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

Katie leaned close and whispered. “What happened here? It feels so cold.”

Lily shook her head, but it did not ease the fear that this might only be the beginning. First, the vaccine push on Friday and now this. Deep down, she supposed she knew this day would come. After the rapture, it was only a matter of time before the Antichrist was revealed, and he tried to take over the world. Lily just hadn’t thought it would come so soon.

She took a small comfort in knowing she was not alone in her unease. Though everyone who entered was masked, she could see the shock play across their eyes as they stepped into the room. Most were too timid to ask any questions. Connor, unfortunately, was not.

“Whoa,” he said as he slid into the classroom right before the bell went off. “Who are you and what happened to Mr. Higgins?” Connor was the typical jock. He almost always wore jerseys of some sort - basketball, football, hockey. Lily had never seen him in anything else, and she wasn’t sure he owned other types of shirts. Plus, he was a little cocky and loud. That worked in his favor during most sports games, but it did nothing for him with Mr. Dagon.

Mr. Dagon looked up from his computer and fixed Connor with an icy glare. “Mr. Higgins will be out for a few weeks. I am Mr. Dagon, and in my class, we don’t have verbal outbursts like that.”

Connor shrugged as he plopped into the last unoccupied desk. “The bell just rang, dude.”

Lily had seen teachers get upset before. In fact, she’d seen them get upset at Connor before, but she’d never seen such hatred pour forth from a teacher’s eyes like the kind that issued now from Mr. Dagon. “I am not your dude, young man. You will address me with respect, and to make up for your poor behavior, you will stay after class to sanitize the desks today.”

Though Connor offered another shrug, Lily saw the muscles in his back tighten. He didn’t like being called out and receiving punishment was even worse.

“Good, now that expectations are settled, we can begin class. Let’s begin by researching and discussing the effectiveness of vaccines.”

“But we don’t have the vaccine yet,” came a small voice from behind Lily.

“We will soon,” Mr. Dagon said as his eyes swept over the room. “We will soon.”

“Aren’t you coming?”

Candace glanced up from her salad to see one of the older nurses, Anne, in the doorway. Anne was probably only in her late fifties, but her graying hair made her appear older. Still, she was one of Candace’s favorite nurses to work with. She was kind but a hard worker, and she could switch from spitting out nails to issuing soothing words like a grandmother on the turn of a dime.

“No, I’m going to finish eating first,” Candace said. She’d had to work through lunch and was just now getting a chance to eat. She hadn’t planned it, but it had come as a welcome excuse to not take the first round of vaccines that were being pushed on the medical staff.

“Have you eaten? Do you want to join me?” She’d tried to convince Anne not to get the vaccine, but for all her good qualities, Anne’s downfall was that she truly believed the government was there to help everyone.

“Don’t tell me you believe those conspiracy theories,” Anne had said when Candace had brought up the issue. “I think you might need more sleep.”

“It’s not a conspiracy theory if it’s true,” Candace had pressed, but Anne had merely shaken her head and claimed she was doing it not only for herself but for her husband who was diabetic. They’d been living apart for the past several months and Anne wanted to be able to go home to him.

Candace could certainly understand that as there wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t miss her own husband. Still, she worried for Anne. She knew not everyone would have an immediate adverse reaction. Some might not have one at all, but she’d been checking the site daily that posted them and the increasing number gave her even more hesitation.

“No, I ate earlier,” Anne said, answering Candace’s question. Candace couldn’t see her smile, but the crinkle lines on the sides of her eyes led her to believe the woman smiled behind her mask. “Thank you for asking though. I know you have misgivings, but I hope that you’ll see after today that this vaccine is safe.”

“I hope so too,” Candace said, but she knew in her gut that wouldn’t be the case. As Anne left the room, Candace sent up a prayer for her safety and for all the other people who were taking the vaccine believing they were doing the right thing. “Please protect them, Lord.”

Raven entered the large warehouse behind Pastor Ben and Nathan and smiled. Though it was just a large space now, it would be perfect if they ever needed it. “This is amazing. Where did you find this place?”

Nathan stuck out his chest and smiled broadly. “My next-door neighbor owned it. He said he and wife had planned on opening a company but then she disappeared. He told me about it one night when I was witnessing to him and said he had no use for it anymore. I asked if he’d be obliged to sell it, and he agreed.”

“Thankfully, the church still had funds in our account from before the rapture, and we’ve been receiving modest tithes from those who’ve attended after,” Ben added. “We were able to reach a deal with Nathan’s neighbor.”

Raven stepped forward and scanned the area. There were a few office areas, a break room which she assumed held a sink and a fridge, and a bathroom. With a few other partitions, she could envision a place where many would be able to live more or less comfortably. It would be like a