Wrath of God

 

I awaken to the sound of the morning choir the lords wake up call, I stare up at the large cross above me the son of god nailed above my head that thing still creeps me out every time I see it, my door swings open and in comes my mother

 

“Quickly get up we can’t be late,” she says

 

I know what this is, it happens every morning. I can hear my mother yelling at my brother from the next room panicked. Why does he always make a fuss. He knows what will happen if we are late, the Inquisition.

 

I pull myself out of bed and adjust my crucifix it has wound round my neck during the night, I then came for the lord’s morning meal and got into my holy robes, mother was hurrying us along.

 

“Quickly hurry we can’t be late,” she said.

 

“Yes mother we know” I replied.

 

We would be punished. The priest said it was god that would punish us. But the real punishment came from the Inquisition. it’s against the gods holy word to be late for each days morning, afternoon and night service.

 

We hurried down the busy street it was crowded the stre, just as every morning all trying to get to church before they run out of time, my friend Patrick told me that his mother said that they use to have a faster way of getting around, called it the automobile. I wish we had that now, my legs hurt from hurrying down the street every day. But the Priest says the wicked tools of the past are a sin and if we commit a sin the Inquisition will come for us.

 

 

 

We reach the church and hurry through it’s large doors. We sit down in our usual seats each of us have our own hard wooden seat. They are extremely uncomfortable and no matter how hard you try it will always feel the pressure on your back. The priest says that’s the lords way of keeping us from sleeping in church, which is a sin punishable by the Inquisition. We prepare for the sermon outside I hear some yelling and people being dragged away. I think I can see a woman with a little girl through the open doorway, they are dragged away by the Inquisition. Then two seats are removed from the church halls and the doors are closed. The priest prattles on as usual with his sermon, I wish he’d stop I feel like sleeping. Even in this hard seat it’s difficult to stay awake. There was the sudden sound of snoring from old Mr Hanval two rows back from us, he is woken up and dragged away by the Inquisition another seat is taken away.

 

 

When the sermons ends we slowly go home. Only two hours away from the afternoon sermon and we can’t go back to sleep. Sleeping before bedtime is a sin punishable by the Inquisition. Mother seems to especially hate this and I don’t think she much likes her bedtime either. On the way back home my little brother whispers something in my ear

 

“I have a surprise to show you back home,” he whispered

 

What now? I hope he isn’t going to get us in trouble, the Inquisition would surely take us away.

 

Back home my mother just stares into space she looks sad. I think she misses dad I do to. We have no photos of him and I don’t remember what he looks like. I asked mum once but she stared off and wouldn’t respond. aving pictures of someone taken away by the Inquisition is a sin punishable by the Inquisition.

 

I once asked my mother what it was like before this and why is everything they way it is, she told me the christians started a new crusade against the non believers. I asked about the first crusade she didn’t say much.

 

My brother grabbed my hand and pulled me to his room, He reached under his bed and pulled out a something a bit wide and black with little buttons. He pushed one and it played music, not like the lords music I actually liked the sound of this

 

“Where did you get that?” I asked

 

“I found it,” he replied

 

“Where?”

 

“At the pit.”

 

“You went there, if they Inquisition find out they’ll take us all away.”

 

“No they won’t they won’t find out at all I was careful no one saw me.”

 

He pushed another button and it stopped, he hid it back under his bed.

 

 

Later that day we went to the night sermon. I thought a lot about what my brother had showed me. My father often spoke of something like that, but my mother told me he should stop. Maybe he should have stopped, maybe then the Inquisition wouldn’t have taken him away. Maybe it’s my fault he’s gone, but now if we all get taken away it will be my little brother’s fault. I can’t tell anyone or they’ll just take us away now.

 

 

On our way home we see the Inquisition opening up doors to homes they are searching through all the houses. My brothers face goes pale. We quickly rush home our mother doesn’t understand why. we make it before the Inquisition has searched our home, but we haven’t long before they get here. They looked like they where nearly finished searching next door and they’ll be here next.

 

My little brother grabs the object from under his bed and places it in a large bag, We hurry to the door and then he stops me.

 

“I’m going alone,” he says.

 

“No your not,” I said.

 

“I’m big enough to take care of myself.”

 

“If you’re big enough to take care of yourself why do you still wet the bed.”

 

“If we both get caught they’ll take us both away but if I get caught they’ll only take me away.”

 

“I have to look after you.”

 

“No you don’t I did this, and I need you here to distract mum and the Inquisition.”

 

He was right one of us would have to keep our mother occupied and have an excuse for why the other wasn’t there. My brother opened the door and hurried out. Then a moment later the Inquisition came in and started searching the house. We had to stay still while they searched the house. One of them watched us his gaze never leaving me or my mother for a moment. A few moments later the others came back one of them was looking at a notebook.

 

“You have two sons here this one must be William where is Marcus” he said.

 

Mother just stared, the man looked up from his notebook at us.

 

“Well where is he.”

 

“He’s over at the larens house,” I said quickly.

 

“Very well perhaps we will see him there that is near the end of our run”.

 

They left, my mother just stared at me, I think she knew that it was a lie but she didn’t say anything just stared.

 

 

It is getting late and my brother still hasn’t got back yet, where could he be, the sound of the night choir filled the air me and my mother leave, I think she knows but she still won’t say anything.

 

We sit down in our usual seats my brother is still not here, what could have happened to him, after the usual night sermon we are lead down to the holy redemption hall. The part we’re in goes round in a circle in the centre is the holy savoir. First the little girl is brought in and strapped to the savoir the priest turns the switch and the holy flames engulf her. Then a moment later the woman is brought in and strapped to the holy savoir and the priest throws the switch again. Steam rises from the remains. The priest says that their body may be gone but their spirit is saved from the damnation of hell. Then the old Mr Hanval is brought in and just as before the flames consume another. Then another is brought in a little boy. I then realised that’s my brother. My mother goes cold her eyes wide open, my brother is strapped in and burns my mother screamed out tears flooding from her eyes.

 

After that my mother stopped talking completely. Then one day when she took me in for church she was behind me one moment then the next she was gone, she was trying to run away from church. I had to sit down but behind me I could hear her screams and cries as she was dragged away.

 

 

That night I saw her in the holy saviour, she burned away I think I cried then too almost maybe.

 

After that I was given a new home with another family, I walked to church with them they all walk in, I looked around the Inquisition close by.

 

I run off I could hear them behind me, I duck round a corner I think they didn’t see me they ran passed.

 

I wandered for awhile pondering what to do next then I saw a large old house that I never saw before, I wander in to find that it is empty, I sit down in the corner tears almost filling my eyes,

 

I hear a soft voice.

 

“Hello there young lad,” it said.

 

There was an old man staring at me.

 

“Shouldn’t you be at church?” he said.

 

“Shouldn’t you” I said back.

 

He laughed at this remark.

 

“Don’t worry this place is safe the Inquisition think the owners dead well the owner is dead and this house has been abandoned for some time at least that’s what they think.”

 

He stared at me almost seemed to be examining me.

 

“Come now lad let me show you something.”

 

I followed him to dark dank room from a large box he pulled out a book and placed it on a thin wooden table, it had pictures of nights with crosses on the clothes across the chest.

 

He explained to me of this happening before of people being forced to believe, non believers where sinners, although the last time didn’t sound as bad as this, he told me of the holy roman empire.

 

The table fell apart and the book came crashing down to the floor.

 

“Damn table this things been an accident waiting to happen,” the man said

 

There was a thud at the door the man stared at me.

 

“They must have seen you come in here” he said “quickly come.”

 

I followed him down a dimly lit hallway, at the end there was a metal door he opened it up led outside.

 

“Quickly lad go,” he said.

 

“What about you,” I asked.

 

“I’ll be fine just go now.”

 

I quickly ran out the door the old man quickly closed it behind me. I ran as fast as I could round a corner and then I stopped, I was safe I breathed heavily.

 

Then I was grabbed and pulled away by strong arms; they have found me there is no hope left for me.

 

I was moved to a tiny room with no food or water nothing would be wasted on sinners. At night I was taken to my final fate, a woman before me looked at me I think she was sad not for herself but for me, this woman I didn’t even know,

 

I could see her burning and I wish I could have saved her, that woman that was sad for me, I wish I could feel it to but I’m to tired now. I think I’ve just about given up and what does it matter now.

 

I was strapped into the savoir. Saving me from hell an irony seeing how I’m going to burn anyway. The flames lit around me and I can feel the heat rising, and I think this is it I’m going to meet my maker one less chair for the hall, one less sinner, one less believer in the wrath of god.

 

Reviews

[Andrew S. Lay]

This story has a great deal of potential. The storyline is interesting and moving. There are a lot of grammatical errors, and problems with your sentence structure. That can be easily fixed. I would suggest you work more on why this came to pass, where the inquisition came from, who leads these people, the relationship between the two brothers and perhaps some more family history. This could be a great story.