The End of Everything Box Set, Vol. 1 [Books 1-3]

by Artinian, Christopher

  “Amen,” Elizabeth replied.

  “Amen,” said all the others gathered around the table.

  “Here, we follow Him. We worship Him. This,” Adam said, still holding the coin in his hand, “is a creation of Man; it is the cause of most of the problems mankind faces, most of the hardships. And here…” he gestured around him, “although we are forced to abide by the laws of this land, we have all but eradicated the false constructs of wealth.”

  “So, it’s like a commune?”

  Adam laughed and the others around the table joined in. “Forgive my laughter, Wren. Communes tend to have a negative reputation. Hippies, drugs, and everybody having sex with everybody else.” Everyone at the table laughed again, apart from Elizabeth. “But yes, we are. We work for our community, and our commonality, which is the rejoicing of His name. None of us go hungry, none of us want for anything. If something good happens, we all share the celebration; if we are tested, we take the burden of the test together.”

  “Amen,” Elizabeth said.

  “Amen,” said the rest of the table, and some from the neighbouring table, who had started listening. There was a thunder crack from outside, and Robyn and Wren shot each other a glance.

  Adam looked over to the table where Matthew and Melissa were sitting. They were surrounded by sombre and worried young faces. “My dear, will you join me for one moment?” he said to Elizabeth. “Please excuse me,” he said, standing up and nodding to his guests at the table before leaving the large dining hall.

  Elizabeth followed him out, and when they were far enough down the corridor and out of earshot, Adam spun around, with a livid look on his face. “Your idiot child doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut.”

  Elizabeth’s head dropped. “He’s our child, Adam.”

  His hand moved, and Elizabeth braced herself for a stinging slap across the face, but it never came. Instead, he placed the hand on her shoulder and lifted her chin. “I have this responsibility,” he said, waving his hand around him. “I depend on you to educate our children. I was hoping to wait a while to announce this, to get exactly the right words, but if I don’t do it now, word will leak, and trust will begin to waver. You need to keep a closer eye on him and Ruth. We are...the first family. People look to us.”

  “I’m sorry, Adam. You’re right.”

  Adam let out a long sigh. “I want you and the children behind me on stage. Go get them organised. I’ll be in shortly.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  “I would literally kill for a Flame Grilled Whopper, right now,” Robyn whispered as she bit into one of the oat biscuits.

  “Shhh. At least there’s food.”

  “Seriously?” she said, looking at the biscuit. “The box that the Pop-Tarts came in had more flavour than this.”

  Wren let out a small chuckle, just as there was another loud crack of thunder and a powerful wave of rain hit the large dining hall windows. Elizabeth walked back through the doors but did not join them. She collected Matthew and Ruth and went to stand on a stage at one end of the hall. A few moments later, Adam walked through the door with a beaming smile and climbed onto the stage with them. Everybody stopped eating.

  There was a strobe of lightning followed by a boom of thunder. Adam extended his hands. “My brothers and sisters. Today is the day I told you would come. Today is the day we rejoice!” he announced in a voice that almost rivalled the volume of the thunder. “They may not be winged messengers, but they are messengers nonetheless, and they found my own child, Matthew,” he said, turning around and looking at his son, before spinning to face his audience once again, like a Las Vegas entertainer. “Two sisters,” he said, pointing directly at Wren and Robyn. Robyn immediately stopped chewing her oat biscuit as she felt over four hundred eyes looking at her.

  “Hi,” she said, as a few crumbs fell from her mouth.

  “Brothers and sisters, as I foretold, the end times are upon us, and the righteous have indeed been saved.” There was stony silence. “The world outside is no more. There has been a reaping. These girls have relayed stories of horror to Elizabeth and I. The world we knew before has gone, the world we know now is still here. The Lord has blessed us. The Lord has protected us,” he shouted like a big top evangelist preacher. Everybody got to their feet and faced the stage, apart from Robyn and Wren. “The Lord has chosen us,” he roared, raising his hands above his head in the victory pose.

  “Praise be!” shouted one of the older members of the congregation nearer the front of the stage. It was a man with a grey beard and wild, grey eyes. He turned to the rest of the audience. “This is the day he said would come! This is the day we rejoice! Adam prophesied this. Praise be…praise be!”

  A younger woman climbed onto a chair, eager to be seen amid the sea of golden clothing. “Adam is the true prophet. Let us rejoice…he has saved us!”

  “Praise be!” shouted a number of voices at the same time.

  Susan, the young woman who had escorted Robyn and Wren to their room, leaned in and spoke to Wren over the sound of the crowd. “You should stand.” Wren looked at her and saw the dried, salty streaks near her eyes. This was not a command, but friendly advice. Wren nodded and tapped Robyn’s shoulder. The two of them rose to their feet.

  Adam took a step back, his arms still raised. There was a smile on his face as the outbursts continued. “Praise be to Adam. Adam has shown us the way. He has saved us all!” cried a middle-aged woman.

  “This is a truly joyous day. Adam has delivered us! Praise be. Praise be to Adam,” shouted another man as thunder issued from the heavens once more, punctuating the outbursts of faith and triumph.

  There was a further round of, “Praise be to Adam,” shouted from all over the hall.

  A freakishly skinny man climbed up onto his chair and raised his hands to the skies. “Thank you, Lord. Thank you for giving us our prophet. Thank you for giving us Adam. Praise be. Praise be. Praise be!” he shouted, and others joined in.

  “Praise be. Praise be. Praise be!” they shouted and screamed like they were at a rock concert.

  Robyn and Wren looked towards each other with fear in their eyes. A woman at the next table fainted.

  “Praise be. Praise be. Praise be!” There was another deafening crack of thunder, and finally, Adam lowered his hands and gestured for people to sit down. Two men took hold of the woman who had fainted and carried her out of the room. It was a few minutes before people quietened enough for Adam to be heard.

  “Brothers and sisters,” Adam began again. “As you know, we have often sent representatives to the outside world to trade for things we need. But now we will be unable to do that any longer. This means we will need to work harder to sustain ourselves. We will have to produce more. It is His final test of worthiness.”

  The man with the grey beard and the wild eyes jumped to his feet again. “I shall work twice as hard—thrice as hard! We are worthy; our crops will produce a bounty. We shall go to bed every night with full bellies and righteous hearts. Praise be.”

  “Praise be! Praise be! Praise be!” the crowd shouted as thunder shook the windows and another sheet of rain flung itself against the glass.

  “Well brothers and sisters, it looks like our Lord is telling us our work outside is done. He is blessing us with water to drink and helping our crops through the long dry spell. He is crying tears of happiness for us today, as do I. We are the chosen ones,” Adam said, and he jumped down from the stage.

  A throng of bodies closed in on him, embracing him, kissing him like he was the Messiah himself. Everybody wanted a touch, everybody wanted a word. Wren and Robyn were the only ones left at their table. The two sisters looked to the stage to see Elizabeth, Matthew and Ruth. They watched on with sad looks as everybody got to share time with Adam but them.

  The rain washed against the large windows. “I hate to say it, but I think we might have to stay here tonight,” Wren said.

  “Oh well, one of my lifelong ambitions was to see an authentic car
nival freakshow. At least that’s something I can tick off the list.”

  “Erm, yeah. I hope we get a key for our room. If not, I’m piling furniture up against the door.”

  “Hell, these people make Norman look like he had all his marbles.”

  “That girl doesn’t look as happy as the others,” Wren said, nodding her head towards Susan, who was hanging back from the crowd. She’s been crying.”

  “Yeah, well, like I said, I don’t buy into any of this holy-roller crap. Something smells bad in Sweden.”

  “What?” Wren asked, perplexed.

  “I thought you’d have heard that, being a Shakespeare lover.”

  Wren’s brow creased for a moment, then she let out a sigh. “Do you mean Something is rotten in the state of Denmark?”

  “Whatever. Same thing. The point is...this stinks,” Robyn said as another timpani roll erupted from above.

  chapter 8

  Robyn and Wren sat in their room. The sky had got darker still, and the rain showed no signs of stopping. They had left the dining hall fifteen minutes before while Adam was still being mobbed. Wren reached into her rucksack and threw Robyn a Lion Bar. Her sister’s face immediately lit up as she tore the wrapper open and took a large bite.

  “Ohh! That is just so tasty,” she said, savouring the rich chocolate.

  Wren took out a Double Decker bar and started munching away. “Well, if nothing else, we’re going to have a safe roof over our heads tonight. I mean, can you imagine getting caught in this?”

  “I know,” Robyn replied. “Although, safe might be a bit of a stretch. We’re in a monastery with a couple of hundred certifiable loons who think Adam is the second coming.”

  There was a knock at the door, and Elizabeth came in. “I’m glad you decided to stay with us for the night at least. I wouldn’t feel comfortable you girls being out there in this storm.”

  “It’s very kind of you,” Wren said. Elizabeth sat down on the bed opposite both of them. She looked at the chocolate bar. “Would you like one?”

  Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “You mustn’t tell Adam...or anyone. It is forbidden to eat anything that we don’t make ourselves,” she said.

  “I thought you didn’t make your own oats?” Robyn said as Wren passed Elizabeth another Double Decker bar.

  Elizabeth looked at the bar of chocolate, and she revealed a thousand happy memories with her smile. She peeled back the wrapper and inhaled it before taking a bite. The smile broadened on her face and her eyes glazed with tears. She slowly chewed and savoured the chocolate, devouring every flavour, every texture. “I’d forgotten what it was like. It sounds silly, doesn’t it, but I’d actually forgotten the sensation of eating chocolate.” One of the tears ran down her face as she swallowed. “We are permitted to buy and trade raw materials to make our own food, but not permitted to buy the food ready-made.”

  “Why’s that?” Wren asked.

  “Adam believes organic oats, wheat, corn in their natural states are pure. He believes if we at the monastery make something with those raw materials, they remain pure. But anything made outside, by people not of our beliefs...then that is tainted,” she said, taking another bite from the bar.

  “You’re not so convinced, though?” Robyn said.

  Elizabeth stopped chewing and looked at the chocolate bar in her hands, guiltily. “I...shouldn’t,” she said, starting to put the wrapping back around.

  “Elizabeth, it’s just a chocolate bar. Nobody will find out. Enjoy it, please. You’ve been so kind to us; it will make us feel better knowing that at least we’ve brought a little smile to your face,” Wren said.

  Elizabeth undid the wrapper again and took another bite. “It is good,” she said, laughing a little. “I like your clothes.” She nodded towards Robyn’s leather trousers.

  “Thanks. Erm, don’t take this the wrong way, but gold’s really not my colour.”

  Elizabeth laughed out loud, and a small piece of nougat flew from her mouth. She put her hand up to her lips and continued to laugh. The sisters could not help but join in. When she had calmed down enough, she answered, “No, it’s not my colour, either.”

  “Then why wear it?” Wren asked.

  “It’s an easy dye to produce. We harvest a lot of onions here, and the onion skins make a golden coloured dye,” Elizabeth said, taking another small bite from the Double Decker.

  “What did you get from the outside?” Wren asked.

  “I’m sorry?” Elizabeth replied.

  “You had traders. What did you trade for?”

  “Raw food materials mainly, but—” She broke off, not sure she should carry on.

  “What?” Wren asked.

  “I don’t really suppose it matters now. We have a retired doctor here who looks after our infirmary. He had a friend who was a pharmacist who used to keep us supplied with antibiotics, painkillers, and so on. We used to pay him, but obviously couldn’t provide prescriptions or anything like that, but that’s probably what we’re going to miss the most.”

  “So Adam’s rules about only consuming things made on the premises didn’t apply to that stuff?” Elizabeth looked down at the floor, not wanting to answer. “So what will you do now?” Wren asked.

  “I have no idea, but I’m sure Adam will come up with a plan. He always does.” Elizabeth finished the last bite of her chocolate bar, and Wren took the wrapper from her, placing it into the side pocket of her rucksack.

  “Y’see, no one will ever know. It’s just our secret,” Wren smiled.

  “I like you two. It’s nice to have...visitors,” Elizabeth said, standing up.

  “Well, it’s nice for us to be treated as the Angel Messengers of the Apocalypse,” Robyn said with a smirk.

  Elizabeth’s lips turned up into a smile, but then she began to cry and flopped back down onto the bed. “Nice, Bobbi, nicely done,” Wren said, sitting down beside Elizabeth and placing a caring arm around her.

  Robyn stood up and went to sit on the other side of her, taking her hand. “I’m really sorry, Lizzy; I only meant it as a joke. My humour’s a bit of an acquired taste, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “Oh…no one’s called me that in ages, Elizabeth said, pulling a handkerchief from her pocket and blowing her nose. “You can call me Lizzy...but never in front of anyone. It’s what my friends used to call me. Is it really all gone? Everything?” she looked towards Wren.

  “From what we’ve seen so far, pretty much,” Wren replied apologetically.

  Elizabeth began to sob uncontrollably. “It’s alright for Adam; he had no one on the outside. I had parents, a brother…I was planning…I wanted to reach out to them, and now it’s all too late.”

  “Where did they live?” Wren asked.

  “Aviemore.”

  “Y’know, Aviemore only has a small population, and it’s pretty remote up there. They might have made it, you don’t know for sure,” Wren said.

  Elizabeth swallowed and wiped away more tears.

  “Don’t you have friends here?” Robyn asked.

  “It’s funny,” she said, looking up first at Robyn, then towards Wren. “I feel like I can talk to both of you. It feels natural. Everything I say here is examined, dissected. I feel like I am on trial, like I’m not worthy.”

  “When we leave here tomorrow, you’re welcome to come with us,” Wren said, immediately getting a furious glare from her sister.

  “I could never leave Matthew and Ruth, and Adam would never allow them to go,” she said as she started crying again.

  “Erm, I know Buddha isn’t your guy, but he said: No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path,” Wren said.

  “Great, Wren, Buddha quotes. They’re always gold in a Christian monastery. I tell you what. You got anything from the Koran to throw at us, brainiac?” Robyn replied.

  Elizabeth took hold of Wren’s hand and looked into her eyes. “I think I understand. You’re telling me I and I alone am in charge of
the path I take.”

  “Well, no one else is. This isn’t a police state. You weren’t arrested and brought here, were you? And even if you were, I’d say all bets are pretty much off now, with the whole end of the world thing going on,” Wren said.

  Elizabeth sat for a moment, the tears stopped flowing, and she wiped her eyes one last time. “You’ve given me a lot to think about,” she said, standing up.

  “I look forward to seeing you at dinner time. Thank you. Both of you,” she said, turning to Robyn before leaving.

  When the door closed behind her, Robyn clapped her hands slowly and stood, walking across to the opposite bed and sitting down. “Bravo, sister dearest. You don’t think we’ve got enough problems to think about without having some malfunctioning Stepford wife tagging along for us to worry about. I mean, you know these people are vegetarian? They don’t believe in killing. What’s going to happen when she’s faced with her first zombie? You think holding hands with him and singing Kumbaya will work? Cos I don’t.”

  “She seems really unhappy.”

  “Duh. You figured that out all by yourself. You could have been a psychologist, you’ve got a real gift. I mean, what gave it away? Was it that she’s been crying for the past ten minutes saying how much she missed her family and how trapped she felt or was it something else? Cos I miss stuff sometimes.”

  “You do know sarcasm is the lowest form of wit?”

  “Yeah well, I’d rather possess the lowest form of wit than have no wits at all. What were you thinking?”

  “She’s not going anywhere. Just chill for god’s sake.”

  “Eat my—”

  “How did I know you were going to come out with that? Here Monkey Girl,” Wren said, throwing a Snickers bar. “Learn a new trick, and you’ll get another.”

  “Whatever.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Dinner was a stilted affair, but the food had been hot and more filling than what they had eaten at lunchtime. The two sisters returned to their rooms as the rain continued outside. Robyn walked in and flopped down on her bed. Wren closed the door and rested with her back against it for a few seconds. “Just one night and then we’re out of here.”