WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9 – TOWN MEETING

Since the sanctuary at New Hope is much bigger than the school auditorium, and especially since the town now had power and cars were running, we had decided to put a couple of signs up at the school telling everyone to come to the church instead. Clyde decided to leave Rod Weaver at the school to direct people how to find us. He told Rod to wait half an hour until around 10:30 or so for any stragglers who might show up, and then join us at the church. It would likely be an irritation for everyone, but it really was the best solution.

Like Mitch, the small size of the school auditorium had been worrying me too. Sarah, Lilly Duncan and her twin sister Byllie made two huge signs which we stapled to the front and side doors of the school. Rod waited in the squad car out front, ready to direct people to the church. By 10:30, the Church was pretty much filled. If the stated church capacity was 600, then I estimated we had at least that many here, give or take a few. Rod decided to wait an additional 15 minutes, so he was the last one to arrive. He slipped in quietly around 10:45.

At 10:15 we decided to go ahead and begin. We had all agreed yesterday that since it was Will’s church, he should chair the meeting with Clyde and Mike – the two remaining town selectmen assisting.

Will brought the meeting to order with a prayer and an invitation for everyone to join him every Sunday at 10:00 for Bible study and worship. Next we took a count of how many people were in attendance. We handed out slips of paper asking everyone to write their names, addresses and number of people in the household, including phone numbers if they were willing to give them. We would collect and tally them after the meeting. We also asked for the names of anyone under the age of 18 so we could determine the number of youth left in town. Among ourselves, we already knew there weren’t going to be any children or infants left here.

From somewhere in the church, Will had found a slender wooden podium and put it in the center of the stage. He had also removed all the musical instruments – all except the keyboard.

We had gotten there early to make sure we had everything in order: plenty of pens and paper for those who might want to take notes, along with the slips of paper so we would be able to determine a more accurate count. Finally, before handing the podium off to Clyde, Will announced that from now on New Hope would become the hub of the community – the community center – since neither the schoolhouse nor our tiny City Hall offered enough space. City Hall was a two-story building. The mayor’s office, the city judge’s office, and the town’s courtroom were located upstairs; the police department, small dispatcher’s cubicle, chief’s office, and the 4-cell jail were located downstairs. There was less space there than at the elementary school.

Will Farrell took time to give a brief summary about the rapture and who was taken in it. He didn’t elaborate or go into detail, but simply said that he would be teaching in detail on this subject in his sermon this coming Sunday and that all who were interested were welcome to come join him. He told them they could come in their regular attire, and urged those who had them to bring their Bibles and a notebook and pen with them so they could take notes.

Acting Chief of Police Dewey Upshaw, who would be speaking on behalf of Mayor Potts, sat onstage along with the mayor, Clyde and Mike.

Mayor Potts had already told Clyde and Mike that he’d be there to lend support and the authority of his position, but that he did not want to speak. He said he’d back whatever they had decided. We weren’t surprised. We all knew Roy Potts would have had a heart attack if he had to actually contribute anything. Nobody minded. As I said before, he’s a genial man whose only desire was to be mayor. We appreciated his support, though, because his presence along with the other town leaders did give the people a sense of solidarity and normality in a completely abnormal situation. Their presence made a good showing of a functional town government that was demonstrating leadership in the midst of uncertainty.

Pastor Will gave off an aura of calmness. It became clear that he was going to be a stabilizing presence as well. I didn’t know Will Farrell before all this happened, but the Will we met Monday was light-years away from the clownish, phony, self-serving man Vinnie Sawyer had described to us. God was already changing people in dramatic ways, myself and my friends included.

After Will’s opening prayer and announcements, Dewey Upshaw took the podium to speak for a moment. He told the people assembled that after consulting with Mayor Potts (who sat there sagaciously nodding his agreement), because of the disappearance of Chief Reggie Porter it had been decided to reinstate Clyde Norris as Chief of Police, and that he, Dewey, would return to his role as Assistant Chief. With that done, Clyde took the podium and laid out our security plan.

“First o’ all,” said Clyde in that hard mountain brogue, “We need ta address several issues that need ta be dealt with today while we’re all t’gether. I’ll speak ta th’ situation from a safety an’ security perspective, then young Mitchell Graham is gon’ ta address some other thangs we all need ta be aware of. As most all y’all know by now, th’ police force is down by half since th’ vanishin’s occurred early last Thursday mornin’. Both Chief Porter an’ officer Bucky Thompson are among th’ missin’. Now whether or not you b’lieve what Pastor Will  said ’bout th’ rapture bein’ th’ cause o’ these disappearances – which fer th’ record, I do b’lieve is th’ cause – what we’re here ta do t’day is ta form a plan ta deal with th’ situation as it stands, regardless o’ what th’ cause was. Iff’n this ‘event’ as we’ll call it… iff’n it was th’ rapture, then we kin expect that what happened here has also happened everwhare.”

There was a rumbling in the crowd; apparently there were a number of those present who weren’t buying the explanation about the rapture being the cause of the vanishings, but Clyde quickly quelled the incipient discord and got the meeting back on track.

“What I’d like ta do is tell y’all what we’re gon’ do ta beef up th’ security fer the town. Th’ first thang we need ta do is replace th’ two officers that’re gone. I’ve already talked ta two men I want to add ta th’ force as sorta temporary auxiliary officers. These boys’ll act as backup fer me, Dewey, an’ Rod as needed until we kin find permanent replacements. We’ve asked Bobby Thorpe an’ Willy Jackson ta serve. Both o’ them has agreed ta hep us out till then. Regardless o’ what y’all thank happened, what we as a town has got ta do is ta deal with th’ situation that is. We’ve got ta deal with th’ aftermath of it regardless. Here’s what’s almost certainly gon’ happen sooner rather than later. We kin expect a heap o’ people good and bad to be showin’ up here, ‘specially now that th’ power’s back on. Many o’ them will be decent folks who’re gon’ be desperate ta git outta th’ cities; folks lookin’ ta find a safe haven. On t’other hand, a goodly number o’ the ones who will find us are likely ta be troublemakers: drug addicts, an’ worse.”

Clyde paused, wrinkling his brow and pressing his lips together. “…Men, after th’ meetin’ t’day, I’d like ta meet with anyone interested in joinin’ Bobby an’ Willy. I want all y’all ta hark ta what I’m sayin’. Stay vigilant. Keep a close watch but don’t go playin’ Wyatt Earp. We’re still Americans, an’ we still abide by th’ law o’ th’ land. So iff’n you got a level head on yer shoulders, an’ yore willin’ ta follow orders – mine an’ Dewey’s orders – an’ uphold th’ law; iff’n ya kin show us you kin handle a gun without killin’ yerself or any o’ th’ rest o’ us, then we need ya, but only on th’ terms me an’ Dewey set out.

“An’ by th way,” Clyde said, taking on a much sterner tone of voice, “from this day on beginnin’ right now, consider this town under martial law fer th’ foreseeable future. This is now in effect fer everybody exceptin’ these here ones:

#1 – whatever deputies, fer want of a better word, we add who are on patrol.

#2 – those workin’ on a farm like them out ta Amos’ place who need ta be out afore th’ sun comes up ta tend ta livestock. But that exception applies only on farm property itself.

#3 – the medical staff o’ th’ clinic, an only then in emergencies. Everyone, an’ I do mean everyone else is ta be in yer homes from 6:00 PM ta 6:00 AM.

Translated that means from dusk ta dawn. What this boils down to is this: iff’n it’s dark outside, you ain’t s’posed ta be!” Clyde said in his sternest voice. “It’s th’ only way we kin hope ta secure th’ town.” Clyde then took his seat beside Mayor Potts.

CHAPTER 16

Mitch took the podium next. While Mitch spoke, I was again amazed to see a stronger, more confident, more mature man emerge. Mitch too was changing from the slightly reticent, somewhat geeky young guy we knew into a man of confidence and leadership. The rapture, and most especially God’s hand upon our lives, was changing us all.

“I want to begin,” he said, “by laying all the cards, so to speak, on the table so that we all clearly understand as best we can what we are dealing with as individuals, families, and as a community. Like Clyde said earlier, there are issues we aren’t going to be able to flinch away from; serious issues we are going to have to deal with sooner rather than later.

First of all, I want to be on the record as both Clyde and Pastor Will have done, by saying that I too am 100% convinced that the vanishings were indeed what the Bible calls the ‘rapture of the Church.’ Now we don’t have time to get into the theology of that today, but even if you don’t believe it, I strongly urge you to come Sunday and listen to Pastor Will. At least be willing to hear him out. This is an event that is unprecedented in all of human history, and you owe it to yourselves and your community to at least hear him out. No one is going to force you to believe in anything you choose not to accept. Nevertheless, the rapture does explain the reason that infants, children, and others like Toby Barnes who, as you know, was mentally handicapped, are gone and why others like ourselves are not. Pastor Will is going to address all of that on Sunday.

Now, the other part of the events that happened last Thursday,” Mitch continued, “was that, in addition to the vanishings, we also experienced something like an EMP event. If you aren’t clear on what an EMP is, Will and I have printed out a short explanation of it, and we’ll hand them out to anyone who wants one at the end of the meeting. In short, an EMP – Electromagnetic Pulse, is a disruption in the magnetosphere – the protective electrical field that surrounds the earth. An EMP can… well, let’s say “short out” the earth’s protective electrical field, frying and damaging anything electronic unless such things have been hardened, protected, beforehand. That’s a very simplified explanation, but it gives you an idea.

What an EMP does is that it disrupts the magnetic field over the area affected by it, the result being that anything electrical or that has electronic components is fried – they will no longer work. Cell phones, computers, household appliances, and cars built after, say, the late 1970s won’t run because they have electronic components that can be damaged, sometimes permanently by a strong enough EMP, depending on the severity of the electromagnetic pulse. There are two sources for an EMP: one is a high-altitude nuclear blast. Now this is not the same thing as a nuclear bomb being dropped on a city. This is a nuclear blast detonated at high altitude over a particular area. In an EMP detonation, there is no damage done to people or building structures as there would be in an actual nuclear strike.

Depending on where an EMP is targeted, the strength of it, and altitude at which it is detonated, it can affect a small area or an area as large as the entire United States, providing the burst is high enough and strong enough. The second type of EMP is caused by CMEs – coronal mass ejections, what we call solar flares. If the CME is powerful enough, say an X class, it too can do the same type of damage that a high- altitude nuclear detonation can produce; but like the nuclear one, the CME will only target the area that was exposed to it.” Mitch paused and took a sip of bottled water.

“The point I’m getting at is this: in either a nuclear high-altitude detonation or a CME, the resultant EMP will only affect the areas that were targeted, or in the case of a CME, the area of the earth towards which the coronal hole was facing when the flares ejected. The thing we need to understand regarding what has occurred here is this:

NEITHER of those events can disrupt or affect the entire world at the same time. Both can only affect places where they are targeted, if you will. This is a very important distinction. Now, even though we don’t yet have outside confirmation that the vanishings that many of us firmly believe to have been the rapture are global in scope, we fully expect that the vanishings we’ve experienced here in Norrisville, and the area affected by this EMP event will have happened worldwide. Furthermore, it is our contention that this EMP-LIKE event is in some way directly related to the disappearances.” He paused to let everyone digest what he’d said before resuming.

“See, in a normal EMP event, whether solar or nuclear, only certain areas would be affected, not the entire earth. Also, in a normal EMP event, the power may not come back for months or possibly even years if it were strong enough. The same goes for cars. What we’ve experienced here seems to be an anomaly. It’s not behaving the way an EMP would behave, even though some of the effects seem to mimic an EMP. I, we, believe that the EMP-like effects that we’ve experienced are directly related to the disappearances that we are convinced is the rapture. I won’t go into my theory or conjecture of how I think this relates to the vanishings now because we have other more pressing issues to deal with today; but later, maybe at our next town meeting, I can elaborate more fully if anyone is interested in hearing. We plan to have town meetings here at New Hope Church and Community Center every Wednesday at 10 AM for all who are able and wish to attend. We can elaborate and discuss all this further at those meetings.

What we need to do now is to determine how we can all pull together as a community. I, we, are convinced that as soon as we get news in from the outside; as soon as the President or whoever is in charge addresses the nation, we are certain that the news will confirm that this has been indeed a global event, and that the aftermath of it is what we must prepare for as best we can for as long as we can. If we plan now, we can maybe get a little ahead of the curve.” Mitch grasped the podium and leaned slightly forward, raising his voice a tad. “Here are the main areas that the town needs to be aware of and pull together to deal with:

(1) TOWN SAFETY AND SECURITY – Clyde has already touched on that. He told me earlier that he has one more announcement to make before we all adjourn, but for now, let me go on.

(2) TOWN-WIDE FOOD AND RESOURCES: AVAILABILITY, INVENTORY, AND DISTRIBUTION – Mike Harper, Eva King, Carter Grant and Byllie Duncan are in charge of inventorying the town food and clothing supply. This will include forming food and clothing scouting parties to go into the homes of those we’ve already identified where people are among the missing. This may sound heartless or even criminal, but I assure you that it’s not. If this is a global event, then in big cities there will already be chaos. Supply and distribution services for food, medicines, and just plain everyday items we take for granted such as napkins, toilet paper, toothpaste, laundry detergent, gasoline for cars and trucks, ALL of that and more will already have been severely disrupted, if not halted altogether. Make no mistake; in the cities, chaos will have already reached frightening proportions: rioting, looting, robbery, murder; you name it. Supply for goods and services may already be impossible. This will include deliveries from trains, trucks, planes and other transport that distributes goods,” Mitch said, keeping eye contact with the crowd.

The severity of our situation was finally beginning to dawn on everyone assembled there as it had on us earlier. I saw faces round as moons with wide, staring eyes, their collective gaze focused intently on Mitch. The atmosphere became solemn. He had their undivided attention now.

“We need volunteers who will be willing to work with Mike and Eva, Carter and Byllie. We also need those who have gardens to coordinate with them. Eva and Carter also need some help out at Amos Brazele’s farm. We need volunteers to help with the harvesting; and if we are able, planting next spring. If there are any of you women (or men for that matter) who know how to can food, we need to can, dehydrate, smoke, or somehow preserve all usable meat and produce. Men, we need to hunt, fish, and help Carter and Mike slaughter a couple of hogs at Amos’ place. Then we need to preserve as much as we can. Winter is coming, and we are all in this together for as long as we are able.

(3) HEALTH AND MEDICAL CARE – As you may or may not know, Doctor Barnett is among the missing. We do know that Lilly Duncan who worked at the clinic with Doc Barnett as his nurse is still here. We don’t have another doctor in town, but we do have Terrell Tyler who, as y’all know, is an EMT. We also have a newcomer who is here with us now, Sarah Arrowood. She was here visiting her brother Dan, who, along with his wife and little daughter, are also among the missing. Before the rapture, Sarah worked as a trauma nurse at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia. Sarah has agreed to work with Trail…I mean Terrell.” Mitch blushed and continued.

“Terrell, Lilly and Sarah will be setting up and inventorying the clinic. Please bear in mind that Terrell is not an MD, and we don’t know what shape Iverson Baptist may be in if anyone should need more extensive medical care. It’s very likely that even if Iverson Baptist is functional now, we won’t know how many of its staff still remain, or how long the hospital will remain operational once the supplies run out there. This is just another reason we need to pull together to become as self-sufficient as possible. Anyone who would be interested in helping them out, let Terrell know. Any vet techs, CNA’s or any veterinarians for that matter, would be useful and very much welcomed.

(4) DEALING WITH THE DEAD – This is the last, for now, and least pleasant topic, but it’s one of the most important. There have been at least 23 people, maybe more by now, who have succumbed to illnesses or, sadly, in some cases, suicide since last Thursday. Clyde has already organized and some of us have conducted a sort of census of the town, from the town limit coming in from Iverson on route 25, all the way out to Lickskillet Road. As you may have seen, many houses have an X marked on them in red tape. These are houses that have been identified as homes of people who are among the missing. These will be the homes that the Food and Resource Committee will be checking out to gather food, clothing, weapons, toiletries, medicines – anything that can be useful to the community of Norrisville. We have designated the elementary school as headquarters for resources and storage, and the clinic for all things medical. We also need anyone willing to help Bobby Thorpe and Mike Harper secure the ground floor windows of the school so that what we store there is safe and out of sight from people coming into town from outside whom we may not know. Check with Bobby if you can help.

The houses that are marked with orange tape, as I’m sure many of you have by now realized, are homes where there are dead. We did the best we could Monday to aid those who were still alive – three who were comatose, and one almost so. But as you know, the power did not come back on until late Monday night. Sadly, those who were barely alive when we canvassed on Monday were no longer alive on Tuesday when we checked back.

What we need to establish and deal with as soon as possible is this: what do we do with the bodies of the dead. I want to ask Trail… Aw, shoot y’all,” Mitch said with a grimace, “I can’t remember to call him Terrell all the time; most of y’all know we call him Trail anyway, so that’s what I’m going to do.” That gave everyone a bit of a laugh and made the atmosphere lighter. “I’m going to have Trail explain our decision from a health and safety perspective,” Mitch said, motioning Trail to join him.

“Alright, folks,” Trail began, “we are faced with a grave, no pun intended, potential health issue regarding the disposition of deceased bodies. Now that the power is back on, for as long as it lasts, dealing with any future deaths won’t be too much of a problem. We do have Grey’s Mortuary here, and Grey’s has a crematorium as well as a backhoe that can be used to dig graves. As long as the power remains on, the crematorium will be our most useful resource to take care of any future deaths. We cannot afford to bury people once we run out of cement, grave liners or caskets. The risk of contamination of groundwater is too great.

The problem we are facing now, though, is what to do with those 20 or so bodies of town residents who expired inside their homes, each in different stages of… Here he paused… “decomposition. We must decide how to most safely handle this situation, and we need to do it beginning early tomorrow morning. We can’t afford to wait any longer now that we have power and transportation. Decomposing bodies pose biological hazards. We can’t afford to delay taking care of this now that we have the ability to do so. Dead bodies harbor pathogens such as cholera, typhus, and Hepatitis C among other things.” Trail paused for a few seconds, letting this information sink in.

“Now the safest thing from a biosafety perspective,” he continued, “will be to cremate the remains. I know that some people may have religious or personal objections to cremation; and in normal times, those preferences should be honored. However, our greatest concern has to be the safety of the entire town, and in the case where there are multiple deaths in multiple places, we need to take prudent precautions with the limited amount of help we have available. In the future, even doing this much will become impossible, but we will do our best for as long as we are able.

We are going to need people willing to go in and bag the bodies in suitable wrappings to be brought back to the mortuary to be cremated properly. Those who would be tasked with extracting the bodies ideally would be fully dressed in hazmat suits, wearing Nitrile gloves and full-face respirators. However, we don’t have any of that available here. Still, we cannot risk anyone handling the bodies without some type of protective gear. We can make do, and very safely I believe, with air face filters which Mike already has on hand at the store, and using heavy-gauge garbage bags, heavy quilts or rugs, plastic grocery bags as shoe covers, and thick rubber gloves. Using these substitutes, I believe we will be well protected.

Outside of the small health risks to individuals, if we take precautions,” Trail continued, “we can extract the bodies safely. If we don’t, there is the very real possibility of contamination of groundwater. We had considered just leaving the bodies where they were, letting their homes become their mausoleums, so to speak; but after more consideration and debate, the two nurses and I have decided against that.

Simply leaving the bodies in situ, in the places where they died, we run a much greater risk of animal predation. Wild or abandoned animals, especially black bears, bobcats, and cougars which are plentiful in these hills, would be attracted by the odor of decomposition and would very likely try to break in to get at the bodies. If they gain access to the remains, this will draw them right into our town where they might eventually stop fearing humans and become much more of a threat. We all know that black bears can open doors, even bust them down to gain entry. I, we, think we need to handle this situation before that can happen. As a body decays naturally, the internal gasses can cause it to…well…” Here Trail faltered, seeing the looks on people’s faces.

“Well, look, we are going to have to face some hard-to-swallow home truths here. We cannot risk bodily fluids running under doors and out into streets, seeping into the ground or into your well water, and we absolutely cannot risk leaving them there where animal predation becomes a risk. Also, some pathogens and germs are hearty and can survive a long time on a decomposing body. It’s not a risk worth taking if it can possibly be helped. Look, I know how ghastly this is to even bring up, but we’ve got to deal with what is not what we wish it was.” Trail paused, and then looked around at the crowd as he spoke.

“Having explained the gravity of the situation we face as best I can, I’m going to ask as many as think they can handle it to join me, Sarah, Lilly, and Pete Grey from the mortuary in forming a body retrieval and disposal committee. We will outfit us all as safely as we are able to do. We will also give each person a jar of Vicks to help with the odor. I will tell you up front that it will be laborious, unpleasant, heartbreaking work; however, we do have two factors going in our favor: First, we only have around 23 or so bodies to remove; and second, the weather is cool, it being early to mid October, so this task won’t be as dreadful as it would have been had we been faced with it in high summer.

We will supply everything you will need. You just need to wear old clothes and bring a change of clothes – underwear and outerwear. The clothes you wear, make sure you are okay disposing of. We will burn those and all blankets, sheets and other burnable contaminated materials. Afterward, we will disinfect with bleach as best we can the areas inside the homes that need it, then we will seal up the homes, padlock the doors, and spray or paint with black paint CONTAMINATED ZONE on each of the houses. That’s the best we can do, and we believe it will be better than just adequate.

There’s one last thing I want to make absolutely clear,” Trail stated with conviction. “We are going to treat the remains of the deceased with dignity and respect. These people were friends, neighbors and possibly family to some of you. They didn’t ask to die in this horrific situation, and I assure you, we will treat their mortal remains with dignity and respect as human beings. What happens to the human body after death is the natural result of fallen humanity. Death and the indignities attendant with it are a reality. We will remember this at all times and not treat this task as some lark, nor will we allow any jokes to be made at their expense. We need as many people as are willing to help, but if you aren’t willing to deal with these poor souls’ remains with the dignity and respect that a human being deserves, then I’d rather not have you. It’s as simple as that.

Now, if we can get twelve people to volunteer, we can rotate. We’ll always go in with two people; and if we can rotate teams, it won’t overtax us all,” Trail pointed out. “Look, I realize that some people just may not be able to handle this task physically or emotionally. There’s absolutely no shame in that. You can help out in other ways. But if you think you can handle it, we surely could use the help. So, with that said, can we find at least twelve volunteers to help me, Pete, and the girls?” Trail’s face was earnest and pleading.

I raised my hand that I would help, as did Clyde, Dewey, Mitch, Carter, Will – and bless her – Eva. I certainly didn’t want to, but Trail’s plea had come from the heart. It moved me. It must have moved others too. We didn’t get twelve volunteers; we got thirty, both men and women. I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of my fellow townspeople than right then. I also knew that I wanted more than anything to see as many of them as would come to salvation. That burden was so heavy it hurt.

Before we adjourned the meeting, Clyde called for a vote to add two more people to the town council. His nominations were Mitch and Will Farrell. His decision to hold the vote until the end was brilliant. Doing it this way, the people got to see these two young men in leadership roles. As I said before, Clyde may sound as if he’s a dumb country hick, but that hillbilly persona hid a wicked sharp mind. If Mitch could see 10 steps ahead, Clyde could see a mile. The vote by raised hands was unanimous. We adjourned the meeting.

Afterward, we tallied the number in attendance. Lilly Duncan, Sarah and Eva recorded the names, addresses, and phone numbers in a new “Ledger of the Town.” This was what we found:

Before the rapture, Norrisville township had a population of 1,567 souls. After the rapture, we lost 60% of the population; most of them in the rapture but some like Big Mike’s son and daughter, Harp, and the neighbors down from Sarah, the dispositions of those people we just didn’t know. That meant that somewhere around 941 people from Norrisville either vanished in the rapture or were out of town with their disposition unknown post R Day, as we had begun to refer to it. That left us with a population of around 625 as near as we could tell. Taking away the post-R-Day dead, the population in Norrisville now stood around 602, give or take with five teenagers – three boys and two girls around 17-18 years old. This is what was left of Norrisville after the rapture. It was a staggering realization.

(to be continued)

We all sat there stupefied. No one said anything for the first couple of minutes.

“Well, this changes things,” said Trail, finally.

“Well, it does and it don’t,” said Clyde, cryptically. “It’s gon’ make some o’ th’ thangs we need ta do a good sight easier, but only fer a while. An’ in some ways, it’s gon’ open up a whole new can o’ worms.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Of course, things are going to be better. We can drive!” I was a bit irritated. Frankly, I was over the moon that we had power back. My legs and rear end were already tired of riding my bike, and I was surely tired of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

“I think I know what Clyde is thinking,” said Mitch. “Look, first off, we don’t know yet whether the power will stay on, nor do we yet know whether or not our cars will run. As we suspect, this was no ordinary EMP if that’s what it was, and I’ve got a theory about that. I’ll share it with y’all, but let me mull it over some more before I do. Even if the cars do run, and even if it looks like things might get back to normal, there’re a lot of variables we need to consider. Am I right so far, Clyde?”

Clyde was actually beaming at Mitch. “Right with Eversharp,” he replied, leaving the three of us looking at him and at each other with no clue what he meant or what an ‘eversharp’ was or what it meant. “See, I been thinkin’ that thar might be a possibility the power’d come back on, so I got to ponderin’ what thangs might be like iff’n it did. I had ta ask m’self, would we be better off iff’n it did, or might it open up a whole new set o’ problems we’d have ta deal with. Alright, young Master Graham, I see that you an’ me must be huntin’ th’ same trails. Enlighten t’others,” Clyde said. He was pleased as punch with Mitch (as Grandma used to say).

For the next two hours, we sat and talked. Well, Mitch and Clyde did most of the talking; the rest of us mostly listened. We began to grasp what Clyde and Mitch had already foreseen, as slowly and methodically, Mitch explained.

“You see, the problem is that we’re still thinking from the assumption that life will be returning to what it was pre-rapture. That’s not going to happen – not ever. The sooner we face this fact and accept it, the better off we’ll be. For one thing, we know from all that David told us in his letter that scripture teaches the coming Tribulation is a certainty and cannot be escaped or mitigated. Also, we have evidence from what we’ve already seen and experienced here in Norrisville that corroborates everything we’ve heard and learned so far from the Bible, and from what we’ve learned from David and Mama B. We know that a huge percentage of people here in this little town alone have vanished in what we are convinced was the rapture of the Church. We also presume that this event will not have been isolated to just Norrisville, or North Carolina, or even to the United States. Though we don’t yet have definitive proof that this was a global event, we are nevertheless persuaded that it will have been. Because we are believers, we are convinced it is so according to the scriptures.”

Mitch’s brow furrowed in thought for a moment before he continued. “…Now think about this from a much broader perspective. A global rapture would mean that there could be perhaps up to a BILLION – that’s billion with a B, possibly more believers worldwide who went in the rapture, if we count the world’s population of children, infants, and those who were not mentally able to understand sin and salvation – those not capable of making a conscious choice to believe or not for salvation. Even going with a more conservative estimate of less than a billion gone in the rapture, there will also be those like what we’ve found around here who’ve died after the rapture from health issues or…”

Mitch paused briefly, letting out a deep sigh. “…or those who’ve been killed in large cities by murder, and some from suicide. Then there are those who were awake and already going about their normal routines in places like London, or Germany, or Paris. There will have been people who would have been in cars and trucks, trains and planes, subways and such when the rapture occurred. Why, even in the US, it was 2:47 AM here in the East, but on the West Coast, it would have only been a quarter to midnight. In big cities that never sleep, that’s a lot of people who will have been out and about when the rapture event took place – driving, walking, eating, flying, whatever.”

Sarah, who had been quiet up to now, chimed in with questions. I could see she was badly shaken and a little defiant. She was emotionally in the same place Mitch and I had been just a day ago.

Has it really only been a day since I got into town? It seems like I’ve lived a week just from yesterday to today! At any rate, all of us were praying that Sarah would become a believer soon – especially me. 

“What makes y’all think that this event as you call it, is even statewide much less nationwide or global?” Sarah asked Mitch directly. I was right; she did have some spunk to her.

“Look Sarah,” Mitch replied in a gentle tone, “I know exactly where you’re coming from. In fact, both Bobby and I were right where you are now with this rapture thing just yesterday. Let’s just say that we are convinced, both by the event itself; by what we’ve been taught all our lives but were too stubborn and too…I don’t know…too foolish to believe; and because our best friend David, both my parents, Trail’s mom, and more have been their own testaments to what we are convinced has happened. From what you said earlier, the possibility of the rapture is an idea that’s not exactly a foreign concept to you either. Besides, had this been just a localized event, someone would have come into town to check on us. Most of us work in either Iverson like Trail and me, or in Asheville like Jack does. No, we know what’s happened, and now that we have power restored, and if our vehicles run, then what we know we will find in Iverson, Asheville and elsewhere will confirm what we already know in our hearts to be the truth.

“I expect,” Mitch went on, “that once the grid is restored, or as much of it as can be restored, we will be hearing some kind of official announcement from the President or whoever is in charge of the government before too long. What I want us to consider is this: Norrisville’s got to become self-reliant as soon as possible. We are going to have to figure out how to deal with the dead now and in the future for as long as we can. We need to inventory what food supplies we have in the town. We need to form another town council and, if possible, beef up our police force. Clyde, Dewey, and Rod can’t possibly do all that needs to be done.”

Mitch pointed to Trail. “Clyde’s right; you’re the doctor now, or the closest we’ve got to one for the time being, maybe for good. And we need to bring Pastor Farrell – Will, into whatever we do. We may or may not have drivable cars now and a good store of food, but y’all, think! What’s going to happen when the supply infrastructure collapses? What happens when food delivery trucks can’t deliver; when trains no longer run? What about when gasoline tankers can’t fill up the storage tanks at gas stations? What happens when those trapped in the cities finally decide to ‘head for the hills’? And what do we do with the druggies and the junkies when they’ve cleaned out all their stashes and raided all the hospitals and pharmacies in the bigger cities, because they will, you know. What happens then? They will come into the little bergs like N’ville looking for stuff.”

Mitch continued relentlessly. “Because the Tribulation will soon be beginning, if it hasn’t already begun, then eventually the government – or some government will show up here; and when that happens, as David told us in his letter, those of us who are believers are going to be public enemy # 1 on their most wanted lists.”

We all looked at him with dawning horror. I mean, I knew the general gist of all this, even with my limited Bible knowledge and general knowledge of human nature; but to have it all spelled out in such a bold and unflinching manner was like an adrenaline dump in my veins.

One of Mitch’s strengths, and Clyde’s, is that both of them see not just the forest, but the individual trees in that old adage about those who can’t see the forest for the trees. Well, I was a forest seer, but Mitch and Clyde were tree and forest people. They could see individual issues and connect the dots of the trees that together make up that fabled forest. We were just beginning to grasp what, first Clyde, then Mitch had already foreseen about what life would be like in this post-rapture world that crouches poised on the brink of the Tribulation.

“Yer exactly right, Mitchell,” said Clyde. “We got a ton o’ thangs to work on. That’s what I want ta spend tomorrow doin’ afore th’ meeting Wensdey. But fer now, we got enough on our plates as t’is. Let’s all git a good night’s shuteye an’ meet back here t’morrow to iron out what we need ta go over at th’ meetin’. This includes you too, little lass,” Clyde said, smiling as he turned to Sarah. I could tell that he already had a soft spot for her. He had appointed himself her adopted grandfather. Sarah gave him a warm smile and told him she would love to be a part of the team.

“By the way Sarah,” I asked, “What did you do before Thursday?”

“I was wondering if any of you were going to ask,” she replied. “I am – was a trauma nurse in one of the biggest hospitals in Atlanta, Georgia. I was here in Norrisville on a two-week vacation to visit my brother.”

We were all quiet for a moment. I believe that each one of us recognized the hand of God in having Sarah show up here now. I know I did. I was still amazed at how differently I had begun to view circumstances and events just since last night. I could tell that we were different now that we had become believers. God was already at work changing us all from the inside.

Although it was her own fault, like it was ours, that she had been left behind, every single one of us in that room knew, except maybe Sarah herself, that this was the hand of God drawing her here to this place to be here and out of Atlanta when the rapture happened.

“Mitch,” asked Clyde, “kin you or Bobby ride out early ta that new preacher’s house or church an’ ask him iff’n we kin all meet thar, say ’round lunch time? Tell ‘im we’ll brang sumpin ta eat. Might be green beans though.” Clyde winked at Trail who just shook his head and grinned.

“I’m gon’ bring Eva along too, as well as Dewey. Might brang that young farm hand too iff’n he’s got the time. Since Eva’n Carter got the farm, they need ta be thar. I’ll leave Rod ta kinda keep a eye on thangs in town. I don’t thank they’ll be any trouble t’morrow. Kin y’all thank o’ anyone else who might ought ta join us?” Clyde looked around at each of us.

We all shook our heads, then Mike spoke up. “I thank Lilly Duncan, Doc Barnett ‘s nurse, ought ta come.”

“Thats a good suggestion, Mike,” Clyde said. “I’ll go over an’ ask her in person t’morrow. A’ right then, Mikey, kin you see iff’n yore truck’ll run? Iff’n it does, we kin load up all th’ kids wheels an’ carry ’em over ta the Pines. I know the boys have rooms thar, an’ I’m bettin’ Vinnie’ll have another room fer this little gal. First though, let’s eat a bite. What’s on th’ menu fer t’nite, Mike?”

Mike got up and headed behind the counter to see what he could come up with. Let’s see,” he said with a smile, “we are eatin’ I-talian t’nite. We got SpaghettiOs, canned corn, an’ Little Debbie cakes.”

We all groaned inwardly, and Trail rolled his eyes; but in truth, we were grateful to have it. As it turned out, Mike’s big Chevy long-bed truck did indeed run. That gave me a surge of hope for Bertha and for David’s jeep. I hadn’t talked it over with Mitch yet, but I was sure he’d go along with me. I wanted Trail to take David’s jeep. Mitch had his car, and I had Bertha, my delivery van; and if we could get it running, I had Grandpa’s 65 Chevy truck that probably would have run this whole time if it had been running to start with.

After supper, we loaded up and made our way back to The Pines for the night. Sometime soon we would all need to decide whether to go back to our own places or to stay closer in. This caused a good deal of anxiety for me because I’m sort of a loner. I like my space. I love being on my own. That’s why I love living on Yellow Top surrounded by my 10 acres, and beyond that, the thousands of acres of national forest land. I decided to ask God to show us all what we needed to do and to try not to worry about tomorrow until it got here.

As we figured it would be, the third-story room at the Pines was still available, so Sarah took that one. Mitch gave her David’s letter to read, and I gave her his Bible.

“We aren’t trying to pressure you, Sarah,” said Trail. “Just read the letter that Dave left us. Really consider what the letter says and what you’ve seen with your own eyes. That’s all we ask.”

As both Mitch and Trail headed up to our room, Sarah put her hand on my arm, halting me on the second-floor landing. A bit shyly, she said, “I want to thank you, Bobby. Thank you for…well, for taking me in. I was really afraid of being stranded out there all alone. I didn’t know who y’all were or what kind of people you were or what you wanted. Even though I tried to come across as tough, I was terrified of being stuck in a place I was only visiting, among people I don’t know. Then, finding myself alone, not knowing where Danny and Kristen and Claire went, with nothing working and none of the cars running… well, I was getting close to the edge of panic. I thought if I acted tough that I’d…I dunno, scare y’all off or something,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. I noticed that her hair was almost black and that she had a widow’s peak.

“I’m really sorry I pulled a shotgun on you, an empty shotgun, mind you,” she said, smiling her beautiful smile at me; and oh man! Were those dimples in her cheeks? I felt my heart knock out of rhythm again.

“It’s okay,” I said. “If it’s any consolation, you pulled off the most believable bluff I’ve ever heard. You sure convinced me you were calm and collected and meant business. I believed you 100%. Besides, if I’m going to be almost shot, I can’t think of anyone more beautiful to try to do it.” I immediately felt stupid. Way to go, you dork. Shakespeare you ain’t. 

She actually blushed a little, and that made my heart beat even faster.

“Goodnight, Bobby. I promise to read the letter, and I’ll make sure you all get it and the Bible back tomorrow morning. I – I do need to think about things. I’ll see y’all tomorrow,” she said as she headed up the stairs to her room.

When I opened the door to our room, both Mitch and Trail were acting over-the-top nonchalant.

“Don’t even start you two,” I said, unable to suppress a grin.

“Not a word; not a word from us, Romeo ” said Trail. He was holding up both hands, grinning like a hyena as Mitch threw a pillow at me. We talked for a while, and prayed together. Then all three of us fell asleep, ready to see what the next day would bring.

CHAPTER 14 

We got up later than usual, and after waiting on Sarah to join us, we got an even later than usual start. Once again we rode our bikes over to Mike’s store, more upbeat than we’d been for almost a week. Having lights and power and hot and cold running water was heaven. As soon as we walked into the store, our noses told us that we were in for a treat. Mike was up in his apartment cooking scrambled eggs and making toast to go with them. We all filed into his little apartment to better savor the aroma of real cooked food – and coffee – real brewed coffee, not instant!

“Where’d you get fresh eggs, Mike?” asked Trail, near to gastric rhapsody.

“Well,” I been going out ta Amos’ farm whenever I’m able to; milkin’ his cow an’ gathering eggs. There’s a farm hand named Carter Grant, a young single boy ’round y’all’s age, I reckon. He lives down the road a piece from Amos’ place. I met him out there on Fridey evenin’. I was worried about Amos’ cow. Ya cain’t leave cows unmilked,” Mike said, seriously. “I wadn’t sure if she’d been milked a’tall. After I walked out there, I met Carter. He was already there. He’d been concerned ’bout Amos and the animals too, an’ since he helped Amos out anyways, he come by to check on thangs. He’d already milked Flossie an’ was putterin’ around feedin’ the horse, the pigs, the chickens, an’ that little border collie Amos had. We both knew whar Amos kept his house key, so I decided ta stay out to th’ farm that night an’ walk back home next mornin’. Carter’s a good ole boy, an’ I was glad an’ grateful ta see him takin’ care o’ thangs.

“Ya see,” Mike continued, “when I hadn’t heard from Amos or Joe by midafternoon, I was beginnin’ ta suspect this was a whole lot more’n an EMP. I been tryin’ ta git over ever day since Fridey iff’n I can. Carter’s been seein’ to the milkin’ and chores. Besides, Eva’s been staying over ta the farm since yesterdey afternoon, helpin’ Carter do the chores and readyin’ th’ punkin squash, turnip greens, and th’ late summer corn fer harvestin’. Course th’ two of them cain’t handle the whole farm by theirselves. Amos has a right big spread, but they’s both doin’ what they kin ta help keep it goin’. We’re gon’ need fresh produce, eggs, an’ milk long as we kin git ’em.

So, I run out thar early this morning in the truck and helped ’em with the milkin’. I gathered these eggs then. Hens won’t be layin’ too much longer once the weather turns cold, but fer now, we got fresh milk ta go with the eggs an’ toast.” Mike, proudly portioned out a plate of scrambled eggs onto paper plates for each of us and brought the coffee pot to the table.

“How on earth did Eva get out to Amos’ farm before the power came back on?” I asked. Amos Brazele’s farm was a good two, almost three miles from town. I’d guessed that maybe Mike had found a bike somewhere to ride, but the thought of him riding it at his age was a sight I’d have liked to see. But the thought of EVA on a bike flabbergasted me. That prospect was something I’d have paid money to see.

“Eva left here yesterdey after she helped us put some fliers up aroun’ town,” replied Mike, as he poured us all a cup of coffee and set a pitcher of milk on the table. He’d poured the milk into a black and white ceramic dairy creamer in the shape of a cow. The message across the little pitcher read ‘Moo Jooce.’ It looked ridiculous, but it made us all smile.

“She didn’t ride no bike,” Clyde responded. “She walked out ta Amos’ place. She tole me’n Mike what she was gon’ do. We tried ta talk her outta doin’ it, but y’all know Eva King. Once she makes up her mind ’bout anythin’ she’s gon’ do it or die tryin’; which is exactly what she said too. Even as big a old girl as she is, she’s as strong as a ox an’ as stubborn as a mule. She tole us in no uncertain terms that she was gon’ walk out to th’ farm, an iff’n she died doin’ it, that she’d a heap rather die outside in t’middle o’ th’ road on th’ way ta doin’ sumpin useful than ta be sittin’ at home watchin’ fungus grow – I thank is how she put it. When she set out, she had on a ole floppy straw hat, a big bag full o’ clothes, and she had her late husban’ Jerry’s huntin’ rifle slung over her shoulder, ” said Clyde, smiling at the memory.

“Wow!” I said, impressed. Trail whistled. We were beginning to catch glimpses and facets of character we’d never noticed before in all these older people who had lived and scratched out a living for generations up here in the North Carolina mountains.

Most of the people around here, me included, are descended from the hardy Scots. A great many others have both Scots and Cherokee blood coursing through their veins. These stubborn mountain people have always been a tough, hardworking, pragmatic bunch. I felt ashamed of my arrogance and ignorance in calling them ‘old geezers.’ If we survived for any length of time, it would be first because of God’s grace, but also because we were blessed to share a heritage with and live among such people.

“So she’s out doing farm work,” I said, still amazed.

“Do you think she will come back here and reopen the diner now that the power is back on?” Mitch asked.

“Dunno,” said Clyde, “but iff’n we’s takin’ bets on it, my bet would be no. See, Eva grew up farmin’, and Eva, like all o’ us, wants to be needed – ta have a reason to live – sumpin to contribute. You younguns’ll see that when hard times come, us old timers remember our roots, an’ we ain’t afraid ta meet anythang head on.

“Oh,” Clyde said as if he’d just remembered something. I was sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, and wondered what was coming now. His face wore a sardonic expression that I immediately distrusted. “By th’ by Bobby,” he said, “Did you happen ta notice anythin’ missin’ from ’round here?”

“Noooo. I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t know,” I replied, suspiciously.

“Well, when Eva come by here yesterdey afternoon afore y’all got back, she noticed yer ma’s ole bag, Terrell – th’ one Bobby was carryin’, the very one that was a’layin’ out on the back stoop. Eva took a right shine to it an’ wondered iff’n you’d mind her takin’ it. Said she din’t smell nuthin’ a’tall wrong with it. She thought it was right attractive,” said Clyde, grinning like the Cheshire cat. I allowed as how I din’t think y’all’d mind one bit. That was th’ bag she took home an’ packed her stuff in an’ took out t’Amos’ farm.”

We were all howling with laughter. Mike was shaking his head, and Clyde was grinning like a donkey. Trail was laughing so hard he was crying. And Mitch and I, all we could do was point at each other and at Trail. Poor Sarah was clueless; so while we enjoyed fresh scrambled eggs, hot toasted bread, coffee, and milk straight from the cow to the table – barely cool since it had only been in the fridge for an hour or so – while we ate this feast, we filled Sarah in on the whole saga of Mama B’s skunk bag. It was the best- tasting, happiest meal I’d had in a long time.

Big Mike packed us a basket of stuff to take to the church for lunch. Right after breakfast, Mitch had ridden his bike out to New Hope to try to find Will and ask if we could use his church for a planning meeting. The rest of us helped Mike clean up and gather the things we thought we would need. After about half an hour, Mitch called Mike to let him know that everything was set up for us to come over as soon as we were ready.

It was strange having telephones that worked and drivable cars again. I was amazed at how quickly we had adapted to being essentially thrust back into the 1800’s over the past week. That ability to adapt, I mused, would serve us well in the coming days.

We rode over to the church in Mike’s truck: Big Mike and Sarah in the cab, and Trail and me riding in the back truck bed. Clyde drove by the PD and asked Dewey Upshaw if he’d join us and if he’d drive out to the farm and pick up Eva, and Carter Grant if he was willing to come. Clyde said he’d swing by and pick up Lilly Duncan and her twin sister Byllie who had asked if she could join us.

We were met at the church by Will and Mitch. After about 20 minutes, Clyde, Lilly, Byllie, Dewey and the others arrived, Carter was with them. After the introductions, Pastor Will or ‘just plain Will’ as he said he’d like to be called, ushered us into the church’s conference room.

The idea of a church having a conference room was still a radical concept to me. No church I’d ever been to had had a conference room. Honestly, the whole church complex looked like some weird hybrid. The sanctuary looked more like a theater than a church sanctuary. It had these big screens on both sides of what could only be called a stage. There were stage lights, footlights, and what could only be spotlights mounted high up pointing towards the stage. A bar stool, or something like one, stood in the center of the stage area. Flanking this stool on the stage were two enormous amps on either side of where the pulpit would have been if there’d been one. Behind the stool was a set of electric drums, two guitars, one bass, and the other an electric lead. There was also a huge keyboard. Instead of pews, the sanctuary had individual padded chairs. In the back behind the sanctuary/stage, there was a suite of offices and a huge conference room that would have been perfectly at home in an executive boardroom.

Until Will had given us a tour of the sanctuary on Monday when we first met him, I had no idea that a church like this even existed, much less that one was in Norrisville. I tried not to gape now like I did then. I overheard Carter whisper to Mike, “This is a church?” 

“I ain’t never seen a church like this,” said Mike, answering Carter and looking about frankly awed as we all were.

“Yeah, I know,” said Will. He looked chagrined and embarrassed. “It really wasn’t a church in the true sense of the word. The true Church is, was the people who were believers, not the actual buildings in which they met. I’m ashamed to admit that we, me in particular, like the majority of modern churches, had as our main goal the entertainment of those who came here; not to preach to them – give them the inconvenient truth that could have saved their souls. Nor was teaching sound doctrine high on my priority list. The reason it wasn’t my passion was because I was as lost as many of my members were – still are, I guess. Hank Brock, my assistant pastor, was here for the right reason. He cared about the souls of the people in this church… he cared about my soul as well, but I’m afraid I blew him off. In truth, I ridiculed him,” said Will.

“The entertainment atmosphere here disturbed and disgusted him, but he loved the people. I was the fool, the buffoon, the big-shot wannabe. I was afraid to offend anyone by bringing up unpleasant topics like sin, Hell or eternity. As you can see by my still being here, I was as flippant and spurning of the truth as you guys were – even though I, of all people, should have known better. I bear on my shoulders the responsibility of those of my congregation who’ve been left behind. I knew instantly what had happened after I’d talked to the guy at the Whispering Pines. I came back here, locked myself in my office, and got on my face before God. I mean I actually lay on the floor with my face buried in this nice expensive carpet and cried out to God, praying like I had never done before. I wasn’t a true believer before the rapture, obviously, but when I left my office that afternoon I was. I also asked God that if He would allow me an honor I didn’t deserve – that if He would allow it, that by His grace I would become the pastor I should have been all along to whoever He brings to this church.

Will pointed to Mitch. “Mitch, here has told me what you would like to do, so I’m offering New Hope to be the center of the post-rapture community. You can use it any day of the week for whatever you need – any day, that is, except Sunday. That day, God willing, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before; I’m going to preach the gospel and strengthen, edify, and prepare those of us who are now Tribulation believers for what we are all about to face.”

All that afternoon we hashed over all the things we wanted to address the next day; how we thought we could best organize the town. We were fully aware that whatever plans we made would only be temporary. The majority of us realized that we are already staring down the barrel of the Tribulation. We decided that we would do what we could for as long as we could. Nothing matters more from now on than the salvation of as many as will believe. Nothing else even comes close during these last seven years. Not everyone, we knew, would choose to become believers. In fact, among all of us gathered there in Pastor Will’s office that day were some who still weren’t believers – those who said they just weren’t ready to accept all of this rapture and Tribulation stuff. All we could do was continue to pray for them that soon they would believe for salvation. Both Clyde and Mike having become believers themselves would be a huge witness to many in town – especially big, gruff, no nonsense Clyde.

There was one person there, though, who was deeply moved; one who did pray for salvation in front of the entire group of us; one person among us who –  having seen all that has happened – listened intently as Will spoke and gave his testimony; one whose heart was stirred, broken, and convicted. The one person who became a believer that day and joined God’s family was our Sarah. When she prayed and finally believed the gospel, I’m not ashamed to say I wept with joy and relief. This girl I’d only just met already meant more to me than my own life did. This realization both terrified and thrilled me. Still, come what may, I knew that, at least now, I would spend eternity with her; with all those who were part of God’s family whom I love more than I can say. That is what matters most.

(to be continued)