The Revelation

V

"And whosover was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15

                                                                                      They, Who Waited 

Macey

The majority of the evening was spent in an anxiety fuelled heap on the floor. My stomach lurched through my throat, threatening to empty its content onto the floor. My ears were ringing, the high pitched scream and crackling of my exhaustion wrecked my sleep. I felt sick. The pressure wheezing in and out of my lungs made it difficult to breathe as I imagined the young men and women of our group sacrificing so much for something they've never had a chance to experience. They've had not even a taste of freedom and adulthood and we're preparing to dwindle the potential to one day experience this.

Is this not what we've worked our entire lives to accomplish? Is this not what we've wanted: create a better world for our children? I stood, the vomit heaving in my gut, leaning over the railing of the platform. Camouflaged in the foliage of trees and greenery, I unsuccessfully tried to muffle the sound of my heaving. The soft caress of a warm hand on my neck brought an incredibly overwhelming calm to my nerves. Will. He was always with me. Tomorrow, my life would change forever. I fully understood that the Will and Macey waking up tomorrow will be far different from the man and woman falling asleep tonight.

"I love you." He said. "If we- If something happens. I want you to remember that." Will's voice was raspy, cracking into the night.

"I love you, too, Will. I always will."

                                                                  We, Who Fill the Empty Prophecy

Serena

Today is the day, the moment we've all been waiting for. This is our destiny. Every decision, every choice, has made ripples into today. With any luck, it will not be in vein. As I stand on a wide, heavy tree branch, I wrap my arms around its trunk and glance over the scattered clouds. There, In the distance, the sun begins to rise over a sea of purples and orange. If I wasn't so terrified, I'd be in fucking awe. It's funny God has a way of doing this. Right before you know shit's about to go wrong, there's a calming peace over the atmosphere. I swear on my child I could feel his hand reach through the clouds and touch me. I lift my chin slightly, dignified in my new found faith. For a minute, I thought about seeing if I could fly. My heart thundered in my chest; so tense and so sharp I'm sure the people down below could hear it. Under me, my husband and daughters sat around a fire, silently eating their breakfasts.

Last meals.

For a moment, the image of the last supper flashed in my mind and I froze. Lord, let there be no Judas among us. I prayed. For the first time in years I actually fucking prayed. It may be too little too late, but I did it. It's kind of funny how so many of us renounce our faith until it's all we have left, clinging to the hope that something ANYTHING is out there keeping us safe from the doom we know we're ready to face.

My thoughts were interrupted by a sharp clang of metal, followed by a thundering boom that was so loud, I stopped breathing. The branch from the tree broke beneath me and my legs collapsed onto Abraham. I opened my eyes and sucked in a painful breath of air, my blood throbbing in my head. A groan escaped my lips as I scrambled for Elda and Kat. Just as I began to stand, Kat's hair danced over my vision. I stood, mouth agape for a millisecond before I saw the blood poor from her shoulder. Attack. We're under attack. I ran to my daughter, taking off my outer layer and tying up her wound, hiding her in the opening of the large tree trunk. Her heart was beating, she'll be fine.