OTTER ROCK

…Leaning forward in his saddle, Caesar looked into his Centurion’s eyes. “Lucius, today, we either live or die together.”

Lucius nodded, and Caesar saw by the look in his eyes that his orders would be obeyed. The line would not break!

Caesar saluted his centurion and, followed by his two escorts, he galloped off down the line to issue further orders.

Centurion Lucius Furius watched his commander ride away. Then, turning confidently to his cohort, he raised his sword high for all his men to see and slammed it hard against his shield.

In response, four hundred swords slammed against their shields and a ferocious howl arose from his men.

 “Caesar will be directly behind us today, watching,” shouted the Centurion.

He pointed his sword defiantly towards the ominous line of soldiers in the distance.

“As we did at Alesia and a dozen other battles, we will hold our ground!”

“We will not bend!”

“We will not break!”

“At all costs, we will hold the ground beneath our feet!”

“Today we will destroy Pompey’s legions in the name of Caesar!”

 The air in front of Lucius thundered.

Walking to the center of the cohort’s line, Centurion Furius motioned for a soldier to move back. When Lucius took his place in the front of the line, the air around the Centurion thundered again.

Then, with shields ready and swords drawn, Centurion Furius and his men waited for the order to advance to be given.

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Meanwhile, on a hill overlooking the battlefield, the former First Angel, Michael as he liked to be known—or more commonly in modern evangelical terms, Satan—appeared in his baggies, sandals, and Hawaiian shirt. Laying his surfboard against an olive tree, he seated himself against it and proceeded to munch contentedly from a large bag of Heidi’s delicious caramel popcorn while he sipped a margarita.

Below him, Pompey and Caesar’s rectangular troop formations moved into position to face each other.

Michael never tired of proudly watching his best friend, Centurion Lucius Furius, lead his men into battle. Though he knew Caesar would decisively win this key conflict and destroy Pompey’s army, Michael regretted knowing that Lucius would not survive the day, and that another beautiful wife would soon be widowed and made to suffer.