“Where then is my hope— who can see any hope for me?” (Job 17:15).
“Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold” (2 Corinthians 3:12).
After an unknowable length of time in the impenetrable darkness, Allen thought he heard someone speak his name. He was afraid to move. “Am I imagining this or is it for real?”
The voice was so low Allen could hardly make it out. He wanted to shout back, “Here I am!” But he paused and thought about it some more. “Maybe it would be a good idea to answer in a whisper because maybe whoever called my name wouldn’t want anyone else to hear him.”
“I'm here,” he answered in a hushed tone. He was so excited his whole body shook.
“Who is this?” he wondered. “Has he been sent to rescue me? Or is he here to add to my torment by teasing me and making me believe he’s going to help, but then leaving me to more loneliness?” As these questions hounded him, a hand gripped Allen’s wrist. He winced, but remained silent.
“Don't say a word. Just do exactly as I tell you.” The voice gained a little more strength. “Reach up as high as you can.”
Allen obeyed. “Why have I never thought of trying to climb up and over the cell wall before? How stupid of me!”
As he reached up and stood on his tiptoes, he felt himself being assisted. Strong arms lifted his whole body as his fingers grasped the top of the cell wall a few feet over his head. There was no ceiling! When the mysterious being pulled him to the top, he realized he was perched on the crest of the cell wall on a very narrow ledge. It didn’t take long for him to sense that he was starting to fall off the ledge. He figured it was just a few feet to the ground so he used the wall as a guide and jumped off the other side. He had the sensation of falling but it was not like he had imagined. He was falling down, down, down with no ground under him. “What have I done? Surely this is the end!”
A deathly quiet enveloped him as his speed increased and his body spun over and over. On and on this sensation of racing at a breakneck speed and spinning out of control possessed his being. The pain this created seemed to be tearing his very soul from his body. It felt as if his arms and legs were being pulled from him. “Surely this is the end,” kept repeating itself over and over in his mind.
Suddenly he heard the sound of wings faintly beating beside him. Strong arms cradled him as a reassuring voice spoke. “Hold tight. We’re almost down.”
“I thought I’d never hear those words again,” Allen muttered under his breath. With a gentle thud, they landed on solid footing. Allen’s body quaked. “I have to pull myself together.”
Allen opened his eyes and sat silent and motionless in the pitch blackness. “What’s going to happen next? Who saved me from the cage and that terrifying fall?” he asked himself.
“Here! Put these on.” His rescuer placed night vision glasses over Allen’s eyes again.
“Wow! What a wild experience to be able to see again even if things aren’t in full color.” Allen turned his attention to his rescuer. “Who are you?”
In a robotic tone, the voice replied, “My name is Legion.”
“You’re a Dun!” Allen’s voice was just above a whisper but steadier than he had thought was possible.
The character standing before Allen was bent over. Allen noticed one of his wings was damaged, and his apparel was dirty and torn.
Legion reassured Allen, “Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you. I want to help you escape from here.”
Allen’s heart skipped a beat. “This is the news I’ve been waiting for, but—” Allen eyed some other creatures slipping around in the darkness. “If those others see me, I’m a goner,” he said.
“Quickly, put these on.” Legion tossed Allen a black robe, hood, shoes—everything he needed to pass as a Dun.
“Except for my eyes,” Allen thought. All Duns had red glowing eyes that helped them see in the dark. If they saw Allen’s eyes, they would know he was an imposter and the only way he could see in the darkness was to wear the special glasses.
As Allen threw on his disguise, Legion carefully opened a door. There was a great stir ahead of them. Legion motioned for Allen to follow him. As they slowly and cautiously moved forward, Allen could see that even after their fall, they were still high up on a rocky cliff overlooking a strange panorama.
Crouching down between the rocks, Legion motioned for Allen to be quiet. The area was flat, about the size of Allen’s high school’s football field. At the far end was a roadway extending off into the distance. As he looked closer, he thought it looked more like a narrow airport runway than a road. Exiting off it were small groups of Duns. As one group left, another group arrived. As Allen watched the action, there was something different about the ones returning from those leaving. Often those returning were accompanied by creatures who were not Duns. Allen couldn’t tell exactly who or what they were. “They look like humans, but I’m too far away to know for sure,” Allen thought.
At the front end of the runway was an area where smoke billowed from a large pit in the ground. A glow emanating from this abyss cast eerie reflections on a huge rock wall directly behind it. Allen cast an apprehensive stare toward this sight. Is it a fire? He thought there must be some sort of blaze in a pit, but with his glasses, this glow didn’t appear red. “This place is creepy!” Allen whispered as he inched his way closer to the pit. He crept up the steps leading to a plateau above the pit and there he saw creatures ascending and descending.
A motion off to one side caught his attention—big time. The returning Duns were walking up another set of steps to stand before a humongous creature sitting on a throne-like structure high above them. The creature seemed to be instructing them intently. They stood waiting in groups of two or more. After a few minutes of direction, they bounded down the steps and scurried off via the runway with their wings flapping loudly.
Allen squinted, trying to get a closer look. When he recognized the creature, he drew in an anxious breath. “It’s Vulpine!” he gasped. “I must be in the control room of the Region of Darkness!”
Legion’s sharp eyes studied Allen. “Do you know what’s going on?”
Allen’s hopes had faltered. “No, but it sure looks scary to me.”
“I think you’ve guessed who that is: the master of this ghastly kingdom. He has incredible power in this realm and treacherous influence in the universe where he uses his cunning lies and deceit to cause people to doubt and even disbelieve truth. We’re in slavery and he is the tyrant over all of us.”
Legion hobbled closer to Allen. “Since his removal from the Kingdom of Light, his whole reason for existing has been to destroy anything and everything Theos has created—any galaxy, star, sun, moon, and the whole universe if he could. His greatest focus is on a planet called earth. I believe you’re from there.”
“Yes, I am.”
“There’s no doubt Theos took great care and effort when He created it. He placed his greatest creation there—humanity. I don’t know why He did it, but to Vulpine it doesn’t matter. All he wants to do is destroy what Theos has created and demonstrate his vengeance and hatred for Theos. He wants revenge for Theo’s decision to banish him and his hoard of evil Duns.”
Legion hesitated and then a torrent of words spilled from his twisted lips. “He constantly reminds all of us Duns of the sentence carried out by Theos and drives most of us to a level of anger that almost matches his. The Duns hate Theos, His creation of earth, and earth’s inhabitants. They want to get even!”
Allen found himself sympathizing with Legion. “What’s your role in this, why are you helping me?”
“I once lived in the City of Light. I want to go back. I think Theos had every right to throw Vulpine out—and me too. We had it so good. I constantly wonder whatever gave me the idea that I needed more than what I had.” Legion’s red eyes pooled with tears. “I listened to someone who convinced me I would be better off if I were in charge. The idea of being an authority and telling others what to do fed my pride. I believed a lie.”
Allen shifted nervously. “Man, I’m sorry, but I don’t see how I can help you.”
“I’ve wondered for so long if I might somehow be able to return,” Legion said. “I think I’m different from the others that are controlled by Vulpine. I believe I am the only Dun who feels this way. Vulpine knows it and forces me to do twice as many of his demanding exploits than all the others. I’ve been punished for my thoughts and tightly controlled for many millenniums. There’s no end to it.”
Allen peered over his shoulder. He wondered if this was a trap. “I still don’t know what you want from me.”
“When I overheard some Duns say that Vulpine was going to try to kidnap you, and then found out you were here, I decided to make a drastic move.” Legion’s eyes narrowed in desperation. “I devised a plan to help you escape from here. No one ever has but, I’m going to help you try.”
“You are?” Allen’s face mirrored astonishment.
“And if we make it to the City of Light, I wonder if you might consider speaking up on my behalf and maybe, just maybe, I could somehow be given another chance.” Legion wrung his hands, sunk down on the ground, and buried his face in his hands. “I’m willing to work at the lowest job in the kingdom for all eternity if it would be possible. The risk is immense, but to remain here is hopeless.”
Allen was speechless. He was overcome with pity for this broken Dun.
A loud flapping of wings interrupted their conversation and they watched as more Duns arrived from their mission, dragging human-looking beings with them.