nova fiction guest article

NOVA FICTION GUEST ARTICLE
This is wonderful!  Nova, who I slather all over about his great fiction, has offered, out of the clear blue, to have little ol' me post his newest fiction piece.  This is the first of many ( and people, it's a first friggin draft!  Don't bitch about grammer or what not, just enjoy ).  I'll be honest, I told him you'all weren't worthy.  But he insisted.  So you can thank him.  His blog is
http://theamericanapocalypse.blogspot.com/

Okay, let's get this puppy going! Thanks, Nova!
*
The Chosen


An American Apocalypse Series Novel

by nova





My name is Wyatt. I am no one. I am someone. I am the Chosen of God. No one knows this yet but my time is coming. I will be the Lords right hand and extract his vengeance in this world of sin, corruption, and broken promises. HE, the Almighty has told me so. I am looking forward to it. I am not exactly sure how it is going to work. I figure HE will keep me posted. Doors will open. People will appear. That is the usual procedure. Hopefully this will include me eating at least once a day. I would think so. My Bible says he provides even for the sparrows. Then again how much can a sparrow eat? I admit I do have my doubts at times. Not in HIM of course. It's the little details that someone who is all powerful probably doesn't spend a lot of time on. Like me eating. I push these thoughts aside. It is probably the devil anyways who is always trying to sow his seeds of discord inside my head and heart. Plus it is a nice day.



I am laying flat on my back in patch of ferns near a pond. It is comfortable and I am watching the tree leaves above me move in the breeze. Occasionally a leaf comes lose and falls to the ground. I watch it drop an imagine that somewhere a person has died. Just like the bell rang when an angel got its wings in the old movie I saw as a kid. I like thinking that when a leave falls to the ground a soul has moved on. I don't know this for a fact. HE didn't tell me. I just like the idea. I find it comforting. Just like I find comfort in my armor of the LORD. It's isn't complete yet but I have made a good start on putting it together. I read Ephesians for guidance and I was a bit confused about what I was supposed to wear. HE clued me in by showing where I was to find my starter kit. HE also showed me that all who come after me shall wear the starter kit too. They had Breastplates of Righteousness in my vision too! I don't have one yet which is a good thing I think. They looked like they would be heavy and hot. Maybe I don't get one because I am in charge. Who knows?



What I do have is a Gladius with a sheath. It is handmade. No cheap Chinese crap for the Chosen. I like it. It is beautiful. I keep it clean an oil it with WD-40 every night. Well, almost every night. Sometimes I forget. The sheath is leather and I am sure it was handmade for it. I practice with it at night too. Especially when the moon is out and shining on my world. I dance with it in my hand and imagine HE is watching me through the eyes of the moon. Sometimes I scream for joy as I dance! It feels so right as I spin and leap across the grass and bushes of the place I have made my camp. Plus it chases away the darkness. I no longer fear what is keeping me company amongst the trees of the County Park. I am not the only one out here. The Devil is always abroad these days and never far. I have known this since forever. I fear not since HE has spoken to me. HE has given me the sword of Truth and the gun of Righteousness. With them I fear no one.



SWORD is a beautiful weapon. I thought about calling it PEACEMAKER but HE is the Peacemaker. Except if you're on his shit list. From what I have seen in my visions it is pretty long list. HE says I will have help. Even an Army. I just wish he would send one or two people soon. The loneliness, like the hunger, is always present. Even after I eat.



I don't have a gun which is just as well as I never have shot one. I probably won't get one either as black plastic guns are a sign of the Devil. Maybe guns that aren't plastic will be okay. I am sure I will find out. There are a lot of things that are the sign of the Devil. So many that I am afraid that I may forget them all. I tell myself that if it isn't made of a substance he created like wood, metal, stone then it is bad. I am expecting clarification on all this eventually. HE really hates cell phones, IPods, computers, and cars. He also is not a fan of most music and art. He is in favor of sex. I am looking forward to that. Hopefully chocolate is okay too. I doubt if HE takes requests. I wouldn't have the nerve to make one during a vision anyways. I am usually scared shitless when I start having one. HE is not anyone to take lightly. So I pray and slip in my wishes that way. I figure prayer is like email. HE might read it. He might also have me blocked by his Spam filter. Then again if I am the Chosen that is unlikely.



I am ready. I feel my time is coming. I am impatient.



I was led to my weapon by the LORD two weeks ago. I was really looking for food or something I could sell for food. Clothes that fit would be nice too. I found a nice pair of lace-up black Army boots the week before. I left my iPod where the boots had been. I had just learned it was on the Devil list. It wasn't stealing that way. It was more like a trade. Plus they were living in a townhouse so they had to have money and more shoes. They could charge the iPod too. If they really needed the boots they wouldn't have left them out on the back porch to air out like that. The bad part was who ever owned them had athletes feet and now so did I.



The sword I had found by poaching. Poaching was a recent invention and I was not the sole practitioner of it. My version was to sit not far from my pond near the entrance of the big subdivision. There was a dead end side road with trees for shade. I could sit here comfortably and watch the traffic coming in and out the entrance to the main road. The County Sheriff delivered the vacate notices around the same time every morning. A poacher, like me, followed them. If you knew the streets in the subdivision like I did then you could watch them and guess, based on where they turned off, where to look for them. Then I would hang back and watch the people get evicted. The weeping and wailing was sad. I knew how they felt. I had once lived here too until they came and knocked on my door. The Sheriffs were polite, efficient, and they were gone quickly. They had a lot of practice at this work.



The people? They usually waited until the Sheriff Deputies left to get really angry. Sometimes they would start to get angry with the Sheriffs and were quickly informed that a cell awaited them if they didn't shut up. That usually chilled almost everyone out. Sometimes not. Then it would get ugly until Mr. Sherriff informed the woman, it was almost always a woman, that her flock of kids would be headed for Protective Services if they didn't shut the hell up. The men, they were rare, almost never did anything except slink around in the background. Sometimes they would say something. Nobody seemed to take them seriously. I could tell that even the men who did try raising their voices didn't really have their heart in it. For them it was just an act that needed to be performed for their own self respect and to maintain face.



After the Sheriff left they would stand around outside, make cell phone calls, and load up some of their stuff in the car or cars and be gone. That's when I made my move. I wore a backpack and I didn't hesitate to load it heavy. My goal was canned goods usually. They were heavy but I needed to eat. Then what ever else caught my eye. I was also looking for stuff from their bathrooms this time. I needed toilet paper, aspirin, and toothpaste. I had become pretty good at evaluating the boxes and hefty bags as they came out. What helped was seeing what the family was composed off as far as age and nationality, and what they agonized over not taking when they bailed.



This time I was drawn to a box labeled "Dad's Stuff." I saw the boy, a White kid who was maybe 14 trying to convince his Mom to take it. She went ballistic. I didn't see any adult males in their family group so it wasn't hard to guess the back story. The box got kicked to the curb like she had probably been. I went in fast after they left. Partially because I didn't want any neighbors coming out and giving me shit. The other reason was pride. I felt like a lowlife doing it. I stuffed the box the kid had wanted to take in my backpack first without looking at it. It was a fairly big box and it rattled. I ripped open some plastic trash bags with my pocket knife. No food. Some spices of which I took the pepper and salt. I did find my aspirins which was good. Every day I woke up it seemed like something hurt in my body. Some days my back. Some days my teeth. Some days my head. Some days everything. Lately it was everything. I was in and out in ten minutes and the trash bags looked like an angry raccoon had hit them. I tried to be neat and not litter but that didn't always work.



I was very happy when I opened the box and saw what was in it. One of the reasons I kept to myself was I lacked any way to defend myself against the demons of the world. HE said he was going to protect me and I realized I really needed to trust and walk in the way he wanted. I dropped to my knees and snapped off a quick prayer of thanks and gratitude. I also had a couple cans of peaches to go with the rest of the stuff. I opened one and ate it right away. I really craved sugar almost all the time. I tried eating flowers once because they were pretty and smelled sweet. They didn't taste that way. I was disappointed.



So today I was feeling pretty good. A couple weeks had gone by since I found my Armor of the LORD and I was ready teddy to rock and roll. Just gimme the word LORD I prayed. Or a sign. The world was filled with signs if you knew where to look. Voices too. I had been blind for so long and now I could see. Sometimes even the squirrels talked to me. Not often. I was fine with that. Squirrels never had much to say that I was interested in. Same with most of the birds except for the crows. They knew shit. Secret shit. Maybe even double super secret shit from the other side. I thought the crows might be working for the Demons but they said "Just becaws we are black doesn't mean we are evil." I felt embarrassed then. I knew better to judge people based on color. It should apply to all of the creatures created by HE WHO IS ALL equally.



Just to be on the safe side I checked my Bible about crows. At first checking it took awhile. Nowadays I had it pretty much memorized. Well, a big part of it. More than most people was my guess. You had too if you were going to be the Chosen One. Anyways it seemed HE liked ravens which are just big crows and provided for them. I just couldn't eat them. They were on the DO NOT EAT list HE had written. HE was big on lists which I liked. Just get it down and put it out there. That way everyone knows where they stand. No smarty banker pants could twist it up and steal your house, crush your dreams and make.... "Whoa. Slow down now!" I told myself. Going down this brain road would make me mad. Really mad and that wasn't good. I needed to relax and enjoy watching the trees and the smell of the earth that HE had made. That and be ready. Ready to start my ARMY.



I didn't have any sign that HE was coming to visit. I was starting to recognize the signs though sometimes HE would sneak up on me. HE could do that because he was HE. That was another reason I didn't stay in a shelter or in one of the Tree People camps. When HE came to visit I went down hard. I didn't like for people to see me like that. It was embarrassing and it left me very vulnerable. That was never a good thing. Never.



Other times HE was just a voice in my head. It was a good voice. A comforting one. HE told me the very first time he came to visit that I would never be alone again. HE promised me that HE was always going to be there. He told me other things too I think. I cried after HE told me that. Later I told myself I would always remember what HE said that but sometimes the memory seemed fuzzy and parts had melted. I didn't want it to slip away. So much already had.



I was daydreaming about all this when I heard the voices. I thought, "Shit! You idiot! You got comfortable to close to the path!" Panic hit me then I remembered I had the ARMOR of the LORD on. Well, most of it. Plus I had HE at my back. I smiled. I was invincible. "Plus" I thought excitedly "It might be my Army coming!" I stood up an adjusted my sword. I was still having problems with that. The damn sword was awkward at times. They stopped dead. I surprised them rising from the ferns like I had. The one who had the girl said "What the fuck!" The other one just stopped and stared at me. The girl, she didn't look happy. I noticed the man holding her had left finger imprints in her arm.



I said "Hello." They looked at me like I was a moron. The one on the right of the guy holding her I had seen before. I didn't like him. He was thin, white, and always looked at everything sideways. He was also wearing EYE HIDERS. People called them sunglasses. I didn't. They hid the eyes and I needed to see them. The Devil lived in people's eyes and peered out at you. Nobody in my Army was going to be allowed to wear them. The other guy was taller and big. He had muscles and tattoos. He didn't have on EYE HIDERS. I looked at him. I took a step closer so I could see his eyes better. I saw it then. DEVIL EYES! The girl just had frightened eyes. Something was wrong here. I guess I stared to long because Big Guy said "What the fuck you staring at?" Normally I would have apologized and left. Not this time. I was bound by the rules of HE not to let bad things happen to the defenseless. I wasn't sure exactly where it said that in the Bible but I knew it had to be in there.



Shifty Eyes said, "He's a fucking crazy. Hey! Crazy! Get the hell out of our way!"



The girls eyes were talking to me. Pleading with me. She didn't need to. I understood. A Devil had her.



"No." I said it calmly because I was calm. Very calm. "I will not."



Big Guy laughed. He told me "I don't know about that shit you got hanging from your belt but you need to get the hell out of our way."



Shifty showed he was a Devil too because he said "Last chance Crazy Man." He said it softly. He let his hand sit on the hilt of the blade he had on his belt. A hunting knife. Big Man shoved the girl to the ground hard. She cried out in pain when she landed.



I smiled at them and pulled Sword from its sheath. It didn't come smoothly but I got it out. Shifty kind of smiled until he saw Sword. Sword was wicked looking. It wasn't a play toy. Then just as clear as if HE was standing behind me I heard his voice say "KILL THEM." It was easy. Much easier than I had expected. Big Guy charged me. His arms stretched out to grab me. I heard HIM tell me "STEP AND STAB." I did. Big Guy looked surprised. "PULL AND TURN" I did and caught Shifty coming. I extended my arm and Sword bit him. He looked surprised too. I pulled and stabbed again moving in closer. I turned and saw Big Guy on his feet trying to hold the blood in. I gave him another spot for him to try and stop the leaking. He looked at me and said "Why?" I told him the truth. "Because I am The Chosen." I think he understood then. He fell forward and I had to step out of the way.



I didn't feel anything. Well I did feel gratitude. I said out loud "Thank you Lord!" Then I turned to the girl and asked, "Are you going to join my Army?"



She looked at me, back to the bodies, than back at me and said, "What army?"



"She had a point." I thought . "My Army...well, you would be the first member of it." I paused, watched her face, and added "It is the Army of the LORD." I knew that would impress her. She didn't laugh which is what I was secretly afraid she would do. While she considered it my heart leapt and I thanked HE who had brought her. She was hot. Young...maybe too young. She was black which wasn't a problem. I hoped me being white wasn't a problem for her. Skinny though for a black girl. They usually came in the plus sizes around here. She interrupted my prayer of gratitude by asking "Do I get to be a General?"



"Hmmm...I don't see why not." I hadn't thought about ranks. I was The Chosen and everyone else was "The Rest."



"I'm HIV positive..." She waited to see what my reaction would be.



"Okay. We all have issues. HE doesn't seem to care as long as you don't sin and follow his plan." Inside I was relieved and disappointed. Disappointed that I would not be getting any and relieved that even though I wouldn't be getting any it sounded like she was considering joining. I liked that. Maybe HE would talk to her too.



She stood up and was brushing her clothes off. She asked me "What's this plan?"



I had never articulated it to anyone before. I had heard it in my mind and thought about it a lot but getting it past my lips and out in the air between us wasn't working so good. Especially as she was staring at me with her big brown eyes. Answering this was turning out to be harder than stabbing the sinners.



"HE is God. He talks to me and shows me visions. This world is coming to an end soon. We need to help make it happen by breaking the Devil machines and building an Army so we can survive. Then we will go to a place and live." I stopped, then added quickly, "No wearing sunglasses."



She looked at me solemnly "Do we get kill assholes like this or is that a sin?"



I was surprised by the question. "No! HE wants people like this dead."



She smiled. The first time I had seen her smile so far. "Okay." Just like that I had a General for my Army. I threw up my hands and yelled "Thank you LORD!"



She didn't join me in thanking the LORD. Instead she scowled and said "Quit making so much noise and help me drag these assholes off the trail."



I couldn't take my eyes off them as we dragged them into the bushes. They still looked human but different. Their skin color had changed. Not a lot but enough to be noticeable. They had changed. Their souls had left them. I was wondering if after you died your soul took a little of your color with them as skin? That would be strange. I didn't think HE cared. I had seen souls before in a vision. They sparkled like diamonds on the outside while different colors like Christmas tree bulbs danced inside. They were beautiful. Maybe they were Angel souls and regular people didn't get the fancy colors. Maybe we were like paper bags with a candle inside of them. I had stopped to think about it when I heard her say, "Hey. You there?"



I mentally shook myself and looked over at her. She was standing there, hip cocked and eyebrow raised. Waiting for me to do something I guess. Instead I asked her "What do you think souls look like?"



"Butterflies for good people. Bats for bad people."She didn't even hesitate or look at me funny. She just answered. I nodded. I liked it. I was going to think about that later.



"We got to get out of here. You live around here?"



I answered her "Yes." I pointed in what I hoped was the right direction. I got lost sometimes. "Over there."



"In the woods?"



"Yes. I have a tent" I told her hopefully. "Not a good one."



"Yeah. I'm not surprised. Lets go."



I looked at her questioningly "Where?"



She spoke slowly this time. People do that to me sometimes. Well, a lot of the time now. They didn't use too. "We need to get your stuff and move. Someone will find the bodies and they will let the police know. They will search this area and arrest someone with a large pig sticker." My eyes widened. "Yes. That would be you." she added.



"Oh...okay." I started walking. She fell in behind me.



She asked me after we had walked about a hundred yards "You have a name?"



"I am the Chosen One." I told her proudly.



There was silence for a bit. I pointed out the poison ivy patch to her. Her only reply was "Nice. I hate the fucking woods."



About a minute after that she asked me "Can I call you Bob?"



I stopped dead and turned around. "I am not kidding" It was my turn to talk slowly. "I am The Chosen. HE has said so." I stared at her. If she couldn't accept that then she couldn't be in my Army. She raised her hand "Okay. Okay. How about I call you Chosen. Will that work?" I thought about it. "Yes." I was getting ready to start walking when I realized I didn't know her name so I asked.



"Sharon."



"Hello Sharon." I liked her name it. It fit her.



"Hello Chosen."



I stretched out my hand and after a few seconds hesitation she took it and we shook. Then we continued on to my camp.



She was not impressed by my camp. How she said "This is it?" Tipped me off.



"Yes." I didn't say anything else. It wasn't much but HE provided for me. I didn't need much and if I did own anything it usually was stolen. Besides owning property when others had none was wrong. I knew that without HE telling me. It was love of property that had led so many into the Devils trap.



"Why is your tent squashed?" She had walked over and was peering at it.



"I squashed it." I told her. I was proud of that. I had learned that even if your tent blended into the trees someone would still find it so I squashed mine so it laid flat on the ground. If anyone did see it they would assume it was dead and leave it be. So far it had worked.



"Why did you do that?"



She was genuinely curious. It had been so long since someone had taken something I said as reasonable. It made me very happy. "Because no one can see it if I do this!" I gave her a big smile and was even more happy, if that is possible, when she replied "Good idea."



"Is this everything you have?"



"Yes." I added "Plus what I have in my backpack. I have my sleeping bag hidden inside the tent."



"Okay. This is what we are going to do. Pack up your stuff and we'll go to my place which is a lot better than this." She looked at the bruising on her arm while I did that an muttered "Assholes" and something else that I didn't catch.



I got my stuff together and pushed aside the little voice in my head that was telling me "What a bossy little bitch." The little voices were never happy. Never.



I followed her this time.. She looked good from front and back. We only made one stop and that was when she pulled me off the trail to let a crazy guy go by. He was pushing a shopping cart and struggling. The cart wasn't built for this kind of surface. It wanted smooth and flat. We had bumpy and narrow for the trail. He would use it until it died. The woods already had a couple of carts parked off one of the trails. They sat there and rusted because they were worthless. Once a wheel went it wasn't worth bothering with.



Sharon's place was much nicer than mine. It had walls and a roof. It was a house. A real house. An expensive house at one time too. We came out of the woods and Sharon paused to look around. So did I. You always need to look around when you come in or out of the woods. She motioned for me to come and stand next to her. I whispered "Yes?" She whispered back "I usually come in after dark. We're going in through the sliding glass doors under the deck." Then she bolted for the doors racing threw the knee high grass. Once she pointed out the way I could see where she had cut through the grass before. I followed her, just not as fast. Then she surprised me. She bent over and pulled a nail out that she, or someone, had driven or drilled through the sliding glass door frames to lock them in place. She stood up, slid the doors open, grinned at me, then slipped through the opening.



She left me standing in the basement while she darted through a doorway off the room we had just entered. I looked down at my feet where the floor was covered with trash and broken glass. Something was off about the trash and basement. The air didn't stink. I looked a little closer at the trash. It was clean trash and so was the glass. It was camouflage. I was impressed.



She came back from where ever she had been and dropped a sawed off broom handle in the sliding glass door tracks and said "It's okay. C'mon." I followed her lead and watched how you could step around the glass if you did it in a little skippy kind of hop step. I laughed out loud. She didn't even turn around. She just said "Whatcha laughing about?"



"This. I like doing it. It's a skippy hop dance."



She giggled and said "Yeah. Kind of."



She led me down the hallway past the stairs. I looked up and saw that a stainless steel refrigerator had fallen part of the way down the stairs and blocked them. We went past that and into a bedroom complete with a bed and a dresser. The dresser had a bunch of candles on it, most of them melted down into frozen puddles, and the air smelled like the Whole Foods soap aisle used too. It was very neat and clean. The dresser had a a couple of photos on it that as soon as my eyes touched them she ran over and snatched up. A stuffed bunny sat next to them. I always liked stuffed bunnies. I had one as a kid and my sister and I got in a fight over him and his gutsies were ripped open because she tugged so hard. I tried to stuff paper in there and even tried to sew him up. I wasn't very good at it and he was hurt bad. I kept him in a shoebox by my bed and one day when I was out my Mother trashed him. I was sad for awhile.



I told her "I like the bunny."



"I do too." She gave me a sad smile and said "Don't fucking touch him or anything in this room. Understand?"



"Okay." I told her reluctantly. I liked the bunny.



She pointed at the bed and said "You might as well sit down so we can talk."



That made me happy. Her sitting as far away as she could didn't. Still, she wasn't that far away. I wondered if she really had AID's. If she did what could I reasonably hope for from her that wouldn't get me sick too. A hand job would be nice. I could live with that. It would be like my normal sex life but different. I sat down and smiled at her.



She was sitting with her back very straight looking at me. She did have beautiful eyes. Large, almost black, and they were liquid. I had never thought of that word before in relation to a woman's eyes but it fit her perfectly.



"Quit staring at me and focus."



"Oh. Sorry." I told her.



She gave me a tiny disapproving shake of her head. "Okay. Lets start by me making something clear. No. Sex. Not from me. Nothing. Nada. You got that?"



I thought I would wait awhile before mentioning hand jobs. They didn't qualify as sex really...hopefully. "Yes. I got it." I bit back adding, "What makes you think I want to do your skanky ass" but that would be rude and a lie.



"You promise?"



I looked at her. I mean really looked at her and wondered how old she really was because she looked like a scared little kid right then.



"Yes. I do." I meant it. I think she caught that. I watched her relax a little, then the shields came back up and with them her face and attitude gained ten years.



We sat there, stared at each other, and then we both tried to talk at the same time. We laughed and the atmosphere in the room lightened a lot. "You first." She told me.



"What was going on? You know..." I asked her



"You mean before you gutted those two assholes?"



"They caught me stealing and were going to teach me a lesson." She said it flatly.



"Were you?" I was really hoping the answer was no.



"I just said they caught me. Clean the wax out of your ears." She was getting angry with me. I could hear it in her voice. The problem was HE hated stealing.



"What did you steal?" I was curious.



"Food. I could have taken anything they had but that was all I wanted. I am not a thief." She was defiant now.



I was relieved. I smiled. "That's not stealing. That's living." I hastily added "Unless you steal from..." I couldn't think of the word but then HE gave it to me "Your own tribe."



"Really?" She seemed relieved too. "Granny would have said it was wrong."



"Really?" I told her. "HE is okay with it. HE told me the time of vengeance is coming upon the rapers, the polluters, those that have stolen from the weak and the poor. The wrath of GOD is coming and THEY will pay. They will hang from the lamposts. They will die choking on their money. THEY will be dragged behind the SUV's that sucked the blood from the earth and returned nothing but death to the creatures of HIS land!"



I stood up. It was always easier to talk then and I was feeling the SPIRIT coming upon me. "You think they care about us? Do you!" She shook her head and said "No."



"You're right! We are sheep to be fleeced. No. Worse than that. We are lab animals. They sell us poison as elixirs for diseases we don't have and when some of us die because of them they consider it a cost of doing business. They sold us houses, lied to us about the cost, took our money, and when we ran out because THEY blew up the economy with their greed and lost our jobs they threw us into the street!"



"Yes they did! Yes Lord!" She replied.



"They tempted us with their fancy scientific advertising using Devil inspired whores to buy shit we didn't need and we did. Does this make us guilty?"



"No Lord!" She was getting into it.



"We are sinners LORD. Oh yes! We are weak. Yes Lord. Where were the ones who were there to protect the flock? Screwing whores and doing drugs. Taking bribes and telling lies. All of them. All of them! YES! All of them faces of the Devil!"



I lowered my voice "So what will we do? HE has taken the blinders from our eyes. He has shown us their evil ways. He wants us to go back to a better world. Yes HE does!"



I heard her faintly say "Amen!" The spirit was on me in force now. "What is the road? HE is road! What is the Road!" I was shouting.



Sharon yelled "HE is the road!"



"Yes he is. Oh yes. Let me tell you. I have seen the road. I have seen the road in all it's glory, pain, and joy. We are going to march down that road and take what is ours. Take it back I say. Oh yes! We are going to take it back from the thieves and the murderers. We are going to take it back and erase their stain from HIS eyes. Oh yes! They will pay. Oh yes. They will pay. I know this! Yes I do. I have seen the road. With my own two eyes HE has shown me this road. Do you know what it is paved with?" I looked out and refocused on Sharon. "Do you want to know what this road is paved with? Tell me! Tell me you want to know!"



Sharon whispered "Tell me."



I yelled "Their skulls! Yes! The road is paved with their skulls I tell you. Everyday we will wash it with new blood. Oh Lord! Yes we will!" Then like a switch had been thrown to off I was done. Done and tired too. I looked at Sharon. Her eyes were shining. She said one word in reply. One long drawn out sibilant word. It was "YES!"



I felt empty and tired. I asked Sharon "Where's my room?" I knew it wasn't going to be in here. She was looking tired too. It had been a stressful day even though it wasn't but half over. My sleeping patterns were nothing like what they had been once upon a time. The structure that had driven them had long ago evaporated. What structure had reappeared in its place was centered around food, water, and safety. It's tough to sleep when you are worried about who might come up on you. Being hungry and thirsty didn't help either. Plus the damn bugs were always biting me at the wrong times. Little Devil tormenters. I squashed them all.



It wasn't all that long ago really when I had escaped from the clutches of the Devil. I didn't see it that way at the time. I mean I had inklings of the reality of the world before I was told to vacate my home. HE had first touched me not long after my car accident. That was expensive, even with insurance. Stupid bitch on a cell phone not paying attention had taken me out and kept going. I knew she was trouble when she had cut me off the first time in that monster Denali SUV she was driving. An appropriate name for a vehicle that big I remember thinking. One second I was driving along. The next second she was trying to fit her monster into a lane that was already occupied by me. A second later it was "Crunch" and I was headed for a Jersey wall. Then "Bam" and I was slammed by a face full of airbag and rocked hard again by another car trying to climb into my glove compartment.



I tuned back in. Sharon was standing in front of me asking "You okay?" I was surprised by the concern I heard in her voice. "Yeah...I'm fine. Just tired."



"Okay. Let me show you the house." She may have looked tired but she didn't sound anywhere near it. So I followed her around for the tour. It was short. Her pantry was behind a ripped out section of drywall where someone previously had mined for copper. She had four cans of food. Two of them were creamed corn. Yuck. One was "Fruit Cocktail" and the other had no label at all. She told me "I'm saving the fruit cocktail for a special occasion."



"What's in the other can?"



She shrugged and replied "I have no idea. Hopefully something good but probably dog food since the other two cans were."



"Dog food's not bad if you heat it up. I put some wild onions I found in mine and a ketchup packet and it was pretty good."



"You know wild onions? You know that herb stuff?"



"A little" I replied. "I'm no expert." She liked that answer though. I could tell. "I'll add my food to yours if you don't mind."



"You better" was her reply.



My bedroom was a floor in the other bedroom down the hall from her. It was trash free and windowless. It still had a door. Not bad all in all. I was going to need to find some cardboard to put down on the concrete. Someone had taken the carpeting including the pad that had been in there.



The bathroom was a five gallon paint bucket with a couple two by fours across it for a seat that she kept in a closet She pointed at it and told me "It's for emergency use only. Shit outside in the trees or elsewhere. If you use it then you need to dump it and rinse it in the creek. A stack of books were next to it for use as toilet paper. Not perfect but better than nothing.



She told me. "Stay out of the room with the sliding glass doors. You never know who might be snooping around" I sort of shrugged and said,, "I got it.” Then I began unpacking so I could get my stuff set up. As I did I asked her, “You want me to find you when I'm ready to go out?"



"Sure." She walked away and I began to make myself at home..



Sharon tried again to convince me not to wear SWORD because, as she put it, "Wait until you find out if anyone gives a shit about them dead dumbasses. If they do a CSI thing then they will be looking for someone carrying a sword. Not a lot of people wearing swords running around here."



"No." I told her. "HE gave it to me and HE is never wrong. She shrugged and told me "It's your ass. Not mine."



That was why I was surprised when she disappeared for a bit and came back with a machete. I didn't ask her about it and she didn't say anything. She smiled, slipped it into a day pack, and turned away.



We couldn't hang out in the house for long periods for a couple reasons. It was getting hot which meant the house was getting uncomfortable to be in. Plus we had to keep moving to find food. Inside my head HE was prodding me. Making me uncomfortable. I needed to be about his work. Killing the two clucks had triggered something inside me. A need for action. A need to do. But do what? I couldn't go around killing people unless they were tools of the Devil. We had our share of assholes around here but not a lot of the Devil minions. THEY made serious money working for him and lived in the secret neighborhoods that were far away. You needed a car to get to them.



I had driven through them a few times and once I had even stepped inside one of their castles. It wasn't a real castle of course but it was pretty damn big. It was also beautiful. My department had been invited to our department heads home for a picnic. He, his wife, and their kids were attractive and gracious. The house wasn't a home as much as a work of art. Everything was color coordinated and amongst the colors were scattered pieces of art that could have been in a museum or an expensive mall.



The road through their area were winding and narrow with fences, green fields, and horses grazing. I saw young girls riding in their jodhpurs and English helmets just like in the movies. Beauty, ease, and abundance was everywhere. They were blessed I thought. It occurred to me that they may have even been the offspring of another, more special race that had been secretly dropped in our midst. I was both right and wrong about that. I had not yet had had the word of the LORD sweep away their deceptions. HE was yet to show me the source of their wealth. The pastures that the horses ran in were bought with the profits of their lies and deception. The houses were built and cleaned using the labor of migrants. THEY had become colonial masters in their own country and we were nothing but debt slaves living in our own overpriced, poorly made boxes of illusions.



I am ashamed to say I wanted to be one too. The only that thing that stopped me was THEY never offered me the chance to join Team Devil. Yes. I would have not even have hesitated to say "Yes!" Instead they kicked me to the curb because of my accident.



Sharon woke me up the next morning an asked me "Wanna go to Safeway with me and squeeze the produce?"



"Sure." I had fallen asleep reading my Bible by candlelight and had let the candle she had given me for light burn down to nothing. She noticed it too but didn't say anything about it. I was embarrassed by my wastefulness. I had asked her last night if she wanted me to read to her but she said I was Bible enough for her. I thought that was a very sweet thing to say. I didn't tell her that of course. I probably should have pushed it but I didn't feel the need too. Actually I was scared too. I didn't want her to kick me out or put her in the position where she said something that HE would take offense at. If that happened I would have to do smething. I had read that HE was a jealous GOD and I didn't want him to smite her anymore than life already had.



We headed off and I asked her "How do you squeeze the produce?"



"Oh, the usual. Pick a few grapes here and there. Maybe grab an apple and walk around an eat it. Sometimes Ivan, the old Black guy in the produce section, will bring a loaf of bread and some other stuff out to me but I haven't seen him for awhile. There is a lady in the deli section that will give me food sometimes too."



"Why do they do that?" I left unsaid that no one at Safeway had ever offered me anything for free.



"Because I am young, pretty, and black like they are. They know times are hard and I ask every week for work there."



"Yeah? You really want to work for them?" I asked her.



She shrugged "Sure. Why not? They have food and they pay you."



"They are a Devil company!" I told her. My voice far sharper than I wanted it to sound.



Once again she shrugged and said "What are you going to do about it?"



I looked at her, opened my mouth, had nothing to say and closed it. I did decide to leave SWORD in my room. She was right. Why draw attention?



I hardly ever went to the shopping center anymore. I had once upon a time but I tried to avoid it as much as possible nowadays. It was painful for me to go there for a lot of different reasons. It reminded me of when I had money which was depressing even though I now had far greater riches in the LORD. There was a McDonald's and sometimes the smells of french fries and hamburgers cooking made me very hungry. It was also a Demon place. They wore human skins but I recognized them. The easiest way was to look at their cars. If they drove a BMW then nine out of ten times they were a Demon.



The shopping center was looking more tired and seedy since the last time I had been here. The two biggest stores were the Safeway and MicroCenter. MicroCenter was a huge computer store. They had taken over the Lowes which was a big hardware store until Home Depot shut them down. That was the main reason I saw so many Demons around here. A computer store was like fresh dog shit on a summer sidewalk for them. They couldn't resist it's call. It was gone. My mood which was pretty good went to most excellent when I saw that. I asked Sharon, "What happened to MicroCenter?"



"They closed."



"I can see that. When and why?"



She shrugged and told me "A couple of weeks ago. Something about China not shipping stuff because of the dollar turning into toilet paper or something."



"Oh yeah." I vaguely remembered reading a newspaper article about it I had found when I was poaching. I took newspapers if I couldn't find toilet paper and the headline had caught my eye. It had been too complicated for me to grasp but it something to do with US Treasuries and how the Chinese were very unhappy about Treasuries being worthless due to our money policy or interest rates or something. I thought it was more Devil stuff at the time because one of the signs of the Devil was making things so complicated that a regular person couldn't understand them. Just like they did with my mortgage.



As we walked along the sidewalk in front of the stores which was protected from the sun and rain by the overhang of the roof I noticed other changes. The ballerina school had closed. That was sad. No more kids in there ballerina suits darting around the place like happy colorful little birds. The Pho soup place was still open. Asians always seemed to have money. They also seemed to have less Demons in their midst which puzzled me. Of all the races I had run across since being touched by the LORD white people had the highest Demon content. I was still having a difficult time with that revelation.



As we drew closer to the Safeway Sharon who had been quiet on the way up here start chattering away about what she planned on getting which was mostly "women" stuff. Some of the items she mentioned like Tampax made me uncomfortable. It was really more information then I felt like I needed. I was starting to tune out when she said "You can get something too. I mean, if you need something and it's inexpensive like a toothbrush..." I told her "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." What I was thinking was "Damn. Are my teeth that bad? I was going check them now as soon as I got back to the house."



We walked in to Safeway together. She was telling me "Lets check out the produce first and then buy." I had a feeling this was going to take much longer than I had anticipated. We both stopped and stared in surprise at what had happened inside. Sharon spoke first, "It shrunk!"



"No shit." The Safeway was still the same size but the aisles had been pushed further apart. A lot further apart. The flower and balloon section had disappeared completely. I said "I didn't know they made flowers in China too."



"Either did I."



We began exploring the store. The seafood section was still there but almost empty. So was the deli section. The produce section looked pathetic. Hardly anyone was working there and the ones we saw did not look happy. The floor looked funny. You could tell where the aisles had been once and it made the distance between them now look even larger.



Sharon whispered "Check out the shelves."



I did. At first I didn't understand. Then it clicked. There was no depth to the canned goods. It was hollow stocking with everything out front and nothing behind the first layer. We both looked at each other and she whispered again "This can't be good."



"Why are we whispering?" I asked her in a whisper.



"I don't know. Because it's so quiet in here. It's creepy."



She was right. The normal noises of a grocery store were gone. There was hardly anyone shopping and the ones that were pushing carts down the aisles looked lost. Almost all of them were on their cells and talking to whoever it was on the other end quietly. They looked as unhappy as the few employees we had seen. I grabbed the last toothbrush they had while Sharon picked out her stuff. While we were doing that a Safeway employee walked past us. Sharon called out to him "Hey! You seen James?"



He looked at her, his face twisting as he replied "Gone. Gone like everyone else damn near" and walked away. Over his shoulder he said loudly, far loudly then what he needed to be "Take a look up front and you'll understand. That is if the shelves haven't told you anything."



"What do you think?" I asked Sharon. Shall we go see what he is talking about?"



"Sure. You first."



As we walked towards the checkout counters I asked her, "Hey. You're the General. Aren't you supposed to lead?" I was only half joking too.



Her answer? "You're right. I will next time."



It didn't matter because by then we were already standing at the end of the aisle looking at the checkout counters. All twelve of them. Every single one of them except for one had been converted to self service. No more cashier jobs. The guy who had walked past us was helping a customer with her machine. I saw another Safeway person standing there in the last human run checkout. He was ignoring an old lady who was trying to get his attention. She was having problems with her automated check out too. Two other machines were busy. All of this was being watched by an unarmed security guard who looked sound asleep while still managing to stand upright.



I looked at the machines and saw the hand of the DEVIL working through the people running Safeway. The DEVIL...oh yes. I sniffed the air for any tell tale scents of his passing. All I smelled was produce gone bad and floor wax. No matter. He had been here. I walked towards the machine in front of me. No one was using it. I looked around. Didn't they understand? I walked over to the machine and looked at the LED screen. It had a happy photo of smiling people displayed and instructions on how to scan your purchase. "Scan this Devil!" I thought and raised my arms in the air. Below me I heard Sharon asking me "What the fuck are you doing?" I ignored her. It was time. Yes it was time. HE was coming. HE was coming into ME! HE KNEW! I threw my head back and screamed! The power was intense. The feeling HE generated lit up my nervous system like the Fourth of July.



I had everyone's attention. This I knew without looking. I looked up at the sky, well, actually the ceiling and screamed "The LORD knows! Then I gazed directly into the eyes of the woman a couple of machines over who had been trying to get someone to help her. Well, I was here to do exactly that. I thrust my arm out, my finger pointing directly at her, and said "You! You're having problems aren't you?" She nodded her head. "Why? Because it's a machine not a PERSON! Why isn't it a person? Because THEY want to replace us with MACHINES! WHY? Because they want more money to stuff into their already over flowing wallets. Do THEY care about us? Hell no. They are the DEVILS spawn. THEY want us to be slaves to their machines. THEY want us to worship them! THEY want everything we have and when we give it to them they throw us into the streets! THEY are evil. Their machines are EVIL. What THEY have done is wrong! Wrong!" I lowered my voice and looked around. One of the people who had been checking their groceries had their cell phone out and was filming me. Probably one of HIS agents. I didn't have time to deal with it.



I lowered my voice. I looked them and asked "You know this isn't right don't you." I saw a couple of heads nod including the woman I had focused on. "Then, when you leave here I want you to think about it. Think about how we can smash the machine together in the name of the LORD!" Then I yelled for Sharon. She came up to me and being a smart woman and a General she handed me the machete from her bag without me saying anything. I needed it for a couple of reasons. The main one was the security guard was standing at the end of the scanner telling me "Sir! Sir! You need to stop now please." He stepped back when I waved the machete. I told him "Go stand against the wall and don't move or reach for your cell." He said "Yes Sir" and walked backwards to the wall his hands up. I told him irritably "Put your hands down you fool. This isn't a robbery."



I looked around for Sharon. She was still standing where she had been but now she was looking stunned. "Get something you can Smite with Sharon!" She looked around and I saw her move to end cap on the aisle nearest to us. She came back with a can of refried beans clutched tightly in her fist. I looked at and thought "Damn. We really need to get some decent Smiting weapons. "

I looked at the scanner screen. I felt the weight of the machete in my hand. I lashed out with it into the screen. It didn't shatter like I expected. It wasn't glass as much as fake glass. "That figures" I thought. So I smashed it again and again. Then I moved on to the next one. As I did I yelled "KILL a machine! Save a job!" I began repeating it. It felt good. Especially when I shouted the "KILL" part. When I finished the fourth one I looked around. Sharon was banging away at one of the scanners and laughing like crazy. I beginning to think she was a little off. Everyone else was gone. Everyone except the guy at the only human register. He was watching and he looked like he was enjoying it. At least he was smiling which my guess was something he didn't do a lot of lately.



He told me "You two best haul ass. Abdul is out there talking on his cell and I doubt if it's his Mom." Sure enough I looked out the big glass windows and saw the security guy staring back in, talking and waving his free hand around like he was excited about something. I hadn't even seen him leave.



"Sharon!" I had to yell it twice to get her attention. "Time to go!'"



I told Check Out Man "Thanks. May the Lord bless you." I thought about making some kind of hand gesture as a blessing but I didn't want to look like one of the Devils Catholic boy humpers. He grinned and said "Go out the back door. Just go straight back through the double swinging doors."



"Come on Sharon." She had quit banging away at Devil machinery but was still laughing as she joined me. We started running towards the back. Behind us I heard Check Out Man yell "Thanks for shopping at Safeway!" I could still hear his laughter as went through the double doors.



We busted out the back door and stopped to look around. Nothing was waiting to greet us but an empty back lot and a fence to keep people from taking shortcuts through the woods to the subdivision behind them.



"Damn. That was fun!" Sharon said. She was still grinning. "That may have been the most fun I have had in a year at least.



"Yeah well you might want to put your can in your bag." I kept the machete for the moment. It wasn't SWORD but I had a duty to protect her.



"Yeah. That might be a good idea." She replied



She tucked the very dented can back in her bag and as I watched her I found myself missing my SWORD. Leaving it behind made sense but I still felt incomplete without it.



"Look what I remembered!" She held up the toothbrush I wanted to buy. She was looking in her bag and pulled a can of peaches out "See! We didn't waste our time.” She was pretty happy about that.



"But that's stealing!" I blurted.



She looked at me, cocked her head and let her smile fall off. "What? We just tore up a bunch of scanners belonging to Satanway and you're telling me we need to pay for your toothbrush? You're fucking nuts." She turned around, threw up her hand which met good-bye I think and started walking away.



"Wait!" I hurried after her. She wouldn't look at me when I caught up with her so I matched her long strides. We needed to get out of here anyways plus I need time to think. We made the sidewalk and turned off as soon as we could into the subdivision. As we did I said "Sharon. You're right. That was a stupid thing for me to say." She didn't say anything but I could see her looking at me out of the corner of her eye. We kept walking and all of a sudden I got scared. That happens to me sometime. Scared that she would leave me. Scared because of what she said. That I was “Nuts” and doomed to being alone forever.



Yes HE was with me. Yet HE never came by for weeks at a time and that left me with me. A me that lived in the woods in a crappy little tent until I had met her. A me that wondered sometimes what had happened? Was it my fault? Was I really crazy? That was the scary thought that I didn't like to see in my head because it would mean there was no HE. Just me imagining things. Which would make me one of those people. The idea that I might be one of the crazy people simultaneously scared me and made me want to cry. Because then I would be lost. Very, very lost. I would have no one except for me and that was not enough. Not anywhere near enough.



"Sharon."



She didn't answer so I said it again.



"What!" Yes. She was still mad. I could hear it in her voice.



"Do you really think I'm crazy?"



She stopped dead. It was like she had run into a brick wall. I kept going for another step so when I turned to look at her we were face to face.



"No baby." She surprised me then by taking her fingers and letting them trace a path down my cheek. "No. I think you are a good man and yes, I think you are Chosen."



"Really?"



"Yes. Really."



Damn that me happy. More happier than anything in my whole life. More happier than when I got a puppy so long ago. More happier than my best Christmas.



Happiness is a fleeting thing. Life makes sure of that. My reality was I knew things had changed between Sharon and I but there was no acknowledgment of that on her part. We got back to the house and she want in her room and didn't come out until the next day. I was sure I heard her crying at one point which puzzled me. What had we done that was so bad? Had I said something? The next morning she was up early and left with hardly a word spoken between us. I sought solace in my Bible but there were no words there for me that morning.



The killing of the two guys had not stirred up much of a response among those who were employed by the State. We stayed away from the area and kept SWORD out of sight. We were eyeballed by a few cops but never stopped for anything.



The State may not have know or cared about who opened up those two guys but the world I lived in had a good idea who did do it. I am sure someone probably snitched me out as a possible suspect but I was hard to find and I wore no electronic tethers to the big web which they could slide down on like spiders to spin me into custody. Plus no one cared enough to push them to investigate. They were probably filed away under "G" for "Good Riddance.



Our actions at Safeway were an entirely different thing. That stirred up a wasps nest. Killing the corporations machines was a serious affront to the Devil and he got his minions hopping. I left after she did. She didn't tell me where she was going but I was drawn to the shopping center out of curiosity. More than I had felt after gutting the Demons. I wanted to see if anything had changed or was it just another day of business as usual there. It wasn't business as usual. That had changed. A lot. I didn't want to get to close which meant I had to watch from the trees across the way. Not the trees where I wanted to look from either because there were a couple of County cop cars parked by the path leading to the Tree People encampment. They had gone in and dragged what Tree People they could find back to the road and had them in cuffs setting on the curb. I didn't connect that action with ours the Safeway at first.



I knew it was stupid but my feet had a mind of their own. They took me closer and closer. I still had not grasped how much HE knew what was best for him and how to use me to achieve it. HE truly works in mysterious ways.



I ghosted along the back end of the gathered people, cars, and media trucks. Someone from Safeway, an important Demon type based on how nicely she was dressed, was talking to a media guy. I drifted closer. I was fascinated by her teeth. They were so white! Cloud white! Sparkly day white! They drew me closer and closer those teeth. They were perfection in a face that was, at best, the usual Demonic bland lust cake face.



That's when I heard "That's him! That's him! He did it!" I looked over and saw an extremely excited security guard pointing at me. The same dufus from when we had attacked the evil job stealing machines. Damn. I turned around and began easing my way out of the people. I wanted to run but I knew then the hunters would not hesitate to give chase. I started praying "Oh LORD! I know I was an idiot for coming this close. Please help a fool out and make me invisible!" It didn't happen. It was a lot to ask on short notice I guess.



Then I heard another voice yell "Halt. You there! Don't move!" I recognized the tone in it. It was AUTHORITY. It sure wasn't dufus. Part of my brain was screaming "Run! Run fast!" I almost gave in to it too. Then I heard the LORD's voice say "You are The Chosen. You will not run like a common criminal. Turn and face the enemy!"



The enemy was cutting through the crowd like a couple of gray sharks towards me. Two Fairfax County officers moving big and fast. The sea of people drained away. One minute there was people. The next minute I was very alone and both of the officers had drawn their weapons. Weapons they were pointing at me. I froze. The one closest to me stopped and yelled "Hands behind your head! NOW!"



"Why were they yelling? They always yelled!" was what I thought as I slowly raised my hands up and put them behind my head. The Loud officer yelled "Gun! Holstered! Left Side!"



His partner responded "Got it!" He yelled too. He circled around so he could come up from behind me and pulled GUN out. I felt him back away from me. As he did the Loud Officer yelled "On your face! Now!" I eased myself to kneeling position, brought my hands down to the asphalt, and did a reverse push up. The asphalt was hot. Hot just like the Devils hell. I went the remaining distance to the ground a lot faster. Fast enough to bounce my face off the asphalt. Fast enough to feel little gravely nobs the size of ants become embedded in my forehead. Fast enough to see gold and red pain fireworks pinwheel in my eyes. At the same time I felt a weight in the small of my back and my arms being jerked back. They were going to cuff me. I hate being cuffed.



I have always hated being physically restrained in any way by anyone. I panic. It didn't help that everyone was staring at me either. I heard the Loud Officer say "Put him the car" and I was semi jerked upright. The officer behind me who had just helped me to feet leaned in close, close enough that I could smell lunch, and told me quietly "You're going to be okay. Breath deep and walk." He put one hand on my left shoulder and grabbed my right arm with his other hand and pushed me in the direction of their car.



During all this people wielding big cameras with fuzzy covered microphones were all around me. Some of the people with cell phone cameras were holding them up and in front of them like a believer would hold a cross. The vacuum that existed around me a minute ago was filled with people and all of them had their eyeballs feeding on me. A woman was shouting at me. Perfect teeth woman. She was shouting "Why! Why did you smash the checkouts!"



"Because machines steal peoples jobs!" I shouted back at her. I was pushed again. This time harder. The other officer was moving me too fast! Everything was moving too fast" I screamed "Kill the machines! Jobs for people! I am Chosen..." That's when I stumbled and fell to a knee. I wasn't down long. Just long enough to see Jesus as he carried and fell under his cross. I looked around for someone with a cloth for my bleeding head. Instead all I saw was smirks and a camera woman who was as focused as her lens on getting the shot. I was yanked upright and a few seconds later my head was being pushed down and I was being shoved into a cage with a seat and windows to stare out of into the faces peering in at me. I felt alone. Very alone.



We pulled away from the crowd with their faces still stuck in my eyes. I was trying to remember if I heard a few cheers and someone shouting "Kill the machines!" in the background. I was pretty sure I had. "Perhaps HE had sent angels?" I hoped so. Loud Officer was driving. His partner had stayed behind so I guess he wasn't really much of a partner. He was talking to someone on his radio, telling them secret code words of which the only thing I understood was "Subject" probably meaning me, was being transported and the time. I could see why he had to be alone in his car. The center of the car was filled with electronic boxes and a monitor screen like the kind we had beat on the day before. I think it was the day before. Time was so fuzzy that I wondered why people bothered with it.



I squirmed about trying to get my arms comfortable and trying to ignore my rising anxiety level about being cuffed. Loud Cop spoke to me "Relax. We'll be there in ten minutes or less." I began reciting the fear psalm to myself except I couldn't remember all the words. "The LORD is my shepherd. I will not want. He will lead me through green valleys where death and evil hang out." I heard Loud Cop laugh and then say "Hey holy man. This is how it goes" and then he began reciting it and I joined in. I could tell he felt awkward about it half way through but he kept going. I didn't say anything other than "Thank you" at the end.



Loud Cop spoke to the machine one more time when we arrived at the gate to the place I never wanted to go. It opened. We drove into a garage place except this one only had us parked in it and I don't think it was meant to park more than two cars and not for very long. Loud Cop got out, his car door closing echoed inside here, than I was on my way out of the car and into the beast house.



The officer inside behind the counter said, "Hey Dickson. Whatcha got for me? He was a Sheriff and not a real cop. Sheriff's were keepers of the cages and the people who came and threw you out of your home. He looked at me and back at Dickson and said "Nice job on the face." Then without looking at me he said, "Lose the attitude asshole" and handed Dickson paperwork to fill out. I wasn't hiding how I felt about Sheriff's and I really didn't care. Another Sheriff appeared behind me and took me by my arm. I turned to look back at Loud Cop Dickson but he didn't look at me. He just did his paperwork.



The beast house was very good at eating people. I was searched. Then I was asked for my ID, had my picture taken, given a wrist band, and then had my face looked at. The guy who did it was quick, professional, and seemed very nice. Then I was led into a cell that was empty except for me. I was glad. They had taken my belt so my pants were having a hard time staying on. I didn't want to end up in a cell with a bunch of guys and pants that wanted to drop to my ankles every time I let go of them



I wasn't sitting there long. They had stuck me in a cell with a metal bench along each of the three walls and a drain in the middle of the floor. I was the only one in there which I thought was strange. Especially considering how much traffic was going up and down the corridor outside my cell door. I sat there, stared at walls, and wished I had my Bible to read. Then I tried praying but I couldn't focus. At least the stupid cuffs were gone. I wondered if Sharon missed me. I wondered if I would get my belt back. I wondered if any of my stuff would still be at the house where I left it when I got out. I was going to miss SWORD. I wondered if they were going to feed me. I made a point of not wondering what it was going to be like when I had to take my first shower.



Lost in thought I was startled when the cell door opened and a skinny Hispanic Sheriff said, "Okay super star! Time to go." I just stared at him. He looked at me impatiently and snapped, "Get up! Your fan club is here." I got up and went out the door with the Sheriff following along behind me. "Okay. Make a right up here." Down the linoleum paved hallway I went. I ended up in a room with another Sheriff behind yet another room divider. The one that had let me out told the desk Sheriff, "Here's the Safeway Killer" and left. The desk officer looked up at me, studied me, then said "Sign the paperwork. I'll get your stuff." He unlocked the door to the room behind him and went down an aisle. The wall the door was set in, as was the door itself, was made of steel grating. I sniffed the air. It smelled like a Goodwill store, fast food, and old farts. A smell I decided I didn't want to breathe again if I had any choice.



I watched as he pulled a plastic bin off a shelf, check something on it against the sheet of paper he held, and then pull it down and carry it over to where I stood. I looked in and saw my stuff. Not very impressive. My belt, my wallet and 42 cents. I began threading my belt back through the loops all the while conscious that his eyes were on me. I looked up at him. He was still staring at me, nothing on his face but no Devil in his eyes. He told me, "Head out the door then make a right. Your legal team is waiting for you." I had no idea what he was talking about so I said "Thanks" and turned to leave. I made it almost to the door when he said, "You really try to shut down them self checkout things at Safeway?"



"Yes I did."



I waited. I knew he had more. He did.



"I heard what you said about them. You're right."



I smiled at him and said, "I know."



The room I found myself in was the good-bye room. Except it quickly turned out to be the hello room for me. A suit wearing, overweight, middle aged White man was grinning at me with a pretty decent set of choppers. Hovering at his elbow was a younger blond in the female version of the power suit complete with the immaculate frosted blond hair of an anchorwoman. She wasn't smiling so I couldn't check her teeth out. They both had American flag lapel pins. On his other elbow was a casually dressed, the business style casual, White guy in his early thirties who was grinning at me. He had good teeth too. Today I decided was White people with good teeth day. There was some serious money in those jaws.



The suit headed towards me and I briefly thought of running. He had his hand out for me to grip and amped his grin up to 1000 megawatts of sincerity. "Hello Chosen" was what he said. Without thinking I had my hand out and he was pumping it as Casual Man snapped a quick photo with his camera phone. I said "Hello" back. I didn't know what else to say. "My name is Tyler Waltham and the lady next to me is Amy Rogers. We're your legal team for this little spot of difficulty you have found yourself in. This gentlemen is Dennis Howlee who represents an organization that finds your actions to be very admirable. I shook hands with all of them. I shook more hands in the past couple of minutes then I had in the last year. I was grinning too. I couldn't help it. I wish I could stop. My teeth weren't in the same league as theirs were.



He touched me lightly on the shoulder and said "C'mon. Lets get you out of here and get a decent meal in your stomach." He turned, his minions turned, I turned, and by the time we had taken three steps they had formed a triangle wall of grinishness around me with Tyler talking and leading. "Don't be surprised when we leave here. Some people have turned out to see you. We'll get through that and be in the car and gone in a jiffy." He added as an afterthought, "If that's okay with you?" I nodded and said "Sure." I had no idea what was happening but everything seemed okay. They weren't wearing sunglasses at least and the food part sounded good. "Maybe they were angels in disguise?" I thought as we went out the door. We went out like we were sliding and the world got speedier because as we did.



The day just kept getting weirder for me. We hit the sunshine and there was more camera crews waiting for me then there had been outside the Safeway. There was even a flock of people outside waving signs. The Sheriffs deputies had them pushed back away from the door behind yellow tape. I stopped dead and so did my escort. I didn't realize until later that they were posing. Me? I was getting overwhelmed. The noise was like bees. Buzz! buzz! buzz! went their voices in the air around me. Their faces were like fish. Mouths opening and closing. Making their stupid BUZZING sound. Some of them even had sunglasses on! Then HE spoke to me "Do not worry. Some of the are our sheep. Some of them be wolves. Stop and look! Look for the signs!"



I thought "Okay. Will Do." I think he had already signed off which was nothing new. I felt Tyler nudge me and say "Let's go." I didn't move. I was looking for signs. I craned my neck and checked the sky. No. Nothing there except for it looked like we might be in for rain later. There was a stupid crow watching me from its perch on top of a light pole. It wasn't talking which was good. They liked to talk. Sometimes they would start yelling at me like I had done something wrong. I know HE loved them and all but I could care less.



I looked around and didn't see anything out of the ordinary and I had no idea what to do next. I mean signs were supposed to come from the sky usually. I hadn't seen a sky sign before but I guessed they were more noticeable than rainbows. Probably more like a tornado. Now Amy was whispering, "Let's go Chosen. Dinner will get cold." She was wearing some very nice perfume. Then it struck me! "Signs!" They were right in front of me. The problem was my eyes weren't that good and it had been awhile since I could afford contacts. Tyler was tugging on my arm again. So I moved and I did it quickly. I headed for the people waving the signs behind the tape and stopped short of the barricade tape by a few feet.



The signs said:



Save our jobs!



God want us to work!



Jesus was a Carpenter! Not a Machine!



Then the revelation hit me. The signs all had the same lettering and were made from the same materials. I had seen that done before downtown for the yearly Pro Life march. It was a revelation but not one I understood. Was HE telling me that these signs were made by HIM? That the people waving them were angels or servants like me of the WAY? I studied their faces. I didn't like them. I wasn't sure why. They looked okay but some of them had sunglasses on. Infiltrators? A disguise? They were looking at me but they weren't. Tyler and the other two were next to me again. Amy asking me "Please Chosen. Can we go?" The plea and the please caught me and I went with the tug this time.



So we went. We went past the media people thrusting microphones and yelling questions. Past the eyeballs and the chants of "Jobs for People! Jobs for People!" Past the Sheriffs deputies and courthouse workers and visitors who looked me like I was an alien. Tyler was saying every three seconds, "No comment. No comment" like a machine except he did it warmly and with a smile. All the way down the cement sidewalk to a waiting black SUV where a man waited to open the door for us. Us being Me, Tyler, and Amy. Dennis sat up front. He had to open his own door. Both Dennis an Amy were on their cell phones as soon as we were rolling. The driver had sunglasses on and a Devil implant in his ear to talk on. I was not liking this much on one hand and on the other it was so different that it was fun. I knew HE would guide me through all this and I was hoping that he wouldn't tell me to leave until after I ate dinner and maybe had desert.



I thought I might see Sharon in the crowd but she wasn't there. That was probably a smart move on her part. Plus it was a long way on foot for her to go. I hoped we didn't go too far away because I didn't want to have to walk for miles if I bailed out either. I was content for now to sit in the comfortable seat an enjoy the air conditioning. Of course Tyler had to start talking to me and ruin my quiet time.



"So Chosen I bet your wondering why we are all here... hmmm?" He chuckled.



"Because GOD sent you."



He blinked and I noticed Amy twitch. After a second he smiled and said, "Why yes. That is definitely one way to see it. Yes indeed." He cleared his throat and Amy quit mumbling to whoever was on the other end, hung up, and put on the "Attentive" face. It was weird, I was going to watch her more. Her face didn't move very much while Tyler's moved a lot but his eyes didn't change.



Tyler, who was sitting across from me, leaned forward and told me "Some of us think you are a special person Chosen. The video of you and that Black girl, what's her name?"



"Friend." I said it flatly. "Sorry Tyler" I thought "You don't get her name that easy. Not when you ride around in a car with a Demon for a driver.



He let my answer hang out there in the air for a second before continuing "...Yes...I see. Anyways. The video of you two smashing the self checkouts went .... What's that word again Amy?"



"Viral."



"Thank you Amy. Yes. That's it. Viral. You hit a nerve there Chosen. We seem to think you are on to something. Something big. Real big. We want to make you an offer. Get you on the team."



I interrupted him. "Who's we?" I was genuinely curious what he would say too.



He exchanged a look with Amy and said "Yes. I am kind of getting the cart before the horse. There is a complicated way to answer that and a simple way. Which way do you want it?"



"I'll go with the simple."



He laughed and Amy beamed at me. He said, "Great! Life's complicated enough as it is." Now he was back to leaning forward again and going for maximum eye contact. "We represent a consortium of churches and people who feel that America needs to go back to the simpler ways. The way it was in our Grandparents time. A world where the word of the Lord meant something. A time when there was not all this smut, violence, drugs, and wanton behavior. You know what I mean don't you Chosen?"



I answered "Are you a preacher Tyler?"



This sparked the biggest laugh so for. He slapped his leg and told me, "Good Lord no son. I am just a simple lawyer tilling in the vineyards for those much closer to the Lord than I can ever claim to be."



"You do know what consortium means don't you Chosen?" This was from Amy. She was smiling that little half smile. I had seen it before and I would probably see it again. It was the SUPERIOR smile.



"Yes Amy I do." I wanted to say more. Maybe something snippy. Instead I decided I was going to be on my best behavior. These people, I was pretty sure were not what they said they were but I was hungry and this all had to be part of HIS plan so I was going to see where it went. I really wanted to scream SATAN BITCH! in her face but while it would feel good it was not what the situation called for.



Tyler wanted to talk more but I didn't want to listen so I turned my face away from him and looked out the window. I was more interested in making sure I had a good idea of where we were than anything he had to say. Both of them tried to talk to me, Tyler twice, until he finally got the message and gave up. That didn't mean he stopped talking. Instead he and Amy talked and I could tell they were deliberately talking about me in hopes I would join in or at least ask a question. I tuned that out too.



It was getting late in the day and there were people out walking and riding their bicycles. More of them than I remembered on foot and less traffic then there should have been. I hadn't been out this way in a long time. Even when I had a house and car I didn't come out this way much. Then I spotted a Lemonade Girl. I loved every Lemonade Girl I saw but they were rare, very rare, and it was nice to spot one. Especially a summer Lemonade Girl.



Lemonade Girls were special for a lot of reasons. This one was walking down the sidewalk and magically the traffic thickened and I had a minute or two to capture her in my heart. She was walking with a friend. Her hair was brown with streaks of sun and she was wearing a white summer dress that came down to her knees. She was slim, perfect, and knew the secrets of butterflies. She was slender sweetness, innocence, and much of what she knew she didn't believe. She was white light, grass freshly mowed, summer brown skin, and wide eyed inside her heart and head.



She was someone who just by holding your hand as you walked down the street would make your heart burst. She was sitting on the porch, talking softly, and watching the fireflies dance while you drank lemonade in slippery clear glasses with ice that chimed. She liked animals of every kind and would cry when she told you about the squirrel she saw get run over that morning. She didn't understand that Demons danced late at night not far from where she slept. She was on the other side of a screen door, dinner cooking, and flowers. She was the one you loved until you died and who you would wait for on the other side if you went first. I never had a Lemonade Girl in my life and probably never would. As we left her behind I asked HIM to watch over and protect her.



I took a deep breath and blew it out. Seeing a Lemonade Girl was always good thing but it always came with a price. An ache in my heart like a bad bruise that took days to go away. I looked over at Tyler and asked him "When and where are we going to eat?"



"So you're back with us?" This was from Amy. It wasn't asked because she cared. She was angry because I hadn't acted right.



I thought for a second, ignoring the anger that flared up. Ignoring my stomach rumbling. I was The Chosen One. I lived in the woods and lived on his WORD. Not other peoples handouts and charity. HE guided me and sheltered me under his wing. I needed nothing from no one.



"Stop the car!"



What?" Tyler looked genuinely puzzled. "Do you need to use the bathroom Chosen?'



I ignored him, looked at Amy and said "You speak like a serpent. You look like a harlot and your face is a mask behind which nothing but emptiness, spite, and desire for what you cannot have spends its time chasing shadows." Then I leaned forward, grabbed the drivers throat hard and said "Stop the car or in the name of HE who rules or we're going to test the airbags."



The SUV jerked a bit, hinking over into the next lane by a half of a car width before the driver got it steadied and back in the lane. While he was doing that he was whispering "Don't do this man." I felt his hand on my arm and I tightened my grip. My head was next to his ear so it was easy to whisper back, "I know you. I will rip your throat out." His hand dropped away and so did the speed of our SUV. He choked out something that sounded a lot like "I'm going hurt you." I took a quick look over at Dennis in the passenger seat. He was staring at me and raising his cell to his ear.



I looked at him and said, "Don't." He slowly put the cell back down.



Tyler looked like he was going to have a heart attack while Amy looked like a woman I had seen at the mall once who had just been told none of her cards were any good. I said "Last time. Stop the FUCKING CAR!" I had long ago decided that swearing was okay as long as HIS name was not used in vain. HE seemed okay with it too. I secretly thought he probably swore too. Why not? His world was pretty messed up and filled with irritating idiots.



The driver flipped his right turn signal on and we pulled over into an empty parking lot drifting to a stop. By then Tyler had regained his composure and was telling me "Look Chosen. It's okay. Calm down. We're here to help you."



I didn't let go of the drivers throat and replied "How's that Tyler?"



He sighed. "Chosen. We got Safeway to drop the charges. We hoped to take you to a house not far from here where we could have dinner. Then we wanted to talk about our organization and what kind of role we see you playing in it." He smiled, an added "The house would be yours to use while you thought about it." He smiled sadly and added "Your choice. We don't kidnap people." He gestured to the door "Go ahead. If you want we will get out and the driver will take you where ever you want to go."



I noticed Amy's eyes get a little bigger when he said the last part but she was a team player so she chimed in with "I'm sorry if I said anything the offended you Chosen. Please stay and eat with us at least." She smiled.



I waited and thought about it. HE wasn't saying pro or con so I let go of the drivers throat, telling him, "Sorry about that." He didn't say anything. He just rubbed his throat.



Tyler held up a hand "No. No. Not all. You have been through a rough time and we are strangers. If it is anyone's fault it is mine. I did not communicate very clearly our intentions." He told the driver "It's all right. Go ahead." The driver didn't say anything. Instead he shifted to drive an eased us back on to the road. As he did Tyler told me "Please. If you have any questions, doubts, or anything...please tell one of us. Dennis up there..." He pointed at Dennis in the front seat just in case I had forgot he was there "Is going to help you out." Dennis was looking over his shoulder listening and watching and took that as his cue to say "Yes Sir!" He favored me with a grin and told me "Anything you need or any questions you might have. Just ask."



So I asked him "What's for dinner?"



Everyone thought that was funny or at least pretended too. I pretended to smile too. Tyler said to Amy "Go ahead and tell him what you have on the menu." That made her happy. She was one of those who liked talking about what they did and then would expect to be showered with praise cookies. She told me, "A nice salmon, not a farm raised one either. This is a genuine Icelandic salmon." She stopped and I threw her a cookie telling her "That sounds good." She bobbed her head and smiled like a grateful child adding "Also we have wild rice and a fresh field greens salad with a balsamic dressing." Everyone agreed we were going to be feasting tonight. I wondered if the driver was going to be invited. I doubted it.



So we chattered away. Well they did. Actually Tyler did. He was a Jabberwocky. He talked to talk and he talked to feed on the approval his talking generating. He was a word vampire. The sentences went out of his mouth skinny and he waited for them to come back fat as ticks with others approval juice plumping them up for his snacking pleasure. I was sure he was a lawyer now.



We pulled into a driveway of house not very far, if I was right about where I thought we were, from Chain Bridge and the good part of DC. That meant this would be one of the older parts of Arlington. It looked like it too. The houses were red brick and not as big as the castles that had sprung up further out. It was quiet here too and I could smell the lawns. I had only driven through here a few times and it always struck me as being a different part of the DC area. Different in that I half way expected to see cars with fins and "Nixon in 72" bumper stickers.



We all got out of the SUV and after I closed my door I knocked on the driver's window. It slid down smoothly to reveal a dark carefully impassive dark face "Yes sir" was his greeting to me. It was not said as a question. Rather an acknowledgment that he had to acknowledge me because life was a bitch and often unfair. I told him "Would you like to have dinner with me?" His eyes flickered. With surprise partially, and also because he understood what I meant when I asked him to join "Me."



"No sir. Thank you for asking."



Dennis hadn't closed his door and was leaning in watching this. When Driver had told me that I had seen what Dennis and the rest hadn't seen. A flicker of a smile. He knew, and now I knew he knew. Amy was already calling my name so I walked around the front and slapped the hood lightly as I passed. The driver wasn't a demon. He was camouflaging himself from them.



Dinner was very good. The house was barely furnished which Amy apologized repeatedly for. There was a couch and chairs in the living room. The dining room had a table with enough chairs and the bedrooms all had beds and dressers. I didn't understand why she was apologizing at all and I asked her "Why are you apologizing? The place is fine." She started telling me about how she would have like to color coordinate that chairs and that tile didn't match the walls. She kept going but I tuned her out. Especially as it dawned on me that she didn't really cook the dinner we were having. She had "planned" it.



A Latino woman, named Rosa, who was never introduced as a person, and whose name was only used by Amy when issuing a command like, "Rosa! We can start serving." Later, when she wasn't present, everyone agreed on what a wonderful cook "Rosa" was and Dennis added "She is such a giving Christian and help to our ministry." I let Tyler say grace. They pushed pretty hard for me to say it but I decided I would eat first and see which way this was going. Plus sometimes my brain wouldn't cooperate and I had problems forming sentences. I felt like I was skirting the edge of one of the spells and I didn't want them to hear it. They wouldn't understand that it was part of the blessing HE had bestowed on me.



They all began talking about Rosa and her great tamales and enchiladas and how they would get her to make them for me if I wanted them for dinner tomorrow. I told them "I hate Mexican food. It isn't American and it's made by JOB STEALERS!" That produced a bit of an awkward silence for everyone but me. The TRUTH is not awkward. It is what it is. While they were busy digesting that I leaned across Dennis and forked the last bit of salmon. Unfortunately it was crumbly and part of it landed in his lap on the flight back to my plate. At least it broke the silence that had met my comment.