Thursday, September 30, 2010

The end of this part of The Chosen

Thanks for reading and commenting. I wrapped it up here because it is time to get Gardener Summer out soon. Tomorrow I start work on the rewrite of AA III based on the rough edit Chile did. With a little luck that should be done and out in a couple of months. Then it is back here and writing the next part of American Apocalypse. Lately I have missed writing that too.

This story was a little different. I feel it was good but not great and needs some major rewriting. I also want to go back and work on "The Mover." The problem is time. I don't seem to have enough.

Once again -- Thanks!

The Chosen - Part 13b - by Nova

We ended up pulling off into a strip shopping center with a Waffle House set at the far corner of the parking lot next to a gas station. Sharon and Rick, still faking his limp, went into CVS to get the first-aid stuff for my hand. I rolled down my window, shut my eyes, and leaned my head back. Roy got out, lit up a cigarette and walked over to my side of the car so he could talk to me and smoke.

I didn't bother to open my eyes when Micah came up to the window, looked in at me and said "Holy smokes Chosen! What happened to your hand?"

"Nothing Micah. Nothing."

He didn't say anything. Just stood there, shuffled in place, and radiated uncertainty that I could feel through my eyelids.

"Micah."

"Yes sir?"

"If you need anything at the store now is the time to get it. When Sharon and Rick come out we're going over to Waffle House to get something to eat."

"Yes sir."

"Micah." I waited "Call me Chosen okay."

"Yes...Chosen."


"Thanks."

It took him about ten seconds to realize he had been dismissed. I was impressed. Micah had potential.

It took five minutes for Sharon to bandage me up. As she did she whispered "I'm sorry Chosen."

"You're forgiven Sharon." I meant it too.

Waffle House wasn't busy. When we got our booths I told Rick to switch with Micah. I wanted him at my table. Our waitress was a recovering meth head. I knew she was recovering because she was working and didn't have any visible sores on her face or arms. She had the mouth tho. I avoided looking at it. I think she had two teeth left while the rest were brown stumps. It also made her hard to understand. She also forgot everything a waitress could possibly forget. She was trying, and she was nice, so I overlooked it. Sharon found food on her spoon and sent it back. The waitress took it away and forgot to bring her a new one. I didn't care. I loved Waffle House waffles and hash browns.

The woman at the counter was black, looked like a pro, and was with a white guy who had dreads. She was telling the other waitress about how her boyfriend had two months tacked on to his sentence at the county jail for fighting. The cook looked like Roy's brother only White and sweatier.

While we ate I told them the PLAN. "We would stay somewhere around here for the next couple of days, read the paper, yes the paper was okay if you filtered it, and then head back to the DC area."

"Then what?" Micah asked.

"We send a few more bankers to hell and then head to Montana so I can finish The Book of Chosen. I had been to Montana when I was a kid and had loved it. HE definitely lived in a place like that."

"Montana. That place is cold. Real cold. I hate cold, snow, and mountains." Roy told the table.

Micah didn't hesitate. He told Roy "If that's were Chosen says we're to go then that's where we go." He added, ignoring Roy's frown "Plus there is a lot of good people up that way. I hear Montana is going to legalize automatic weapons."

"Yeah. That will makes all the difference. Yes indeed."

I was surprised. Roy was good at sarcasm even if it went over his head, or was just being ignored by Micah.

While we were talking Rick hobbled over to the counter and came back with the paper someone had left behind. He flipped through it and stopped dead on about halfway back. He looked around, then came over to the table and told Micah to slide over and give him some room. He slid the paper in front of me and tapped on the front page. "You need to look at this Chosen." I noticed Meth Waitress look over when she heard that. Rick was idiot. He was repeatedly proving that to me. Roy was no idiot either. He scooped up the paper, told Rick to go sit back at his table, and loudly "What did you say you were choosen to do Elvin?"

"Buy some lottery tickets and get rich."

Meth Waitress laughed and told us "That's my dream too."

I stuck my last piece of waffle in my mouth, wiped it, and said "Sharon, you got the bill?"

She nodded her head. Sharon was our treasurer. She collected tithes and what have you. I knew we were going to need more money soon. A little voice whispered "Armored cars." I put that idea on hold for now and slipped out of the table and stood up. "Time to go" I told the other table. The woman, whatever her name was, didn't look happy but she got up. I looked at her plate. She needed to eat faster.

We headed out to the car and once we got settled in Roy handed the paper to me. We had the front page headline of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Banker Burned And Filmed." I read the article. They got most of it right except they called us a probable Burner offshoot. That pissed me off. They did get my name right which was a plus. I handed it to Roy without saying a word. Rick and Sharon leaned over the seat so they could read it. Sharon, after about a minute said "Roy. Just read it out loud." He handed it back to her and said gruffly "You read it. I'm going to have a smoke" and got out of the car. When they got done I asked Rick to run it back to the other car. As soon as he was back I told Roy "Lets go."

We spent the next two nights at the Cadillac Motel off Route 1 which, as far as I could tell, was run by a bunch of Indians who all had bad breath. The paper told us we were unidentified, except for me, but authorities were close to finding out who the other people in the video were.

I altered the plan. "We were going straight to Montana with a few detours along the way."

Everybody liked that idea but Roy. Only Sharon asked "Why?"

"Because HE told me to" was my reply. That shut her up.

"What kind of detours Chosen?" Roy asked me.

"Armored car ones" was my answer.

The Chosen - Part 13 - by Nova

We were rolling down the road twenty minutes later.

We were a two car caravan with Micah driving an older blue Suburban and following behind us. Rick was in the backseat and in a bit of a snit over getting his laptop whacked. His leg was fine as far as I could tell but whenever he walked he limped. I wanted to hurt him.

We had one problem right away. No one knew where we were going including me. Everyone was looking at me and HE wasn't telling me anything so I decided we were heading South. I told them "Take I-95 South towards Richmond. We'll find a motel and spend the night there." I left it at that. To my surprise nobody had a problem with it. They just assumed I knew what I was doing. That came as a bit of a surprise to me. It had been awhile since anyone had assumed I knew what I was talking about. The last time that I could remember was when I had a job.

I was feeling better once we were on I-95. Traffic was slow. Traffic on I-95 was always slow though it was a little better than what I remembered. Part of that might have been the improvements made on the I-495 to I-95 merge lanes. The other part was the crappy economy. The good thing about the traffic rolling slowly was it made Roy a normal driver. It also gave me time to talk to him and the rest of them.

"Roy" I asked "What do you know about the Micah, Tiny, and the woman. What is her name anyway?"

Sharon answered from the back "That's Suzie. She's alright but a bit lazy."

Roy laughed and said "She isn't lazy. She's pregnant."

Sharon returned "How can you tell?"

"Ah. Enough about her. Roy, what do you think of them."

"They're good for White boys." Roy I noticed lately had discovered his inner racist or he just felt comfortable saying what he thought around me now. He continued "Micah is a vet. Tiny wanted to be a Marine but he failed something. He won't say and either will Micah. Micah did security and laid carpet for awhile. Tiny, I think he lived in his Mom's basement forever. Him and Micah are cousins somehow."

"Who got the woman pregnant." I asked.

Roy shrugged and said "No clue."

He was right. It wasn't that important as long as one of them took care of her.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Chosen - Part 12g - by Nova

I was still coming down of HIS righteous anger and, if I was honest with myself, my anger was partially from seeing Sharon sitting there next to Rick with her head in the screen. There should not have been a computer in our compound. It was my decision and it was driven by pride. I wanted the youtube fame. I wanted people to know it was me who was working in HIS name. I was driven to me knees with shame and cried out to HIM to forgive me. I was such an idiot. I was kneeling in prayer when I heard Sharon's voice say "You lose something in the grass Chosen?"

"No. I'm praying." I didn't look up.

"That's nice. Any reason why?"

"Because I'm an idiot."

She laughed. I felt her hand on my shoulder, then her breath against my ear as she whispered "All men are. You may be the Chosen but you are definitely a man too."

I straightened up a bit when I heard that.

From further away I heard her say "You got five minutes to pack."

The Chosen - Part 12f - By nova

I raised STAFF again. I can't what I was thinking or even if I was. I do know that if Sharon hadn't gotten in front of Rick I would have killed him. She was yelling "No! No! Stop! Please Chosen!" I would have to take her out to get to him and I didn't want to do that. "Not Yet" HE whispered. I lowered STAFF and the room which had shrunk to the space Rick, Sharon, and I occupied snapped back to its full size. With that came the knowledge that it wasn't just the three of us. There had been three people in here when I came down. Two men and a woman.

Rick was moaning and Sharon had changed her focus to him since I looked like I was no longer going to beat the crap out of him. Myself? I was still working on getting my brain re-tuned for dealing with the reality I needed to inhabit right now. I felt people behind me. Before I could turn around I heard a voice, It was Micah, a recent convert, say "You okay Chosen?" I looked over my shoulder. The two men had fanned out behind me. Micah had a closed Buck knife in his hand. The other male, Tiny, had pulled his shirt up to expose the handgun he had tucked into his waistband. The woman was standing by the stairway watching all of us. I wasn't sure what that was all about. I didn't really care either.

I told Rick "Get up. We leave in fifteen minutes. With or with out you." I turned to leave and as I did I told the two men "We're good. You need to go forth soon." I thought that I had covered everything but Sharon couldn't let me get away clean. "Chosen!" I stopped and turned around slowly to look at her. She had her hands on her hips and her head cocked. Never a good sign with her.

"Was that necessary?"

"If you have to ask then you might want to rethink coming with me. You got fourteen minutes."

I looked at the two men who backed me up. "How many of there are you total heading out?"

"Three." This was from Micah.

"Including the woman by the stairs?"

"Yes sir."

"You have a car."

"Yes sir!"

"You'll be leaving with me."

"Outstanding! You won't regret it sir! We're ready!"

I left.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Chosen - Part 12e - by Nova

"You ready to go Roy?"

"Yeah. Gimme five to load the car and we can be gone."

"Okay. Go ahead and do it. I'm going to go get Sharon and Rick and tell them it's time to go."

Roy sat back down. I looked at him quizzically. He shook his head and said "If we're waiting for them I don't need to get started for another two hours at least. Rick has a lot of stuff in that house I bet he isn't going to want to leave behind and there isn't any woman in the world that can move on ten minutes notice that I ever knew. No sir. I'm going to go sit on the patio and take a nap. You go get them and wake me up when they're ready."

I glared at him. He smiled at me and walked away. I was angry because I didn't like going into Rick's house. I didn't like having to wait on them, and I really didn't like having to fetch people. What was the point of being The Chosen then? I was less than happy when I walked in the front door of Rick's house. There were people packing up their stuff in the living room and I held the door for a woman who had an armful of clothes.

It was weird, that little encounter, she was surprised and yes, awed that I had held the door for her. She went past me stammering her thanks. I had to back up to give her some room. The women we attracted weren't Burner women. They got all the hot ones I had been told. We were attracting the fat ones. Even when they were young they still had a roll or three of fat. Good women but fat. Roy said he liked them that way but I wasn't going there. At least if Sharon kept coming through for me I wouldn't be.

I blessed a few more people who were milling about packing. They loved that. Rick had his "headquarters" in the basement and I headed down the stairs. I hadn't been here before and I have to admit I was curious what our Good Demon had down there. I was picturing giant flat screens glowing with Demon info flows. Computers and other Demonic gear twinkling and sending off Demonic energy and music playing from one of the forbidden sources like an iPod.

Instead I found more people packing to go. I didn't know he had people sleeping in the same room as his computers. I looked at them closely. None of them looked contaminated. They looked happy to see me and I spun off a few more blessings. Sharon saw me, smiled, and beckoned me over to join her and Rick in front of a laptop that they had been staring raptly at when I had come in.

As I approached them she said "Chosen! You got to see the response our video is getting!"

I stopped dead and stared at them. Rick had given me a quick smile and had fallen back into the screen. His hand his only visible sign of life as it twitched on the mouse to glide it in response to the Demon that lived inside the glowing profanity that it was.

Anger filled me. HIS anger. This was wrong! Very very wrong! HE filled me with rage and it tasted so sweet to me. Sharon saw me coming and she knew something was wrong. She had just stood up, her mouth opening to say something, her hands rising in the air, probably to signal "Stop!" It was to late. Rick had clued in that something wasn't right. He was looking at me, his eyes beginning to widen, as I stopped, raised STAFF in the air, and brought it down like I was swinging an axe. STAFF slammed into the laptop sending little black keys popping into the air. STAFF was Angry! STAFF crushed the table the laptop was sitting on and collapsing it onto one of Ricks knees. He started screaming. Sharon was yelling "No!" I raised STAFF again and caught the laptop monitor which had detached itself from the keyboard part and was sliding slowly to the ground. That was a satisfying crunchy hit.

Monday, September 27, 2010

The Chosen - Part 12d - by Nova

Rick had shown up at the end. It took me about 45 minutes to get to him. Everybody may have disappeared but they hadn't gone far. As soon as I started moving towards the picnic tables to sit down they came popping back out. It was a 100 questions time. Eventually I yelled "Enough! Go!"

Rick wanted me to come see the video before he uploaded it. "You got to see this Chosen!" He was obviously excited about it.

"I don't want to see it.

"What?"

He looked so crestfallen that I had mercy on him. "Rick. I was there. Just post it."

"I'll look at it Rick." This was Sharon of course. I watched her walk with Rick chattering away a mile a minute. I seriously considered telling Roy to pack the car and let's roll. Let them figure out what to do on their own.

Roy was smoking his second Newport. He was just laying back watching me deal with the 100 questions except when someone asked him for a cigarette. He told them "Sorry" and blew smoke in their face. I saw them look at me, back at Roy, then to me again. I ignored him. He went away. Eventually it got back to being just me and Roy.

"So what's it going to be Chosen?"

"Roy, You ever get that itchy feeling? You know the one that tells you to get moving. Like now, if not sooner?"

He paused and blew a cloud in the other direction. That was good. The next time he blew one in my face I was going to knock him upside the head with STAFF.

"Yeah. Sure do. Don't need to hear bugles anymore either."

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Chosen - Part 12c - by Nova

I nodded at Roy and Sharon and noticed Rick wasn't there and filed that away. I looked at my people. Some were sitting at the picnic tables. The rest stood in tight clumps. It was quiet.

I held the dandelion up and blew on it. We all watched as a faint breeze took the seeds and their white parachutes away on the wind.

Then I said to them.

"That is what HE wants you to be. Seedlings of his word propelled by his WORD and your belief to unknown destinations. Destinations where you will grow and send off your own seedlings. Some of you will stay there, raise those seeds, and become a part the earth and world around you. Some of you find yourselves unable to take root. Others will take root only to be poisoned or dug up and destroyed by the Demons that will hunt us and have no mercy when they find us. So be it. We will show no mercy either."

"You have heard about what we did last night. It will not be done that way again. We are not Burners. We are the Chosen!"

I paused here. Roy and Sharon yelled "Chosen! Chosen!" and by the second one the rest had joined in. I let it go for about a minute and held the hand that gripped STAFF up for silence. I got it.

"We will continue the war the HE has called for. WE will not rest until the world has become free of the EVIL ONES DEMONS and a better world put in its place!"

"Chosen! Chosen!" Again the fifty people roar.

"Yes! That is why I ask of you in the NAME of HE who Created Us All to listen carefully to what is being asked of you." I paused and swept them with my prophetic glance. Then I continued with "Follow those seeds. Form groups and disperse to where ever HE leads you. Leave your Demon made phones and computers behind. Reach out to us and the others only by face and voice. Leave no trail. Use no credit cards. Watch no satellite spun and Demon focused illusions. Instead grow strong and learn HIS ways and how to survive what is coming so you will be ready!"

For believe me it is coming. You know that. Don't you?" I looked out amongst them and saw the nodding heads. You know this because HE has chosen you. You in turn will choose others. He does not expect you all to do what was done last night. Some of you will prepare fields, food, and the money for those that do. Others of you will find that HE has called you to spread the word. Some of you live quiet lives in his WORD until the day comes when the CALL will go out for the GREAT GATHERING. All will be EQUAL in HIS eyes."

"We will be leaving here shortly. I expect you to do the same. In the very near future you will receive HIS Word bound in paper to be read and memorized. His Word, The Book of the Chosen, your book! Read it! Become it! Follow it!"

"Now go! Now!" I raised STAFF, closed my eyes, and said "HIS Blessing is upon you! Waste no time! The Demons have awoken and are on the march! Soon they will be here with their black plastic weapons of death! Go!"

When I opened my eyes minutes later and lowered STAFF there were only a handful of people there. All of them staring at me. They would be my personal seeds.

The Chosen - Part 12b - by Nova

I forgot about following Roy. Instead I let the images of possibilities and directions roll through my head. HE wasn't blasting my head this time. Instead it was a fast but smooth flow that I saw as a spectator instead of an awed and scared supplicant to HE who came in fury. This was much better I thought. It was soothing and interesting. My only worry was how much I was going to retain.

Somewhere in the middle? Beginning? End? I felt a hand on my arm shaking me while an annoyingly insistent voice that wouldn't shut up kept saying "Chosen. Chosen. CHOSEN!" I opened my eyes to see Sharon leaning over me getting ready to shout my name again. The only thing that tempered my desire to hurt her was that her blouse had gaped open nicely and she wasn't wearing a bra. Never the less I growled "Do not do that again. Ever." She didn't seem bothered what I said this as she had already looked annoyed when I opened my eyes. She told me "Get up! People are waiting for you!" Then she stalked off.

I got up, grabbed STAFF, and then composed myself. I needed to look prophetic for the people. I wasn't sure what that meant at first but I knew people expected it and so I had asked Roy. All he had to tell me "Look constipated." I had thought about that and decided that dignified was better but then dignified always seem to slip away and I ended up being me. Maybe my growing a long beard would help.

I was still thinking about this when I came around the corner and saw everyone gathered. There were more people than I expected waiting. My guess was at least fifty people including kids and a handful of people that I hadn't seen before. That was a lot of people for me. When I came around the corner everyone started clapping and then the chanting began. "Chosen! Chosen! Chosen!"

I stopped and looked at their smiling faces and let the chanting and applause wash over me. It was great. I felt warm and huge inside. So huge that part of me felt like it had come loose and was floating above me and all around me at the same time. I smiled at them and raised my arms up in the air and looked up in the sky. It was so blue and the clouds were beautiful. I dropped them after a minute and yelled to them "HE loves you!"

That really set them off and the chants grew even louder. I walked towards the spot where I usually stood and a child, a little girl, her blond hair in braids ran up to me, touched my leg, and then ran off laughing. I watched her run though a patch of dandelions that had the little puffballs ready to release their seeds. Her running through them had caused a couple of them to release their white tufted seedlings behind her. I followed in her path, bent and picked a full one, and then continued to where Roy and Sharon awaited me.

Friday, September 24, 2010

The Chosen - Part 12a - by Nova

I woke up in the morning and she was gone. I sniffed my hand, smiled, and stretched. HE was good to me. I felt happy. Far more happier than I usually did this time of morning. I laid there for a bit and thought about the night and found myself wishing she had stayed.

The room smelled of sweat and smoke. I was going to drop my clothes in the creek and hope that got out most of the blood and pine leftovers.

I got up and hit the bucket and started getting ready. While I did that I tried to think about how I wanted to do the day. I knew I had to talk to people but before I did that I wanted to spend some time reading the Bible and praying. Then talk. Then continue writing the Book of Chosen. According to Rick it was drawing quite a response on the Internet. That was nice but I was thinking when it was done I would sell it on Amazon through Createspace as paper only. Then I would tell Rick to erase the Internet version. It would be harder for the Demons to twist HIS word that way. Plus I wanted it in paper. Maybe with a green cover.

I wandered out onto our porch to find Roy already sitting out there smoking a cigarette.

"Morning Roy."

He grunted and didn't look at me.

"When did you start smoking?"

"This morning. Already smoked three and it's like I never quit."

"You know that's bad for you" I told him.

He burst out laughing. When he was done he told me "Yeah. I'll keep that in mind." Then he laughed again and lit up another one off the one he was finishing up.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"Fine. Just fine Chosen."

Now he was looking at me.

"Chosen you need to starting talking to HIM about what we are going to do after this video gets out. You do know they will be coming for us and they won't be looking to put us on trial either."

I thought about that. I knew he was right but at the same time I really hadn't thought a lot about it. I mean no one seemed to care when I had killed those two men. It was if Roy was reading my mind.

"This wasn't some homeless guy we killed. This was one of their own. They are going to want to make an example of us and quickly."

"That why you decided to go back to smoking?"

He blew some smoke at me and his face changed, For a second he looked every day of all the days he had lived. Then he grinned at me "Yeah. Pretty much so. Don't try to change the subject Chosen. We need a plan. I don't mind dying. Sometimes I think I am already dead." He paused, flipped the cigarette out into the knee high grass that we called a yard, and said "You might not care either but I bet Sharon does."

He let that sink in and then he stood up. "Time to talk to the people Chosen."

I let him go ahead of me. I was seeing what he said. THEY would come. I could see them in my head. Black wrapped DEMONS with sunglasses and plastic guns to breathe their own DEMON fire on us. Flying DEMON machines with bright staring single eyes. Oh yes. They were already stirring and sniffing the breeze for our scent. They already hated the Burners and they just burned buildings. We had gone over the line. We were going to hunt them down and kill them. No more burning. Quick, fast, and gone. I even saw the mark we would leave so they would know it was us. The Chosen ones.

The Chosen - Part 12 - by Nova

When we got back to the house we were met by the other members we had recruited and a few I didn't recognize. They were all waiting for us to return and tell them about our first action against the Demons. Since I had asked everyone involved not to talk about what we had planned to do I was surprised and more than a little angry.

They parted for me as I got out of the car. I stood there on the driveway and told them "Tomorrow we will talk to you. Tonight we need to rest. Go!" They left but I heard some grumbling. Sometimes I wish STAFF could shoot fire or lightening bolts. It would be nice to zap the disobedience out of a few of the muttering ones. I did hear someone say "Smells like they stopped somewhere and got some BBQ." That reminded me I needed to take a shower and change clothes and I wasn't going to go to Ricks house to do it. That meant the creek and a bucket in the dark. Not a big deal and tonight it actually sounded inviting.

I was surprised when Sharon followed me down the slope to the back of the house. She didn't come around here that much anymore despite living upstairs. I was even more surprised when she followed me in my room, shut my door, and began stripping her clothes off.

So I asked her "You going to the creek to take a shower?"

"No silly. I am not."

She stood there for a second. I had lit my lantern and she was beautiful in the half light it cast. She slowly walked towards me and I was dry mouthed with anticipation but my brain was still working.

"Sharon. I think you're beautiful ..."

I had to stop for a second or two as she had reached between my legs and was rubbing little sword. She stared into my eyes and slowly ran her tongue across her lips.

"I wanted to pull you down and fuck you right after we set the fire." Her voice had gone all low and husky. Each word nuked my brain. Especially when she looked down and a second later my zipper followed her look.

"Ah Sharon...I don't have any rubbers and you have ....Ah......yes...AIDS right?"

She chuckled or growled. I'm not sure which, and told me "No I don't. I just tell guys that so I don't worry about them trying to fuck me."

"Oh."

"Which is what I want you to do right now."

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Chosen - Chapter 11e - by Nova

We stacked it up around him. All the way up to his knees. He was bleeding steady. I was starting to wonder if he would die on us or make the wood to soggy to light. That would be not so good. I let it go. HE was in charge. If he died, well then he died. We could still burn him or maybe back the car over him a few times. Whatever. HE would send an idea to me. I just had to take care of HIS business.

I was standing there looking at Tim when I heard Roy cough behind me. Standing next to him was Rick. He had quit filming. When I looked at him, probably frowning, he quickly said "Trying to conserve on the battery and storage space. I want to make sure I can get the final scene."

I thought "The final scene? What the heck?" Well, he was our camera man. It clicked then why Roy coughed. It was time to fire the DEMON up. The problem was I realized I didn't have any matches. I remembered seeing them long fireplace matches on the hearth and asked Sharon to get them for me. When she came back with them I was surprised to see those big beautiful brown eyes were shining and her headlights had come on strong. Roy noticed it too and he looked away embarrassed when I saw him checking them out. She asked me "Can I do it." Then softer "Please Chosen." She licked her lips and I realized I had gotten hard. That was strange.
"Sure" I told her.

She looked at the matches she had clutched in her hand and asked "How do I light them?" Thank HIM for Roy because I had no clue. He told her "Scrape it on the concrete honey." She tried and snapped the match in half. Roy took one gently from her hand and told her "Like this." He got it lit the first time, held it up to his lips and blew it out. "Thanks Roy." It took her two more matches before she got one lit. She tossed it into the pile of wood and we watched it go out.

"Hold on Sharon." Roy squatted down and scrapped some resin off the pine and rolled it into a ball. He flipped one of the split pieces of pine over so the sticky tree blood was under it and said "Light that." Then he very slowly came out of the squat. She tried it again and this time the resin flared up bright, clear, and strong.

It brought Tim back to us, that fire did. He lifted his head and told me "You don't have to do this."

"Yes I do."

He shook his head. "No you don't. I have a family. Please."

"Shut up and get ready to dance DEMON!" I told him.

He didn't say anything else until he began dancing. Yes, he danced. He howled. If I hadn't of stuck him in the thigh with SWORD his dancing and kicking might have been a problem but he was having a problem staying on his feet let alone kick. The last thing he said that I could understand was "What kind of God is yours!"

I told him "One of Vengeance!"

edited: changed the last line

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Chosen - Part 11d - by Nova

I helped Roy drag Tim out through the French doors. Sharon wasn't physically big enough to handle his weight. Roy wasn't either really. He just kind of walked along side and tugged him in the right direction. I was winded by the time we were done. I really, really needed to work out. Tim wasn't cooperative nor was he uncooperative. He was in shock. I liked him better this way.

Sharon followed behind us with the light, rope, and cuffs. I stood Tim up against one of the posts that held the second story deck up while Roy loosened the ropes that bound his arms so that I could bend them back enough that Sharon could cuff his wrists around the post.

"Make it tight Sharon."

"Got it." I could hear the ratcheting sound as she they bit into his wrists.

"Owwww. Hey! What are you doing?"

This was from Tim. He sounded drunk.

"Don't you worry Tim" I told him. "You're going to be with your Father soon."

"What? I hated that fucking drunk."

"Okay. Done." Sharon told me and stepped back and looked at him appraisingly. "Yeah he ain't going anywhere except to the dance."

It took me a minute to get it but when I did I laughed so hard my side hurt. While I was busy doing that Roy was bringing the firewood out one piece at a time. When I could talk I told him "Make sure you get the pieces with the most resin Roy." He was headed back in for another piece but when he heard me say that he stopped, turned around to look at me, and said "Don't teach an old rooster how to suck eggs." Then staring angrily at me he stomped through the doors. I had no clue what that meant other than he didn't like me telling him what to do.

Sharon reached out, touched my arm, and said "Let it go Chosen. He's tired."

"Yeah. I know." I went inside to give him a hand toting wood.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Chosen - Part 11c - by Nova

I stared at him. I didn't see a person. I saw a Demon disguised as a person. A piece of shit is what I saw. Even his blood seemed darker than a normal persons would be. I stared at him a bit more until he muttered "You motherfucker." I stepped closer and drove SWORD into his thigh. He screamed and he kept screaming for a couple of minutes. He was also saying vile things. Shouting them at us. I looked at Sharon and Roy. They didn't seem bothered. If anything they looked angry. I said "He is a demon." Both of them agreed and Roy yelled "Stick him again!" Tim was bleeding heavily and had quit yelling. Now he was pleading with me to "Fix his leg. Call 911. Do something!"

"Tim." I said "Shut up."

He didn't like it but he managed.

"Thank you. How much did the suit your wearing cost you?"

"About 3K."

"And the tie?"

"Ummm..," He looked down at it like there was a price tag still attached. "Two hundred." He added "It was on sale."

I had noticed earlier his watch. It was gold and shiny. "How about the watch?"

He didn't want to answer this one. He looked away from me. Probably hoping that would make me disappear. It didn't work.

"Tim. Answer me."

He swallowed hard,moaned, and whispered "6K"

"Was it on sale?"

I heard Sharon snicker and Tim shook his head "No"

"The shoes?"

"I don't know!" He wasn't yelling. He was wailing like a child.

"So basically Tim your telling us you spent over ten thousand dollars on your clothes?"

He shook his head and told me "No. Thats equals nine thousand two hundred dollars which is less than that."

"How much money did you make in your best year Sharon?"

She thought for a moment, then said "Twenty two thousand." She said it proudly.

"How much did you live off of last year Roy?" I hadn't bothered to turn around and look at them, I just kept staring at the Demon.

Roy laughed and said "Twelve thousand two hundred dollars and fifty three cents."

"Yeah. Yeah. I see where your going with this. Look I'm sorry your poor. Life sucks. It does right now for me." He winced and continued "We can work this out. Just get me to a hospital."

"How much did you make last year Tim?" I said it quietly.

If he didn't want to talk about how much the watch cost he sure didn't want to answer this one.

"Tim"

He wouldn't look at me. I raised the angle of SWORD and stepped closer. He screamed "Three hundred and fifty fucking thousand! And that ain't shit compared to what the big dogs pull in. I'm worth it! I make money! I make big money off of stupid fucking sheeple like you! Yeah! You people! Too fucking dumb to know how to figure out what a percentage rate is. Too stupid to know anything other..." Here he slipped into a falsetto "What's my monthly payment? You're the idiot class! You deserve to be poor!"

He stopped, tried to grin at me, and said "That was the pain talking. I mean I understand what it's like to grow up poor. Why..."

"Shut up Tim."

I looked into the camera and said "This is what infests America. Ticks. Parasites. Demons. Whatever you want to call them just realize their is only one cure for them." I paused, "Death. Death by burning."

Then I told Rick "Kill the camera. I'll tell you when to start filming again."

"What! What the fuck! Oh Jesus. You people can't be serious!"

"Shut up Demon."

HIS coldness was upon me. I asked Sharon "There is a deck outside isn't there?" I knew there was one. There was always one on a house like this.

"Sure is. Want me to show you?"

"No. Wooden posts holding it up?"

Sharon knew where I was going with this. "Yeah. Yeah. It'll work."

"What door?"

She pointed at the French doors at the end of the room.

"Drag him out and tie him to the best post. Sharon. Take the cuffs and lock him to the post." I held my arms back so they would understand. "Like this."

Roy had come up to stare at the Demon. He told me "I got it Chosen. We're going to light this Demon up."

The Demon was wailing again. I ignored it.

The Chosen - Part 11b - by Nova

I changed my mind. "Rick, before you start filming I want you to take that rope and bind his legs and arms and then take of the cuffs."

"Is that okay with you Tim?"

"Sure."

He was a little more subdued now. While Rick worked on him with the rope he said "You people want to tell me what's going on here?"

I had walked over to the stack of wood and picked a piece up to smell. It was pine and the piece I had more than a bit of resin on it. I set it back on top of the stack, wiped my hand off on my pants and got some of it off. Pine resin was worse than gum for stickiness. It sure did smell good tho.

"Tim. What's going on is HIS judgment." I smiled at him.

Rick told me "Okay. I got him." Roy and Sharon had helped him. I was a little worried about Roy. He looked a little winded as Tim had decided not to cooperate after I had answered his question.

"Thanks Rick. Everyone take a seat by the wall except for Rick and lets get started."

Sharon asked me "What should I do with these?" She held up the handcuffs.

"Hold on to them. I think Tim will be taking them with him." I smiled at him. He didn't smile back. "Okay. Lets bow our heads for a brief prayer." I told them. I looked at Tim. He did not have his head bowed. Not a surprise. Instead he said "Jesus. Can we just pass the plate and get the hell out of here." I ignored him.

Instead I raised my arms up into the air and prayed "We are gathered here to begin your work as YOU requested. We are not many but with your help we will do great things for YOU. All of us have suffered in one way or another from the devious plots and plans of the Evil Ones over the years. They have stolen our homes, poisoned the planet, tried to bind us to them with the chains of forever debt, and when we complained they laughed and found more foul ways to torment us.

I heard an "Amen" from Roy.

Yes! We welcomed them. We didn't understand that what looked so shiny and fun was really another way of stealing from us. iPods with batteries that died after a year and songs you couldn't transfer sold to us on credit cards where they they told you one rate and then charged you another!"

Sharon gave me a loud "Amen."

"All the while circling like buzzards. They watched for any sign of our having to struggle. A job loss, a sick child, a car accident were like fresh blood to these sharks. They came in with their 29% interest rates, their late fees, their double billing and if you tried to call them they put it to you harder as soon as you hung up the phone. Did you need to use the card to eat? They closed the account. Did you need to buy medicine? They closed the account and then torched your credit for anyone else. They are DEMONS! FEASTING on our blood!"

I dropped my arms. They were getting tired. I really needed to start working out. I looked at my friends. My followers. I told them "Let's talk to the Demon. Lets listen to his words but remember they are masters of the twisted word. I looked at Tim. He looked at me and laughed! Then he said, the contempt audible and dripping with venom on every syllable he uttered "You fucking bunch of twisted loonies. You drag me here for a credit counseling meeting? Jesus H. Christ. Cut these ropes and I will get your cards reinstated. Hell, I'll make sure your limit is raised too. That way you can afford the therapy you all need."

I pulled out SWORD and walked over to him and said "You will answer only when spoken to from now on or I will cut your throat. Do you understand me?"

He still didn't get it. He told me "Fuck you. If I want Moses I'll watch an old Charles Heston movie."

I didn't think about it. I raised SWORD and cut off his ear. SWORD sure was sharp. I only had to put a little wrist into it. It fell to the floor and I picked it up and looked at it. He had little hairs growing on the earlobe. I dropped the ear to the floor and stepped on it. Then I ground it into the carpet like you would a cigarette butt.

I asked him "Do you understand?"

He nodded his head, moaned, and muttered, "Oh shit."

Monday, September 20, 2010

The Chosen - Part 11a - by Nova

We pulled into the house they had found, I was curious and had painted a mental image of a Colonial style with a red brick front, a postage stamp sized yard, and a dead hot tub on the deck in the back. I was right and I was wrong. It wasn't hard to get the brick front Colonial right as seventy percent of the housing stock in this area was a variation on that model. Where I was wrong was its age and the size of the lot. This must of been one of the first in that style built for subdivisions and the lot's were big. These had to be on two acres or more and the house closest to us was dark. I had no clue where we were but I liked the location. I was sure this place had a basement and that combined with the distance between houses meant no one would hear him scream.

We went in through the front door like we owned the place. I pushed Tim in front of me with Roy and Rick flanking him. Sharon went in first and turned on the lantern she had taken out of the trunk. "Shut the door" she hissed. We followed the light down the stairs into the basement.

This one never had the basement completely finished. The drywall was up and carpet was down but the walls were outlines for rooms that had never been completely finished. There was a large main room and a wood burning fireplace with about a half cord of wood stacked next to it. Around the fireplace was four chairs. They were the metal ones and had St. Albans stenciled on the back in black block letters. Like I said before "They were good at finding things."

Tim was sitting in one of the chairs watching us. My people were watching me. All I had told them was "Find me someplace secluded were we could put him on trial. Oh, and bring some rope." The rope was waiting on the fireplace hearth. It looked like nylon climbing rope and was blue. Not quite what I had in mind. I had picked it up and was idly fingering it and staring at Tim. Well, I would have to improvise. "Sit him down in a chair in the center of the room" I told them. "Okay. Put the other chairs in a row along the wall and have a seat." I stood in front of the fireplace, bowed my head, and told them "I would like to start with a prayer and ask HIS blessing on our work. Everyone, except Tim bowed their heads.

"Rick."

"Yes?"

He looked startled.

"Film this. You can pray as you do."

I thought to myself, not for the first time either, "They really do need a leader."

The Chosen - Part 11 - by Nova

I noticed two things right off with Tim. The first was he smelled like money. The second was he was an asshole. Especially after I cuffed him. Sharon had come up with a pair of silver handcuffs for us to use. She got them from a friend who had used them with her ex-boyfriend. Sharon had laughed as she dangled them from one finger and told us "Kim told me she thought she had him eating out of her hand until she came home and found he had cleaned her out and run off with her cousin LeShawn." She was still smiling when she added, as much to us as herself "Shit happens."

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He asked me as I snapped them on his wrists. I had him leaning forward with his face in the head rest of the driver sides passenger seat. Roy was driving. Sharon was in front with him and me and Tim were in the back. Once I finished I grabbed him by the collar of shirt and jerked him back into his seat. Then I snapped his seat belt on him. Next I pulled his cell phone off his belt and tossed it out the window. I ripped his Borg implant off his ear and tossed that too. That really pissed him off. "Hey that's a fucking iPhone!"

"Why do you feel it necessary to say 'Fuck' in every sentence?" was my reply.

"Because I fucking feel like it. That's why. Who the hell are you people? Don't tell me SunTrust again because despite their reputation for hiring retards I doubt if they would hired you." He grinned at me when he finished. It faded a little when Roy started laughing. Roy thought that was funny. I thought it rude an uncalled for.

"Tim" I told him "Just sit back an enjoy the ride."

He couldn't do that. He had to talk.

"So what's this all about? Is this some bullshit idea of kidnapping? Because if it the feds will be crawling up your ass within hours."

I ignored him and looked straight ahead while I watched him out of the corner of my eye. He didn't like that.

"Hey! Hey Buddy. Sorry. I shouldn't have called you a retard. You want to tell me what's going on?" He was using a different tone now. His voice was warm and silky and I though I saw his tongue flicker for second outside his mouth. It was red and forked. I had a little spasm of revulsion. I think he interpreted it as a sign he was on the right track with me. "Look. I don't know who is paying you but I can just about guarantee you that I can work out a better deal for you."

We were slowing down to pick up Rick. He jumped in the side that Tim was on and sandwiched him between us. Sandwiched being relative in that Roy drove an old school boat that could have fit four in the back comfortably.

"Hey! That's my car."

"No kidding asshole." Rick was pumped on adrenaline. That was obvious to me.

"Shit. Another retard. A talking one which is a little better than the others. Maybe you can explain to me whats going on here."

"Shut up" Was Ricks reply.

"Fuck you" Tim snarled.

I told him "I asked you once before why you found it necessary to use profanity and you did not answer me. I say to you 'They bend their tongues like vipers to kiss ass: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, so saith HE.' Do you understand that?"

He looked at me, paused, pursed his lips, and said "You're a raving lunatic aren't you?"

"No." I told him proudly " I am sent by HE who can't be named to show his people a sign."

For the first time since he begun his journey with us he looked worried. I was glad.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Chosen - What do you think?

I am not Bible bashing here as much as showing someone whose life blew up on him and how he is trying to cope. He is also has some other issues. Religion is an anchor. Belief in God is what has helped many people, including myself, survive times of loss that were devastating.

What does that has to do with a post apocalypse/financial meltdown/Era change is that need can be used by stronger types/charismatic types to manipulate people into doing things they would never have considered. These types are beginning to sprout. I believe we haven't seen anything yet. Will they all be sociopaths? No. I don't think so. Most of them will be of the shattered class of people who genuinely feel they have been shown the WAY.

As far as Chosen goes and the people around him? I don't see them as evil. I see them as people who are tired of being powerless and screwed around. That for one reason or another have ended up with nothing left to lose and a lot of anger over it. They, like most people, are a mix of good and bad, With a functioning economy they would have gone about their lives. Now they have no lives -- they just have survival. Survival and the desire to payback those who put them in this position through no fault of their own, as they see it.

I am curious about how you see it? Does the story and characters work?

The Chosen - Part 10e - by Nova

Rick muttered "I don't see why we can't use cell phones to coordinate this." He was nervous. I could hear it in his voice so I didn't jump on him about mentioning Demon tools. He was our Good Demon anyway so it was natural that he thought that way.

"HE is with us. Know this." I told them. I also added "We don't need them. Just think of all the carjacks that happen around here. They aren't anywhere near organized as we are and they all have no problems." I don't know if that helped but they nodded their heads in agreement. I was getting ready to lead us all in prayer before we hid in the bushes when we saw his car coming. "Damn!" This was from Roy. He was out his door faster than I had ever seen him drive and waving his hands at the approaching vehicle. He had turned on the emergency flashers when we stopped so at least we had that going for us.

It was him! I knew it. He saw Roy and rolled to a stop and his window came zithering down. Roy pulled his .45 from where he had it tucked inside his waistband and stuck the barrel against our man, Timothy William Conesters head. Roy told him "Hands on top of your head. Now!" Much to my relief he actually did it. "Go Rick! Help him." Then I told Sharon "Get in front of his car!" I was using Sharon as a blockade not that it would slow a Demon down but it might make him think of another plan. She did it with out hesitation.

Roy was yelling at him "Out of the car! Get out out of the car!"

Tim looked very calm. He also looked about four or five years older than his photo. "Okay. Okay. Not a problem. You can have the car. The fucking piece of shit has already been recalled twice. I should have stuck with BMW."

I stepped out of the car and beckoned to him. "Right this way Tim." I pointed inside.

"What? What the hell. I thought this was a carjack. I'm not going...Oh shit..."

Roy whacked him hard upside the head with his .45. I told him "Get in the car. I drew SWORD and that seemed to convince him. He stared at SWORD all the way into the car. He didn't look at me when he asked "What the fuck is going on here?"

I wanted to keep him calm. He was bigger than I thought and looked in shape for his age. Demon types always managed to make it to the gym and had good tans. So I told him "SunTrust sent us you idiot." Then I slid in next to him and yelled "Lets go!"

Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Chosen - Part 10d by nova

Sharon said "Weapons check" as we cruised slowly down Old Dominion Drive. Much to my amazement everyone had guns. "Where the heck did all the guns come from?" I asked. Sharon looked at me, reseated the magazine in hers, grinned and said "This is America Chosen. Guns are easier to find then jobs." No one laughed. It was the truth.

I was gawking at the houses we were seeing. When did these mansions appear? They were everywhere here. I didn't remember them from the last time I was here which was how long ago? It was awhile ago I knew that but I couldn't get the math to work in my head. It was stuck back in what I now thought of as the "Fuzzy Time." Sometimes I wasn't sure if what I remembered had actually happened to me or someone who looked a lot like me but was born on another planet. The planet of Yesteryear.

Rick was peering at the map and was telling Roy where to turn. "This is it people." He announced. Roy barked a laugh and shook his head. I looked at him expecting him to follow up with some words but he stayed silent. We drove into the DEMON's development and found the street. Roy slowed down even more if that was possible, I could barely see the houses as they were set back so far. The only thing really visible was the gates with the addresses. Without them we would probably have never had a clue where we were exactly. Especially as the light was fading fast.

The Chosen - Chapter 10b by Nova

I had kind of forgotten about our conversation as I was really wrapped up in writing the Book of Chosen. It flowed out of me with zero effort which I knew meant HE was using me as a transcriber. I would go back and read parts of it and find myself amazed at what HE had written. HE was not messing around. HE was very angry with how the world was being run. I understood that completely.

So when Roy stood in my door and said I was needed on the patio I didn't think anything about it. I was surprised to see Sharon, Rick and Roy standing there waiting for me. No only waiting for me but grinning.

"What's up?" I asked them.

"We got our target." Rick told me. The way he was grinning and clutching sheets of paper in his hand told me he was the one who found him. He thrust the papers he was holding at me and I read though them. Our man had come up through the ranks with his career taking off in 2002. Capitol One had not done any mortgage lending until the past couple of years after the bought a local bank. He was now a regional Vice President. I looked at the photo of him. Yes. He was a DEMON. I told them "He's a greasy looking man isn't he?" They all agreed. He did look greasy. He also looked mean which made sense. His DEMON heart was showing through his face.

The last page showed a map with his house on it. "Nice." I told them. "How did you find all this?"

Rick smiled "Google is our friend. Plus there our only three people in the country with his last name."

I let the "google" reference slide. He added "Once I had his name I ran him though the tax records the county keeps online for the public. I knew a big shot like him had to live close to their corporate headquarters in McLean."

"Where is this?" I couldn't tell on his map as it only showed a couple of streets with a red house icon for where he lived.

"Less than eight miles from here Chosen." This was from Sharon. I liked how her eyes were glinting.

Roy added "We know what time he comes home. We had one of our people stake out the road he comes home on. Our plan is to take him there."

"When?"

Roy said "Tonight if you want too."

I looked at them. They looked at me.

"Okay. Lets stop at Five Guys for hamburgers first."

They all started talking at once trying to tell me the plan. I tried listening but I was thinking about what I was going to get on my hamburger. Jalapenos most definitely.

Friday, September 10, 2010

The Chosen - Part 8a - By Nova

Sharon rolled her eyes at my chicken request but nudged the box towards me."How was jail" she asked. "Fine. I wasn't there long. Can I use your fork?"  She looked taken aback. "You want to use my fork?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"No reason. Hang on. I'll get you a clean one."

She stopped as she passed Roy and asked him if he wanted a bucket to sit on.

"That would be good. Thank you."

I watched her walk away.  I looked away when she went around the corner and found both White Guys and Roy were staring at me. Short Haired White Guy had a faint smile. His buddy, if that's who he was, looked bored. Roy just looked tired. You want any chicken Roy?" He didn't want any. Instead he wandered off. Probably looking for the bathroom I thought. Every old person I ever knew, all three of them, had bad kidneys and had to pee all the time. So I asked Short Haired White Guy  "What's your name?"

"Rick."

 "Why are you here Rick?"

 "Because I saw the video on youtube and recognized Sharon when I saw her walking down the street yesterday. Because I live two houses down.  Because I have been unemployed for over 39 weeks." He stopped here and waited for a response from me. "What about you?" I asked the long haired version. He shrugged and said "Because..."

I thought about what he said and let it go. 

"What are you eating Rick?" I pointed at the box by him.

"Rice. It's all gone."  He added "I like your staff. Cool head."

I had propped STAFF against the wall behind me.  Having these things like STAFF and GUN was cool and HE gave them to me and all but I was having a problem getting comfortable with them.  "Yeah. I like it too. Roy added the head. HE gave me the staff."

Sharon was back and handed me a clean fork.  I said a prayer of thanks out loud and dug in. She had also set up a bucket for Roy to sit on. We were going to have to get some furniture it looked like.   She settled in and the BIG discussion began. I didn't say much about my adventures.  That was fine with everyone. Sharon and Rick filled the conversational hole for us.  At one point Sharon lit a candle which made the entire talking thing pretty cool for about ten minutes more than I could usually stand.  I noticed Roy was yawning.  Once he started I began which didn't pass unnoticed. Sharon saw me, laughed, and said "You want us to wrap it up Chosen?"

Before I could answer Rick jumped in with "But what are we going to do next? I mean I haven't heard a plan. I've got a few ideas that I would..."  I cut him off. "You want a plan? I don't do plans. HE does plans. We make them happen." I stood up and grabbed STAFF from where it was leaning against the wall.  You want a goal?  To return America to the rule of HE who knows.  To cleanse the land of of the parasites and all their work. To return to a sustainable lifestyle that doesn't kill the planet with poisons for profit.  To cut the head off every snake we find starting with the bankers."  All of a sudden I was tired. Really tired. So I said "Good Night" and left to see if I still had my sleeping bag.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Chosen - Part 7e - by Nova

"So where we going to be staying Chosen? What do I need to bring?"

I looked around his house but before I could say it he laughed and told me "Not going be here. The bank is coming for this place any day now."

So I told him about where I was staying and a little bit about Sharon. I didn't tell him she was Black too. I couldn't think of any way of saying it really. Plus it shouldn't matter. HE didn't care what color you were so why should I mention it. I was beginning to wonder if HE was Black too because this recruiting thing sure seemed to be trending that way. I consoled myself knowing if that was the way it was going to be we would eventually end up recruiting a couple of guys who go do all kinds of athletic stuff.  That would probably come in handy.

He listened pretty good Roy did. He didn't ask a bunch of questions.  When I finished he said "Okay. I got it." I was kind of surprised about how calmly he was taking all this because I wasn't seeing any sign of him being weirded out about going to live in a foreclosed house. So I asked him that. His reply was "What do you think I'm living in now?" 

I thought about it and replied "Yeah. You got a point." 

"Well Chosen" He told me. "I'm going to go pack up my bag. I'm going to take my car with me, it's paid for, and then we can roll on out of here."

"Roy. You got a Bible I can read while you do that?" 

"Yeah. I got my wifes. Probably a good idea to bring that."

He disappeared for about ten minutes reappearing with a worn black one with Holy Bible in gold stamped on the front.   He handed it to me and said "Take me about an hour. Help yourself to what ever you need" and he was gone. I listened to his slow steps go up the stairs and pondered the cover of the Bible. I always wondered why they had "Holy Bible" in big gold letters on the front like this. Why did they do that? Did somebody think you were going to mistake it for a phone book? Did it make it holier?

I opened it up and knew she had spent some time reading it. I thumbed through the pages to a photo of all three of them standing together. Roy, his wife who weighed at least twice as much as him, and their son. They were all grinning for the camera.  I flipped it over. Nothing on the back. She hadn't needed it. She probably looked at it and remembered how the day smelled, what the weather was like, and everything her son had said. Roy looked a lot younger then even though it couldn't have been that long ago. His son was dressed in regular people clothes but he still looked like a soldier.  "HIS LAST LEAVE" went through my head. Yeah. Funny how you get your picture taken all grinning not knowing what is coming.  I stared at it really hard. Sometimes I thought I could see the shadows sneaking up on people in photographs.  Faint smudges of pain just biding its time. I didn't see anything on this one. I stuck it back in the book and went looking for a random verse.

I don't know how long Roy took. It didn't seem that long before I heard him hollering for me. I went to the foot of the stairs and looked up. He had a suitcase next to him and a light bag across his bony shoulder. "You want to give me a hand with this?"  I went up the stairs and grabbed hold of his suitcase and dragged it down the stairs. It was heavy. I thought it probably weighed as much as he did. We ended back up in the kitchen where he looked around slowly. I thought he was taking a last look. Instead he said "I'll get some boxes from downstairs. We can take what is left of the food too."

He came back with the boxes and a red five gallon plastic gas container. He held on to the door frame for a second breathing a little heavy. "I hate all these stairs."  Then he pushed off the door frame and dropped the boxes at my feet and went out the front door.  I started opening up cabinets and putting what I found in the boxes.  I could see out the kitchen window to the street and I saw him park the car on the curb. He popped the trunk but didn't get out. Instead he just sat there, windows down, looking at the house.

When I had found everything I thought there was to find I began toting the boxes out to the car. I had managed to fill one box and part of another. It dosen't sound like much but it was more canned foods, dry noodles, and spices which I had no idea what you used them for in one place in awhile. I mean in one place where I had a reasonably good chance of eating them. I wasn't sure what turnip greens tasted like but the lady on the can looked friendly.

It took four trips before I was done. Roy stayed in the car the entire time until I came out with his luggage. I was okay with that. I just hoped he didn't die on me while he was driving. You never knew with old people when they were going to keel over. You just knew it could be anytime.  He watched as I grunted with the effort of getting the suitcase up and into the trunk. I shut the trunk and said "That's it!"  I had put STAFF in the backseat with one end poking out the window.  As I had stuck it in back I imagined STAFF sniffing the breeze so I made sure the top was the part sticking out.  Roy had done one more thing with STAFF that I really liked. He had attached a silver skulls head to the end of the staff. Skull was grinning. Probably in anticipation of the ride I thought.

"One more thing before we go Chosen."

"What's that?"

"I want you to help me burn my house down."

I thought about it an asked him "You sure?"

"Hell yes! Screw the bank. Screw my asshole neighbors too. You know one of them asked me a year after she had died where my wife was?"

I shrugged and told him "I guess you should have had a yard sale."

Roy was staring at me so I decided maybe he didn't understand. "You know. That is the only time I used to talk to mine. When they were selling stuff in the front yard. That's usually when I found out that they were moving and what their names were."

"Yeah. Still....well you pour the gas. Go on inside and splash it around. Leave a trail to the door and hold on to the can. I'll light her off." He added in a quiet almost gentle voice "Well Son. We can't throw stones at the place can we?"

"True that."

So I did as he asked. When I came out he was standing their. He startled me a bit. It was like he had swelled  and straightened up while I was gone. His face was a mask and the mask wasn't smiling. He reminded me of a giant eagle watching an unaware mouse.

"Put the can in the car up front. You can toss it when we are down the road."

I stood there. He wasn't looking at me. I shrugged and walked to the car and did as he said.  Then I stood by my open door and watched him.  After a couple minutes he struck a kitchen match and tossed it to where I spilled the last bit of gas by the front door. The fire flared up, looked back at us, and raced inside.  Roy turned slowly and walked to the car. I got in when he did. He turned the key and we pulled away. He didn't look back.

The Chosen - Part 7d - By Nova

Roy told me "I did some minor smoothing on the wood of your staff. Not much....where did you say you found it?" He was trying to be casual about the question but he wasn't doing all the great of a job.

"HE lead me to it."

 "He being God?"

"Yes. Of course." I thought who else? I sure wouldn't be calling one those butterfly dicked politicians HE now would I.

"Yeah. I wouldn't have believed you until I held that staff of yours." He shook his head and said "I feel like a part of my brain got hosed out. This ain't Jesus. This God of yours is he?"

"No." I waited for what he had to say now. Inside I was excited and bothered. Excited because HE must have spoken to Roy. Disturbed because it was my STAFF! How come HE talked to Roy. Couldn't he just have given him his own staff or had me pass on the message?

"Yeah. I quit believing in him awhile ago. Three and a half years ago almost. He doesn't listen and I know he doesn't care." Almost under his breath he mumbled "Should have know that after '50." A little louder he added "Never stopped believing in the Old Testament one though. That's him isn't it?

"Yes it is. Roy. What did you have happen when you held STAFF?"

"I can't tell you. Least not yet and maybe never."

He saw the look on my face an added "Don't have words for it." He shook his head slowly, looked down and said "Not sure I want to put words to it."

I understood that and told him so. He was right about that. The human brain wasn't meant to handle the experience HE brought with him when he was really broadcasting. That's why he talked mostly.

Roy sat up a little straighter, slapped each knee simultaneously with his hands, and said "Well, I don't what you got planned but I'm going with you."

"Okay." I was happy he was joining me but HE needed to get find us someone other than the sick an old if we were going to accomplish much.

Friday, September 3, 2010

The Chosen - Part 7 - by Nova

I left the house and I didn't look back. I had some idea of where I was and what direction I had to go to get back to Sharon and my stuff.  I wish I had my Bible. It would be nice to sit down somewhere and open it at random and see if HE would speak to me. Preferably something encouraging  because I was feeling a little down.  STAFF seemed like a big stupid limb and he was heavy to.  Those old school Prophets must have had some serious arm strength to keep flipping all that wood out in front of them.

I kept walking and I learned that there was some skill involved in walking with a staff. It was all about rhythm and timing. That took awhile butI began to get it down and I started to like hearing the sound of STAFF hitting the pavement.  I imagined I was a marcher guy like they have in the parades who lead the band.  I was so in to it that I missed the old guy calling out to me. I heard his second, or maybe it was his third "Hey you!"  I stopped to stare at him.  I wasn't really in the mood for any more people laughing at me or just plain giving me a hard time.

"Yeah?" I yelled back.

He motioned for me to come over and when I didn't move yelled "Come here son!"

I walked across the street towards him and checked him out as I did. He looked like Morgan Freeman but older if that was possible.  That made him about three days away from keeling over probably. He had been trimming his rose bushes that ran along his property line. They were nice roses once but what ever he had been doing lately wasn't working very well.

"Your roses are dying."

He looked at them and then the clippers in hand and sighed. "Yep. They were my wife's." He slipped the clippers into his back pocket. As he took off the gloves he was wearing he said "I saw your walking stick.  I'm a walking stick guy myself."

"It's a staff." I told him.

He squinted his eyes, sized STAFF up, and told me "Yeah. I think you're right. It's got the thickness of one.

"You got a staff too?"

He smiled. It was a good smile. He also didn't have any ear implants, sunglasses, or a cell phone on his belt.

"Yeah. You might say that. I make them." He said this with quiet pride. "Well, actually I was a carpenter. Then I tried doing walking sticks. Sold a few and then last year they quit selling. Just like that. One day I was a busy guy, well as busy as I wanted to be, then I wasn't."

The Chosen - Part 6f - by Nova

I walked in the kitchen door. Amy and Dennis were sitting at the same table we had dinner at. Tyler wasn't around and I was sure he was gone. I didn't know for sure. He just seemed like a busy going places type of guy. All the dishes from that meal had been piled in the sink for someone else to stick in the dishwasher. Most certainly by their special Christian Hispanic woman. 

I was surprised no one had asked me about Jesus yet and my personal relationship with him. That alone was a good enough reason to move on. They assumed I was a Christian. I wasn't. I served HE who can't be named. The God of Abraham, Moses and I think Ruth.  Jesus was a Prophet but he wasn't the one TRUE Prophet. That was my job as soon as I figured out how I was going to do it.  I probably would need a television show but HE didn't like technology. That also ruled out the Internet which was even bigger than television.   Even bigger than cable or satellite for reaching people.

The two of them stopped chewing on their bagels to greet me. Dennis added a "What is that?"  Amy, being Amy, started laughing at STAFF.  She told Dennis "It's his Moses stick." She resumed laughing and Dennis, well he tried to fight it but he joined in.  I looked at STAFF and it didn't seem so special now.  I hadn't got cut off the little branches that grew off it and I got a picture in my head of Charlie Browns Christmas tree. I had seen that as a kid and barely remembered it until now. For a second I almost burst into tears.  I must have worn it for a second on my face because Dennis quit laughing sort off while Amy went into another spasm of laughter.

He said "It's okay Chosen. We can trim it up and maybe stain it our something." Then he shot Amy a glare that just made her laugh harder.  She managed to say in between her fits "Yes........we......we can.....paint it.....Oh God."   She was holding her side. Laughter can hurt both ways sometimes. That when I saw it. She was wearing a Borg Demon implant. I had probably seen it when I walked in but my mind had been sidetracked by their laughing at STAFF.  My mind flipped when I saw that.  I strode around the table to where she sat. She watched me approach and almost, not quite, stopped laughing. She looked up at me and I saw no fear. I did see contempt and disdain. She was rapidly trying to get it together but I had seen it. She had also seen my eyes which was why she was trying to pull Amy the Professional out of the box in her brain and slip back into that. She was fast dropping the mask but she wasn't fast enough to dodge my hand.

I grabbed her Demon implant and a bit of hair along with it and yanked. Her ear bent a bit but it came loose. I hesitated for a second because I was sure I had seen worms clinging to it. Pale brown ones that glistened and then dived through her ear hole and back into her brain. I threw it down in disgust and stomped it. Amy had screamed in pain, pressed a hand to her ear, stared at me in disbelief and wailed "Dennis!" He started to get out of his chair and I pulled GUN on him. I told him "Don't Dennis. She is a Demon." 

Amy screamed "You asshole!"

I didn't want to shoot Dennis. He seemed okay. Maybe he was tainted a bit but I thought he could be saved. "I'm leaving Dennis. Sit down."  I started moving away from them and heading for the door. That's when Amy punched me in the thigh hard. I didn't figure out until much later that she wasn't aiming for my thigh then. Moving was what saved me from getting racked by that Demon bitch.  She screamed again "You asshole!" Then she started getting out of chair. Dennis grabbed her, told her "Calm down." Then he looked at me and said "Go!"  I went.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

The Chosen - Part 6e - By Nova

I got up and walked slowly towards the fallen limb. With each step the yellow glow that outlined my branch faded.  I stopped, grabbed the branch in the center and pulled backwards as hard as I could. The branch snapped cleanly off at the base of the bigger limb and I ended up falling backwards and onto my ass. I got up, brushed my ass off and looked it over. I liked it. It fit perfectly in my hand and once I cut the shoots that had grown off it and smoothed it out it would be perfect. It was oak and it wasn't light. 

I stood therewith it in my hand and I couldn't help myself. I pointed it at a bush and said in my best Moses voice "Burn!"  It didn't. I was glad in a way. That would have been scary amazing.  I was also disappointed too. It was a gift from HIM so it had to be good for something. I thought that would probably to be revealed later.  A lot of things were like that in life now.  I looked back at the house. Amy was watching me through the kitchen window. She disappeared from sight as soon as I spotted her.

"Satans bitch" I muttered. I didn't like any of them.  I was tempted, yes LORD I was very tempted to go along with them. Just like the DEVIL had taken the Prophet Jesus to the top of the world and shown him the glittering cities of the sinners and promised him they would be his so they had promised me the goods of the world. Maybe not cities or even big towns but they had made promises. Promises that in my weakness I had considered. HE knew. He had shown me the STAFF of ....I got stuck here.  I forgot what I had. GUN was something. I smacked the side of my head with my fist and shouted "Think!" SWORD was righteousness. GUN was the voice? STAFF would be ...? "Why couldn't he label these things!"  I thought. I hated these black spots of forgetting. I was stupid! Stupid!  HE gave me these things! The least I could do is remember their names! I fell to my knees and began to pray "Oh LORD I am stupid. You picked an idiot to be your Chosen One." I kept going and I felt like crying with frustration and anger at my stupidity. Stupid. Stupid Stupid I was.

Then he spoke to me. "IT IS THE STAFF OF JUDGEMENT."   Of course it was! I laughed, shook the STAFF and yelled "Thank you LORD!"  I used the STAFF to help get back to my feet. It was already proving to be handy when Dennis stuck his head out the door and said "You okay Chosen?"

I yelled "Praise the LORD!"


He yelled it back an added "Come on in. It's breakfast time! We have a lot to do today!"  Then he shut the door. A little to loudly I thought.  I began walking towards the door and I realized it was time for me to go back and find Sharon. First though they needed to be chastised for tempting me. Why else would STAFF have appeared?

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The Chosen - Part 6d by Nova

I sat there for awhile waiting for the SPIRIT to come upon me. Plus I didn't have anything else to do. Sometimes I could sit for hours. It was a talent. Maybe one of my few. Usually my brain just flat lined. That's how I thought of it at least.  I liked it. Thinking was overrated. At least as a full time job.  So was efficiency.

Efficiency was a pillar of the DEMON religion.  Squeezing the most out of a person like an orange and tossing the rind in the trash and then making it sound like it was good business? What kind of shit was that? DEMON shit.  That's what it was. Just thinking about it was pissing me off. It was too nice of a morning to get angry.  I tried to avoid getting angry this early because it tended to color the rest of my day. So I did my distract meditation.

My distract meditation was pretty simple. So simple I couldn't even remember when I figured it out.  I would pick something around me and study it. A bush. A weed. A piece of trash. It didn't matter. I would look at it and try and see the little atoms spinning inside it. Watch how the breeze moved it. Trace its patterns. Outline it with a mental sharpie. Sometimes if I watched long enough the outline would appear by itself or I could almost, not quite, but almost see the atoms dancing like happy little angels.

There was a limb from a tree laying in the grass not far from me.  I could see where it had been snapped off. It had been awhile because it was an old snap and shear wound. The leaves had long since died and walked away on the wind. One of the arms off the main limb was almost six feet long and straight as an arrow. My eyes kept going back to it. Why? "Talk to me LORD" I thought. Is there something you want me to see. I had almost stopped breathing. HE was leaking through. I could feel him inside me. I started to twitch. "Yes Lord! Talk to me!"  He didn't talk to me. He sent his heavenly highlighter instead.  The special yellow one. The limb that was straight and strong began to glow where he had outlined it. I let my breath out. "Yes LORD I see it! I see it!"

The Chosen - Part 6c - By Nova

I woke up before dawn. It was that brief window in time when the birds were busy talking to each other and the light had just begun to replace the dark. It was the best time to pray because your prayers could slip through the crack between lightness and darkness and fly to HIS ear through the other dimension that was behind everything we took for granted.

The house was quiet. I had no idea who was still here if anyone. Dennis was supposed to stay with me so he was probably sleeping somewhere. I dropped off the bed on to my knees and bowed my head.  That was very difficult for me to do at first.  It hurt sometimes, like now, and it felt childish and powerless.  Then HE exploded into my mind and  I realized who I was dealing with.  I was nothing compared to the POWER and GLORY of HIM. I did pray sometimes when I was laying down.  I also found I usually felt like praying  when I took a leak.  I thought HE might think I was being disrespectful but I think he understood.  Then again who knows if HE even noticed? Maybe he just got the audio and not the video feed from people unless he was interested in watching that persons channel?

I prayed for guidance on what to do. I also asked for confirmation that it was okay to kill Demons now or should I wait for signs? The rest was the usual things I said except I asked him to look out for Sharon and if he was okay with it I would like to see her again.

I got back on my feet, stretched, and went to use the bathroom. I stepped out into the hallway just in time to see Amy slip out of the bedroom on the other side of the hallway. She seemed startled to see me and scurried off down the hallway into another room. I shrugged and wondered if she was any good.  Probably not. I wasn't going to find out anyway. I shuddered as I got a mental image of her taking me in her mouth, fangs suddenly appearing, and her grinning at me as she ripped it off at the root.

The kitchen was as quiet as the rest of the house. The refrigerator was empty except for some cheese that was cut into little squares and a single strawberry banana yogurt. I ate everything and then went out the back door and sat on the step to think. I liked being outside. It was were I lived now.