The Beginning of the End by Lorana Hoopes (readict txt) 📕

Candace she wasn’t sure this was the beginning of the end, but the more coverage she watched of it, the more she became convinced that it would have a role to play.

She jumped to her feet. Kat’s letter. She needed to read it again. Though she hadn’t really understood what the letter meant at the time, she had taken it and the Bible and journal with her nearly everywhere she went and had studied it with every free moment. The Sunday after the rapture, she’d met Pastor Ben, who while having been left behind, at least seemed to have more knowledge of the word than she did. They’d begun studying Kat’s words together, along with a few other people who had joined their small group.

That first day, it had just been herself, the pastor, and one other man by the name of Nathan, but they’d all agreed there had to be more like them out there. Raven had set up a website for the church advertising that the message of hope and truth was available every Sunday. Attendance had gradually increased to a group of about fifty now, and Pastor Ben said the other churches were also seeing a surge. Evidently, other people were beginning to search for the truth as well.

Raven scanned the letter again before grabbing her phone and dialing Pastor Ben.

“Are you watching the news?” she asked when he answered.

“I am.”

“What can we do? Candace called me and told me they just had a safety briefing about it.”

“I’m not sure. Right now, I guess we watch and wait, but I will admit that I’m scared for what this might mean for our church, especially since we have just started rebuilding. It appears they are already locking businesses down in China.”

“They couldn’t lock down things here, could they?” Raven couldn’t imagine how that would work. The US was too big and the states were too different.

“I don’t know, Raven. I just don’t know. There is one thing we can do though. We can pray.”

They ended the call and Raven stared at the news screen. They had already suffered so much with the loss of so many lives. Could they handle an unknown virus? And if not, what did that mean?

5

Candace had just finished her lunch when her pager went off. After glancing down at it, she threw her trash away and headed down to the ER.

“What’s going on?” she asked the nurse on duty as she entered the area.

“We think we might have a case of NCAV.” The woman’s eyes were large and filled with fear. “They’ve put him in isolation and Julie is gathering up your gear.”

“Right.” Conflicting emotions flooded Candace. Common sense told her that she was prepared for this, that she had trained for this, but fear dominated that thought. Fear of the unknown. There was still so little they knew about this virus and what she had seen on the media made it out to be the worst killing machine in modern history.

No, she couldn’t let fear control her. She knew how to keep herself safe or as safe as she could, and she’d found Jesus again. Even if it was her time, it just meant she would see Phil again that much sooner.

With a swift nod at the nurse, Candace continued to the isolation area. Sure enough, Julie was waiting outside, already geared up, with more gear for Candace on a table beside her. Most of her face was covered with a mask, but fear radiated around her like a palpable mist.

“What do we have?” Candace asked as she began the process of suiting up with Julie. Not only did she need the information, but her hope was that the conversation would ease both their minds.

“Forty-year-old man complained of cough and fever. Tested at 101.3. Confirmed that he had been out of the country in the last two weeks. I’ve already tasked one of the other nurses with trying to find out who all he came in contact with during that time. He lives alone and said he came in when it grew hard for him to breathe. I’ve taken a swab and sent it to the lab for analysis. Unfortunately, I guess this means I’m under quarantine until my test comes back.”

Candace could hear the sadness in Julie’s voice. She knew Julie had children at home. They were younger, and while her husband would be there, Candace couldn’t imagine how hard it must be to know she couldn’t go home to her kids.

Candace placed a gloved hand on Julie’s arm. “Hey, it will be okay. We’ll rush your test and you’ll be home in no time. I’ll handle everything else for him so that once you’re cleared, you can go home, okay?”

Julie sucked in a deep breath and nodded. Candace did the same. Then she turned to the isolation door and entered the room into territory unknown.

Gabe flicked through the channels on the television mindlessly. It was how he had spent the majority of the last few months. With Melinda and the kids gone, he no longer knew what to do with himself. Having taken little time off over the years, he’d had quite the bank of sick days built up and had decided to cash them in. He knew he would be unable to focus on work, but he hadn’t expected he’d be unable to focus on anything else as well.

When his phone vibrated beside him, he glanced at the screen and sighed. His boss. Though he did not want to talk to her, he couldn’t afford to lose this job, and she probably wanted to know when he would be coming back. He didn’t really have an answer, but he swiped the screen to take the call anyway.

“Hello?”

“Gabe?” Surprise colored her voice even through the phone, and he could almost picture her pinched forehead and arched brows. “Are you okay?”

What a question. Was he okay with the love of his life and his children gone?