The Visitation
M Adam Roberts

Another day of defeat.

Why do I do it? Why can't I stop?

I don't understand myself. What's wrong with me?

Something inside of me is broken. I can't explain it.

How did I end up this way?

This isn't me!

I hate myself, for doing this.

How can I be so selfish?

How can I be so weak?

I just want to go to sleep.

I don't want to wake up.

I'll only fall again.

I can't beat this thing.

Lord, help me.

I walk to my bedroom; my head hung low.

I lay myself down on the bed.

I am having trouble breathing.

I fear I may be having a heart attack. Pain is coming from my upper back, and throbbing through my chest."

I lay flat on my back, looking up at the ceiling.

I begin to pray, "Have mercy on me...".

I think I'm dying.

All of a sudden, I see myself laying in the back seat of a car.

I look down and see myself, curled up, in the fetal position.

I am naked.

I, sense, that someone else is in the front seat, but I can't seew ho.

I call out, "Is anyone there?"

Nobody answers.

I am too afraid to move. I lay very still.

I feel a deep sense of loneliness.

It is pitch dark, and cold outside.

I am freezing to death.

Through the darkness, by the moonlight, I see a blanket, slightly, hanging over the front seat of the car.

I think to reach for it, but I'm afraid to move.

Eventually, my need for warmth, outweighs my fear, and I slowly reach for it.

As I gently tug on the blanket, I feel something else pulling back on it.

I tug on it again. A little harder this time. Again, something from the other side, pulls it away from me.

A third time, I pull at the blanket, and this time, itis violently snatched from my reach!

I recoil, back into the fetal position, and tremble with fear!

It is then, that the occupant of the front seat, appeared.

He was not human.

An enormous mouth came up out of the front seat of the car, and engulfed, me. It had no teeth.

The mouth did not close. It was left wide open, with myself laying inside of it, curled up, in fear.

It laughed at me, with great power. Power, so great, it blew my hair back, and sent shivers running down my spine.

Yet, there was no wind, or sound, that came from the mouth, at all. It laughed, and spoke to me, in spirit.

I heard it say, "I own you!!! There is nothing you can do about it.You cannot escape the power I hold over you. There is no use in trying. You are mine!!!"

And it laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

Then, I heard another voice, warning me. "This is real, Mark! You are in the presence of great power. It can destroy you, instantly, and it will, if you do not stand up against it, with your faith."

"Only your faith can save you, now. Pray, Mark! Pray!!!"

I saw myself rise up, from the floor, of the mouth, and I stood upon my feet. Still trembling, but with confidence, I spoke words of power, and authority, over the darkness.

"I am not afraid of you. You have no power of me! My heart belongs to another, and only Him do I fear. Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world. By His authority, I command you to leave me, right now!!!"

Amazingly, with the sound of a great vacuum, I heard, and felt, this dark spirit being sucked away from me.

Instantly, it was gone.

I sprung up from my bed, and the first thought that came to my mind was, "That was not a dream. That was real!"

Tears of joy started rolling down my face, and I began singing praises, for my victory, over darkness.

After about an hour, of rejoicing, I crawled back into bed, and went, peacefully, back to sleep.

Only, this time, I looked forward to waking up.

I knew there was still hope for me.