Sanctuary (16 page)

Jennie

Jennie felt suddenly dizzy. Rumblin
g
grew that sounded neither like thunder nor of alien origin. The unlit candlesticks on the podium at the front of the sanctuary rattled and fell over. A general murmur through the crowd increased, and the lights, which wavered a moment before, went out completely. Darkness narrowed her vision. Only a little light came through the frosted windows close to the ceiling of the church.

The hand which had been set at the small of her back wrapped around her shoulder now. She grabbed the back of a pew to steady herself in the blackness, and she couldn’t help but cry out, “Mickey, are you okay?”

His sweet voice answered immediately from just in front of her. “I’m fine.”

A sigh of relief escaped her lips, and she felt her way along the pew to the sound of his voice. She could just see the shine of his eyes in the dim light, and she sat down on the pew next to him, wrapping her arms around him. Brad’s hand released her, but he sat down next to her as well.

Pastor Billy cleared his throat and called out to the crowd. “Everyone, can I have your attention please?”

The murmuring subsided.

“Great. I think that we’ve just experienced a little tremor. An actual earthquake. They’ve been happening a lot since the aliens arrived. All over the world, but here in Virginia, the fault lines are weaker and quakes are less common. In the Bible, they are known as birth pangs…”

Brad leaned in and whispered, “I guess we can’t go to a church without hearing a sermon, huh?”

Jennie nodded but continued to listen.

“…So, we need not worry about this. It was called for. I even have theories that all of this is called for in the book of Revelation. Maybe at some other time we could discuss that as well. For now, let’s all just remain calm, and if I could get a hand from someone whose night vision is better than mine, we’ll see if we can find some candles.”

“I’ll help,” Mr. Harris called from the corner.

Jennie’s eyes were adjusting to the dark also, so she released her brother and leaned forward to stand. Brad’s head shook slightly in the dim light. He called out in his deeper voice, “I’ll help.”

The shadow version of Mr. Harris faltered in his step but continued toward Pastor Billy. There seemed almost to be magnetic poles between the two brothers causing them to repel each other in an obvious way. They stood to opposite sides of the pastor.

After a moment, Brad came back and handed an unlit candle to Jennie. Even in the dim light, she could see his perfect white teeth gleaming. She would even be willing to bet that there was a wink involved that she couldn’t see, as he said, “Here you go, Gorgeous.”

It sent a shiver down her when their fingers touched, and she accepted the long, thin candle. The wax was smooth, and she feared it would slip through her fingers if she didn’t hold it tightly. A bright flash of light filled the room, causing another murmur. It was followed soon after by the rumble of thunder.

“Can I have one?” Mickey asked, his little hands reaching out toward Brad.

“Sorry, Sport. These are for the grown-ups.” He rubbed the top of Mickey’s head and started toward the next set of people.

Mickey whispered in Jennie’s ear, “I don’t like him. He’s not very nice.”

Jennie was taken aback at her little brother’s words. She’d never heard him talk about anyone in such a way. “Give him a chance, Mickey. Little kids can’t hold lit candles because they have fire on them. You know what Mom and Dad say about playing with fire, right?”

In the dark, Mickey nodded and crossed his arms. “I still don’t like him.”

She was about to ask why when she felt the shadow of someone else draw near. “Here you go.” With a long lighter, he lit the candle in Jennie’s hand. The shadows and light played on Mr. Harris’s face, and he forced a small smile at her. She saw a momentary sadness in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before and couldn’t help but wonder again what kind of man he was. Before she could say anything in return, he had moved on.

Brad

Brad had been sitting i
n
the dark with a candle in his hand long enough for it to dribble hot wax on his skin. He wiped it away and looked around the room. What was left of the sunlight outside had begun to fade and caused the church to fall into otherwise pitch black with the exception of the occasional point of dancing candlelight. Everyone listened to the continued mechanical voice of the emergency broadcast system over the winding radio. Now and then, Pastor Crawford would pick the radio up and wind it again with successive turns that seemed like more work than the energy returned from it. Definitely an inefficient system if Brad had ever seen one.

Finally, the large pastor stood up at the podium again. He set his two candles in the sticks at both sides and let the light wave over his face. Wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt, he raised his voice over the constant patter on the roof. “Well, folks, we were planning on leaving for one of the military bases by now. But this storm going on outside would make driving and keeping lookout for unmentionables difficult.”

To punctuate his words, another flash of lightning lit the room. “So, it seems we’ll be staying here for now. The good news is that we’ve got enough supplies to feed our small crew here, and the church has a gas stove. My wife would like one or two hands in the kitchen but no more than that, even though I’m sure most of you ladies would like to help.”

The lights in the room flickered back on and the small crowd nearly cheered. Brad blew out his candle and looked around again. His brother still stood at the back of the room with his arms crossed. Hugh’s eyes bore into his when Brad glanced back. He smirked and continued his scan of the room. Mrs. Crawford had already garnered help from two of the older ladies and headed for the kitchen. The small black man had started collecting the candles and placing them in a box, after making sure that the wicks were well snuffed between his calloused fingers.

Jennie’s little brother sat on her lap, talking animatedly with the two other little rugrats sitting in the pew behind them. Brad leaned in over Jennie’s shoulder. “Hey, doesn’t this place have a nursery with toys in it?”

She looked back at him with a smile and nodded. “Yeah, it does.”

When she turned and blew a raspberry on the boy’s cheek, Brad winced. The boy giggled.

“Hey Mickey, want to go show Aaron and Alicia to the nursery?”

The boy finally hopped from Jennie’s lap and said to the other two kids, “Come on. Let’s go!” Like birds taking flight for the first time, the smaller brother and sister released their mother and took off after Mickey down the hallway. Brad returned the mother’s look of gratitude and relief with a wink. Jennie smiled and stood to follow the kids.

Brad stood with her and placed a hand on her back as they walked. He couldn’t help but glance at his brother with a smirk. Hugh narrowed his eyes.

A few small rooms comprised the remainder of the church after the main sanctuary. Mickey’s voice echoed off the walls of the hallway that connected a men’s room, ladies’ room, a nursery, one small classroom, and the kitchen, which was large enough to house a few large tables for dining. Chatter and clanging pots and pans greeted them when they passed the kitchen.

They entered the well-lit nursery where colorful toys were stacked in cubby holes and placed neatly on shelves. Because the ceiling was lower in this area and there was more insulation above, the storm could barely be heard. As self-appointed leader, Jennie’s brother grabbed a board game from a cubby and announced, “Candyland!”

The three kids crowded around the small toddler table in the middle of the room and started calling out colors they wanted to claim. Jennie helped the three set up the game before she returned to the doorway to hang out with Brad while watching the kids.

“There will probably be even more kids at the base when we get there,” he offered.

She nodded. “I hope so.”

“So, what were you doing when the aliens arrived? Were you in school?”

Jennie nodded again. “At Tech. I remember I was in chemistry class at the time. The room had no windows, but someone came rushing in from the hall to yell at another kid in the class that he needed to go outside to see what was going on. Our whole class stepped out on the drill field and looked at the sun. It took a lot to not stare and go blind. The sun was just so huge and weak looking, you know.”

Brad nodded. He was right; she was a college kid. That had to make her at least 19 or so. Too young for Hugh, but not for him.

“Where were you?” she asked.

“I was working in the shop on a Mustang that came in for a cat-back—” The confusion on Jennie’s face forced Brad to explain, “A muffler job from the catalytic converter back. Anyway, I had the music up loud on my iPod and couldn’t hear what Joe, my foreman was yelling, but I saw him run out of the shop. Confused, I followed him out of the garage and saw the sun, too. Only about a minute later, we saw the huge silver ship pass by on its way for Norfolk. It was the scariest effing thing I’d ever seen.”

Her eyes grew wide. “My friend and I drove out to see it, and I have to agree. It was the scariest thing I’d ever seen; I couldn’t get away from it fast enough.”

“Right. The hairs on my arms were standing on end, and you could feel the hum the thing made.”

Jennie nodded again. She had hardly taken her eyes off her brother while they talked, and Brad could respect that. He hadn’t asked yet, but he imagined that the kid was all she had left. When she finally pulled her gaze away from the kids to look at Brad, he felt almost embarrassed by her inspection. “So you work at a garage?”

He smiled and nodded once.

“Your brother is Mr. Harris, and doesn’t he have like a PhD or something? I heard someone say he did when I was in school.”

The girl pulled no punches, but how was she to know the subject was a little touchy? Brad set his jaw for a moment before saying, “He’s still working on the PhD. You can imagine how much I disappoint my parents with what they consider a rebellion.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that.”

“No worries.”

“How much younger than him are you?”

“I’m 23, and he’s nearly four years older.”

She yawned and covered her mouth. Tired tears sprang into her eyes.

“I’m boring you, huh?” he asked with a smile.

Mortified, she shook her head adamantly. “No, not at all.”

“I’m just kidding. We’re all tired. I doubt anyone’s gotten a good night’s sleep in days.”

“That’s for sure.”

They watched the kids for a little while. There was something very likeable about this girl. Her honesty and innocence melded together making her more real than the girls Brad had dated lately. She was young and energetic yet reserved and opinionated. He could see why she garnered Hugh’s interest. Too bad for Hugh, Brad got to her first.
You snooze; you lose.

Hugh

Hugh wanted to protect Jenni
e
from his brother but had no idea how. What was he going to do— tell her what a jerk Brad was? That worked out real well when it came to Clarissa, didn’t it? Clarissa left anyway. He clenched his teeth and bided his time. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if Brad’s sole interest in the poor girl was because Hugh, himself, had been kind to her and tried to help her. It was a frustrating prospect. Of course Brad’s interest could just as easily be due to the fact she was the only girl in the room under thirty.

“I wouldn’t even have come here except to help Maria and her two little ones. I was heading straight for the base to see what I could do to help,” Caleb said, pointing a gnarled finger in the general west. Although he was five feet, five inches at the tallest, Caleb did have a commanding presence with his straight spine and square jaw. The shorter black man had a bit of grey mixed in with his hair, but it made him look more distinguished rather than old. “I retired from the Air Force only eight years ago and would have reported soon after the aliens had come if not for my wife.” His voice cracked, as he continued, “But now, God rest my Sophie, nothing is holding me back.”

Hugh stepped closer, making it more obvious that he was listening instead of just eavesdropping. Pastor Billy adjusted his glasses and nodded in response. The much taller blond pastor cleared his throat. “Yes, God rest your Sophie. But we don’t even know what’s going on, or what the military is doing in all of this. What would be your plan be?”

“They’ve got to have people who have been studying these things. The scientific community within the military is made up of the best. They must be focusing on the aliens’ behaviors, habits, finding weaknesses, that kind of stuff. I know I might not be as much as I used to be, but with manpower down like it is, I’ll help where I can.” He set a hand on Hugh’s shoulder. “And I hope you younger men might give a hand, too.”

Hugh smiled. “You make a convincing recruiter, that’s for sure.”

Caleb nodded reassuringly and gave Hugh’s shoulder a squeeze before releasing it. “I don’t know what kind of bad blood is going on between you and that other young man, your brother, but you might consider patching things up. You never know when it might be too late to do so, and we need every able hand we can get in this. We need to concentrate on battling the common enemy now and set petty differences aside.”