Marina and her crew of five were buried alive. The air grew thin. Bell wheezed. Lonely, the biggest of them, couldn't move an inch and suddenly he had the urge to pee. Everyone yelled, "Hold it!" which only made Lonely cry. Bell did her best to soothe the beast and told him to think of something else. She then proceeded to tell Lonely the entire story of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast while Marina mumbled prayers and quoted every promise she could think of from, The Book.

As Bell came to the part in the story where the villagers are storming the castle and yelling, "Kill the Beast! Kill the Beast!" Once more the earth above their heads rumbled loudly and began caving in on top of them.

Marina held up her hand and said, "Storytime is over. Now we battle!"

Speed sneezed the dirt out of his nose and asked, "Battle? How? We have no weapons. We can barely move..."

Grace agreed, "I'm afraid he's right Nana."

Marina quoted, "A live dog is better than a dead lion."

X counted the group. Then added, "Okay but soon we gonna be 6 dead dogs!" X saw no difference between himself and the animals. Even as he became smarter by the day his childlike faith remained completely intact.

Bell went into a trance like state. She hadn't had a vision since her hearing had returned. In her mind's eye she saw thousands upon thousands of warrior spirits hovering above Woodsburg. There were so many of them they blocked out the sky. However as black as the sky was the warrior spirits glowed brighter than a thousand suns.

Bell said, "Friends be still. The Author fights for you. Oh mighty King please open their eyes so they too may see."

Everyone in the tunnel became very still. Not even a pebble dared to move out of place as a sweet fragrant aroma filled the space. Suddenly everyone trapped underground could see what Bell saw above. Myriads of angels radiated brilliant white heat above the town. Their glorious light melted dark slugs below. Hundreds of thousands of leech-like beings wriggled and oozed, melting into a slimy black river. The river of demons slithered down stream and made its way to the nearby bay. Once the gloopy dark creatures touched the seawater they disintegrated like the slugs that they were.

Simultaneously the warrier spirits raised their arms and ascended toward the sun. The dirt below them lifted with them. Marina, Bell, X, Grace, Speed and Lonely could finally breathe with ease. The brilliance of the sky blinded everyone's vision but Bell. Bell still saw the entire thing in her mind's eye. Tears rolled down her blue eyes as she felt the King's warmth radiating through her like liquid love. All she could managed to say was, "Thank you... Thank you Lord... Thank you..." over and over.

Marina and X led the way up and out of the dirt prison. When the warrior spirits lifted the dirt from above their heads they left a perfect dirt stair way for the motley crew to make their escape onto solid ground.

The team of six stood next to the large gaping hole of what once was, The Wood's Shoppe, "Building Your Mind Through Books." The rest of Main Street had been leveled under the weight of the demon slugs. The entire town looked as if it had been flattened by a violent tornado. An icky slime covered the splintered wood and rubble. Then, in a flash, the remaining mucus turned into wisps of black smoke and vanished.

As best as she could, Marina explained the scene to the still, blind Bell. "It's gone. The entire town is gone."

X asked, "What we do now? Friends come?"

Lonely wanted to be brave. "The Author has taken care of us each step of the way. Now is not the time to doubt Him."

Bell smiled. "I've got an idea! Let's have a praise party!"

The six of them made their way back to the bonfire area. Miraculously all the stumps and the firewood remained intact.

X started a fire with a piece of flint he kept in the small pouch in his khaki coveralls. Each of them gathered around the glowing flames and openly thanked the Author for every good and perfect gift. They thanked Him for being their good, good Father and agreed to trust Him no matter what.

Marina taught them another hymn:

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given
Jesus Christ His Son

And now let the weak say I am strong,
Let the poor say I am rich,
Because of what the Lord has done for us

Give thanks...

Let the blind say I can see
It's what the Lord has done in me
Hosanna, hosanna!
King save us now
Hosanna, hosanna,
King to you we bow

SOD hovered high above in a nearby shabby pinetree. He watched the entire scene unfold. Losing hundreds of thousands of demons merely annoyed him. As the believers began singing around the bonfire he shivered and covered his pointy red ears with his claw-like hands. He gave out a low guttural growl. "Oh how I hate that name. I banned that name from the earth. How is it these 6 freaks dare to sing about the Holy One? I deleted His name once before and I'll do it again. Everyone gets to be God but J-j-j-je..." SOD couldn't utter the name Jesus. There is too much power in that name. He knew, by merely saying "Jesus," he could turn into a pile of ash.

"I'll get you, you measly mutant humans! Do you think a decaying grandma, a sickly blind girl and an overgrown oaf can out smart me—the Prince of Darkness?" He spat. "Give me a break! Do you think a stupid cowardly bear and two mangy flea-bitten dogs frighten me? Why you're nothing more than overgrown greasy rodents. If I can't attack you directly I'll attack the ones you--" He spat again. "Love..." Gagging he recessed further into the pines and plotted his next attack.

As the sun went down the group huddled around Lonely for warmth and comfort. The fire continued to crackle and glow until sunrise.

When they awoke the heavenly food covered them like a blanket of warm snow.

-End of Chapter 40-

Author's note:

God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~ Phil 2:9-11