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

the rapture had been decimated on social media as crazies, loons. Most would probably never get a job again. However, even knowing that, the feeling that Candace needed to see this place in person, connect with these people, would not leave her and seemed to grow heavier by the day. So, here she was.

The parking lot wasn’t even half full, and Candace wondered briefly if it had been before the disappearances. By the size of the building, she thought it must have.

A large man stood at the door - the kind of man who looked more like he belonged at the door of a nightclub as a bouncer than at the entrance of a church as a greeter - but the smile he flashed as Candace approached softened his image.

“Welcome to Mountain Home, I’m Nathan.” He held out a single sheet of paper to her.

Candace took the paper and scanned it. It appeared to be a short order of worship - a few songs, prayer, message - and some links for connections. “Thank you, I’m Candace, but I haven’t been in a church in a long time.”

Nathan’s smile widened, and he nodded sagely. “Don’t worry. We’re all pretty new to The Word here.”

Candace wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, but she returned his smile and entered the building. The immediate vicinity was obviously a foyer as she could see into the sanctuary a few feet ahead of her and the paths to either side appeared to be hallways to other rooms.

“Hi, you look new,” a woman to her right said.

Candace turned to see a young, edgy woman with dark hair smiling at her. “Uh, yeah, first time, but I’ve been following the website for a few weeks.”

The woman’s eyes lit up. “I’m so glad. I’m Raven and I’m in charge of the website, and it’s always nice to hear that it’s actually doing what it was created to do.”

“And what was it created to do?” Candace asked.

“Unite those who seek the truth. The world is going to get crazier, but we’re trying to help as many people as we can.”

“What do you mean crazier?” Candace asked. She should be unnerved or at least skeptical of this woman and this conversation but all Candace felt was peace.

Raven cocked her head as if studying Candace. “I’m guessing you’re here because you lost someone in the disappearances.”

“Didn’t we all?” Candace asked with a slight chuff. She certainly didn’t know anyone who had been spared. Not everyone had lost a spouse or a close family member as she had, but everyone seemed to know someone who was now missing.

“We did. The difference is that we know what really happened, and if you’re here, my guess is you suspect the truth as well.”

“The rapture?” Candace asked even though the words felt taboo on her lips.

Raven issued a soft smile and nodded. “And if you’re familiar with the rapture, then surely you know what comes next.” She lifted her brows as if asking that silent question.

Candace thought back over what she’d been reading. She didn’t understand most of it, which was why she was here, but she knew enough to know what came next. “The tribulation.”

“That’s right,” Raven said. “We don’t know exactly what it will look like or how it will come, but we meet every Sunday to discuss ideas and new ways to reach people like yourself. There is a war coming, and we are trying to be prepared.”

A war? Candace thought. How could they possibly face a war? And how could it be harder than what they’d gone through the last few months? Candace wondered if there was more to her showing up here than mild curiosity, but she’d come this far, she might as well hear them out.

4

One month later

“Lily, you better get down here if you want breakfast while it’s warm.” Her mother’s voice carried up the stairs and it held the note of annoyance Lily was used to hearing from her mother when she was working on her last nerve.

With a sigh, Lily turned off the curling iron and set it on the counter. Her hair wasn’t being agreeable this morning, but it wasn’t awful either. She tossed her head down and then up, tousled the blonde locks with her fingers, and decided it would have to do. Flicking off the bathroom light, she grabbed a jacket and headed downstairs. March was fickle in Washington state. Some days it was warm, others cool, but one thing she could count on was that it would start off cool enough to need a jacket.

The aroma of pancakes, syrup, and bacon met Lily’s nose before she entered the kitchen, and she sighed. None of that was on her current eating plan. It wasn’t that she was overweight, but she definitely was curvier than most of her peers. When she got older, she figured she would enjoy that, but right now, she was sixteen and in high school. Anything over the perfectly accepted limit of tiny was too much, so she decided to skip the pancakes and grab a piece of fruit from the fridge and a cup of coffee instead.

“You should not be drinking coffee so young,” her mother said with a shake of her head. “I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was well into my twenties.”

“I know, Mom. You tell me that every day.” Lily turned away from her and rolled her eyes as she grabbed the creamer and added a dose. Rolling her eyes at her mother was a sure-fire way to get grounded, and she could not be grounded anytime soon. The Spring Fling dance at her high school was approaching, and she had been looking forward to it for weeks. Her dress was picked, her hair appointment was set, and her date was a gorgeous boy by the name of Bryce Hawkins.

“Can’t you at least have some toast or an egg with that fruit?” Her mother’s face wrinkled in concern, sending tiny lines stretching