“I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side ” (Psalm 3:6).
The further Allen and Legion climbed in their ascent toward Vulpine, the more Allen’s knees shook. As they neared the top, they watched four other Duns leaving after receiving commands from Vulpine. Allen shaded his eyes, watching them make their descent. Panic seized him. He felt paralysis setting in and breathing became more difficult. He was certain his heart was about to burst.
“Almost there. Keep moving.” Legion tried to encourage, but sounded slightly nervous himself.
Allen sneaked a quick glance at Vulpine. He was as massive as Allen remembered and was dressed very similarly to what he had worn in the City of Light, but without the bright shimmering glow. “I bet it’s because this place is so dark and gloomy,” Allen thought. Vulpine’s face was set like a rock— expressionless, grim, but certainly not ugly. Allen was surprised. “I thought he would look like a monster.” Vulpine’s eyes were fixed. Even from a distance, they appeared to look right through Allen. “He has x-ray vision. I’m doomed for sure.”
“Take off your glasses," Legion muttered under his breath.
Allen reached up slowly, removed the glasses, and tucked them into the pocket inside his robe. “So far so good!”
Total blackness swallowed him up. He clutched for Legion’s robe. As they finally made it to the top, Legion stopped. All the intense rehearsal they had practiced in the safety of the rock ledge was on the line.
Allen followed Legions lead. They bowed, saluted, and performed all the other rituals.
“Oh, God, please help me!” Allen held his breath, blindly watching and waiting.
Vulpine’s command pierced the darkness. “Continue the invasion of Jason at 1000 South Main!”
Allen’s mind went as blank and black as the air around him. He knew that name and address! “Jason is the guy Stacy’s mother cast a curse on!” In his nervousness he didn’t catch all the instructions connected to Jason’s case. He didn’t know what they were instructed to do, but at this point he knew hanging on to Legion was his priority. “If I can just get back down those stairs and away from this scary place, I’ll find out the details about Jason later.”
Legion nudged him for the final salute. Allen responded in perfect unison. Then they turned, walked to the steps and began their decent. Loud noises echoed throughout this area of the Dark Region and Allen felt it was safe to whisper a message to Legion without being overheard. “I think this is going to work. Can I put my glasses on?”
“Not yet. Wait until I tell you.” Legion’s voice was dry and raspy.
With just a few steps left to go, Allen suddenly tripped and lost his balance. Legion scrambled to hold him up but lost his grip. Allen tumbled down the last few steps and crashed to the ground! One of his wings broke off. A great commotion arose behind them. Allen heard Vulpine’s voice bellowing orders in the background, he also heard footsteps he knew were the Duns running toward them. Any moment he expected to feel himself seized and dragged before Vulpine, but then Allen had an outrageous thought. “Get up and battle your way to freedom! After all, you’ve been on your high school wrestling team for the past two years.”
Allen took a deep breath and continued to psych himself up. “The Duns aren’t as strong as the demon commander, and he’s not here right now. Wrestle for your life!” Allen was convinced he had nothing to lose. “If I’m going to clash, I gotta be able to see clearly.
Before he could find his glasses, someone grabbed his leg. He frantically struggled to get free. Something else put a firm clamp around the other leg. Hope was fading fast as he was pinned down. “I’m going to be trapped forever in this chamber of horrors!”
A greater horror than Allen had ever experienced seized him. A bellow resounded throughout the darkness. “I recognize that voice. It’s the demon commander!” Even without his glasses Allen could see him. There he was, bounding up over the edge with a host of creatures very similar to him, moving toward Allen and Legion.
“I wonder why he needs all those additional imps.” Allen felt an icy chill seize his whole essence.
His question was immediately answered when he heard that loud voice shout from what sounded like a huge bullhorn. “The chosen one has escaped!”
“The chosen one!” There’s that term again. Now searing heat and choking smells engulfed him and he had only an instant to grab the glasses in order to see the direction of the runway. He couldn’t remember which pocket he had put them in, maybe in his jeans pocket. In a last ditch effort and with all his remaining strength, he reached in his pocket and moaned, “Not there! Oh, no!”
But he did feel something strange that he hadn’t felt before. As he pulled it out, a startling, dazzling light expelled the black fog—a light so bright and pure it lit up the whole Kingdom of Darkness. “The earring is giving us light!” Allen waved the earring over his head. It had been in his pocket since the battle between Mike and Vulpine at the rebellion. The light splashed blazing rays throughout the darkness, blinding their enemies. “I can see clearly now, Legion!”
Allen kicked the Duns who had grabbed his legs. His foot caught one of them right beside the head. It howled loudly and let go of Allen’s leg. The other one let go and cowered in fear when the light blinded his eyes.
The demon monster was ready to strike. Allen grabbed Legion, who was also blinded by the light, and shouted, “Trust me, Legion, and do what I say.” Allen tugged on Legion’s robe and together they ran to the edge of the runway. “Fly, Legion. Fly!”
Legion struggled. He didn’t have the strength to lift both of them into the air. They stumbled and fell.
“Try harder, Legion. Try harder,” Allen urged.
With his last bit of strength, Legion strained every fiber in his body. Then something happened that Allen had not experienced since he arrived in this strange world—A breeze blew! As Legion extended his wings, the breeze gave them lift and the two slowly mounted into the air. Higher, higher they ascended: with the wind under their wings and the light from the stone in the earring showing the way, they soared.
Allen glanced back over his shoulder and reported, “No Duns are following us, Legion.”
And so they departed the Dark Region, that chamber of horrors. The Duns had been temporarily blinded by the light. Their eyes could only see in darkness and were very slow to adjust to such a drastic change in light level. Allen’s last glimpse brought relief like he hadn’t experience since entering the Dark Region as he spotted a host of demons railing and screaming in total confusion.
But then, in a reminder that it may not be completely over, he heard a faint frightening threat, “We’ll get you! You’ll be sorry. No one has ever escaped from the Dark Region!”
For an instant fear sliced again through Allen’s heart, but only for a moment. “Free!!!”
He let out a fierce shout of joy as he saw that the light was remaining with them but darkness was returning to the evil region. They had escaped!
“We're free, Legion! We're free!” He couldn’t stop shouting that word.
Legion rubbed his blind eyes. “Allen, what happened?”
“Let me tell you, my friend.” As they headed away, Allen described all that had taken place. As the wonderful and happy account flowed from Allen’s lips, bursts of laughter broke out from both of them and drifted out through space.