The paradise lost will soon be regained.
45 - Old acquaintances
Wiley sat at the kitchen table, staring out a window, detached from the world.
An image of a being seated on a throne flashed into his mind. His conscience told him God had acted as He said He would. Wiley didn’t begrudge being left behind—he’d been well and truly warned by both Sheila and his father. He’d understood what they told him. But he wanted to rule his life. He didn’t want to hand his life over to anyone or anything.
Sure, he’d tried to be a good person, but he knew his motives weren’t always pure. He’d believed God would give him another chance, but now he wasn’t sure. He might have blown it.
The phone rang, startling him. He looked at the caller ID. Sarge. He’d believed he was well off their radar now.
He hesitated, then answered. “Hello.”
“G’day Wiley. I’m with Bruce, and we’d love to catch up with you.” There was eagerness in his voice. “Can you believe it? We’ve been trying to get rid of these Christians for years. Then bang. Along come some people from outer space and do the job for us—and with a much better drone. No doubt they’re friendly beings. Have to be. Hope so.”
Wiley could imagine the smirk on Sarge’s face. And once again, Sarge showed he didn’t really understand the strategy. The amber people were still here, but weren’t of any concern. So what was the society planning now? The current events were going to provide opportunities—he wasn’t sure what, but knew the pistol would come in handy dealing with the riff-raff who hadn’t been taken.
The pistol. Meeting Sarge and Bruce presented an opportunity for him to obtain the pistol.
Sure, they weren’t on the same page regarding the amber people—well, unless Sarge and Bruce were changed men. But he’d play along until things become clearer.
“Might drop around soon. Is that okay? Need a bit of familiarity.”
“All good. The heat is off the society now and has been for a while. We understand why you did what you did, so no problems dropping in. We want to catch up with you. We’re the same, looking for some normality.”
“See ya soon.” He was glad they understood why he did what he did, because he didn’t. He’d almost drowned. Then he met his dad. That was a strange day.
Wiley found the car keys, and quickly packed an overnight bag with a few extras—just in case things got out of hand. Driving down the street, he saw his recent visitors hanging around another neighbour’s front yard. Good to get out of the neighbourhood for now. Would he return? He didn’t know.
The streets were quiet. He drove past people on their knees on their front lawns, arms outreached to the sky. He passed a supermarket with queues out the door, and people coming out with piles of toilet paper. Again. Why were toilet rolls the symbol for control and security when a crisis hits? The supply chain kept functioning last time, but it might not now. How many truck drivers were believers?
He turned into Sunshine Beach, and Bruce’s well-to-do neighbourhood. The number of people loitering in Bruce’s street had him thinking he’d have little chance of getting the pistol—it was something Bruce wouldn’t want to part with.
There were no vacant car parks on the street.
He eventually found a park a few streets away, so walked up a pathway separating the streets. Two people charged past and sprinted down the pathway. A few seconds later, a police vehicle appeared. Wiley nodded his head towards the pathway. The car pulled over and a lone officer jumped out and made his way down the path. Where was his partner? He knew. The world is going to be a different place.
Wiley strolled up to the residence. The gate was locked, so he pressed the intercom and watched a small spider run into a crack behind the intercom—his home. He waited a few seconds and pressed it again. The screen came on and Bruce’s blurred image appeared.
“Hi, Wiley. Good … to … see ya.” Bruce’s voice crackled.
Wiley heard the click, opened the gate, and headed towards the front door—and to what, he didn’t know.
Bruce welcomed Wiley into the house and directed him to the lounge room. Sarge was perched on the couch and gave him a nod as he entered, but his focus was on the TV.
“Looks like they’re planning on attacking that thing in the sky. Why waste their time? It’ll be gone soon. It’s completed its mission. Collected the green people.” Sarge paused, a surprised look upon his face. “Makes sense, doesn’t it? Aliens are green.” He returned his focus to the TV.
Wiley wasn’t sure if Sarge was joking or not.
“The red and amber ones are still here. We were on the right track.”
“You’re looking good,” Bruce said. “You want a drink?”
Wiley nodded. “Water will be fine.”
“It’s a wonder they haven’t come to thank us. Acknowledge the preparatory work we did.” Sarge continued his dialogue with the TV.
Bruce shook his head and ushered Wiley out to the deck. “I reckon he’s cracked.” He tilted his head towards Sarge. “Not long ago. We both experienced something. We were talking and we both went into a freeze state. Only for a moment. I was conscious of it.”
Wiley got the impression Bruce was holding something back. “Do you think you sensed God?”
Bruce pondered the question. “It was something different. Like I’ve never experienced before. An image of something white and bright appeared in my head. Yes. I heard a voice … no, not a voice. A feeling, a thought. A brief glimpse of an overwhelming sadness. Like the loss of a loved one but much more intense.”
Bruce articulated that well. Yes, Wiley had experienced the same thing. But not the overwhelming sadness. He was too stubborn for sadness. He kept the sadness at bay, kept it under control, but for how much longer?
“And …” Bruce pointed in the direction of Sarge. “And he’s lost his mind. Whatever happened in his head … he’s lost the plot.”
Laughter came from the lounge room. Sarge headed towards them, almost hysterical. With eyes watery from his laughter, he told them that some Christians had been interviewed and were asked why they were still here.
“And their response?” Bruce asked.
“They’re the special ones. Left behind to continue the work of the Lord.”
“That may be the case,” Wiley said.
“I don’t think so. They played a delayed interview, and it looked like they had the same experience Bruce and I had. During the interview, they all went into a trance like the one where I heard God say goodbye. The sort of goodbye you know is final.”
God’s last goodbye. A sad but truthful way at looking at it.
