My eyelids were quick as they were gentle when I awoke. The dream had tormented me but I was free from its talons. I felt the cross upon my neck and sighed aloud. “You may still be out of reach but I’ll always be searching for you,” I whispered.
I turned on my side and saw the rest of the church in its divine charm. Angelic figures and saints of stained glass had cast their dazzling light upon the chamber. Hardwood floors reflected the prismatic beauty and radiated it into the vast ceiling above. It coated the entire room in a variety of light and colors.
Most of the people were gone while few remained on the pews. One of them, however, nestled in his cocoon of comforters and drooled on the cushioned bench. Ralph was sound asleep, tossing onto his other side when I accidentally kicked the fish tank at my feet.
“Sorry, Freddy,” I said.
And rightly so, I was presented with flared gills. But when I dropped a pinch of fish food into his tank, he seemed to have forgiven the slight. I lifted the tank and placed it on the pew when I arose. “Don’t get evangelical on me while I’m gone,” I muttered to him. His response was a stern fishy stare and flowing fins.
I headed to the bathroom and immediately I was reminded of the state of the world. With a flick of a switch, the light didn’t come on. Thankfully, there was a small window that had cast the room in a dull gray. Candles were also placed at the edge of the sink, but I had enough daylight to see my reflection in the smudgy mirror.
The old jacket I wore had brown stains caked to the parts of the sleeve. I prayed it was mud but presumed it to be dried blood. My shirt was stretched at the neck and needed a wash. My pants had gained a few new rips since I last inspected them. Any more, and I’d have to get a skateboard to match them.
Frizzled chestnut strands of hair stuck to my forehead that I quickly brushed behind my ears. I pulled out my bag of bathroom supplies and grabbed brushes for my hair and teeth. I was surprised to see the water run when I turned on the faucet but I remembered the priest saying this place had a well. The water had a hint of sulfur to it and tasted minerally. I spat out what I could to get the pungent taste out of my mouth.
Upon making myself look somewhat presentable, I wiped the dried matter from my jacket and washed my hands. However, as I gazed at my hands, I noticed blemishes and bruises that weren't there yesterday. Small cuts covered my palms and fingers, as if I had slid against a sand dune.
“A rash?” I muttered to myself. “It has to be the cold drying out my skin.” I thought of my dream of the desert last night and let out a soft laugh. “My subconscious must’ve dreamt all that up because of these wounds that I didn’t even know were on me.”
The bathroom door creaked behind me as it closed. I set one foot on the hardwood flooring and as if I set off an alarm, a bell began to chime. It reverberated within the chamber like a choir and awoke the masses. The majority of them tossed, turned, and covered their heads with pillows. Ralph, however, awoke startled.
“Shit! I thought…”
“What? You missed class?” I laughed. “Freshen up. I’ll be outside to see if there’s any food around.”
Ralph nodded with a groan and rubbed his temples as the bells ended their song. I pushed past the heavy wooden doors and felt the instant chill of a winter breeze. Dark clouds filled the horizon but the sun shone beautifully on the lake ahead of me. Sparkling snow still covered the ground in some spots, but between the sun and the great fire the church made, it all melted away as if spring had come early.
Near the fire was a picnic table draped in white linen like it was a wedding. Those not present on the pews were eating and socializing at the table. There were eight people in total before the priest emerged from his seat and greeted me warmly.
“Good morning, Sage! Or should I say good afternoon? Did the midday bells wake you?”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
I gave no response except a subtle nod. Seven others were staring at me, studying me as if I was some alien that crash landed. Women and small children peered at me, the exception being the elderly man who didn’t bother to give me his gaze.
“Ah, it’s no worries,” the priest said. “I don’t blame you for sleeping in, but I’m glad you get to finally view this place in the light of our saviors!” He directed me to the small banquet table near the side and forced a plate in my hand. “We have steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and rolls. Take what you wish but I request that you please be mindful of those who haven’t eaten yet. Will Ralph be joining us?”
“Yeah. He woke up a little after I did,” I said.
“Good to hear! You go get yourself acquainted with the rest of the congregation. I have to go get some more firewood and think of a dinner plan.”
He left but I didn’t feel alone. I could feel the table staring at the back of my neck. Each move being judged by them. The way I grasped my steak knife and fork. The size of the steak I chose. The portion I gave myself with the mashed potatoes. The corn I poured over them. The bread roll I chose and the lack of butter I put on it. Everything had to be criticized and interpreted as my overall sense of character.
When I faced the table to find my spot, it felt like every head had turned away. The table was full, but before the awkwardness began, a lady made room for me. She scooted to the side and placed her son in her lap, allowing me to sit at the end.
“We won’t bite,” she said smiling. “Or at least I don’t. I can’t say the same for him,” she laughed. Her light blue dress billowed in the wind. Dappled with small yellow flowers, I thought it to be a very traditional dress if it weren’t for how much it revealed her chest.
“I’m Abigail, by the way. This is Luke.”
“I’m Sage. How old is he?”
“Oh, he just turned two. But he’s becoming a little rascal already. Do you have any?”
The question stunned me for a moment. I had never been asked that before nor thought I would ever until I was much older. Thankfully, Ralph burst through the doors just in time to give me a reprieve.
“No. But with him around it certainly seems like I’m caring for my own two year old.”
Ralph noticed Abigail and I’s gaze at him and gave a furrowed brow. “You talking about me?”
“Only good things!” I exclaimed. He waved me off and retrieved his own plate of food.
Abigail cleared her throat in her hand and continued her analysis of me. “How long have you two been together?”
“We’ve been friends since we were children,” I said quickly. “He was Don’s—my brother’s friend. We just managed to stay together after everything went south.”
“And where is this ‘Don?’ Is he still with you?”
A long silence crossed me again that I didn’t know how to break. Every day—no, every hour—I was questioning the same thing. Don could be dead in this world or dead in the next. He could be watching me from above or screaming for help down below. I didn’t know a definitive answer to tell Abigail… or to myself.
“I hope so,” I said with a lipless smile. “I haven’t heard from him since. Last he told me was that he went to the movies. I’ve been looking all over for him.”
Abigail gave a quiet hum. “I pray you find him, Miss Sage. But if I were to give my opinion, I’d say that he would have returned home by now if he could have. He may be in the Other-Place just like the rest of our families.”
“The Other-Place?” I asked.
“Yes!” she said excitedly, “It’s what Father Ezekiel—”
“Reverend Jones!” the elderly man across from me shouted.
“No, you’re mistaken. He prefers to be called Father Ezekiel.”
The elderly man huffed and kept sawing off a portion of his steak.
“Anyway, the Other-Place is what Father Ezekiel calls the land where everyone has gone to. He assured us it wasn’t God’s rapture like what we thought at first. But something much different. A new Eden. And us who have been left here on this Earth have been selected as a test of faith. A challenge to prove to our saviors that we are ready and willing to accept their love and to carry out their instruction.”
Before I could question what exactly Abigail meant by ‘instruction,’ Ralph had plopped his plate next to mine and pushed me aside to sit at the table. The conversation soon grew quiet as no one wanted to interview or interrogate the man with a mouth full of mashed potatoes. Our meal was quick and quiet until we heard the rumbling of a heavy engine nearing the church.
Ralph and I both tensed our hands around our steak knives and looked at the others. They had all turned away from the table and seemed joyous to hear the engine’s howl. The truck pulled in with a mound full of duffle bags in the bed. Two men came out with rifles in hand. Men that I recognized. Men that caused the shootout. Men that had murdered the old man at the grocery store on the first day of the apocalypse.