The Beginning of the End

by Lorana Hoopes

  Samael swallowed audibly. “But what of those who do, sir? What will we do about them? If the virus does not take them?”

  Daman’s dark eyes twinkled as he steepled his hands together. “Don’t you worry. I have plans for any who may resist our cause. They will be examples, useful if they do emerge. Now, do we have a patient?”

  Samael nodded. “We do.” He crossed to a door that lay nearly hidden in the room. Only a slight line indicated that the wall was disturbed. With a deft touch, he opened the door and rolled the man out. The man, having been tied to the chair and locked in the room for hours, had little fight left in him and said not a word, as if he thought what awaited him outside would be better than the dark solitude of the room. Samael almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

  After placing the man and the chair in front of Daman, Samael returned to the hidden room and grabbed the vial from the fridge. He held it up to the light, swishing it slightly as the men had told him to do. Then he grabbed a syringe as well before returning.

  “How long will it take?” Daman asked as he watched Samael fill the vial.

  “The scientists were unsure of a specific timeline, but they believe between twelve and twenty-four hours for the virus to take hold. However, he will be contagious long before he begins showing symptoms which will facilitate the spread of the disease.”

  Daman rubbed his hands together. “That will be perfect. And he won’t remember this?”

  Samael shook his head. “No, the scientists assured me that he will have no memory of today at all.”

  “Wonderful. Proceed.”

  Samael stuck the syringe into the vial and then injected the liquid into the man’s arm. A slight twitch and a grimace was all the man could muster, but that was understandable considering the ordeal he had been through. “Don’t worry. For you at least, this will all be over soon.”

  When the syringe was empty, Samael summoned an attendant to return the man to his work. The attendant would then be killed, but it was a small price to pay to make sure nothing could be traced back to either himself or, more importantly, Daman.

  When the man and the attendant were gone, Daman returned to his throne. A look of pure malicious delight twisted his features. “And now we wait. Let the fun begin.”

  Candace took a deep breath to calm her nerves as she approached the building. After poring through her Bible for the last several weeks, she’d realized three things. First, there was still a lot of it that she didn’t understand, and she needed to talk to someone who could help her understand it. Second, she had to discover the truth. Was the rapture really the cause for Phil’s disappearance? And if it was, that led to question number three. What was coming next? She remembered Phil talking about the book of Revelation and what it said about end times, but she hadn’t been listening at the time. Not really listening anyway. Like with most things, she’d nodded and acted as if she understood while her mind had been a million miles away.

  But she was listening now, and that had led her to her computer and to a website named Truth Seekers. At first, she’d just poked around the site, reading the belief statement and watching the videos that were uploaded each Sunday - after all, she couldn’t be caught talking about the rapture in her line of work. It was not considered science, and the people who had dared to speak out about the rapture had been decimated on social media as crazies, loons. Most would probably never get a job again. However, even knowing that, the feeling that Candace needed to see this place in person, connect with these people, would not leave her and seemed to grow heavier by the day. So, here she was.

  The parking lot wasn’t even half full, and Candace wondered briefly if it had been before the disappearances. By the size of the building, she thought it must have.

  A large man stood at the door - the kind of man who looked more like he belonged at the door of a nightclub as a bouncer than at the entrance of a church as a greeter - but the smile he flashed as Candace approached softened his image.

  “Welcome to Mountain Home, I’m Nathan.” He held out a single sheet of paper to her.

  Candace took the paper and scanned it. It appeared to be a short order of worship - a few songs, prayer, message - and some links for connections. “Thank you, I’m Candace, but I haven’t been in a church in a long time.”

  Nathan’s smile widened, and he nodded sagely. “Don’t worry. We’re all pretty new to The Word here.”

  Candace wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, but she returned his smile and entered the building. The immediate vicinity was obviously a foyer as she could see into the sanctuary a few feet ahead of her and the paths to either side appeared to be hallways to other rooms.

  “Hi, you look new,” a woman to her right said.

  Candace turned to see a young, edgy woman with dark hair smiling at her. “Uh, yeah, first time, but I’ve been following the website for a few weeks.”

  The woman’s eyes lit up. “I’m so glad. I’m Raven and I’m in charge of the website, and it’s always nice to hear that it’s actually doing what it was created to do.”

  “And what was it created to do?” Candace asked.

  “Unite those who seek the truth. The world is going to get crazier, but we’re trying to help as many people as we can.”

  “What do you mean crazier?” Candace asked. She should be unnerved or at least skeptical of this woman and this conversation but all Candace felt was peace.

  Raven cocked her head as if studying Candace. “I’m guessing you’re here because you lost someone in the disappearances.”

  “Didn’t we all?” Candace asked with a slight chuff. She certainly didn’t know anyone who had been spared. Not everyone had lost a spouse or a close family member as she had, but everyone seemed to know someone who was now missing.

  “We did. The difference is that we know what really happened, and if you’re here, my guess is you suspect the truth as well.”

  “The rapture?” Candace asked even though the words felt taboo on her lips.

  Raven issued a soft smile and nodded. “And if you’re familiar with the rapture, then surely you know what comes next.” She lifted her brows as if asking that silent question.

  Candace thought back over what she’d been reading. She didn’t understand most of it, which was why she was here, but she knew enough to know what came next. “The tribulation.”

  “That’s right,” Raven said. “We don’t know exactly what it will look like or how it will come, but we meet every Sunday to discuss ideas and new ways to reach people like yourself. There is a war coming, and we are trying to be prepared.”

  A war? Candace thought. How could they possibly face a war? And how could it be harder than what they’d gone through the last few months? Candace wondered if there was more to her showing up here than mild curiosity, but she’d come this far, she might as well hear them out.

  4

  One month later

  “Lily, you better get down here if you want breakfast while it’s warm.” Her mother’s voice carried up the stairs and it held the note of annoyance Lily was used to hearing from her mother when she was working on her last nerve.

  With a sigh, Lily turned off the curling iron and set it on the counter. Her hair wasn’t being agreeable this morning, but it wasn’t awful either. She tossed her head down and then up, tousled the blonde locks with her fingers, and decided it would have to do. Flicking off the bathroom light, she grabbed a jacket and headed downstairs. March was fickle in Washington state. Some days it was warm, others cool, but one thing she could count on was that it would start off cool enough to need a jacket.

  The aroma of pancakes, syrup, and bacon met Lily’s nose before she entered the kitchen, and she sighed. None of that was on her current eating plan. It wasn’t that she was overweight, but she definitely was curvier than most of her peers. When she got older, she figured she would enjoy that, but right now, she was sixteen and in high school. Anything over the perfectly accepted limit of tiny was too much, so sh
e decided to skip the pancakes and grab a piece of fruit from the fridge and a cup of coffee instead.

  “You should not be drinking coffee so young,” her mother said with a shake of her head. “I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was well into my twenties.”

  “I know, Mom. You tell me that every day.” Lily turned away from her and rolled her eyes as she grabbed the creamer and added a dose. Rolling her eyes at her mother was a sure-fire way to get grounded, and she could not be grounded anytime soon. The Spring Fling dance at her high school was approaching, and she had been looking forward to it for weeks. Her dress was picked, her hair appointment was set, and her date was a gorgeous boy by the name of Bryce Hawkins.

  “Can’t you at least have some toast or an egg with that fruit?” Her mother’s face wrinkled in concern, sending tiny lines stretching out from the corner of her mouth and eyes. “I can’t see how one piece of fruit will fill you up until lunch. You need some protein.”

  What her mother didn’t know was that one piece of fruit didn’t fill Lily up until lunch, but her best friend Katie always had snacks and because she loved Lily so much, she always shared. That generally held her over until lunch, and on days when it didn’t, she would break down and purchase a muffin from the kitchen during morning break time. Yes, the calories were unfathomable, but she always made sure to run an extra mile as well as attend the gym on those days to balance it out. “I’ll be fine, Mom.”

  She set her mug and orange down on the counter and opened the pantry. “Look, I’ll even take a protein bar if it’ll make you feel better.” Lily held the bar up for her mother’s inspection and sighed with relief when her mother threw her hands up and shook her head. She had won the battle. For now.

  Before she had a chance to enjoy her meager breakfast, the alarm on her phone began chiming, reminding her it was time to get going. After shoving the bar in her pocket - she’d have to remember to put it in her backpack in the car or she’d have a melted mess when she got around to eating it - she took one last swig of her coffee and gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek. “Be back at five,” she hollered as she made her way out the front door.

  Lily slid into the seat of her slightly used Ford Taurus. It was not the car she had wanted for her birthday, but it was better than nothing. She fished the protein bar out of her pocket and tossed it and her bag on the passenger seat. Then she turned up the music and backed out of the driveway. She didn’t live far from the school, but the drive jamming out to her favorite music was the perfect way to start the day. If she had to attend school, she might as well do it right.

  Her best friend Katie was waiting for her as she pulled into the parking lot. She generally made it to school before Lily did. In fact, there had been times when Lily wondered if she slept at the building some nights. Katie loved school, and not the walking-the-halls-and-seeing-friends side of school. No, she was the nose-in-the-book-studying-and-learning type of student, so she generally met Lily before she made it to her locker each morning. However, waiting at her parking spot was new.

  “Did you hear?” she asked, handing Lily a cup of coffee as she climbed out of the car. Katie was a Starbucks snob and she ordered one nearly every morning, but Lily didn’t mind since coffee was partly how she got her fuel anyway.

  She took a sip of the proffered cup, enjoying the warmth that spread down her throat. Though no longer winter, the cold seemed to hang around a lot longer in the state of Washington, and it was still chilly this morning. “Hear what?” Lily didn’t watch the news and Katie knew that. If it didn’t involve Lily directly, it didn’t usually end up on her radar.

  “There’s an outbreak in China of some virus.”

  “Seriously?” Lily’s ears perked up. Though current events were not her forte, a pandemic was her one morbid curiosity. Ever since the day she’d read The Stand by Stephen King, she’d been fascinated by pandemics. It wasn’t that she wanted one to happen, it was more like she wondered how one could happen, how it would affect the world, and what it would be like to live through one.

  “Yeah, seriously.” She flipped her long brown hair over one shoulder as she fell into step beside Lily. “I can’t believe you don’t watch the news. I bet Mr. Higgins makes us study it.”

  Mr. Higgins was their science teacher, but he must have taught at a college once because he was the hardest teacher in the school. His papers were the bane of Lily’s - and every other non-studious student’s - existence. “Ugh, I hope he doesn’t make us do a paper on it.” Papers were the quickest way to steal her interest in any subject.

  “He probably will. Plus, I bet he makes us research the disease and track the possibility of it reaching over here. Maybe he’ll even let us dig more into viruses and how they work.” Her eyes lit up as she rambled off the options. She was such a nerd that Lily sometimes wondered how they stayed friends, but it was probably because they’d known each other since birth.

  Their mothers had met at some prenatal yoga class and become fast friends. As they lived near each other, their friendship had continued even after the girls were born with playdates and get-togethers. Katie and Lily had been destined to be friends no matter what they did. Thankfully, they seemed to balance each other well. Katie was more studious and helped keep Lily academically focused, but she also had a tendency to believe crazy theories, and Lily kept her more grounded in reality.

  “Yeah, well, let’s not give him any ideas. I don’t mind talking about it, but I don’t want to research it for the next month. The Spring Fling is coming up, and I have much more important ways to spend my time.” Like slow dancing in Bryce’s arms, she thought to herself, picturing the moment in her mind.

  Bryce was a senior and one Lily had set her sights on since Freshman year. She hadn’t thought he would ever notice her, but somehow, miraculously, this year he had. She didn’t know if it was the fact that she finally had a class with him or the fact that she’d ditched her oversized tunics and leggings for skinny jeans and tighter shirts. Whatever the reason, she’d caught his eye, and two weeks ago, he’d asked her to the Spring Fling.

  The Spring Fling was as close to a prom as their small school got. They didn’t have the money or the student numbers to hold a large prom, but the school would generally rent out a nice banquet hall and cater dinner. Students would dress up in formal attire and dance the night away. Lily looked forward to it every year, but this year was guaranteed to top them all.

  Science was her first class of the day, and the room was already abuzz with conversation. Hannah and Gretchen both had their phones out and were taking turns flashing their screens at each other as they found some story they wanted to share. Christian and Adam sat side by side peering into a laptop screen. Evidently, Lily was one of the few who hadn’t watched the news. Only Isaiah seemed unphased by the information. As usual, he was digging in his backpack like he did every morning. Lily and Katie took their seats and waited for the bell to ring.

  “All right,” Mr. Higgins said as soon as the bell stopped. “I’m sure you’ve all heard about the virus by now.” An older man with a receding hairline and a salt and pepper goatee, Mr. Higgins reminded Lily slightly of Mr. Rogers. At least until he began assigning essays.

  Katie shot her a look with raised eyebrows as if to say “See? I told you so.”

  “So, let’s discuss what we know about viruses in general and what we know about this one.” A sinister gleam danced in his eyes as he clapped his hands together, and Lily stifled a sigh. There would be more than one paper around this virus.

  As the discussion waged on around her, Lily found herself being drawn in. Though no one really knew how the virus had originated, what was known was that the first diagnosed patient was a technician at a lab in China. Evidently, he’d thought he just had a cold or a mild case of the flu. However, a week later, his lungs began to shut down and he was placed on a ventilator. While he was unconscious, four more people from his lab also became sick, and the number increased from there. It appea
red that although patient zero had recovered, many others had not, and the death count was now nearing the hundreds in China and the surrounding areas.

  The news media was referring to it as NCAV or a novel contagious airborne virus. The novel aspect evidently came from the fact that it had markers and qualities that had never been seen before.

  “Mr. Higgins, is there any way this virus could come to us?” The question had been posed by Hannah, a quiet, studious girl, but Lily was pretty sure it was the question on all of the students’ minds. She watched Mr. Higgins eagerly as he tried to formulate his answer.

  After a large deep breath, he sighed and looked them all in the eyes as he said, “I’m not sure.”

  “What does this mean for us?” Candace asked as she glanced around the room. Doctors from nearly every department filled the room.

  “We don’t know yet,” Dr. Aikens, the hospital chief, said. In his late sixties, he was a stern man with gray hair and a paunch belly. His muscular arms hinted that he had been in shape at one time though. “What we do know is that it is highly unlikely the virus won’t make it here and we need to be prepared. We have some PPE, but not enough for what they’re saying we will need. However, we have a request with the governor for more, and I’ve heard talk that the President is offering assistance.”

  He paused as if surveying the room. “I’m not going to lie. We are on the front lines, and we don’t know much about what we’re fighting. Remember the most important pieces. Wash your hands, get plenty of rest, and gear up. Every time.” He paused to look each one of them in the eye. “Okay, I know that’s a lot, but does anyone have any questions?”