The hot long summer was finally over in the small town of Terryville. The maple leaves started to turn red, little squirrels were busy about picking up acorns and chestnuts off the ground. The change of seasons brought along changes of winds and it was the very cool draft coming through the open window that woke Sally.

“ugh..”

The crisp morning was too chilly for the thin blanket that was covering her, yet Sally pulled her blanket well above her head, refusing to get out of bed. It was Sunday today and her Sunday morning was always busy. She needed all the sleep she could get. But the wind blew stronger and stronger as if making fun of her futile attempt to go back to sleep.

“….ahhhh alright alright!”

Eventually the icy gust would open wide the window inviting in the cold, cold air. Ah, Sally had no choice but to wake up.

“Mr. Salem, where are you?”

Still rubbing the drowsiness out of her green eyes, Sally searched around for her furry fellow. She noticed the little warm fur ball that would have kept her cozy in the night was gone. The clock was pointing 6 o'clock meaning she could have slept at least half an hour more had Mr. Salem, her sassy feline companion, still been inside her blanket as he usually was.

Well it was not long though, until she found him just where she expected him to be.

“Mr.Salem, how many times do I have to tell you not to take away Sabrina’s bed? Yours is right there!”

There he was, a black ball of fur curled up in the center of a white cushion that was much larger than himself. Unfortunately, it was not big enough to share, so a poor white husky was lying on the edge of it, only half her body on the soft cushion. Nevertheless, the culprit interested himself in licking his paws, clearly not caring about his poor companion nor the hooman-butler that called him.

“S.a.l.e.m?”

It was only after Sally raised her tone, calling his name again slowly so that Mr. Salem finally looked up. With his only good left eye fixed on Sally , he lazily meowed as if saying 'Morning to you, too', then went back to his business of cleaning himself. Frustrated, Sally made a threat.

“Give Sabrina her cushion or there will be no snacks for you today.”

The feline did not bother to budge. Rather, with his yellow eye once more fixed on Sally, Mr. Salem raised his paw a bit more and slowly extended it right above the old dog's nose.

“No. Mr. Salem. Don't you dare-”

Arf!

But even before Sally could finish her sentence, the blow was struck and small yelp came out of the victim's snout.

Grrr

Sabrina let out a small angry growl and glared back at the black cat, whom pretended to have done nothing and began stretching out his back.

Sally sighed and walked across to prevent an outbreak of another morning chaos.

“Morning, Sabrina. Hope you slept well at least.” she gently greeted the angry, but still drowsy dog. Looking into the sky-blue, canine eyes, she made sure to give her friend a satisfying scratch near the scar that ran across the neck.

With a happy grin on her doggy face, Sabrina turned away from Mr. Salem and slowly rose up to brush her head and body against Sally’s leg. She answered Sally's greeting with a short happy woof.

“Ah, if only Petricia allowed you to be on the bed! I wouldn’t even have to worry about winter!”

Feeling the dog’s warm body, Sally wished for the impossible. There was no way that her guardian would allow that, since Sister Petricia already despised trying to dust off the long white and grey furs that occasionally stuck to the bed sheets. Most importantly, she had enough with flea infested furniture.

Out of frustration, the nun even used to lock both Mr. Salem and Sabrina out of the room only to give up soon after finding the black cat always back in the room somehow, and the old dog scratching and whimpering in sadness all night.

With a sigh of despair, Sally walked up to close the window that was still welcoming in the cold air that woke her up. Before shutting it off, she managed to catch a glimpse of a big black shape clumsily hiding into the woods.

“Hope you are prepared. Like they say, Winter is coming.” She murmured. Sabrina let out a small woof as if agreeing. Still drowsy but a warm smile on her face, Sally decided to cuddle her cute old friend just a little bit more. Just..a little bit..more...

…

It was way past 7 when Sally finally left her two furry companions and rushed off to the showers. She only had few minutes until breakfast time but the thought of a warm bath on a cold morning like this was always too enticing. In fact, she couldn't resist just standing there...enjoying the hot water trickling down her body, wishing she could stay there forever.

But she knew all too well that the hot water would be cut-off soon. The boiler was too old and the church just could not afford to replace it.

So In the last minutes of hot water, she hurriedly soaped up and rinsed off, finishing just as the water started turning cold. It took quite an effort to dry and straighten up her long dark hair afterwards, but she finally managed to sluggishly drag herself to the kitchen.

”hmm~ bacon~”

The first thing that greeted her was the irresistible smell of bacon that filled the kitchen. The delicious smell of meat cooked in butter immediately made her stomach growl and mouth water.

Instantly, she ran up to the tall dark figure who was just placing those delightful goodies on to a plate.

“Good Morning Petricia! Did I ever tell you how much I love you?”

Shouted Sally, embracing Sister Petricia with all the strength she had.

“Yes dear. As a matter of fact, only when there's bacon on the table I believe.” Answered Sister Petricia with a grin on her face.

The robust woman greeted her back with a short hug that made Sally gasp for air. Sally was pretty tall and fit herself too, but no match against her guardian. In an instant Sally was at the mercy of the nun’s mighty body hidden under the black robe she always wore.

“I can’t breathe~”

Soon letting her go, Petricia let out a chuckle and took off her aprons.

“Well then, could you finish up the scrambled eggs sweetie? This sister has got some morning delights to enjoy”

Sally knew right away what she meant by morning delight. She had already noticed the faint scent of fresh cigars on Petricia's robes.

“But you smoked one already! Those are really bad for you know? What happened to abstinence?”

“Well, I couldn't finish it because someone forgot to take the laundry in before going to bed.” Shrugged Sister Petricia, “besides, I am sure the merciful lord will understand.”

And with that she went out the back door with a cigar in her mouth and a bottle of under her armpit.

“I'm going to eat everything!” yelled Sally.

“I hope you do kiddo~ Should really gain more weight on that skinny body of yours!” Petricia replied from outside, jeeringly laughing out loud.

With a deep sigh, Sally gave up trying and started to scramble the eggs. She knew all too well that it is impossible to stop Petricia from smoking. She tried desperately for years but all attempts were in vain. At least it was an improvement that she try to limit herself to one a day and took her hobby outside.

As a matter of fact, in Sally's 17 years of life, it was not until she was 7 years old and coughing violently -intentionally of course- at Sister Petricia’s face that the nun started to take her morning routine outside the house.

“....”

Come to think of it, there were a lot of things that Sister Petricia did that made Sally question if she really was a loyal servant of the lord. Sally had never seen another nun that regularly smokes Cuban cigars and drinks a half shot of Scotch every night before bed. Never, had she come across a Sister who has several shot-guns and hunting rifles under the church basement AND be skillful enough to always score the best catch in the hunting seasons. ‘Is that even allowed?’ she wondered.

Beside all, Sally was pretty sure an ordinary nun does not have a black eye patch on her right eye like some pirate nor have huge scars running down her muscular body like Roman gladiators.

Yet, it was such woman that raised Sally ever since she was a baby.

A stranger visited the church in the middle of a night, and Petricia told her that the woman passed away after giving birth to her in the middle of night. Apparently, Petricia never got to ask her about Sally's father either.

Thus, for 17 years the two-story cabin next to Marion Street church has been Sally’s home and Petricia her mother, sister, and friend. Of course, she sometimes wondered what kind of person Petricia really was in the past, but for now Sally quickly dropped the thought. Her stomach was now yelling at her and she had more urgent things to worry about in life.

Yes, Like those sweet crispy bacon that were turning cold on the table-- AND the long~ hour of Sunday mass chores following after.

“Roses are red, violets are blue, I do not care~ there is bacon on the table!”

....

“…evil.. All creatures..on earth perished..as well as all humankind..”

“-huh?”

The Sunday service was nearing its end when Sally came back to her senses. She was sitting in church, at the far side of the front row, and the last thing she remembered was the irresistible waves of drowsiness flooding into her just when the sermon was about to begin. Apparently, she slept through most of it.

“Ugh, again?” she thought

.

Ever since she recovered from her sickness a years ago, Sally grew a tendency to suddenly feel lethargic and sleepy in the broad daylights. Regardless of her sleeps in the night, the symptoms grew worse in the past couple month, and now she sometimes found herself waking up in the middle of the day, not knowing when she fell asleep. Sally did not understand why she was like this and neither did Dr. Han, the town doctor.

“Well, I guess it was a good timing” she murmured to herself. The clock pointed almost noon meaning the mass will be over soon.

There were two good things about these irresistible, random sleeps, and one was that the dreams felt so nice. In the woods and the open plain, she would glide across forests and race down meadows far and wide. The scenery would change rapidly as if she was in a very fast car, yet she is able to perceive every part of it. From the little ants crawling on a pebble on the soft soil, to the eagles soaring high up in the blue sky, Sally’s senses felt sharper and her mind clear compared to the fuzzy, obscure dreams in the nights. And despite such lively dreams, she always felt calm and relaxed. The dreams felt especially liberating after chores that she sometimes wished she did not wake up.

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The other good point about these random sleeps was that she could use it as an excuse to sleep through things that were not of her taste. Sometimes she would sleep through math or history classes and pretend it was one of those irresistible sleeps. Father Ed’s sermon was also one those things that she wished she could sleep through, and lucky for her, she did not have to pretend today. With a bit of guilt, she paid attention to the tiny man giving off his last few sentences of sermon.

“The LORD wiped out every being on earth: human beings and animals, the crawling things and the birds of the air; all were wiped out from the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ark were left....

I personally like to read and ponder about this part of Genesis. While the story centers on Noah and the beginning of a new era, it also teaches us the consequences of wrong doing.”

Father Edward was a small man in his early 30s with already retreating hair. He was short, hunched, and had arms and legs that were so thin that you could mistake them for sticks. He wore big round glasses that he had to constantly adjust because it barely hung from his tiny nose and always wore the over-sized traditional cassocks wherever he went. Overall, people could have mistaken him for a tiny old clergyman if it wasn't for his baby-smooth face.

He came to town few months ago as a temporary replacement until Father Chris, the town’s original priest, comes back from his trip to Africa. While Sally didn't hate Father Edward, she really missed the town's usual priest. Unlike the original, Father Edward was never really around the church grounds. He was always roaming around the state during the weekdays, supposedly doing volunteer works in hospitals and schools according to some eye witnesses. But he was clearly neglecting some of the local duties. She certainly did not like him forgetting to water Father Chris's precious garden ever so often.

“The great flooding in the tale is also commonly found in other religious literature and mythologies. Often the stories describes unstoppable storms and massive amount of water that drowns the vile, greedy, corrupted old world, forthcoming a new world that is purified and enriched. The flood takes away all life save for the chosen few, but allows second chance to prosper for those that have survived it.”

The priest took a moment to push up his glasses again. He let out a small, muffled cough before he continued,

“Cutting down forests, contaminating the vast oceans, and turning once fruitful lands into barren deserts-- for the prosperity of their own kind, homo sapiens have destroyed nature and the beautiful Earth that we knew is no more. Hunger, famine, war--we live in an world that is very close to the old world described in the bible. Yet, humanity continues to fight among themselves devastating all in path...Perhaps it won’t be long until you too will be under the mercy of god, the wrath of mother nature engulfing the guilty as it had in the past.”

Father Edward's sermons tend to heavily centered around nature and while Sally respected his words of loving nature and all, it was quite hard to take in from a guy who shrieks and frantically stomps at the sight of tiny itsy-bitsy spiders. Plus, his high-pitched voice and repetitive speech was too boring against the profound narratives spoken in the deep, charismatic voice of Father Chris. Boy, she missed him.

“For those of you who have not been informed yet, Mrs. Chapman' daughter, Brooke Chapman has been attacked by a wild bear while she was jogging with her dog in the woods yesterday. While her life is not in danger, she has been hospitalized and is under care. The tithe collected today will be handed to the Chapman family for support. I will be visiting the hospital after lunch so please join if you would like to share word of support.

Let us end today's mass praying for Ms. Chapman's fast recovery and wellbeing.”

The moment the mass was over, Sally got out of her seat and joined Sister Petricia to prepare for lunch.

Ever since the church was built by Father Chris himself, it has been a tradition to have a potluck lunch outside the church yard every 3rd Sunday of the month. Everyone in the neighborhood would bring their home-cooked meals to share with others and it was interesting to see the comparison between faces of people whose dishes were wiped clean and those that were not. Knowing the heat of it, some just gave up on the unofficial cook competition and brought munchkins or pizza instead.

While Sally loved eating all those foods, she hated preparing the tables and chairs, not to mention cleaning out the dirty dishes afterwards. The church was pretty far off from the neighborhood and in the woods, so the cabin next to it was the only place available to wash anything. And since Petricia would never have the guests do any kind of labor, it was Petrica and Sally's job to wash all the dishes if there were any.

It was only after the tables were set and people started bringing food that Sally and Petricia was able to sit down to catch their breathe.

”Oh, that reminds me. Sweetie, did you fall asleep during the sermon again?”

“Yes, and I feel sooo bad for it”

“I am sure you di.” said Petricia while pulling Sally's cheek gently.

“Owie~”

With a chuckle Petricia let of her cheeks, but she added in a worried voice “Well, we better have Dr. Kang check on you again.”

“Did he come to mass today? Thought he went to one of those fancy doctor meetings.”

“Why yes, he--”

“-- He came back yesterday and disappeared to descend on Lopez's shrimps few minutes ago.”

Before Petricia could, a voiced answered Sally's question from behind her. Upon hearing his cheery voice Sally felt joy rush into her.

“Han!” She immediately recognized the playful voice, stood up and turned, instantly hugging her longtime buddy that she missed so much.

“Hey Sally” greeted Han, teasingly messing up Sally’s black hair with one hand. ”I see you missed me very much?”

“Of course, I did! You guys left me here to rot all by myself the whole summer!” Sally shouted, nudging her bestie with knuckles on the shoulder. There were 3 people in the word that she would die for, and all of them- for different reasons- had to coincidentally leave her throughout the vacation.

Out of the loneliness she suffered throughout summer and happiness she felt now, the nudging continued, intensifying a bit more after another. It was only after Han cried for mercy that Sally stopped punching(?) her friend.

“Okay, okay I'm sorry. Sally? Sally? Ow, ow! Uncle! Uncle!”

With a laugh on her face Sally looked up Han, he was smiling back at her. White teeth perfectly aligned and clenched, eyes over-exaggeratedly squinted but overflowing with kindness, it was that funny, comforting smile she missed so much the whole summer.

Sally has been best friends with Han ever since his family moved into town when she was 5. Because there weren't any kids their age in the neighborhood at the time, they naturally became close friends.

Dr & Mrs Han loved Sally's character while greatly sympathizing with her situation, so Sally was frequently invited over to play with Han and even stay couple of nights over when Petricia permitted. For 10 years they grew up together, just like siblings.

That 10 years also proved to be an indirect reason for their separation sometimes like this summer.

“Can't believe you had to go training for 2 months!”

“Well, the national competition is coming up, and coach Williams is a desperate man for a trophy.”

The Marion St. church was located in the outskirts of the church, resting up on top of a hill in the woods. Fortunately, the Kang family lived closest to the church. So while there was still some distance between their homes, Han was able to ride his bike to church when his parents got too busy to take him there by car. Eventually he grew too big for the child-sized bike, and rather than getting a bigger one, Han simply started running the whole journey back and forth. It was those years of bicycling and running up/down the hills that made him one of the leading runners in the school's cross-country team.

“You didn't even tell me you were coming back today!” exclaimed Sally.

“Surprise~~ Ow! Okay maybe I deserved that one.” replied Han, rubbing his shoulder that Sally just punched.

Sally couldn't believe her best friend for not telling he would come back, even when they were texting just yesterday night. But as always, she couldn't hold her grudge long against Han's megawatt smile. Besides, it really was a pleasant surprise and she was very happy that her best bud was finally back in town. So she decided to forgive Han...by slapping him in the back instead.

“Ow! What was that for?!” howled Han. stepping away from Sally while desperately attempting to reach his back.

“Welcome back dum dum” greeted Sally, pretending nothing has happened. “I REALLY missed you.”

“Yeah, I can tell!” said Han with a weird half-frown-half-smile face. ”Man, I really hope the rest of the gang to come back soon to share the blows or else my arm will be bruised so badly that the sheriff will arrest my dad for child abuse! Ow! See what I mean?!”

“You were asking for it.” said Sally in a playful tone. Then she tiptoed to put her arm around Han's shoulder and continued, “Well Troy's still in Africa visiting his relatives and helping out Father Chris, and it won't be until next-next Tuesday that Camilla comes back from her acting classes in New York. So, lucky you! You have fabulous Ms. Sally Macarthur all to yourself!”

“Oh yeah, lucky me. Guess it's just good old Han at your service for now, huh?” said Han awkwardly hunched to match Sally’s height, whom replied with simple yup and a grin.

“Are you two finally done?” said Petricia now towering over both of them.

She had been patiently waiting for the two young ones enjoy their reunion, but she wanted to consult Dr. Kang about Sally's worsening conditions; not to mention getting her hand on some of the famously delicious yet notorious spicy shrimps that the Lopez family occasionally brings, before it runs out.

“Oh, hey Petricia”, Han said freeing himself from Sally’s arm-lock, “Didn't see you there.”

“Mhm, sure you haven't. Well anyway, if you don't mind, I would like to take Sally to your father. She has been having those symptoms again and I am worried. So, if you will excuse us”

Sally felt her body being easily lifted up in the air and put down, away from Han and toward the direction of the party. Two strong arms gently pushed her toward the crowd standing around the food tables.

Quickly following behind, Han whispered in a low voice to Sally, ”Whew, robust as always. I would believe if she was a cybernetic robot sent from the future to protect you.”

“I heard that” snapped Petricia “You better watch what you are saying or you will be terminated” she added with a grin, to which Han replied with an innocent smile.

It wasn't hard to find the town doctor. Dr. Kang was still devouring the famous prawns in his mouth, fighting to get his hands on the bowl of juicy steaks that Father Ed was literally hugging to himself, while holding a big plate that was probably filled with every dish brought to the potluck party.

For someone with that much an appetite, Dr. Kang looked as if he was suffering from anorexia. The always stern face and dark circles on eyes that seemed to never disappear made him look sick all the more. His pale, smooth skin made him look pretty young for his age, so when she was little, Sally used to wonder if he was actually a vampire in disguise. Him dressing up like one every Halloween was the icing on the cake, the cherry on top. In fact, Sally still thinks that he looked exactly like how he was when he first came to the neighborhood 10 years ago.

She later learned that it was just from intensive skin care, combination of overworking and sleepless nights, and his shyness to strangers. Besides, he loved garlic too much to be a vampire.

“Good to see you again Dr. Kang,” she called him in a cheery voice.

“Oh, hello Sally. I see you have reunited with my son there, do hope he isn't troubling you too much” greeted the Doctor in his usual straight face, while skillfully shoving some of the food into Han's mouth when it opened to protest, “By the look of Sister Petricia's face, I am guessing that you are having those dreams again?”

“Yes, it seems like she has fallen asleep during Father Edward's preaching just this morning, too.” Petricia replied instead of Sally in a worried voice.

“Did she now?” Doctor Kang turned his head toward Sally, an eye brow raised, now holding a chicken wings in the other hand. His straight face made the appearance all the more comical.

“I swear to god that I was not faking it.” said Sally whilst trying hard to keep a straight face.

With a very noticeable chuckle he waved his hand implying it was a joke. He was still skillfully putting foods into Han's mouth midst of it though. Then he added, ”Well guess we will have to make an appointment later. But I am sure it is nothing like what you are worrying about, Sister Petricia, I assure you.”

“But what if it happens again?” Petricia swallowed in a drenched voice.

She stood tall and firm as always but her face turned grim and her eyes shot red, holding back tears. Sally could feel the two hands that were holding her shoulders were faintly shaking.

It was very rare to see the robust nun like this, ever. Luckily the town doctor quickly took action.

“Coma and unwilling naps are two very different things. I promise you I will do everything i can to help Sally and protect her from any harms.” said he in a serious yet calm and soothing voice. The foods have been forcefully given to Han and his arms were free to comfort Petricia who was fighting back the tears.

It was times like these the Sally felt that he really was Han's father.

“It's okay Petty.” he spoke again while gently patting her in the back.

“Well you better, or it won't end with a smashed front door next time” chuckled Petricia, wiping her eyes off tears. “Thanks Dodo.”

“No problemo. Just try not to bring along a shotgun in the middle of the night demanding help. My wife has a heart size of a bird you know.”

Then, the two adults walked over to the challenge themselves for the Lopez's fiery-spicy-dare chickens.

Looking at them, two teens were left wondering and confused.

“Um..did my Dad just call her Petty..?” said Han

“And Dodo?” followed Sally, “Dang, since when did they become such best buds?!”

Han was equally confused himself and simply shrugged I dunno.

....

That night Sally woke up in her dreams. It was not like those special dreams she had in the days, but it was no ordinary dream neither.

Something was different.

In the woods that she recognized later to be just few miles off the church, she felt herself quickly moving across the darkness, so stealth that not even a single twig of fallen wood was heard while she passed. The moon seemed to be hidden in the clouds, yet she had no problem gliding down from one tree to another, searching for the small specks of disturbed dirt that she soon recognized as footprints.

Yes, she was tracking down something, No, it was someone. She was definitely looking for a person, following the faint scent of body deodorant that was out of place among theses dirt and trees.

Oh my god, she though, this is different from other dreams, I can smell!

Just when she was happily enjoying this new finding of hers, she regretted it right away as her sensitive nose picked up something she never wanted to smell in dreams nor reality.

It was the faint scent of bitterness and iron, conjuring up image of both life and death.

Blood!

Before she could linger on it further, the scenery started to shift, changing more crazily then before. Sally didn't know exactly how, but she started to hear faint voice miles away.

As the tracks of blood started to match the now desperate cries for help, she felt her moving faster and faster, fastest than she ever has in any dreams. It felt like she was sliding in and out of darkness.

Yet her mind hurried and hasted for no clear reason. Soon she started to make out some figures, and recognized one of them to be a gigantic black bear standing on its hind legs.

Faster!

Few seconds later, she noticed a girl covered in dirt and injuries head to toe and a dog trying its best to keep the bear away,

Faster!

Then she saw the canine courageously try to fight back, but get thrown away to the side by another.

Come on, Faster!

Finally, When one of the other bears started to charge toward the fallen girl, they were only a few feet away.

Without thinking at all, Sally threw herself to the bear, tackling it with the very speed and force that they were running with.The bear flew away a few yard, yet she surprisingly felt nothing from the impact.

When she turned to face it, the bear was already up as if it has not taken any damage as well. Immediately, it started to charge toward the girl again, whom managed to crawl a few feet away. She noticed that the bear seem to have no eyes, but she did not have time to linger on it. She felt rage take over her body.

She is mine!

As she lunged forward toward the human figure between them, the person turned back finally revealing her face.

Brooke Chapman?

Sally recognized the face.

It was Brooke Chapman, a senior in her school and acquaintance of one of her friends. But most importantly, she was the girl who got attacked by a bear yesterday.

What is going on?!!

But before she could find out, Sally felt herself being separated from the body. It felt almost as if she was being sucked out of it.

No, Wait!

The last thing Sally saw in her dream before waking up was the reflection off Chapman's eyes.

The reflection of two deadly white fangs, and a cold yellow eye that looked back at her.