“I’m 23, and he’s nearly four years older.”
She yawned and covered her mouth. Tired tears sprang into her eyes.
“I’m boring you, huh?” he asked with a smile.
Mortified, she shook her head adamantly. “No, not at all.”
“I’m just kidding. We’re all tired. I doubt anyone’s gotten a good night’s sleep in days.”
“That’s for sure.”
They watched the kids for a little while. There was something very likeable about this girl. Her honesty and innocence melded together making her more real than the girls Brad had dated lately. She was young and energetic yet reserved and opinionated. He could see why she garnered Hugh’s interest. Too bad for Hugh, Brad got to her first. You snooze; you lose.
Hugh
HUGH WANTED TO PROTECT JENNIE from his brother but had no idea how. What was he going to do— tell her what a jerk Brad was? That worked out real well when it came to Clarissa, didn’t it? Clarissa left anyway. He clenched his teeth and bided his time. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if Brad’s sole interest in the poor girl was because Hugh, himself, had been kind to her and tried to help her. It was a frustrating prospect. Of course Brad’s interest could just as easily be due to the fact she was the only girl in the room under thirty.
“I wouldn’t even have come here except to help Maria and her two little ones. I was heading straight for the base to see what I could do to help,” Caleb said, pointing a gnarled finger in the general west. Although he was five feet, five inches at the tallest, Caleb did have a commanding presence with his straight spine and square jaw. The shorter black man had a bit of grey mixed in with his hair, but it made him look more distinguished rather than old. “I retired from the Air Force only eight years ago and would have reported soon after the aliens had come if not for my wife.” His voice cracked, as he continued, “But now, God rest my Sophie, nothing is holding me back.”
Hugh stepped closer, making it more obvious that he was listening instead of just eavesdropping. Pastor Billy adjusted his glasses and nodded in response. The much taller blond pastor cleared his throat. “Yes, God rest your Sophie. But we don’t even know what’s going on, or what the military is doing in all of this. What would be your plan be?”
“They’ve got to have people who have been studying these things. The scientific community within the military is made up of the best. They must be focusing on the aliens’ behaviors, habits, finding weaknesses, that kind of stuff. I know I might not be as much as I used to be, but with manpower down like it is, I’ll help where I can.” He set a hand on Hugh’s shoulder. “And I hope you younger men might give a hand, too.”
Hugh smiled. “You make a convincing recruiter, that’s for sure.”
Caleb nodded reassuringly and gave Hugh’s shoulder a squeeze before releasing it. “I don’t know what kind of bad blood is going on between you and that other young man, your brother, but you might consider patching things up. You never know when it might be too late to do so, and we need every able hand we can get in this. We need to concentrate on battling the common enemy now and set petty differences aside.”
Hugh stiffened. The old man was right, and he knew it. It even sounded like something his mom would say. But sometimes a wound was too fresh and hurt too much to ignore so easily. Especially when it seemed like Brad was only too happy to pour salt in it.
Caleb’s eyes measured Hugh for a moment, waiting for a response. When none came, the older man nodded and gave him a gentle pat on the back. “In time, then. In time.”
Pastor Billy changed the subject. “I’ve been stuck here at the church pretty much since this whole thing started with the attack and infection. I haven’t looked at a TV in days, just listening to that.” He pointed at the clear plastic wind up radio in the corner that still continued to play the emergency broadcast report in repetition. It caused white noise, but it was better than the sanctuary sitting in silence. “Have they said anything on TV that I should know about? What do the pundits think of our situation?”
“The TV has been out of commission since the first or second day. All that’s on it anymore are scheduled, recorded programs. When it’s time for the news, usually they just have a test message or play the emergency broadcast,” Caleb answered.
Hugh piped in, eager to tell someone about his personal findings. “Before that, though, they showed footage of the attacks, and it seems that the Shisa don’t really act much like an invading force or like wild animals.”
Caleb furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
Hugh felt the need to explain himself better. “I studied the attacks on the loop and on several different channels and noticed a few similarities. These Shisa attacked apparently at random, neither the young nor the old were immune. Male, female, it didn’t seem that the aliens discriminated in any particular fashion. If these were wild animals, they would specifically attack the very young, or the sick and old first— the easy ones. But this wasn’t always the case. Besides, they didn’t eat the victims nor did they kill them but left every single one alive after biting.”
Pastor Billy sucked in his breath. Caleb’s eyes widened while he nodded.
“I’m not sure what happened to your Sophie?” Hugh asked.
Caleb cleared his throat, and his liquid brown eyes grew distant as he stared at the wall over Hugh’s shoulder. “My wife and I were driving to the store when the Shisa attacked. We crashed on Jefferson Avenue, because I swerved to avoid a car coming into my lane. The rumbling was awful, worse than when the kids have the bass in their radios up too loud. I got confused and…” He swallowed hard, and his voice deepened. “I accidently hit the gas pedal instead of the brakes. We hit a light pole on Jefferson. I was knocked unconscious. When I came to, my Sophie…she…was gone.” He closed his eyes and shook his head, tears escaping down his cheeks.
Pastor Billy put a hand on the man’s shoulder, and Caleb wiped his cheeks. He took a deep breath, and his breathing steadied.
Hugh nodded, feeling guilty for asking. He wanted to make sure his research was correct, and Sophie hadn’t died from an alien attack. “So, the Shisa weren’t killing anyone directly, it seemed from the footage. They’d bite them and injure them severely but left them alive. Within an hour or so, the bitten person began showing weird tendencies and violent behavior due to an infection—likely from the alien saliva. It seems that if a healthy person is bitten by an infected person, the infection is transferred as well.”
“That seems about right.” Pastor Billy nodded.
“So, I’m no military man like you are, Caleb, but by studying the Shisa, it also seems they don’t act in a very military-like fashion, either. I saw them bypass a strong, healthy looking man and attack a woman on TV, and incidents similar to it were happening all over the footage. It seemed to me that if it were a military attack, the strategy would be to single out the strongest and most likely to put up a resistance?”
Caleb’s eyes widened at what Hugh had said, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re right. That does make the most sense in a military strategy. But, maybe with the infection it makes no difference what kind of person is attacked since everyone will continue to spread the disease after being infected?”
“True, but there’s another behavior I’ve noticed which seems very unmilitary-like.”
“What’s that?” Both of the older men leaned toward Hugh.
“The aliens continue to attack victims they’ve already bitten, unnecessarily. What would be the point in that from a military aspect? Even though some are already infected, the Shisa come back and do it again.”
“You’re right. That doesn’t make any sense, militarily.” Caleb agreed.
As he considered the implications of this behavior, a thought suddenly occurred to Hugh. “It makes me wonder if the results of each bite are only temporary, and without another attack, the infected people would revert back to normal?”
Both older men stood shocked for a mo
ment and finally Caleb asked, “What is it you do for a living, again?”
JENNIE LAY IN THE DARK of the nursery with the other women and children. Her heart felt broken and empty. She tried her best not to think about her parents’ situations, but when she remembered she might not ever see either of them again, she had to choke down the sobs. Her arms wrapped around Mickey in the dark and his even breathing comforted her. At least he could sleep through all of this. The rain still thumped against the window. Would it wash away the bloody wound of the past few days, so that things could return to some semblance of normal?
The back of her throat itched and felt a little sore. Was she getting sick? A drink of water might help. She slowly pulled her arm out from under her brother’s head and sat up. She stood, still fully clothed and padded barefoot for the kitchen. She peeked down the hall to see if she disturbed anyone from the direction of the men in the sanctuary and saw, with relief, she had not. Light from a crack in the door of the bathroom cut through the dark of the hallway. It had been Mickey’s idea to leave it on in case someone got up in the middle of the night and needed to go. So many of the people gathered were not used to the layout of the little church, which almost felt like a second home to her now.
The cold tiles of the kitchen met her feet at the end of the carpeted hallway. She flicked on the overhead light and headed for the sink. From the cabinet, she grabbed one of the gallon jugs of water and took a glass from the dryer rack. The church didn’t have a dishwasher, so one of the ladies had done them the old-fashioned way.
After pouring herself a glass, she leaned back against the sink to take a quick drink. She didn’t hear Mr. Harris enter until he spoke. “Couldn’t sleep, either, huh?”
Feeling the awkwardness of the situation, she kept her eyes downcast and turned her back to him to place the glass in the sink. She didn’t want to run the water and disturb someone else in the small building.
“I just needed a quick drink.” She started to put the jug away when she asked instead, “Did you want a drink of water?”
Though she didn’t look at him, the sound of his voice was closer. “Sure, I’d love one.”
She took another glass from the drying rack and poured the water. Her eyes met his when she turned to hand him the cup. A small smile tugged at her lips when she was greeted with the more familiar face. She blurted, “You shaved, Mr. Harris.”
He smiled and rubbed his bare chin. She noticed that he had a dimple on the opposite cheek as his brother. “Yeah, I borrowed a razor from Caleb. And can you do me a favor?”
“Um, okay?”
“Could you stop calling me Mr. Harris? You’re not in high school anymore. We’re both adults, right? Call me Hugh.” He took the cup, leaned back on the kitchen island, and took a sip.
Even though the word seemed strange in her mouth, she shrugged and said, “Okay, Hugh.”
She couldn’t help but shake her head, as she turned around to put the gallon jug of water back in its place. Sure it had been over a year since she’d been in high school, but she’d gotten so used to respecting the younger teacher with the moniker that it would take effort to change.
“Do you mind if I give you a small bit of advice?”
Jennie turned toward him again and shrugged. “Okay?”
His eyebrows furrowed, and he looked in the general direction of her feet. He paused for a moment, spinning the empty glass in his hand. Finally he looked up with a sad but serious expression. “Be careful around my brother, all right?”
Anger welled up inside Jennie, and the heat rose in her face. She pushed off the counter and met his eyes mid-step. “Or what? I might end up with a black eye?”
He winced but dropped his gaze as she passed him.
The nerve of the guy. He decks his own brother after stealing the guy’s girlfriend, and now, he wanted her to stay away from Brad, too. What was with him? Did he really live in jealousy of his younger brother’s life? She stopped at the door before leaving. “Shouldn’t you apologize to him or something? I really can’t understand what it is you have against your own brother. It wasn’t like he stole your girlfriend or anything.” And she spun on her heel to head back for the nursery but not before seeing the incredibly hurt look in his eyes.
As she settled back on the floor with Mickey, the guilt tied the back of her throat in a knot. It wasn’t a very Christian thing she’d just done, and she shouldn’t have had it out with him quite like that. It just really angered her that he would give her unwanted advice. She yawned again in the dark and watched his shadow pass in the light of the cracked door. She closed her eyes, determined to fall asleep but couldn’t find it until she promised herself that she would talk to Hugh in the morning and apologize to him for being so very blunt.
Hugh
HUGH STOOD IN THE KITCHEN in absolute shock for at least five minutes. What on earth had Brad told Jennie? The accusation in her tone and her sharp gaze cut to the bone. And then to say that Brad didn’t do exactly what he’d done was like a knife to the heart all over again.
He shouldn’t have said anything about his brother. Even though he promised himself he wouldn’t, he did it anyway. And the result? Almost a mirror image of Clarissa’s response. They both took Brad’s side. He knew his brother was charismatic, but was Hugh, himself, really so very untrustworthy?
An ache tightened his chest when he remembered the look in Jennie’s accusing grey eyes.
When he and his brother were young and growing up, Hugh didn’t really remember competing with his brother for anything. He was too busy studying and playing sports. He played basketball and football through high school and was vice-president of the National Honor Society at Warwick High. He was never stellar at either sport and finished 3rd in his class.
Brad, on the other hand, spent most of his time chasing girls and fixing cars. His used his charismatic smile and rugged good looks to lure many women into his bed. They had totally different pursuits. When Brad brought home his report cards, their parents would be happy if he just got straight C’s. His brother’s antics landed him in trouble with teachers, but somehow his dimples got him out half the time. Their father always said that Brad had no ambition.
Hugh set the used cup on the countertop and headed out of the kitchen in a daze. His heart felt hollow in his chest. After turning off the kitchen light, he had to wait a moment for his eyes to adjust to the ensuing darkness. With a heavy sigh, he started back toward the sanctuary, knowing full well that sleep wouldn’t be his friend tonight.
Brad
IN THE MORNING, BRAD WAS up earlier than the other men. Hugh still snored on the pew in a half-sitting position. Chatter came down the hallway from the women in the kitchen, and one of the three kids squealed from the nursery. The pale sunlight sifted through the narrow window at the top of the white walls. The rain had finally quit.
After a trip to the bathroom, Brad headed for the nursery where Jennie played Chutes and Ladders with the children this time.
“Yay, I win!” the little girl yelled and threw her hands in the air.
Jennie lifted her face in the middle of her smile, and her eyes twinkled when she saw Brad. He gave her a half-grin back and leaned against the door frame.
“Again!” Mickey yelled, and they started setting the pieces up for another game.
“Okay, but count me out this time,” Jennie said in a singsong way, rising to her feet.
“Awwwww.” Mickey and the other two voiced their disappointment, but it didn’t last long before they were giggling and focusing on the new game.
“Sleep well?” Jennie asked, putting her hands in her pockets. Her feet were still bare, and she curled her toes awkwardly.
With a smile at the motion, Brad said, “Not too bad, anyway. You?”
She shrugged. “Not so great. It’s hard to sleep in such a crowd, you know?”
“Yeah.”
She picked up her shoes and socks and sat on a toddler size stool to pull them on. She lost her balance
for a moment and giggled when Brad grabbed her hand and helped her get steady. Her hands were soft and warm. Once she was balanced, she started again on the task of covering up her small, pink toes.
He watched the three kids at their game. From what he could see in their excitement, it appeared that the girl was winning again. Her brother yelled “not fair” and folded his arms across his chest. His face reddened into a pout.
Jennie pulled the last knot tight on her shoes and headed over to the threesome. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“She hit my dice after it stopped and made it say four now instead of six. She says that I can’t do the six.”
“Is that true?”
Mickey shrugged, and the girl shook her head. “I did not.”
With an exasperated sigh, Jennie offered, “Well, if that really happened, will it make you feel better to go six?”
He nodded, and his hands fell to his sides.
“What about you guys? Are you okay if he goes six?”
Mickey shrugged again, and the little girl crossed her arms. “But he rolled four and doesn’t want to go down the chute. If he goes six, he gets to go up a ladder. That’s not fair.”
“Okay, how about he rolls again and goes whatever number he gets this time. Does that work?” Jennie’s diplomacy seemed to get the siblings into a stalemate, and eventually, the boy rolled again.
She seemed like the kind of girl who could fix just about anything. This girl was a way better catch than Clarissa. Too bad she didn’t have any money.
A hand on Brad’s shoulder pulled him from his thoughts. He turned back and met eyes with Hugh. His brother’s brown eyes were troubled, as he asked, “Can we talk?”
With a shrug and a backwards step, he looked back at Jennie and saw the worry in her eyes. Brad winked and gave her a nod. He followed his brother toward the one room left in the church that remained unoccupied, the single classroom. It had a small podium with chairs arrayed in a semicircle of five rows. On the wall behind the podium lay a green chalkboard to one side and a white dry erase board to the other. There was a cork board and map of Israel on the back wall and the wall opposite the door was lined with windows. Outside, the row of evergreens shaded the building from what was left of the sun.
Sanctuary Page 14
