“I really like him,” said Ben. “I wonder if we should invite him to come with us.”
“I was thinking that, too, although I like having you all to myself.” She squeezed Ben’s hand. “It would be safer with a third person though. Not that I think he’ll leave.”
“You don’t think so?”
“I might be wrong, but he’s done a lot of work getting his church ready for survivors,” said Lila. “I just don’t see him leaving it.”
“In that case, he’ll probably ask us to stay here,” commented Ben.
“How do you feel about that?”
“It’s not what I was imagining for us. I was really picturing a warm beach and a tropical hut.”
“Whew,” said Lila. “Me too. I couldn’t stay here. It would mean that our journey is over, and I’m really anxious to see what else is out there.”
“I’m glad.”
The long day of hiking had taken its toll and they were both asleep in minutes.
There it was. This was no longer a journey of survival. It was a journey of discovery. The old world was gone. What did the new world have to offer? I thought of Lewis and Clark and all of the trappers who made their way west in the early days of this country, having no idea what they would find, but being almost possessed in their quest anyway. We found ourselves using the word “scared” less and less, and the words “peace” and “beautiful” more and more. We had actually become excited for the future. I only hoped that we weren’t romanticizing the whole thing to the point of letting down our guard.
Chapter 6
They woke up to the aroma of eggs frying. It was a wonderful smell that brought back fond memories. They wandered into the kitchen where Phil greeted them with a big “good morning.” He had opened a can of corned beef hash and was frying it alongside the eggs.
“One of my parishioners kept chickens, so I’ve been feeding them. I’ll have a never-ending supply of eggs,” he explained. “I also catch fish, so dinner is usually taken care of. I try not to tap into the supplies here for my own use.”
“When you get a chance, would you mind showing me how to filet a fish?” asked Ben.
“Be happy to. In fact, I’ll take you to a good little fishing spot this afternoon.”
“We never asked you,” said Lila, “how you managed to live when everyone else died.”
“God’s will, I guess. I’m an amateur spelunker. There’s a pretty cool cave about a half an hour from here. I was deeper than I had ever been and I guess it was enough. I didn’t even know anything had happened, so it was devastating to come out and discover that my world had disappeared. First my car didn’t work, and then when I found my first few bodies, I knew something of catastrophic proportions had occurred.”
After breakfast, they walked into town to help Phil gather more supplies. It had been spared the destruction by fire that had affected so many other cities and towns. The fire would have been a blessing however. They had to wear hospital masks liberally coated in Vicks VapoRub to keep out the smell. But nothing could shield their eyes from the sight of the bodies. Flies were everywhere. The bodies they ran across were coated in them. Other insects had found them as well, as had larger animals. They could hear packs of dogs barking and growling. Ben and Lila thought things were bad before. Now it was to the point where they wondered if they’d ever be able to eat again without picturing the scene that was now before them. The thought of the Appalachian Trail, with fewer bodies to run across, was more appealing than ever.
They found a sports store that had freeze-dried meals—not that they had eaten many of their original ones—and Phil helped them pick out good fishing rods, reels, and lures, as well as some essentials such as a filleting knife. Phil also knew of a small gun store where they could pick up some more ammunition.
As they approached the gun store, two men burst out the front door, running right into Phil. They all went tumbling in a pile. The men were filthy and smelly, and their clothes—remnants of business suits—were tattered, Ben thought he was watching a scene from a zombie movie. They were clearly out of their minds with fear. They jumped to their feet and one of them stuck his newly acquired pistol in Phil’s face.
“You can’t stop us,” he screamed. “Whatever we find is ours.”
“It’s okay … it’s okay,” said Phil in a calming voice. “We’re not here to stop you. You can have whatever you want. We were just walking by.”
Meanwhile, Ben and Lila were very slowly pulling their Sigs from their holsters.
“No!” shouted the man. “The world has gone to hell. Don’t trust anyone. Kill people in your way.”
“No,” said Phil. “Listen to me. I have a place that has lots of supplies. You can help yourself.”
“You’re lying!” screamed the man. “I’m going to blow your head off!” He was waving his gun all around.
The other man just stood there, not really a part of the scene.
Their guns were free of the holsters. Ben lifted the gun, pulled the hammer back, and fired it into the air, then he and Lila pointed their pistols at the man.
“Drop your weapon or we’ll shoot you,” said Ben.
Both men were so scared, they let their weapons fall to the ground.
“I was telling the truth,” said Phil. “Come with us. You can get cleaned up and have a nice meal. No one is going to hurt you.”
Both men took off down the street without another word.
“Wait. Stop,” shouted Phil.
Ben looked at Lila. They were both shaking as they reholstered their weapons.
“We didn’t mean to scare them off,” Ben said to Phil. “We just wanted them to drop their guns.”
“I know,” answered Phil sadly. “And I appreciate it. They were just like that first group I ran into, except in worse shape. They were so far out of their heads with fear, I’m afraid nothing would have convinced them to stay.”
Once they had calmed down, Ben went into the gun shop to find the ammunition they needed. He decided to take a few extra boxes, now that they had experienced some of the dangers that awaited them.
They picked up a few more things, but their hearts weren’t in it, so they made their way back to the church.
Later in the afternoon, in an effort to cushion the earlier encounter, Phil took them fishing at a local pond.
“I’m not going to give you a course on how to fish. After you learn the basics of using the reel, you’ll learn as you go. Our ancestors used a stick with a hook and a worm. You can use the lures, but in my opinion there is nothing like a good worm, which is why I had you pick up some hooks and bobbers. Just stick a worm on the hook, attach a bobber, and let it sit there in the water. It’s very relaxing, too, and with the stress of your journey, a few relaxing moments might be nice.”
They spent a couple of hours fishing, catching two largemouth bass. But the best part for Ben and Lila, was spending the time with Phil. He told them stories of his adventures in the Third World, and of his wild college days. They each felt they had found a true friend. There was none of the phoniness they had encountered with people in their previous life.
They talked about Richie and his decision to put Lila in the freezer with Ben and how they both felt it was not an accident. That brought up the subject of faith. Phil asked them what religion they were brought up in. Ben and Lila shrugged at the same time.
“My parents weren’t religious,” said Ben. “I remember we tried a few churches when I was young, but nothing consistently, so we just stopped going.” He looked at Lila, as if to say, “your turn.”
“My parents never talked about God … ever,” said Lila. “I’m sure my sister’s death had something to do with that, but I really don’t know. I think I’m spiritual, but I couldn’t tell you exactly what that means. I do know—and I hope I’m not insulting you, because you’re not like that—but with all the things with priests and little boys in recent years and the cover-ups, I don’t think very highly of churches in genera
l.”
“That was certainly a dark period,” agreed Phil. “I haven’t always been happy with the Church myself, and I haven’t always agreed with the laws they’ve laid down.”
“Then why have you stayed?” asked Ben.
“Because I have faith in God and in the Lord, Jesus Christ, to lead me in the right direction.”
“Is faith the same as knowing?” asked Lila.
“We won’t ever know until we’re in heaven, so faith is all we have.”
“What now?” Lila continued to probe. “There is no more church. You might be all that remains of the church. How does that affect you?”
“The church was God’s vehicle on this planet, but it’s not God. My faith remains intact.”
“Because faith is all we have?” repeated Ben.
“Because faith is all we have,” answered the priest.
As eager as they were to get on the road, Ben and Lila decided to stay an extra day with Phil. They were hoping to convince him to come with them. They also began to notice that, despite his cheerful demeanor and dedication to his religion, Phil had his own demons, and seemed at times to be hurting inside. They could tell that he craved their company.
That night, he showed them how to filet a fish, then cooked it with fresh vegetables on the side. Unfortunately, after seeing all the fly-covered bodies earlier in the day, they all just picked at their food.
At the end of the meal Ben said, “Phil, please think about this tonight. Lila and I would love it if you would come with us.” Lila nodded her head in agreement.
“I appreciate the offer and will give it some serious thought,” answered Phil, “but I’m not sure I’m ready to give this up yet.”
After cleaning up, Phil went to his room and Ben and Lila got ready for bed. A short time later they were snuggled up together on the mattress. It was dark and quiet.
“Ben?” Lila said in a small voice.
“Yes?”
“I’m ready.”
“Ready?”
“Remember I said I would know when the time was right? Well, I guess it’s happened sooner than I thought. It’s not the only thing I have to look forward to anymore. I have a life with you ahead of me.”
“Are you sure you want to?” asked Ben, now scared to death.
“Very,” answered Lila. “I feel safe with you right here. I don’t know when we’re going to feel safe again. Besides,” she smiled, “Now you can use one of those condoms I saw you sneak into your pack back at the drugstore.”
“You saw that, huh?”
“I did. Are you nervous?
“Yeah. You know I’ve never done this before,” said Ben.
“I know.” She gently touched his face. “We can figure it out together.”
They embraced and slowly began their voyage of discovery. There was a lot of fumbling, some laughter, but mostly a tenderness brought on by the intensity of their love for each other.
At one point Ben suddenly lifted his head and said, “Are we supposed to be doing this in a church?”
Lila giggled and pulled him back down.
Much later, when we remembered that night, we talked about being ready versus not. In the world we had come from, we were way too young. We hadn’t experienced enough in our own lives to consider a step like that. It would have been a mistake we would have regretted in that life. But the world had changed, and we had to change with it or die. We had grown up exponentially in a very short time, and we didn’t have a clue as to what the future had in store for us. We could be dead tomorrow. “Live for the moment” wasn’t some overused bumper sticker phrase anymore, it was reality. We both knew we had to experience every good moment that came our way, because it was often going to be followed by an awful one.
The morning was angry. Thunder rumbled down upon them and they could hear the rain pounding on the roof.
“Whew, good thing we’re not on the road,” said Ben, as they lay in bed. They hadn’t gotten much sleep, but when they did, it was restful and fulfilling.
“Mmmm,” said Lila sleepily. “A good morning to stay in bed.”
A brilliant flash of lightning, followed immediately by an intense crash of thunder, made them leap to their feet.
“Well, that woke me up!” exclaimed Lila.
“That one hit close by,” said Ben. “Really close.”
Phil ran into the room a moment later yelling, “The church has been hit. We’re on fire. We need to save as many supplies as possible.” He left as quickly as he had come in.
“We have to get our backpacks to safety first,” said Lila. “Otherwise, we have nothing.”
“I agree,” said Ben, as he was putting on his pants.
They dressed quickly and rushed over to their belongings and gathered them up. They stuffed what they could in the packs and carried the rest. They made it out the back door and tried to find a somewhat dry area to stow them.
Ben looked up at the roof of the church. It had indeed suffered a direct hit. It was an old wooden building and already it was engulfed in flames.
“We’re not going to be able to save much,” yelled Lila. She was trying to be heard above the roar of the rain.
They could see Phil running in and out of the building, desperately trying to rescue some of the supplies he had so lovingly accumulated. They ran to help him, entering the church, not knowing what to save first, so they just grabbed what they could. They only made four trips before the flames reached the back of the church. Phil was going to go in for another run when Ben grabbed onto his arm.
“Stop! You’re going to get killed if you go back in.”
Phil stopped. It looked to Ben as if he was crying, but it could have been the rain.
*****
They sat in the rain for an hour, totally helpless, watching the church burn to the ground. Phil stared into space, saying nothing. Ben looked over at him often. He wasn’t mistaken. Those were tears. Lila moved over to Phil and sat with him for the hour, her arm around him. There was nothing anyone could say. Finally, Lila helped Phil up and motioned for Ben to follow. She had noticed a detached barn that Phil used as a garage, and felt it was time to move somewhere dry. Ben followed with their packs.
The downpour was relentless. Ben couldn’t remember ever seeing it rain so hard for so long. However, the power of the rain was no match for the intensity of the fire. Within a couple of hours, there was nothing left of the church but a few blackened beams.
While Lila comforted Phil, Ben ventured back into the rain to gather some of the supplies they had rescued. The cans were fine, but the boxes they were stacked in had disintegrated, so Ben had to carry the cans a handful at a time. They had saved some of the cases of water, as well, and Ben brought them into the barn. That was it. There was nothing else.
Later, Phil asked for some time alone and went into a dark corner of the barn. Ben and Lila sat near the door to give him as much space as possible, but even so, they could hear him talking to his God. He was questioning God’s wisdom, cursing God’s callousness, and asking for God’s forgiveness, all interspersed with sobs. Lila cried just listening to him. Finally there was quiet. When evening came, Lila made her way into the back with a blanket she had found and covered the now sleeping priest. She came back and laid down with Ben. They both immediately fell asleep.
Ben woke up the next morning to the sound of Lila’s screams.
“Ben … Ben … Omigod, Ben.” She was almost choking on her words.
Ben ran to Lila, who was standing outside the barn, tears streaming down her face, staring into the woods.
Hanging by the neck from a thick branch, his body gently swaying in the breeze, was Phil.
Chapter 7
In the end, his faith just wasn’t enough to sustain him. I think he was already struggling before any of this happened. He was at his best helping the poor in Rwanda and other countries, and I think he regretted ever leaving that. In some ways, this colossal event was a renewal of sorts for him. As devastat
ing as it was, it gave him the opportunity to go back to the days when he was his happiest. With the church burning, all hope was lost. He no longer had a role in this life. I realized that he never would have come with us to Florida. He would also never have seen the people he wanted to help with his church—they just didn’t exist in the towns. With or without the fire, Phil was doomed. He was no better off than George and Bunny. The fire just hastened his demise.
With tears in their eyes, Ben and Lila cut Phil down from the tree limb. Wordlessly, Ben retrieved a shovel from the barn and dug Phil a grave. They had passed thousands of people without giving thought to a grave—even their own parents. Somehow, though, they knew they had to provide one for Phil. When Ben had dug the hole deep enough, he and Lila gently set Phil in, and Ben covered him with dirt.
When they were done, Ben sat against a tree stroking Lila’s hair as she rested her head on his thigh.
Lila finally spoke. “I was so happy last night. Making love to you; finding a true friend in Phil; the excitement of the journey ahead … despite the devastation, I was seeing only beauty. Now I see only ugliness. What are we going to do? I’m so lost right now.”
“I don’t know,” answered Ben. He was so deflated, he couldn’t even think.
“I need you to know,” pleaded Lila. “I need you to tell me what we’re going to do now. You’re my hero, remember?” She buried her head in Ben’s lap and cried so hard she gasped for breath.
“I’m sorry. I’m trying. I’m not a hero. I couldn’t stop Phil. If only I could’ve had a chance to talk to him, to tell him how much we cared about him.”
“Why do people kill themselves?” asked Lila, between sobs. “Don’t they know what they do to others?”
Eden Rising (Eden Rising Trilogy Book 1) Page 6
