The Outbreak Series (Book 2): Purgatory

by Baker, Thomas

  The dropped there hands and went in a single file, the woman in front, Hannah, JT, and the man covered them at the back. The church was big, considering it sat out in the middle of nowhere. It had a solid brick bottom, and the rest of it was wooden slats, painted white. It was two stories tall. Windows in front were set at level with the brick bottom.

  There was a cross on the top of a little dome above a wide front porch. They went around the church, on its left side. JT saw it had two big stained glass windows dominating that side, both still intact. They turned another corner to the back of the church. There was an open grassy area behind the building, where a small shed set. There was also what JT assumed was a garden with a couple of people working in it. A sidewalk ran from the shed, along the garden, where it formed a T and branched. One path went straight ahead off towards the parking lot. The other went to the back stairs of the church. On the other side of the parking lots, obscured partially by trees, JT could make out a large brick building.

  Unbelievable. I hope this Reverend guy isn't some Harold all over again. Or as crazy as these two seem to be. By the bodies hanging in the tree out front, that's probably a slim hope.

  A few steps lead up to a modest porch. A small white wooden door was at the top. The man directed them to go up the stairs with a wave of his gun. They went inside and the first thing that hit him was the smell. It was the smell of too many people crammed into too small a space. JT imagined this is what the shelters after Hurricane Katrina were like. Hannah started coughing.

  How do these people here stand it?

  They were in a dim hallway. It didn't look like they had electricity. Candles were lit in holders on the walls. The holders were all mismatched. The light flickered as they passed. They passed mostly closed doors. JT thought he heard people shuffling around behind them.

  The hallway took a right. Down it they went. Next they passed through an archway. They came out into the main worship room. Two rows of pews marched back to the front doors. Light streamed in through the stain glass windows, creating a technicolor shimmer. Directly in front of the windows was the stage. It was dominated by a huge white cross. A figure of Jesus hung on it, weeping and looking in pain. Staggered tables held countless candles lit the stage area. In front of the cross was a wooden podium. There a man was standing. He was looking down at a book, hands on either side of it. He was dressed all in black, except of the white around his neck.

  That must be him. The Reverend. Here we go. Time to stay calm and do some fast talking.

  The Reverend looked up at the sound of their approach. JT was surprised to see he was a young looking guy. Closer to Hannah's age than his. He was not a bad looking guy either, with a clean shaven baby face. If he wasn't wearing those church clothes, JT would have thought he was a member of some boy band.

  "Charlie, Patricia. I see you have brought us some guests. Charlie, come up here," The Reverend commanded more than asked.

  Charlie ascended the stage while Patricia covered JT and Hannah. Charlie and the Reverend talked in hushed voices, heads close together. The Reverend popped his head up twice while they talked, looking over at them. It seemed to JT he was looking more specifically at Hannah. The Reverend's eyes seemed to linger on her, measuring her up and down.

  When they finished talking, the Reverend waved Charlie off. "Both of you may go.”

  Charlie clearly looked unhappy about this, but he and Patricia both left the room without a word. This left JT, Hannah and this Reverend alone in the chapel. JT thought about rushing him and bursting out the front door. If only he knew what he would find on the other side.

  The Reverend walked confidently over to them, a beaming smile on his face. His straight white, perfectly normal teeth, clean face, and clothes were a sharp contrast to the two who had brought JT here.

  "Welcome, both of you," he said in a slight drawl. His voice had a warm shucks aren't we all long time friends tone. He shook their hands. Hannah lit up as the Reverend shook hands with her. JT immediately felt a stab of jealousy. He also was confused. Did she already forget about the dead bodies hanging from the tree out front?

  "Sorry we had to meet this way. Under the threat of violence," the Reverend continued on. "As you are probably well aware of though, you have to be careful in these times. Besides the undead, we have had other...unscrupulous people come around from time to time. It is my responsibility to protect this church and its people. I am God's right hand man in this little corner of the world. You can call me Reverend Albright."

  "From what I've seen outside, your methods seem a little hardcore," JT said, probably a little more confrontational than he should have.

  Calm, stay calm. He pictured the face of the little girl he accidentally killed as she fell out the open window. It helped damping the fire.

  "Yes, well, a few examples will save more lives overall. That is my goal. God does punish the wicked, so the Bible says," Reverend Albright didn't miss a beat and kept on smiling. "What is your name big man?"

  JT stood silently, trying to decide how he was going to approach this. He learned his lesson with Harold about jumping into bed with someone quickly. Before he could reply, Hannah spoke up.

  "I'm Hannah, this is JT," she said, gesturing over. She looked up at the Reverend with a weird smile on her face. "We're looking for medical supplies. Reverend, you wouldn't happen to know if there is some place nearby we could get some? A hospital, a care center, maybe even a government camp?"

  JT shot Hannah a harsh glare, but she refused to meet his eyes.

  "Are one of you hurt?" Albright asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

  "No, we need them for, well, for just in case. For emergencies," Hannah backpedaled.

  "Well," Albright began, and then stopped for a long pause. "I'll have to think on that. I may be able to help you. Why don't you two stay and be my guest tonight. We can have dinner together, exchange some information. I can determine if either of you are a threat to my flock."

  "I must confess. I have my own selfish reasons as well.” The Reverend smiled widely again. It was charming, that smile. JT wanted to punch a few of those perfect teeth out of it.

  “I have been too busy tending to my people to concern myself much with the outside world. I would be greatly interested in some current affairs. What interesting news you must have to share."

  "Thanks but no thanks," JT said, backing up slowly as he talked. "It sounds like you don't know any information that can help us, so we’ll be on our way. You can even keep the shotgun, as a show of good faith that we mean you no harm."

  "I'm sorry. I didn't speak clearly enough. It wasn't an invitation," Albright's tone became more serious and a little hard edged as he continued. "I need to make sure you both can be trusted. There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers."

  "Sounds reasonable," Hannah agreed. "That's proverbs isn't it?"

  JT was floored. What was she thinking? He was several steps behind her now. He stopped, not sure what to do next.

  "You are of the faith Hannah?" Albright smiled and winked at her. "Let me warn you in advance, I will give you a sales pitch about joining our church. JT, you may be surprised at what information I do hold that can help you."

  He didn't even give JT a chance to answer before he called for Charlie and Patricia. They came back into the room, the rifles slung over their shoulders.

  This isn't at all going like I want it to.

  "Will you two please escort our visitors to the guest rooms?" Albright asked his two church members.

  The two approached, taking their rifles into their hands as they approached JT and Hannah. They stood like sentinels on either side of them. Albright continued on.

  "You no doubt saw the large building behind us, coming in. It was our university.
We are still working on converting it for our growing congregation. For now, guests and new converts to the church stay there. In what use to be the dorms. One side is for men, the other is for women. You will be safe in them. Plus you will not be tempted into sin. Isn't that right JT?" Albright gave JT a half smile. "May you both be blessed."

  "Wait, I'm not going anywhere," JT said, raising his voice. "I didn't agree we would stay and I sure as hell didn't agree to fucking splitting us up."

  Reverend Albright had been heading back to his podium. He turned back, an ugly sneer now marring his otherwise handsome face.

  "Please don't use such language in the house of the Lord," Albright snarled. He made a show of calming down, and continued on in a more pleasant tone. "Don't be rude as well, rejecting our gracious offering. I don't want us to get off on the wrong foot, having to use force against you. If you have nothing to fear then why would you fight us? We will speak again at dinnertime. If you answer my questions satisfactorily, you both will be free to go."

  Hannah looked at JT. She was shaking her head yes, and looked at him with pleading eyes. JT decided to go along with this for now. Maybe a better opportunity to escape will come up in these rooms he was talking about.

  "Good. I will see you later," Albright said, leaving through a door to the left of the stage.

  "Follow us," Charlie said. "Don't try anything tough guy."

  They went back the way they came from outside. JT tried to chat with Charlie on the way, asking about how long they had been there, how many people were at the church. JT got nothing out of him. JT and Hannah were lead out the back door, down the stairs and down the sidewalk to the parking lot.

  Charlie led them across the parking lot to another sidewalk, which ran a short distance through a wooded area. On the other side were several large brick buildings. The largest looked to be three stories tall. It's roof was also red, matching the bricks. Around each window was a white window pane. A circular drive wound its way in front of the building.

  They followed the sidewalk as it turned and ran parallel to the circle drive and up to the white front door.

  Charlie went up the three steps to the door. He worked on the lock while his friend covered them. JT looked over to Hannah. He shook his head and frowned. She gave him a shrug and a weak smile back.

  Charlie walked in and in a few moments came back out.

  "Move," he said, gesturing with his gun. "Then stop just inside."

  JT and Hannah did as they were told. They stood inside a huge foyer. A hallway ran to the left and right. In front of them was a reception area, two sets of stairs on either side of the desks and an impressive chandelier hung from the ceiling far above. Light streamed in all the windows.

  From what he could see, the place looked pretty clean to JT. Either it hadn't been hit that hard by the Outbreak, or the church people had done an impressive job cleaning it up.

  "Up the stairs, to the left of the desk." Charlie gestured with his rifle again.

  Arriving at the second level, JT and Hannah were told to go left. Here it was much darker, as most of the hallway consisted of closed doors, with only a large window set where they stood at the top of the stairs.

  The third door they came to on JT's right, Hannah was pushed into without warning. Patricia reached in and slammed the door closed.

  "Not a word big guy," Charlie growled before JT could even protest.

  They walked three more doors down and opened a door on JT's left.

  "Alright, go in. I'll be back to get you at suppertime." Charlie pushed JT through, then closed the door and locked it.

  JT looked around. The windows had no covers, so bright sunlight streamed into every corner. The room was stripped bare of any decorations it once must have had. There was an empty desk and chair, a bed plainly made against the back wall, and an open door leading to the bathroom. There was a dorm fridge next to the desk. JT opened it up to find a few bottles of water inside, room temperature. Of course since the electricity was out.

  Old habits die hard I guess.

  He kept exploring, not finding much else. A nightstand stood under the window of the room, with of course, a bible in the drawer.

  Pretty spartan. Let's see if I can find anyway out of here.

  He looked through the window. It faced the church. He didn't see anyone out there at the moment. He could see it was nailed shut in several places. He could break the glass, but it was in his opinion to far to try jumping. Everyone would be fucked if he broke an ankle or leg. He checked out the front door, pressed his body against it, putting more and more weight on it. If he got a running start, he was pretty sure he could knock it open.

  Then what?

  He would have to find some way into Hannah's room, probably having to knock it down too. Then the two of them would have to get away before anyone was aware they had escaped. He doubted he could do all that quickly while still being quiet enough not to get caught. The way those two with the rifles acted, it would probably result in them getting shot. Then what would Gus and Tyrone do? He had no real idea if they were being guarded and watched all the time or how many people they would have to sneak by. Maybe for now, the best thing was to wait until they talked later and hope this Reverend wasn't full of shit.

  He had the urge to open up the desk, take out the Bible, and tear it to shreds. He stopped himself though. He figured, just in case God was up their and watching, he didn’t need him pissed off at him. Instead, he wandered around in circles for awhile. It was stuffy and warm. His stomach burned. Trapped, helpless his mind raced with possibilities.

  After who knows how long, JT gave in to the tiredness he was feeling. He thought he might as well get a little rest while he waited. He would need all his strength and a clear head if they were going to get out of this. He went and laid on the bed. He closed his eyes, but his brain wouldn't shut off. He didn't think he was going to get much rest after all.

  The light had dimmed considerably when JT awoke to pounding on the door. His head was all fuzzy, his eyes felt glued shut. Apparently he did end up falling asleep after all. He tried to move his legs, but they didn't want to seem to cooperate. Meanwhile the pounding continued non stop.

  "I'm coming. Hold on a damn sec," JT shouted. He got to the front door and pounded on his side, in sarcastic protest.

  The pounding stopped and he heard the rattling of keys and the clicking of the lock. Charlie looked at him impatiently as the door swung open.

  "Come on, the Reverend is waiting. It took so long to get you up dinner has probably started. Your friend we took back thirty minutes ago."

  That woke JT up completely. He had to hold himself back from racing off. As they approached the church, JT tried to put himself in as calm a mood as possible. He wanted to get them out of here as fast as they could. He worried not only for them but if Gus would even still be around by the time they got back.

  JT was led through the hallway. As he walked into the room he was guided to, laughter erupted from Hannah. She was covering her mouth to keep the food inside, and the Reverend had a cocky smile on his face. It was a little surreal, seeing the two of them sitting at the table alone, candles lit. Like they were having an intimate dinner at a five star restaurant, instead of the inside of a church while outside zombies roamed the world.

  A quick glimpse around the room suggested this use to be like a small cafeteria slash coffee house. There were a few tables with chairs arranged in a way to face a television screen on the far wall.

  Charlie cleared his throat, getting the attention of the Reverend.

  "Oh, thank you Charlie. Come join us JT, “Reverend Albright beckoned. "Hannah was just telling me an amusing story about the first time she was teaching her mother how to use a cell phone. A good memory from a better time."

  JT's feelings of hope evaporated. He kept his face blank though, not giving Albright the satisfaction of seeing he was getting to him. Charlie left after JT took a seat. It was just the three of them now.

&nb
sp; "Yeah, it was better back in the day, in that dead people weren't trying to eat my face," JT said casually. He didn't even look down at the food. He wasn't interested in eating. He wanted to get Hannah and himself out of here.

  JT glanced at Hannah. Hannah gave him a look he didn't know how to take. She went back to picking at the plate of food. He continued.

  "There were still lots of other kinds of problems though. It wasn't all unicorns and rainbows, that's for sure."

  "You are right my friend," agreed Albright. "Nothing has been perfect in the world since the Garden of Eden. Since our original sin. There I go already, talking about the Bible. I did warn you though."

  Albright laughed. JT thought it was a canned laugh, but he had to admit it was a good one.

  "We can save the talk of church for later. First I want to hear about you two. Where you have come from, where you are going. Convince me we can trust you. That I can trust you. I can't let you go then have you come back with thirty people and attack us. As others have."

  "Look, we’re regular people trying to survive," JT tried to put on the calmest voice he could muster. He wanted to match Albright's awe shucks attitude with his own hey we are all friends tone. "We were lucky we escaped out of the cities with our lives. We have fought off zombie attacks and we have survived. We have never attacked any other people. We have never stolen anything from other people. All we want is to find somewhere safe and be left alone. Bring me out a stack of Bibles and I will swear on them that we will leave here and not come back."

  "I see. Do you have any more to add Hannah?" Albright said, pausing between bites.

  "Not much," Hannah said, staring and smiling at Albright. "JT has saved my life more than once. I’m not sure I would have survived past day one if he hadn't ran into us..me. I don't know what better act of kindness I could tell you about than that." Hannah took two sips out of the half empty glass of dark red wine in front of her.

  "It's just the two of you? No one else is with you?" Reverend Albright asked, raising his eyebrows.