Pt. 6

He hadn't slept well for quite some time. Maybe, for him, it was comparable to the trauma of those men who had come back from the trenches of Verdun or who had spent a part of their youth in the shadow of Mount Suribachi. Although he hadn't taken part in the divine slaughter, he was left to clean up after it. Mangled, rotting, fly infested corpses lying contorted, swelling in the hot sun. Broken, splintered bones, shards of shattered teeth, and crushed skulls, mouths agape. Charcoal stick figures, burnt beyond any resemblance of an individual....like pictures he had seen of people unable to escape an ancient volcanic eruption...Vesuvius...Krakatau. Some, embraced in death...he imagined, a husband and wife, lovers, dying in terror not understanding why this cataclysm visited them. The frail bodies of children haunted him most. Silken hair matted in coagulated blood...eyes frozen open in terror...sometimes a charred stuffed animal. And the ever present stench. The type of grisly smell that clings to your hair and clothes and triggers a gag reflex and the exiting of your stomachs contents. What deranged netherworld numen would inflict this on humanity? These were the images that paraded through his dreams and caused him often to bolt upright in the dark.

But tonight, he dreamt of his wife. They walked together along the shore of a quiet lake. It was late in the year and colored leaves floated down from the trees. At their campsite they roasted hotdogs over a small fire and ate potato salad. They sat together on folding chairs and watched an old Jimmy Stewart movie on a portable player. They drank wine under the light of an ivory moon, from proper glasses that she had brought. They talked about what adventures they would have as they lay in the dark in their old sleeping bags. He got up early, fixed coffee, and stood outside in his shorts listening to morning sounds. She made him bacon and eggs and burnt toast the way he liked. They walked together on a wooded trail that led to a glistening waterfall. They were the only ones there. They sat on rocks by the streams edge, sloshed their feet in the cool water and watched water bugs skitter across the surface.

They were overjoyed to learn that she was carrying their first child. The arrival was just a few weeks away now. They had not wanted to know whether it would be a boy or a girl like many couples do. They wanted it to be a surprise and now their child's arrival was so near. She had left for a few days to visit her mother who had tripped on the stairs and broken a bone in her foot. Her mother lived in a small village about three hours away. He was unable to go with her because of his work, but it would be a short visit and she would be home in a few days. They talked on the phone and he was relieved to know that she had arrived safely. The last thing that she had said to him was that she loved him and that she had a surprise for him. He was inquisitive but she just laughed and said, "You'll see!" and hung up the phone.

But then the "Day" happened. The sky darkened, the heavens split open and God rained down fire and hail on his beloved children. Now there was no means of communication or way to travel to where she was. At times he was paralyzed with anxiety not knowing if she were alive or dead. He had caught himself starting to pray that she was safe, but remembered that he had given up on that exercise about the second day into this spiritual utopia. It had been all that he could do to survive. Life had been turned upside down. All, in his area had come under the authority of the "Seers." It had been impossible to leave. There had been a few unsuccessful attempts. They had all been caught by the "Abettors." This was the term given to the "Seers" enforcement detail. He despised them. He thought that they were no more than illiterate goons, fanatically loyal to the "Seers." They were involved in surveillance and patrol details. When a "Defector" was caught, all of the "Compeers" were required to be present at a special conclave. It was typically the "Administrator of the Body of Seers" who would give the presentment. The "Defector" was made to stand in front, only a towel wrapped around him, a blindfold across his eyes and his hands taped together at the wrist. He was vilified, and humiliated by the "Administrator." They were told to treat this person like a leper, not even saying hello to him. They were reminded that any who broke this rule would suffer the same punishment. He said above all else, we must display unity. At the end, two "Abettors" attached a length of heavy logging chain snuggly around the man's ankle with a padlock, the other end attached to half of a concrete block. Not extremely heavy but cumbersome enough to slow down any other attempt at escape. The last one that he saw was a young boy who he thought was about eighteen. He was not allowed to wear shoes and was assigned to a "sewage disposal detail."

He groggily started to awaken. There was a rhythmic scraping sound. His eyes slowly opened and in the early morning light he saw Fireball at the door. It was a Dutch type door. The top half must not have been latched and she had nosed it open and stuck her head inside. She was pawing her hoof on the concrete slab outside the door. He threw the covers back and shuffled over towards the door. His fingers scratched up and down her face and around her ears. "I know what you want." On the window sill was a partial box of Domino sugar cubes. He took one and held it out to her in his open hand. It made him smile how she took it with her fat soft lips and crunched it down. He gave her another. She stuck her muzzle under his arm, closed her eyes and allowed the head scratching to continue. "We're going to get out of here old girl" he said as he rubbed her ears. "We're going to escape this madness."