The Scavengers (After The Apocalypse Book #1)

Chapter 20

"You better wait your turn in line." The man who I had been about to walk past reached out and caught my ankle, nearly snatching me to the ground.

"This is a line?" I asked. The scattering of people dotting the hillside in front of the massive stone church didn't appear to be arranged in any particular order.Most of them appeared to have set up small, individualized campsites for themselves. Several were using fire pits to cook breakfast. The smell of the cooking food wafting through the early morning air made my stomach rumble hungrily.

"Darn right, this is a line. And you ain't taking my place." The man in front of me was old and grizzled, with a hunched back and a filthy face. He needed a haircut desperately, but I supposed I didn't have much room to talk. I was fairly certain I had sticks tangled into my hair. Sleeping outside for the last few days hadn't done my appearance any favors.

"I don't think I even want to be in your line," I told the man. "I just need to talk to someone. A friend. This is the Church of Chaos, isn't it?"

The man spit on the ground next to my boots. "Of course this is the Church of Chaos. You don't think we'd all be waiting around out here for a blessing if it wasn't, do you?"

"A blessing?" I asked.

"From the high priest," he said."He comes out here every Thursday and blesses each and every one of us. He can heal with his touch, if he chooses to and the belief of the person being healed is strong enough."

"When you say the high priest- wait,what day is it now?" I used my fingers to try to brush some of the sticks out of my hair. I hadn't put much thought into Seth's actual role with the church. I'd spent the last three days focused on finding my way back to the river and then following it upstream. It had been such a relief to actually find the church, I hadn't thought much past that.

I certainly hadn't considered the possibility that I might not be able see Seth when I got here.

"Saturday," the man replied scornfully.

"I can't wait five days to see the high priest," I said flatly as I stared at the massive wooden doors that loomed above the front steps of the church.

"You will wait as long as the high priest deems necessary. You cannot rush a god."

"Seth is many things. A god is not one of them." I stepped sideways around the grubby man and began walking straight towards the doors. I ignored several shouts of protest as I jogged up the stone steps and knocked politely on the wooden doors.

Nothing happened.

I knocked again, louder this time.

A woman grabbed me from behind and physically threw me back away from the door. I landed hard on top of Kennedy's pack, the tools inside doing no favors for my already bruised spine. I rolled to the side and hissed at her.

"You cannot bother the priests!"She was wearing a long, stained yellow ball gown that was missing more than half its sequins. Her hair was twisted up on top of her head in some kind of a combination of a braid and bun. She was twice my age and missing most of her teeth.

She had inserted herself between me and the doors of the church.

I decided I could take her.

"Sorry, crazy lady, but you're going to have to move." I stood up and slipped the pack off my back. I pulled Kennedy's knife out of my waistband and waved it in her direction.

"You shall not bother our priests. It is unholy."

"I never claimed to be holy," I said as I tried to walk past her. She flung her arms out wide, as if standing spread eagle on the stairs would stop me. I shoved her backwards and then dodged around her.