AO

Chapter 1
“Thank Me later.”

“What are you doing, Rand?”
“Depends who the heck is asking, muttered a voice that sounded slurred and almost lifeless.
“You know who this is. What have you been doing, drinking it up again and got yourself into trouble, man?”
“Why in the Sam are you asking me?”
“Because I am worried about you.”
“Why are you worried? Please leave me alone.”
“Just going by the tone of your voice, it is not safe for you to be left alone.”
“If you insist on bothering me, I guess you will have to be witness to what I am about to do.” There was a scraping and shuffling of chair and table leg s as if they were being moved around for some reason.
“What are you about to do, Rand?”
“Damned if I care, come and look if you are so bent on knowing, whoever the heck you are out there,” said the slurred sounding voice of Rand.
“Rand!”
“What? Who the heck are you?’
“It is me.”
“What is “it is me” supposed to mean?” There was a click of a pistol as Rand said this.”
There was also a sudden sound of a boot kicking in a door and the resounding crack as the panel of the same door split and in walked the last person Rand expected to see.
“It is me. I am AO.”
“What the heck are YOU doing here?”
“Quite obviously, saving you from yourself.”
“Damn.”
“Rand! Stop! Get down off that chair! Give me that gun! Don’t do it!”
Rand was indeed standing on a chair in the center of the room, barefoot. In fact, he was shirtless and had on only some very short cutoff jeans. He held a pistol aimed at his temple.
“Rand! I order you to get down off of that chair, NOW!”
Rand slowly turned around and stared evenly, somewhat defiantly, if unsteadily, at AO. “Why the heck should I do that?” He slurred, unsteadily shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
“It is not your time to go, that’s why.”
“You have your buddy Alex, and that tat faced slut, whatever her name is. I’ll bet you don’t even what me in their… in your company. They are too… too good for damned scu— damned scu… scum like me. Too good…” Rand’s voice slurred as he spoke.
“Rand, knock it off. Remember, we have a future. You have a future.”
“Damnit, there ain’t no future for someone like me.”
“Yes, Rand. Yes, there is.”
“No… no there ain’t.” Rand fingered the trigger of the pistol still poised in his hand. “I’mma gonna do it. Relieve you and your goody two shoes friends and you to whate’ve’ dreams of glorah you thin’ you got goin’ fer yuh…”
“Rand! Have you gone and drugged yourself, too?”
“You… you really wanna see me go, donja…?”
Rand had the pistol poised and aimed. “It ain’t gonna be pretty.” He slurred. “Maybe more blood den yer used to seeing…” Rand grinned crookedly, evilly.
Suddenly two shots reverberated in the room and Rand crumpled into a heap.
“Rand! O Rand… why did you? How could you…”
There was no sound from the crumpled broken heap of humanity on the floor.
AO placed both hands on Rand’s shoulders and took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He did it once.
Nothing happened.
Twice.
Nothing.
He inhaled and exhaled slowly for the third time.
There was a heaving sound, almost a gasp. It was almost a grand mal seizure.
“Come out of him, NOW.” There was no mistaking the command in AO’s voice.
There arose a slithery, snaky, almost guttural voice from somewhere inside Rand, “Why should I come out of him? He is MINE, All MINE.” It was almost as if there was another being inside of Rand, using his vocal cords and talking through Rand’s mouth.
“He WAS yours.” AO said evenly.
“He still is mine.” Slithered the voice.
“He is mine.” AO repeated, just as evenly as the first time.
“On what grounds can you lay claim to Rand?”
“On what grounds can YOU lay claim to him?”
“He gave himself to me, AO, and you know it.” Hissed the voice.
And I bought him back, and you know it,” thundered AO.
“And the fool knows it?” mocked the voice.
“Not yet, but he will.”
“How? He is dead.”
AO stood to his feet, pointed to the body of Rand and thundered: “In the name of the Great King and with all the Authority that I have as His son, I command you, COME OUT OF HIM AND LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! NOW.”
There was a sudden writhing and shaking as if the phantom inside of Rand wanted to tear Rand apart as retaliation for being commanded to come out of him. AO again pointed to the body, now writhing on the floor, “do not harm him. It is unlawful for you to harm him. Come out and leave. And, NEVER return to him!”
There was a shriek in reply. But this time it came from outside of Rand. “Go!” AO thundered. “I command you! NOW!”
There was a muffled boom and then silence.
AO leaned over, touched Rand and said, “Arise, Rand. It is gone. You are free. That spirit will not torment you anymore.”
“But… but… how… why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you bring me back?”
“I wanted to. There is more for you to do here.”
“But my life has been so… so… meaningless.”
“Up till now, yes, it has been, Rand. But that ends now.”
“What do you mean?’
“Your life has always had purpose, Rand. You just did not know it.”
“I don’t know what the purpose of it is, AO.”
“No. You don’t. But you are about to start finding out. In fact, you could say that you had your first lesson on what value your life has.”
‘What do you mean?”
“I will tell you later, you need to recuperate. Enough trauma for one day.”
“But… but… how can I ever—”
“You can thank me later, Rand.”
“Thank you later?”
“It will all make sense, later, Rand. I will explain everything when you need to know.”
“But it is so hard to accept. Or grasp. Everything bas piled on me so suddenly in the last couple of days.”
“I know.”
“What do you mean, you know?”
“I don’t even expect you to believe me now; I do not even expect you to thank me now for what you have been put through.”
“It has been hellish.”
“Yes, and for you, more than the others.”
“I can see nothing good coming from all of this. I almost wish you had not brought me back to life.” Rand almost felt bad for saying it, but it was the truth.
“I know. But you will thank me later.”
“I will, AO?”
“Yes. Now rest.”
AO strode to the door, opened it and stepped out and closed the door behind him.
Rand fell into a deep, dream filled sleep.

To know why that happened, we need to take the time and tell a story that is actually a combination of stories. It is a story of how several people who had no “earthly reason” for their paths to cross, found their paths crossing. Even in spite of everything they could do to prevent their paths from crossing.
It is also the story of who brought them together and how he did it.
This is the story of the intersecting of three strangers who had every reason to be enemies and no reason to be friends, and no interest in acting like a family. There names are: Alex, Shana, and Rand.
And the man, if he actually was a man, who called himself, and told them to call him, AO.