PASTOR ADRIAN

I watched the area boys close to my church manifest their madness. They went round my vehicle multiple times chanting, as though they were expecting the car to crumble like the wall of Jericho.

I knew their likes and how they preyed on the weak and disadvantaged.
My driver glanced at me from the rearview mirror in horror. I paid him no mind as I sat there unperturbed by their actions. It was already 8:03 pm and service was still going on.

        Clangs of machete against each other forced me to steal another murderous glance at them. I felt the rage coming, I took another ten breaths to calm whatever was rising within me.

There was no way I would react wildly here, on the streets where people knew me as a Pastor. And the church wasn't even far away.

Their actions forced me to question why they were behaving this way. Because I had plied this road for a very long time and I'd never had issues with anyone.

          "What to do? What to do?" I muttered to myself while smoothing the crease that had formed on my face.

The Crimson flashed across my wrist again, I covered it with my suit. I wish I'd come with my guards, but I waved that thought off. Secrecy lies in fewer numbers.
I was still flustering with my thoughts when I felt the car move from side to side.

       'Bang! Bang! Bang!'

A loud clanging sound filled the car from my side of the window screen.
Emass was almost screeching off with the car when I stopped him.

        "Let's hear what the problem is." He hurriedly shook his head. I ignored him and proceeded to do what was on my mind.

Slowly, I wined down my window to see the face of their obvious leader. He had tattoos all over him. From his face to his neck and even his hands. Every visible part of his body was laced with paintings.

       "How may I help you?" I asked, relaxing deeply in my soft leather chair.

He grinned. "See question? Your life is about ending and you are still sitting there unperturbed."

I returned his smile with a murderous laughter that shoveled him away from me. "What do you want?" My eyes laced him with fear as I probed deeply into his mind.

He gestured to his guys to stop yelling. Silence fell into our moment of understanding.

     "Erm,...I... I...." He stuttered.

          My head moved involuntarily as though it was not part of my body. Keeping my eyes on him, I grabbed his wrist and shut my eyes.

Like a flash of lightning, I accessed his mind immediately. I kept searching for recent videos taken through his eye lenses. There was nothing of interest, except something he was trying so hard for me not to see.

My eyes flashed open and took his form. He shivered at the intensity of my gaze. "Who sent you?"
He whimpered, hauling over to his knees. He tried to pull his weight to rest on the floor.
But I held him tight. His boys saw what was going, on and ran. I held him with one hand, before forcing him to get up.

         "For the weapons of my warfare are not carnal, but mighty." I stopped there. I couldn't bring my mouth to finish quoting the Scripture, because I wasn't sure of what weapons I was using right now.

          When my eyes met the young man's face again, sweat was ravaging his body while he whimpered endlessly.

I forced my eyes into his again, taking his head into my palms. Right there, I took over his thoughts.  Quickly, I communicated his sentence to him in his mind. "You will die in exactly three days from today. For disrespecting me, you will pay the price with your blood."

Swiftly, I released him. He slumped on the floor like a wet log. I felt my peace again. Then I saw my driver stare at me in horror. With my palms, I flattened my suit and stole yet another glance at Emass.

         "Drive."

We drove for ten minutes before I asked him to stop at a nearby gas station. Before he stepped out, my hands grabbed his shoulders and gained access to his terrified mind.

         "No one must hear or know about this! Do you understand?"
I watched his head nod in affirmation.

           By the time I got to church, the worship team was ministering in praise. Lots of people streamed into the overflow tents as the main sanctuary was already filled.

Emass was still shivering from what he saw but he knew he would never go against me.
I quietly stepped into my office to redress. My guilt weighed heavily on me.
Questions began to pop up in my head.

         "All those spiritual gifts I had, were they really from God and did God call me?" I conversed with no one in particular.

My mind went into an overdrive that kept me restless. My body rocked in the leather chair that cradled my six-foot-plus frame. A nagging fear of my falling from glory started radiating through my body.
Tears began to cascade my long depressed face. The magnitude of my sins stared back at me, flipping pages upon pages of transgressions.

     A knock on my door caused me to tether my emotions and plaster a smile on my face.
          "Come in," I said in my usual voice.

My assistant was at the door reminding me of the few minutes I had before the benediction.

Our church had adopted the Catholic church form of benediction to get our people in place spiritually before the real sermon. It was assigned to just be mine.
My eyes locked on the paperwork on my table, and I waved him off. I didn't want him to see me weeping. 

     By the grace of God, I had that gift of energizing the church. I hadn't lost that touch, for now at least. As soon as the people saw me, they were all screams and whistles. It took a while to calm them down.

         "Please be seated," I said calmly, my voice echoing through the surround amplified sound speakers in the church.

        "Shukura's vessels might be in the auditorium today," I muttered to myself, as my eyes took in the crowd of people waiting to be fed with God's word.

I carried myself gracefully glancing at the scripture that popped up on my tablet. Politely, I asked the church to stand and read with me.    

     "Mathew 13:7-8.
    7- "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them.
    8- "But the other fell into good ground, brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.
       
        "Please rise, let us declare......"
       
    I am of incorruptible seed, made in God's likeness.
    I carry the light of God, made for his glory.
    I bear fruitful fruits, I refuse to be contaminated.
    I spread beyond my region, I take territories
    My head, body, mind, and soul are one with Christ.
    I will not be hurt or cut short.
    I excel in all realms, in all things.
    All things work in my favor and in his grace I Succeed. Amen."

   
        After we were done with the benediction turned declaration, I invited Pastor King to give the word.
My huge upholstery chair sat across the pulpit, my wife's chair next to mine. But I chose to sit on a plastic chair close to my office.
A flash of something forced my head in the direction of my suspicion. "Aha! I knew it!"

There she was, sitting comfortably in the second row of the upper aisles. Her African print dress rhymed well with her shoes.

She looked unperturbed, uninterested in the happenings in the church. Her wrist was still wrapped in a bandage. Her attention went from Pastor King to Jacob and then back.
I was so moved by something within me to go retrieve what she took from me, but I managed to hold my peace.

Her friend Nkasi sat next to her, her face filled with emotion as the preacher preached. Her lips moved as she got caught up in the flow of the spirit. Unique just watched her absentmindedly.

My guilt started to come back on, I didn't mean to hurt her. Just that sometimes when I go to bed, I find myself in places outside of history. In realms yet to be known.
I had no control over these things, they just happened. I feel like a messenger controlled by the message.

    Jacob had taken over from Pastor King and migrated into a higher level of intense worship. The people came out to the altar floor and laid themselves on the ground.
Ushers dispatched themselves into the sea of people, to assist those overcome by the power of God.
I watched my son flow into his being, his blue-flamed aura intertwined with him.

         When he horned in his latest short song, it broke me. The chant washed over me, soaking me in cleansing worship. There were no words but the melody convicted me.
I wanted to scream, to confess all my hidden sins. The more I heard the chant, the more I wanted to run. I trembled all over like a wet cat.

The weight of my body seemed to be crushing my legs. Grabbing the tip of a curtain, I leaned in for support. But the curtain gave way, denying me stability. I staggered blindly, unaware of my exact position.

          Bolaji's voice in my ear reassured me of assistance. His broad shoulder wedged me, while his hand cupped my back. With the help of my secretary, the two men led me back into my office.

But I could still hear Jacob's song. I stared at the dimly lit faces of both men. Their face twitched with worry, apprehension written all over them.

        "Pastor, would you want me to send for Jacob?" It was Bolaji who asked.
I shook my head. "Jacob is exactly where he should be."

        "Get me to the floor!" I pleaded. I knew I was about to explode. Standing or sitting was not an option.

They glanced at themselves confused at my request.

         "What floor sir? You mean the church floor?" Isaiah asked. He was known for asking the craziest, dumbest questions. The scowl on my face educated his empty mind.

         "Haba! On the floor jor! This floor right here." I yelled.
They quickly scrambled to slowly place me on the floor, my body shaking all over.

  Jacob had switched to another song,

The fire that I hid from
Had come to consume me.
I lied that I had the Holy Ghost
I joked that the light of God was in me
But where can I hide when His fire comes

I Surrender it all
All of it
All of me
Till the purifiers fire
Makes me whole

As soon as my ears heard the song, it trashed me from wall to wall. Something was burning in my stomach, sizzling its way to my chest. It sent hot and cold sensations through my body at the same time.

"Am a man of God
Called by you Lord
Am your man Lord
All nine yards,
Please have mercy." I pleaded.

         Thankfully, the song ended and I regained myself. Glancing around, debris of paper and materials filled the room. I had ripped my jacket into pieces, trashed my table, and caused a lot of things to crash to the floor. Pieces of clothes and papers are scattered all over the place. It was a mess.

My able-bodied helpers had scratches and bruises on their faces. Isaiah was nursing a broken nose and curated lip. Bolaji, on the other hand, looked like a man freshly out of a psychiatric home.
His clothes were more shredded than mine. His boxers could be seen saved from destruction. I wiped my face focusing on my eyes.

I pulled myself from the floor and stared at the men who looked defeated.

        "Was there a break-in?" I asked, looking out of my office window, hoping to find the assailants before they escaped.

They didn't respond neither did they look at me. After I graced them with a minute of silence, I was getting irritated that they chose to ignore me.

         "Who beat you?" I asked tapping my fingers on the now scratched-out table.
My anger boiling. They both acted shocked at my question.

        "See, if someone as much as touched the hair on your hair in this place, I will deal with them mercilessly." I threatened.

They stole glances at themselves and stared at me in astonishment, still silent.

My foot pushed me to the corner where they sat.  My gaze shot at them again, sternly.

          "One more time, who hurt you guys like this?" I asked for the umpteenth time, frustrated by their silence.

It was Bolaji who quietly cleared his throat, but I heard it for his voice was too strong to be a whisper.

         "You did sir." He answered, his face scrounged in a twist. His gaze pointed to the floor.

         "Me? " I asked, pointing my right index finger at myself. Anger was now swapping with fear.

He nodded, avoiding my face.

A wail escaped my mouth.  "Jesus! My beast had finally shown itself to people who should never know."