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Chapter 12

  It was silent for the first few minutes of the ride. Neither boy knew what to talk about; this was really exciting and bizarre. They hadn't really expected to meet, especially for something like this. "It's great to finally meet you", Josh said suddenly, breaking the awkward silence.

   "Yeah", Zane replied, giving Josh a smile. "It's great to meet you too. I just..." Zane trailed off.

   "Wish it were a different situation?", Josh finished. "Same, man. I had envisioned it as a trio of friends going to the movies, or coffee. Not that you're not good company."

   Zane shook his head. "No, I get it." He sat up in his seat and sighed. It seemed weird, Josh being older than him. He'd just turned eighteen two months ago, but they'd had so many conversations over Facebook, he it had always felt like he was talking to someone his age.

   "So", Zane asked slowly, "if you don't mind me asking, why'd you write down Erin's address?"

   "Oh." Josh blinked in surprise. "Uh, well, it's a funny story, actually. When she posted the picture of her moving, we... started talking a bit more and... well, things started happening, and we started considering ourselves as a long-distance couple."

   Now it was Zane's turn to look surprised. "You mean you two... but she's sixteen!"

   Josh shrugged his shoulders. "So? Age is just a number. My dad was like, ten years younger than my mom when they got married. Besides, she digs me too."

   Josh took a left turn up a hill. "So, when I saw she had moved, I made sure to like the picture and wrote down the address. I was planning on going over and surprising her for her birthday this month. But then, you know."

   Zane nodded. "So, have you found out anything else?", he asked, trying to change the subject.

   "Just the same stuff", Josh said, shaking his head. "Now almost everyone is saying they didn't lose somebody. Even my Aunt Louise says she didn't lose my cousin Janice. How about you?"

   "I haven't found much", Zane answered. He lifted up the Bible, "but, I think this book has some answers."

   Josh gave it a quick glance before returning his eyes to the road. "What's that?"

   "It's called the Holy Bible", Zane replied, "but some people just call it the Bible. My mom used to read it as a kid."

   "Hm. What's it about?"

   "I'm not sure. It's got tons of books in it. There's one book called Revelation, and it has all these weird prophecies and warnings."

   Josh looked as if he was deep in thought. "The Bible. That kind of sounds familiar. Who's it by?"

   Zane shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Revelation was written by somebody named John."

   "No last name?"

   "Nope."

   "Must be an alias. What did it say?"

   Zane explained what he knew about Revelation; the horses, the riders, the Lamb, the creatures, the seals. Josh listened intently, his eyes growing wider at each subject. "Sounds like some kind of Greek or Aztec prophecy", he said when Zane had finished explaining. "What makes you think it's real?"

   "There was this kid at my school who had the mark on his right hand", Zane answered, referring to Calvin. "The book says that people won't be able to buy or sell things unless they get 666 tattooed on their right hand or forehead."

   "Hm", Josh said thoughtfully. "I may have seen something like that in my school. I just thought it was a new trend or something." He nodded to the book. "What else is- wait." He pulled the car into a driveway. "We're here."

   Zane looked up. In front of him was a big, nice looking house; very family friendly looking. There was no car in the driveway. All the lights were off. And everything was absolutely still.

   "Let's go", Josh said, unbuckling his seat belt. "After this, we can go get something to eat. You can tell me more about the book then."

   Zane hesitated. Something in him was telling him not to go in. Something was urging him to keep reading the book. It's just me, Zane decided, pushing the feelings away. I'm just afraid of getting caught. Or of what I'll find.

   Sighing, Zane unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car, leaving the book on the seat.