Salvation

The problem with chili is that it gives you gas, unfortunately it is the wrong kind to cook with. Bill is running out of gas for his camp stove and it is up to Joshua to solve this problem.

Chapter 6:

-Salvation-

The Messenger sat alone in the nighttime gloom of the central chamber. Most of the lights were extinguished during the nighttime hours. The sinners took turns watching the three passageways that ran from the chamber. The crawlspace behind the bathroom had collapsed when the large crack had opened. The Messenger felt trapped, it hated feeling trapped. Not only was it feeling trapped but it felt frustrated as well, and not just because of the trapped feeling.

It had work to do, so many damned sinners to punish, but still God stayed its hand. It had tried to hinder them in their efforts, tried to keep the sinners from flourishing, but still they seemed to thrive. They had even begun breeding! It was as if God himself were working against it. It felt like shrieking in its frustration. It felt like bringing the chamber crashing down on their heads, even if it had to tear the roof apart with its bare hands.

The Messenger had injured their sentinel the first time it had tried to destroy their precious generator. It had watched in disgust as they all danced naked around a roaring bonfire as the old, fat one spouted profanities, his face contorted with the evil that tainted his soul. It had lured the cook's peon away while the others engaged in their pagan mating ritual, and taken another who had surprised it upon its return to the chamber. Still God stayed its hand, it had wanted so badly to destroy the ugly, twisted parodies of humanity. It was forced to pretend to be one of them. It was forced to wait, to smell their fetid stink, eat their rotted food and drink their rancid water.

They were a crafty lot, as crafty as they were twisted. They had thwarted it at every turn, undone all of its hard work. Especially that massive, ugly troll. It finally succeeded in destroying the generator, and that filthy beast had rebuilt it. It ran around all day in it's filthy hides and built things, twisted things. It had constructed filthy pipes out of the tainted and scorched remains of humanity's downfall, and used them to run putrid, filthy water throughout the chamber. He had even created a chamber that allowed the filthy denizens of this subterranean pit to bathe in his taint, emerging even more twisted and disgusting than before. This creature, above all others, must be destroyed.

Once it was sure the sinners were all asleep, the Messenger got to its feet. It padded silently in the night, keeping to the shadows. It may be trapped here amongst these twisted monsters, but there was still work it could do. The Messenger slowly made its way across the chamber to where the cook made his revolting slop. The tanks storing the propane for the camp stove were resting against the wall not far from where the back end of the tractor trailer had been pounded into the wall by the old ones pet ogre. It did not dare try for the one that was installed in the stove. Retrieving it would expose it to the eyes of the two sinners that stood guard over the lower passageway.

It carried the heavy canisters along the wall of the chamber to the bathroom, keeping a wary eye on the great gash in the wall that had opened up not far away. The Messenger worked fast, hiding the canisters in the small hole that was all that remained of its crawlspace. It opened the valves enough to let the gas slowly fill the chamber. The Messenger could not help but laugh softly at its cleverness. The rank odor of the chamber would mask the gas, and it knew a young sinner that would be along soon to light one of the horrible weeds that she liked to smoke when everyone else was asleep.

The trip back across the central chamber did not seem to take as long as it had the other direction, and the Messenger was soon wrapped in the itchy, moth eaten blankets that it had been allowed to sleep in. Sleep finally overtook the Messenger as it stared across the chamber, filled with it's hellish, twisted parody of God's children.

*****

Bill walked up to the blanketed area that served as Joshua and Kelly's room in the large central chamber. “Hey Josh,” he said in a low voice, “you awake?”

“Yea, come on in,” his large friend answered.

Joshua sat on his pallet drawing something in his sketchbook while his wife sat on a large trunk brushing her hair. She watched her husband draw with a loving smile that seemed to vanish when Joshua looked up from his sketchbook, and a glimmer in her eye that did not. Bill caught a glimpse of what his large friend was working on. The sketch was beautiful, Bill was surprised that such large hands could draw such delicate detail. It captured both the flow of her red hair and the sweet smile that she tried so hard to hide. They really were a great match.

“Good morning, Bill,” Joshua said, tucking his sketchbook under his pillow, “You're up early.”

“Actually I'm always up around this time,” Bill said, “Time to get ready for breakfast. The reason I came to get you so early… Well, I have a big problem that I really need your help with.”

“What kind of problem?” The large man said getting to his feet. Kelly's smile returned as she watched her husband stretch and yawn, muscles rippling under his t-shirt.

“Do you have to be so tall?” She sighed. Bill couldn't help himself, he barely stifled the laughter that welled up in him.

“What?” she asked raising an eyebrow at him.

Bill couldn't contain his mirth any longer, “Come on,” he laughed, “I saw you smiling at tall, dark and handy here. You aren't as good at hiding it as you think.”

“Handsome,” Kelly said flatly.

“What?” Bill asked.

“Its tall, dark and handsome,” she said.

“Ha!” Bill barked with a smile, “So you admit it.”

“OK, Fine,” she huffed, “so I was smiling at him. I am married to him after all.”

“Just as long as you know the tough and grumbley act is not fooling anyone,” Bill said, “We all like you, get used to it.”

“Fine, I will,” She responded loudly, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Fine,” Bill said returning the gesture.

A loud bass rumble echoed around the cavern, the two looked around to see what was happening and Joshua lie on the floor gripping his sides, tears streamed down his cheeks as he laughed.

“You're right Bill,” Kelly said after a few moments, “I really shouldn't try to be such a hard-a*s.”

“As long as you're willing to try,” Bill said, “I was wondering though, If it is OK to ask. What made you decide to marry Josh anyway?”

“Yes, well,” Kelly said looking hungrily at her husband, “I really like his laugh.”

“Really?” Bill said skeptically, “His laugh?”

“Well that is part of it yes,” Kelly replied.

“Right...” Bill said, his face turning a bright shade of red, “Well, then... I will be waiting outside then.”

As soon as the blankets closed behind him, Bill heard Kelly's laughter, “So gullible,” he heard her mutter. A moment later Joshua ducked his way out.

“She really has a great sense of humor,” Joshua said with a broad smile, “So what is going on?”

“Well,” Bill said, scratching the back of his head, “I don't have any gas.”

“Really?” Joshua said, “after last night's chili I would say you were the only one here who didn't. I still don't think all that methane in an enclosed space is a good idea.”

“That's not what I meant,” Bill said, “I mean for the camp stove. I had two tanks when we came here and you found a half of a tank in the maintenance building. I have used all but perhaps a quarter of a tank. It really doesn't last long when you are cooking for twenty-eight.”

“I knew this would eventually become an issue,” Joshua said, running his hand over his scalp, “I just didn't think it would happen so soon. I have a few ideas, I will start working on it right away. I have Greg and one of the farm boys working on the beds today, I can have two of the others help me with it.”

As they approached Bills kitchen they saw a young girl outside the latrine, she appeared to be trying to hide something.

“Mourning Cathy,” Bill said, waving to the young woman. Cathy waved at them in return as they passed, “Cathy is trying to quit. Poor thing is down to a half a pack and she is trying to cut back.”

“I didn't know she smoked,” Joshua said looking over at the girl. She looked around then put the end of a half smoked cigarette in her mouth. She spun the wheel on her lighter and a hollow WHUMP shook the chamber. A huge ball of smoke and fire seemed to float in slow motion out of the toilet chamber. It floated towards the roof of the cavern and dissipated among the stalactites. A shocked looking Cathy stood holding her cigarette to her lips, looking almost comical with feeble wisps of smoke rising from her hair.

“I told you chili was a bad idea,” Joshua said as the two rushed up to the girl. She just stood there shaking as she looked at her unlit cigarette. She tossed the thing to the floor and stomped on it before doing the same to her cigarette pack,.

“OK, OK,” she said, “I quit.”

Bill helped the girl sit down to wait for Dr. Green, who was rushing across the chamber in their direction. Joshua pulled out his flashlight and began inspecting the floor and ceiling of the toilet chamber. The roof of the chamber had a small hole in it that had had been widened slightly by the explosion. Small rocks and debris had rained down on the chamber, covering it's gently sloping floor that still appeared solid despite the abuse that it had just endured. The toilet stood untouched in the low center of the chamber like a sparkling, silver throne in a crumbled palace.

The beam from Joshua's flashlight fell on the propane tanks where they lay in the shallow recess that had once been the crawlspace. “Hey, Bill.” Joshua shouted over his shoulder, “I have good news and I have bad news.”

“So what's the good news?” Bills voice came from outside.

“It wasn't the chili.” Joshua replied as he picked up the distended and ruptured tanks.

“And the bad news?” Bill shouted.

“It wasn't the chili,” Joshua said walking out of the chamber. He sat the tanks down next to the wall.

Bill grimaced at the tanks for a moment before shaking his head, “it was the Messenger again, wasn't it?”

“I think so,” Joshua said sitting next to his friend as his wife examined Cathy thoroughly.

A few moments later Jim rolled up to join them, pushed by his assistant, “What happened?” he asked.

“It was this 'Messenger' again,” Bill said, “she put the propane tanks from my camp stove in the crapper and opened them. Thank God they were nearly empty.”

“Wow,” Jim said, “That could have been bad.”

“Yea,” Joshua said, running his hand over his scalp again, “I checked it out, and it seems solid enough. Most of what little propane was left in the tanks went out the vent hole in the ceiling. It wasn't even an explosion really, just sort of a flash fire. ”

Joshua noticed Samantha. She had a tight lipped expression and there were tears streaming from her eyes.

“Don't worry, Sam,” Joshua said reassuringly, “No one got hurt.” instead of comforting the girl, his words seemed to make her feel worse. Her face turned bright red and she seemed to be grinding her teeth. A moment later though she returned to the normal brooding, calm expression that she wore more often of late. He really couldn't blame her, this Messenger business was very unsettling.

Joshua cleaned the toilet chamber, sweeping the small rocks and rubble into the one-time crawlspace. There really wasn't much of it, and it didn't take more than a few minutes. He soon joined Bill at his kitchen where he had begun preparations for breakfast. He was shredding potatoes into a bowl of water while a still trembling Cathy cut some bear steaks into thin strips.

“Hey Bill,” he said as he walked over to where Bill was hard at work, “how is Cathy holding up?”

“She's a little shaken, but otherwise she is alright,” Bill said, “that is a rough way to quit smoking though.”

“Yea,” Joshua said with a chuckle, “Yea, it is. Speaking of smoke, I could set you up with a wood burner, but we need to figure out how to vent it.”

“I don't mean to butt in or anything,” Cathy said nervously, “I just... Well...”

“It's OK, Cathy,” Bill said calmly, “Your input is welcome, we are all friends here.”

“Thanks,” she said, she still looked nervous but her voice was steadier, “Well, I just wanted to say that their was a reason I smoked near the toilet, the smoke would vent through the hole in the center of the chamber roof.”

“Really?” Joshua asked, “How fast?”

“It seemed pretty quick,” Cathy said, “It sort of just sucked it out.”

“I will go check it out then,” Joshua said, “Thank you Cathy.”

“No problem,” Cathy said.

Joshua picked up the crushed cigarette pack before entering. The beam of his light revealed that the hole in the ceiling of the chamber had, indeed, been widened. Joshua opened the cigarette pack, only one cigarette had survived being stomped. Joshua lit it with the lighter that had been tucked under the plastic wrap and held it up. He watched the smoke streaming from the tip of the cigarette as it streamed toward the vent hole. He puffed on the thing experimentally, drawing the smoke into his cheeks and blowing it out in a cloud that was rapidly drawn toward the vent. There was no draft from around the toilet, but the air had to come from somewhere. Joshua probed around the edge of the chamber with the cigarette, watching the smoke carefully. The air proved to be entering the chamber through what had once been the crawlspace. He flushed the remainder of the cigarette pack down the toilet. The toilet seemed to flush smoother than it had before.

“Heh,” Joshua laughed to himself, “got to admit it is an interesting way to plunge a toilet.”

Joshua walked out of the toilet chamber, his mind was buzzing with ideas. Solutions to problems he was wrestling with fell into place. If built right, a wood furnace could mean hot water, and heat for the chamber as well as hot food. Joshua knew that the heat from the meteor impacts would soon dissipate. The dust and debris in the atmosphere, however, would take a lot longer to clear up. It could be decades before the sky was clear again, he was not really sure. The world was going to be dark for a long time, dark and cold. They would need the heat. The ecosystem was ruined, the plants would soon die out and the animals not long after.

The animals and plants were in God's hands, he knew. He had to concentrate on keeping the cavern's residents alive. Joshua had begun praying every morning for guidance, and not just because of what Jim had said the day before. He found it helped. Joshua always felt calmer, more sure of his abilities after praying. New ideas seemed to blossom in his head and puzzling through tough problems became easier.

Joshua sat down at the breakfast table and pulled out the small sketchbook that he kept in the pocket of his jacket. He began sketching his masterpiece. He finished working through the details of the new stove just in time to have a plate shoved in front of him. His wife sat down next to him and looked at his sketch, “what is it?”

“New camp stove,” Joshua answered with a smile.

“It looks a little big, dear,” She said dryly.

“Has to be,” He said with a wink, “it also serves as a space heater, oven, and water heater.”

“Why would we need a heater?” Kelly asked, brushing a kiss across his cheek, “It is cool down here, but not cold really. It has actually been getting warmer.”

“Not yet,” Joshua said sadly, “but that cloud cover out there is not going anywhere. It is going to get really cold out there.”

“Oh,” Kelly said, “I hadn't thought of that.”

Joshua ate with his wife and friends, it had become a sort of unofficial custom. The morning meetings were a chance to share ideas and news as well as keep the group informed of their progress. Kelly's assistant had managed to make some sort of soap using the harder fat from the bear of all things. Bill gave an update on their supplies, suggested start getting the terrarium ready for planting as soon as possible.

Jim listened to all of it and decided what direction the group should take. He liked the idea of the new stove, and was glad to have soap to wash with, but the plants would have to be tended. Before they had people working separate from the main group for long, they had to find this Messenger. Otherwise there was no way to assure the safety of the group, not to mention sabotage. This Messenger had already proven her love for tossing the occasional monkey wrench into their plans.

After breakfast Joshua recruited a couple of the farm boys who had become the group's workforce to help him build the new stove. It took most of the morning to measure and cut the parts he would need. He used the grinder to cut the steel that had once been the roof of the bus. The panels had to be stripped and cleaned before being welded together. He made channels running through the fire box out of the steel pipe from the railing.

After a brief break for a lunch of leftover chili, he spent the afternoon hours welding the thing together. He had his new assistants carry the panels over to where the thing would be used, and welded it together there so they wouldn't have to move the massive thing again. The finished stove resembled the old wood burning ovens used in the eighteen hundreds. Wood was burned in the lower fire chamber and heated the oven and cooking surface. There were even pull out trays for removing ash.

Joshua took a short break before moving on to his next task. He had to take a group to gather firewood, and he really was not looking forward to going to the surface. He found Jim at Bill's kitchen, where he usually went to chat and think.

“Hey Jim,” Joshua said as he neared the kitchen.

“Hey, Joshua,” Jim said cheerfully, “I see you got that stove done. Nice work. Why don't you take a load off? It has been ages since we played chess.”

“Wish I could,” Joshua answered honestly. It had been a long time, and he missed spending time with Jim, “I still have a ton of work to do. I was just coming over to let you know that I need to take the farm boys topside for firewood.”

“Couldn't we just use the lumber from the walkways for now?” Jim did not seem to like the idea of anyone going to the surface, “It could be dangerous to go up there.”

“No, the lumber is treated,” Joshua said, “besides we need that to build more permanent rooms for everyone. I have a feeling that we will be needing the blankets for warmth soon.”

“Have you been getting that feeling too then?” Jim asked.

“What feeling?”

“I don't know,” Jim rubbed the back of his head, “like we should be preparing for a long winter or something.”

“I don't know about that,” Joshua said, “All I know is, that cloud of dust out there is not going anywhere for a while. It is going to get awfully cold down here without the sun.”

“Well, I guess we really need to gather wood then,” Jim said, “You should probably use more than just Greg and our five farm boys then.”

With Jim's help, four more volunteers were rounded up and the group was soon readying themselves for a trip to the surface. They only had four axes, which Joshua sharpened with a file before trusting three of them to Greg and the two largest of his assistants. They took one of the coils of rope and one of the come-alongs with them to help coax the trees into falling the direction they wanted them to. Joshua made sure each of the young men going with him had a utility knife, a pair of serviceable work gloves, and a supply of water. Joshua ripped a couple of sheets into squares so each of them would have a bandanna to cover their noses and mouths with to protect them from the ash.

The collapsed parking chamber looked much like Joshua remembered it with the exception of a layer of the ever-falling ash. The climb up the collapsed stone was not difficult and Joshua soon found himself looking out on the desolate, gray and lifeless shadow of what had once been a lush, verdant forest. Ash covered the canopy of dying, discolored leaves. The ground was thick with the stuff. They waded through a sea of gray ash that reached halfway to their hips. The first tree they came to was an old hickory, its trunk was a foot and a half in diameter.

Joshua and Greg stood to either side and took turns swinging their axes. The first swing brought the ash down on them from the laden branches above. After the first swing the two men ducked their heads and kept going. Each swing brought down less and less ash from above, and the two men hacked their way through a third of the trunk. They warned everyone back and walked around to the opposite side to begin work on that side. After a few well placed swings the tree began to fall. It cracked and groaned in protest as the weight of the ash brought it crashing earthward. The group covered their eyes as the thing came down, sending a spray of ash around it like a gray fountain. The ash had barely settled when the four men with axes closed on what had been the lower branches. These were hacked free, and dragged away under the earth.

The men worked in silence, save for the thunk, thunk of the axes, and the crack and crash of falling trees. The gloom of the outside world kept their mouths closed and their muscles moving. They worked mechanically, moving from one task to the next as smooth as a dancer moving around a dance floor. They danced their dance through lunch and well into the evening before aching muscles and burning lungs called them home. The next day, after Sally's Sunday services, they began again, working doggedly until the evening of the fourth day. The air had felt heavy but that afternoon it seemed to weigh on them more than usual. Stinging sweat drew ash and grime into their eyes. They had hauled a surprising amount of wood into the tunnels. Most of the hillside around the mouth of what had once been the mouth of the parking chamber had been cleared. The trunk of a large oak, chopped into manageable pieces, was disappearing down the tunnel when the rain started to fall.

The first drop that fell hit Joshua in the back of his hand as he rested against the stump of the tree they had just chopped. It was black and cold, and heavy. It seemed to be made up of more mud than water. The four axemen were driven inside under the pat, pat of the stinging drops that left welts as they pelted them. Soon the world outside was drenched in a deluge of falling mud. After showering away the ash and grime the true horror of the black rain became evident. Where the drops had struck flesh they had burned, leaving their skin with a blistering rash, which is how Joshua found himself sitting on the edge of the walkway while his wife rubbed a foul smelling ointment on the burns on his back.

“Well,” Kelly said as she dabbed the ointment on a spot between her large husbands shoulders, “you and your farm boys certainly brought down a lot of wood.”

“I really wish we had something better to call them than 'farm boys',” Joshua said hunching his shoulders and wincing at the pain the motion brought from his blistered rash, “It just doesn't sound right.”

“What else should you call them,” Kelly said dipping more ointment out of her bowl, “I mean, they are from the local farms, and according to their last physical, they are boys.”

“I know,” Joshua said as the cold ointment was dabbed onto his neck, “but is still doesn't sound right.”

“Well they seem to be working mostly with you for the time being,” Kelly said with a sigh, “If you really don't want to call them farm boys, perhaps you can call them your workers for now. I'm sure you will come up with something dear.”

Kelly's nurse ducked out of the blanketed enclosure and tapped her on the shoulder nervously. He was a thin young man with his long, dark hair pulled back and bound with a hair tie. He had the habit of ringing his hands that gave him a perpetually nervous look. He delivered his message in a low whisper before scurrying back within the blankets.

“What was that about?,” Joshua asked as he shrugged into a clean shirt.

“John just woke up,” Kelly said with a smile, “Come on, I have to check him for brain damage.”

Joshua followed his wife into her clinic, Dr. Green's three human patients occupied some of the new beds Greg had been assembling. Rembrandt lay at the foot of Jason's bed, his massive head resting on his lap. The massive dog's chest was wrapped in bandages and his right front leg was in a cast. Jason was laying awake idly stroking Rembrandt's ear while he read a book. Jeremy lay on his bed breathing the deep, slow breaths of sleep. His fever had lifted, and he had woken up the day before, but he was still weak from his ordeal. Jason lowered his book as Joshua walked in.

“Hey, Joshua,” Jason said with a grin, “Dr. Green says I can return to work tomorrow.”

“Great,” Joshua said giving Rembrandt a pat on his head, “Are you sure you are up to it?”

“Yea,” Jason replied, then continued in a low voice, “to tell you the truth I can't wait to get out of here, I'm tired of laying around. Besides, no offense, but Dr. Green is really really strict. She won't let me up for anything, she makes me use a bedpan for goodness sake.”

“Really? A bedpan? ,” Joshua asked incredulously, “I'm sure she just wants to make sure you are alright, but still. Where did she get a bedpan?”

“It is really just an old bucket,” Jason replied, “but you get the point.”

“Well, enjoy the rest,” Joshua said, “we have a lot of work ahead of us.”

“No problem,” Jason said, “I'm looking forward to getting back to work.”

Joshua jumped as his wife cleared her throat behind him, “Come along dear, you can chat with Jason all you want tomorrow.”

Joshua followed Kelly through another blanket divider to a smaller room where John lay holding Jaime's hand. Kelly pulled out her pen knife and went to work.

“Who are you?” John asked weekly as Kelly poked and probed him.

“I am Dr. Green,” Kelly said as she checked John's pupil dilation with her little light, “how are you feeling?”

“Tired, and a little weak,” John said.

“That is to be expected,” Dr. Green made some notes, “you have been unconscious for quite some time. There doesn't appear to be any permanent brain damage, though to tell you the truth it is hard to tell with nothing but a pen light and a little rubber hammer. What is the last thing you remember?”

“Well, I don't remember us having a doctor,” John said, then Kelly's arched eyebrow changed what he was going to say, “I remember going to check on the generator and.. Oh God!” John tried to sit up but was stopped by Kelly's gentle but strong hand on his chest.

“She's here,” John insisted, “We have to stop her before something happens.”

“Calm down,” Kelly said flatly, and waited patiently until John settled back on his bed, “Now, Did you happen to get a good look at her? Did you recognize her?”

“Yes,” John said he seemed to be having a difficult time keeping his eyes open, “I could never forget that girl.”

“So, you have seen her before?”

“Yes,” John looked deeply into his wife's eyes, “ her name is Bobbie Hathoway.”

“Well now we have a name at least,” Joshua said.

“I doubt she would be using her real name dear,” Kelly said.

Jaime sat staring at her husband, tears streaming down her cheeks, “It had to be Bobbie Hathoway, didn't it?”

“So who is she?” Joshua asked.

“About four years ago there was a string of gruesome murders in Springfield,” Jaime started, “With the exception of her fifth victim the bodies were found in their own homes, naked and brutally disfigured. Their were five victims in total. Each one was tortured, usually hung upside down, and left to bleed to death. John's brother Hank was the detective assigned to the case. He tracked the murderer for two months and caught up to her after her third and fourth victim's were found hanging in their garage next to the deer they had just skinned. She hadn't finished yet when he found them. He tried to arrest her but she... “

She stopped for a moment to collect herself before continuing, “Hank had called for backup before going in. They arrived in time to arrest her, but.. Well, Hank was her fifth victim. She was a twisted, sadistic girl. Her first two victims were her own parents, she was only thirteen when she killed them. The next couple were friends of the family. In interrogation the only thing she would say was that she was doing God's work, and that the sinners must be punished. No one knows quite how but she managed to get loose on the way to lockup. Three good men got hurt before they got her under control. They ended up sending her to the maximum security wing of the mental hospital in Bedford County.”

“Wow,” Joshua rumbled, “Could you give us a description?”

“Yes,” Jaime said, “sorry, according to her file she is five foot three inches tall with short brown hair and gray eyes. She weighs around one hundred and five pounds. From what we saw at her trial she is a twisted little thing. She can be smiling one second and brooding the next, but her eyes never change. There are times when she appears to be listening to something no one else can hear, and she gets angry when interrupted. At the trial she would go from pretending to be a sweet little girl one second to almost killing the prosecuting attorney in the space of one breath.”

“Sounds familiar somehow,” Joshua said with a sad sigh, “Very familiar.”

“Yes,” Kelly said, her dark tone punctuated by a grim expression, “But how do we go about snagging her without getting anyone hurt.”

As her husband ran a hand over his scalp Kelly couldn't help but smile to herself despite their dire situation. She really was beginning to love when he did that, it meant that he was about to come up with yet another brilliant idea.

*****

Jim was surprised when a small, nervous looking young man with long hair walked up to where he sat talking with Sally and Bill. The thin young man stood off to the side wringing his hands as he waited patiently. Jim was not sure he liked the idea of someone waiting patiently to be talked to. He preferred when they just came up to him and started talking to him.

“Hello,” Jim said into the awkward silence that the young man seemed to radiate, and for a lack of anything better to say he added, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“S-sorry to b-bother you sir,” the young man stuttered.

“Take your time, I won't bite.” Jim said with an encouraging smile, “I'm Jim, by the way.”

“Yes s-sir, my name is Nathan s-sir. S-sorry I tend to st-st-stutter when I get n-nervous,” Nathan continued to wring his hands as he spoke, “There is a p-problem in the clinic s-sir. J-Joshua is... Well.. You might want t-to see for yourself s-sir.”

“Is Joshua OK?” Bill asked, concern plain on his face.

“You w-will have to come s-see sir,” the young man said before scurrying back the way he had come. He stopped not far off, looking back at them expectantly.

Sam took her normal place behind Jim and the four of them followed Nathan to Dr. Green's clinic. Jim was forced to suppress a shudder as they started off. The feel of something dangerous sneaking up on him was even worse than it had been before.

Nathan ducked into the clinic and lead them to the small room where John slept. Rembrandt's ears were laid back and he was growling low and deep as Jim passed. Nathan held the flap back for Sally and Bill, and waited patiently as Sam pushed Jim inside. Kelly and Jaime stood to either side of one of Joshua and Greg's new beds where John sat with a rolled blanket behind his back for support.

“John,” Jim said happily, “You're awake.”

John didn't answer him, instead he nodded his head and said in a weak voice, “That's her.”

The response to Johns quiet words was as surprising as the words themselves had been, “Damn you,” Sam hissed behind him and she pivoted to drive her elbow into Nathan's kidney. Nathan, however, was not there. Instead Joshua, who had entered in his stead pinned her arms to her side. He tucked her neatly under his massive arm before pinning the girl to the floor.

“What's going on?” Sally asked clutching her husband's arm in a death grip.

“Hi Sally,” Joshua said, “Meet the Messenger. Messenger, this is Sally, she will be praying for you this evening.”

“You're kidding right?” Bill asked incredulously.

“Afraid not,” Joshua replied.

“Her?” Bill could not believe that this young woman who had been pushing his new friend all over creation capable of the mayhem that the group had been subjected to.

“Afraid so,” Joshua said with a sigh.

Kelly watched with her heart in her throat as her husband restrained the enraged young woman. It was both exhilarating and horrifying to watch. Sam writhed in Joshua's firm, yet gentle grip like a thing possessed. Twist and kick as she might Sam could do nothing to budge the large man's grip. She tried to bite him but try as she might she could not twist herself enough to even come close. The most unsettling thing about her fighting the big man was that no matter how she tried to hurt him, no matter how hard she struggled against him, she made no noise whatsoever.

As if a sudden idea struck her Sally released her grip on Bill's arm. “Bill,” she said in a too calm voice, “Gather everyone together around the raised stone in the center of the cave. Tell them that we have caught the person responsible for the attacks.”

“Yes dear,” was all that Bill could manage before rushing out of the clinic. Something about his wife's voice compelled him to obey.

Sally yanked the dark gray packing blanket down from where it was hung forming the back wall of the room. “Wrap her in this and bring her,” She handed the blanket to Joshua and walked out of the clinic.

Sally felt odd, her head swam and tingled, her feet seemed to move of their own accord. She had not felt like this since her wedding. Bill had done his work swiftly, by the time she reached the raised stone that she used as an alter for her Sunday service the whole group had gathered.

“Thank you for gathering so quickly,” Sally began, “Today marks the last day we will be tormented by our unknown attacker. John has awakened and revealed to us her identity. Four days past God revealed to us our path should this day come. As he has instructed we will, as a group, pray for the soul of this tormented young woman. These past years her actions have not been her own. We will ask God to cleanse her of that which has guided her hand in her wickedness. Once freed of the evil within her she shall be as she was meant to be, pure and clean as new fallen snow.”

Joshua carried the struggling form of the Messenger, wrapped tightly in the rough felt of the blanket. “Let us pray,” Sally said and lay her hands on the young woman's head. They prayed, each member of the group adding their prayers to hers, beseeching God for his mercy, crying out for him to fill the young woman with his love. At first no change was evident, but slowly, as the prayers reverberated through the chamber the young woman grew still. She slumped back in Joshua's arms, staring at the ceiling of the chamber. Her mouth fell open as she exhaled, and a dark, formless void seemed to seep out of her every poor. It floated in the air around her and began to swirl about her still form unseen by those praying for her. Joshua could feel it vibrating through her, pulsing with the rhythm of her heartbeat.

The color began to drain from the Messenger as the darkness seeped out of her body. The voice within her screamed. Its rage reverberated in her skull and tore at her soul, and then it was gone. Her small body seemed to glow with a light that could not be seen but was felt by all within the chamber. The unseen glow was soft at first then grew in intensity until the young woman burned like the noonday sun. The darkness churned around her, as if trying to flee the light that now filled her. It fled and was burned away, it writhed and was destroyed. The glow slowly faded, leaving the young woman sleeping peacefully in Joshua's arms. The blanket, bleached white from the intensity of the love that God had poured into her, fell away to reveal clothing likewise stripped of all color or stain. Her hair shone in the light of the lamps that seemed pale compared to the glow that had burned away the darkness within her. Her expression was serene and her skin held the healthy glow of youth.

The young girl opened her eyes, clear and blue like the sky had once been long ago. There was no voice within her head, no urges, nothing but a deep sense of happiness. She tried to remember who she had been, but there was nothing. A name floated to the surface, a name she had never recognized before, her name. She was Bobbie Hathoway.

She smiled up at Joshua, her eyes sparkling with joy, “I know you,” she said in her sweet voice, “I know you, and I thank you for what you have done.”