Don't Fear The Reaper (31 page)

The heads leapt from the necks eagerly. The headless bodies toppled to
the ground and spurted endless amounts of blood. The heads rolled.

Elias should have felt the urge to scream and run back into the depths of
the cavern, away from this monstrosity. Nevertheless, a placated sense of ease
and tranquillity settled into him. The presence of the hooded dark figure
comforted him. Perhaps it was because not even men with guns could hurt him if
the figure was around.

The figure floated towards him and to meet its gaze Elias had to tilt his
head right back. With one skeletal hand that was big enough to envelope Elias’
head, the figure rested it gently on him.

The smouldering ruins and charcoal blackness the figure had emerged from
vanished and spun faster and faster until the colours blurred together and then
as one single unit. Then Elias found himself standing next to a dark, faceless
figure somewhere high up. He knew this because all across the vista were
mountain peaks and beneath the valleys serpentine roads traversed through
environing farmlands and inconspicuous villages.

They stood in the centre of a circle of people shining green from the
inside as well as the outside. Their combined light pulsed rhythmically in
unison to soundless music. The marble stone that was erected into a vertical
rectangle hummed softly. Then the ground around this statue parted and the
stone was swallowed in one slow, fluid motion into the earth.

The hundreds inside this stone-constructed auditorium stared directly at
him waiting with inhuman patience for his next command. Elias didn’t know what
was happening, although what he understood was this: he was their leader.

The world was his.

Sitting at the centre on a chair thousands of years old, Elias arched his
head back and gazed wonderingly at the crimson skies.

The sky is bleeding!

The scene rotated as though he were dizzy. Then it spun faster and faster
and faster until the crowd and the mountains and the valleys became one. He
thought all this out-of-control spinning was going to make him sick.

Then he found himself tottering with his head arched back at the mouth of
the cavern. The smouldering ruins that had once been many shades of green
smoked and the headless corpses still lay unmoving where they’d fallen.

The dark cloaked figure with the skeletal hands had gone.

Elias peered closer to where the rickety old carriage had rolled to a
halt. Not a trace of wheel marks or tread was to be seen.

ST JOHN THE
BAPTIST CHURCH
was a sagging single-story construction, settling into the
earth like a weary geriatric. The windows were intricately webbed. Only the trace
of colours remained, mostly diminished and greyed. The path to the door was
splintering. Up close Perkins hadn’t spotted much change. However, now standing
back at a place he knew as home he saw for the first time the conspicuous
damage that had been inflicted upon the stone church.

The steeple had buckled and leaned over drunkenly. The gradient he’d
ascended when he’d been looking for Jane was covered in faded and demoralised
headstones. The quiet he’d known and grown accustomed to he’d once relished now
emanated an eerie forsaken aura. 

All he had to do was close his eyes and reminisce. His memory depicted a
clear vision of altar boys and choir members arriving at the rear entrance half
an hour before the main door was to be opened and the service to proceed. The
main road was a couple hundred yards down the slope and on Sunday mornings was
often deserted. When the trees had leaves and the grass bore a fresh green hue
and dulcet birdsong came from high up in the branches, Perkins thought it the
ideal location for his sermons.

The religious and non-religious folk attended; the latter not as
devotedly. Nevertheless, he welcomed them all the same. This was the same
church where once the service had reached its conclusion, and he either
travelled to the next local church or retired for the day, middle-aged and
older women and men of the parish gathered to mingle and tea and biscuits. What
he found most depressing was how the building’s dilapidation and lack of
attendance hadn’t anything to do with people no longer feeling obliged to
attend, either through losing faith or moving to another district. No, the
sight of the moss-coated ruined building before him falling out of use was the
harrowing result of their dire circumstances.

The hardwood door squealed in protest on its unused hinges as it swung
open. The musty odour billowed out as though fleeing sinister ghosts within.
The curved archway that offered a dusty and shadowy vestibule was merely a
shell of the resplendent sunshine that often shone through on those memorable
Sunday mornings.

Tears pooling in his eyes, Perkins edged farther inside. Using his
battery-powered flashlight, the reverend approached the notice board and read
by the cone of white light.

Flyers for funeral directors and professional photographers adorned the
left-hand side. Towards the centre there was a Thank You card from parishioners
and other townsfolk thanking the groundskeeper for cutting the tall grass and
clearing the pathways to their relatives’ graves. A pink flyer announced COFFEE
MORNING! The devoted members who mingled after the service had arranged a
coffee and cake gathering to raise money for breast cancer. The date of the
event never came about. December 11 2006.

Perkins couldn’t read any more.

With a hard lump lodged in his throat, he retreated back outside and
closed the door gently. He leaned against the stone wall – the only thing
keeping him from collapsing to his knees and throwing in the towel.

‘Anthony!’

Perkins blinked away his brimming tears and focused in the direction he
heard his name being called out.

Jonesy was ambling up the gravel path.

‘Suppose Jane told you what she saw?’

Jonesy nodded confirmation. ‘Aye. I thought I slept like shit, but least
I didn’t have no weird arse dream or premonition.’ The gun shop proprietor who
had left a humble life prior to the aftermath approached the young man. ‘Ya
look like shit, no offence.’

‘None taken.’

‘Can I ask you somethin’?’ Jonesy stared at him, serious.

‘Yeah.’

‘Do you really believe in demons and angels ’n all that shite? Or are
there just some crazy fuckers out there who’ve seen where we are and thought
they can loot our stuff?’

Perkins swept his fringe off his clammy brow and sighed. ‘I don’t doubt
Jane’s vision for a second,’ he said with a heavy heart. ‘Everything we’ve seen
has happened. There’s no reason not to believe her. She’s clearly distressed
and anxious, as she well be. I dunno what to do. How am I supposed to protect
Sapphire? I mean it’s hard enough getting clean drinking water and food in our
bellies, let alone fighting against the dark lords.’

Jonesy motioned for Perkins to sit on the cold stone step of the church.
Then he did the same and gazed out at the mist swirling around them. ‘You
genuinely believe that your sister wasn’t off her rocker when she wrote that
letter you showed me, right?’

Perkins confirmed that that was correct. ‘I don’t know how or why we know
these things without a single shred of proof – we just
know
. I dunno
what Sapphire is supposed to do when he comes of age. I’m not sure what my part
in all this is or yours.’

‘You see,’ Jonesy said, sounding optimistic. ‘You haven’t lost your
faith; just momentarily misplaced it.’

‘This isn’t about believing in God, Jonesy. This is doing what’s good
instead of something evil.’

Jonesy shrugged indifferently. ‘To me that’s all life is about.’

‘What d’you mean?’

‘Look, I don’t think there’s a big motherfucker called God watching us,
but I do believe that every important thing happens for a reason. To me, when I
die, all I want is people who really knew through and through to be able to
say, “overall the good in Jonesy by far outweighed the bad”. And that’s all
anyone can ever do. If we die and that’s it, it’s outta my hands. If we die and
you get rewarded for every good deed and for being a genuinely good person,
fuckin’ great!’

‘In the Bible it says, “God helps those who help themselves”. But I gotta
be honest with you, mate, we’ve more than helped ourselves and I see no God
helping.’

Jonesy stared at the ground and kicked up a plume of asphalt. ‘My
personality or soul or whatever got scarred when my mum sold my dog behind my
back for cash for herself. That broke my heart forever. That’ll never be fixed.
But if you loved someone the way I loved my dog then you’ll keep doing the good
things in their name as well as for yourself. All your sister is asking is to
do your best in the task she’s asked of you, that’s all.’

‘And how am I supposed to do that, huh?’

‘These demons on bikes who’ll be here before sunset are coming here to
kill Sapphire, right?’

Perkins nodded.

‘So obviously they believe that Sapphire is a threat to this Grim Reaper
motherfucker and themselves. This proves what your sister wrote in her last day
is true.

‘Why don’t you take the kid and get in the van and head to my place? When
the three wankers come here I and the others won’t say a word. If they threaten
us with our lives – and let’s face it, we’re on borrowed time as it is – I’ll
tell them you gone west. Meanwhile you and the kid make yourselves something to
eat from my freezer and head north or east. Plenty more guns and ammo back at
my place. We got Uzi’s, colt’s, revolvers, assault rifles and shotguns here.’

Perkins shook his head forcefully. ‘I can’t do that.’

‘You can and you will. Otherwise surviving up until this point will be a
waste of fuckin’ time; that I can tell you for certain.’

‘I can’t,’ Perkins said, restraining the urge to sob. ‘He’s attached to
Smokey. I can’t take the cat with us. If Sapphire saw him die he’d be crushed.’

Jonesy averted his gaze. ‘Aye. The only reason I got close to him ’cause
he reminds me of when I was his age with my dog. Apologise again for using bad
language ’round him though. That’s my bad. Wasn’t thinking.’ Jonesy too was
letting his emotions surface. ‘Nice kid, ain’t he? Even if he wasn’t the
destined saviour-to-be, he’s a good kid. Nice to everyone. Didn’t quiz me or
Jane when we arrived here; just welcomed us as though we were old friends.
Pity. Most adults I knew couldn’t ’ave done the same even before this
cluster-fuck.’

Neither of them spoke for several minutes.

Dead leaves scuttled and scraped across the asphalt path.

‘There is something special about him,’ Perkins said. ‘But I can’t leave
Sue or Natalie or Jane.’

‘They’ll understand,’ Jonesy said, using the cuff of his shirt to dab his
eyes. ‘As soon as Jane told them exactly what was going down and you came out
here, they started talking ’bout the little ’uns wellbeing. Didn’t give flying
fuck ’bout themselves. No sir. God or no God, those girls in your home are
fuckin’ angels, I kid you not. I’ll pump those three shit-faced cock-masters
full of lead and punch, kick head-butt, spit and swear like fuck before I let
them get their hands on them. You can take that to the bank and cash it in, no
problem.’

‘It’ll break his heart to leave Smokey, though.’

Jonesy tilted his head to one side in a sharp movement. ‘Aye. Those
fuckers don’t care ’bout that though. Just like my ma and all the kids at
school used to make fun of me for crying all the time ’cause of my dog. Some
people just don’t give a fuck. Some people used to sit around and watch me cry
while laughing their cocks off. Some people just wanna watch the world burn…’

‘Are you sure about this?’

Jonesy patted Perkins on the shoulder and smiled. ‘There’s no other way… If
it’s safe and those fuckers ’ave gone I’ll walk to my place and see if you’re
still there – but don’t hang around any longer than a day. Sapphire is not old
enough to deal with this shit yet. You wanna be as far away from the Reaper and
his followers if you’re gonna ’ave any chance of getting through this.’

Perkins reciprocated the gesture and patted Jonesy back. Then with
Jonesy’s help, Perkins got to his feet. ‘Guess me and the kid better start
packing some stuff for our trip then.’

‘Aye. I’ll carry on loading my bitches with lead for the cock-suckers on
motorcycles.’

The young reverend chuckled softly. No matter how dire and harrowing the
situation you could always count of Jonesy’s cussing vernacular to sum up your
thoughts and feelings…

*

Natalie
retired to the room she shared with Sue, Smokey and Sapphire. She needed to be
alone. Perkins had returned to the vicarage with Jonesy and announced he and
Sapphire would be taking their leave.

Jonesy had kept company with Sapphire in the living room. They looked so
adorable playing with Smokey. Meanwhile, Perkins explained to the three women
what the plan was. Natalie protested adamantly. Nevertheless, the young man
before her who had been like an adopted son firmly stated why he’d come to this
conclusion.

Sue concurred once Perkins had explained and she’d considered what he
said. Jane apologised, although there had been no need. If anything, her vision
might have been the single most paramount aspect that saved the young boy.

What was worse for Natalie was that all this would take place right here,
right now.

‘Perhaps it wasn’t a vision; it was just a nightmare,’ Jane said, weighed
down with guilt.

Perkins had shaken his head. ‘No. If that was the case then all our
visions wouldn’t have been accurate.’

After much debate Natalie, shaking with sudden realisation that two of
the closest people she had left in this Godforsaken world would be leaving her.
The likelihood that she’d never see them again bowled her down with the same
impact a locomotive would have achieved. Her chest felt heavy and taut. Her
breathing became strained. A mechanical hammer continuously thudded the inside
of her head. This was worse than dying, she thought. This was dying a slow,
agonising death.

She’d already witnessed the graphic killing of her husband, John. In the
bunker when the asteroids started falling and thundering into the planet’s
foundations she’d lay in a foetal ball. The pitch darkness wasn’t dark enough.
She’d squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for it all to end in that instant.
Instead her mind replayed the vivid memory of the mass murderer shooting John
at close range and his lifeless body toppling into gravity’s relentless grip
before smacking the unyielding surface.

It took Perkins days to convince her to eat something before she
perished. As the months dragged on every waking moment felt like drowning. She
prayed to an ignorant god to end her misery; to allow her to go wherever John
had gone.

The worst kinda suffering is when the mind and heart have been broken
beyond repair but the body still functions as normal, refusing to die.
She’d
thought that then and she thought that now.

Natalie had never considered herself religious or someone who had faith.
Yet as she got to know John more and they married and shared memories together
she believed in imperative matters, such as life after death, and good
prevailing over evil. Now she loathed herself for being fooled into thinking
that. John had been the most magnanimous and charitable person she’d ever
known. And it wasn’t as if he was rich and famous with money falling out of his
arse. But whatever he could do to help someone, even slightly worse off than
himself, he’d bend over backwards.

The door to the bedroom was closed. However, through the walls she could
hear the cries of Sapphire as Perkins evidently broke the news that they must
leave.

‘I’m not leaving Smokey!’ the young boy wailed.

The cries and the wailing were knives slicing through Natalie’s mind.

Moments later there came a loud rap upon the door. Natalie spun her head
to face the door behind her and opened her arms for a teary-eyed Sapphire to
run into her warm embrace.

‘I don’t wanna go! I don’t wanna go!’ he cried into her sweater.

Natalie held him close, feeling the damp of his tears soak her sweater,
savouring every part of the young boy’s body and soul. She shushed him and
stroked his hair assuring him that everything would be all right. She hated
herself for it, as there was no assurance. This was their home. They stayed
here and waited for the world to get back onto its feet. Now that dream became
a fantasy. Reality was a cruel ball of spikes being kicked at you too fast to
duck and avoid.