"So, I wanna thank you all for coming across town and joining us here" the Reverend smiled "and I especially wanna thank the Reverend Daniels and his lovely wife Lettie Mae for bringing you all with them. My pulpit is your pulpit, Reverend"
"Thank you, Reverend" he smiled as he stood "and thank you for having us" the other sitting down, looking at the crowd "good morning, everyone"
"'Morning" they greeted
"Hm" he hummed "I don't believe they heard me over here" gesturing to the other side of the church "I said, good morning, everyone"
"Good morning" the entire church greeted
"Ah, that's better" he smiled "it's not great, but that's better"
"I don't see why I have to sit up front" Morgan whispered
"You're well respected on Bon Temps" Sam whispered "like it or not, these people trust you"
"Sam, almost half of them think I sold my soul to the devil because of my being a witch" looking at him
"How could they possibly know that" looking at her
"Sookie's a chatty drunk" lightly jerking her head to the blonde "you can figure out the rest"
"The reason Reverend Skinner and I decided to assemble both our congregations here today -- " Daniels continued "well, it comes down to one word: togetherness. But looking out at you, and, sure, you're all here, but I don't see very much togetherness. So, I'm gonna wait on you all to find a new seat. Left moves right, right moves left. Sit next to someone you've never met before. Shake the hand of a stranger . . Well don't everyone look at me like, is he serious?, yes, I am serious. Go on, mix it up. Come on, now"
Morgan let out a low breath, lightly fanning herself with a handheld fan, one that was actually made for her by Atlas, who was surprisingly good a designing lace patterns. The patrons of the church got up from their seats, a little hesitant as they moved to a new part of the building. Alcide moved to the first pew when Chris moved closer, the human slightly moving away from the werewolf, much to Morgan's amusement.
"Take a look around" Daniels said "this is what I'm talking about -- togetherness. From this day forward, we are going to be one community because there are roaming bands of sick and hungry Vampires out there, and they're on the march. Now, these vampires are organized to boot. They're hunting together. And they are wiping out small towns like ours cause they thing we's easy pickings. Are we?"
"No" the crowd responded
"Are we easy pickings?" He asked again
"No" they replied
"Are we low-hanging fruit?" He asked
"No" some shaking their heads
"That's right, we're not" he replied "because we are one people, one town under God. And if we remain together, we will find out way through these strange and unprecedented times. Let the church say amen"
"Amen" nodding their heads
"Amen!" He repeated "Mr. Mayor, they're all yours"
Sam gave him a small nod as he stood up, shaking the reverend's hand and walking to the pulpit,
"Morning" he smiled "now, uh, I'm sure y'all are wondering why the blood tests?" earning a murmur from the crowd "now, as most everybody here knows by now, while this Hepatitis-V virus that's spreading through the world's vampire population is deadly only to vampires, any one of us in this room could be a carrier"
"I wanna be a carrier" an older man informed as he stood "it'll serve them right, biting me"
"Don't say that, sir" shaking his head slightly "you don't wanna be saying that, because these infected vampires that are making their way from small town to small town, yeah, they're dangerous. Yeah, their strong. But the good news is, they're not as strong as healthy, uninfected, vampires are. Now, y'all know who Bill Compton is?" earning nods "and Morgan Du Locke?" gesturing to the woman "the three of us, we put our heads together, and came up with a plan. Now, tonight at the Bellefleur's Bar and Grill, Terry and Arlene Bellefleur have been generous enough to offer to sponsor us a social, a mixer of sorts. Now, the results of the blood tests y'all just took will be waiting for you when you get there. There's gonna be all kinds of food, there's gonna be music, and it's all gonna be free, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Bellefleur" causing the church to clap their hands
"What's the catch?" A woman asked "cause ain't nothing in life for free"
"You're a smart woman" pointing to her as she sat back down "yes, there is a catch. But the catch, is for your safety. For everybody's safety. Now . . I am asking every single uninfected adult in this room to agree to a monogamous feeding relationship with a healthy vampire in exchange --" disapproval coming from the crowd "in exchange for that healthy vampires protection for you and your children" some getting up "listen, I understand you're upset. Talk to your reverends. Talk amongst yourselves. But this is the only way we know how to protect you. Now, of we're gonna be safe, every single human needs a vampire and every vampire needs a human. Now, I hope I'm gonna see all y'all tonight. If I don't . . God be with you"
". . Say your children disobey your requests to stay indoors at night" Morgan spoke up as she stood "they go out anyway, getting into mischief" the patrons quieting down, listening to her "the next morning, you see them on the news, added to the list of the many human lives that have been lost since the outbreak of Hepatitis-V" looking at them "that scenario could've been prevented if you agreed to the monogamous feeding relationship. It's sustenance in exchange for protection against the hungry ones . . Have you ever seen a hungry vampire?" some of them shaking their heads "their humanity slips from them, they grow savage, and they don't stop until there is nothing left. Those of you who do not agree with the request, I highly suggest you reconsider"
∆
James was on the mic as he sang, the crowd mingling amongst themselves -- which turned out to be a lot bigger than Morgan had anticipated. She stood with Eric, looking down at the results of her blood test, which came out as negative, along with Alcide, who was fixing a plate of food for Morgan and himself.
"We're only staying for an hour" Eric informed
"I knew there was a reason I loved you" Morgan smiled, looking up at him
He smirked down at her, leaning in and placing a gentle kiss to her lips, causing her to instantly comply,
"You know, I used to hate vegetarians" Tara informed as she walked over to them with Willa "now, I'd to just about anything to going one"
The women laughed lightly, Morgan shaking her head in amusement as she looked back out to the crowd,
"Sorry, Tara" she replied "you're out of luck"
"Well, shit" looking at everyone
"Tara?" Lettie Mae spoke up
Her smile dropped as she looked over toward her mother,
"I was wondering if you and me could talk" Lettie Mae smiled
Tara didn't respond, looking away from her mother with a blank stare, which caused her to turn to Morgan,
"Tell her to talk to me" she said
Morgan looked at Lettie Mae, her head tilting slightly, even as Tara looked toward the woman with white hair. She looked toward her friend, giving her a small nod, which caused Tara to walk away, Lettie Mae following.
YOU ARE READING
Awakening
Fiksi PenggemarMorgan was adopted by the Stackhouse family when she was a baby The Stackhouse siblings treating her as one of their own But things change Most for the better Some for the worst |•| I own nothing from True Blood, only my own characters and alter...
