[ PI ] The One Constant- Part 1 : The Devil in the Sands ; Chapter 6 : 5 Seconds

November 25th, 2016 
 
 “ You are listening to NPR on WRKF. I'm Casey Moreau. ” 
 
 “ We continue or news our broadcast with more news from the Middle East. ISIL ’ s former grip on towns and cities in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria has continued to lessen as more of its members have disbanded. With more ISIL outposts being attacked and its inhabitants killed by the so-called Doom That Came From Irem, many are abandoning their ranks and fleeing back into the general populace. Arnold Rashad has more with this report. We should warn listeners that the following interviews contain some rather disturbing descriptions of violence, so listener discretion is advised. ” 
 
 “ I met up with a former ISIL member, whom we ’ ll call Ahmed. He ’ s afraid to use his real name in fear of retaliation. Not just from ISIL but from the so-called “ Angel ” he says wiped out the outpost that he was in. 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ I was part of ISIL for a little over a year, was never on the front lines and never really saw any action. I was mostly in charge of pulling guard duties and escorting convoys. But all of that changed just a few days ago. ” 
 
 “ Ahmed was in a small ISIL fortification where Imed al-Assrak, one of the leaders of ISIL, was currently hiding out at the time. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ It seemed like a regular morning, about nine a.m. I was on guard duty. Everything was quiet for the most part. But that all changed very quickly. ” 
 
 “ Ahmed recalls when he saw the Angel, the infamous Doom That Came From Irem, in the encampment. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ I was watching through the gate to the south, when all of a sudden I heard an explosion behind me. I turned around and there was nothing but carnage. It was all happening at once. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ Several of the buildings we had set up were collapsing. Men were all falling dead from wounds to the chest and neck. When I saw this, I already knew what had happened, and I expected to be dead next. Instead, I saw the Angel, holding up Imed al-Assrak by the neck. ” 
 
 “ Ahmed says he could hear al-Assrak screaming for help, but was to afraid to even raise his gun. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ I could hear al-Assrak crying out for mercy. And that ’ s when I heard the angel speak. ” 
 
 “ Ahmed shuddered as he recounted what he heard and saw then. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ I heard the angel say: “ ‘ Then you shall have the same mercy you gave your victims. ’ Then I saw the angel pull out a long, black dagger. Where he had been carrying it, I couldn ’ t tell, but he plunged it into al-Assrak ’ s groin. Assrak screamed as the angel slowly pulled the dagger upwards through his stomach and chest until he reached his neck before finally pulling it out. By then... by then Assrak ’ s entrails were all over the ground and he was quickly bleeding to death. Finally the angel dropped him. I think he was already dead before he even hit the ground. 
 
 “ That was when the angel turned to look at him. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ The angel slowly turned to look at me, and then it pointed a finger at me. I was so scared; I was sure I was about to die. I actually dropped my gun out of fear. And that was when the angel spoke. ” 
 
 “ According to Ahmed, the angel ’ s voice was deep and gutteral, and sounded distorted, like he was speaking through a synthesizer. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ The angel pointed at me and said ‘ You. ’ I started to step back, pointing at myself, hoping that he meant someone else, even though I already knew that everyone else in the camp must have been dead already. At that point I couldn ’ t stop wondering why I wasn ’ t dead already. ” 
 
 “ And according to Ahmed, that was when the angel spoke to him. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ The angel then said, ‘ Run. Run far from here. What you do with your life now is up to you, but first, tell your remaining leaders that their Retribution has come. ’ And then the next thing I knew, he was gone. ” 
 
 “ Ahmed says he went to the nearest ISIL outpost he knew of and told them what had happened. Soon after that, he abandoned the organization and has tried to re-acclimate to civilian life. While Ahmed has asked us not to go into too much detail for fear of his safety, he ’ s since got a simple job and even owns a home. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ I think ISIL is doomed. I really do. The angel has destroyed so many fortresses and outposts so quickly that it ’ s only a matter of time at this point. ” 
 
 “ When asked why he thinks the angel spared him specifically, Ahmed had only this to say. 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ I had always only been a guard, and almost never left the compound. Even after a year with ISIL, I ’ d never actually killed anyone, never raped any of the women that ISIL had brought back from the towns that they ’ d captured nearby. Maybe the angel knew this somehow and decided I wasn ’ t as guilty as the others. I ’ d like to think that maybe that ’ s why he let me live. He gave me a second chance. I ’ ve been trying to lead a normal life ever since, and tried to put behind my former wicked ways. ” 
 
 “ I asked Ahmed what he would do if he ever saw the angel again. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ I think if I ever met the angel again, it would mean that I had done something horrible, and that he had come back for me. I hope that never happens. But, if I had a chance to speak to him freely, I would like to thank him for giving me this second chance, so that maybe I can atone for all the things I did while I was still working for ISIL. ” 
 
 “ I was told that soon after news spread of the outpost ’ s destruction, nearby villagers came in and picked the place clean of valuables, but that they found something that the angel had left behind. I rode with several of them in a truck up to what was left of the ruined fortress. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ When we first got here, we saw the bodies everywhere. We got to work collecting anything we could use. Guns, ammunition, food, water, medicine, electronics. But it wasn ’ t until later when we started moving the bodies that we found something else. ” 
 
 “ The villagers walked me through the ruined compound. Where several buildings once stood, there are now nothing but piles of bricks and debris. The entire compound looks like a ghost town. It isn ’ t until one of the villagers leading me turns a corner into an alley and points me towards a wall. ” 
 
 [ Translated from Arabic ]: “ When we got here, there was a pile of bodies in the this alley, and this was written on the wall here in their blood. ” 
 
 “ Written on the wall in brown letters are words in Arabic. When translated into English, the words read: 
 
 * “ Fear not the wrath of God angered*. 
 
 *But the wrath of man oppressed. ” * 
 
 Once again, the dark angel, the so-called Doom That Came From Irem, has lived up to his penchant for leaving behind cryptic messages to be found at the places where he ’ s been. So far, however, nobody has been able to piece these seemingly random fragments into a single cohesive narrative or discern what, if anything, they say about the angel ’ s motives, aside for his seeming desire to wipe out ISIL from the region. 
 
 For NPR News, I ’ m Arnold Rashad.
