Latter Days

Chapter 1

Chapter One

          "Are you kidding me? Nate, we can't do this." 

          "Tucker! Can you stop being a baby for once in your entire adolescent life and realize that 1: this will be fun, and 2: we are not going to get caught?" I looked all around me. On three sides of me, there was nothing. A vast wasteland begging for some action. Then on the fourth side, the side I was currently facing, was the Temple. 

          My small town of St. Petersburg, Massachusetts,  had one Mormon Temple, and it was basically the town's pride and joy. Massachusetts didn't really have a strong loyal following of LDS members, but that aside, the Temple was pretty much the most beautiful thing the town had to offer. As I stood facing the Temple, I took in its beauty--the white, marble walls, the sky-high towers, and the bright lights shining from all corners of the building, casting light over every angle of the field it stood in. We had broken into plenty of private properties before; our best work was usually done out in more open areas. We had gained illegal access to the homes of our ex-teachers, shopping centers, and local schools. But this--this building I stood staring at right now--defied me. I wanted to go in, sure. I wanted to go into every building I broke into. It was never against my will, what Nate and I did. It was because in our stupid little town, there was absolutely nothing to do. So we started committing crimes. St. Petersburg has never been well-stocked with on-duty policemen, so we had never been caught before. We didn't take anything either. We just walked in, hung out alone for a couple hours, and walked out. The rush we felt when we arrived back to our houses leaving no evidence of where we had been, was downright exhilarating. The cops didn't even know what we were doing; and even though we weren't actually causing any trouble, we still found it hilarious that no one knew or cared about our acts. 

          Something about the Temple, however, gave me a new feeling. For some unknown reason, I felt as if the second I set foot in that building, a beacon of light would send the cops and, the whole town for that matter, in my direction. They would know it was me. Of course there would be nothing done, but they would know that it was me who didn't do it. I didn't know much about the Temple, or the religion in general, but I knew that I was not Mormon, and I was not allowed in that building. I had never understood why that specific group would be so elite, and feel that only they were ever good enough to go inside. Didn't they know that once you took something away from someone, that would end up being the only thing they'd want?

          So that's the reason I wanted in. Not because I needed to steal something, or break something, or ruin anything whatsoever, but because I wasn't supposed to be in there. I'm not the type of person to listen when you tell me I can't do something. I had already broken into every other place in town. What made this stupid white building so different?

          "Alright, get the lock." I nodded towards the front entrance to the Temple. Nate and I were both always equipped with anything necessary to pick a lock. Usually it was me to gain entry to the places we broke into, but this one--this one I didn't want to do. I couldn't. Nate nodded at me and walked up the front steps. I stayed back. 

          "What are you doing?" came a loud voice from behind me. I whipped around to see a boy, about my age, who I had never seen before. I also had no knowledge of where he had come from, seeing as he was standing in a field I had, until recently, thought to be completely empty. 

          "W-we're members of the church," I glanced back at Nate, who stood frozen staring at the boy. "I forgot my coat in there this morning and my friend offered to get it back for me." The boy cocked his head at me.

          "I'll get it for you," he stated. He walked past me and started walking up the steps toward Nate.

          "Why would y-you want to do that?" I asked him nervously. "It's mine. I can get it; you don't know what it looks like."

          "No. You're right. I don't know what it looks like," he said to me. "But do you know something I do know?"

          "What...?" I was worried now.

          "You guys aren't members. And if y'all go into that building, the police will be called," he replied calmly.

          "How do you know we aren't members? Why would we lie about our religion? That's sick. Look, I just want my coat back."

          "Because I am a member." Now I stood there, dumbfounded. How was I supposed to respond to that? "If you were a member, I would have seen you before today, correct? You would have actually been in that Temple this morning, correct? I know that you weren't, because I was, and I didn't see you, or your friend up there," he nodded at Nate. 

          "Look, you're not really gonna call the police, are you?" I asked him. I was not going to jail for this, no matter what. I hadn't even walked through the door yet!

          "No. I'm not. But I guarantee there's someone already in there," I looked at him, stupidly. He sighed. "The Temple's never empty. There's a group of men who literally just sit in there and make sure no one goes in who's not supposed to be in there." 

          "Are you kidding me? Why do you guys care so much? I wouldn't mind if you walked into my church--there's no one in there to stop you. Why are y'all so anal?" I lied. I didn't even go to church, but Jesus Boy didn't have to know. 

          He smiled at me. "It's not me. If they were my rules, I'd bring you in there right now. I'd let you see for yourself that's it's not as cool as it looks from out here. Just, for right now, go somewhere else. I really, honestly don't want you guys in jail." I stared at him. Why was he being so nice to me? I was seriously considering just a second ago to bust into his place of worship. How disrespectful is that? "Well," he added, his voice lowered, "I actually don't mind if he gets taken in. He seems to be the one orchestrating it, from what I've seen. Seriously, just go home. Or something. I don't care what you guys do, just whatever it is, don't do it here. Please."

          I was honestly in shock. Had it been me, I would never had let the person off the hook this easy. This kid was way too nice. He honestly cared about our futures and our well-beings. "What's in it for you?" I asked. "If we go home, I mean."

          "Honestly? Nothing. I just don't want to see good kids like you getting hurt. Nobody deserves it, and if you have the opportunity to prevent it, you should. Just go home." He started walking back into the wide open field. 

          "Hey!" He turned around and looked at me. "What's your name, and how come I've never seen you before?"

          "It's Jack. I'm new here. And you've never seen me, because you're not a member." He walked into the darkness. I glanced back at Nate on the front steps. He looked utterly confused. 

          So I stood there, facing the opposite direction I had been earlier, with my back to the church, and I stared at the space where this boy, Jack, had stood a few minutes prior. He didn't know it then--or maybe he did--but that was when my life of crime stopped. 

          And that was where my story with Jack began. 

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Hi! Again, I'm trying to write something. I wrote something a few months ago, and got annoyed with it and threw it out. Try this, if you want, and let me know if it's good! 

If it's bad, don't say anything.