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

“What is it?” Julie asked, clearly sensing something was wrong from the expression on Candace’s face.

“Multiple crashes citywide. They say to brace for patient overload. What exactly is going on here? Look, get him up to surgery with whoever they can find and then get back here. It sounds like we’ll need all hands on deck.”

Julie nodded and Candace helped her get the bed wheeled into the hallway, but as the elevator door opened and Julie stepped inside, chaos erupted in the ER.

The sound of ceramic shattering sent Gabe Cross jumping to his feet. “Melinda, are you okay?”

His wife had been grabbing them both a mug of afternoon coffee - a rare treat around his house. Normally, he would be at work right now, and she would be wrangling the kids, but he’d finished work early, and she’d taken the kids to her mother’s house, so it was just the two of them. They’d decided to have a cup of coffee and watch a movie before her mother brought the children home.

“Melinda?” He stepped into the kitchen and froze. Shattered pieces of mugs lay in a pool of brown liquid. At the edge of the liquid lay the jeans and sweater that Melinda had been wearing. Though he knew it was irrational, Gabe tore through the house calling her name, but she was nowhere to be found. That could only mean… The kids! The thought pierced him like a knife and he placed a hand against the wall as a vise squeezed his lungs. Would they be gone too?

When he could catch a breath, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Melinda’s mother’s number, but all it did was ring. No, this could not be happening. Not now! Not yet!

Grabbing his keys, he hurried to the car. He had to find the kids. They couldn’t be gone. Not all of them.

Lily dialed Katie as the sound of sirens grew louder around her. Normally she didn’t mind being home alone after school. It gave her time to get a snack and unwind before her parents came home and peppered her with questions about how her day was, but right now, she didn’t want to be alone.

“Lily, are you okay?” Katie was Lily’s best friend, and she’d never heard the kind of fear she heard in her voice now.

“I think so, but the sirens are so loud. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but my neighbor is screaming that someone took her son. She’s starting to freak me out. Are your parents home?”

“No, are yours?”

“No.”

Lily took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. Even though Katie was as scared as she was, just having her on the phone helped. “It’s okay. It will be okay.” She moved to the window to glance outside, but not much seemed out of the ordinary there. Of course, she lived on a quiet residential street. Whatever had happened must have happened closer to the business side of town.

But what? An explosion? No, she would have heard that. A robbery? Possibly, but there were so many sirens and that didn’t explain Katie’s neighbors’ kids.

Lily let the curtain fall back over the window and walked into the living room, her eyes searching for the remote. She clicked it on and stared at the images invading her television. Her breath escaped in a soft whoosh along with the strangled words, “Oh my gosh.”

Pastor Benjamin Westley felt it. He didn’t know what it was at first - a cold sensation, the kind that he imagined he would feel if a ghost ever passed through him, but then an immediate weight descended upon his shoulders. And he knew. He knew that Jesus had come and he’d been left behind.

Dropping his head to his hands, he began to sob. “I’m so sorry, Lord. Please forgive me but use me now. Let me be like Samson. Use me to save as many as possible. Please Lord.”

2

The following Sunday

Pastor Benjamin Westley wasn’t sure if anyone would come to church, but there hadn’t been a Sunday he hadn’t opened the doors, and he wasn’t about to start now. He had already fielded a few calls from parishioners who had been left behind, but he wasn’t sure if they would show up. Most of them didn’t understand what had happened - why they’d been left behind - and he was afraid the few who did wouldn’t want to come hear what he had to say. After all, he’d been left behind too.

However, he knew he wasn’t alone. When the disappearances hit and he realized what had happened, he’d cried and apologized to God. Then, he’d begun calling his friends who were also in the ministry. Most didn’t answer, and he assumed they were gone, but a few had. They also had realized what had happened and lamented with him, feigning disbelief that they were still here. Ben knew why though.

What he’d realized after hanging up with the others was that they had all been avoiding preaching The Word. The world was changing rapidly, and tolerance was the message of the masses. That meant there were suddenly a lot of topics that were off limits for fear of offending someone, and God help him, instead of standing firm in the word of God, he’d succumbed.

No more. If anyone returned to church, Ben would be teaching from the Bible, and he didn’t care who he offended.

The building was cold and dark as he opened the door. How sad it felt without the people. Would any of them return? Would this place ever fill up again? He flicked the lights on and realized he didn’t know how to make everything in this place work. Someone else usually handled the sound system and the singing and the greeting. A sigh bubbled up within him; he had no idea if any of those people were left, and he rather hoped they weren’t. Thankfully, he knew where the