Salvation | Book 1 | Salvation

by McNeil, Nick

  “But I really mentally prepared to eat,” Levi agonized.

  Clementine put her hands over her stomach. “Me too.”

  “Same,” Amelia stated bluntly as she bobbed her head.

  Buckley, Washington

  10:00 p.m.

  “I knew we should have waited for them to come to us.” Dinesh brushed dirt off his jacket. He followed behind Mr. and Mrs. Jones, with his brother by his side.

  “I don’t remember you complaining this much when you came over after school.” Mrs. Jones held her rifle in one hand and Mr. Jones’ hand in the other.

  “Well, I didn’t really have the fear of constantly dying after school, Mrs. Jones,” Dinesh cracked.

  “Does your little brother speak English?” Abe asked Dinesh.

  “And why would you be asking that?” Dinesh stopped walking.

  “Because he hasn’t said a single word since we left.” Abraham crouched, Mrs. Jones bending next to him. “What’s that?”

  Dinesh dropped to the ground and pulled Jay down with him. “What’s what?”

  Mr. Jones covered Dinesh’s mouth and pointed ahead at a lit campfire.

  “Oh,” Dinesh whispered.

  “I’m really not sure what to do about this.” Abe cracked his neck. “I have three rounds, and my wife has five. Neither of you are armed.”

  “If there was a negative encounter of any type, we would be pretty screwed,” Mrs. Jones added. “We can, of course, pretend we are fully loaded, but if they call our bluff, we would need to shoot like Clay Allison.”

  “Clay who?” Jay asked.

  The entire group’s jaws dropped and their eyes widened. “So he does speak.” Mr. Jones put his hand over his mouth, realizing he’d spoken too loud.

  “Um.” Dinesh pointed at the campsite.

  Six individuals trekked into the light of the campfire. They were too far to fully distinguish each person, but based on their silhouettes and body posture, four of them had rifles at the ready and two were carrying pistols.

  “Let’s see how this plays out.” Abraham shuffled forth while still crouching.

  Campsite, Buckley, Washington

  10:10 p.m.

  “When do we shoot them?” Amelia whispered.

  Levi looked through the scope of his rifle, watching the men wander around the campsite. “I don’t know. I was really banking on Dad and the others showing up and not these guys.”

  “I still don’t get why they’re so persistent.” Amelia brushed her hair off her face and took aim.

  “It’s almost like they care more about the hunt than anything else,” Levi replied. Clementine rested behind him. “Either that, or their egos won’t let this go.”

  Clementine and Amelia spoke up at the same time: “Their egos.” “Ego for sure.”

  “On my signal, Amelia.” Levi’s finger applied just enough pressure to make his skin indent, but not pull the trigger. He zoned in on the six men circled around the campfire.

  “What’s the signal? We never discussed a signal.” Amelia raised one of her eyebrows.

  One of the men lowered his aim and circled in place. “You think you can hide,” he called out and fired a round into the woods. “You think you can set us up.” He burst into laughter. “We have been waiting for the day of reckoning. You can try to kill us, but we are everywhere. We have been hiding in the shadows, and now the day has come for us to finally roam the lands.”

  Levi pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into the lit campfire. Embers sprayed and chunks of wood disbursed everywhere. Embers flew into the eyes, mouths, and faces of the men. They waved their arms in the air like they were swatting away bees. Levi and Amelia opened fire, discharging every cartridge in their magazines. Levi occasionally sent a bullet into the fire to keep the men blinded. The six men dropped to the ground, one of them falling into the fire.

  Levi and Amelia surrounded the campfire as Clementine stayed back. They aimed their empty rifles at the men spread around the campfire. Amelia kicked the man on top of the fire, rolling him off the mostly diffused flames.

  “Their guns suck. I don’t want to use a bunch of hunting rifles.” Amelia kicked one of the guns across the dirt.

  “They have a couple of revolvers at least.” Levi snagged them and opened the cylinders, to find they were both fully loaded. He checked for Clementine, but she wasn’t near the bush. His heart raced. She must have run away like a practical person, he thought. He turned and saw her checking the pockets of one of the men. His heart settled and he let out a deep breath. She’s still very practical, he reassured himself. Surrounding bushes ruffled. “Here, take this.” Levi tossed one of the revolvers to Clementine. Midair he realized what a horrible decision he had just made. He wished the handgun were attached to a string so he could pull it back to himself.

  Clementine caught the gun by the grip and maneuvered it snugly into her hands.

  “Damn, that was smooth.” Amelia rocked her head back and forth. “You play catch with Magnums with your dad when you were a kid or something?”

  “My dad was a cop, actually.” A tear rolled down Clementine’s cheek. “He and I go—went—shooting every weekend.”

  “I thought you said your father was a vet?” Levi questioned.

  “We were obviously putting on an act. A vet is way more useful.” Clementine gave a one-shoulder shrug.

  “Why not just say doctor, then?” Levi coughed.

  “People are casually rummaging through the bushes and trying to kill us, no big deal,” Amelia interrupted.

  “Levi Jones,” a familiar voice shouted from beyond the campfire’s light.

  Levi lowered his aim and rolled his eyes. He couldn’t help but let a little smile slip.

  Dinesh, Jay, Abraham, and Mrs. Jones emerged from the dark woodlands. Mr. and Mrs. Jones lowered their aim and rushed to their children. Mrs. Jones hugged Levi, and Amelia shoved away an incoming Abraham. “As if.” She groaned. Amelia walked to her mother and brother and hugged both of them, making eye contact with Abe the entire time.

  “Something is really off with these people,” Clementine shouted. “Come look at this.” Clementine dragged one of the corpses over and placed the man’s head next to one of the other dead bodies. The Joneses and Patels surrounded the two carcasses. “Look, they have the exact same tattoo under their eye.” Clementine pointed to a red heart tattoo on the top of the men’s cheekbones. “The other four men have it under their left eye as well.”

  “Let’s not forget the bonkers shit they said just before Levi went all Rambo on them.” Amelia crouched to get a closer look.

  “What’d they say?” Abraham probed.

  Levi pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “That the day of reckoning had come. And that they were hiding, but now they’ve come out.”

  “What does that mean?” Dinesh bit his nails.

  “It’s probably some weird cult or something.” Levi rubbed his chin and placed his rifle on the ground. “This is very interesting. There is no telling what their numbers are.”

  “Well, I sure hope it has nothing to do with these.” Amelia held out the wrists of the dead men. “One of them says thirty-five and the other one seventy-eight.”

  Clementine, Levi, Mrs. Jones, and Abraham rushed to the other four bodies. They all called out their numbers.

  “One hundred and nine.”

  “Ninety-one.”

  Mr. Jones hesitated. “Two hundred and one.”

  “I don’t have anything more optimistic.” Levi dropped the man’s arm and let it thump on the soil. “Two hundred and ninety-four.”

  “How do we know that is the number of men they have? It could be anything.” Dinesh gave a nervous laugh.

  “It could absolutely be several forms of labeling and categorizing,” Levi acknowledged. “However, if this is a cult, this would be a somewhat standard, or at the very least, not an unheard of way to name each new person. I doubt they even went by their own names, possibly just their num
ber.” Levi walked to his rifle and picked it back up. “But that is jumping to conclusions. No matter what, we should be moving on. If there are hundreds of them, we have no clue where they are stationed, or if more men are following up with this situation.”

  “Where do we go? We can’t head in the same direction.” Dinesh zipped up his jacket.

  “There is a little bit of food in this backpack.” Levi turned to show them his pack. “I say we find something to cook this in.”

  “My old cabin is actually just a few miles from here. We didn’t get far at all before meeting you guys. Considering how far we drove outrunning those freaks, I really do think we are pretty close.” Clementine rose to her feet. “It’s already been looted, sadly, but I am sure there are some pots and pans at the very least.”

  “How do we know this isn’t a trap?” Amelia hissed.

  Abraham puffed out his chest and looked Clementine up and down. “I think we can trust her. It’s either that, or I am desperately hungry.”

  “Why didn’t we eat at Mr. C’s again?” Dinesh pondered.

  The Jones family stood in silence and looked at each other. Amelia ripped a shoe off one of the dead bodies and threw it at Dinesh. “Shut up, Dinesh.”

  4

  DAY 3

  Unknown Location, Washington

  12:34 a.m.

  An old man with a thick head of red hair inspected himself in a long rectangular mirror. His full head of hair was naturally colored and graying, but the fullness matched that of a man in his young twenties. His sky blue eyes were sunken into his wrinkly skin. He moved the wrinkled skin under his eye around, showing a worn-out and saggy heart tattoo. The old man’s bushy eyebrows pointed in every direction, and his smile had left many years ago. He wore a simple red hooded robe with a golden belt made of rope.

  “Gideon, I have very unnerving news I must share with you.” A young man with dark skin kneeled. He wore a golden hooded robe with a red belt made of rope.

  “Stand, Aaron.” The old man looked at the messenger through the reflection in his mirror. “This must be important if you are disturbing me before I address my people.” The two men stood in a square room with no windows. The floors were a glossy black, and the walls were white with subway tiles.

  “We heard back from Elijah early this morning, as well as Ezra.” Aaron rose, his head nearly the height of the doorway. If his hair were any longer than his buzz cut, it would brush against the doorframe. “We heard nothing back from Jacob. He should have reported in and returned hours ago. Elijah has already left for his next bidding.”

  “This is unnerving news.” The old man turned. “Either they have forsaken us, or something has happened to them. But I do not think Jacob would ever turn his back, nor do I believe he would ever return late.” Gideon stepped inches from and looked up at him. “He knows the consequences of staying out past midnight.” He patted the tall man on the chest. “Now, please escort me.”

  “Of course, sir.” Aaron’s voice was deep, and his muscles could be seen even through his unfitted robe. He grabbed the vertical bar-shaped door handle and swung it open. The old man walked out into a massive all-white room with blue and red lighting. The room was stuffed with hundreds of people in red robes. All throughout the edges of the room were planter boxes with luscious vegetation. “Many of the doubters have returned, sir. They believe now.”

  “As do all who see things with their own two eyes,” Gideon replied without looking away from the mass of people who awaited him. “But I will not forget those who trusted me before the reckoning. It is easy to look for God once something has already happened.” Gideon put his two hands in the air, and the hordes of people went silent. All conversations ended immediately, and anyone in the middle of a task stopped what they were doing. “My children,” he called out.

  “Our father,” the people replied.

  “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” Gideon lowered his hands and folded them together at his waist. “On the third day God said, ‘Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so,” he emphasized.

  His people listened as though they were hearing sound for the very first time.

  “God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas,” Gideon continued, “Then God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth’”—he made a fist—“and it was so.” Spit flew from between his teeth, and his eyes vibrated in their sockets. “And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.”

  His voice softened and his hands unclenched. He opened his arms out with his palms pointed to the heavens. “And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.” He smiled. “You have been patient, my children, but today, today is the third day, and as God intended, I shall bring forth vegetation.”

  Servants walked around the room and weaved through the crowds, handing out freshly picked fruits and vegetables.

  “Thousands of years ago I led an army of three hundred men into battle to avenge my fallen brothers. Despite all odds, I was victorious.” His tone could be confused for anger over passion. “I have stopped the mouths of lions, and I have quenched the fire of violence. Men’s weaknesses, I have turned into strengths, and I now deliver the word of the Lord once again.” Gideon smiled and placed his hands together like he were praying. “I have called upon an army of three hundred once again to follow me into battle. This time though, I do not serve myself, only you. You have sinned beyond saving, and only through redemption will you find the promised land. Have mercy on us, O Lord.”

  The people recited as one, “For we have sinned against you.”

  “Show us, O Lord, your mercy,” Gideon cried out.

  “And grant us your salvation,” his people responded.

  Clementine’s Cabin, Washington

  9:30 a.m.

  “Wake up, asshole.” Amelia kicked Abraham in his tailbone. “It’s time for some goddamn answers.”

  Abraham was spooning with Mrs. Jones on the living room couch. The room was quaint, with wooden panel walls and a fireplace. The sofa was directly across from the fireplace, with a few loveseats and chairs surrounding it. Mr. Jones rubbed his eyes. “Can I at least get some coffee first?”

  “No.” Amelia spit out her gum, hitting her father right in the cheek. “You can have my used gum. Now get up. I’ve almost died way too many times in the last couple of days.”

  “I thought you liked the apocalypse.” Dinesh was sitting on a loveseat to the left of the sofa, his brother, Jay, sitting in a chair next to him.

  “We’re indifferent about it,” Levi answered for his sister. He was sitting across from Dinesh and to the right of the couch.

  Mr. and Mrs. Jones sat up while keeping the blanket over their laps. “I know I owe you a lot of answers.” Abe cleared his throat.

  “You promised to be straightforward about everything.” Amelia sat on the armrest of the recliner that Levi was sitting in.

  “I did.” Abraham bobbed his head. “And I will be. It’s just, it’s a really hard thing to be honest about.” He looked at his wife. “It’s not even because I think what I did was wrong. It’s just that I’m honestly not strong enough to deal with how I hurt people, doing the things I believe in.”

  “Great speech, Mr. J,” Dinesh interrupted Abraham, “but we aren’t looking for some woe-is-me bullshit. My parents are both dead, and I feel like, we all feel like you know a lot more than you’ve shared.”

  “Why do you already have a bugout spot planned?” Levi asked.

  “Why didn’t you even seem somewhat confused by this whole ordeal? You’re calm as hell,” Amelia lashed out.

>   Levi sat up. “Is this related to why you’ve been in and out of our lives all these years?”

  “I think you should let your father speak.” Mrs. Jones placed her hand on his chest.

  Abe looked into the empty fireplace. “The reason I had a bugout place planned was because I knew the attack to the grid system was coming because I was a part of it.”

  Levi’s emotions were a mixed bag. He felt an unexpected rush of excitement.

  “Ironic.” Amelia wiped a single tear. “I used to dream about the end of the world because I thought if it somehow happened when you were home, that it meant you couldn’t leave us again. It felt like the only scenario where we could be enough for you. A scenario where basically nothing else existed for you to go to.”

  The emotion of Abraham’s face stayed the same, yet tears rolled down it.

  “I am assuming you know what the broadcast said?” Dinesh asked.

  Abraham nodded his head in agreement.

  “And we can all probably assume that you agree with whatever message is being portrayed in this broadcast?”

  “That is correct,” Abe replied in a soft voice.

  “Well, what the hell did it say?” Dinesh crossed his arms.

  “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” Abe reluctantly said. “Welcome to the first day of your life. Your life. Welcome to a world without two hundred and fifty years of context. A world without preset designs and outcomes. Welcome to your first taste of free will. This time you decide the rules. This time, you choose your path. Everything until this day has been rigged against you.” Abe looked over his traveling companions. He cleared his throat, and the confidence returned to his voice. “Symmetry has been added to the playing field. Whatever you cannot touch will never again return. Harmony has been added to the natural order. Rich, poor, educated, it means nothing. Preparation is the only savior. You have never been free until now. You are the people of nothing, but at least you are the only owner of your soul. One day, some of which was lost will be returned. But first, retribution. Welcome to the new world.”