Nightfall

by E.L. Middleton

  “What are you doing?” the voice yelled, panicked.

  Ewen swung the bat again as Jennifer continued to scream. The bat hit the exact same spot in the door, this time sending splinters of wood through it. Ewen swung once more and the tip of the bat lodged itself into the weakened spot of the door. Ewen had to wiggle it left and right to shake it loose from the wood.

  “Stop it! Please! We’ll let you in!” the voice said.

  Ewen turned back around again, toward the hill, and saw that The Dead were almost on them. One of them, near the front reached out for him, moaning.

  The white door flew open and Trent stood behind it, enraged. Ewen noticed several faces illuminated by candlelight just beyond the door. Jennifer and Ewen quickly ran inside, slamming the door shut behind them.

  “Somebody get me some of the wood!” Trent yelled.

  Within seconds a terrified looking freshman ran up to him with what appeared to be part of a pew. Trent grabbed it and quickly pulled a hammer from his belt. He took several nails out of his shirt pocket and hammered the piece of wood into place, directly over the hole Ewen had created.

  As soon as he was finished Trent dropped the hammer and stormed over to Ewen who was still trying to catch his breath.

  “What’s your problem?” Trent yelled, his eyes locked onto Ewen’s. “You put everyone in here at risk!”

  Ewen stood up straight, facing Trent head on.

  “What’s wrong with you? We could’ve been killed out there!” he said.

  “How was I supposed to know you weren’t one of them?” Trent said, pointing toward the door. “The way I see it, it was either the two of you or all of us in here! I couldn’t take that chance.”

  “That’s just great! Let us die out there while all of you listen!” Ewen said while scanning the faces of the students inside.

  “We wouldn’t have-”

  Ewen cut him off.

  “You wouldn’t have what? Listened? I suppose you’d have just covered your ears, right? Or maybe, you’d have just turned away.”

  Ewen shoved Trent, sending him backward a little bit. Trent just watched in anger as Ewen walked back to Jennifer. After a few moments Trent stormed off, disappearing into the shadows.

  CHAPTER 22

  Moonlight hit The Seven Hills Chapel making it glow and pulse with the shadows of the swaying trees nearby. It acted like an odd beacon for The Dead as they made their way toward it. Some of them were already there, pounding on the doors and stained glass windows. The glass shattered easily, but the wood that had been used to reinforce them did not, frustrating the creatures and preventing them entry to the chapel for now.

  Ewen and Jennifer sat inside, the candlelight flickering throughout the sanctuary. They had moved to the small balcony that looked out across the pews. They watched shadows dance across the pulpit as they listened to the sounds of The Dead trying to find a way inside. No more than twenty students had managed to find refuge at the chapel. Some of them were lying down on the pews. At first glance it would appear that they were trying to sleep, but sleep was something that had become unattainable here. The sounds from outside kept them from drifting along with the fear that somewhere, somehow, one of the creatures would get in and tear them to pieces.

  Ewen noticed Trent standing near a small group of students. Whatever he was discussing with them was keeping him quite angry and Ewen had an idea what it was. Every so often Trent would look up to the balcony and scowl in Ewen’s direction. Soon, Ewen got tired of trying to convince himself he was paranoid and slid back into the shadows so that Trent could no longer see him.

  “Do you think we’re safe in here?” Jennifer asked him, softly.

  He turned to her, his fear softening a bit just by seeing her face. He wanted desperately to tell her something positive, something that would cheer her up. He wanted more than anything to make her feel as happy as she had made him, despite the tragic events of the evening. But there was only the truth within the walls of the small church that night.

  “For a little while. Maybe,” he said, disappointed in himself.

  “Better in here than out there I guess,” she said.

  Ewen looked out over the balcony and saw Trent still talking heatedly to the small group in the pews. He sighed.

  “Yeah. I guess.”

  As they sat in silence, looking at the floor, Ewen thought about his old church back home. It bore no resemblance to this one, at least in detail. There were pews and a pulpit, but it was significantly larger and more refined. There was something a bit more comforting and less foreboding about this small chapel. While he had no idea whether they would make it through the night he knew that the building itself brought him a small bit of peace. He suddenly forgot about his miserable experiences with other Christians at the university. His anger with Trent and the thoughts of what he had done began to dissipate. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the chapel, imagining a church service going on early on a Sunday morning. He could see the old chandeliers lit up from high above the congregation and could see the large, wooden cross highlighted in the front just behind the baptism area.

  Suddenly, the peace that he had begun to develop washed over him. He no longer felt the fear from what might lay ahead. It was as if God, the very Being that had listened to all of his complaints and watched over him as he had cried his tears of loneliness so many times before, was now sitting beside him. Ewen imagined the both of them watching the service as folks made their way down the aisles to find Him. God never said a word. He only sat, perfectly still, and watched the people open their hearts to Him.

  Ewen slowly opened his eyes, filling them once again with the shadows and candlelight. After a moment he heard Jennifer speak to him.

  “Are you going to be alright?” she asked.

  She sounded so concerned about him that he turned to her, a subtle smile on his face.

  “Yeah,” he said.

  When he spoke he realized why she had asked him that. His voice was a little heavy and he could now feel tears streaming down the sides of his face.

  “Why are you crying?” she asked, placing her hands on his.

  “Something has happened,” he said. “I’m not sure how to describe it without sounding crazy.”

  “You can tell me,” she said, squeezing his hand a little for encouragement.

  He turned his body around toward her.

  “He never ceases to amaze me, Jennifer,” he began.

  She looked at him, confused.

  “Who?” she asked.

  “God,” he said, looking away. “I’ve been so selfish and I’ve complained so much about everything, and through it all He still loves me.”

  Jennifer looked at him sweetly, not knowing quite what to say.

  “You know how you used to do something wrong at home and your dad would catch you?” Ewen asked. “He’d forgive you and tell you he how he still loved you but he’d always tell you what you did wrong.”

  The tears began to flow down Ewen’s cheeks. He tried to gain control of his voice as he began to speak again but started off slightly rough.

  “Well, when I closed my eyes and focused on this place I saw God sitting next to me. He didn’t say anything. His very presence simply made me understand it all. Instead of telling me how I was wrong he filled me with peace and understanding.”

  Ewen wiped the tears from his face as he continued.

  “I’ve spent far too much time complaining and whining and not enough time trusting God. If I had concentrated on Him every time I felt lonely or rejected He would have filled me with peace and understanding. Instead, I did everything but focus on Him.”

  Ewen looked down for a moment, pausing before finding her eyes once more.

  “What makes me feel ashamed though, more than anything, is that no matter how ridiculous my actions were or how oblivious I acted toward God, He still sent me you.”

  Jennifer was softly struck his words and heart seemed to swell with the realizat
ion of what they meant. Tears began to well up in her own eyes now as she watched Ewen struggling with what to say next.

  “I never dreamed I’d have the opportunity to know someone like you. Someone who shares my fears and really listens to what I have to say but also someone who gives so much of herself to others. I could have met a hundred people on campus and had some form of a relationship or acquaintance with them but instead, I met only one person I connected with. In retrospect, I’d be lonely all over again if it meant I got to be with you in the end.”

  The tears fell from Jennifer’s eyes. They leaned in to one another, embracing. She placed her head on his shoulder and wiped a tear from her cheek.

  “Thank you,” she whispered sweetly.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  Suddenly someone began screaming, and yelling echoed from down in one of the pews. Ewen and Jennifer broke apart, turning toward the sound. They could see a young man tossing and turning. He appeared to be having a nightmare.

  “Help us! We’re all going to die!” the young man yelled, his voice surrounding everyone in the sanctuary.

  Nell, one of the students trapped inside, rushed over to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder as he lay on the pew. He immediately jumped, sitting straight up. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as he looked around in a panic. He turned to Nell, looking her right in the eyes. The color had drained from his face and he was out of breath from yelling.

  “We’re all going to die,” he whispered to her.

  The sound of his voice sent chills up the back of her neck.

  The entire sanctuary now hovered around the young man as he continued to stare at Nell.

  “The story is true,” the young man said. “They have risen.”

  The group stared at him, fear spreading across all of their faces…except one. Trent Gordon watched the young man in complete disbelief, his look of arrogance never wavering.

  “Stop trying to scare everybody, alright?” Trent said.

  Nell leaned in to the young man.

  “Just lay back down and try and rest, okay?” she said, trying to comfort him.

  The young man turned to Trent, his eyes wide with terror. It was as if he were looking through Trent to something so horrible he could only stare at it, emotionlessly.

  “Ezekial’s prophecy has come true. Don’t you see?” the young man said.

  Trent shifted his stance, trying to appear unfazed but his face was an open book to anyone who noticed. The young man had started to get to him as well. Still, Trent continued to play it off.

  “He’s crazy. He’s speaking nonsense,” Trent said.

  A familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind the group, echoing up toward them.

  “No he’s not,” the voice said.

  Trent turned around and the group gave way to Ewen who was still holding onto Jennifer’s hand. They made their way up to the front, never breaking eye contact with the young man.

  “Oh great,” Trent said, sighing. “Another person who has lost their mind.”

  One of the students in the group whispered something toward Ewen.

  “What’s he talking about?” the student asked.

  “Ezekial’s bones.” Ewen replied, still watching the young man.

  The group turned to Ewen. Trent watched with a look of disbelief.

  “In the Bible God put Ezekiel in the middle of a valley full of bones and told him to prophesy to the bones and make them rise up again.”

  Jennifer suddenly remembered the story and broke free from Ewen for a moment, trying to find a Bible in one of the pews. After a brief search she found one and began to flip through it, finding the passage of scripture. The other students were beginning to remember as well. They stirred a little, whispering to one another.

  “Here!” Jennifer said.

  As she began to read the scripture aloud the group quieted down once more, listening intently to her.

  “So I prophesied as I was commanded and as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.”

  Trent began to walk away from the group, disgusted.

  “This is crazy!” he said. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to you use the Word of God in this way.”

  Ewen turned to Trent, deadly serious.

  “In what way? The way it was intended?” he asked.

  Trent stopped instantly and walked back up to Ewen, getting right in his face.

  “Where I come from we don’t defame the Bible,” Trent said.

  “Where you come from, however far away you think it is from where I come from, do you use the Bible as a guide to help you through tough times?” Ewen asked, staying relatively calm.

  Trent didn’t say a word.

  “I don’t know about you but these seem like pretty tough times to me,” Ewen said.

  Trent pointed his forefinger at Ewen’s chest and poked him.

  “You have no idea what serving God is all about? This university is filled with the family of God-people who read their Bibles daily and spend their free time in prayer and worship. We go to church and we fellowship with each other and we share our spirituality with each other.” Trent paused for a second, his face reddening. “This is the first time I’ve ever even seen you in a place like this, friend.”

  Trent turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows. Ewen stood there, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. Dear God, he thought, give me the strength I need to deal with this pain. Give me the love I need in my heart. Help me find the words I need to encourage those around me tonight.

  After a moment Ewen wiped the tears from his eyes before they fell. He turned and addressed the crowd.

  “This isn’t God’s Wrath,” he said. “But it is a time for faith. Whatever it is that’s out there is supernatural. It’s going to take something supernatural to combat it. That means God. If there was ever a time when your dedication to prayer and belief was necessary, this is it.”

  One of the other students in the group spoke up.

  “What can we do to stay safe?” the student asked.

  “Everything we can. You’ve already made an attempt to board this place up, but the more those things realize that there’s life inside this church the more they will keep coming. I think we should use the pews to board up what’s left and to reinforce everything else. After all, if we keep our mind on God and this task I don’t think it will be nearly as bad as waiting and listening to those things outside these walls.”

  The students became instantly motivated, beginning to break apart some of the pews and hammering them to the exposed parts of the windows.

 

  Billy Culver made his way past the other students as they hauled off pieces of wood. His job was to make sure that everyone had the tools they needed to keep their minds off of the events and keep busy.

  He reached an old door at the very back of the sanctuary, just under the overhang of the balcony. He opened it and went inside. Three steps led him down into the darkness. He sighed, frustrated. He had forgotten to bring a candle with him. He stood there in the dark for a second and then reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. He began to flip through them, stopping at a small flashlight keychain that he quickly twisted on.

  The tiny beam danced around the room. It was about as big as a one-car garage and dust hung heavily in the air. As he flashed the beam of light to the right he saw a four tiered, metal shelf. He walked over to it and instantly saw tools lined up on the third shelf. He grabbed the two hammers he saw along with a box of heavy-duty nails. As he did a loud banging startled him and he dropped the box of nails, sending some of them scattering across the floor. He turned around and saw a small window that looked like a rectangle lying on its side. Just behind the window was a pair of eyes staring at him. They seemed to glow like an that of an animal in the small beam from the flashlight.


  It pounded on the window again and again, trying to break it and get inside. Billy quickly set the tools down and ran back out of the room, grabbing a piece of wood. He hurried down the stairs again and picked up a hammer and some nails then made his way toward the small window. He was hesitant at first, imagining the creature breaking through the glass just as he began to hammer. He immediately placed the piece of wood in place as fast as he could, covering up the creature’s face. As he began to hammer he could still hear the creature trying to break the glass.

  When he finished he stood back, admiring his handiwork and listening for the sound of the windowpane rattling. It had fallen silent. He grabbed the tools again and ran back out into the sanctuary to distribute them.

 

  Outside the chapel something watched from the woods. The muffled sound of hammering made its way toward a creature much different than what had attacked the campus. Its skin was blistered and red. Instead of absorbing the moonlight it reflected it, the flecks and patches of it tightly stretched across the creature’s arms and face. It wore only a pair of dirty, brown slacks that were frayed at the ends. Its toenails were jagged and sharp and dirt from fresh decay was wedged underneath them, making them appear to be black and rotten at the tips.