"I’m gonna kill myself, I swear..."

"Don’t say that Tay."

"Ike, there are ten thousand girls out there, and they’re gonna kill me before I kill myself, what’s the difference? I’m not really gonna kill myself now...That’s just stupid." Taylor groaned to himself as he jammed a hateful earplug into his right ear.

"Tay, you’re gonna kill your ears." Zac warned.

"They’re just about dead already, so what’s your point?"

Isaac groaned. Taylor was being cranky just before one of their biggest concerts. This was going to be a whole lot of fun and then some.

"Come on guys, everyone on your feet!" Taylor yelled. The scene backstage half an hour ago was forgotten. An extremely fake smile was plastered from ear to ear. He winced inwardly as the volume lunged at him and rolled his eyes slightly, glancing backwards at Zac—a habit he could never break. The stage lights were killing his back—it was so hot. He could imagine a big black hole being burned into his shirt, and start burning his back slowly, the flesh starting to peel as it burned...Taylor shook his head, his hair sticking to his face because of the sweat that was glistening on his fair skin. Great. Just great. Isaac started the opening chords to ‘Speechless’ as Taylor was dying underneath the lights.

Zac was too busy tapping on drums, letting his mind wander as he listened aimlessly to Taylor sing to notice him squirming in the agony of the heat getting to him. Taylor’s voice cracked in the middle of a word, and Zac snickered slightly, and started singing again.

Taylor couldn’t stand it. He jumped up and down, trying to get the audience to get into the music, as he played the keyboards, singing. Hot! HOT! TOO HOT! AHHH! VERY HOT! I’m melting! I’m MEEEELLLTTTING!! He thanked God as the song came to an end, and yanked his shirt off, dropping it next to the keyboard. Uh oh. The screams came and he couldn’t escape it. He had nowhere to run from them.

"Okay guys, we’re gonna take a break, but we’ll be right back after these messages." Zac said in a comical voice, and the three boys from Tulsa headed backstage.

"I can’t take this anymore!" Taylor grabbed a bottled water and thirstily gulped down the cool, soothing liquid. The cold liquid felt so good sliding over his dry lips and down his throat.

"My ears heart." Zac complained.

"Gee Zac, I wonder why." Isaac patted Zac on the head.

"Hey...Hi...How are you..." Taylor shook hands with squealing, shrieking girls that screamed as loud as they could whenever he grabbed a hand. He grabbed the hand of a girl, and his eyes wandered across her face. It was her eyes that caught his attention. They were ice blue, colder then the coldest winter day in Antarctica, and bluer than his own. Her eyes captured him, couldn’t let him go. He was in a frozen gaze with the fan, and he couldn’t break it. She was the one who did. She smiled, and her eyes turned as warm as a summer day. Taylor shook his head slightly, and continued on, wondering who she was and how she maintained that hold...that power over him. When he glanced back into the crowd where she had originally stood, she was gone.

"...Oh my jeez, she had the bluest eyes...It was so hard to explain. She like, had me under some trance or some weird thing like that...I couldn’t break it...It was so freaky, serious." Taylor explained to his brothers.

"Tay, you’re imagining things. Go take a nap." Isaac smiled at his younger brother. He always did have a big imagination.

"Taylor, explain to me why I don’t believe you." Zac said, nodding.

"Okay, fine, don’t." Taylor couldn’t believe that his brothers...his own flesh and blood didn’t believe him. Sure, he lied to them on occasion, and usually got away with it, but...He wasn’t lying now, and they didn’t believe him. Man this is weird. He got up and stalked out of the room. Air. I need fresh air.

"Tay, where are you going?" Diana asked sternly.

"Oh, I’m just going to go get some fresh air up at the roof...It’s okay mom, they have like, this floor all guarded off...you know it." Taylor simply replied

"Okay then...Baby, don’t stay out there too long."

"Okay Mom." Taylor slipped on his jacket and stepped outside the door, heading down the lobby. He slid his fingers along the wall as he walked. Taylor suddenly had the weirdest feeling that someone was watching him...Waiting for him...

Hello Taylor.

Taylor turned around, and didn’t see anyone. Weird. "Who—Who are you? Where are you?"

I’m right here.

"Where? I can’t see you." Taylor walked around in a small circle, then went to the back of the hallway and walked over to the other side, then went over to the elevator section. He walked up to the mirror that was in the middle of two elevators and saw her. The girl with the blue eyes. She had jet black hair, and was actually very pretty. And she was right behind him. He turned around and she wasn’t there. He saw in the other mirror the reflection of her back.

You’re looking at me right now, Tay.

"Who are you? What are you?" Taylor was freaked out. What the hell? What is this? I’m going crazy...No I am crazy...My minds playing tricks on me. Now I’m seeing things and talking to them too.

You’re not going crazy, Taylor. I can assure you that you’re completely lucid. As for what I am, well, you’ll have to find out won’t you? Would you like to find out?

You can hear what I’m thinking? Taylor paused and waited for the girl to answer.

Yes of course. You don’t have to talk out loud. I know everything. I am what I am, Taylor. But if you want a name instead of just ‘the girl with the blue eyes’, you can call me Charisma.

Why can’t I see you in person? Why can’t you tell me what you are? Taylor turned around so he could see her face. Her lips moved as she spoke...

Your brothers and you are the Chosen Ones. You will end everything that has happened...Make all the wrongs right. As for what I am...I am what I am..

What are you talking about? Taylor was going to snap. He had no idea what was going on. This is crazy! Why are we chosen? Chosen for what? Me and my bros are in Hanson, that’s all I know...And we’re being chosen for the Grammy’s...

Oh, that’s very nice. Too bad we won’t have Grammy’s here. Here, there is so much destruction, it’s horrible. Over 10 billion people die...Oh no, I said too much.....

What are you talking about? Do tell.

I can’t...I must...leave now...Goodbye Taylor...I’ll be seeing you soon.

"...You have to believe me. I swear to GOD it happened." Taylor said, his eyes wide.

"You’re a great actor, Tay." Isaac said.

"Ditto that." Zac agreed.

"Oh God. Not again. If you don’t believe me—"

Hello Isaac, Taylor, Zac. Why don’t you believe Taylor?

"What? Who is that?" Isaac whirled around and looked, but didn’t see anything.

"Where are you?" Zac asked, his eyes wide.

"Hey Charisma." Taylor said.

"What? Charisma? Who’s that?" Isaac asked.

I am Charisma...Go to a mirror...

The three boys stood in front of the mirror, not moving. They all were talking with Charisma...in their minds, that is.

Wait a minute...This is crazy...Are you serious Charisma?

Yes, Taylor.

Why does this happen?

Isaac, God is God, and we are His creation, we can’t do anything...We are under His power...But when His plan backfires...the Evil One takes over and everything is...Oh I can’t even describe it, Ike...

Why did you choose us?

Zac, honey, from birth you were the Chosen Ones...We kept tab on you until it was the Time.

The time to what? What are you going to do, Charisma?

The time to take you back, Taylor.

Take us back? We never were taken away.

Join your hands together.

Isaac, Taylor, and Zac looked at each other and grabbed each other’s hands.

Now, Isaac, Zac, I want you to touch the mirror with your free hand...

Why?

Shhh...No questions, Isaac...Just do it.

Isaac and Zac reached out for the mirror and touched it. A weird, buzzing noise filled the room, growing louder and louder. A bright, blinding light suddenly covered them, and then there was blackness.

"What...What happened?" Taylor blinked, his eyesight still blurry. He rubbed his eyes, and looked around the surrounding. Isaac was gone like a light on one side of him, and Zac was starting to stir on the other side. Taylor sat up, and groaned loudly. His back was killing him.

"Shhh...Lie back..." A voice of a girl came from behind him. Hands helped him lie back, and a pillow was propped under his head.

"What...Where am..." Zac was waking up. "TAYLOR!"

"I’m right here Zac." Taylor said, not moving.

"Huh? Oh." Zac looked at Taylor.

"Don’t try to sit up." Taylor warned his brother.

"Why?" Zac started to sit up, but two hands grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Charisma?" Taylor asked softly. The girl brushed her long black hair behind her ear.

"Hello Taylor. Welcome to my world."

Taylor’s back felt wonderful. He was so relaxed. When Charisma gives a back massage, she really gives a back massage. Isaac looked up at Taylor, one eyebrow raised.

"One question, Charisma. Where are we exactly?" Taylor asked.

"Six thousand years into the future." Charisma answered sweetly.

"Why is everything so...olden times?" Zac asked.

"Because of the apocalypse. We are all under the Evil One’s command..." Charisma sneered.

"What happened?" Isaac asked.

"Take a look yourself." Charisma pulled back the curtain from a window.

Outside, there was thick fog. Debris was everywhere, as well as the dirt. There was a dead, rotting corpse right across from the house. As the brothers watched, a huge red looking dog kind of thing sniffed at it, then bit into the rotting flesh, licking its chops as if the corpse was a steak...or something. It was so revolting. The sky was of a sooty color. The street was broken up, with huge holes going deep into the ground. A lot of broken machinery was piled high up, and everything seemed to be on fire.

"Oh my God." Taylor whispered.

"God? There is no God...He’s just...sitting up there in heaven watching us all suffer miserably. He’s just...He doesn’t care, all right?" Charisma bit down on her lip and turned away from them. She couldn’t let them see her cry...not the Chosen Ones.

"Charisma, are you...okay?" Zac asked timidly.

"What happened?" Isaac asked softly.

"My family...my friends...they’re dead. All dead. The Evil One destroyed the whole world. Everything...is...gone...Everything. God created the world in six days. It was destroyed in one."

PART 2

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. [Revelations 21:4 NIV]

"Come on! Hurry up!" Charisma hissed, grabbing Taylor’s elbow and tugging him along.

"Okay, okay, you don’t have to grab onto my arm!" He complained.

"Shhhh!" Charisma shushed him.

Zac ran, trying to keep in pace with Charisma, Taylor, and Isaac. "Where are we going?"

"To the lab. You’ll see." Charisma stopped in front of what seemed like an extremely big mound of broken machinery. She looked around, then reached down and pulled up a rusty door of a car. Then, she stepped in, still pulling Taylor after her. Isaac stooped and looked in. There was a long, dark hallway that seemed like unending blackness. Charisma turned, stranding Taylor in the darkness and went back to grab Isaac and Zac, pulling them after her, then closing the door tightly.

"Zac, Ike, I want you to hold onto the back of my shirt." Charisma said, taking Taylor’s hand.

Isaac and Zac grabbed hold of Charisma’s sweater, and she started to lead them down the long pathway, filled with twists and turns. Finally, at the end of the hallway was a silvery blue light.

"What’s that?" Zac asked, clutching Charisma’s sweater tighter.

"That is the lab," Charisma responded and let go of Taylor’s hand. She brushed off Isaac and Zac, and nodded her head towards the light. "Let’s go."

"Don’t touch that Zac!" a man called out.

Zac withdrew his hand from the weird looking machine that he was about to touch, and turned around to face the tallest man he had ever seen in his life. "Whoa you’re the tallest guy I had ever seen!"

The man chuckled. "Yeah, everyone says that...I’m Dr. Gable. You can call me Ed."

"Um...Okay, um...Ed. What is this place?" Zac asked.

"This place is the laboratory, where we have been keeping tab on you all your lives." Ed said.

"Charisma, wait a minute, you took us back here, but what’s happening in our own time?" Taylor asked.

"Oh, hush. Don’t worry about it. In your own time, you’re still running away from screaming girls, complaining about girls jumping on you, and getting really annoyed with all that Girl Power crap." Charisma laughed.

"Aww...shut up." Taylor smiled.

"How do you do that?" Isaac asked.

"Pardon?" Charisma raised an eyebrow.

"How do you make this all happen...and stuff? Like...How?" Isaac asked.

"Well, you see, right now we’re living the past. The future is really the past. Everything before God takes us up in spaceships or cloud or whatever He takes us up in...Us meaning those who believe in His son...is the past. Before the world is destroyed, it is all the past. But the world is already destroyed, and the problem with that is...God’s angels lost to the Evil One’s dark angels. How it happened, we have no idea...Maybe it’s because of all the corruption on this planet, that God didn’t realize...But now, He is planning a comeback, but it might take thousands of years...And we don’t have that time.

"The Evil One is going to open the portal to the Mouth of Hell...You probably heard that one on Buffy the Vampire Slayer....but there really is the Mouth of Hell...Demons and monsters included in the package. The instant the Evil One opens that portal, the whole world will be engulfed with fire. Everyone on this planet will die...And the souls of those who do will be taken by the Evil One...forever. As soon as this happens, God loses His creation, and of course, he’ll take Triton, make the atmosphere of the air breathable and create a perfect utopia for His new Adam and Eve. Anyways, you guys are still in your prime of Mmmbop and Do Wop. Don’t worry about it. While you’re sitting here, the three of you are currently, here." Charisma said, tapping a button that seemed to be part of a computer board...or something like that.

On the large screen, Isaac, Taylor, and Zac flashed onto the screen.

"In a Mmmbop they’re gone, in a Mmmbop they’re not there," Taylor sang to the crowd of screaming girls. MY HEAD IS KILLING ME!!!

I just realized that Taylor really looks like a girl from the back. Zac tapped on the drums.

"Um..." Zac mumbled. "That wasn’t me."

"Yes it was." Taylor gave Zac the look then shrugged.

"Can you turn that off? The screams are getting to me again." Isaac said, one hand on his forehead.

"Okay." Ed switched off the screen.

"That’s really weird." Zac said.

"Wait...you said that we were chosen to end this nightmare. What do we do?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah, I want to help." Zac said.

"So do I." Isaac exchanged looks with his brothers.

"Okay, well, sit down, this is going to take a while." Ed said.

"Okay, let me get this straight. We have to find the hell mouth—" Taylor was cut off by Charisma.

"Mouth of Hell."

"Whatever. Same thing. We have to find the Mouth of Hell," Taylor glanced at Charisma, who raised her eyebrows, giving him a okay, whatever, go suck yourself look. "and we have to close it by taking uh...David’s key and closing it? And also, we have to open the seven seals to the seven scrolls and we have to find the scrolls or something?"

"Well, on the way there, you have to kill a whole lot of dark angels and people." Charisma said.

"We have to kill people?" Isaac asked, aghast.

"I can’t kill anyone!" Zac exclaimed.

"Sweetie," Charisma took Zac’s chin in her hand. "you’re going to have to if they’re coming after you and you have a gun in your hand, the only thing sensible to do is pull the freaking trigger."

"But...but..." Zac stuttered.

"No buts." Ed said softly.

"Wait, why can’t you guys just do it? Just like, do whatever you told us to do? Why us? Why can’t it be like, the Backstreet Boys or ‘N Sync, or like, the Spice Girls or something like that? Why us?" Taylor asked. He was obviously annoyed, and it was obvious that he did not want to be there.

"Because you are a Chosen One. From birth you were one. You are pure, your soul is clean. I could tell that the instant I looked into your soul." Charisma said.

"Mind explaining how you did that?" Taylor asked, looking up at the ceiling, oblivious to the dark stare that Charisma was giving him.

Charisma took Taylor’s head and yanked it down, her eyes locking with his. Taylor fell back into that eerie trance that he had before when he had looked into Charisma’s eyes the first time. This time, as he looked into her eyes, he could see behind the darkness of the pupils a bright summer sky, with a few lazy clouds floating past. A girl ran and skipped in the meadow below. A girl with long, streaming black hair. A girl named Charisma. He watched as a Charisma skipped and accidentally tripped. A tall man with the same jet black hair and piercing blue eyes ran to her, laughing as he picked her up and took her into his arms, spinning. Then, a dark cloud came over and there was lighting and thunder.

The earth started shaking, and a beautiful woman with dark brown hair and green eyes came running, grabbing Charisma from the man’s arms. The man took the woman into his arms, his eyes wide and frightened. A tree fell as the rain and hail started pelting down. Charisma started to cry as the man and woman started running. A huge tree fell, and they ran the other way. Then, the earth started to split, the fiery inferno from beneath spurting up flames and smoke. Charisma was thrown into the safety of another man’s arms...Taylor could see that it was Ed Gable. Ed started running, and through Charisma’s eyes, he saw that out of the earth came six hundred and sixty six dark angels. The man and the woman screamed and clung to each other as the dark angels lunged at them. As he watched, they were savagely killed, and in the distance, he could hear the screams of agony coming from the distance.

The sky opened up, and one hundred forty four angels covered in bright light came down, bearing swords. They began to fight the dark angels, who were in a fiery aura. He watched as a huge monstrous beast came up from underneath the ground. He had two horns like a lamb, but a voice of a dragon. There, carved in his forehead was the insignia of 666. He was the Evil One. He watched as the 144,000 angels instantly burned up as the Evil One let out an angry roar. Taylor saw the ashes crumble up into piles on the ground. He heard the cry from God above, which shook the whole earth, uprooted every tree, split the ground...Then, as a single tear rolled down his cheek, the trance was broken.

"Charisma," Taylor choked out and wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her towards him, and hugged her tight. "I’m so sorry...I’m so sorry..."

"Uh..." Zac muttered.

Ed shot him a look. "He saw through her eyes what had happened. He saw her parents die...he saw it all."

"Uh..." Zac repeated.

Ed shook his head. "Come on Zac, Ike, let me tell you a story."

Ed led Isaac and Zac out of the room, locking the door behind him.

Taylor stood with his arms around Charisma, holding her tight to him, his eyes closed, his face wet with tears. His heart throbbed for her. She was crying as well, she rested her cheek on his chest, her arms around his neck, her fingers clutching his soft, silky hair.

"You were the first..." Taylor pulled away so he could look at her. He brushed her tears away with his fingers.

"My parents were the first." Charisma corrected him.

"But you were the first to see the destruction. How...how did you survive?" Taylor asked, his hands in her long, soft hair.

"Ed...he took me in...He was a father to me for three years. During this frame of time...Mmmbop as Isaac would probably say...in your time, you were born, within a few months, you were singing ‘Mmmbop’ to little squealing girls at Tulsa Elementary, and then, boom, you were famous. Everything goes faster here. A minute here is probably a week there...Well...He brought me to his lab...It’s underground, if you haven’t noticed. And we lived like this. We found out that you and your brothers were the Chosen Ones by a messenger...A dying angel. Then, we just tapped into your time and waited till it was the Time. We survived by means of transporting food from other years. It probably took three seconds. We have a lot of weapons down here to keep us alive. Atomizers, the T-400," Charisma smiled. "We took a made-up weapon from a game that your brother played and we made it real. The Moonraker Laser, the DT-1247..."

"They’re all weapons?" Taylor asked.

"Yes. That, they are." Charisma said softly. She was still in his embrace. Not sure what to do, she looked up at him, and the most amazing thing happened—a stunt no one was ever able to pull off before...He had a hold over her, and she could not break away. Taylor moved his hands up to gently touch her cheek to brush away a lone tear. He pulled her closer to him, and bent his head. Their lips touched, and the trance was broken. As they pulled away, Charisma opened her eyes just as Taylor opened his.

"Was that a kiss?" Taylor asked softly.

"I think you kissed me." Charisma said softly.

"Oh," Taylor pulled away from her and took her hand, leading her over to the extremely torn-up couch. "I wasn’t sure if that was part of the trance thingamajig or if that was real."

"No, that was real."

"Your mother was a beautiful woman."

"I know. I always admired her." Charisma whispered.

 

Part 3

Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! [Matthew 18:7 NIV]

For where three come together in my name, there am I with them. [Matthew 18:20 NIV]

"Taylor, behind you!" Zac yelled, shooting the red-green creature that had lunged at his brother.

Taylor whirled around, but didn’t see anything. "What the—"

"Where are the scrolls?" Isaac yelled to Charisma.

"The Temple of the 7 Angels!" Charisma yelled back among the chaos of the city.

"Where the hell is that?" Taylor shot three dark angels with an atomizer, watching as the strong particles within the gun turned the creature into thin air.

"It was once in the center of the city, but now, I have no clue." Charisma yelled back.

The ground started shaking, and all became silent. There was not one sound, but the steady rumbling from underneath them, shaking the ground.

"Uh...guys?" Zac asked slowly.

"RUN!" Charisma yelled as she saw the ground start to spilt from the far building. Isaac, Taylor, and Zac turned on their heel and started running, trying to escape the splitting ground behind them. Isaac dove onto safe ground far away from the middle, and Taylor rolled out of the way. Charisma turned back to Zac, and threw him out of the way, just as the ground underneath her feet crumbled. Charisma screamed, the terror in her eyes screaming out at Taylor. She could feel the fiery inferno from beneath her feet, as she tried to pull herself up. I’m going to die.

"Oh my God, she fell in!" Isaac yelled.

"She..." Zac was interrupted by Taylor.

"Guys, help me! She’s hanging off the side!" Taylor instantly ran over to the crack, then starting crawling slowly, afraid the ground would give any second. He reached his hand down to her. "Grab my hand!"

"NO!" Charisma yelled.

"TAKE MY HAND!" Taylor yelled. "YOU’RE GOING TO FALL!"

"NO!" Charisma refused again. "YOU’LL BE PULLED DOWN WITH ME!"

"No I won’t! TAKE MY HAND!" Taylor yelled again.

Once again, Charisma refused. Taylor leaned down, and gasped. He could see streams of fire running everywhere. Dark, hunched over tiny figures worked in long lines, chained together. A dark angel cracked a whip at them every so often. Taylor blinked twice, then closed his eyes and groped for Charisma. His hands found her upper arm, and he tightened his grip around that. He pulled with all his strength, and finally managed to pull Charisma up. Charisma started to cry, knowing that he had risked his life just to save hers, and she let herself be held by him, let her be comforted...

"Come on you two, we don’t have all day." Isaac said.

Taylor nodded and stood up, reaching his hand down to Charisma. She grabbed it, and he pulled her up. "Come on let’s get back on the ball."

"Hello?" Zac cracked open the door. "Is anyone in here?"

Silence.

"Guess not," Zac whistled Mmmbop to himself as he padded down the hall. He looked up and could see right through the ceiling to the sky. Grass and dirt was everywhere. "Hello?"

Silence.

He continued walking and tried to open a door. It was locked. "Oh well," he turned away from it. Behind him, the door slowly creaked open. Zac froze then turned around slowly. He tip-toed into the room, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"Zac?" Taylor, Isaac, and Charisma joined him.

Zac motioned for Isaac and Taylor to hurry up and they ran up to him. The room was a circle, which was bare besides a circular stone table-looking thing with another shape of a circle on it, with three hand pairs of hand prints surrounding it. Zac laughed softly and placed his hands in the smallest pair of hands. They fit perfectly. A clanking noise could be heard as the outer circle moved out a little from the inner circle.

Isaac, Taylor, and Charisma gasped and ran to Zac. Isaac placed his hands on a pair of hand prints. It didn’t fit, it was too big. He glanced at Taylor, and realized that his younger brother was taller than him by an inch, then he went over to the hand print in the middle of the outer circle and placed his hands in that. Another clank, and the outer circle moved out some more. The inner circle seemed to be rising out of the middle. Taylor finally placed his hands in the third pair of hand prints, and the inner circle rose slowly out of the middle. A gold box lay on the little shelf that the inner circle had made.

"Charisma, get that box will ya?" Taylor asked.

Charisma nodded and grabbed the box. The instant they took their hands away, the whole circle thing closed, then disappeared into thin air.

"Whoa..." Zac said slowly.

Taylor opened the box slowly, and light seemed to radiate from it. It blinded him momentarily, then he reached into it. He pulled out seven white round scrolls with red seals on it.

"You’ve found the scrolls. Come on, we have to go into the Caves, and locate the portal." Charisma whispered.

Taylor gingerly laid down the seven scrolls. Then, he picked the first one up and proceeded to open the first of the seven scrolls.

I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures saying a voice like thunder, "Come!"

I looked and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!"

Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.

When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!"

I looked and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"

When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say "Come!"

I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?"

Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to the earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. [Revelations 6:1-14 NIV]

There was a flash of light as Taylor opened up the first scroll. A rider on horseback appeared. She was wearing a long, white, flowing gown, and she had beautiful golden, long, blonde, hair. Her eyes were as blue as the sky, her complexion was creamy. Her skin seemed completely of a cream color, except for the tiny hue of color on her cheeks. Her lips were petal pink, and she was a glowing vision. She seemed young, fourteen, maybe fifteen...The horse reared up as it neared them, then stopped.

"You, Chosen One, has opened the first seal. I have been sent down by God as your guardian angel. The seven scrolls must be placed in the portal and never to be seen again once the portal opens." She said in a beautiful, melodic voice.

Zac was mesmerized by her beauty. "What’s your name?"

"Raine. Charisma, He is happy with what you have done so far. He also instructed me to tell you that you belong to Him now." Raine said, looking at Charisma and smiling.

Charisma’s face seemed to be glowing in pride, and she smiled, nodding modestly.

Raine hopped off the horse, and first went to Isaac. "You, Isaac, are a born leader. Handsome, cunning, smart. Your name will be known forever in the House of David," she went on to Taylor. "You, Taylor, you are the key. You hold the power, you have the power within you. You’re a beautiful boy, a real angel. Your beauty is flawless, inside and out," she stopped at Zac. "And you, Zac, you have a lot of potential within you. You are a rare one, a rare diamond."

Raine smiled and gave each a hug, letting her lips brush over Zac’s lightly. "I’ll be seeing you soon."

With that, she seemed to float back onto the horse, and horse and rider disappeared into the air.

"Did you see that? Huh? Did you?" Zac couldn’t seem to stop talking about the kiss.

"It didn’t mean anything, Zac. So, she kissed you, big deal." Taylor rolled his eyes, and continued walking.

"Wait, stop." Charisma ordered.

"What?" Isaac asked, looking at her.

"Do you hear that?" Charisma asked softly.

"What?" Isaac repeated, not knowing what she was talking about.

Charisma frowned, her eyes squinted slightly as she behind them. "RUN!"

"OHH, SHIT!" Taylor’s bright blue eyes widened in fear as he saw the buildings being devoured by the roaring sea of fire, which was advancing towards them with every second. He turned and started running as fast as he could, he could feel the heat radiating towards his back. It hurt so badly, the heat, but he continued running, knowing that if he stopped for one second, he would be dead.

"GO, GO, GO!" Isaac shouted above the roaring of the fire.

"HURRY!" Charisma shouted, pushing Zac further ahead.

"No wait—"

"RUN! GO ZAC! GO!" Charisma screamed, pushing him once more. He stumbled slightly, then caught himself and started running again.

Taylor suddenly halted in his tracks, and turned around slowly. "Guys, we have a problem."

Isaac stopped as he felt the mist of freezing water against his face, chilling him to the bone. "Oh God."

Zac stopped running as he caught up with Isaac and Taylor.

"What are you guys DOING? GO!" Charisma screamed, the fire dancing behind her feet.

"There’s nowhere to run." Taylor said calmly.

"Don’t you get it? It’s an illusion! RUN!" Charisma screamed again, pushing Taylor into the wall of water that was about to come crashing down on his head. She shoved Isaac and Zac in as well, but as the fire caught up with them, she froze, not being able to move. Taylor screamed and jumped back through the sheet of water, illuminated by the fire, and grabbed Charisma and pulled her back.

Part 4

...every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. [Matthew 18:16]

Drip. Drip. Drip.

"Isaac?" Zac’s voice echoed hollowly.

"I’m here," Isaac waved his hands around, trying to locate Zac in the pitch black darkness.

"Where? I can’t find—oh." Zac’s hand connected with Isaac’s shoulder.

"Where are we?" Taylor asked quietly.

"I don’t know, I think we’re in the Caves of the Dead." Charisma said.

"Uh...." Zac murmured.

"Oh, um, a long time ago, this was once a mine. Somehow the demons invaded this area and killed 144,000 people. In real life, everyone thought that the mine had collapsed, but in reality, it hadn’t." Charisma explained.

"It smells like shit in here." Isaac complained.

"That’s the scent of the dead. Get used to it. Come on, let’s go." Charisma said.

"Go? Where? We can either go into blackness, blackness, blackness, or ooh, I know, blackness." Zac sighed.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Click.

"Did you hear that?" Taylor asked.

"What?" Charisma wondered aloud.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Click. CLANG!

Zac made a weird noise, and Taylor froze, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. Isaac swallowed hard, not knowing what he was about to see. Charisma grabbed Taylor’s hand, holding it tightly.

"We have no weapons." Charisma whispered.

"Yea we do." Zac pulled out a mouse-sized atomizer.

"Oh...um...." Charisma froze as she saw the tiny light in the distance. Zac handed the atomizer to her silently and she took it. The light flickered once, twice, then disappeared. "Let’s go."

"Oh my God." There were a million keys of the sort in a round room on seven ledges. Taylor gasped, not knowing what he was supposed to do. Charisma suddenly stiffened next to him, the atomizer drawn.

A man with jet black hair and bright blue eyes suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Charisma dropped down the atomizer. Her eyes stung with tears. "Daddy..."

The man didn’t seem to hear her. He walked straight to Taylor. "You, Chosen One, hold the key to the portal. You will change the past and the future for the world. You will Become. Find a key and try to unleash its power by closing the portal. Use its power wisely, as you will with the seven seals of doom," the man seemed to dissolve slowly into thin air as his voice grew louder. "Save the world’s future....Save us....save...."

"Daddy—no..." Charisma whispered, one hand extended.

Zac placed one hand lightly on Charisma’s back, as if telling her that it was okay.

"The key." Isaac and Taylor said at the same time.

"David’s key, David’s key," Taylor mumbled under his breath as he walked along the room. He picked up a gold key, studded with jewels. David was a king...But he was a humble king. He looked across the way, and there was a brass key with a cross engraved in the handle. He dropped the golden key and picked up the brass. Taylor walked to the door and put the key in. It fit. He turned the key slowly, expecting to die at that moment...the door creaked open.

Isaac and Zac opened the scrolls, reading them one after the other as they watched the white blue light of the portal swirl around and around in crazy patterns. Finally, the last scroll was read and Taylor was ready to close the portal.

"TAYLOR!" Charisma suddenly screamed, pushing him out of the way. The alpha particles blasted into her side, slamming her against the wall. She fell heavily, her eyes closed.

"NO!" Taylor ran to Charisma, picking her up and holding her to him. His attacker stood above him, alpha saber drawn and ready to kill.

Isaac and Zac both ran at the man and tackled him, pushing him into the portal. His scream of agony could be heard forever.

"Charisma..." Taylor whispered, looking down at her.

Charisma’s eyes flickered open. She looked to her right at Isaac and Zac, who were standing, staring at the portal that was increasing in size by the minute. She looked up at the beautiful face above her, looked up at Taylor. "Close the portal before it’s too late and leave."

"I...I can’t leave you here." Taylor stuttered.

"This was what was meant to be. We all are chosen for God’s plan." Charisma’s voice was only heard by Taylor, her eyes were closing slowly.

"Charisma..." Taylor held her close to him, stroking her hair. He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

Charisma’s eyes grew big, and Taylor could see the bright light behind it. A tear slid down Charisma’s cheek and with her last breath, a slightly audible ‘I love you’ could be heard.

"No!" Taylor screamed again.

"Taylor, the portal." Isaac warned as the portal seemed to grow larger and larger.

Taylor got up slowly. "How do we close it?"

"I don’t know." Zac said slowly.

Taylor frowned, and saw the four keyholes placed at each corner of the retaining wall. He ran to the first and locked it.

Clang! Click.

He went to the second one and locked that as well.

Clang! Click.

The third....

Clang! Click.

And finally, he reached the fourth and final lock, and as he locked it, he screamed her name.

There was a flash of white light, then there was darkness.

"I’m gonna kill myself, I swear..."

"Don’t say that Tay."

"Ike, there are ten thousand girls out there, and they’re gonna kill me before I kill myself, what’s the difference? I’m not really gonna kill myself now...That’s just stupid." Taylor groaned to himself as he jammed a hateful earplug into his right ear.

"Tay, you’re gonna kill your ears." Zac warned.

"They’re just about dead already, so what’s your point?"

Isaac groaned. Taylor was being cranky just before one of their biggest concerts. This was going to be a whole lot of fun and then some.

"Come on guys, everyone on your feet!" Taylor yelled. The scene backstage half an hour ago was forgotten. An extremely fake smile was plastered from ear to ear. He winced inwardly as the volume lunged at him and rolled his eyes slightly, glancing backwards at Zac—a habit he could never break. The stage lights were killing his back—it was so hot. He could imagine a big black hole being burned into his shirt, and start burning his back slowly, the flesh starting to peel as it burned...Taylor shook his head, his hair sticking to his face because of the sweat that was glistening on his fair skin. Great. Just great. Isaac started the opening chords to ‘Speechless’ as Taylor was dying underneath the lights.

Zac was too busy tapping on drums, letting his mind wander as he listened aimlessly to Taylor sing to notice himsquirming in the agony of the heat getting to him. Taylor’s voice cracked in the middle of a word, and Zac snickered slightly, and started singing again.

Taylor couldn’t stand it. He jumped up and down, trying to get the audience to get into the music, as he played the keyboards, singing. Hot! HOT! TOO HOT! AHHH! VERY HOT! I’m melting! I’m MEEEELLLTTTING!! He thanked God as the song came to an end, and yanked his shirt off, dropping it next to the keyboard. Uh oh. The screams came and he couldn’t escape it. He had nowhere to run from them.

"Okay guys, we’re gonna take a break, but we’ll be right back after these messages." Zac said in a comical voice, and the three boys from Tulsa headed backstage.

"I can’t take this anymore!" Taylor grabbed a bottled water and thirstily gulped down the cool, soothing liquid. The cold liquid felt so good sliding over his dry lips and down his throat.

"My ears heart." Zac complained.

"Gee Zac, I wonder why." Isaac patted Zac on the head.

"Hey...Hi...How are you..." Taylor shook hands with squealing, shrieking girls that screamed as loud as they could whenever he grabbed a hand. He grabbed the hand of a girl, and his eyes wandered across her face. It was her eyes that caught his attention. They were bright blue, bluer than his, the bluest of blues that he had ever seen. She was so beautiful, she was a goddess come to life. He knew he had seen her somewhere, but he didn’t know where. The only word that came from his lips as he shook her hand was, "Charisma."

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