Adventure Series

"The Chosen Ones"
Fiction Adventure Series
by Brian Carlisle

When the Forces of Heaven encounter evil in the world that is affecting the Body of Christ, they do battle if it is Satan and his angels. But if the perpetrator is a man, driven by his own depraved nature, then they call in the "Chosen Ones."

The "Chosen Ones" is a secret Christian organization that is dispatched at heaven's command. Their mission is to stop evil which is endangering the Church. They have two choices: Stop them by conversion...or by force!

Join Amanda, age 16, as she is trained by an angel named Angela, who, in human form, resembles a ten-year-old girl. Then later, the two girls are joined by Benjamin, an 18-year-old missionary's son. Together they will travel the world as they battle lions, dictators, the Russian Mafia, witch doctors, assassins, demons, communists, and terrorists, just for starters!

Book 1 - A Test of Survival

Chapter 6 - On Her Own

Deeper and deeper Amanda ran into the woods. She didn’t know where the road would lead her, but she pushed on. After ten minutes of running she rounded a bend and saw that the road was grown over with brambles so thick that it was totally impassable. Amanda stopped dead in her tracks as she felt a wave of panic starting to overtake her soul.

Amanda looked to her right and saw that her path was completely blocked by a rock wall. This wall appeared to be 20 feet tall and had all sorts of brambles and thistles growing out of its cracks, which would prevent anyone from trying to climb over it.

Spinning back to her left, Amanda saw a wide path leading down the hill. At a quick glance she saw that the going would be easy, for the path was free from any obstructions and the path itself was made of a fine sandy substance that showed the footprints of many a person who had traveled this route. Quickly, she darted into the path and was about halfway down the hill when the verse in Matthew 7:13 came into her mind… “Broad is the way that leadeth to destruction.” Screeching to a halt she quoted the passage of Scripture aloud.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

“Strait gate? Narrow way?” She hadn’t seen a strait gate at the road’s dead end. “No, she would have to go this way,” she told herself.

She didn’t have any other choice, she reasoned. “I can’t go back; it would be wasting time.” Slowly, she continued walking down the hill. So many other people had come this way. She could tell that by the number of footprints on the path. Then her pastor’s instructions came back to her, “Follow the Scriptures.”

Amanda stopped and looked down the hill. At the base of the hill the path opened into an orchard. Trees with every type of fruit were growing in abundance. As their branches swayed in the wind, it seemed that the fruit was just begging to be picked.

Amanda sighed and just stared at the sight before her. The fruit looked so good to her and the way the branches gently swayed up and down reminded her of arms, motioning her to continue on.

The field that held the orchard was covered with a soft-looking blanket of grass, and sitting in the middle was a bench swing just beckoning her to sit and rest awhile. Everything looked perfect, too perfect, actually. It was as if someone had opened up her mind and plucked out the very thing she enjoyed most. This bothered her because it made the perfect temptation and the perfect trap.

“Broad is the way that leadeth to destruction,” Amanda said it with a firm resolve in her voice. “Not for this gal. I’m going back.” Turning to face up the hill, she was surprised that the hill seemed to be steeper now than before. As the sun began to shine down upon the path, the footprints began to transform into paw-prints, huge paws, the size of a pack of large lions.

Amanda now realized what a dangerous path she was on. Glancing back at the orchard, she saw the fruit start dropping from the trees. As the fruits would hit the ground, they would break open and out would crawl scorpions, tarantulas, and other deadly creatures. Then the branches began dropping. These would turn into snakes as they would hit the ground, and in a matter of seconds, the beautiful orchard was reduced to a crawling and slithering mass of venomous creatures.

“Run!” Amanda thought, but as she took her first step back up the hill she felt herself start sliding back down the hill. Amanda tried to steady herself, but the ground seemed to be sliding away. The substance that lay upon the path had given her excellent footing on the way down. Now it was giving her no footing at all. Instead of progressing up the hill, she was sliding down, coming closer and closer to the field of death.

“Angela! Angela!” Amanda screamed. “Please someone stop me! Please, I’ll die!” She was crying now because she realized Angela and the three men were still fighting the lions and were too far away to hear her. It was then that the truth dawned on her. She was facing death and facing it alone.

Once the realization set in that she would have to act for herself, Amanda started to think more clearly. Although she was still sliding down the hill and was slowly getting closer and closer to the venomous creatures, she began to get an idea.

Holding her staff with both hands, Amanda thrust the sharp end down into the dirt. Digging into the ground, this action managed to stop her from sliding down the hill. But stopping her slide was only half her plan, she had to make it to the top. Pulling herself even with the staff, she quickly pulled it loose and rammed it into the ground a few feet further up the hill. Amanda repeated this maneuver over and over again as she put more distance between herself and the field. She had to be careful when she pulled the staff out of the ground. To prevent herself from sliding down the hill again, she had to quickly ram it into the new position. After nearly an hour of this strenuous effort, Amanda finally reached the top of the hill.

Now she was back to where she began. Amanda lay down to rest for a moment while she considered her options. She couldn’t go back down the hill for that would mean death. She couldn’t follow the road out of the woods because it would lead her back to the evil town and the lions. And she couldn’t proceed any further because the forest, which had overgrown it, blocked the road. Her only option was the rock wall.

After resting for a few minutes more, Amanda tried at several different spots to climb the wall. But she would always have to quit due to the brambles and thorns growing out of it, or she would come to an area of stone that was perfectly smooth and yielded no place for footholds in order for her to climb further. So, climbing back down, Amanda walked over to where she had lain down earlier and stared at the wall.

As Amanda studied the wall, several songs and verses came into her mind. A few had to deal with God being her rock, or fortress, a place of refuge. She knew that in the Bible the walls surrounding a city were made of stones and that the Bible talked about God being our place of safety, but this wall was preventing her from getting to safety. Then, Amanda remembered the verse that talked about Jesus being the chief cornerstone. Looking over to where the wall and the forest met, Amanda saw a stone about two feet square that appeared to be firmly cemented into place. Amanda knew that to try to move this stone would be impossible because of its size and the weight of the wall that rested upon it.

“Well, I can’t go over or through the wall and I can’t go further on the road into the woods and I surely can’t go down the hill. I have one option. I must go back toward the town and hope to find Angela before the lions find me,” she reasoned.

Standing again, she turned back to the road. She then saw something that caused her to freeze in her tracks. Coming around the bend was El Diablo’s pride of lions. When they saw her, they roared with delight, then charged her.

Spinning back to the wall, Amanda ran to the cornerstone. Before she even reached it, the stone began receding and an opening was revealed. Not even breaking stride, Amanda threw her staff through the opening then dove headfirst through the gap with the lions snapping at her feet as she slid to safety. As soon as she was through, the cornerstone slid back into place.

Amanda could hear several lions pawing at the stone and roaring with anger. After a few moments, these lions gave up trying to move the stone and started trying a new approach to reaching her. It was then that she heard other lions trying to climb the wall, but like herself they were unable to climb it because of the thorns and the smooth areas on the wall.

After a little while, Amanda heard them slowly leave. They were still growling and she could hear an occasional fight break out between some of them as they tried to vent their rage. She had no doubt as to what they would do if they ever caught her.

Standing to her feet, Amanda walked over to a nearby bush and began plucking the fresh berries from it’s vines. As Amanda ate them, the juice from the ripe berries moistened her parched mouth and throat. When these were gone, she picked another handful and slowly started down a narrow trail that led from the cornerstone. She continued straight into the woods. It was a small trail, just barely wide and high enough for her to walk without having to stoop over.

Amanda walked for maybe a mile or so until she came to a small river. Here she found the perfect place to rest. There was even a cedar tree where she could make herself a fairly comfortable bed underneath. The branches hung so low that they would be able to conceal her presence from any unwelcomed visitors.

Walking over to the stream, Amanda scooped up several handfuls of water and began to drink. The cool, clear water was so refreshing. Amanda splashed some of the water on her face, and as she looked up to wipe some water on her neck, she saw a large apple tree and beside it a peach tree. Taking off her shoes, she waded across to the other side and picked several fruits from the branches. She then started back across to her cedar tree. Crawling under the overhanging branches, she sat with her back against the tree trunk and began to eat.

After finishing her second apple, Amanda began on the peaches. As she savored each bite, she thought back to the day’s events and tried to understand the meaning of it all.

Amanda thought about the town and its enticements. She thought about how the people, in their desire to acquire more, had only ended up empty-handed and just as depressed as before. She thought of all the people in the places of entertainment and how they were as much a slave as those in the pit that were bound by drugs and alcohol. They were all searching for the peace and love as only Christ could give, but were enslaved by a terrible master: Sin.

Then, Amanda’s mind went to the lions and most of all to El Diablo. She knew from her limited use of Spanish that “El Diablo” meant “the devil.” He seemed to not only be in charge of the pack of lions, but somehow he had some type of control over the people. Just by his size, he would make anyone fearful of him, but still that didn’t justify the way the people would bow and worship him. It wasn’t natural, but neither had been most of her day.

Then the episode on the hill made Amanda feel like she had lost ten years of her life. She shuddered as she recalled that experience. And yet she was grateful for her pastor’s advice, for it was his advice that opened the door for her to yield to the Scripture when it was time and thereby escape. Truly, the path had been the broad way, and yes, it was an easy road to travel, but as she had quickly discovered, that way truly had been the way to destruction.

Something else had saved Amanda’s life. Actually, it had saved her life twice. Once, it had deflected the sword of the evil warrior, and later, she had used it to climb back up the hill. It was her staff. Yes, she would keep it close to her. Right now it lay beside her, and she found that carrying it was no longer an inconvenience, but a constant help. She had used it to push thorns out of her way and to knock apples down out of the tree. She felt however, that it was here for a greater purpose than that.

Crawling back out of the protection of the cedar tree, Amanda stood and held her staff up to fully examine it for the first time.

It was nothing special, just a five-foot stick that was pointed on one end. Amanda noticed that there was one big difference between Amanda’s and Angela’s staffs. Angela’s staff was engraved with various symbols and words, and Amanda’s staff was plain. Amanda hadn’t had the chance to look close enough to read what was written on Angela’s staff, but she was planning on doing it the next time they met up.

In the clearing, Amanda began practicing using the staff the way Angela had. First, she tried the defensive stance. From this stance, she wanted to be able to leap at an instant and yet stand solid enough to absorb a blow. After she felt comfortable enough with the stance, she practiced jabbing the staff and swinging it. She had noticed that Angela had used it in two ways. One way was like a ball bat, to knock out the second warrior, but mostly she had used short powerful swings. These were done with both hands on the staff, but spread apart. It was this type of swing that she had used to knock the legs out from under the first warrior.

Amanda continued to practice using the staff until the sun began to set. Before it got too dark though, she practiced one last maneuver. She held up her staff over her head as if to block a blow, then gave a swift kick to her imaginary opponent. She was determined not to be caught off guard again with a kick like she had received earlier in the day.

With the last rays of sunlight fading, Amanda got herself one last drink of water. Then grabbing her staff, she headed for the protection of the cedar tree, where she would devour another piece of fruit before falling asleep. After returning to her shelter, Amanda laid there and tried to figure out why the lions were after her, but the answer seemed to stay just beyond her reach.

Now as the night covered the forest and Amanda lay on the brink of sleep, she started to worry about Angela, Brother Stanton, the evangelist and the stranger. It didn’t dawn on her until now that the only way the lions were able to get to her at the wall was if they had gotten past her friends. She started to worry about them, but slumber finally overtook her. Soon Amanda was fast asleep and dead to the world. So tired was she that she didn’t see the large form walking toward her tree from the path she had come on. On all fours the massive creature noiselessly walked over to the tree Amanda was sleeping under. Then, with one of its huge paws, it quietly moved aside the largest of the branches concealing her.

Grinning, the huge animal thought to himself, “That’s it little girl. Sleep. It’ll make my job much easier.”

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