by Thomas Baker
"Maybe if you wouldn't have left us, this wouldn't have happened," Tyrone said under his breath.
"What did you sayto me?" JT slid to the edge of the cot.
"Oh. Nothing. I'm just mad at this whole situation," Tyrone hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I think Dusty was right. About a lot of things. We should have listened to him more I think."
That certainlycame out of nowhere.
JT wanted to chew him out but insteadhe took in another deep breath and dug into his cereal. He thought again about saying something before deciding arguing about the guy who saved their lives wasn't going to help the situation. JT shook the bowl of cereal. Inside the colored circles shifted and tumbled. It calmed him like a small child looking through a kaleidoscope.
Hours stretched into forever. JT paced. Once again, except for brief bursts of general chit chat here and there, Tyrone refused to engage in conversation. Later JT could hear him singing. He went to stand at the bars. The sound reached this ears like a spring breeze.
"Wanna be a baller, shot caller
Twenty inch blades on the Impala
A caller gettin laid tonight
Swisher rolled tight, gotta sprayed by Ike
I hit the highway, making money the fly
But there's got to be a better way
A better way, better way."
JT yawned and wanted to lie back down, tired more from the boredom than anything else. Sheriff Randall interrupted the short trek to his cot. One of those big police flashlights was in his hand. Randall went over to Tyrone's cell.
"All right Tyrone," Sheriff Randall said, unlocking his cell door. "Reverend Albright wants to talk with you. He's sent down someone to collect you. Come with me and don't try anything sudden."
"This is bullshit!" JT said jumping to his feet. He was done. He had enough of this. "Who the hell do you people think you are? What gives you the right to treat us like this? There is no such thing as a court of law anymore."
Sheriff Randall gave JT a cold stare of contempt. "You better get with the program son. We are living in a new world here. What gives me the right? Power, the power of this right here," He patted his gun. "Due process under the law and all those other rights are like a piece of trash blowing in the breeze. They are gone. The United States is gone. There is nothing I can do about that. I will however, uphold the peace and protect the people here in my town."
He turned his attention back to Tyrone.
"So come with me, cooperate with the Reverend, and I am sure you all can get going along your merry way. It'll be good riddance."
You took the words right out of my mouth.His want seemed to hang by a thread now. The Reverend seemed intent on dividing them, which was a sure way to pick them off one by one if he wanted to.
The Sherriff shut the door behind him, leaving JT to sit there in the darkness alone. JT lay back on his cot, letting the words of the Sheriff sink in. His stomach twisted as understanding dawn on the jam they were in here. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He exclaimed out loud as he slammed his fists down beside his body.
Both men dragged Tyrone in by the elbows. Through the front door of the church and the worship center. He had a clear view of the rotting bodies hanging from the tree on the way in. He could swear some looked nibbled on. He wondered if they purposely went as close as they could to the tree as a not-so-subtle threat.
He looked around desperately for Hannah as soon as they were inside, but all the pews were empty. He looked up at the cross dominating the stage ahead and shook his head. That cross looked to him as if it was made to radiate fear, not any kind of hope or inspiration.
First zombies, then Harold, now this crazy shit. Can't a guy get a break?
They came to a heavy looking wooden door off to the left side of the stage. Charlie rapped on it. Reverend Albright opened the door a few moments later, looking as smart as when they first met, in his crisp clerical shirt and black slacks.
"Ah, it's our young friend Tyrone," smiled Albright. "Please bring him in Charlie. Craig, you may go."
Charlie continued to hold Tyrone's arm and shepherd him over to a large leather chair. The kind with metal buttons in it. Tyrone was pushed down into the seat forcefully. Charlie stood behind the chair, arms crossed over his chest. Reverend Albright sat behind his expensive looking wooden desk. It was clean except for a little placard decoration. It too was made outof wood. Tyrone read the words carved into it. Above all, taking the shield of faith, where with ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Tyrone wondered if this saying made Albright feel invulnerable.
Reverend Albright sat there, his hands interlocked and lying on the desk, looking Tyrone over. Tyrone felt like a germ under a microscope. Still, he didn't drop his gaze or squirm in his chair. He would not give this man the satisfaction. He wasn't afraid of him. After the zombies, after Harold, what could he possibly fear from this faker.
"You want something from me this time Reverend?" sarcasm dripped from Tyrone's voice. "Or should we skip ahead straight to the beatings?"
"My son, we truly do not wish to harm you. You have been nothing but hostile towards us, so we've had to act in kind." Albright answered, smooth as honey.
"Eye for an Eye and all that jazz right?"
Albright smiled and pounded the desk with an open palm. "Maybe there is hope for you yet. That is exactly right. The world has changed my friend. It is now closer to the Old Testament days than to the sick, modern society we had just months ago. God has smite all the lands and has revealed the sinners among us. Most of them anyway. I still haven't made my mind up about you."
"Really?" Tyrone said with a laugh. "Sounds like a lot of mystical horseshitto me." His voice took on a sing songy rhyme. "Never been a sinner, I've never sinned. I got a friend in Jesus. Yeah right."
"You need to wise up kid," Albright said, for the first time putting some menace in his voice. "There are no laws here anymore except God's laws. Right now, I'm the voice of God. What I say goes around here. You would do yourself a great service to learn that."
"What do you want me to do, kneel downbefore you? Kiss your ring? Ask for forgiveness my master?"
The remark earned him a hard clap to the side of the head from Charlie. Tyrone wasn't ready for it at all. It knocked him halfway out of his seat. Albright sat behind his desk, still as calm as a coiled snake. It took Tyrone a few minutes for the sharp pain to dull enough for him to get back upright into his chair.
"Thanks for letting me know you're a fraud and all of this is a scam." Tyrone held the side of his head and tried to hold back his tears. "It confirms what I believed about The Bible and God, anyway. Jokes written by jokers."
Tyrone found himself on the floor, ears ringing more than ever. He watched little drips of blood fall from his cheek to the hardwood. Prisms of light formed before his eyes. Instead of waiting for him to get up, Charlie grabbed him and violently placed him back in the chair.
"You will sit there. You will answer the questions. You will not disrespect this man, boy!" Charlie spittle flew as he screamed the words in Tyrone's face. Charlie's reddened face was inches from Tyrone's and closing. With a snap Charlie straightened up and took his place again behind Tyrone's chair.
"Now why would you tempt God's wrath like that child?" Albright sat there, unblinking, letting the silence spin. Tyrone's head was throbbing now. He thought it was wise to not open his mouth again for now. It was hard to bite his tongue though. What had he been thinking, not being afraid? He should go back to being afraid all the time. It was stressful but life seemed safer that way.
Tyrone tried to calm down. It used to be so easy. He wasn't use to the feelings of rage he carried with him now. He had to stay calm though. He could only rely on himself to get out of this. He had to wait for an opening and take it. If he could keep his smart mouth shut. He was so done with taking it and taking it. From the Outbreak on the battles and the misery never seemed to end.
Albright stood up and walked over to the fr
ont of his desk. He sat on the edge with one leg up. He looked as if he could be having a casual conversation about the weather. Charlie threw a rag into Tyrone's lap. Tyrone picked it up and held it to the side of his head.
"All done for now? Let us start over." Albright smile sparked as he made his pitch. "There is a place for honest, God-fearing people here in our community. We will rebuild here. We're on the way to building a community safe from the sinners and the monsters. Of that I have complete faith, with me in charge. As the church, I am entitled to my tithe from everyone's labors. The faithful are jubilant to give. It is a small price to pay for God's protection?"
Albright paused for dramatic affect, picking had his pressed slacks.
"Now I am presented with the challenge of outsiders from time to time, as I'm sure you saw on your way in. None like you and your friends though. Hannah I am sure will want to stay with us. I'm also think she would like to have her friends stay as well. Gus and JT, I maybe able toconvince, from what I have gathered so far."
Albright stood and jabbed a finger at Tyrone.
"You are showing yourself to be unredeemable. We have a place for sinners like yourself. Besides the hanging tree. We could put you there, though if Hannah finds out she will not be happy with us. Maybe she would get over it, and maybe she wouldn't. I'm not a gambling man though. We could let you go, but how would I guarantee the safety of my flock? You could come back and attack us. Maybe even make a misguidedattempt to kidnap Hannah away from us."
Albright paced back and forth in front of his desk, hands behind his back. Tyrone now realized they were in deep shit here. JT didn't understand how royally fucked they were. This was much worse than dealing with Harold. It wasn't one crazy psycho; it was a building full of delusional sheep. Manipulated by this man, willing to do his bidding, all in the name of their faith. What could he say that would at least buy him some time to think? His mind blanked out, it kept repeating over and over again. What to say, what to say.
"Take him back, Charlie. Have Daryll take him down. I want to speak with you somemore. Have Daryll tell our good friend the Sheriff to hold them for a few days more. I will continue praying on what to do with Hannah's disrespecting friend. Think on what we have discussed here young man. Open your eyes to your new situation and open your heart to God."
"Let us go, you can't do this," Tyrone said, struggling as Charlie put the handcuffs back on him. It wasn't the right thing to say, but he couldn't help himself.
"You may get your wish," Albright said, getting right in Tyrone's face. "How we let you go however, is for God to decide."
Hannah sat on the bed, nervously twirling her hair around her fingers.She was wondering how much more time she would have to stay in this place. Two nights had passed since the dinner with Albright. She stayed in the dorm room the entire time since. The same the women, Patricia, periodically checked on her. Brought her food and water, always with a scowl on her face.
A knock on the door surprised her. It didn't seem the usual time. Also Patricia never knocked, she just barged right in. The door opened moments later, and she was even more surprised tosee it was Charlie.
"The Reverend has asked me to escort you to Sunday service."
His face and his body showed he wasn't too happy about it. He threw a grey hoodie at her and glared as he waited for her to put it on. Once outside, she was grateful to have it on.The air was crisp in the early morning as she followed him across the college grounds to the church.
When she walked into the chapel, the sight floored. There were more people than Hannah had expected here. If she had to guess there was close to thirty, maybe even forty. A few of them were couples and there was even a family or two. One had a boy who looked about four or five years old, sitting between them.
She found an open spot, towards the back, and sat. Her eyes darted around and she resumed twirling her hair. She wondered how JT was. She wished he was beside her, instead of stuck in a cage like an animal. Some of it was his own fault though. Something happened to him that calmed his anger some. Something he still wasn't willing to tell her about. It could still get away from him, which led to situations like the one he was in now.
Reverend Albright appeared and carried himself confidently onto the stage. He raised his hands and the dull roar of people talking turned into complete silence.
"Thank you all for coming on this glorious morning. Praise Jesus," Albright began, projecting across the room.
"Praise Jesus," a chorus of voices responded.
"Blessed be this day, the Holy day, and blessing be upon you my church," Albright continued. "Today we will talk about Revelations. Specifically, starting at 21:1. John spoke here about life after the Judgment. The Judgment is on us now my friends. Sinners have become flesh eaters, the cursed do not die and enter heaven. Soon that time will pass, when God's judgment will be over. Those of us here, all of us, will now live in the new Earth, as the First Earth passes away. He says there will no longer be any sea, as in the sea of humanity has now diminished and dwindled into God's chosen few. It is now left to us and others like us who may come upon our doorstep, to heal this world. God's faithful and just followers will rule this new world."
As the Reverend preached on, Hannah heard lots of "amens" and saw the raising of many hands through the sermon. She felt his words stir something inside of her. What he was saying gave meaning and purpose to all that had happened. It was more than random chaos that tore her friends and family away.
As the sermon went on she thought, these could be people she could grow to trust. Who could become like a second family to her. The church had helped her once before, when her father had passed away. She grabbed onto the Reverend's words like a drowning man grabbing an outstretched hand.
JT, Gus, Tyrone. I have to make them see. We could all start over here. This is what we should have been looking for all this time.
"Let us rise now church. Let us sing praise so Jesus may hear us, his remaining worshipers," Albright said with great enthusiasm.
He led them in singing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness". After a moment of hesitation, Hannah rose and joined in, singing loudly, tears streaming down her face. When the song was over, Albright told them all to have a blessed day and exited the stage. The people rose and milled around. Hannah stood there watching, unsure of where she should go or what to do next. A young lady came over to her. Hissmile seemed so innocent and pure.
"Hi, are you Hannah?" the lady asked. Long red hair flowed across the shoulders of her black sweatshirt, which looked two sizes too big for her.
"Yes," Hannah said, a little taken aback. She wasn't expecting anyone to come looking for her, let alone know her by name.
"Hi, my name is Alice." Her smile was radiant. Her southern drawl was warm and bubbly. Alice drew Hannah in. She couldn't help but smile too. "It is so nice to meet you. I always enjoy meeting new people. Reverend Albright asked me to take you on a tour. Show you around, help get you settled in."
"How nice," Hannah said, feeling like that was a lame reply. She stood there fidgeting back and forth from right foot to left foot. Looking at her also gave Hannah a stabbing pain in the chest. Alice looked to be about the same age as Ashley. She pushed that thought away with a shove.
"Great, though you seem a little nervous," Alice said. "Totally understandable. Don't you worry about a thing now. You're someplace safe. Why don't you follow me and I will give you the lowdown?"
Hannah followed Alice and was taken on a small tour. First was the kitchen. Three women occupied the small space, working out of cans to prepare dinner for the congregation.
"Ladies, I would like you to meet Hannah," Alice said, making introductions. "This is Grace, Kim, and Monica." All three looked up and smiled before getting back to the task at hand.
Next was the commons room. It was the biggest open space she had seen so far, aside from the chapel. People sat in chairs reading, or at tables playing board games. The little boy Hannah had seen earlier in service was chas
ing a little girl who looked a few years older around the room. Their laughter almost brought Hannah to tears again. It was a simple sound she never thought she would hear again.
Alice took Hannah's hand in hers, gave her a smile, and was led on through a door. It opened to a small hallway where doors sat on either side. Each door had a number starting with one.
"This is now the ladies wing," Alice explained. "All the single women stay here, while the single men stay in another part of the church. We only have three families as of now, two of them have kids. They all stay upstairs for now."
"So is this where I will stay?" Hannah asked. She wasn't sure what she thought of staying yet but it seemed the polite thing to ask.
"Until you are brought into the church and assigned a role, you will be staying in the dorms," Alice said warmly. "From what I understand, this setup is all Reverend Albright's idea. I'm not from around here either. I remember my stay in the dorms when I first got here. It was short, maybe only a weekor so. Hey when you move into the church, maybe we will be roommates. You seem very nice."
"So do you," Hannah said, smiling. Her upbeat attitude was infectious. "How did you get here? Were you by yourself?"
For the first time since meeting her, Alice frowned. She sounded a lot less cheerful as she continued on. "It was just me and my boyfriend, Rick, after the Outbreak. We were rolling down a back highway, on our way to my house. We were coming from the county fair. We didn't understand what was going on. We had left the fair before it was shut down by the reports coming from all over the United States and we didn't have the radio on. We were enjoying ourselves. Suddenly one of the fast runners appeared out of nowhere in front of us. We smashed into him and it was like hitting a deer. Rick lost control, the car flipped over and over. I passed out for some time. When I came to, a zombie was ripping apart Rick's face as he hung there upside down in his seat belt. It had to be God's hand that saved me. I see that now. I struggled to stay calm, worked my way out of the car, and ran away as fast as I could. I wandered on my own for a while before coming across Gateway City. The Sheriff there brought me up to the church. I've been here ever since."