The ambulance pulled into the emergency entrance of St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank, California. The driver got out of the truck and walked around to the back. He opened the double doors letting the second EMT jump out of the back. Together they removed a stretcher topped by a goofy looking teenager with a curly mop of strawberry-blonde hair and lanky limbs. He looked dazed and confused. His eyes were darting all around like he was watching things that weren’t really there. The EMTs wheeled him in to the emergency corridor of the hospital. It smelled faintly of hand sanitizer.

“Okay, kid,” one EMT began explaining, “you’re acting pretty funny so we’re recommending an MRI. But you don’t have a gunshot wound or anything, so we’re going to transfer you to this wheelchair where you can wait for a few minutes while we give your paperwork to the intake nurse and your parents fill out the insurance forms. Can you walk?”

“Of course I can!” Rodney announced confidently as he slipped off the stretcher and onto the floor, his knees buckling underneath him. “Hashtag epic fail,” he weakly mumbled from the ground.

The EMTs hauled him up and into the wheelchair. “We’ll be right back,” one of them said as they both disappeared around the corner of the corridor. Two nuns holding rosaries and praying were walking down the hallway towards Rodney. Cherubim angels circled in flight above the habited women’s heads.

 As the nuns moved closer, Rodney could hear their prayers. “And dear Lord, we pray that Christopher Smith has the power to break his addiction. Please send your angels to watch over him and help him fight against the demons of alcoholism and drug abuse.” Rodney’s mouth dropped open as one of the cherubim flapped his four wings and raised his flaming sword to heaven. The cherub nodded in acknowledgement of his assignment and flew up through the ceiling in a flash of lightning. The nuns couldn’t see any of this, but Rodney could.

“Holy moly!” Rodney whispered. “That is so real. Unbelievable.”

“Believe it!” announced Adoram from Rodney’s side with Barook in tow. 

“Oh! You two again,” Rodney moaned. “This just won’t end! What is going on?”

“It’s called geisterseherkraft. You’re seeing something few people ever have the privilege of witnessing. You’re seeing angels in action to protect humans against the attacks of demons which happen every day. You’re seeing how humans have the power to sway the battle by calling in angelic help. And soon, you’ll see the whole range of demonic beings trying to overwhelm people’s souls, in order to keep them from finding and knowing God.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no. That can’t be right. That doesn’t make any sense. I haven’t heard of any of this stuff,” insisted Rodney.

“Are you sure about that? Wasn’t your preacher talking about the battle against spiritual hosts of wickedness just this morning?”

“Oh, that. Sure, yeah. I’ve heard that. But nobody really takes that stuff literally. I mean, c’mon. It’s all just symbolic, right?” Just then another cherub wielding a flaming sword whooshed past Rodney’s head. Adoram and Barook both gave him a knowing look.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Rodney said pathetically.