College Daze

Beware the boys in black.

 

“A sun is a hot star that might die, or begin to lose height, and when that happens, everything shall be destroyed. Try to understand what I just said. The most powerful object in our galaxy one day shall die taking everything with it. Even it isn’t eternal. Well, my friends I know something that is. Long after the sun has faded for the last time, those that had accepted the Lord as their Savior shall already be living eternally in the kingdom of heaven . . .”

 

Are you kidding me? Crap!

 

Michael Sparks came to the assembly hall because he had been told this goon was a guest lecturer speaking about a new theory on supernovas. Looking around, his stomach tightened as he realized the audience was surrounded by people dressed all in black. Each had a large crucifix about their necks. Stone faced and a bit intimidating.

 

Son of a . . . I’ve been tricked into one of those damn cult meetings. Where’s the exit?

 

Quietly, he made his way towards the door, which he found blocked by two impressively huge young men. Their arms crossed and their faces grim, their silent message was clear. Michael turned with a huff and started back to his seat when the speaker noticed him.

 

“You there, young man, have you accepted the lord as your personal savior? Have you secured your place in a never ending heaven?” The speaker’s smooth voice, only hinting at a southern accent, boomed throughout the hall.

 

Michael’s anger at the whole situation rose quickly. “Can’t say that I have, and I really don’t care. Your boys on the quad lied to me, and I’ve got much better things to do so tell the wonder twins back there to let me go.” He stood there with his arms crossed defiantly, never noticing the two guards approaching from behind.

 

With great force, they both grabbed an arm and, despite Michael’s kicking and screams of protest, had little trouble bringing him up before the speaker. The faux preacher was tall and lean with curly black hair and a much too confident walk. An alligator smile of perfect teeth was plastered on his face. Placing his hands on either side of Michael’s head, he stared deep into the young man’s eyes.

 

“The devil’s in you, boy! Don’t you feel it? The deceiver tells you not to believe in anything, not even himself. Knowing you’ll toss away the Lord and His love. Look at me son! Look at me and see the glory. Look and accept the Lord’s blessings!”

 

Michael looked and was struck by the older man’s pale green eyes that danced and burned with a fire all of their own. Michael began to smile.

 

         Tuesday morning, Amanda Carrick was on her way to psychology when a smiling young man dressed in black and sporting a shiny crucifix around his neck stopped her. “Hi, my name’s Michael. Did you hear about the lecture at the assembly hall tonight?”

Reviews

[Salvatore Buttaci]

I read this story of yours again, Kevin, and still love it. That is a good test of a story: does it still please the reader after a second reading? You have a good sense of timing, you write believable dialogue, you move your story smoothly along, you draw your readers into it effortlessly. I like your writing style and I believe your best bet is to write more and more stories in whatever genre you enjoy, then branch out to other types. Personally, I love to write horror, scifi, fantasy, crime, comedy, and try to vary my writing so I don't get typecast as a writer of any one of them. And despite having been writing for over fifty years, I still delight in reading books about the writing craft, subscribing to free Internet writing newsletters, and writing something daily. A retired English teacher, I still love reading English language handbooks! Go figure!

Sal

[Salvatore Buttaci]

Very well done. It is obvious why you won first place.

Sal

[Tovli]

very stark; using an odd metaphor of complacency and irreal survival--an interesting read!