Again, this "Touched By An Angel" story illustrates what is great - we can put some stories in anytime and they'd work with some series, or before or after, but don't torture your stars. And, reaaly, you can write great adventure without hurting anyone, as in this final in our series, for now - the reaal adventure. Summary: Many thoughts ramble through Monica's mind as she ponders the intense nature of spiritual battles while watching over several people in hiding in World War II. The girl's muscles tensed. Watching out the window, she appears like a goalie waiting to block a shot. She should be doing this while playing soccer right now, having fun, Monica told herself. Instead, here she is, staring out a window. No, thank goodness, that truck wasn't a Gestapo vehicle. Probably wouldn't have been, either, because she didn't see Kathleen, the angel of darkness who was her nemesis. Lori, the Guardian Angel for this seven-year-old girl, stood by, praying as usual. Maybe it was a false alarm. Maybe that woman who was sneaking around earlier wasn't a Gestapo agent. Maybe... "Maybe Ahab," cried the girl as a car rumbled down the street. No, thought Monica, that's going too fast, they would slow down if they were Gestapo. And, I would see the forces of darkness riding with them. And, perhaps, if there weren't enough prayers, they would win, and...no, she told herself, you can't afford to think like that. She prayed silently, asking for extra protection. These were the battles you had to win. There could be no slipups. Life was so much simpler in the old days, before this war, Monica told herself. Poor little girl probably can't recall a time when her family wasn't hiding Jews. As the war drew near completion, Monica sensed that the devil and his minions would work with even greater urgency. Oh, how she wished each spiritual battle wasn't so important. Oh, how wonderful it had been when one could mess up an assignment a little, and not much terrible would result. Where an angel's muscles weren't tensed the whole time, where one wasn't constantly on the lookout. Where the choice of the exact time at which to appear in human form and help wasn't so crucial. Where she could sit down to a good cup of coffee and have some time between assignments. But, now? Many such extreme assignments transpired every day, yet it was still not enough. Her heart ached, so she knew God's must break in two daily. Christians and others who deliberately fought to protect the Jewish people were very sparse, and very widely scattered throughout Europe. She remembered the grand celebration when over 6,000 had been hidden in Denmark in one night, then ferried across to Sweden - now that was a miracle. Probably the only real happiness for angels these days, but at least it gave her something to cling to. The girl would not be budged. Uh-oh, she told herself, here comes Kathleen whispering in the girl's ear, trying to put ideas in her mind and get her to slack off. Is she doing this because they're coming, or to get her to be less attentive now, so next time maybe there will be a slip. Monica furiously called for assistance in the spiritual warfare and reminded the girl in a still, small voice to keep up the good work, keep striving to do God's will. Her words were soothing, Kathleen's could not be, for they were of the darkness, and Monica's were of the Light of the world. Still, Kathleen persisted. Monica reminded herself to be alert, constantly soothing the girl's mind and rebuking the evil thoughts as Lori looked on anxiously. She wondered if she shouldn't appear in human form right there - no, that would cause too much confusion in the ranks. Should she have appeared before? The frustration seemed unending - when did she appear? Thankfully, this girl's older brothers and parents provided great encouragement, and this small one was choosing the Light, selecting that which had brought her such thrills, even if part of the thrill was being the first to spot some color, bird, or what have you before anyone else. No, Monica decided, I didn't have to appear in human form to them that early. Or.... Suddenly, a car came slowly down the street, from several blocks away the youngster could see it could be Gestapo. Monica thanked God for answering the family's - and the angels' - prayers. One of their members possessed excellent sight, and competed with her brother in many eagle-eyed challenges to spot different colors, butterflies, birds, and so on. Now, of course, the stakes stood much higher. Monica soothingly coaxed the girl to make the call, giving her a warm feeling as the girl hollered out "Ahab's car!" Clever code, thought Monica, all their terms based on Scripture. The girl hadn't taken her eyes off the window. Several angels arrived to help, and Monica sensed the hostility with which the Gestapo men acted. This was no place for a simple helps angel; this was a job for the warriors, the kind who smote an army of over 150,000 Assyrians in one night. Kathleen tried to whisper "three" in the blonde-haired cutie's ear as the girl darted from the window. "Level five," she hollered, actually one higher than needed. This was the signal to flee; and perhaps that had been placed by the Lord Himself. Monica decided she would become visible quickly to assist them. Yes, people had free will, but this was important to the Lord, and the peoples' great faith had meant that could count on the Lord delivering them. Much scampering occurred, and Monica - so focused on the girl - had not noticed that there were now quite a few angels of darkness lurking, bugging all the members of the family to little avail, as Guardians protected papers and kept people from tripping. Then, there were the dark angels with the Gestapo unit. Monica sighed as an evacuation occurred. She longed to go back and protect the mother, for she was stalling the Gestapo. Her assignment was this one, though. Oh, why can't I go back and help the mother, pleaded Monica as she rushed to an exit. She felt big tears developing until she heard the familiar voice of Tess beside her. "Just keep the faith, Angel Girl," came the soothing voice, "you're not the only angel of Light here." Monica already felt spiritually and emotionally exhausted as the children fled via a secret entrance and ran to a checkpoint. There was so much spiritual warfare, demons planting in the hearts of the children the desire to slow down, not to flee, and so on, that Monica couldn't keep it all straight. She kept implanting notions of fleeing quickly, of going with the wings of eagles, and hoping, praying, for an end to this madness. God Himself longed to end the terrible wickedness of the Holocaust, but He could only do so by eliminating human free will or by violating the very laws of nature. Monica sighed, praying that this family, at least, make it out in one piece. Suddenly, as she witnessed several demons bugging the leader, a blonde teenage boy, she appeared out of nowhere. She could tell the suddenly doubting youngsters which way was safest. "This way, I know you seek help for your friends," she spoke suddenly but soothingly. Had that been the right call, she asked herself, glancing around and hoping she saw no Angels of Death. She was sorely tempted to stop any, even though she knew those like Andrew merely wanted to do their duty by lovingly taking people into the ever loving, everlasting arms of the Father. Stop it, she told herself, this is too important for there to be divisions in Heaven. We need to be united in love. She prayed for God's love to be shown in this case, and suddenly a great peace came over her. The spiritual warfare wasn't over by a longshot. Because the children had begun to recite Bible verses, the forces of darkness around them were considerably less. Should she stay or go to the mother - or go somewhere else? Yes, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, was keeping the forces of darkness at bay. This made her job a little easier, because she didn't need to battle so many enemies and place warm, soothing thoughts in the childrens' hearts. On the other hand, they might be in serious trouble if she left for the mother. But, did the mother need it even more? Should she appear with papers provided by the Lord and help talk the mother out of the spot she was in? Then, she thought of the house. Have they hidden their escapes well enough? A trap door leading from one floor to the other was easy enough to explain - many homes had them. But, what about other little signs? How about the tunnel entrance - should she go into the house, appear in physical form, and check that? No, because then if she were spotted in physical form, there might be some mass confusion, especially because the mother might begin to stammer about her, and both of them could be in big trouble. She could surely cause more problems for the mother. But yet, if... Monica shook her head. She once again felt like the only angel there, a common feeling among all angels during this time period. The assignments were so hard, the pace so strenuous. The consequences of one little misstep, one missed turn, could be deadly. Andrew had told her already of one case where he'd taken a ten-year-old girl up to the Lord with him because she had run to warn a Jewish family in a barn. The family, thankfully, escaped. However, the point Andrew had made was that the forces of darkness had managed to convince the Gestapo to check there, and the hiders to slack off a little bit. Yes, people had free will, but they might not have had the devil not been trying so hard. That was all it took, one little seed planted by the devil. Monica fretted. Why are the forces of darkness so prevalent, she asked herself. She was thankful she was not yet a Caseworker angel, but merely with Search and Rescue. This was why she'd been assigned to this detail; Tess had been observing another Caseworker angel dealing with the father of the girl she'd been watching. There was a really tough job. Yes, search and rescue was difficult, and involved a fair deal of work, but case working? That kept one on their toes all the time. Monica chose to follow the children. Once they were safely at a checkpoint, she grieved over her inability to be in two places at once, but after praying silently once more received peace from the Father, a still small voice reminding her that He was working, even if she couldn't see. She learned that a Caseworker was on standby to assist in the event the children needed to leave Germany by themselves. She began to travel back toward the home, only to see the husband and wife heading toward the checkpoint. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "See, Angel Girl," spoke Tess, "they made it. You're not alone." Tess could tell Monica needed some confidence building, and decided she would watch her, now that the Caseworker had done his job. Monica followed the parents back to the checkpoint. Her mind was already near exhaustion as she waited for a couple minutes by having some coffee in a nearby restaurant. Steve, the Caseworker angel in question, also entered. "You drink so much of that, you're going to get addicted," he quipped. Not that angels could get addicted, he told himself, but she looks like it. Monica smiled. I have really gotten into a habit since the war began, but now I blend in more, she said to herself. "It's the only pleasurable thing around sometimes," spoke the angel. It being near nightfall, she realized they would once again be on the move. She rose to see Gestapo coming, and hurried over there with Steve. She longed to be able to simply appear in angelic form, but realized the Nazis were so brutal they wouldn't care what an angel told them. She noticed that the family already left, and chose to act with Steve as if they were husband and wife shopping together, as the checkpoint was also a grocery. "Gut naben," she spoke, giving the heil sign. When question, she produced her papers and remarked that she and Steve were too much in love to notice anyone else. Yes, she considered, too much in love with God. Was that the right thing to say, she asked herself. Will they believe us? Oh, get us out of here, Lord, she prayed. What if it wasn't - have we acted properly? Is there anything more I can do? What better could I do here? After several moments, the Gestapo dismissed them and told them not to interfere, for they were hunting people suspected of hiding Jews. Oh, dear, she told herself, at least we delayed them. What could have happened had I been a second later, she asked herself, frustrated. Yes, coffee had become an obsession with her, but it wasn't a huge vice, and besides, she needed something to calm her in human form, with this constant spiritual warfare. Monica and Steve each followed to the next checkpoint, finally catching up with the family. They chose to disappear into invisible form once more. And again, there was Kathleen, trying to stir up trouble, planting in their hearts thoughts of hopelessness, of fear, of slothfulness, thoughts which came from their own minds at times, from their own imaginations. That was the tool the devil used best. Luckily, Monica could reciprocate, and do so better, for she was of the LIght. She responded by trying to build their morale. Thankfully, this was a family well tuned to the Lord's will. Unfortunately, in this day and age it made the forces of darkness attack all the more. Finally, the family came to a checkpoint, where they represented themselves as having several more chlidren than they really did, and showed fake ID papers for the Jews, who were slightly hidden by the darkness. Monica found herself choosing human form again, assisting the smaller children and ensuring they not wander off into the woods after the family was waved through. She merely explained she, too, was fleeing. They then took off into the hills toward Switzerland, which was still a couple miles away. The parents and the eldest child helped the younger ones walk, but once more, the children began to wander. Despite the risk of the Gestapo seeing her, she knew human form was essential to guide the children back. Her job as Search and Rescue angel kicked in as she assisted in keeping the children from getting lost. However, the forces of darkness kept bugging the kids to go and see some plant, or animal, or something else that looked interesting. Kathleen especially worked on one boy who seemed fascinated with reptiles and such. The family was startled, but she assured them she knew the way, and they greatly appreciated her help as they snuck through the woods. Finally, they were in Switzerland. Safe at last. Monica vanished, then breathed a huge sigh of relief. Boy, could I go for a nice, bug chocolate latte right about now, she told herself, physically and mentally drained. Tess and Monica's supervisor, Lily, both appeared. "You did a good job, dearie," spoke Tess. "I'm going to want you for my department someday." Monica could hardly think, her mind had raced through so many possibilities during this assignment. She barely listened as Lily praised her work, though noted that Monica was a little too hasty in coming to human form in the woods, where the Gestapo might have noticed her since they were still close to the checkpoint. "When will it all end," Monica wanted to know. "Someday," Tess calmly asserted. "I just can't believe...the warfare out there. Phew," Monica exhaled. Oh, for a little boy who's wandered away from home in peaceful America, she told herself, or a fishing boat lost at sea on the Great Lakes. "It's tough for all of us, Angel Girl," agreed Tess. "But we just have to keep fighting, and the strong shall fail, the weak prevail, one battle at a time."