Penny Wise and the League of St. Claire

Chapter 10

The next day, after transporting to the future, Penny and her group roamed the streets of Washington D.C. looking for possible aid in locating the Prime Minister, as Harold Peron is referred to by most people.

“This is not going to work,” Milo said. “There’s no one here with the fortitude to fight the Beast. They cower in the shadows like beaten dogs.”

“What you say is true, but I believe that the Lord will send us help,” Penny said. “We just have to be patient.”

Milo wasn’t so sure.

Suddenly, three kids their age rounded a corner. The two girls and a boy appeared to be different than the indigenous kids of this time period. For one, they were dressed in skintight blue suits made out of some unusual flexible polymeric material. The boy was dark skinned like Milo and one of the girls was oriental. The other was a Caucasian.

“You don’t look like you’re from here,” the boy said.

“We’re not,” Penny said. “We’re from the past.”

“We’re from the future,” the boy said. “Why did you come here?”

“We are here to destroy the Antichrist, but we have been unsuccessful in finding him.”

The three newcomers exchanged glances.

“That is also our mission,” the boy said. “I am Geoffrey.” He gestured to the oriental girl. “This is Angel.” He pointed to the other girl. “And, this is Holly. We will not reveal our surnames.”

“I am Penny, and this is Milo,” Penny said, gesturing to him. “This is Jordan, Harriett and Carmen,” she said, pointing to each. “Our surnames are superfluous.”

“How do you propose to destroy the Antichrist?” Geoffrey asked.

“We will challenge him to the battle at Armageddon,” Penny said. “We have been given powers to fight him.”

“This Antichrist you refer to claims to be the Christ,” Geoffrey said. “He is not, but if you kill him you will initiate the second coming according to II Thessalonians 2:10-12.”

“We are aware of that,” Penny said. “However, I don’t believe that this Harold Peron, the Prime Minister, is the Antichrist. He is only a false prophet of the Antichrist. If he were the Beast mentioned in Revelations, he would send his minions to ravage the Earth.”

“That is correct,” Geoffrey said. “The government proclaims him to be the Christ, but this is only propaganda to pacify the populace. The real Antichrist will come after this false prophet establishes a suppressive government and marks all of the people with the sign of the Beast.”

“Will you stand with us?” Milo asked.

“We are willing to die for this cause,” Geoffrey said, his face advertising his dedication.

Milo and Geoffrey clasped hands in a warrior’s greeting.

“I believe that we face an uphill battle,” Penny said. “We must first destroy this government’s grip on the people of this time.”

“We are with you on that goal,” Angel said. “The future is still ridden with evil and the only way to stop it is to destroy it here and now.”

“We must initiate a battle with the forces of evil carefully,” Penny said. “It must be a time and place of our choosing, not theirs.”

Several flying cars appeared overhead. They circled into a landing pattern but began shooting down at Penny and her group. As if on cue, Penny and her League members spread out. The future kids ran off to take cover. Penny extended her hand and shot blasts of white-hot energy at a flying car, causing it to explode.

Jordan made an energy bubble and flung it at another, blasting it to bits in a blinding explosion. Carmen shot beams from her eyes and cut another in half, causing the two parts to split into flaming wreckage that crashed into the ground. Harriett made a piece of that wreckage fly up and bash the last car out of the sky.

A group of police ran at them from down the street. Milo flew into the air and began spinning like a top and then flying at them at high velocity, knocking them down like pins in a bowling alley.

Harriett and Penny finished off those that survived.

Geoffrey and his group came forward. “We see that you have been chosen for this task. We will meet with you tomorrow when the excitement of this incident dies down.”

Penny nodded and the future kids vanished.

“We must go now,” Penny said to the others.

They held hands and vanished just as more flying police cars appeared.

They became visible near the monument in St. Clair Park in their time.

“We will need to be cautious now,” Penny said. “They probably have visuals on us.”

“They also know that we’re a force to be reckoned with,” Milo said.

“Yes, but we must keep in mind that our task is to find and destroy the Beast.”

“We may never find him,” Milo said. “He’s too smart to be trapped, especially now that he knows that we’re in pursuit.”

“Our new friends may be of help in our quest,” Carmen said. “They know more about the future than we do.”

“Hopefully, they’re not agents of the Beast,” Harriett said.

Penny tapped a finger to her lips. “Only time will tell.”

The League of St. Claire broke up. It was time to go home to the seemingly peaceful life of solitude and familial love.

There is always tomorrow.