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

we have Lily and Katie. Lily also attends the gym. She and Katie will be Seniors in high school next year.”

“If we ever get to go back,” the blonde one he assumed was Lily said.

“Right. If.” Raven moved on to an older man in a button-down shirt and pants. “This is Pastor Benjamin Westley. He’s been our guide through all of this so far, helping us make sense of the book of Revelation.”

“Well, as much sense as we can,” the pastor said, “and you can call me Ben.”

“And finally, we have Nathan. He was in charge of the sound system at Mountain Home before the rapture. We haven’t had much need for that as we’ve been pretty small, but he helps with our communications.”

“It’s nice to meet you all.” Gabe looked around the room and then back to Raven. “Wait, didn’t you say there was another doctor too?”

Raven nodded. “Yes, Dr. Candace Markham. Unfortunately, she lives up in Seattle right now and is an ER doc, so she’s on the front lines of NCAV. We keep in touch, but she hasn’t been able to come down in a few weeks. However, I’m sure she’ll be joining us as soon as the vaccine begins rolling out.”

Raven motioned for Gabe to take one of the empty seats before taking one herself. “Everyone, this is Gabe Cross, the brave virologist who came forward to share with the world that NCAV was indeed man-made and not transmitted by bat or at a market like the media has been claiming.”

“No offense, but how exactly do you know that?” Jason asked.

“Every virus has markers,” Gabe said, adjusting his position to lean forward slightly. “Natural viruses differ slightly from each other, but they differ greatly from manufactured viruses. Natural viruses appear round with short stubby knobs under a microscope. Manufactured viruses have nodules that are much longer and thinner. The NCAV virus is definitely the latter.”

“In addition to Dr. Cross’s findings on the virus is what he found out about Daman Caturix which I’ve already shared with all of you,” Raven said. “Now, we still don’t know exactly what the play is here. As Jason said to me the other day, why open up just to close down again? I don’t have those answers, but what Pastor Ben and I do agree on is that this is the beginning.

“We believe the virus was put into play to create fear and to condition the people to do whatever the government said. We’re already seeing that with our young and healthy friends who face little risk of death with this virus but refuse to get together or go back to work. We see it with the people berating and attacking those who refuse to wear masks, and I’m afraid it will only get worse. My guess is that this vaccine Caturix is backing will be fast tracked out to the public as a means of “getting back to normal.” Even though most of us in this room are not at risk, we will be asked to take the vaccine for those who are. That request will soon turn into a demand and then into a threat that will keep us from being able to enter stores, purchase items, et cetera.”

“What happens then?” the other younger girl asked, fear threading her voice.

“We need to start preparing before then,” Ben said. “There is plenty of room at the church where we can store supplies for now. When you go to the store, pick up a few extra canned goods or boxed items - anything that will keep for a time. Bring them to the church and Nathan and I will store them. Nathan is also working on building a secret door where we will be able to enter the supply room and retrieve the supplies should they ever bar us from the church.”

Raven nodded as Ben finished and gestured to the space around them. “This house belonged to Kat, who was raptured. It hasn’t been used for a while, and I don’t think it will be on their radar for a while either, so anyone who needs a place to stay is welcome here. I’ll get a keycode lock installed so we don’t need keys. I’ve also got someone looking for a larger safehouse for us. We’re spread out over Washington right now, but when the time comes, we will be safer together.”

She turned to Gabe. “I’m hoping that perhaps you can work on a safe vaccine for us. While most of us aren’t at risk, we do have some elderly members who are. Plus, I have no idea if they’ll find a way to mutate the virus.”

Gabe nodded. He’d been thinking the exact same thing after speaking with Raven the first time. “I’m just one man and vaccines like this generally take years, but if I can get my hands on a dose, I may be able to isolate the part that works while eliminating the Luciferase.”

“Okay, we’ll add that to the list. I’ll send a message out to the other groups and let them know the plan. I know this all sounds scary, but I do believe we’re in the eye of the storm right now. I believe things will appear to get better before they get worse. Please keep your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary, and whatever you do, don’t take the vaccine.”

12

Two Months later

Conflicting feelings coursed through Lily as she turned off the alarm. The last few months had almost felt normal, minus the limit on gatherings and the wearing of masks. In fact, they’d been so close to normal that she was returning to school today. Most of the schools in Washington were starting the year the way they’d ended - remotely - but Lily’s school was smaller and because of that, the school had decided it could return to in-person learning and still follow the Governor’s requirements. It was those requirements that made Lily’s blood boil though.

First and foremost, masks