by Carina Constancio

“For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.” ~ Ephesians 6:12

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We are legion. Our power cannot be contained by the physical world. Many have tried and failed. People foolishly believe they can contain the body of the man we possess, but his strength, his power, his rage are not his own. It is ours. Chains could not hold us. Iron and steel could not restrain us. We will not be bound. We are the master of this soul. What we desire is what this man’s body will do. He serves us. And we are gracious tormentors.

Our current place of dwelling is not ideal, but the people of the physical world have forced us to live as outcasts from society. Apparently, our rage and power are too much for the common dwelling place of man. So, we reside amongst the rocks and the caves. We do our best to stay out of the caves, for their darkness is a sullen reminder of the place from which we came. The rocks are no better. For what small measure of will is left inside of the man we possess, he uses to try and force us out. He will slam his body into the rocks in a meagerly pathetic attempt to cast us out. He yells and screams, running about like a madman, pounding rocks against his skin, desperate to get us out. But we are Legion. We are three thousand strong. The mere weak will of a man is not enough to make us leave. Besides, why would one want us gone? We give you power beyond your dreams, strength you could never hope to achieve. We only ask for a small price in return-freedom. Well, that’s what we told him, anyway. What is one’s freedom anyway, if you are all-powerful and strong?

In the distance, we hear a boat come to shore. What fun! Another group of strangers we can strike the fear of our Great Master into. It is a rare opportunity, as most familiar with the region know not to come here lest they encounter the man we possess. The voices are coming closer. We send our man into convulsions, beginning to run around, growling as if he is a wild beast.

There were thirteen men. How thrilling. This was the most company we have had in a while.

One of the men appears to stand out from the rest. He seems unafraid. Unphased by the beast of a man that prowls before him. Most men cower or run in fear upon meeting us, fearing they too will become a possession of our Legion. But in this man, there was no such fear. It was as if he thought himself to have some measure of power that could somehow stop us. But he clearly does not yet know of the power we possess. He will come to learn that the power of flesh and blood is no match for the power of divine evil.

We race towards the strangers, hurling screams of dread and horror at them with every beastly visage imaginable. But when we are finally standing before them, our man is brought to his knees. We begin to tremble. An Uncontrollable quaking. Before us stands the one man who can rid us of our power. Destroy us with a single word. Our Great Master has taught us well to fear this man well because there are tales. He has the power to subdue ten-thousand legions. This is no mere mortal. This is Jesus.

The man we possess no longer foams like a beast. His small measure of human will fighting us to regain his mind in the presence of the man he dares to hope will be his savior. Normally, we laugh at such meager attempts, but this time was different. We try to shove his will back down into the depths of his soul, but this time fail. The radiating power of this Jesus now withholding our hands from choking back our man’s freedom. We are Legion. Never once has our three-thousand-strong army felt utterly powerless against an enemy.

In fear, we beg for our life, “What do you want with us, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name, don’t torture us!”

Jesus looks down, his eyes piercing into the soul of the man we possess. We can feel him coming to take it back. “What is your name?” he asks.

“Legion. For we are many.” We replied in unison. We stared back at Jesus through the eyes of the man we were losing a grip on with holy terror.

“Come out of this man, you impure spirits! You have dominion over him no longer.” Jesus said.

Immediately, we feel our grip on this man’s soul loosen. We are now in his body, powerless against the words of the Son of God. We decide that we must make a request quickly, otherwise, we fear this Jesus will send us back to our home in hell. We spot a herd of wild pigs in the distance and decide to make a final request.

“Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them,” we plead.

Jesus nods his head and dispels us from the man’s body with the force of a thousand thunders and sends us to the pigs. We scattered amongst the worthless pigs, with their bodies cramped and filthy and without the easily torturable mind of humanity. It was this lack of humanity that made them decide to drown themselves upon our arrival. Our presence made it impossible to control their bodies any longer, and to the pigs, death was a better end than our torturous possession of their pathetic souls. A stampede off a cliff into a raging river was their choice of death. Now, we are Legion no more.

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Carina Constancio is a soon-to-be alumnus from Colorado Christian University studying Strategic Communication. Currently residing in Colorado, she loves creating stories that are meaningful and can have an impact on people.