe. On Earth, Enoch did not have this same sense of security. Anything on Earth was possible, including being in the presence of evil.

With the new day at hand, it was time for Enoch to go to work—as a bartender of a dive bar several blocks away from his apartment. If members of the elite team, Heaven’s Darkside would appear to him, they would find him there.

Chapter One

Birth

All light from the setting sun had nearly disappeared to the west, when large rain clouds slowly rolled in from the south. Lights on the urban street flickered on and many of the businesses on this street were either closing or already shut down for the night. The neon lights of a lonely bar stood out alone, on an intersection that used to bustle with life thirty years before.

Now nearly vacant of life and the energy that came from it, Eden opened its doors for another night of forlornness. It wasn’t the type of bar that people waited for to open. It’d often be lucky to get more than a dozen customers on a weekday night. An oak color décor adorned the bar, while an old Seeburg jukebox that still played 45s, randomly played music from the fifties.

Enoch turned on the televisions to the sports channels to give the few people who will show up tonight something to watch. On slow nights, he would break out a guitar and sing. His voice was mesmerizing and haunting at the same time. For the few regulars that knew him, they theorized whether or not he used to be a former rock star, still blessed with a voice, but with no one to listen to him. With long hair and an old rock band shirt on, he certainly looked the part.

One regular, who knew the real story of Enoch’s background, sat at the end of the bar, serving herself a beer from one of the taps. Wren was one of the few people in the world that Enoch ever opened up to. At first she thought he was looney, but as time went on he did small things that would open her mind up to the possibility that he was something more than human.

Wren had once cut her hand badly while slicing an apple and when Enoch saw that she had it heavily wrapped in gauze, he offered to heal it. With no health insurance and the lack of the use of her hand which was essential to her job as a tattoo artist, she unwrapped the gauze to amuse Enoch. Little did she know what he was capable of doing.

Enoch cupped his hands over her wound and Wren began to feel warmth. She noticed that it appeared that light was shining through the cracks of his fingers. When he eventually let go, there was no sign of her wound. He had performed a small miracle that not only healed her, but would allow her to not miss anytime at work. Since that day, she had witnessed several other acts of Enoch performing small miracles that she could not easily explain away.

Because of how close Enoch and Wren had become, he made her a set of keys for the bar and for his apartment. Not because he wanted anything more in their relationship, but because he felt he could trust her more than anyone else.

That night when she let herself into the bar before it opened, Enoch pulled her aside to inform her to be on the lookout for anyone that looked out of place. She wanted to know why, but Enoch promised to tell her when his expected guests appeared.

As the night progressed, Enoch would quickly turn his head to the door when someone new would enter. Unfortunately, it was always one of his regulars trying to get out of the rain that had just started to wet the streets down.

By midnight, Enoch had almost lost all hope that tonight was the night that his special visitors would reveal themselves.

Curious, Wren began to venture guesses at who the special visitor would be. Is it Jesus? she quizzed Enoch.

No, he told her. If it was Jesus, I wouldn’t be the one leading this operation.

Noah? she guessed again.

No, he answered once again. It’s not one of my kin.

Wren shot back a confused at Enoch. You’re kin? she questioned. She stared at him for a long moment while Enoch remained silent.

The Noah that you know of is my great grandson, Enoch said while drying a beer mug with his towel. You’ve known who I am for a while. You never Googled me before?

Not really. I just thought that if you wanted me to know more about your history, you would just tell me yourself, she told Enoch. Plus, do you really believe Wikipedia is always right?

Enoch was about to answer her when a large man burst through the door. His clothes were drenched and the water streamed down from his long, blond hair. If he hadn’t been wearing an overcoat, Wren would have sworn he was a Viking. He appeared not to have shaved for the last couple of weeks and even from the bar, she could see his eyes were a bright blue.

The stranger straggled from the entrance towards the nearest table and dropped himself with a thud onto the wooden chair. Enoch rushed over to meet him from behind the bar. Getting closer, he recognized the seated man as someone he had previously worked with.

Shade? Enoch asked.

The man glanced up at Enoch, but his face had the look of confusion. He recognized the name, but couldn’t remember much else about himself. Do you know who I am? he asked Enoch.

I believe so, Enoch answered. You look different from the last time we met, but I can see in your eyes that you are the man I have been waiting to appear.

Shade felt anxious. Why have you been waiting for me? Am I someone of importance? He rubbed his head and tried his best to try remember anything. Unfortunately only brief glimpses of past memories rushed into his head, but they seemed to be from different time periods and out of any chronological order. He couldn’t even remember how he ended up at this bar.

Wren hustled over to Enoch’s side. She was amazed at the sheer size of the man in front of them. Is he the special visitor you have been waiting for?

Special? Shade questioned. What makes me so special?

Enoch looked to Wren and nodded his head. Very special. He turned to the face the several bar patrons that sat at his bar. I’m sorry guys, but we are now closed for the night.

His customers looked at him and one of them even moaned his disapproval.

I’m sorry, but something came up and I have to close right away. I’m sorry for the inconvenience and your tabs will be taken care of. On the house, he informed them.

They all guzzled down the remaining portions of their drinks and gathered up their coats. After the last one walked out the door, Enoch locked it up and turned his neon open light off.

Can you take Shade to the bar, while I brew up a pot of coffee? Enoch asked Wren.