Natalee raced down the hallway, still clutching the cellphone in one hand and the Bible in her other hand.
“Where are you, Anthony?” She frantically whispered into the telephone. “Don’t you have like a fast car or something to get here?”
The Advocate and two henchmen rounded the corner.
“OMG,” Natalee mumbled.
She looked desperately around for a place to hide. She grabbed a locker handle and tried to wrestle it open. It was locked.
“Who in the world locks their locker?”
Natalee darted into an empty classroom. She rushed over to the row of windows and peered outside. The streets were dark and empty. She tried prying open one of the windows. It was locked.
“What kind of Catholic school locks everything but the front door?” She cried out, throwing her hands in the air. Natalee turned to see the Advocate and his two henchmen standing near the front of the classroom.
“The game is over my dear sister,” the Advocate said. “Give to me the ancient book.”
“How about I do a cheer instead?” Natalee answered. She placed the Bible and cellphone down on one of the desks. She raised her hands in the air. “O-kay!” Natalee clapped her hands together and began to dance as she cheered. “You dress crazy, yes you do. You want this Bible but… I… won’t… give it to you! Alright, that wasn’t my best one.”
She spun around and grabbed the Bible and cellphone. The Advocate and his henchmen began to approach. Natalee backed herself into the corner.
“I thought you said you were sending help?!?” She blurted into the phone.
The Blue Dove smashed through the classroom windows and landed on the floor. He rose with his wings spread, shielding Natalee.
“He did send help,” the Blue Dove said to her.
“What are you?” Natalee said, her eyes bulging in amazement.
“You have interfered in our plans once Blue Dove,” the Advocate retorted. “But you shall not interfere again. This matter does not concern you or your city.”
“It does now,” the Blue Dove answered.
“The Blue Dove?” Natalee said. “I thought you were like an urban legend or something!”
“Hardly an urban legend,” the Blue Dove replied with a smile.
“Now you’re in trouble, mister advocado, or whatever your name is. You’re in big trouble,” Natalee remarked, glancing over at the Blue Dove. “Right? They’re in big trouble?”
“Why are you carrying a bible?” the Blue Dove asked.
“It’s a short story actually. Crazy, old nun, who has surprisingly disappeared, said I was chosen to protect it from an equally crazy cult that wants to abolish Christianity. But, here you can have it.” Natalee tucked the book in the Blue Dove’s belt. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m just going to finish my phone call and you can go beat up some bad guys!”
“There is no need for further conflict,” the Advocate remarked. “Simply give us the Bible. You and the girl would be free to depart unharmed and we would leave your city in peace.”
“I think I’ll hang on to both,” the Blue Dove replied.
“It is as you wish then. Dispose of them.”
The two, cloaked figures moved past the Advocate and approached the Blue Dove.
“Let me handle this,” the Blue Dove said to Natalee.
“Absolutely,” she replied, pointing over to the corner of the room. “I’ll just be over there.”
The Blue Dove jumped onto a desk and did a flip in midair. He landed a solid kick across the face of one of the hooded figures.
“Anthony, you are not going to believe this,” Natalee whispered into her cell phone. “These weirdos are like fighting over me!”
The Blue Dove reached into a pouch on his belt and rolled two, marble sized balls across the floor. They burst into a cloud of grey smoke.
“Face mask,” the Blue Dove commanded. His eyes and mouth area on his cowl were instantly covered with a strong, clear plastic material.
“What is that awful smell?” Natalee gasped. She ran over to one of the broken windows.
“Incense,” the Advocate remarked. He covered his mouth with his cape. “How clever.”
The Blue Dove and the remaining cult member traded martial arts kicks and punches. Each one was successful in blocking the other, knocking desks and chairs in all directions.
The Blue Dove somersaulted over the hooded figure, landing behind him. With a swift
punch over his shoulder, the Blue Dove knocked the final cult member unconscious.
“You would be impressive against a common street criminal,” the Advocate said. He raised his arms over his helmeted head. The grey clouds of incense immediately dispersed and disappeared. The Advocate’s hands begin to glow a dark red. Streaks of energy leaked off his fingertips. “But, you are nothing against me!”
“Argh!” the Blue Dove grimaced. The energy field completely surrounded him. “I can’t move!”
“What’s happening?!?” Gabriel’s voice crackled over the commlink.
“Some kind of energy field generation coming from his hand”, the Blue Dove responded. “Overloading my wrist laser systems.”
The Blue Dove was lifted into the air by a wave of the Advocate’s gloved hand.
“You’re no match for a superior being such as me,” the Advocate growled. “You would have been wise to heed my warnings. Now give the book to me.”
The Blue Dove was flung across the room and crashed into the chalk board, shattering it. He immediately was hoisted back into the air by the energy field.
“Just great,” Natalee whispered into the cell phone. “This Blue Dove guy is getting the crap kicked out of him. Next time, try sending a real super hero!”
The Blue Dove was thrown into a nearby wall.
“Did you hang up on me?” Natalee angrily said. She turned the cell phone off and shoved it into her pocket. “He hung up on me. Like he has something better to do then talk to me!”
The Advocate’s two cloaked henchmen had recovered and grabbed Natalee by the arms. They dragged her toward the classroom door.
“Hey! Hands off!” she yelled.
“We’re losing contact,” Gabriel said over the static. “You have to get those wrist bands off! They could explode!”
The Advocate raised his other hand. It began to glow. The large, oak teacher’s desk was engulfed in energy and rose off the floor. The Advocate slowly guided the desk directly over the Blue Dove’s head.
“I have a feeling that is the least of my worries right now,” the Blue Dove responded. He struggled for a brief moment and was able to slightly move his left hand. “Wait a second…”
“Our time together has been brief,” the Advocate said. “You are hardly a worthy demonstration of my true power.”
The desk came hurtling down. The Blue Dove raised his hands. As the energy fields touched one another, there was a flash of light and a roaring explosion. The Blue Dove was thrown backwards and was catapulted through the classroom window.
The Blue Dove struggled to remove his gloves. The wristbands were starting to smoke
and turn red. He slid them off his hands. The Blue Dove put his gloves back on.
“Let’s see if this works,” he commented.
“Good-bye, my annoying winged friend,” the Advocate calmly said.
He rolled across the grass before coming to rest on the sidewalk. He struggled to his feet.
“That wasn’t exactly what I planned to have happen,” he remarked, rubbing his head. There was a smoking hole where the classroom wall had been. The Blue Dove noticed the old Bible lying on the ground. He bent down and picked it up.
“Natalee…”
“Are you alright”? Gabriel had returned to the cowl radio. “I lost you for several minutes .”
“Laser bands are destroyed,” the Blue Dove replied. He gazed down at the bible. “Looks like I still have some power for the propulsion boots. I need to go.”
“What were they after? Are you there?”
“Natalee! Natalee!” The Blue Dove called out as he leaped through the shattered window into the classroom. He gazed around the room. The lights flickered on and off, occasionally sending a small shower of sparks to the floor. The room was empty. The Blue Dove made his way past the overturned desks and out into the hallway.
“Natalee!” He called out again. The Blue Dove noticed he was still holding the old Bible in his gloved hand.
“She is not here,” the old nun said.
The Blue Dove turned. “Where is she?” he angrily asked.
“The cult has taken her,” the nun calmly replied. “They believe her to be one of the Sisters of Veronica. You now have what they want, and they have what you want.”
“What are you talking about?” The Blue Dove said. He held up the Bible. “Why would they want this book?”
“It is not just a book,” the nun replied. “It is not just a Bible. Encoded inside those pages is the location of the sacred tomb of Saint Veronica and an artifact which dates back to the time of Christ.”
“Who is this cult?” The Blue Dove said.
“You have survived your first encounter with the Advocate,” the old nun remarked. “Very few throughout history can say the same. The Caiphas Cult has existed for two centuries. They are charged with the denouncing of the Christian faith and destroying our most holy relics.”
“Why?”
“Are you not a believer?”
The Blue Dove did not answer.
“The cult awaits a new Messiah,” the nun continued. “They are disappointed in the ways of Christ.”
“The girl is innocent,” the Blue Dove said. “She isn’t a part of your century long conflict.”
“Are there any innocents in the battle between good and evil? There are things in this world and the next that so few understand. Do you not know the story of our patron saint?”
“No,” the Blue Dove answered. “And I don’t care to know. Where would they take Natalee?”
“This Natalee is special,” the old nun commented. “We have watched her for some time. They will not harm her for now.”
“I have to help her.”
“You will. By protecting the ancient manuscripts you help her.”
The Blue Dove turned and began to walk back into the classroom.
“Tell me, why have you chosen a blue dove as your symbol?” the old nun asked. “It is a symbol of peace but yet you are so troubled.”
“It’s a long story,” the Blue Dove answered.
“Your doubts are natural,” the woman said. “It is a part of being human. Doubt is required before faith can grow. Remember the words of our Savior, be not afraid.”
“How do I find this Advocate?” the Blue Dove remarked.
“I would not worry on matters such as that. He will find you.”
“Take care of her car,” he said. The Blue Dove climbed out the window spread his wings and rocketed off.
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES..........