Darkness Risen, Richard Shekari [best ereader for textbooks .txt] 📗

floor. We were together, I mean, they were right there with me. After about a minute or so, I got up from the floor and…They were all gone. My children, they had all disappeared.”

“How do you mean, Sandra?” he asked, “Aren’t they supposed to be at school?”

“No!” She replied, stuttering. “I was with them, in the living room. They are on holiday. Christmas holiday started three days ago. We were watching TV. Kingston said he wanted to watch cartoon and since I was less busy, I sat down with him and his two sisters who later joined us. They were all there when it happened. Even though I didn’t hear their voices while I was screaming. I only found this!” unveiling her children’s clothes. “And this…” bringing out their shoes, “What happened, Jeffery?” She sobbed inconsolably, “This is a dream, right? The Lord wouldn’t do this to me, would He? Could He? He wouldn’t let this happen to us, right?”

“Where’s Mark?” He asked her.

“My husband had a meeting by 2:00pm this afternoon.” She said, “He was supposed to leave yesterday but took the morning flight. We dropped him at the airport around 8:45am this morning, then went to the mall with the kids to get some groceries.”

Jeffery turned and looked at Karen.

“Tina caught the flu, so I had to get her some medicine at the pharmacy.” said the bewildered mother, “Now they are all gone! I can’t find my kids! Their father would kill, Jef. Mark will kill me. My children!” She buried her head in his chest once more.

“It’ll be alright, Sandra!” he said, “Everything will be alright. Did you look around the house? What about the neighbours, have you asked them?”

“I looked everywhere,” she answered. “I tried dialling 911, the phone’s not working. All lines are dead! The internet’s dead! Angela’s child has disappeared too!”

“Angela?” He responded, “I thought she was pregnant?”

“Yes! Her E.D.D is next Friday!” She answered.

“E.D.D?” He asked.

“Estimated Due Date!” Karen said.

Jeffery still confounded.

“Expected date of delivery, Jef!” Karen emphasized, “The date a pregnant woman is expected to give birth?”

“Oh!” He said. “Look, Sandra,” he turned to her. “This place isn’t safe anymore. I’m just trying to pick up some necessary stuff I’d need. We’re getting out of here, now! And I want you to come with us, okay?” He held her hand, “I know a safe place!”

“I can’t,” she said. “I have to wait for my children to come back home. I have to wait for Mark. I cannot just walk away.”

“We won’t leave the city,” he said. “I’ll just take us to a place I believe is much safer, for now. And then we’ll try and contact Mark. I believe all the children are fine!”

“Where? How?” She interjected, “I can’t leave without my children, Jef! I can’t live without them!” Sandra gazed into his eyes, she began to cry. “You shouldn’t worry much. I have a handgun, Mark taught me how to use it. I’ll wait for my family. They’ll come home, they always do!”

“I think we’ll need this, right?” said Karen. She waved a searchlight she found somewhere on the floor, in the room.

“Yeah!” He sighed. He turned back to Sandra, “Listen…”

“You should not worry about me, Jeffery!” She insisted, “Just go. I’ll be alright. I’ll just hang around with Angela and the rest of the neighbours. We’ll be fine. You should take care of yourself out there.” Sandra turned and made her way out of the room, gently shutting the door behind her.

“Jeffery!” Karen said, “I wanna pee. Where’s your bathroom?”

“In there…First door on your left,” he said, pointing at his bedroom door.

“Thanks!”

Minutes later, Karen and Jeffery were back in the SUV.

“So where do we go?” She asked, “The police station?”

“If this is what I think it is…” he said. “I don’t think the entire army of the world can save us from it. We need to go see someone, then go somewhere!”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“I don’t think that thing we saw is alone!” He said, “Also, if it is what I think it is, I’m afraid the worse is yet to come! For immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken!”

“Okay, you’re being a bit spine-chilling!” She joked, “Come down to my grade, Padre!”

“Matthew 24:29.” He said, “I think we’re probably witnessing what you’d call…The end of the world! End of days! The eleventh hour or just simply put, last days!”

“Last days…of what?” She asked.

Jeffery laughed.

“What?” She asked again, “You said ‘last days’ and I asked you what it all mean?”

“You don’t read the bible, do you?” He smiled, sighing as he gazed at her.

A woman screamed from his apartment. They heard multiple gunshots. And many more screams echoed from the building.

“Jeffery!” Karen said, “I think we should go!”

Jeffery turned the key in the ignition, switching on the headlights as they screeched off, leaving nothing but smoke and skid marks behind.

 

Chapter Three: A glimpse of Hope.

Karen and Jeffery arrived at an old cottage house in the woods that stood on the brow of the hill. Jeffery gently moved and parked not far from the porch, hitting a wastebin. The light from their headlamp gave them a good view of almost all the dead birds lying around the old cottage house. A sheep and a goat could be seen lying dead on the ground. They also noticed a big old truck, parked under a tree not far from the old wooden house.

“Where’s this place?” She whispered.

“Come with me!” He said.

They got out of the car and walked straight to the door. Jeffery pushed the door, giving way, it made a popping and cracking sound. Karen held his shirt firmly as she walked behind him.

They heard the sound of a shotgun being cocked.

“I believe you know what she’s trying to say.” said a frail, deep masculine voice.

“It’s me, Jeffery Bobson!” He said, raising his hands up. “I am here to see Timothy. The owner of this place!”

“Ha-Ha!” came a laughter from an old man, switching on a searchlight. “Boy, am I glad to see you!”

The men shook hands and hugged each other.

“Oh my God!” The old man added, “Please shut the door. Who’s the beauty?”

“Oh, my uh…Friend, Karen Keaton.” He answered, “Karen, meet Timothy Mithbucks!”

“Hello!” She said, stretching her hand for a shake. Noticing a muffler around his ears.

“Well, hello!” responded the old man, “You smell beautiful. I sensed that fragrance before hearing the sound of your footsteps!” He shook her hand.

“You never change, Timothy!” Jeffery said.

“Trust me, I shed the skin of my heart every now and then.” He responded, “Wonder why I look older but stronger than you, boy!” He giggled, “I still got it in me, you know, get me a wife and I’ll show you!”

They all laughed. On switching off his searchlight, the old man lit up a lamp.

“Speaking of a wife,” he said. “I see you’ve finally made up your mind.” he brought the lamp closer to Karen’s face, “Wow!” throwing a thumb up at Jeffery, “You’ve got good eyes, son! This one here is a rare gem.”

“Thank you, Timothy!” She said, a bit shy.

Jeffery cleared his throat.

“Call me, Tim,” he said. “’Cause I’m stronger than your Team! Ha-Ha! Did it rhyme or what?”

“It sure did,” she said. “It sure did!”

“Please sit. Grab a seat.” He responded, “Welcome to my humble abode!”

“Thanks, man!” Jeffery answered, “Whew!” expressing a relief.

“Would you like some tea?” the old man asked. “The kitchen is over there, make yourself at home young lady. The last time a woman walked these floors was like, a decade ago? There’s food in there too. I cooked some beans this morning. Also if you check the drawers up there, you might see some of those tin can stuff Jeffery bought for me weeks back. I think some noodles too or something!” he gently sat down on a rocking chair, and lit up a smoking pipe with matches. Timothy took off his ear muffler. “Dead birds all of over the damn place! Who’s gonna sweep that?” He added, “Toocho and Margaret are dead too!”

“Toocho and Margaret?” Karen remarked.

“His Goat and Sheep!” Jeffery said. Scratching his nose, he added, “They were his um…pets!”

“Oh!” She responded, “So sorry for your…Loss, Tim!”

“Oh, thank you, beautiful!” said the old man, he puffed. “They are better off dead anyway. Did you hear that freaking sound this morning? Lord! I was taking a pee and the pipeline just went freeze! Nothing dropped, I ran out without zipping up and the whole house was shaking. I was like; oh my God, is this how the big guy wants me to die?”

Karen and Jeffery burst into laughter, along with the old man.

“Is this how you want me to die?” He gagged, “I kept saying that in my mind. I struggled down into the basement and stayed there like a chicken that’s about to be dragged to the slaughter house!”

“We were at the office when it happened,” Jeffery said. “It was terrible.”

“Terrible is too much smaller a word to describe such awful, violent sound,” said the old man. “That was die-able!”

Karen couldn’t control herself from laughing she had to excuse herself to the kitchen. Leaving the men alone in the living room.

“I am making tea, anyone?” She said.

“Yeah make some for me!” Jeffery said. Turning to the old man, he added, “So uh…Your truck, she still intact?”

“Why, for sure!” said the old man. “She hadn’t moved in a while but I always give her a kick every morning. You were the one who took her out last.”

“Timothy, that’s like three weeks ago!” Jeffery said, “You need to let her feel the road, come on oldie!”

“Yeah, right!” He responded, “Like I’ve got the bones and balls to!”

Karen made some tea, and by the time she came back with the cups and some biscuits, she eavesdropped on the men.

“Does she know?” the old man whispered.

“No! Not yet,” Jeffery answered. “But you’re coming with us, right?”

Karen approached them. Jeffery was showing something to the old man in the diary he picked from underneath his pillow.

“Who would’ve thought this would come true in our times, eh?” said the old man, carefully studying as he mumble the words from the page before him. “You see, you haven’t lost your purpose as you used to think after all. You’ve got a much bigger task ahead of you, son! I always told you; be careful what you wish for!”

Karen handed the tea cup to Jeffery, who sipped once and kept it on the wooden table in the middle of the room. His attention was more on the old man.

“So, do you think it’s an alien?” Karen asked.

“No, they’re not aliens from another world.” answered the old man.

“They?” She emphasized.

 “Yes!” He added, “They’re people you probably knew. We all must have come in contact with them at a point in time; could be the streets, market place, worship places and or working place.” He coughed, “And the neighbourhood! What you saw in its heart is the intensity of hatred for a particular kind of people, which is made manifest physically. And for now, nothing or no one can stop