Rise the Phoenix

by Ely Page

  Porter selected Ben, Andy, Will, and Jenny for his “shopping” team. They worked out a time they should be back. This time, since the train could be seen from the front of the mall, they worked out a mirror signaling system. The five members headed out to the mall in a straight shot from the train.

  Porter and Andy grabbed a trash can outside the front doors of the mall; they were about to throw it through the glass doors when Jenny stopped them.

  “Have you guys tried to open the door before breaking it?” Jenny asked. She then opened the door that was in front of her. “Here we go, fellas.” She smiled as Porter and Andy sheepishly put the trash can down and walked through.

  “All right. Go practical,” Porter ordered. “We got a bunch of coats the last time. Now we need shirts, pants, socks, and underwear. Let’s all stick together and go hit a couple of the bigger stores.” He led the way to the first anchor store they saw.

  Dylan felt excluded and a little hurt that neither Frank nor Porter had included him on the shopping trip. He wasn’t going to outright protest, and the more he thought about it, the more he understood that he was in no mental shape to be participating in anything. He definitely wasn’t ready to lead.

  The trip to the mall proved successful. They seemed to have gotten enough clothes for everyone. As the five members of the party started to exit the mall, Ben stopped in front of a western store.

  “Hey, guys, give me a few minutes. There are some things I want to look at in there,” he said. Since they were ahead of schedule, Porter didn’t have a problem with that.

  The other four watched through the glass front as Ben went from one side of the store to the other, grabbing clothing and a couple pairs of cowboy boots. It only took him three minutes and he was out.

  “All right, I am done,” he said. The group walked out of the mall and moved on the grocery store.

  The grocery store had a faint but awful smell of rotting meat and seafood.

  “Whew,” Porter exclaimed after walking into the store. “Hit the canned goods aisle and let’s get out of here.”

  Each of them ran with a sack and took what they could of soups, canned meats, vegetables, beans, and some chili, then ran out of there faster than any of them had run in a long time.

  “Oh man, I don’t think I’ve ever smelled anything so horrid,” Will exclaimed.

  They all took deep breaths of the outside air.

  “All right, guys, let’s head back so we can get home,” Porter said. The word “home” hit all of them hard, even Porter. He hadn’t realized how saying that would feel until he said it.

  They were greeted at the train by an eagerly patient tribe. Everybody chose some new pants and shirts; Porter handed a smaller bag to Greg.

  “Here you go, buddy. I figured what you are wearing now was your style, so I just got you something that was new and didn’t smell.”

  Greg looked in the bag. “Thanks, Porter. I did have a shirt just like this.” He went back into the locomotive to change.

  Everybody picked something new to wear—everybody but Dylan, who didn’t bother to take a look at anything.

  “I got you something,” Ben came up to him on the train. “You don’t have look and see what it is now, just keep it in mind later, OK?”

  Dylan nodded his head in acknowledgement but did not say anything. Ben didn’t expect anything in return, he just hoped that Dylan would ease out of his funk a little faster.

  With a quick meal of canned goods and everyone freshly dressed, the train headed through Oklahoma City. They had to make it out of town before it got dark. Anahel was still on the locomotive with Greg, but Emily had gone back to the passenger car to spend time with Leah.

  “This is it,” Anahel said as the train approached a split in the tracks.

  “It looks like the switch is already pulled the way we want it.” Greg noticed the color of the marker indicating which track was open. “We should be where we need to get off by sunrise,” Anahel said.

  She and Greg both smiled.

  “You need to get some rest. I can handle this,” Anahel told Greg.

  “Are you sure you can handle it? I mean, I know you can handle it,” Greg said, feeling like he’d just put his foot in his mouth.

  “I think I can take care of it. If I need you, I will wake you,” Anahel said.

  The sky was barely beginning to brighten, but Frank was already standing at the door of the passenger car, ready for the train to stop. He knew it was close. He could feel an energy, and he felt closer to God, closer than he had ever felt in his life. It was such a strong and comforting feeling that Frank thought he could have floated to the place where he was leading his tribe.

  Anahel rubbed Greg’s shoulder. “Time to go home,” she gently whispered in his ear.

  Greg woke feeling better than he had felt in a long time. He looked outside and noticed the sky was getting lighter. “How long was I out for?” he asked.

  Anahel smiled widely. “You slept for as long as you needed.” She started to slow the train. “We’re here.”

  Before the train even stopped completely, Frank opened the door. Everyone on the train woke at the same time, like they’d all heard the same alarm clock.

  “We are almost home!” Frank exclaimed as he jumped off the train and onto the ground. The first thing he noticed was that there was no ash on the ground.

  “Wow, there is vegetation here!” Ollie, who used to be a farmer, said with excitement.

  Everyone piled off the train. Most of them were glad that the train ride was over, but not everybody was. There were a few who felt safer being on the train.

  “OK, everybody, fill a bag or backpack with everything you can carry. We’ve got a long way to go, but it is nothing we haven’t done before. Be ready to go in ten minutes,” Frank gave his command, then he too began filling a backpack to carry.

  Despite how excited everyone was, they walked in total silence. Maybe it was the anticipation of what was coming, or maybe it was the sorrow of leaving everything they knew behind.

  They stopped once for some food and water, then started moving again shortly thereafter. A street sign nearby said Baseline Road. It was the road home.

  They continued down the straight, level road. As they moved, the sky became clearer; it seemed the closer they got to their destination, the more things looked like they had before all the devastation. Birds flew, grass and weeds grew, and while there weren’t many trees, the ones they saw had leaves on them.

  Great joy rang out with cheers and laughter as the sun could be seen for the first time in months when the sky above them cleared. It was short-lived as the sun began to set shortly thereafter.

  Lights could be seen ahead as they approached the city. From a few miles away, the tribe could make out the tallest structure in town—a grain elevator towered over the flat landscape. It was an imposing sight, but a welcoming one at the same time.

  Just as the dark reclaimed the sky, the tribe made it to the highway entrance of the town. They were greeted with armed men.

  Part II: Home

  Chapter 7

  “Identify your tribe!” one of the armed men ordered.

  Before Frank could move forward and speak, Anahel stepped in front of him.

  “I am Anahel,” she said. As she spoke, her body took on a major transformation. The burn scar on her face disappeared; her old, dirty, hooded sweatshirt transformed into long flowing robes; and she grew several inches taller as she started glowing brighter than the moon’s light. “I was sent by our Father to protect the tribe of the first seer.”

  The two men briefly looked at each other; they were noticeably a little more relaxed.

  “Who is the first seer?” one of the armed men asked.

  This time Frank came up beside Anahel. “It is I.”

  Nobody in the tribe could believe what
they were seeing or hearing: Anahel was an angel and Frank had known all along.

  “You two need to report to the town hall immediately,” one of the guards said to Anahel and Frank. “The rest of you follow me.”

  The guard led the tribe to an apartment building. “Here you go. This building is for you to use for the time being, until the last tribe shows up. Then we will divide the housing accordingly.”

  With that, the guard walked back to his post and the tribe members were left to make their sleeping arrangements.

  When they walked into the building, the hallway was dimly lit, but there was at least some kind of electricity—something none of them had seen for a while.

  Meanwhile, Frank and Anahel entered the town hall. There were a few people in there, as well as two other angels. It was obvious to Frank that Anahel knew who the other angels were. The two angels were at her side in mere seconds.

  “Gadreel, Dumah,” Anahel greeted them.

  “We must go,” Gadreel said.

  “We must go to Michael now!” Dumah said.

  “I have to say goodbye to the child, then I will meet you,” Anahel said, feeling rushed. She turned to Frank. “I know the people are in good hands now that you have made it to the life zone.”

  “Thank you for your protection and love,” Frank said, bowing to the angel before she left the building.

  “Frank? Welcome.” A woman walked over to Frank. “Hi, I am Jane from Texas,” she introduced herself as the two shook hands. “Here we also have Rich from Tucson, Elisabeth from Savannah, and Charley from Boise. We are still waiting on two more tribes, and as you know, that will be everybody.”

  Frank did know, but he didn’t let those thoughts stick in his overwhelmed mind at the moment, given everything else going on.

  “You are the seer. I can tell by the look in your eyes,” Elisabeth said as she got closer to Frank.

  Standing outside the apartment building, Emily heard a familiar voice in her head telling her to turn around. When she did, she saw Anahel looking right at her in the middle of the tribe. Emily moved to walk to Anahel. Greg saw what was going on and followed Emily toward Anahel, but he stopped from standing by them as they spoke.

  “Emily, I have to go now. I am needed somewhere else,” Anahel said.

  “But I need you here with me,” Emily interjected. Tears started to fall from her eyes.

  “Emily, you are in good hands with good people and—” Anahel waved for Greg to come over “—Greg will take great care of you.” Anahel knelt down and gave Emily a hug. “Goodbye, my little one, as I will always be looking down and seeing what great things you do as you grow.”

  Emily ran over to Greg’s side and put her arm around his waist.

  “Thanks, Greg, for looking after her. She is a great child who will become a young woman very soon,” Anahel said.

  “Hey, it’s the least I can do,” Greg said.

  Anahel hugged Greg and slowly backed away, revealing the two other angels with her. Anahel waved at Greg and Emily, and the three angels flew off in a beautiful display patterns and heavenly lights. Greg and Emily looked on in awe.

  “OK, so there are eight apartments and twenty-six of us. That means three to an apartment with a couple left over,” Porter said, looking over the tribe in the packed entryway.

  “Dylan, Andy, Will, and I will take one apartment,” Ben spoke for the other guys.

  Everyone else split up and went to their apartments, glad to be in rooms with four walls again. Tomorrow would be a new day, but for the night, everyone showered and put on fresh clothes. They all had a good night’s sleep for the first time in a long time.

  “Charley has a man that was an instructor in the army. As soon as the other tribes arrive, send your best to him for training.” Elisabeth looked hard at Frank. “But what kind of training depends on what you see tonight.”

  Frank didn’t know what she was talking about. He was about to say so when a rush of warmth and relaxation came over him. “By morning I will know the way of the battle.”

  “Everyone has found a place to sleep for the night,” said a man who came walking in.

  “Thank you, Stan. Frank, this is Stan, the lone surviving resident of our new home, the town of Oni,” said Elisabeth. Frank went to shake Stan’s hand. When he did, he knew there was more to the man than he had told anyone, and Frank’s thoughts told him to keep it to himself.

  The next day, after the other two tribes arrived, Jason from the Dakotas and Clare from Pennsylvania. Stan took the seven tribal elders on a tour of the city. He started by showing them all the buildings and describing what they were at one time. His most important stop was the grain elevator. There, he showed the elders the massive weapons cache he had built up. It was full of guns, ammunition, swords, knifes, and bows.

  “I managed to get just about everything. I just hope I got enough,” Stan said when he showed the elders the room. All of them were astonished by the massive collection the one man put together. “And now, I’d like to show you all the tunnel network I put together.”

  Stan led them into one of the massive, empty grain bins. He opened a steel door in the floor. “Here is one of the ways in,” he said, holding the door so the elders could walk down the stairs.

  “Morgan?” Leah thought she saw someone from her past. When he heard his name, he turned to look, and the two of them locked eyes.

  “Leah?” They ran to each other in the town square with all of the people who were there watching, including Dylan.

  Dylan watched as the two embraced in a long hug. A large pit grew in his stomach. Even though he didn’t know how they knew each other, he guessed that they weren’t family. Leah had never mentioned a Morgan, but then again, she didn’t talk a lot about her past life.

  “I am so glad that you made it! I have been thinking about you and what I did to you ever since this all happened,” Morgan said with watery eyes.

  Leah couldn’t even talk. The love of her short life had shown up months after she thought she would never see him again.

  Morgan looked around to see everyone watching him and Leah. “Why don’t we go somewhere and talk?”

  Leah nodded her head yes but still couldn’t say a word.

  Dylan did his best to brush off what he saw and try to move on. There were more important things to do than to cry over Leah.

  Morgan and Leah sat next to each other on the front porch of a house.

  “I just want to tell you first off that I am still sorry about what happened before I left,” Morgan said. “It was a bad thing for me to do, leaving you alone like that. I love you and all I thought about was myself. I didn’t think about how you felt about it, and for that I can never forgive myself.” Morgan opened up his heart and, for the first time, let Leah know how he felt and what Leah’s miscarriage had done to him. She didn’t think he felt as bad about it as she did.

  “It was hurtful, what you did. I needed you more than ever, and you walked away. But I love you too, and I have learned to forgive you. Thinking that you were dead then seeing you again makes me so happy,” Leah said, going in for a kiss. Morgan embraced the kiss and the long hug that followed.

  The first meeting of the seven tribes of North America was about to begin. The seven leaders gathered in a room that they called town hall. Stan was also there, but no one else was allowed in the town hall until the meeting was adjourned. The first order of business was Frank revealing the visions he’d had the night before and the tribal elders discussing what they thought those visions meant. Frank saw attacks, death, destruction, and Satan himself trying to break down the walls of the town, but he also saw that they would defeat Satan and his army, and that Jesus himself would help with the final victory.

  Elisabeth was picked as the lead elder. Everything would be put to a vote, but it was up to her to break any ties.

  Onc
e all the tribes arrived, the housing situation got worked out. Since there were just over three hundred tribe members altogether and the town’s pervious population was twelve hundred, there was room to spread out. After everyone found out where they were going to be living, duty assignments were set up. Assignments were based on skill level, physical fitness, and what the individual person wanted or knew how to do.

  The best marksmen only had one job: to man the top of the grain elevator in the crow’s nest. Up there, they were the eyes for Oni, and it was considered one of the better jobs to have. The job meant for the younger ones not in boot camp was building a perimeter wall that left only one way in and one way out.

  The tribal elders tried to instill a sense of normalcy by reopening the town diner and setting up a dry goods store as well as a library.

  Frank sent Dylan to the old school house that Bob, an old army drill sergeant, had picked to host his militia academy. Bob told the elders that he only wanted a dozen people so as not to overwhelm himself with a “bunch of wet-behind-the-ear kids.” Will was the only other one from Frank’s tribe to be in the group; all the others came from different tribes, and there was a least one person from each tribe.

  Bob’s idea was to teach a few of them, and then they could teach each other. After a week in the academy, everyone thought that Bob was an underwhelming instructor and just plain lazy.

  Bob got away with his lack of motivation because Elisabeth felt like he could do no wrong. And because he was the only one in the town with any military background, nobody else was qualified to do the job better.

  As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, the separation of the tribes faded away and they easily became a big community. The first wedding happened when Porter and Jenny married; Frank performed the ceremony. It was a joyous day, as everyone attended. Greg acted as the best man, and Andrea was the maid of honor. Dylan felt mixed emotions watching the ceremony. He wanted to have someone, but at the same time he was too scared to even broach the subject. He kept his feelings to himself.