

And the hand of god

by

R.J. Hamilton

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And the Hand of God

Copyright © 2011 by R.J. Hamilton

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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LOOK FOR THESE OTHER BOOKS

BY R.J. HAMILTON:

The Self Series:

Self Convictions

Self Consciousness

Self Conclusions

Self Consequences

Because It Feels Good

Dissecting Sean Connor

A Personal Hell: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

I dedicate this book to my grandparents whose love and guidance, during the earlier years of my life, gave me the knowledge and experience I needed in order to compile this written work.

"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" – Revelation 19:15 (King James Version)

Chapter 1

Jared's eyes fly open as the bright sun pours down from above. His arms begin pushing the rubble away instinctively. Plywood, two-by-fours, and other bits of what used to be his house's walls are shoved from his body. He removes the debris in a desperate panic. His heart races a thousand miles a minute as the dust rains down from the wood. A momentary bout of coughing hits him as the residue is inhaled. The pieces on his chest bounce up and down with each in and out of his convulsing breaths. He sits up and clears the remaining bits and pieces from his legs. He pulls his knees inward and stands shakily as he pushes himself up from what used to be a floor. He shields his face with his right hand, the midday sun burns his retinas. With his heart still pounding in his chest, he looks around the neighborhood for any other signs of life.

He turns 360 degrees to look at everything and tries to mentally absorb the level of the wreckage. His life in this little suburbia has obviously and not by his own decision had come to an end. Foundations of cement stand lonely in nearly every lot around his. The homes occupying the spaces have all folded over like the stack of cards children build pyramids out of. A slight breeze of the sibling passerby topples the stack like it is nothing, efforts wasted. All that remains is the disappointment of starting anew. The houses are simply fallen piles of junk. Water pipes spew liquid onto the grass, furniture liters the piles, and glass shards sparkle in the sunlight.

"Help, please, anybody!" he suddenly hears a scream. The voice is muffled, but he hears it. The voice has nothing else to compete with but the surrounding silence. He then realizes there is no noise and the air is still. The voice pulls him from his thoughts of the devastation. The voice belongs to a woman. He listens for a moment as he tries to locate its exact location. "Please," she calls again. He's got it! He takes a step forward and quickly realizes his legs aren't as healthy as they'd appeared to be when he'd initially uncovered them. A sudden pain shoots up from his left leg as his foot hits the rough ground. He nearly rolls his ankle on a piece of wood as the pain surges through. He knows he has to get to her. He makes an adjustment. He takes a moment, a few seconds, before stepping off again. The pain isn't as bad this time. No sudden movements, he thinks to himself as he walks in the direction of the woman's voice.

"I'm coming!" he yells, "Keep talking," he orders to the woman.

"I'm over here," her voice isn't as loud as it had been initially, "Please, help me," he hears her uncomfortable sobs begin. He walks across the street. He notices a small arm protruding, gray and motionless, from beneath some of the remaining domicile next door to where the woman's yelling. Jared doesn't want to think about the rest of the body attached to the arm, if there is anything attached at all. He tears his thoughts away from the gruesomeness of it all and says a short prayer inside his head for the innocent owner of the arm. He continues to walk in her direction afraid of overuse and reoccurring pain from his knee. The muscles in his legs loosen more with each step. By the time he gets close to where she is, he's nearly running. He sees dusty, dark brown hair flopped over a chunk of wall. There is blood dripping across the horizontally oriented wallpaper. White daisies are kissed with a sprinkling of red as the trail passes by their two-dimensional petals. Jared begins to remove the rubble and tosses it off into the nearby grass. The woman's crying is weak beneath the boards.

"I'm right here, hang on," he announces his presence to her as the debris is taken away. As he pulls the last remaining bit from her upper torso, he recognizes her. Jared had just moved into the small, peaceful neighborhood about a month ago. He really didn't know anyone. He was a loner and had kept to himself. He'd noticed her before from his living room window. She'd waved to him a couple of times when he'd gotten home from work. Her face remains perfect, but her hair is now caked with a dry, red crust. He looks down at a pool soaking through her pink t-shirt near her abdomen. There is a small pipe sticking out of her gut. It entered in from her back.

"Please, help me," she pleads with him quietly with quivering lips. Jared's hands begin to shake as he touches the small copper pipe with a fingertip.

"I...I can't," he starts to explain. His mind is going into overdrive, but he has no idea what to do. Nausea sets in. Stay with it, Jared, he says in his head. He swallows the unpleasant taste of vomit and contains it for the moment. His hands quiver like a scared child's. "I don't know what to do," he can't keep his eyes off the bloody mess as he speaks. He is afraid to look into her eyes. He doesn't want to have to say it directly to the stranger who's been his neighbor and he hadn't bothered to physically go to her to say hello. She begins to cough and blood spatters out. The liquid bubbles near her lips. It then flows gently out and down the corners of her mouth. Pained tears glaze her eyes. She blinks uncontrollably and a few escape their ducts. "I...can't," Jared's voice goes to a whisper. She exhales one last time. Her eyes become empty and blank as they stare at him. He allows himself to throw up. Jared spins around on his heels and everything he'd had for breakfast comes up. The vomit splatters his shoes as it hits the cement. Three good pushes come and then a couple more dry-heaves for good measure. He wipes his mouth on his sleeve and uses the opposite one for the tears that had accompanied the pressure of the puke. He turns back to the body that was once his neighbor, reaches down, and closes her eyes. An explosion suddenly rocks his eardrums, flames and thick, black smoke mushroom-clouds about a block away.

Earlier that morning, Jared sits down in his quaint living room to enjoy a bowl of corn flakes. A square of dawn's sunlight shoots in from the east living room window. It casts an oblong shadow of light against the dark coloring of the brown carpeting. He flips on the television, his morning ritual prior to getting ready for work, to watch the local news. The world hasn't been normal in months. Natural disasters have been occurring daily. Tsunamis in the Caribbean, earthquakes in Asia, flooding in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and the list goes on and on. Most of the events claim hundreds, some thousands, of lives each time.

Small cults claiming to be churches pop up all over the United States. They picket the street corners with obscene signs and judge America's inhabitants. They bark claims that all people are evil and working against God. Their presence soon disappears from the television cameras, as does most of the world's population.

Jared thinks to himself about how lucky he's been. He lives alone and he's fine with that fact. He's never married, also not a problem in his mind. He goes to work and lives his life. His existence is one that doesn't involve any others.

Jared had escaped his parents' home when he was in his early teens. One night, after many countless days of abuse and heartache, he left. He climbed out his bedroom window of his parents' trailer home with his favorite book in-hand and a few necessities. No more hitting, no more yelling and most of all, no more inappropriate touching. He simply left and he never looked back. Jared did anything he could for money and, thanks to his father some of those things were unspeakable. But, he survived it all. Though the scars run deep, he has endured. He works for a successful insurance agency and is in his early twenties. He'd gotten the job in a not-so-honest way, a past sexual favor and a swearing into secrecy, but he is employed and has been for a few years.

His mind goes back to his corn flakes and news. There's been another huge earthquake in China. Thousands are dead and thousands more are unaccounted for. A spoonful reaches his mouth, mostly milk and lacking soggy flakes. He swallows it down after a short, just-in-case chewing. Jared places the bowl against his lips and drinks the remaining liquid. He goes to the kitchen, rinses his bowl, and places it in the dishwasher. He lays out his clothing for the day, casual Friday today. Blue jeans and a polo shirt, he decides on some slip-on shoes without laces. He fishes underwear and socks out of his dresser drawers and goes to the shower. Time is of the essence this morning. He'd spent too much time daydreaming and watching the news. He doesn't stand under the water as long as he usually does. He washes quickly, gets dressed, and conducts the finishing touches in front of the bathroom mirror. His sandy, blonde hair is in need of a trim, but he makes due. He shoots a quick blue-eyed wink at himself just before leaving the bathroom. He grabs his keys and heads toward the door.

The loud boisterous sound of a freight train begins to fill the air and he notices the sun is no longer peeking in as it was before. He feels a rumble beneath his feet and the flooring of his home. He opens the front door to his house and looks outside. Dark, dangerous looking clouds are rolling in rapidly. The wind is pulling at everything. Bits of trash and debris fly into and across the street. Jared's ears are filled with a thunderous, deep vibration, it's deafening. The ground rumbles again beneath his feet. He knows exactly what to do. He slams the door and flips the deadbolt into place. He runs into the hall near the bathroom, it's as centralized and windowless as his small home gets. He slumps down against the wall and tucks his head into his knees.

An F5 tornado rips through the suburban town and pulls everything up in its path. Power lines rip from their conduits sending sparks into the air with each tear. Cars are pulled from their lanes in the streets and are lifted from the cushion of their tires. The inhabitants cling desperately to the windows as their bodies are hurled into the atmosphere. The metal crashes violently into the ground, bodies bouncing lifelessly within. Trees fall and fly. Sirens start to sound, too late. The tornado tears the manmade environment to shreds mockingly. It chews everything up and spits it out. It nears Jared's neighborhood and starts pulling the card-like structures down. The funnel doesn't touch his home. It merely pulls it toward itself as it passes.

Jared pushes his head deeper between his knees, not letting curiosity get the better of him. He uses the sides of his legs to muffle the sound while it deafens others unprotected ears. Jared prays silently as his house falls around and on top of his meek body.

After all the vomit is gone, the woman silent and still atop the rubble she'd once called home, Jared starts to investigate further. Everything is gone. He starts to yell from the middle of the street.

"Hello! Is there anybody here?" his voice carries through the air easily. The silence is deafening. It feels so empty. He waits for a few moments and then tries again, "Hello!" he begins to walk a few steps down the road and scans the wreckage around him. Just as before, there are a few limbs poking out from beneath the structures, but he can see that there is no life behind them. All the souls have escaped the bodies. He continues to search the homes nearest his.

Why isn't there anyone here by now? He thinks silently as he scans. Where are the fire trucks, police, and ambulances? Nobody comes. He sits on a curb and waits. The sun beats down on the back of his neck. He stares at the asphalt with his head cradled on his arms crossed on top of his knees. Water from the broken pipes flows behind his feet near the curb as it finds its way into the gutter nearby. He hears birds suddenly beginning to chirp and sing. He looks up and sees several different varieties playing in the muddy pools forming on the lawn across the street. They fluff their feathers and drink the fresh supply so generously given to them by Mother Nature herself. The initial devastating shock that had once consumed his mind begins to subside as he sits in the demolished neighborhood. Still nobody comes.

He waits for over an hour before deciding it's time to go. He reaches into his pocket for the keys to his truck. The funnel, not having actually passed over his home, had left his vehicle in the driveway. It is sitting a bit cockeyed, but seemed to be intact. Jared pulls a few branches that had come to rest against the driver's side door and tosses them away. He pushes the key into the hole and turns, it pops into the unlock position. He opens the door and gets inside. The only thing he can do is go to the nearest city and report the incident. He doesn't know what else to do. He hits the knob on the radio just before backing out of the driveway. There is nothing but silence as he flips through the channels. What the hell is going on? He wonders to himself with frustration.

Jared doesn't get upset about things. After so many years of abuse, his emotional wall is thicker than lead. He observes the rubble all around him as he maneuvers his truck delicately through the neighborhood and toward the highway nearby. There doesn't seem to be anyone alive. He doesn't see any cats, dogs, nothing domestic wanders. The tornado had successfully achieved what it had come to do, save Jared. Somehow he'd made it. Lucky he'd guessed.

Power lines whip wildly beside the highway. He continues to travel carefully along. There are random pieces of debris scattered about. Cars litter the sides of the road. Jared slows down to see if there is anyone moving around inside any of them. What can I do anyway? He asks himself, I'm no doctor. After seeing that lady across the street, I don't know if I can handle that again. He cares, but feels helpless at the same time. With the passing of each vehicle, Jared hopes he doesn't find another injured person. His wish comes true, there is no movement. There are only more bodies and bloody splatters on windows. Broken glass and tattered metal decorate the countryside all around him. After a few miles, the devastation diminishes. Everything seems normal once again. Jared's mind wasn't normal before and it defiantly isn't now. He blocks out the images as he has gotten so good at over the years. He nears the city limits and takes its first off ramp.

He drives on the street between the buildings. The streets are barren besides a few people randomly immerging from trash-riddled alleyways. Bits of paper float about in front of his truck as Jared coasts along. Some of the pieces come to rest on his windshield. He flicks on the wipers for a moment. The wind grabs the bits and sends them on their way.

He notices a man standing on a corner to his left. The man's gray beard flops angrily in the breeze. His hair is long and peppery in color, mostly gray. The tufts run along the edges of the crown of his head. The top is bald besides a couple of unruly sprouts. His t-shirt was once a gleaming white, but now is tattered and stained. There is a sign draped over his shoulders that reads HE is coming for Us All! The red letters are loud against the white of the sign. The paint runs like blood dripping down. Jared doesn't know if it was made that way intentionally or in a hasty painting. The old man holds a cross in his right hand. It is constructed of old lattice wood and it extremely worn. Jared passes the man on the corner, but continues to observe carefully from his side view mirror. Objects may be closer than they appear, he reads.

Suddenly two men come out of a door. They walk briskly in the old man's direction down the littered sidewalk. A plastic grocery bag wraps around one of the men's ankles and he quickly kicks it free. It floats off. They each take a side and grip the old man beneath his armpits. He doesn't fight them. His worn, brown shoes drag against the concrete. He holds his cross firmly. The heel of his left shoe runs over a deep crack in the sidewalk and catches the sole. It breaks free from his foot and rolls a couple of times. The shoe comes to rest on its side. The old man's bare heel is exposed and the concrete begins eroding his flesh like sandpaper. Jared's heart begins to race. That poor man, he thinks as he pulls his truck off by the curb. His eyes stay focused on the mirror. Blood trails on the walk as they drag him along. Jared gets out of the truck, pulling the keys out of the ignition. He forms a fist with the keys, the longest key sticks out between his fingers like a knife. He walks toward them.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" he yells at them.

The man on the left answers over his shoulder, "What's it to ya buddy? Leave us alone." Jared looks around to see if anyone else is noticing what's going on. If there is, they are hiding.

"Stop!" he gets close enough that he can almost reach them, "he's bleeding all over the place."

"He's gonna be bleeding a lot more than that when we're done with him. Leave us alone!" the same man answers again. Jared is careful not to step in the bloody trail as he walks behind them. The old man's head is flopped off to the side as if he has no idea what's going on. His stare is empty.

"I told you to stop!" Jared reaches in deep for the confrontational effort. His heart is pounding hard against his chest. He's honestly scared, but can't just stand by and watch. They immediately drop the old man onto the ground. He lets out an involuntary exhale on impact. Jared stops walking toward them. The men both spin around to face him. The talkative man on the left sneers at Jared, with rotting teeth, he approaches quickly. His assistant goes behind Jared as he stands to face them. White-knuckling the keys in his hand, he turns in order to keep an eye on both of them.

"What the hell is your problem guy?" the man talks intimidatingly to Jared and shoves him at the shoulder a little with his fingertips. Jared begins to sweat uncontrollably. "Why can't you just mind your own damn business?" Another shove follows. Jared tries to hold his ground and places his feet further apart to maintain balance.

"Why don't you guys just leave the poor guy alone? He's not doing anything to hurt you." Jared's voice is shaky but deliberate.

"Really? You really think this guy's not doing anything wrong?" The man's voice is mocking and sarcastic. "Hey, Joe, this guy's got no clue." He speaks to his friend on the opposite side of Jared. His face goes to Jared's ear and he lowers his voice to a saliva-filled splatter. "God doesn't care about us. God has forgotten us. Now it's our turn to forget about God." His words are menacing and cruelly delivered. Other than the annoying sputter in his ear, Jared doesn't know how to respond. "Slain for the word of God, guy. Now leave us the hell alone!" The last few words blare into Jared's ear, but before he can respond the other guy's fist hits him in the abdomen. Jared doubles over. The mouthy guy pile-drives Jared with an elbow to the back of his head and he goes down to the ground. His eyes flutter at the bloody flesh of the old man's foot as they men gather him up and drag him away. Jared passes out with the side of his face in the bloody trail as it dries in the sun.

A momentary scream of pain from somewhere nearby awakens him. Jared pushes his body from the sidewalk and stands. The bright sun is no longer as high or as bright as it was before he was attacked. He realizes the soreness in his neck and reaches back with his right hand to rub it. A thought of his truck keys alarms inside his head and he immediately finds them lying at his feet, he picks them up. His gut is wrenching. The pain echoes like the intense side ping a person gets when dehydrated and going on a long run. He holds his stomach for a moment and begins walking toward his truck which is within view, still parked where he'd left it. The door is still wide open. He assesses the contents of the vehicle, nothing's missing. He notices the lack of people and sounds around him. Even the winds have died. Garbage rests silently scattered.

He gets back into his truck and starts it. He drives off. I need to find a place to stay, he thinks, it's not like I have a home anymore. The fact that he's now homeless doesn't bother him, it's not the first time and he's sure it won't be the last. I was getting comfortable though, maybe it was a sign, too comfortable perhaps? He pulls the vehicle back onto the highway the way he'd come, but exits in the opposite direction. He decides to travel to the next city. It's not too far and I just had a nap anyway, he chuckles to himself, more in a helpless feeling of frustration than happiness. He looks into the rearview mirror and notices the old man's blood caked on his face. He licks his fingers and works the dried liquid from his flesh. It takes several attempts, but he finally succeeds. He works his digits through his messed hair hastily. His sandy blonde has become more dirty than sandy at this point. Bits of sand and grit fall like dandruff, the remaining signs of a beaten man napping on a sidewalk. Satisfied with his presentation, Jared ignores the tattered image in the mirror.

Chapter 2

The sun starts to glow its magnificent hue in the horizon to his left. An orange fire blasts one last casting against the waves of grain beside the highway. It winks out moments later. A shadowy outline of the approaching city's buildings is within view up ahead. There is a sprinkling of lights, but nowhere near the usual illumination as he remembers from his previous excursions to the town. Jared notices the cloud-cover rolling in from above as the moon tucks behind its thick concealment. Lightning strikes miles ahead and he pulls up the ramp into the midtown area.

Just as he'd suspected from the look of the landscape as he'd approached, the roads are desolate. It seems nearly abandoned aside from the few lights coming from homes here and there. He drives through the city center. Nothing looks inviting enough to go inside. He continues through and approaches the edge of the town when he notices a small, ranch-style hotel. There are lights fixed near each of the exterior room doors and they are all lit. Although there doesn't seem to be anyone else staying, Jared decides to check it out.

He pulls the truck up beside the area marked Office and gets out. He walks up and opens the door. Everything seems to be perfectly normal considering the circumstances. A couple of fake leather chairs sit in the lobby area with a small round coffee table riddled with old magazines. Fake greenery decorates each of the corners, some in wicker baskets and others in obnoxiously colored ceramic pottery, bright and unsightly. The wall paneling is a dark, natural wood color with black vertical stripes. Jared approaches the unoccupied check-in desk and rings the metal bell on top. A door behind the counter opens and he is greeted by the tip of a double-barrel shotgun. He quickly drops behind the desk with his back against it.

"What do you want?" the frail sounding voice of an old woman rings in the air.

"I just want a room," he answers shakily, fearing for his life.

"You better not have come here to cause trouble. In case you haven't noticed, the world's a shambles right now." Her voice is weak, but the shotgun is her obvious attempt in achieving order.

"No, ma'am, I just want a room," Jared raises his arms up to show her his intentions and begins to slide his body upward into view above the counter. He turns to her with hands still raised. Her hair is white and curly on top of her head. Her glasses are thick. She is a short, stocky woman whose look is that of a pear. The loose skin beneath her arms lays lazily below. She sees Jared and lowers her gun.

"Why didn't you say so?" she snickers a little at him and rests the shotgun against the wall by the door. "Will that be cash? I hope so because the credit card machine has been out of order for weeks."

"Yes, ma'am," Jared digs in his back pocket for his wallet and hands her the required amount of cash. She shoves the money into her bra strap and reaches below the counter to retrieve the room key. She places the dull, yellowish key on the desk. A large, maroon plastic triangular disk is attached to it by a metal clasp. It also looks worn and grimy. He thanks her, takes the key, and leaves.

He moves the truck down a few places in the parking lot so it's directly in front of his room and goes to the door. It takes a little of playing with the lock before it finally opens. He pushes the door open with a screech. The first thing that hits his nostrils is the dank odor of cigarette smoke. Not being a smoker, the initial scent is nauseating. He tries to ignore it and steps inside. He decides to leave the door open for a few minutes in hopes that the odor will find its escape. He flips on the light switch. A large roach scurries under the dresser the tube television is sitting on near the door. Jared's skin crawls a bit, but he shakes it off. The bed is decorated with a floral covering. The sheen from it gives the illusion that it may cost more than a few bucks. Stains that hadn't completely been removed through washing still rest on the white pillow casings. Jared moves on to the bathroom after closing the door. He needs a shower, regardless of the lack of a clothing change. I guess I'll be going commando from now on, he thinks as he turns on the water to the shower.

The liquid sputters from the tap, but it soon gains a steady flow. Satisfied with the temperature, he strips off his clothing, and gets in. The water is refreshing the moment it hits his skin. He lets the showerhead's streams pummel his sore neck and batter his shoulder blades into relaxation. So long working at an insurance agency has his body in average shape, nothing spectacular or extraordinary in musculature structure. He's a simple man. He uncaps the partially used shampoo and lathers it into his hair. He picks up the half gone bar of body soap and rubs vigorously. He finishes cleaning himself, rinsing off, and wraps a towel around his waist after drying.

Jared goes to the bed and plops down. The springs are still relatively bouncy and comfortable. He flips on the television. The reception is snowy, but he's still able to see as the images flash before his eyes without commentary. Flood waters kiss countless homes, fires burn through fields, and rubble decorates once inhabited areas around the world, he quickly flips the television off. Jared closes his eyes, ignoring the musty smell seeping into his nostrils from the cottony stuffing of the pillow. He drifts off to sleep.

The numbers on the old alarm clock next to his bed drop to 3:00 below their low-lit bulb and the ground begins to shake violently. Jared jumps from the bed. The water soaked towel is dry now and has filtered into the comforter below his waist. He plops his bare feet onto the thinly carpeted floor and he runs to the bathroom. He catches himself against the doorway as the ground trembles pugnaciously beneath him. He scoops up his clothing and awkwardly slips into it. He stops several times to regain his balance with a hand bracing against the closest wall. He finally finishes dressing and runs out the door to his truck. His underwear lay on the cold tile floor and a crack shoots up the wall into the corner of the ceiling. Bits of tile begin to fall. The garment is buried and its owner pulls out of the parking lot, the truck's headlights flood into the room as it leaves. The door to the hotel room swings on its hinges with an irritating squeak.

The ground continues to rumble and shake beneath the truck's tires. Jared fights to keep the vehicle oriented from the center line on the road. He drives away from the city into darkness. The moon's illumination is the only natural lighting around him. He can feel a cold rush from the lack of blood flow in his hands as he squeezes the steering wheel tightly. He watches in his rearview mirror and notices the lights going out all over the city. The buildings look as though they are falling. The trembling earth quakes harder. He pushes the accelerator to the floor. He has no idea where he's going, but he knows he cannot stay here.

The town is swallowed up by the earth. The asphalt begins to crack and give way. Chunks fall into a deep, dark chasm. Pieces break and cracks run for miles in all directions. Everything that was, is no longer. Darkness and emptiness occupies the once inhabited space.

Jared looks up at the sky as he speeds down the highway. The white lighting of the moon begins to fade. It transforms quickly right before his eyes. A reddish hue forms over the once bright sphere in the sky. He can't believe what he's seeing. He removes a hand from the steering wheel for a moment, compensating with the other. He rubs his eyes thinking it's just a delusion from a lack of sleep. Jared looks back at the moon, its state is unchanged. The redness stays as if someone has placed a piece of translucent colored plastic over a spotlight. What the hell is going on? He asks himself silently. The miles between him and the now nonexistent civilization in which he'd once stayed climb higher and higher. He searches the skyline for signs of life. It is over a hundred miles before he finds anything.

With his gas tank nearing empty, Jared pulls into a seemingly desolate town in the middle of nowhere. He sees the shadows of gas pumps a few feet ahead and pulls in next to one. There are no lights on in any of the surrounding buildings. He cautiously gets out of the truck and walks up to the station. He pushes the door open with ease.

"Hello? Anybody here?" he inquires within. There is no response. He notices most of the display racks a toppled over with many of their contents scattered all over the floor. "Hello?" he calls again without an answer. Jared wanders to the side of the counter where a clerk should be standing to receive him. There is nobody present. He checks the restrooms before utilizing the men's room himself. The store remains quiet. He realizes how hungry he is. He hasn't eaten since breakfast the day prior and he'd lost that on the ground after the tornado had hit. It can't hurt I guess, he thinks as he grabs a few bags from behind the counter and starts filling them with random nonperishable food items, chips, cookies, bottles of water, anything that'll last. With his bags filled to their max before breaking, he goes back to the pickup truck and places them on the passenger seat and floor. He closes the door, opens his gas cap, and grabs the nozzle off the cradle. He puts it into the opening and squeezes, nothing happens. Great! Jared leaves the nozzle in place and goes back inside the store. Having been a runaway, he'd worked at a few gas stations in his time, not for long but long enough to have learned something. He searches for the switch to activate the gas pumps, finding it quickly. Amazingly, they are still in operation. Possibly a back-up generator power, he asks himself rhetorically. He doesn't care. All he knows is that they work. He returns to the truck and squeezes the handle. The gas flows quickly into the tank. As the liquid nears the full point, the pump shuts off. Jared heard the gas bubbling close to the opening just beforehand. He hangs the nozzle back onto its cradle with a shrug and gets back into the truck. He pulls away from the deserted town and continues on down the road. He allows his mind to wander while the blood moon stares down on his travels.

He remembers sitting in a pew at church with his parents. They always sat in the back. A preacher talks from his podium at the front. Jared is only five or six years old at the time. Beautiful stained glass murals decorate the images of the chapel. Jesus Christ stands on a window pane with his arms outstretched. His dress is red and a blue sash hangs brilliantly over a shoulder. A halo hovers in the air over his head. His eyes are closed. His eyes always seem to be closed. He looks at peace though. Angels cower beneath his feet with their hands in prayer. They look scared of the man they're kneeling in front of. Another shows him on the cross during the days of the Crucifixion. Blood runs from the wounds in his feet, hands, and from the thorny crown on his head. His eyes are closed yet again. Jared understands why they would be in this picture. A hand roughly sets itself on his knee and moves to his thigh. The hand belongs to his father and it takes Jared away from his reflection. The questioning thoughts are replaced with those of uneasiness. He ignores the touch and it goes away.

Chapter 3

The wind blows in on him from his truck window. His elbow creates a funnel while it rests on the edge of the door. Jared notices the twinkling of the stars haven't been affected the same as the moon has. They continue to burn their normal white flicker. The ground starts to quiver again. Trails of light shoot down from the sky all around him. Jared jumps in his seat and holds the steering wheel tightly with both hands. The lights streak the sky everywhere. Something impacts the soil a few hundred feet to his left, but ahead enough that he sees it as it hits. The crash rocks his vehicle. He grips tighter and hopes to make it through. A wave of dirt and dust washes toward him across the landscape. It's so thick that he can see the wall as it travels like a tidal wave in his direction. He holds steady. The cloud engulfs him. He can't see anything now. The ground becomes rough under his tires. Several more rocks hit the earth in the empty fields around him. He realizes he's no longer on the road and steers slightly to the left through the blindness. He feels a slight bump and smooth again. Jared slows down. The dust invades his lungs and fills the cab of the pickup. Coughing takes over while his body tries to eliminate the foreign substance. Tears begin to drip. The coughing is painful to the point that he slows the truck to a near crawl. Bombs continue to explode all around.

As quickly as the meteors had started, they stop. Jared's coughing begins to lessen as he hides his face in his shirt and uses it as a filtration system. The dust starts to settle. He notices there are many fires burning randomly. It's like he's just stepped into a world of bonfires, a campsite without any campers. He looks up at the sky. The red moon dully shines low in the sky, but the twinkling stars are no longer in their places. The burning rocks sprinkle the landscape.

Jared removes his shirt from covering his mouth and looks up into the rearview mirror. The lights from his dashboard illuminate his face. There is a definite line where his shirt had once veiled his face. His eyes are accented beneath the dark soil covering. His hair is caked with dirt and once again transformed from sandy blonde, this time it's more dark brown. I'm glad I showered last night, Jared thinks sarcastically as he gets his truck back to a normal traveling speed.

The moon tucks behind the horizon and the sun begins to rise, but only in the physical sense. He notices that the bright orange ball of fire is veiled at first glance. He avoids directly looking at it. It's like a solar eclipse. Solar eclipses don't happen at sunrise do they? Jared questions silently. Illumination of the landscape comes, but it's not the same as the lights from the days past. There is a bluish hue in the atmosphere. It's as if the entire world is cast under a gigantic shadow. He continues to catch quick glimpses of the sun as it rises beyond the horizon. The shadow doesn't fade. Everything is changing and Jared doesn't know why.

The world had been in shambles for years, nations fighting against nations, mostly religious wars. Other countries tried to intervene, but it only ended in everyone hating each other. Bombers all over the world began killing themselves in the name of their gods. They took many innocent victims with them. There was no rhyme or reason to their cause. Only the person doing the bombing could know the true reason why.

Christians against Muslims, Muslims against Jews, Christians against Christians, Jews against Jews, the list went on and on. Nobody could agree with anyone else and everyone thought they were right. Nothing mattered but being heard and agreed with.

The religious contradictions lasted for many years and then the natural disasters started. They'd always existed in the past, but they really started coming. Earthquakes, feminine, disease, tsunamis, everything just began going crazy. Along with the unexplained natural occurrences came human insanity. Everyone felt helpless and hopeless. As if things were bad enough before, they got even worse.

Jared notices an intersecting interstate ahead and turns east onto it. He keeps his headlights on just in case. Holes continue to smolder everywhere. There are a few times when he has to dodge craters in the middle of the road. He watches ahead intently. Luckily, the steam and smoke rising from the impact sites are dead giveaways that they are there and give plenty of warning.

There are more buildings ahead. He checks his gas gauge. I'll be okay for a quite a few more miles, he thinks as he continues beyond the five exits to the city. He sees flames rising in several areas within and around the structures. Some of them have toppled to the ground like Legos. Only crooked ridged tops remain in place with their floors below exposed to the elements. He returns his focus on the road just in time to swerve around another large smoldering pothole.

The sun sits high in the sky, dark and lonely. The bluishness of the air is odd and mesmerizing. Jared's mind drifts as his truck floats along the brittle highway. He remembers telling his mother about his father's actions once when he was ten. He was gone at work. She didn't take it very well and either did the right side of his face as she backhanded it. The pain sent stars twinkling before his eyes. The tears came quickly, but they seemed to stem from helplessness rather than the stinging flesh. He ran to his room and slammed the door. She followed calmly behind, but her rage was obvious. She was seeing red and her eyes were bloodshot. He backed away from her and his knees hit the bed. He fell onto it and she closed in. She had a wooden spoon in her hand. His mother commenced to beating his legs in a swiping motion. The stinging came with each impact. She screamed as she swung.

"How dare you call your father a pervert, you ungrateful little heathen," Back and forth the spoon smacked. The sound of his flesh being pummeled echoed in the room. "He does everything for you! You don't deserve his love!" The wood cracked and the scoop flew across the room into a wall. The remaining shard of mangled wood scraped at his thighs. She cut him with the jagged splinters. His welts opened up as she scratched him. Then she stopped. She flung the wooden handle to the floor. She looked down at him with tears in her eyes and left the room. He sat up after taking a moment to catch his breath. He assessed the damage and went to the bathroom to tend to his wounds. He locked the door behind and sat on the toilet. The hydrogen peroxide burned when he applied it. His mother never apologized.

Jared's focus on the road increases as the winds begin to push at the side of his truck. The still air had suddenly become rushing, hurricane-like winds. The man in the clouds was bellowing his fluffy cheeks and meant business. Once again, Jared's knuckles turn white. He strains to keep the vehicle straight. The gusts become more than his truck can bear. They hit him full-force and sudden. He slams on the brake pedal and slows down. His vehicle continues to rock. He comes to a complete stop, but the wind remains steady. His shocks rock violently to the point that he feels like it's going to flip over. He notices a small patch of thick trees off to the right of the road. The ground around them is smooth with grass and appears to be passible. He turns the wheel into the wind and creeps off the tar into the ditch. The RPMs are at an impossible level and the tire tread is tearing at the surface of the ground kicking up sod and natural debris. He pushes the accelerator closer to the floor and pulls around close to a thick tree. He is planning on using the wood as a brace against the wind. He stops the truck as close as he can to the tree without rubbing against its bark. The vehicle continues to sway, but Jared is confident in his decision. Too confident, too soon as the leafless oak creaks against Mother Nature's wrath. The soil holding the growth in position cannot hold any longer. Large roots begin to snap beneath the surface. Jared can feel them like thunder cracking under the chassis of his truck. The wood topples in slow motion right before his eyes. The base of the tree pushes the tiny truck up from the left. Jared falls toward the passenger side into his stolen collection of goodies. The plastic containers crinkle and snap under his bodyweight as he crushes them. The vehicle lands on its side. The window knob digs into his back. Another squall of air slams it back into the exposed base of the tree. It begins to sway back and forth like a teeter-totter. The tires grind into the earth as it moves. The sound of scrapping metal screeches through the air hurting his ears as it does. The passenger door grinds against his back. He lets out a holler in pain. The wind stops. The truck ceases. He adjusts himself and waits for a moment, half expecting the winds to return. There is nothing but silence aside from the packages crinkling beneath him.

He climbs the near forty-five degree angle toward the driver side and crawls out the window. His back aches. Jared grabs onto a piece of the tree's root and goes out to sit on it. He turns to his vehicle. The back wheels are touching solid surfaces. Maybe I can get out of here, he questions silently. The driver's side back wheel is propped against one of the larger groupings of the root system. The other is on the ground, not exactly ideal, but it's a four-wheel-drive. Here's to hoping, he ponders for a moment and then slides back inside. The hardest part is finding how he should place his arms and feet. He pushes the button for four-wheel and slides the vehicle into reverse. It takes a bit for the truck to respond. The tires burn against the wood of the tree and the smell of burnt rubber fills the air. It starts to move. It happens like a shot from a gun. Jared panics as it flies backward. The truck falls onto its axles with a painful bounce. A piece of the fender rips free from the frame on a chunk of the tree as it falls. He quickly removes his foot from the accelerator pedal to get his wits back. He stares at the metal hanging from the root. You can have that piece, he thinks to the tree as he backs away slowly.

Jared pulls back onto the road and sputters down the highway, trying to catch his breath and absorb the reality of what had just occurred.
Chapter 4

The dark sun looms in the sky. The black covering keeps it hidden above him as he travels along. The once smoldering holes in the ground are no longer giving off a warning of their presence. He pays close attention, but has a hard time keeping his mind from wandering.

The Four Horseman had already come in the years prior, but after conquest, war, famine, and death had their turns at the world, the next steps toward the Apocalypse, the Second Coming, came quickly. The American government tried so hard to rule the world. Well, not rule but they were forcefully influential. Their reign didn't last for as long as they'd hoped it would. They'd had a hand in nearly every war on the Earth and it wasn't a good thing. The American economy had dwindled and eventually became nothing because they'd stretched our means too far. The invasion of the Middle East was the finishing touch. The government had pushed itself to extremes and our enemies hit us while we were down. The American people lost faith in our own regime. Nothing seemed to matter anymore but greed and selfishness. Nobody cared about anyone else. America rose up against its self, people became violent, hunger came for most, and then, inevitably death.

The truck tires hit a rough patch in the road bringing Jared back to the reality of the situation. He cursed in his head, regained control, and kept on traveling. He wasn't sure yet where he was going, but he figured he'd know when he got there. Everything seems so desolate and deserted. Either everyone is dead or hiding, he thinks, but hiding from what? Mother Nature cannot be hidden from. He tries to make sense of things internally, but he knows there is no use. It's been preached about for centuries. Jared avoids the thought of Armageddon and focuses on the possibility of more deathtraps in the asphalt.

The miles tread along. Jared munches on cookies and chips as he drives. Warm bottled water washes down the remains. For fear of burning too much fuel, he stopped using the air conditioner hours ago. The gas gauge is nearing a quarter-tank as Jared notices another town ahead. He is silently thankful while the buildings' shadows get closer. He begins to scan the area for life. The streets are abandoned. There are no lights on. Most of the dwellings have crumbled to the ground and are nothing but rubble. Bricks, wood, and shingling sprinkle the streets. A piece of pink insulation skips across the road. There is a gas station ahead. Jared pulls up to the nearest pump and looks around. He takes a quick glance in all directions, notices nobody, and gets out of his truck. He starts to walk toward the store. There are no shadows that he can see. He stops by the pump, removes the nozzle, and flips the lever. Thank God for being out of date, he thinks as the old fashioned pump kicks on immediately after pulling the lever. It doesn't take long before the tank is full. Jared keeps squeezing the nozzle until the liquid is visible near the top. He replaces the spout, closes the cap, and walks toward the store. I need more supplies and it doesn't hurt to have enough.

He reaches for the handle on the all-glass front door and gives it a yank. It doesn't move. He looks inside by cupping his hands against the glass. There is no movement. The store doesn't look like the other one, things are still on shelves. He checks the ground for something to use to smash the window. There is a cinder block placed neatly by the wall that had probably been used to brace the door open in the past. Jared bends over to pick it up. A slight pain shoots up through his back. It's the spot that the window knob had lodged itself during the wind storm. He pauses for a moment as it subsides. He takes a step back, and then another, his arms go up over his right shoulder, and he launches the brick into the glass. The shattering is loud. Large pieces rain down onto the pavement while other shards fall within the store itself. Jared waits for the glass to settle, reaches inside, and turns the knob. He doesn't want to chance having any remaining shards fall on him. He turns the latch the wrong way at first, but gets it to click. Jared opens the door and steps inside. The glass crunches beneath his feet as he walks. The sound echoes within the store. He finally gets clear of it and begins perusing the shelves. He finds a basket and starts loading it up. He focuses more on important things in an emergency situation, batteries, a flashlight or two, a can opener, lots of bottled water. He sets the basket down and carries a few dozen cases of water to his truck one by one. After loading the cases, he resumes checking for necessities. His basket fills quickly.

As he starts to pick up a container of canned tuna to add to his collection, he hears a loud scream come from behind. He doesn't turn quickly enough. A thick piece of wood slams him in the side of the neck and shoulder. The pain is excruciating. The basket falls to the ground as the feeling leaves his fingers and arm, cans roll along the floor. He raises his other hand to protect his face from the attack.

"Stop!" he yells to the woman. She hits him in the side.

"You think you can come in here and steal from me?" She screams at him. "This is my stuff, my store!" Jared sits on the ground in pain as she looms over him. The baseball bat in her hand is cocked back for another attack.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was here. I thought everyone was gone." He keeps his hand over his head for defense and looks at her through squinting eyes. Her tan skin makes her light-blue eyes stand out against it. Her hair is a flat dirty blonde. A pink t-shirt, jean shorts, and tennis shoes, are what she's wearing. She looks as though she means business by the expression on her face. "I'm truly sorry," Jared continues, "I honestly didn't know there was anyone here. I needed gas and supplies. I will pay you for them." He begins to reach in his pocket. She lowers her bat.

"No, money won't do me any good. And you are right, everyone is gone, everyone but me." Her eyes begin to water. Jared lowers his hand. "Who'd wanna take the town whore with them? They just up an' left, the ones that survived anyway. Even my boyfriend went. He took the car and was gone." Tears trickle down her face.

"Do you know where they went?" Jared had been driving to drive and hoping to find something. Well, he had found something, more like someone.

"I don't know. I was asleep. They all just took off. There were only a few still alive. They snuck off and left me here to die." She wipes her face with a napkin she'd removed from the self-service beverage station behind her that appears to no longer be operational. Sticky soda residue cakes the spigots. There are syrupy drips crusted at the tips of the nozzles.

"Well, can you at least tell me which direction they went?" Jared is getting frustrated. She stops her foot.

"I told you I was asleep! What more do you want? I'm guessing they went further north!"

"Why north?" he asks.

"I heard them saying something about heading toward the Great Lakes. I don't know why. Water, fish, I don't know." Jared gets up off the floor painfully. The spots where she'd impacted with the bat are already sore. He groans a bit upon completely standing. "I'm sorry about that. You don't know what kinds of people I've had to deal with when they pass through here. I usually meet them at the door before they bash it open like you did."

"I told you I was sorry. I think we're even though." He holds his side. She ponders silently for a moment as he begins to walk out.

"Hey, aren't you forgetting something?" She asks. Jared turns toward her.

"What?"

"You might as well take this stuff. We're gonna need it." She starts gathering the items and placing them back into his basket. He looks at her.

"What do you mean we're gonna need it?" She glances up at him as she puts the can of tuna in and hands it to him.

"I can't stay here by myself and don't you think it's the least you could do after stealing gas and smashing my door?" She shoots him a wink. He thinks how nice it would be to finally have a companion, someone for company. He's been alone for so long.

"Sure," he shoots her a smile and she smiles back. He offers her his hand and she accepts it. They shake.

"My name's Jared by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, Jared. My name's Lilith, but you can call me Lily. I like that better." They drop hands and start walking to the door. She grabs a few more things off the shelves and a small amount of cash from the register. They crunch their way out the door to the truck. Jared sets the items that won't fly away into the bed of the vehicle and makes room for Lily to sit. They get in and drive off. Jared stares at the road.

"Lily, that wasn't really your store, was it?" he asks. She turns to him with a smirk on her face.

Chapter 5

"There's a hotel just up ahead," Lily announces. "You look tired." They had been driving for almost an hour. The dark sun was nearly gone. The moon had arrived early and was no longer blood-red. The silvery beauty was bright again.

"Yeah, I am. I've been driving for forever." Jared yawns at the thought of sleep.

"It's just inside the town up here."

"Just let me know where to turn." They continue into the small town.

"Right here, Jared," Lily says. He sees it on the right side of the road. It, like everything around them, is dark. He pulls into the parking lot up to the office door. "It doesn't look like there's anyone here."

"Just hold on a second, Lily. I'm not gonna break into a place without being sure it's unoccupied," Jared says quickly.

"Yeah right," Lily scoffs as she thinks of him breaking in to the gas station with her inside. She crosses her arms and watches as he walks in front of the headlights. Jared places his face near the window, jumps, and knows immediately there will not be an issue with breaking into one of the rooms. A man sits in one of the lobby's chairs. His face is gray and his eyes are black. His mouth is wide open with tongue hanging free. He's dead. Shivers flow through Jared's body, mostly due to surprise of a dead man's empty eyes staring back at him. He backs away from the window and gets back into the truck.

"I'll think it is okay to stay," he tells her as he backs away from the curb and pulls the vehicle to the furthest possible room from the office.

"How do you know?" she asks.

"Trust me. I don't think they'll mind," he doesn't want to describe the thing he'd just seen to a woman he barely knows. He pulls up to the building. "Grab a few things and bring it up. We're staying on the second floor." She doesn't say anything, simply gets out and scoops up a couple of the bags. They climb the stairwell to the second story. Jared tries the doorknob, but ends up kicking the door in. It takes him a couple of attempts while Lily watches annoyed beside him. She doesn't seem at all impressed by his manliness, or lack thereof. He notices right away that this room doesn't seem nearly as dirty and rundown as the last. The stale cigarette smoke isn't there and neither is the mustiness. The room looks recently cleaned. Lily drops her bags and runs to the bathroom. Jared lies on the bed, falling asleep quickly and accidentally.

Lily returns from the bathroom with sopping wet hair and a towel around her waist. She dries her locks with a smaller cloth.

"Hey, don't you wanna take a shower?" she taps at his leg. Jared rouses slightly and then sits up.

"Yeah, most definitely," he stands and walks to the bathroom. By the time he finishes the icy cold cleaning, she's asleep on the bed, still wearing nothing but towel. He slips in beside her quietly and falls asleep.

Lilith's mind dreams negative visions. She dreams she's a child again, a helpless toddler. Her mother smokes near the kitchen sink. Lily can't tell what she's doing, probably dishes. The little girl scribbles on a plain sheet of white paper with a black crayon. She draws a monster with big teeth and huge eyes. The demon stares at her, but she's too busy working on the teeth, then the hands, big nails sticking out.

"What the hell are you doing?" her mother stands over her.

"Coloring, Mama," little Lily answers. She then keeps going with tongue-sticking-out concentration. The page is suddenly ripped out from beneath her crayon. An unintended black line scratches across the page. Lily looks up at her mama with a silent why.

"You can't be drawing crap like that in this house," her mother says calmly with a smoking cigarette desperately in need of flicking hanging from her mouth. She tears the paper to shreds and tosses it into the trash. "Now pick up the rest of your crap and go to your room." A tear forms in Lily's eye due to the loss of the project she'd been working on and the lack of explanation. "I'll give you something to cry about! Do what I said!" Her mama's eyes suddenly become fiery with anger like the flip of a switch. A quick backhand to the side of the little girl's cheek sends her to the floor.

Lily's eyes fly open. She remembers where she is and her speeding heart rate slows. She turns her body toward Jared's and scoots into his back for a comforting snuggle. She enjoys holding someone. Jared's eyes shoot open for a moment with a start. He's not used to having anyone cuddling with him. He relaxes and his eyes go back shut as enjoys the company. Their eyes close as the smiles on their faces slowly fade with returning sleep.

The couple wakes to radiant sunlight pouring in through the hotel window. Jared's eyes flutter with the adjustment. The sun hasn't shone fully in over twenty-four hours and it's a little shocking to the senses.

"Lily, wake up," he maneuvers his body toward hers. He eyes peek at him. He hadn't noticed just how blue they were until now. They are beautiful. He can see she's having just as much trouble making the visual adjustment as he is. Her eyelashes banter a bit. Jared, feeling awkward in the moment, rolls off his side of the bed and quickly dresses. "We need to get going so we can get up to the Great Lakes before dark." Lily sits up in the bed.

"Why do you wanna go there?" He finishes slipping his shoes on.

"Because, you said that's where everyone else was going. In case you haven't noticed, the landscape's lacking people. Maybe there's a reason. I'd like to find out either way."

"Alright, well, you're the man with the plan. Could you toss me my shirt please?" Lily points to a nearby chair. Jared retrieves the shirt for her and she slips it over her head. She climbs out of the bed. He tries not to stare. The shirt is long enough to barely cover her butt. She pulls her shorts up and slips on her shoes. The couple gathers the remaining things in the room and leaves.

Chapter 6

After getting in the truck, Lily starts rummaging through the bags and offers some chips to Jared. He takes them eagerly and thankfully.

"This whole junk food thing is really starting to gross me out. I can't wait to have something hot and home-cooked." Jared nods in agreement as he concentrates on the road, chewing on a chip. Lily rides in the passenger seat with one of her bare feet propped on the open window. The air is hot and the sun is bright, but it's a welcome sight after yesterday's darkness.

They travel through several deserted towns and cities on their way to the Great Lakes. There is no other traffic. The falling stars' creators continue to scour the countryside. The plummeting stars had apparently affected everything, everyone, and everywhere. They drive for several hours only stopping where they can access gas. They edge along the western side of Lake Michigan, around Green Bay, and up toward Lake Superior. Finally, there appear to be signs of life. Jared is the first to notice a makeshift barrier across the highway. Three men with guns stand guard behind the wood and barbed wire structure. Parked vehicles act as a secondary blockade in the case someone tries to force their way through. A scruffy, lumberjack looking man in the front fires a warning shot into the air. Jared continues to approach slowly, the sun blazes just above the horizon to the west.

"We're gonna have to get out and talk to them you know?" he says to Lily. "Both of us, we don't want them to think we're a threat."

"Yeah, I know." She answers with reluctance in her voice. Jared eases the truck to the side of the road, places it into park, and kills the engine. He raises his hands up to show they're empty and Lily mimics his movements. They each get out on their prospective sides.

"We're not armed," Jared announces to the lumberjack. The lumberjack, obviously the one in charge, motions for two of the other men to approach the couple. They run out.

"Put your hands on the hood," one of the men says as he gets closer. Jared and Lily comply, each on either side of the hood. Jared looks at her in and tells her it's okay without saying it aloud. Each of the men let their weapons dangle by their slings behind their backs and begin the pat down from the feet upward. They check their ankles, legs, and near the crotch and buttock area. Lily's patter makes an inappropriate, unwelcomed advance when he checks her. She quickly turns and elbows him in the nose. Blood gushes from his nostrils and his hands go up to try to stop the bleeding. Jared's aggressor pushes him to the hood, spins his shotgun around, and places the barrel against the base of Jared's skull.

"Hey, lil lady, you might wanna cooperate or your boyfriend's brains are gonna be all over the hood of this truck," he says in a deep, serious voice. The man near the barrier starts to walk toward them with his gun barrel facing the group. Lily looks over at Jared, his face mashed against the metal of the hood facing the approaching lumberjack. She stops and puts her hands back onto the vehicle. The man goes back to patting her down, this time it becomes more of a rubbing rather than a patting. He holds his nose with one hand and squeezes her butt cheek.

"I suggest you stop doing that," Lily announces uncomfortably. Jared's heart begins to pound and his adrenaline takes over. His foot goes backward like a horse kicking, rolling from under the shotgun barrel at the same time. He bashes the knee of the man behind him. He falls to the ground with a groan. Lily takes Jared's cue and elbows the man again in the face. The bloody dam is burst. She grabs the gun from his hand. A shot sounds. The lumberjack peppers the area. Bit of lead sprinkle the area, none of the shrapnel makes a mark in flesh. Jared kicks the shotgun away from the other man and scoops it up. The couple bolts to the rear of the pickup truck, each of them taking a corner, another shot rings into the air.

"Do it, Jared. We don't have a choice," Lily says over his shoulder to him. He knows there is no other choice. It is now a kill or be killed situation. He nods in agreement. They both step out from behind the truck and take aim, they shoot the lumberjack. Most of the pellets hit him in the lower extremities, but a few sprinklings impact higher. He drops to his knees and then to his back on the pavement. Jared runs toward him, kicks the weapon away, reaches down, and picks it up. He backs away from his attacker with both guns in-hand.

"Lily, get in the truck," he tells her. She kicks the man who'd assaulted her once in the stomach before jumping into the passenger seat. The man groans as the blood continues to pour out of his face. Jared sets the guns in the bed of the truck and jumps in. He starts the truck, maneuvers around the lead peppered lumberjack, and works his way through the barrier. The fit is tight, but he manages to squeeze beside and behind the vehicle on the left. He steers back onto the road and continues driving, leaving the men in his rearview alone with their own pain.

"Good job," she pats Jared on the thigh with her free hand, "you know we there wasn't any other way right?"

"Yeah, I know, not that I wish there wasn't. That did kinda feel good though." The adrenaline rush slowly subsides as the sun's crest peaks over the horizon, nearly gone. The couple continues to drive, silently wondering what they may have gotten themselves into.

It's less than an hour before they come to a makeshift settlement of tents and a few scattered buildings. There are sprinklings of light spewing out between the flaps of some of the tents. The colony overlooks the waters of Lake Superior via the Keweenaw Peninsula. Jared notices the sign on the side of the road upon approach. The sight is breathtaking. High rocky hills, nearly mountainous, decorate the water's edge. Coniferous trees and many varieties of seasonal ones grow all along the coastline. The body of water is so wide they can't see the other side. It's the most beautiful thing either of them has ever seen. They admire the scenery for a moment and then go back to the immediate task at hand, introductions without controversy.

As Jared pulls the truck into the camp area, they are surrounded by men with guns. They all look fairly clean considering the fact that the wrath of God is wreaking havoc upon the Earth. Jared stops the truck, turns it off, and puts his hands up.

"I don't think it would be a good idea this time, Lily. Put down the gun and surrender." Jared tells her. She drops the gun to the ground out the window for the men to see and raises her hands as well. Two men approach the truck on either side, open the doors, and rip the couple from their seats. They are slammed to the ground, barrels placed against the backs of their skulls, and their hands tied behind their backs.

"We heard what you did to Ed, Chuck, and Sam down there. We should kill you right now, but since you let them live we'll pay you the same respect...for now anyway," one of the men says as he stands above Jared with a gun. The couple is yanked up from the ground by their arms and shoved to an empty tent. They are secured to separate poles in seated positions in the center of the tent. They each face opposite directions toward the outer walls. The grass is lush beneath their butts and a little moist. The shade keeps the moisture contained. There are no lights in their tent. Once secure, the man says, "Don't try anything stupid," as he walks out.

"Now what, genius," Lily asks Jared, "You're the man with the plan I said, yeah right." She strains against her ties in an attempt to loosen them. There's no use, they're too tight.

"We didn't come all this way to get killed, Lily. Things always manage to work themselves out. If I can make through a tornado, stars crashing all around me, winds worse than I've ever seen, and a crazy woman trying to beat my head in with a baseball bat, I'm pretty sure I can make it through this." Jared's voice remains calm and collected. "Best thing I can think of doing right now is getting some of the most uncomfortable sleep I've ever had and I suggest you do the same. Fighting isn't gonna make it better."

"Yeah I guess," Lily responds.

He dreams in scattered chunks as Jared shifts uncomfortably against the ground, his butt falls asleep more than he seems able to himself. Headlights flood his bedroom through his window in his parents' home. He's in his preteen years. His father had just recently snuck from his room and eased the door closed behind him so Jared's mother doesn't hear. She has to know, she just doesn't care, Jared thinks as the numb, empty feeling he'd created while his father was present subsides. Tears begin to fill his eyes. The droplets drip down the sides of his face while he stares up at the ceiling. A ghostly vision starts to form above him. First the body, then the face, and last there seem to be wings. Jared blinks excessively, thinking it must be the water causing delusions. The image doesn't fade.

"You have to go, Jared," the angelic being speaks without moving its lips. The face is so pure and peaceful to the boy. The voice is calm and beautifully toned. It's everything he'd imagined from the murals on the windows at church. "More important things await you in the future. Go now." The thing doesn't say anything else. It fades away. Jared watches for a moment hoping it will return, but it doesn't. He jumps from his bed, dresses, and grabs a few necessities, including his Bible, his favorite book. The smell of smoke lingers under the crack of his door and finds its way into his room. He slides open the window, pushes out the screen, and drops to the ground. He looks back for a moment to see the flames shooting up from the living room area of the house. He turns away from the house and doesn't look back again.

Screams of pain echo throughout the camp, it brings Jared from his uneasy slumber with a jolt. There are hands fiddling with his bindings. The hollering continues from outside their tent. He looks over his shoulder to see Lily's hair over her face as she messes with his ropes.

"What did you do," Jared says in a whisper.

"I didn't do anything. I worked my ties loose and came over to get you out. Be quiet."

"What's going on out there?"

"I don't know. It just started about five seconds ago. Be quiet." Lily repeats herself. Jared waits for a moment and she finishes releasing him. The stand up and look toward the tent flap. There are shadows curling over in pain just beyond the crack. "What do we do?" she asks.

"Come on, I think we'll be okay if we go under over here." Jared leads them to the opposite side of the tent and lifts the edge enough for her to get out. Lily slides beneath the canvas, he follows. They stand on the other side. It's the nearing dawn. The only light is from the full moon sitting low in the sky, but it's enough. The inhabitants of the camp are bent over screaming with their hands against their foreheads. There are more than a dozen people yelling at the tops of their lungs. Jared takes a step toward a man who's only a few feet away.

"Jared, what are you doing?" Lily's voice is still in a whisper, but elevated enough that she might as well be speaking in a normal voice. Jared holds his hand toward her as if telling her to stay put. She watches intently while he cautiously approaches the man. He places a hand on his shoulder. The man stands fully, facing Jared.

"It hurts so bad," the man shouts at Jared, "please, make it stop." Tears roll down the man's face. There is a black brand smoking from his forehead. The skin bubbles into a circle and three tails follow. Each of the tails evenly distributed around the circle. They are formed to make the circle look as though it's turning counterclockwise and the tails are swirling around it. The symbol completes itself.

The sight is crude as the flesh boils up and turns from red to black right before Jared's eyes. His stomach churns. The man braces himself against his shoulders. Jared pushes him away because he can't stand to look at the brand anymore. Jared whispers to himself, "And there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast," he remembers the scripture and recites it.

"What's going on?" Lily approaches from behind him and looks over his shoulder at the man.

"God's angry," Jared says simply as he watches the man drop to his knees, crying, and holding his head.

"What are you talking about?" she asks.

"We have to get away from them Lily. Come on." Jared grabs her hand leading her through into the woods nearby. They only run for a few blocks before she pulls him by the hand to a halt and pleads with him.

"Jared, what's going on?"

"Lily," he stares into her blue eyes, "are you familiar with the Bible?" She looks questioningly back at him.

"Well...sort of...not exactly. I kinda stopped believing in that stuff after feeling like I was the only one I had in this world for all these years."

"And there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast. Do you know what's happening back there?" She shakes her head. "He's marking them, Lily. God is marking them. All the chaos that's plagued the world for all these years was only the beginning. He's sent the angels down with their vials. It's only going to get worse. We have to find a place to hide." Jared starts pulling her again, further out onto the Keweenaw Peninsula toward Lake Superior itself.

"Why don't we have those marks then? Can you tell me that?" she inquires as she's dragged along.

"I don't know," is all he can answer. He honestly doesn't. The sun begins to peek over the horizon.

Chapter 7

Branches whip them in the face as they rush through the thickly wooded area along the lake. Most of the trees are pine due to the rockiness of the terrain. Both Jared and Lily stumble several times over loose rocks. Jared looks back for a moment.

"Stop," he says to her, "stay quiet for a second. I need to know if we're being followed." Lily places her hands on her hips and bends over as she tries to catch her breath. "Lily, please," Jared repeats himself.

"I can't help it. Give me a second." Jared waits impatiently for her breathing to calm. When it does after a couple minutes, he listens for any crackling of brush or disturbances. A squirrel scurries about in dead leaves nearby foraging for food.

"I think we're safe. Come on," Jared states as he holds his hand out to her. "We can take it slow now. There's got to be someplace safe around here. I think if we get closer to the shoreline." He starts walking, but with an extended stride. She follows. They travel for a few hundred feet when he sees it. "There's a cave over there." Jared points to their front. The mouth of the cave is large, but not obvious. Vines and roots fall over the opening like beads hung in a doorway. He drops her hand. "Let me go check it out first." Lily stays put. He stays within view as he nears the cave's opening. He pushes the roots aside and steps in. A cool rush of air hits him immediately. The difference in temperature is dramatic, but comfortably welcomed. The sun's rays begin to illuminate the cave enough for better inspection. The ceiling is high enough for Jared to stand fully. Small animal droppings sprinkle the floor. It seems to go back quite a ways, but there's not quite enough natural lighting for him to see all the way back.

"This looks comfortable," Jared jumps as Lily makes the announcement near the mouth of the cave.

"I thought I told you to wait," he says while still trying to see beyond the sunlit area of the cave.

"Ha, if I did whatever any man told me, I wouldn't have even made it far enough in life to share this wonderful adventure with you." The last portion of her statement is brutally sarcastic.

"I'll remember that for next time," Jared scoffs at her as he turns in Lily's direction. She stands in front of him with her hands on her hips. "It looks safe enough. If I'm right about what I said earlier, we're gonna need a someplace like this for protection."

"Whatever you say, Jared," she enters the hole. Her voice bounces off the walls. "It's chilly in here and I'm starving. How about my burly caveman goes an' rustles up a squirrel or something?"

"I'll see what I can do. It's not like it'd be the first time I've had to survive. Nature's not really my thing, but I'll try." Jared looks at her for a moment and then walks out of the cave. Lily pulls a Zippo lighter etched with skull and crossbones on the front from her short's pocket.

Time for a fire, she says to herself. She walks out a few minutes after Jared and begins gathering firewood.

Jared treads along carefully and quietly. He finds a thick fallen branch which he taps against his open hand to test its sturdiness. Satisfied with his selection, he tiptoes through the woods, ensuring not to wander too far. He stops to listen for a moment every twenty steps or so. Squirrels are scurrying throughout the forest. There's no way I'll catch a squirrel, he thinks.

He walks nearly five hundred feet when he finds something completely unexpected. There are three surface-laid, metal traps within a dozen feet of each other, two of which have rabbits in them. Jared looks down at the fluffy bunnies. Their brown fur is tattered around the leg where the traps have bitten into their flesh. They don't move much when he nears them. Their huge dark eyes stare up at him, noses twitching. The leaves around each of the traps are worn in a circular pattern. A metal peg sticks up from the center with the traps' chains attached to it. Jared closes his eyes and smacks the thick branch against the fuzzy creatures' heads. His nerves rattle a bit with each hit. Sure that they are dead, he pries the traps open and picks each one up by their back feet. He can't help but to notice the warmth from their bodies in his hands. More passing chills overtake his nerves. He makes his way back to the cave.

As Jared nears the mouth, he notices a light cloud of smoke coming from it. He speeds up right away. His first thought is an invasion and how he'd left Lily here to defend herself. He gets to the opening to see her standing over a small flame that she's trying to feed by blowing into it like a human bellows.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm building a fire," she says between breaths. She turns to look at him. "Awesome! You got something. I wasn't too sure you'd be able to." She goes back to concentrating on the fire.

"They'll be able to see the smoke."

"Well, if they do, and I don't think they will, we'll deal with it. I'm not eating raw rabbit and I'm freezing. These shorts aren't exactly warm." Her fire grows and the smoke lessens.

"Fine, I hope you know how to skin a rabbit 'cause I haven't the slightest idea."

"Go find me a piece of thin slate-like rock or something with an arrowhead-like edge. I can handle the rabbit. I'm country to the bone in case you can't tell?" There is a moment of silence as Jared stares at her. "I'm kidding. I was a girl scout for a little while. It was one of the things mama let me do just so she could get me out of the house. It also made her look good on the outside. Now, stop staring at me and go." Lily goes back to the fire tending and Jared sets the rabbits on a rock. He leaves to scour the formations for the specified cutting tool.

He returns to a small blazing fire. She takes the thin, jagged rock from him and leaves the cave with the rabbits in hand. She sets the bodies onto a flat piece of stone individually and starts hacking away. It doesn't take Lily long before she's peeling the skin free of the carcass. Jared helps her lodge a sturdy stick through each of them for cooking. They enjoy the meal with little talking. As he's chewing the last bits of his rabbit, Jared notices a flickering near the backside of the cave. He sets the props the stick against a rock and ventures to the back.

"What are you doing?" Lily asks.

"There's something back here," he says with intrigue. His body casts a shadow in front of the glimmering light. He moves off to the side and the reflection returns. Jared looks to the ground. There is a small pool of clear water near the back wall of the cave.

"What is it?" Lily asks as she comes up behind him.

"Water," he says as he reaches down for a scoop. He returns from the clear pool with a cupful. "What do you think? Do you think it's safe to drink?"

"I have no idea," she answers.

"Well, here's to avoiding diarrhea and stomach cramps," he announces as he sips the entire contents from his hands. He swallows it, the taste seems clean. He smiles a little. Lily doesn't wait to see what happens. She bends down to quench her own thirst. "Hey, not too fast, you'll make yourself sick." He stops her with a hand on the shoulder. She stares down into the pool.

"Jared, this thing looks like it goes beyond the wall. Can you see it?" He bends down beside her and looks for himself. The edge of the pool looks to continue on. The tunnel is dark. Jared reaches in to feel as far as he can. There are air pockets beneath the rock.

"It seems to go back. I don't know. I can't reach very far. I don't want to contaminate it though with my dirty body."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Lily laughs at him. He stands and shakes the wetness from his bare arm. The droplets splatter the walls like a painter flinging paint against his canvas.

"I'm up for a nap for the time being. That rabbit was good. Thanks by the way." He walks back over to the fire and sits against a rock. She sits across from him. He stares into the flames and his eyes become heavy.

Jared sits in the small truck next to an older man in his mid-forties. The parking lot is abandoned and the streetlights are not as bright as they should be in this part of town. He reaches over and places his hand on the man's thigh.

"Stop," the man says as he removes the young man's hand from his leg, "I told you, I don't want anything from you for the money. God doesn't approve of what you're doing, Jared." Jared looks at the man with a look on his face that says everything. He's confused. He hadn't told the man his name. "Take this." The man hands Jared a wad of cash. He quickly shoves the money into his pocket. The man stares at Jared, his eyes are a crystalline color blue, almost translucent in shade. "He sees you, everything you do." The boy's heart begins to pound.

"God forgot about me when he let my father molest me! You don't know anything about me!" He fumbles for the door handle.

"You're wrong, Jared, God saved you from the fire." The boy yanks at the door handle and pushes. The truck opens, nearly falling out. He stumbles a bit and then quickly gains his footing. The old man freaked him out. All this talk of God! Where was he? Jared runs as fast as he can away from the strange man.

He wakes with a jolt. The fire is still smoldering with a small flame dancing about. Lily is asleep on the other side in the same place she'd been before he'd passed out. Jared gets up, grabs a couple of logs from a stack she'd made, and places them gently on the fire. It crackles, sparks go upward. Jared feels fine. The stomach cramps and diarrhea he'd been expecting aren't present. He feels a little thirst. He gets up and walks to the water source. Kneeling down, he scoops some of the liquid like before, and brings his hand to his mouth. A metallic taste immediately hits his taste buds. He spits the water out as quickly as he'd taken it in. What the hell, he asks himself. He walks back over to the light of the fire. His hands are coated with a red fluid. He uses one of his caked fingers to smear the liquid on the opposite hand, it's thick like blood.

"What the hell did you do?" Lily wakes to Jared sitting across from her with blood coming from his mouth. He plays with it like a child with finger paints.

"And the third angel poured his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters and they became blood," Jared's voice is lost in the past as he stares at his fingers.

"Jared," Lily yells, "what did you do?" His concentration is broken. He looks up at her.

"I didn't do anything. I told you what was happening, Lily. You don't wanna believe me, but it's the truth." He stands and walks over to her. "Come on, I'll show you." She reluctantly gives him her hand. The blood paints her palm as he pulls her to her feet. He leads her out of the cave. They walk toward the shoreline of the lake. The terrain is rough and the slope is steep, but they make it safely. Lily gasps at the moonlit sight. Gilled bodies float at the top. Their scales shimmer beneath the moon's light like small pieces of shiny wood floating everywhere. The water is still and thick. It is dark and mucky.

"What are we supposed to do?" she asks him.

"I don't know. It's the wrath of God, Lily. The only thing we can hope for is not to die." Jared's heart is heavy and he feels helplessness, more so than he ever has before. For the first time, he feels his sanity slipping. He's survived so long, been through so much, now this. Why?

Chapter 8

The couple snuggles on the floor of the cave. A freshly laid layer of leaves coats the ground acting as a mattress. The fire smolders quietly. Jared spoons Lily close in order to stay warm. She snuggles in.

A quick thwack across the face sends instant pain and bruising through her brain. Her hand goes to her cheek instinctually. She's been hit plenty of times before, but not by a man who she loves.

"See what you make me do! You and your damn mouth always running off!" he yells at her as she sits down at the kitchen table. He takes a seat close to her. His eyes are ablaze with rage. "So, did you have sex with him, Lil?" She doesn't know how to answer the question. If she says yes, will he hit her again? If she says no, it'll just make the situation worse. She sits silently on the wooden chair with her hand to her cheek. The tears are welling up in her eyes. She knows silence is her only option. He stares at her for a few more moments before realizing he's got the answer from the look of sorrow on her face. He stands quickly with a discontented grunt. The chair falls backward with a loud smash. Lily jumps in her seat. He looms over her for a few seconds before pouncing on her like a rabid dog. Her mind goes black. The next thing she remembers is waking up in the hospital with a few broken ribs, her left eye so swollen she can't open it, a fractured arm, and a concussion. She never saw him again after that.

Lily's eyes flutter open violently, black smoke rolls into the cave.

"Jared, wake up," she says as she shakes his arm which is draped over her breast. Sweat begins to drip from her brow.

"Hmmm...what's wrong," he asks as he opens his eyes.

"There's a lot of smoke in here. Look at the ceiling." Jared glances up to the roof of the cave. The smoke is thick, so dense that he can't see the rock formation through it. He spins his body around toward the opening. The trees outside are on fire, the grasses are burning violently, everything is ablaze. Lily begins to cough. Jared gets onto all fours and, grabbing her hand, crawls toward the back of the cave. The air is less thick, but the smoke is rolling in fast. The vines hanging over the mouth of the cavern are dripping flame like a candle does wax. It looks as if someone has poured kerosene all over the landscape outside. "What are we gonna do?" Lily begins to panic. "If we stay in here, we'll die from smoke inhalation." Jared's foot falls into the bloody water behind him. He turns to it and plunges his hand into the liquid. He feels around as he had before, but when he'd done it then he hadn't been considering an escape route. He pulls his reddened arm out.

"Lily, do you know how to swim?" he asks her. Her eyes are fixated on the smoke rolling in like a fluffy cloud. She turns to look at him and sees the entire length of his arm covered in blood.

"No, are you serious? Jared, we can't go in there. We don't even know where it goes, or if it goes anywhere."

"We can't stay here and suffocate. Wait here, I'll be right back." His heart pounds violently in his chest. The unknown is sending a huge adrenaline rush throughout his body.

"Please be careful," she understands they are left with no other choice. The fact that she can't swim makes it even more unsettling. She watches as Jared jumps feet first into the pool. He doesn't look back as he takes a dive into the bloody spring. Jared feels along the sides of the submerged cavern, pulling himself down the tunnel. His eyes are shut as tightly as he can manage. The rough surface is cool against his hands. He pulls and kicks. The air in his lungs begins to process. His chest starts to tighten. I need to breathe! Oh my God, what do I do? Jared's panic floods his mind. The pain gets more intense. He continues to pull as quickly as he can. His eyes fly open unintentionally. There is light ahead and the water is clear. His feet kick rapidly, his arms start to paddle, and his eyes feel like they're going to pop out of his head. His head breaks the surface of the water. Jared inhales violently in a large gasp at first and then several smaller ones. He stands in the water which comes up to his chest. There is a cavern in front of him. A small beam of light comes down from the surface above. It's just enough to illuminate the pocket of space within the cave. He looks down at the water and swirls his hands in it. It's clearer than the water on the other side was. There is a small island of land a few feet in front of him where the beam shoots to. He can hear the crackling wood on fire above him. Lily! I've gotta go back for her! He doesn't wait to completely catch his wind and plunges in to return for her.

The bloody water returns and coats Jared's head when he immerges from the liquid. Lily jumps upon his return. He gasps for air.

"Come on, let's go," he reaches for her hand.

"But, Jared, I can't swim," she is shaking with fear.

"Just take a deep breath and grab my foot. The passage is narrow enough for me to pull myself along the sides." The smoke is thick enough that Lily's figure is beginning to get hazy. He holds his bloody hand to her. She takes it and lowers herself into the water. Her feet touch the bottom as she looks at him. "Are you ready?" he asks her.

"No, but I don't really have any other options," her heart pounds with fear.

"Okay, on three. One, two," he tells her to hold her nose closed by pinching her nostrils between his fingers. She does, "three." He dives beneath the water and offers her his leg. She grabs onto it with her free hand. Jared pushes off the bottom and begins pulling them toward the interior room. Lily holds tightly around his leg near the ankle. Jared grabs anything he can to go faster. The blind unknown sends Lily into a panic. Her hand slips. He shakes his foot to her as she feels around blindly. He nearly kicks her in the face accidentally. Lily regains grip on Jared's ankle and he continues along. She feels like her insides are going to implode from the pressure. Her eyes fly open. The water is clear. Her hair wipes back behind while he skirts along the bottom of the watery cave. She sees the light ahead beyond his backside. Lily begins to push with her own feet off the rocky bottom in an attempt to get there more quickly. The two finally surface gasping for much needed air.

They wade to the island near the far wall and plop down onto the ground.

"What...the hell...is going on?" Lily begins to speak. "Did they...start that fire?" Her breathing slowly returns to normal. Jared is still panting. He waits to answer until he can in full sentences.

"I don't know. I don't think so." He stands and walks toward the beam of light poking down from above. He holds his hand out letting the ray hit it. The skin burns on contact. Jared screams with an unexpected pain. It happens so quickly, Lily is confused. He pulls his hand away from the light and plunges it into the cool water's surface.

"What the hell was that?" Lily asks him.

"And men were scorched with great heat," Jared recites another verse as he looks at her. "I'm afraid the fun has just begun. It only gets worse from here."

"Jared, I need you to tell me what's coming, please? I can't stand this anymore. We're here without food, the world is crazy, and now everything is on fire. Is this Hell? Did we die and go to Hell?" He pulls his hand from the water, approaching Lily. He sits down beside her and begins to tell her what he remembers as best he can. The screams from the people above tear through the air. The helpless couple tries to ignore it as he fills her in, knowing there's nothing they can do to save humanity.

Chapter 9

Lily and Jared sit in the cavern listening to the sounds from above. The wood continues to crackle and smolder. Darkness has come but the embers burning above sends a bit of illumination down into the pit. They hold each other quietly. Lily's hair is drying and frizzy. A bit of it tickles Jared's nose, he brushes it away. The clear water's surface flits with touches of orange.

"What do you think's going on up there?" Lily is first to break the silence.

"I don't know. If things are going according to God's plan, there won't be much left."

"How are we going to live? We can't survive with nothing," she says.

"I don't know, Lily. We're here now and that's all that matters." He turns her face to his, looking directly into her eyes. "You and I are here together." He stares at her with a deep longing he doesn't try to hide. Jared makes a decision and he goes in for a kiss. Lily doesn't turn away or stop him. He's never kissed anyone the way he's kissing her right now. All the hurt from the past seems to melt away. She pushes him to the ground and straddles him. They kiss for what seems to be an eternity. Clothing slowly makes its way from their bodies piece by piece. They fall asleep naked in each other's arms.

Jared awakens to a bright flash of lightening and a loud rumble of thunder. He looks upward toward the chimney of a hole in the cave. The clouds roll over the window above violently. They are monstrously thick and an angry black in coloring. The droplets start coming down. At first they drip in slowly, but the speed rapidly increases. The earth from the ground above begins to seep inward.

"Lily, wake up," she lays on his arm, "Wake up." Jared shakes her with his free hand. Her eyes open.

"What?" she asks and then she sees what he's seeing. "Oh my God, rain...really?" She is confused by the sudden change in the weather. "Is this how it's supposed to happen?" They sit up and retrieve their clothing, they dress.

Jared answers her question, "This wasn't the next step. I have no idea what to expect now." The rainwater from above starts to flow down into the cavern more than before, forming a small waterfall. Pieces of rock fall inside and splash the water pooling near their feet. "I do know what's happening, but I do know we'd better get out of here 'cause this place looks like it's gonna flood." He looks down at his shoes now below the water's depth. He reaches out his hand for Lily to take. "Are you ready to do this again?" She looks at him trustingly and takes his hand.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be I guess," she responds. They wade into the water toward the tunnel they'd emerged from only a few hours before. Jared looks back at her and she nods an affirmation to him. He plunges in, she grabs his foot, and he pulls them along. The pressure from behind them gently assists as it builds.

The waterfall flowing from the hole starts to flow harder. More chunks of rock plunge into the ever-increasing water level. Waves from the splash hit the sides of the cavern. More of the ceiling caves in and more rocks follow. The water rushes in like a burst spigot. A rushing current pushes Lily into Jared's legs. His head hits the side of the tunnel. A gash forms on his forehead, blood follows. He sees stars for a moment. Lily's body climbs even further up his, close to his crotch. The intense pressure shoves them into each other from behind. He loses his breath, but then they break the surface. They gasp for air, blood pours down his face. Their bodies shoot from the ground like riding a small geyser. The water pushes them along. Jared grabs Lily's arm, they groan and struggle against the pushing force. Their bodies slide along the ground of the cave and out the front entrance. They know what's coming next, the steep, rocky edge leading down to the lake. Jared grips onto her tightly and rolls to the side of the water flow. The ashen, burnt ground and charred foliage cakes their bodies. The wetness turns the blackness into an inky paint.

They lay on the ground for a moment as they catch their breath. The rain drops continue to drip violently from the sky. As quickly as the blood flows from Jared's head wound, it is watered down and washed away. Lily notices the gash, it's not very bad, she thinks. She places her fingers on Jared's forehead to inspect the puncture. The rainwater soaks and drips down their faces.

"What are we gonna do, Jared?" He stands up and takes her hand.

"I guess we'll just have to see," he answers, he doesn't know, but doesn't want to tell her that. I'm the man with the plan right? He jokingly thinks.

They walk up through the woods, stumbling on the wet rocks and charred earth. They come to the place where they had been attacked before. All of the tents are gone, vehicles, including Jared's truck, are black and empty. Thicker piles of ashes lay randomly on the ground. Their gray soot washes away, mixing with the blackened earth.

"Are those," Lily begins and is interrupted by him.

"Yep, sure are," he knows what she's going to ask without her having to actually say it. The grayish piles of ash are the remains of the people as the sun burned them, bones and all. Their ashes return slowly to where they'd come as the rainwaters dissolve their bodily remains back into the earth.

Chapter 10

The years had been leading up to the Armageddon's events. Natural disasters had riddled the world. Nations fell. Wars destroyed. Nostradamus had foreseen the happenings that came, but his revelations were so vague that people really didn't know how to digest and dissect them. The Mayan calendar translations were worthless and meant nothing. Humankind forgot. The selfishness took over. It became a dog eat dog world with every man, woman, and child for themselves in order to survive. Mother Nature's wrath had become something everyone had gotten used to. God was angry, Mother Nature was pissed, and the world needed a cleansing. That cleansing had come.

"Where are we going?" Lily lags behind Jared in tow as they wander down the road they'd driven up just a day or so prior.

"I saw some buildings when we drove past the blockade before," Jared is soaked through to the bone and Lily is as well. The water continues to fall from the sky. The dark clouds cover the air above like a thick downy blanket. Rivers erode the sides of the road. The culverts are becoming deeper and wider than they'd originally been. Clumps of dirt fall into the rush of the water, washing away quickly.

Jared sees a group of buildings he'd been looking for. A large metal shed stands alone in the field now, before there had been a house and garage standing beside it. The sides of the dwelling are charred with black from the burnt grasses. The markings go a third of the way up the ten-foot-tall building, it's at least fifty feet long. They walk to the driveway. The rain has taken its toll on the dirt. The couple leaps singly over the river already worn a path for itself. It looks to be a foot or so deep and three feet wide. Lily's jump is short. The back of her heel splashes the cool water up onto her leg. Being already soaked, the only thing she fights for is balance. Jared helps with that as he pulls her toward him. The couple approaches the barn.

"Crap," Jared announces.

"What," she asks and immediately sees the reason for his concern. A thick padlock hangs from an outside latch. "Now what?" she continues.

"Look around, see if you can find anything to bash this thing open," Jared says as he begins to scour the ground with his eyes.

"We don't even know there's anything in there," she looks anyway. "What if we're just wasting our time?" Jared wanders further away from her.

"At this point, does it really matter if we are?" His tone is a little condescending. "Seriously, what do we have to lose?"

"Yeah, I guess," Lily answers as she wanders toward the ashen pile where the garage used to be. Jared inspects the remains of the home. A brick foundation lies beneath the black scrapes. The only remains are the cast iron bits from different pieces of furniture around the house. Nothing looks to be suitable to use as a sledgehammer. Metal picture frames are mangled and lonely amongst the trash.

"Hey, I'm thinkin' this'll do the trick," Lily announces with excitement as she taps Jared on the shoulder. He turns to her. She's holding an axe with the metal core of the handle still intact. Jared laughs a bit.

"Yeah, I'm thinkin' so too," he takes the treasure from her. "I guess we're about to find out." They walk over to the door. Jared cocks back like he's gearing up to chop a thick piece of wood. He takes aim with the flat back of the axe. "Back up, I don't want you to get hurt in case something goes rough here." Lily complies, standing to his rear, looking over his shoulder. He readies himself and brings the tool down with a smack. The tip scrapes the edge of the metal building on its way down, making the sound of nails on a chalkboard as it does. It hits the target. Rivets from the where the mechanism is attached through the metal of the building, pop free from their attachments. The entire base swings unrestricted by the padlock itself. The door pops open on its own. Jared lays the axe on the ground. The handle plops onto the earth with a tiny bounce before settling. He pulls the door the rest of the way open. Lily walks behind as he enters the building. The walls are riddled with tools and workbenches line the edges of the storage shed. A lone pickup truck sits in the middle of the large barn. The truck is old and beat up, definitely used for work around the farm.

"I guess it's our lucky day huh?" Lily has a level of excitement and hope in her voice.

"Maybe," is Jared's response to her, they still don't know if it even works.

A deep growling echoes through the shed as they approach. They stop dead in their tracks. Lily tucks in close to Jared and whispers, "What in the hell is that?"

"I don't know, quiet." The growling continues. The sound is loud and coming for beneath the truck. "Back up slowly." He takes a step backward. The possessor of the sound comes bolting from beneath the vehicle. Its black, gray, and white markings are unmistakable, a badger. Badgers are known for their intense, untouchable attitudes, large digging claws, and sharp teeth. Jared knows about their reputations. The mammal darts toward the couple. Lily turns and runs. Jared knows better. "Stop," he starts to say as the badger runs to him. Its teeth bury themselves into his ankle. Jared falls to the ground. His hands go for the animal's head. Blood pours from the bite. The growling continues. The badger starts to move its head from side to side. Jared pushes against it trying to stop the movement. His thumbs go for its eyes, but it doesn't stop, it bears down harder. Jared yells in pain. Lily approaches from behind. The axe swings downward, burying the blade into the badger's gut. It releases Jared and steps back. Lily steps on its head and pulls the axe out. She hits it again and again. Tears begin to fill her eyes. She stops swinging, leaving the blade in the animal. She walks over to Jared and looks into his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"No, holy shit this hurts like crazy," he holds his leg near the wound. Lily goes to rifle through some of the contents in the oversized shed. She finds a clean cloth, wraps it around his leg, and ties it.

"I know it's not gonna make it better, but at least it'll stop the bleeding. It didn't look too deep." She helps him to his feet. He gingerly applies pressure to his right foot and then takes it back after a wince of discomfort.

"Check the truck. See if we can even get out of here." Lily goes to it and opens the door. The key is in the ignition.

"Once again, our lucky day, apparently the lock on the door was enough for whoever lived here." She turns the key. The engine doesn't turn over on the first try, but does after the third one. The muffler shoots a quick cloud of black smoke and a loud rumble. She gets out and helps Jared to the passenger side, he sits, and she resumes her driving position.

"How much gas," Jared asks her.

"Three quarters of a tank," she answers as she starts backing the vehicle out. The rain pummels the windshield as soon as it leaves to safety of the metal roof. Lily backs it toward the pile of house and completely turns it down the driveway. The river has gouged a deeper hole in the path to the road. Instead of three feet, it's nearing six now. "Are you sure about this? Do you think we'll make it?" They buckle their seatbelts and Jared braces himself with both hands against the dashboard.

"I guess we'll find out," he answers. She pushes in on the gas and they bolt across the water. The tires drop down violently into the depths. Lily doesn't let up on the accelerator. The front tires hammer against the farthest wall and they bounce up off the eroded edge. Jared nearly hits his head against the roof of the truck with the ferocity of the impact. All four of the tires clear the river and they make it onto the asphalt. Lily turns onto the road and then slowly creeps along as if trying to gather her wits. She breaks the silence as usual.

"Now where are we going?" Jared hadn't really thought about it. He ponders for a moment and then answers.

"Head east. We'll see what we can find." Lily pushes on the accelerator and turns up the wipers. They drive out the way they'd come. Jared notices that the clouds remain steady with the downpour of water flow and they are as dark as he's ever seen them in his lifetime. Thunder and lightning continues to flash and boom all around them. Some of the clouds are turning in gently swirling circles around them.

Chapter 11

There are no other signs of human life for miles. All of the landscape has been destroyed by the burning sun from the previous day. Scorched earth is all they see for miles and miles as they drive along the tattered highway. Towns are left as nothing but rubble and debris. Charred brick, black leafless trees, and shells of vehicles without tires or paint, decorate the desolate landscape.

"Jared, look out!" Lily suddenly screams. He slams on the brake pedal out of fright. The tires screech and the truck comes to a halt. Jared looks ahead of them. A huge gorge from a prior earthquake cuts across the highway. He looks over the steering wheel. The water flows into the deep ravine from all sides. Chunks of dirt and asphalt shower down as the water washes it down like a gigantic drain. "Great, now what are we supposed to do?" Lily asks with agitation.

"I guess we need to turn around and go west," he looks down the length of the separation in both directions; it seems to go on forever. He begins a 3-point turn on the highway and they continue in the opposite direction. "How long do you think it'll take to get to Colorado?"

"Probably a day or so I'm guessing," Lily responds.

"Well, by the looks of things, it's our best bet. We need to get to higher ground. It doesn't look like the rain's gonna stop any time soon." He glances up at the clouds and lightning as it continues to pour down on them. "We're also gonna have to find gas or something else to drive. What we've got isn't going to last very long. We'll be lucky to make it Indiana at this rate." The needle's already moved below the three-quarters of a tank line on the gauge.

"While we're at it, maybe something to eat, I'm starving," Lily adds. They both know the possibility of finding what they're looking for is slim, but not impossible. Jared flies along the highway while maintaining a comfortable enough speed to preserve their fuel. They both keep watch for falling star made potholes. The water pools onto the holes, making it a bit more difficult to sight them. Lily is a notable copilot, Jared notices as they drive along.

He starts to think about how lonely he's been all these years. His life has been so meaningless and friendless. Now he has Lily and he feels better. He's never felt this way about anyone before, it's an awkward feeling. Whenever he looks at her, butterflies flutter about angrily in his gut. He feels like the giddy schoolboy so described in the movies. He likes this feeling and never wants to let it go.

The gas gauge teeters near an eighth of a tank before they finally find something with some potential. An old gas station sits lonely on the side of the highway. Everything is burned up the sides, but it seems to be intact for the most part. A mechanic's garage is attached to the station itself. The building is built in brick and old metal siding. The small glass windows are missing in the convenience store portion of the station. The pumps hoses aren't useable, Jared notices upon approach. The nozzles sit in the cradles alone, their hoses are gone.

"Always against the odds," Lily says with an annoyed exhale.

"Don't get discouraged yet. We'll look around and see what we can find," he answers with encouragement. They get out of the truck. The rain beats down on their heads. The couple runs to the front door. Jared gives it a tug. It opens. A tiny metal bell rings beside him as they step inside. "Hello," he calls out. There is no answer. "Is there anybody here?" His words bounce off the empty walls. Merchandise along the exterior frame of the building near the windows is blackened. The shop is limited for food. Lily goes to one of the three shelves and begins filling her arms. Chips, cookies, and junk food, the usual staples, there is a small stack of bottled water as well. They quickly bring the provisions to the truck. Jared looks around the parking lot for a moment. He notices the caps where the fuel trucks fill the tanks which are buried in the ground. He pulls one open and looks inside. "There's gas down there." He takes a pebble and drops it in. It meets the fuel with a plop. Lily looks at him.

"How do you expect to get it out of there?" Jared's eyes go toward the mechanic's shed.

"There's gotta be something in there we can use." They stand and walk to the garage. Jared pushes on the tall sliding door. After several attempts and assistance from Lily, the door breaks free. It slides roughly against the wheels on the track above. As the door opens, they see a car within. It's a small, black sedan. The hood is open. Jared goes over and looks down inside the compartment. Lily stands beside him. The engine looks fairly new, there is still a shine to the metal.

"Let me check it," Lily says as she leaves Jared's side and sits inside the car. She searches for keys without any luck. "There aren't any keys." Jared suddenly appears beside her with a ring hanging from his finger. She looks at him questioningly.

"It is a mechanic's garage. They have to keep 'em close by. They were on the hook over there. There are some filled gas cans under the shelves too." He points toward a workbench in the closest corner. She takes them from him hastily and places the key into the ignition. A shot suddenly rings out from nearby. A piece of equipment leaps on top of the workbench. Jared jumps, Lily turns the key. The engine turns over with ease. Jared's eyes go to the door where they'd entered. An elderly man aims a rifle at Jared. He puts his hands up. Lily sees the man in her rearview mirror.

"I missed that time on purpose! I won't this time! Get the hell away from that vehicle or you're dead!" The old man yells at them. The burnt sign of sixes on his forehead flashes with the lightning. Lily slams the shifter into reverse and crushes the accelerator. Another shot rings out as it grazes passed Jared's head. He feels the wind zip by. The bumper of the car impacts at the old man's knees, he falls backward, the gun falls, and the wheels crush him like a speed bump. Lily continues back until she feels his body goes beyond both sets of tires. Jared's heart pounds violently in his chest as he runs toward her. He sees the man on the ground. The car killed him instantly. His eyes stare up at the dark clouds, lifeless.

"You didn't have to kill him!" Jared yells at her. She puts the vehicle back into park and gets out angrily.

"I did too!" Her face is scowling. "He was gonna kill you! Do you not realize that?" Jared looks back at the elderly man. Blood flows like water from his head into a puddle on the pavement and quickly washes away.

"We could've talked to him."

"And tell him what, Jared, huh, we're gonna borrow your car?" Lily's voice is still elevated and the water drips down from her soppy hair onto her clothes. The droplets fall from her chin. She stands with her legs spread like she's gearing up for a physical fight, her fists clenched. Jared looks into her eyes. He doesn't say anything. He walks over to her. He can see the hurt from the ungrateful attitude he'd given her. He embraces her stiff body and hugs her deeply.

"Thank you," he whispers into her ear. He knows there was no other way, not in this day and age. Kill or be killed. "I'm sorry," he murmurs to her. Her board-like body relaxes and she embraces him in return. It only lasts a moment. "Let's grab the stuff from the truck and get out of here, okay?" Jared looks into her eyes. Her scowl is gone. They ignore the lifeless body nearby. They gather their things and pull away from the parking lot, westward bound.

Chapter 12

They make it to the Plaines. The couple doesn't say much along the way, taking turns sleeping and driving. The grasses are burnt just like the rest of the country. The rain continues to fall and pool everywhere it can find a comforting spot to rest. The trickles turn to rivers quickly as the moisture fights for a place to stop. Creeks slam together with raging force, burying the earth and washing it away. The water kisses the edges of the highway in lower places along the way. The storm rages on.

"Do you think there's anyone left?" Lily breaks this bout of silence.

"Well, I'd guess so. I mean, there was that old guy. I'm sure he wasn't the only one who made it through." Jared tries to divert his mind away from the place that causes him to admit they'd murdered a poor old man. He was going to kill me, he thinks for justification. The saddest part of all was that he'd made it through all the other stuff, tornadoes, earthquakes, fire, everything else, but he couldn't get away from the tires of a car? He throws the thought away like a balled up, useless piece of doodling paper tossed into a nearby trashcan. "I guess we'll find out when we get there."

"Yeah, I guess," Lily answers as the miniscule conversation completes itself. She allows herself to drift off with the tread of the road sounding beneath her body.

Relationships in shambles, men filled with hate, and many nights with strangers. In her early teens, Lily allowed herself to become numb. There was nobody in this cruel world who'd loved her. Her mother had made that abundantly clear from the start. She couldn't remember a time of happiness. She remembered only walls, emotional ones. The only way to safety was through protection and nobody was going to do that for her. She'd protect herself, she's all she had. Through all the bricked-up emotions, he'd managed to break in. Seth was his name. He was a bad boy. The kind of guy with muscles, tattoos, motorcycles and fast cars, greasy hair and ripped up blue jeans. When she'd first seen him, she knew she was in love, momentarily. She let him in, mistakenly. Heroin was his drug of choice. Cocaine was a close second, when he could afford it. He treated her like a princess in the beginning. He shared his stash with her. They'd gone off one night to their favorite hangout spot, atop a tall hill overlooking the city. They sat on top of his shiny, black Firebird staring out at the lights. The moon was full and bright. The stars twinkled and smiled down at them. He cut some lines of coke with a razor blade, on a mirror he always had with him. They shared a couple of lines. He had her where he wanted her.

"Babe," he started while he sniffed the last remaining portions of the white powder up into his nostrils. Her body was warm. She felt good. "I need you to do something for me." She looked at him thoughtfully, as if nothing could take her away from where they were.

"Sure, you know I'd do anything for you," she replied. He looked at her for a moment as he searched for the words.

"I have a friend who really wants to sleep with you." The words cut her deep. The thought was nauseating.

"Are you serious, Seth?"

"Yeah," he lit a cigarette and looked out toward the city, "he'll pay us a couple hundred dollars." Her stomach started to churn and her blood started to boil. She leapt from the hood of the Firebird toward the front of the car and started to yell.

"Are you kidding me!" it was not a question. "You want me to sleep with one of your friends!" Seth slid off the front of the car and stood facing her. He flicked his half smoked cigarette off into the distance.

"Stop yelling," he calmly said as he went to place his hand over her mouth. She smacked his hand away in retaliation for not being controlled. He looked at her and anger began to wash over his face. She should've seen it coming, but it'd never happened before. His balled-up hand punched her in the side of the face, right were the cheekbone meets the flesh. Stars immediately danced in front of her eyes. Tears quickly welled up in her lower eyelids. Shock set in. His left hand grabbed a bunch of her hair and he pulled her to her knees. Her hand held her cheek. His finger pointed in her face. He glared down at her. "Now, you listen to me, bitch, I wasn't asking. We need the money and you've got a way to get it for us." His voice was like a snake's hiss. "You're gonna do it because I'm telling you to." He threw her hair free from the firm grip of his hard hand. She dropped down to the ground and cried. Seth left her to her sobbing as he climbed back onto the car, lighting another cigarette. Lily knew she had no other choice. She was alone. She had nothing, nobody, and no way, lost. After drying her tears, she brushed the dirt off her knees and got back onto the car. She placed her head against his strong, controlling shoulder and said, "I'll do it," almost in a whisper. The numb, empty, emotionless feeling had returned. It was visible in her blank, empty stare as her eyes looked upon the city. She wasn't seeing the buildings, or the lights, or the city itself, she was seeing nothing but loneliness.

Lily's eyes open slowly as she wakes from the uncomforting memory of a dream. The rain continues to fall. The wiper blades on the windshield fly back and forth with ease. She looks over at Jared and realizes the loneliness she'd once felt was no longer there. She knows he'll never hurt her and she knows he cares. Jared notices her staring at him, tears in her eyes.

"What's the matter," he asks. She gazes at him for a bit before answering.

"Nothing, not anymore," she responds with a slight smile. She reaches over and touches his hand on the steering wheel. "Thank you," she says softly as a tear dribbles down her cheek. Jared simply smiles at her.

"We're getting pretty close. It's only a couple more hours away," he says. "It won't be long before we're seeing mountain range." She removes her hand and looks out the window beside her. The water's rush is intensifying and a third of the way onto the flat side portions of the highway.

"I hope so," the words leave her lips softly as she watches the water's approach beside the road.

Chapter 13

Hours passed before making it to the outskirts of Denver, Colorado. The devastation is vast and as far as the eye can see. Jared watches the road as they both look around the city's landscape. Buildings are rubble like every other town before and everything has scorch marks from the fiery sun's wrath. There doesn't seem to be any activity anywhere.

"We're just going to have to find higher ground," Jared says. "I think it's our only option right now."

"Are you suggesting we wait out the storm out here?" she asks.

"I guess that's what I'm saying. Do you know of any other options?" He looks around the interior of the car. The backseat has plenty of junk food and water. There are still a couple cans of fuel in the trunk. "We've got enough with us to last a little while if we're careful."

"Well, since there doesn't seem to be anyone left, yeah." They are both worried and wondering about their future, but they also know there's really nothing they can do. They are at God's mercy. They continue through the city on the interstate. The Rocky Mountain range springs up around them. The rocks appear to be fine and untouched, but the foliage and vegetation is gone. Skeletons of trees stick out randomly and some in bunches. A few charred remains of vehicles decorate the ditches. The water flows through the areas where there used to be windows.

They continue on for a couple more hours. The rain beats down without a break. The lightning strikes seem to be intensifying as the thunder shakes the windows of the sedan. A bolt hits a tree to the right and up a steep cliff formation to their front. The large timber begins to topple. It hits the rocks below with a crash, knocking a large chunk free. A natural combination of the constant rain and the impact of the tree cause a chain reaction. Boulders gather together as if magnetic. Jared steps on the accelerator, increasing his speed. The rocks build up momentum and followers. I'm not gonna make it, he says to himself. I have to try now, it's too late.

"Jared, go!" Lily screams at him as she watches the gathering topple toward them. She looks out her window. The rocks get closer and closer. A large, solid leader is followed closely by smaller chunks. They jump and skip their way onto the asphalt. The huge rock slams into the passenger side of the car, hitting the rear quarter panel and back door. The couple jerks to one side violently. Their heads begin to pound instantly from the sideways whiplash. The rear tire explodes. Lily's head hits the door frame with a crack. Everything goes black for her. Her body flops around in her seat, seatbelt tightly secure across her chest. The other rocks jump against the car, smashing windows. Glass shatters within like tiny crystalized drops of rain. The boulders are like a rioting crowd against them, trying to flip the vehicle onto its side. Then it happens, the vehicle spins into the railing and comes to a painfully immediate halt.

Jared's ribs, arms, and legs hurt. He looks out his shattered open window toward the ditch. Water rages passed the metal barrier next to him. There isn't much distance between them and the river. A random rock hits the side of the car and he jolts from the sound of it. Everything then stops. The only sounds are those of the violent storm. He looks at Lily, silence. Her head is facing away from him as she slumps down in her seat. Her hair drapes over her, hanging lazily. The seatbelt settles just beneath her throat. Red markings decorate her bare flesh visible above the neckline of her shirt. A sprinkling of blood splotches add color to the fabric like a red pen leaking into the bottom of a breast pocket. He reaches over to her chin.

"Lily," he turns her face slowly. Her eyes are closed. He realizes moving her is the last thing he should be doing at this moment. He stops and uses his fingers to check for a pulse in her neck. Tears well-up in his lower eyelids. This is my fault, he says to himself. Rain drips down on her from her shattered window. Another droplet of blood falls onto her shirt. He feels for a moment, his raging heartbeat makes it more difficult for him to feel for hers. He takes a breath and then it comes. Her beats flow into his fingertips. A sign of relief follows. Oh thank, God. "Lily, can you hear me?" Her breathing is shallow, but now visible against the seatbelt. He reaches down and pops the latch of the belt free. Her lungs are able to expand further and her breathing becomes more normal. Another drop of blood falls. "Lily, please. I need you to wake up." He touches her shoulder gently. She doesn't move. The raging water in the ditch next to him starts to become suddenly louder. Jared looks out the window. The water level has risen and the rapids are increasing against the mountain's wall beside it. Pieces of rock topple into it and are swept away helplessly. Jared can literally see the river's edge as it climbs up the mountain side in the ditch. He turns back to her and then looks around. He removes his seatbelt and climbs out the window of the car. He stumbles as he leaps to the rough ground on the other side of the barrier. Jared grabs onto the lip of the barricade to avoid falling down the steep terrain into the waterway a few feet below. He climbs next to the metal, steps over it, and approaches her side of the car. She is bleeding from a small gash in her cheek. Another drip falls. "Lily, please wake up," the rain drenches him, running down his body. He steps over the random rocks in the road and around the large boulder to her door. His sobs continue. The saliva in his mouth thickens with desperation. "Please." She starts to moan, slightly moving. Her arm goes upward. Her eyes flutter open, dazed. Jared touches her shoulder with his hand, getting near her face. "Are you okay?" he asks.

"I don't know," she moves her legs and screams. "My ankle, I think it's broken." She reaches down to touch it, pain follows. The gurgling of the river on the opposite side of the car gets louder. Jared looks over. The water is touching the road.

"Lily, I know you're hurt, but I have to get you out or we're gonna be swimming." He reaches in for her. She grabs him by the back of the neck with her hands interlocked. The pain is intense as she shifts her legs. She screams into Jared's ear unintentionally. His eardrum rings. He pulls her toward him, keeping her off of her hurt leg. She sits on the boulder near the car long enough to catch her breath. Jared assesses the mountain side on the opposite side of the road. The hill is steep and rocky, but it's the only way. This road's not going to be a road for much longer, he thinks as the water nears the tires of the dented car. Jared removes his soaked shirt and folds it. He uses it to dab the blood from her cheek. He then wraps her ankle carefully, acting as a makeshift brace. He stands up beside her. "Come on," he offers a shoulder. She pulls herself up with a groan and a wincing hiss, wrapping an arm over his shoulders. They walk to the hill on the other side of the road, water following closely at their heels as it slithers over the blacktop surface like a snake.

Jared and Lily look up the embankment, the top seems an eternity away. The cliff is nearly eighty-five degrees in its upward angle. The water flows around the soles of their shoes as it builds from the river behind them. They take their first steps up the rocky side, Lily using Jared's shoulder for a crutch. She tries to conceal her pain. The shirt wrapped around her ankle adds to the load, completely drenched cloth. She accidentally steps on her bad foot all too often as they climb. Jared consoles her each time and they continue their trek up the mountain side. He looks back for a moment when the sound of metal scrapping against metal screeches through the air. The car is engulfed with water. The driver's side slides along the barrier while the liquid pushes it back the way they'd come. The river washes bits of loose rock and gravel away from the base of the hill they're climbing.

Broken bones, bruised flesh, and aching heads don't stop them from fighting for survival. Loose rocks fall when they grab them for support, hurdling and soon splashing into the water below. They stop to rest on several occasions in order to catch their breath, letting the rain water drip into their mouths. It takes several painful hours before they reach the peak. The blackened surface has been cleaned from the beating down rain. They lay on the peak for a while before assessing their safe haven's surroundings. Flat rocks, with a few lucky pockets of gravel, sit atop the mountain. Jared looks up at the clouds. It's so dark he can't tell if it's day or night. Lightning strikes continue to dance across the sky. The peak holds no secrets. There is nothing. Lily sits on the ground holding her sore ankle. Jared looks over the edge of the formation at the water below. The levels are still rising up the sides. Bunches of rocks fall as the water's surface hits them. The raging rapids seem to be calming, but they continue to climb.

"How far away is it?" Lily asks from behind him. He turns to her before responding.

"It's about a third of the way up the side."

"Seriously...at that rate, we're going to be swimming in about a day!" She begins to panic. Jared goes over to her, sitting beside her, takes her in his arms for comfort.

"I think we should lie down and get some sleep. There isn't much we can do anymore." He turns her by the chin to get face to face with her and looks into her eyes longingly. "Lily, at least if we die here, we die together." He kisses her deeply. They lie down on the uncomfortable rocks and embrace each other. They stare at one another for as long as they can. Their exhaustion makes it impossible to stay awake, even with the rain beating down on them and the stiffness of the rock against their backs.

Chapter 14

Jared stands near the churches alter. A sculpture of Jesus stands before him. The white, ivory statue has His arms outstretched. It is Him after the resurrection. The nail marks are etched into the surface of the sculpture to show the marks.

Jared kneels down on the red carpeted floor in front of the figure and crosses his hands in prayer. He stares into the hollow eyes of the being. Jared's conscious mind flows into his subconscious. Why are you punishing me, Lord? I've finally found someone that I care about and now I'm going to die? There is no answer.

"It's no use talking to the statue, Jared, he's not going to talk back," a deep voice enters his mind from behind. Jared leaps to his feet and turn around. The man from so many years ago who'd given him money. The one who'd freaked him out and made him run away, was standing behind him near the front pew of the church. Jared's heart begins to race and he immediately starts to sweat from fear. The man holds out his arms as if motioning to stay where you are. "I'm not going to hurt you, Jared. I want to talk to you."

"Get away from me! I told you before!" His fists ball up in defensive mode.

"I see you won't listen. After all that you've been through, you still doubt Him?" His eyes change from a weathered set of baby blues to a glowing white. "I guess I'll have to show you then." His voice becomes musical and soothing. The clothing he wore fades away, replaced with light. Plumage bursts free from behind him and spreads out into a six-foot span on each side. Jared's eyes strain to observe the actions happening in front of them. The light is intense and hurts his eyes. It fades as quickly as it had come. Standing before him is a flawless being dressed in white robes. Its wings are white like a swan's. The angel's eyes resume their baby blue coloring. Jared stares at him in wonder. It's the angel from my room, the one who saved me from the fire.

"Yes, Jared, God had other plans for you." Jared looks at the angel after he hears his thoughts.

"What does He want? What could He possibly want from someone like me?"

"Jared, you've suffered. He knows that you have. He allowed this to happen, but it was for a reason."

"What kind of a God allows someone to suffer as much as I have? Can you tell me that?" Jared's anger is obvious. Through molestation, beatings, and countless other unmentionable things, he had agonized. The angel walks up the stairs to Jared. He places his hand on Jared's head. A warm, soothing feeling of comfort immediately flows through his body. Jared drops to his knees, staring up at the angel.

"He needed to ensure you were strong enough, you and Lilith. There is much work to be done upon the Earth now that He has washed it clean, Jared." Jared closes his eyes while the angel's hand brushes over them. The warmth continues to flow through him. He's never felt so good in all his life. The intense light returns, blinding him once again.

Jared's eyes flutter open. Rays from the sun break through the dark clouds above and the rain stops. He stands up.

"Lily, wake up," he says to her with excitement. The sun's warmth feels like the angel's touch on his flesh. His aches are gone. He observes the ripples in the water's surface all around him. The level had stopped just below the crest of the peak. It begins to go as quickly as it had come. Lily tries to stand up, quickly realizing that the pain in her ankle is gone. She removes the sopping wet shirt and touches the flesh. There is no bruising or discomfort any more. Jared turns to her as she runs to him. They embrace atop the mountain. "Have I got a story for you," he whispers into her ear.

Green sprouts of grass poke up from between the rocks. Tiny microbes begin to swim within the pools of rainwater on their surfaces.

About the Author

R.J. Hamilton grew up in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, served in the United States Army for 12 years, and now lives in Topeka, Kansas.

He is currently attending Washburn University in Topeka to obtain his Bachelor's Degree in English Writing.

R.J. Hamilton is the author of 7 other books, Self Convictions, Self Consciousness, Self Conclusions, Self Consequences, Because It Feels Good, Dissecting Sean Connor & A Personal Hell: Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

