Chapter 2: A Shocking Surprise

"The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2).

The eerie darkness was too much for him. Allen switched his flashlight back on and decided to check out the lower level of the house. He thought for sure it would be flooded. He rotated his flashlight beam to the stairway and tiptoed down the steps. Scanning the room he was shocked by what he saw. The computer monitor was glowing! He gasped and wondered how that could be when there was no electricity! To check it out he flipped on the light switch, hoping the lights would come back on, but nothing happened.

His imagination kicked into high gear again—aliens! He inched his way toward the screen. The startling glow cast a dim light on the keyboard and chair as he crept closer. Suddenly an image appeared on the screen!

“Oh!” Allen blurted out. He couldn’t breathe and fright paralyzed him. He stood there, his feet frozen to the floor.

A calm and gentle voice came from the screen, “Hello, Allen.”

But Allen couldn’t speak. A lump had formed in his throat.

Then another “Hello Allen.”

Finally, he let out a weak, “Who—who are you?” Then he stuttered and stammered, shooting out one question after the other:

“How—how come you’re on my computer screen?”

“How did you get there?”

“Where are you from?”

“Whoa, slow down, Allen,” The deep but gentle voice said. “Why don't you just sit down in the chair and I’ll answer your questions?”

A blast from the past streaked through Allen’s mind. He’d always had a lot of questions and often they would come out like a machine gun, just like now. Sometimes his father would be amazed at the barrage of questions shooting out. “Dad, where did I come from? Why am I here on earth? Why is the sky blue? What happens when people die?” As he got older, his questions had gotten harder and led to deeper ones like, “Is there a God? Why is there evil in the world? How did the world begin?” Allen had some good questions and they deserved answers, but often he wouldn’t hush up and sit still. His question sessions would often turn into a laughing fest as his father would double up with laughter, never getting a chance to reply to “the machine gun kid” as he often described Allen. The science club at school had helped him explore answers to some of his regular questions. But now he was experiencing some real issues in his social life that were affecting him and his friends. More than ever he had some heavy duty questions that needed answers.

“Sit down Allen.” The voice interrupted Allen’s thoughts and shocked him back to the present.

Reluctantly, Allen settled down into the padded desk chair and stared at the screen. He just couldn’t believe what he saw—a face with a slight grin and friendly eyes. The face’s golden glowing hair was a jolt to Allen’s senses. He pointed at the screen and blurted out, “Did you know your hair glows? How does it do that?” Old “machine gun” had started up again.

The being’s head nodded. “My glowing hair is why your computer screen is lit up.”

Allen’s jaw dropped in surprise and the questions stopped.

“If you’re wondering who I am and where I come from, I'll tell you.” With arched eyebrows, the golden-haired one continued, “My name is Mike.”

“Are you for real?” Allen leaned closer to the computer screen.

“I’m real—more real than you’ll ever imagine. I’ve been sent here on a mission by my sovereign Ruler. His name is Theos.” Mike’s voice was very soft but his tone commanded attention. “He’s supreme in the Kingdom I come from.”

Allen scratched his head in disbelief. “I must be dreaming,” he thought. “This is stupid and corny.”

Mike squinted and his eye brows became wrinkled. "You may be thinking this is corny or stupid, but I assure you it’s not.”

“Hey, how do you know what I’m thinking?” Allen shot back.

“Oh, you'll discover there are many things about me you don’t and won’t understand.”

Allen was impressed by the mystery associated with Mike’s words and even more fascinated by having a live being talking to him on the computer screen. He sat up a little taller and with his strongest voice said, “What do you want with me?”

“You have been chosen!” Mike replied.

Images of aliens danced through Allen's head again. Was this some creature from outer space that planned on kidnapping him and whisking him away in a spaceship? He’d seen startling programs about UFOs and studied about them in science class.

“You aren’t going to take me to your leader, are you?”

“Man,” he thought, “That’s different from what an alien would ask. All the movies had the aliens demanding, ‘take me to your leader’.”

“Well, maybe—.” Mike pursed his lips and added, “You’ve been chosen to discover and expose the realm of Vulpine.”

Allen couldn’t understand what he was hearing. “Who,” he asked?

“Vulpine.”

“Who’s that?”

“You’ll see.” Mike blinked and nodded his head. “I want you to do something for me.”

As usual Allen’s mind began to race and he could feel the pulse in his neck begin to throb. “He’s trying to trick me into doing something that will turn me into a mummy or a zombie or some other kind of monstrosity” he thought, beginning to panic.

Mike grinned. “Relax, I’m not going to do anything to hurt or change you.”

Allen mockingly replied, “Oh! I forgot you can read my mind, right?” He wanted to show off his smarts—no one was going to fool him!

But Mike just smiled. “Here’s what I want you to do,” he said. “Just put your hand on my face on the monitor.”

Allen hesitated. “Whoa! Now wait a minute!”

“Come on, Allen. Get with the program,” Mike teased.

Allen smiled to himself, “This guy’s kinda cool.” But he still hesitated.

“Go ahead place your hand on my face on the screen.” Mike urged gently.

Allen wasn’t in a big hurry to be killed or turned into the next Frankenstein. “I bet if I touch the screen, a giant surge of electricity will shoot through my body and I’ll be paralyzed. Then he can dump me in that spaceship that’s hovering above my house right now.”

“Allen, I’m waiting.”

Slowly, Allen raised his hand toward the screen. He knew he could stop at any time, but he was fascinated with this new experience. As his hand inched nearer and nearer, he squeezed his eyes tightly shut. Then he made contact and a tingling sensation shot through the tips of his fingers into his hand and arm. Surprised, Allen opened his eyes. His hand and arm were moving into the screen! It felt like a giant vacuum cleaner was tugging on his arm. His whole body was slowly moving closer to the monitor. As he saw his arm and shoulder go right through the screen, he could see that his head would soon bump into the glass too. He was speechless and felt helpless to stop what was happening.

Then that strange peace swept over him again. Swoosh! In seconds his whole body slipped through the monitor and he found himself in a new and astonishing surrounding.

“Ye gads!” spilled from his lips. Allen was atop a high knoll surrounded by rolling hills, flowers in brilliant shades of blues, yellows, reds, oranges, whites, and some colors he had never seen before. It stretched as far as his eye could see. He took a deep breath, looked up, and stared at some soaring trees so high he couldn’t see the top. All displayed perfect leaves, brilliant in their intensity. In the distance he could see a waterfall and hear its rumbling as it seemed to flow right out of heaven, cascading downward with a huge rainbow displayed across it crest.

He reached out and stroked the petals of what looked like a beautiful rose growing wild beside the path where he was standing. It was so soft—softer than anything he had ever touched! Then he realized all his five senses were acute beyond anything he had ever experienced. That rose—he was able to feel the soft, delicate petals. The aroma was fresh and clean. His sight was keen and he could see for an incredible distance. And finally his hearing—he seemed to be able to pick out every bird’s song as he viewed them. Astonishing, amazing, unbelievable, words of description flooded his mind. He just stood there.

“Welcome to the Realm Beyond Time, Allen.” Mike’s booming voice matched his huge stature. For the first time Allen gazed at a full view of Mike. He stood at least nine or ten feet tall and wore a flowing emerald-colored robe, trimmed with gold around the collar and the bottom hem. A gold sash dangled from his waist, matching the golden sandals on his feet.

“Your hair still glows.” Allen smiled and pointed to Mike’s head. “Is that a halo? Are you an angel?”

Mike chuckled. His warm laugh made Allen feel safe and secure. “You'll have plenty of time to find evidence to make up your own mind about a lot of questions you’re going to ask.”

“It’s a good thing there’s plenty of time because I have tons of them.” Allen stood there shaking his head in unbelief.

Mike tilted his head in Allen’s direction. “Let me take you for a walk and try to explain where you are and why you are here.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” But as Allen continued to gaze at the landscape, his bewilderment increased.

Mike reached out and clutched Allen’s hand.

“Your hands remind me of King Kong’s!”

“Who?” Mike wrinkled his forehead.

Allen’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Oh, never mind.” He thought, “I’m not much for holding hands but I’m not going to argue with this guy!”

Mike motioned to Allen with a nod of his head and directed, “Let’s go over there.”

They set off down a roadway stretching toward a valley directly in front of them.

Allen felt incredibly small next to this giant. As he looked down, he couldn’t help but notice how smooth and shiny the road was. “This is the softest road I’ve ever walked on. It feels as if my feet aren’t touching the ground.”

“That’s because they aren’t,” Mike chuckled.

Allen squinted as he looked a little closer at his feet. “Wow! I’m floating, Cool!” he thought.

Mike studied Allen’s face. “You’re suspended above the road.”

“Reading my thoughts again, right?” Allen heaved an exaggerated sigh.

Mike laughed at Allen’s reaction. Allen couldn’t help but join in when he heard the giant laugh. “Mom and Dad are never going to believe this!” he thought.