CHAPTER FIVE
Pablo Encounters Jesus
Confusion and desperation gripped them all as they charged into the nearest private hospital, their red berets drawing fearful whispers. The heavy boots of the gangsters echoed in the corridors like war drums. At once, the hospital erupted into chaos. Nurses dropped trays, cleaners abandoned their mops, and patients who could move struggled to flee. The air smelled of antiseptic mixed with terror.
Only one man stood his ground. Doctor Mayowa, the Head Surgeon, who had just finished a grueling operation. He was still scrubbing his hands when the gang stormed in, their voices crashing into his office like thunder.
"Doctor! Abeg, help am! Our man dey die!" one of them cried in Pidgin, eyes wet with desperation.
Another barked angrily, "If dis boy die, na you go follow am! Save am sharp sharp!"
"Doc, abeg na, no be play we dey play! See as e don weak finish!"
"Guy, forget abeg, do something now! This na Pablo o, you no sabi who e be?"
Their voices blended in a storm of pleading and threats. Some knelt in desperation, others pounded on the walls in frustration.
Doctor Mayowa's heart raced. He looked at the unconscious Pablo, his pulse flat, no signs of breathing. Fear clenched his chest. Yet, in the middle of this storm, he whispered a prayer: "God, guide my hands."
He wheeled Pablo into the emergency room. The Red Hats crowded around the door like vultures, shouting, muttering, pacing. Samuel, still weeping, pressed his Bible against his chest, whispering prayers.
Inside, as the defibrillator pads pressed against Pablo's chest, something extraordinary happened.
Pablo's Vision
Pablo opened his eyes - yet not in the hospital. He stood in the middle of an endless, empty space, stretching beyond sight. His body trembled as he looked around.
To his left, a terrifying darkness loomed. It was alive,thick, suffocating, vibrating with torment. From within came the sound of screams - blood-curdling cries that sliced into his soul.
He saw flames without end, shadows twisting like tortured souls. The heat was unbearable, yet what struck him most were the voices.
A woman screamed:
"Jesus, save me! I will not fornicate again, just give me another chance!"
Another voice broken, agonized, a young woman sobbing:
"Please Jesus! This pain is too much. I will never masturbate, seduce, or live in sin again. I now know THE TRUTH!"
Then came a man's horrific cry in Yoruba:
"Ye! Mo ku o! Jesus help me! I am finished! I rejected You when I had chances to repent! I killed for money, sold human parts, raped and destroyed lives. Oh, how I wish I had accepted THE TRUTH!"
The cries overlapped,pleas for mercy, endless regret, sorrow that could never be undone. Yet, through all the wailing, a scripture thundered like judgment itself:
"It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this, the judgment!"
The words shook Pablo to his core. His knees weakened. Samuel's first question flashed in his memory: "Do you know THE TRUTH?"
Then, turning to his right, he saw a brilliance so powerful it blinded him momentarily. Light so pure, so radiant, it healed the ache in his chest. The air rang with songs of victory:
"Hallelujah! Holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!"
He saw streets paved with gold, stretching farther than his eyes could follow. The joy was unexplainable - waves of peace, laughter, and worship. His heart longed to run into it. He took a step toward the golden street when a voice stopped him.
"STOP! You are not permitted to enter. You are not qualified."
The words shattered him.
"No! Please!" Pablo fell to his knees, his chest heaving. Tears streamed down his face. "Jesus, have mercy on me! I killed! I destroyed lives! I shed innocent blood. I am guilty of all! But please, please don't send me to the fire. Have mercy on me!"
He wept bitterly, pounding his chest. "Now I know THE TRUTH. Please, Jesus, don't let me perish!"
Back in the hospital
Doctor Mayowa pressed harder with the defibrillator. "Charge - clear!"
The machine shocked Pablo's chest. No response.
He began chest compressions, sweat pouring down his face. "Come on, stay with me!"
Suddenly,he froze. Tears trickled from Pablo's closed eyes.
"How…?" the doctor whispered in awe. "He's gone, yet he's crying."
The Red Hats peered through the glass, confused and restless.
The Encounter
As Pablo knelt in the void, a mighty wind surged around him. Then, a voice, deep and thunderous yet full of love, called out:
"PABLO!"
He lifted his head, trembling.
"I am sending you back to fulfill your destiny as an evangelist. Tell the world of Me. You are My vessel. I sent Samuel, My son, to you,follow him. He will guide you and teach you My ways."
Pablo sobbed harder, lifting his hands.
"From this day, you are no longer Pablo. I have given you a new name. You are - "
The voice echoed like rolling thunder:
"ELIJAH!"
A violent wind blew him backwards,back into his body.
The Awakening
Pablo's chest jolted. His eye flickered open.
Samuel, standing at the corner of the emergency room, gasped and shouted: "JESUS!!!"
The Red Hats banged the door and roared in amazement: "PABLO!!!"
Doctor Mayowa, trembling, nearly dropped his stethoscope.
Then it happened. Elijah (once Pablo) began to speak in tongues, rivers of strange, heavenly words pouring out of his mouth. His hands shook violently as though fire coursed through him.
The Red Hats stepped back in fear.
"Wait o… this one don mad?" Viper whispered.
Danger frowned. "Abi na spirit enter am?"
But Samuel's face broke into a radiant smile. He lifted his Bible and cried:
"Hallelujah! He has met THE TRUTH!"
The room was still. The doctor, confused and shaking, looked at Samuel. "The Truth?" he repeated softly.
Samuel turned to him with tears of joy in his eyes. "Yes, Doctor. The Truth - Jesus Christ."
Elijah finally grew still, his eyes blazing with new fire. He sat up slowly, looked at them all, and said with authority:
"My name… is no longer Pablo."
He raised his voice, shaking the walls of the room:
"MY NAME IS ELIJAH!"
The Red Hats stumbled back, their mouths open. Doctor Mayowa clutched his chest in awe. Samuel fell to his knees, lifting his hands in worship.
The once-feared cult leader had met Christ. The story of Samuel had only just begun. The story of Elijah was about to be written.
THE END OF SEASON 1