Jesus Comes Out of the Bathroom

The disease still ran rampant through North America.
Millions were still dying.
But fewer were dying in Chicago and New York than anywhere else.
And that was because of Gary. Maybe his experiments had brought this disease down on the human race but he was also the one who could cure it--but only a few thousand people at a time. Which was a drop in the bucket against the steadily rising cases throughout the continent.
He had spent time in Chicago and New York and the statistics could not be denied. He and his small group of twelve mentally and socially challenged individuals (the trainees) were the only hope.
What this meant to them in the short term was that the government had given them airplanes: one for the twelve trainees and support staff and the other for Gary's original group plus Daniel's financial team and now, temporarily, the news crew.
The trainee's plane was outfitted like a bus with rows of seats while the executive plane was laid out more like a lounge. Daniel had an office and Gary got a bedroom where he could get away from everyone and grab some alone time. He started coming a little loose at the seams when he went too
No one other than Gary expected any other outcome. Only he could see the anomaly as he peered into the extraverse--what only could be some perception of quantum space. The anomaly had started as a formless blob and had grown more human each day until now he appeared as a man in his mid-thirties wearing out-of-style denim clothing.
In the last very few days, the anomaly had begun to talk. But only Gary could see or hear him. And the anomaly had said that today, Easter Sunday, would be the day that he would reveal himself to the world. Then everyone would know that he was real,
That was the reason for the round-the-clock news team. Today was the day.
Gary spent the day jumping every time someone entered a room. The anomaly seemed to be always in the corner of his eye but when he turned his head, nothing was there. The day was not yet half over and he was already wanting the anomaly to just pop out, say 'boo' and get it over with.
The rest of his immediate entourage believed in the anomaly... except they didn't. Witnessing Gary's abilities and the unexplainable things he could do were documented but something in the back of their minds kept waiting for someone to figure out the trick. Gary would laugh and show behind-the-scenes footage of how he did everything and the millions of people who had died would jump up and yell 'April Fools'.
On the other hand, they wanted to believe in the anomaly because they believed in Gary who told them there was an anomaly. But a being that existed in something that Gary called the extraverse and was about to become a human being? They all said that they believed, but their honest expectations were the arrival of midnight with some excuse for why the anomaly had never showed.
But not Gary. Like Linus in the pumpkin patch, he separated himself from the doubters and awaited its arrival. Not with anticipation. Nor with excitement. But with dread. The terror of his first few encounters with it had not left him. The idea that the same thing that had created that level of emotion and fear within him could be interacting directly with Cherie and the rest of the human race raised within him a growing unease. He just wanted to get it over with and find out that there had never been anything to worry about. That was his hope. But he couldn't trust in it.
They waited for Cisco, the Vatican's unofficial representative on the team, to return from his meeting with the Cardina. And it was after 1:00 PM before everyone was aboard the aircraft and ready to go. Cisco was settling into his seat next to Debbie, the church secretary and the Vatican's even more informal representative, when Daniel yelled, "Quiet!"
Everyone immediately silenced as Daniel picked up a remote and turned on the large television on the front wall. He surfed until he found a news channel. The screen was showing different photographs in progression of airplanes sitting on runways and taxiways with their engines running. The banner at the bottom of the screen read:
Thessalonian Air Force?
Daniel increased the volume.
"...craft are waiting for word that Gary Richardson has taken off. At which time, they also will take off so as to be airborne at the same time as Richardson and, potentially, this being that he refers to as 'the anomaly'. We have Brent Parmalee on the ground in Eau Claire, Wisconsin with a group preparing for take-off. Brent?"
The screen switched to a plain room full of chairs with a counter at one end. People milled about in the background with some appearing to be praying while others were singing. A television could be seen and on its screen was the exterior of the executive plane in which Gary and the group were about to take off.
"Thank you, Michael. I'm standing in the waiting room of the Swanson Air Charter Service in Eau Claire, Wisconsin where this group and several others have chartered every plane available. They're watching Gary Richardson's plane in New York and will board and take off as soon as he does. Next to me, I have Pastor Winton Rhodes of the Blue Lake Evangelical Church in Eau Claire. Pastor, could you explain why so many Christians are getting on planes around the country right now?"
The screen pulled back to show both the reporter and another man wearing blue jeans and a polo shirt. The pastor stared straight into the camera. "In the Book of 1 Thessalonians, Chapter 4, verses 16 and 17, our God lets us know what will happen when Jesus Christ Our Lord returns. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air. And so, we will always be with the Lord."
"What a bunch of dumbasses!" It was Cherie. Gary's faux fiancwas not known for her delicate speech.
Bill, the ex-preacher, was debating whether to speak and get into yet another verbal sparring match with her. He looked over at Cisco wondering if the priest would take over the mantle and saw no response. The Catholic Church may not teach the Rapture the same way that Evangelicals did. Figuring that discretion was the better part of valor and maybe they were dumbasses, he kept his mouth shut.
The flight steward walked down the aisle, told everyone to take their seats and buckle in, and then removed empty glasses to stow in the galley for take-off.
Daniel sat, buckled up, and continued to work on Gary's flow chart for tomorrow morning's press conference. His team had done some research on previous religious groups that had forecast precise dates for the Return of Christ that proved incorrect. The most successful of those had doubled down by saying that Christ had not physically returned to Earth but had turned His attention back to Earth and thus ushered in a new age as was predicted. That group was still thriving. That would be the basis for Gary's statement when nothing happened today.
The plane took off smoothly. The news crew of two (the on-air talent plus the camera person) was sitting directly across from Gary and Cherie. They had been alert from the moment that they had come on duty at the hotel. But when the wheels lifted from the runway, they visibly relaxed. Their shift was functionally over unless the anomaly was waiting for them at the aircraft apron in Los Angeles. For the next six hours, they were on break.
Everyone on the flight except for Gary relaxed and settled in. So, he was the only one that noticed the sound of the toilet flushing. Cherie tensed next to him.
Gary craned his neck toward the noise. "Who flushed the toilet?"
Daniel looked up from his notebook, reacting more to the tone of Gary's voice than to the actual words.
"What?"
"We're all here but the toilet just flushed."
"It's probably automatic... for cleaning or something."
But then the restroom door opened. And the anomaly stepped out.
Daniel Massey stood. "How did you get on this plane?"
Gary's eyes darted around the faces on the plane that were all looking at the stowaway. He leaned close to Cherie's ear. "Can everyone see him?"
Cherie shouted, "Daniel!"
When Daniel turned to the sound of her voice, she shook her head violently back and forth. Daniel's eyes shifted to Gary's rapidly whitening face and understood.
"Oh."
Understanding passed through the occupants of the plane like a wave which finally rolled ashore at the reporter. "This is the anomaly?"
The newsman was disappointed. He had hoped that the entrance of the anomaly would be some grandiose spectacle but instead he had hidden in a bathroom--a poor man's parlor trick. But there was a job to do.
The reporter stood and stepped toward the anomaly who was now standing silently a few feet aft of the small aisle between the galley and the restroom. "May I ask you some questions?"
The anomaly looked at him for a second. "No. I am not here for you."
In a reversal of normal personalities, Cherie was frozen in place while Gary unbuckled his seat belt and stood. "You're here for me?"
The anomaly did not nod, only spoke. "Yes. Among others."
"What others?"
"Those that you have chosen." It pointed at Cherie. "Her." And then it pointed at Bill and Cisco. "You and you." Then, its finger turned to Daniel. "And you." And finally, its gaze fixated on Debbie. It stared at her for a moment before speaking. "And you."
The length of the gaze made Debbie uneasy but she held it-refusing to look away. She didn't know what she expected. Possibly the hungry stares of the men from her past. But the gaze was empty of hunger or emotion. It seemed questioning, almost concerned.
The anomaly broke the stare-down first. "And then those that I have chosen. The twelve that are in the other... air... plane." It spoke haltingly as if struggling with English.
"And that is all?"
"What I accomplish will be for the world. But I will speak and work through these that I have named."
The reporter was good at his job and remained silent, knowing that there were times when you pushed a story and times when you just recorded it. He noted when his cameraperson moved from her chair to squeeze into the corner of the wall separating the galley from the main cabin.
This put her beside and slightly behind the anomaly as it called out The Chosen-getting the look on their faces as they were singled out while still getting the anomaly's arm stretched out toward them. He was going to put her in for a raise when they landed.
The anomaly seemed to notice the camera for the first time and turned his head toward it. His gaze followed along from the camera up the arm of the cameraperson and rested for a moment on her face. The reporter saw the slight look a fear creep onto his partner's face as the anomaly focused on her. But she turned the camera toward it and kept filming. Sending this close-up of his face streaming out to the world. After he put her in for a raise, he was going to commission a portrait to be painted. Right now, she was his hero.
"I command you to leave."
For a moment, the reporter thought that the anomaly had spoken but it was a different voice.
Bill had stood and was standing a few feet from the anomaly, squared up with his feet slightly spread in a confrontational pose.
"Demon! In the Power and the Name of Jesus. I command you to leave and to leave Gary forever." Bill's voice held an edge of suppressed adrenaline.
The anomaly mimicked Bill's stance but without the tension. "The name... of jee-zuss." It pronounced the name slowly and carefully.
Bill repeated, "In the Power and the Name of Jesus. I command you to leave and to leave Gary forever."
"The name of jee-zuss. You say this name as if it is a... magic word. And yet you butcher the pronunciation to the point that the one to whom you refer would not recognize it as his own name. If you are going to create a magic word, should you not pronounce it correctly?"
Cisco's seat faced the anomaly so he didn't stand. "What do you know of the one we refer to as Jesus?"
"I know how to say his name."
"How is that?"
"Have you not studied him your entire life?"
Cisco was getting sucked into a game of linguistics. "Would He have recognized His name as Yeh-SHEW-ah?"
"Not perfect. But he would have recognized it."
"So, if I commanded you to leave in the name of Yeh-SHEW-ah, would you be compelled to leave?"
The anomaly smiled and spoke with a perfect American accent. "Give it a try. Let's see."
"No. I'm more interested in your name. What is your name?"
"It is as I told Gary."
"You told Gary that your name was 'I am'."
"He asked me my name and I said 'I am'."
"Is your name 'I am'?"
"No."
"Then what is it?"
"It is the first two words of a sentence."
Cisco had to pause for a moment as this answer seemed a non sequitur. He replayed the exchange in his mind and realized where the anomaly had zigged and he had zagged.
"What is the rest of the sentence?"
"You are not ready for that, yet."
"I am not ready?" Cisco pointed at himself indicating the singular.
"You are not ready." The anomaly swept his arms indicating the all-inclusive.
"When will we be ready?"
"When you are ready." No surprise there.
The camera person was sliding along the wall in an effort to get a better front view of the anomaly as it spoke. The movement got its attention and it turned again to look at the camera and the woman. Its head turned slightly in a quizzical expression and then it took a step back giving the improved vantage point to the camera.
Bill's original plan of attack rebuffed, he followed Cisco's lead and asked a question. "Is there a reason that you chose to appear on Easter Sunday?"
"Easter Sunday?" The anomaly's face was blank and gave no further information.
"The day we celebrate The Christ's resurrection and defeat of evil and death."
"Resurrection." The word was said without inflection which matched the inscrutable facial expression.
Bill awaited an answer to his question. None was forthcoming.
"Are you the Anti-Christ?"
The reporter was thrilled. This could not have been scripted better. Instant Messages were popping up on his screen fast and furious with updates from the producers. All of the major networks, all of the cable news networks, all cable religious networks, most independent stations, most internet streaming services, and many more were broadcasting their feed. The viewership was unprecedented. The world wanted to know whether Gary Richardson and his anomaly were savior, villain, or hoax. Hundreds of millions of people had a vested interest in the answer.
The question hung in the air for a moment before the anomaly spoke. "The Anti-Christ. It is amazing what you people have done with that book."
Bill was becoming agitated with the cryptic non-answers. "That does not answer my question. Are you the Anti-Christ?"
All were surprised when the answer came out in one word, "No."
"Is Gary the Anti-Christ?"
Cherie stiffened and began to stand but caught Daniel's eye on the way up. He shook his head and she sat back down.
"Gary is Gary. He is central to what must be." An effective non-answer.
Cisco started to follow up on what must be but was interrupted by Bill.
"Are you the Christ, the Son of the living God?" Without thinking, Bill quoted Peter.
"That question is meaningless."
Bill's frustration got the better of him and he was about to raise his voice when Cisco intervened. "Why?"
"Were I Satan or your Anti-Christ, then I would lie. There is no question which you could ask me that could confirm if I am God or Satan, neither, or a combination of both."
"A combination of both?"
The anomaly paused again, searching for words. "Two sides of the same coin."
"God and Satan cannot co-exist in the same vessel."
"In your belief system, the universe is divided into Creator and created. Satan, like yourselves, is created. To say that God cannot exist within His Creation would be to deny that God can exist within you."
"So, there are no questions which we can ask you which would help us figure out whether we should worship you or fear you."
"Every question you ask has three possible outcomes: I am telling the truth, I am lying, you are asking the wrong question."
"So, we have to just wait and judge the tree by its fruit?"
"If you are capable. But evil can do good to elicit trust."
"Like a con man."
"And like your religions and denominations do now and have done for thousands of years."
The reporter was not a religious man and found religious people to be annoying. He was loving this.
Another brief stare-down occurred as Cisco processed this statement. "Would God speak of His Church this way?"
"Yes." The answer did not come from the anomaly but from Bill. "God would speak this way if the Church was wayward and leading His flock astray. And Satan would speak this way to sow doubt and divisiveness."
Debbie spoke for the first time. "He doesn't need to sow divisiveness. Just reinforce it."
Cisco and Bill both sat down. All rounds fired to no effect.
Daniel did not stand as he spoke. "So. What now?"
"Now," It was Cherie. "The anomaly ends the disease and saves everybody. That is what you came for. Right?" She glared at it. Daring it to contradict her.
Gary was still standing and had been lost in thought as the religious discussion had to him been a boring waste of time. Cherie's voice brought him around.
The anomaly looked at Cherie. "That is not what I came for."
Another silence fell over the plane as well as the entire continent as these words settled in.
Cherie's eyes began to brim with tears. She was so tired of crying. "Then what the fuck good are you?!"
The anomaly took two steps forward and towered over Cherie. He then dropped to one knee to look her in the eye. She felt terrified and calm at the same time. Feeling both the original emotion and the calming influence within herself like someone who is clinically depressed and on anti-depression medication.
She could not blink and the anomaly held her stare before smiling. "And finally, someone asks the correct question."