Inner Demons

is this loss

"Your problem is that you don't look beyond the refugee center. There are more people out there looking for hope. We have to find them and tell them that a light has arrived at the end of the tunnel. The world hasn't ended, it has simply begun again. Just think of the survivors as the inhabitants of Noah's Ark." Elijah paced the office, imagining his new world as wine sloshed in his glass. His followers would have to be respectful of his mission, of course, so he couldn't accept imbeciles like Lindsey or the girl who followed him like a lost duckling. Andrea wouldn't do, either, but he needed her for now. She led the refugee center, and Elijah didn't care to take that responsibility off of her shoulders. Her job required fretting over tiny details and policies; he needed to focus on the bigger issues.

Andrea squinted at him, now, tapping her pencil against her desk. "And by the 'light at the end of the tunnel,' I assume you mean yourself?"

"Of course," Elijah said. She required much more explanation than he would have expected from an educated leader. He set his glass on the nearest flat surface and paced to the window. One day parades would fill those empty city blocks with no concern for wasting materials. Electricity would work again, as would the factories and everything else. Some of the possessed would probably remain, but that was no concern of Elijah's. They couldn't hurt him.

"So why do you spend your time up here, drinking the wine we save for the rarest occasions like a fish out of water? You're wasting your time. You could be exorcising the possessed." Andrea smirked as she spoke, as if she had won some imaginary argument.

She didn't understand, and Elijah realized she probably never would. He couldn't exorcise everyone, especially when their possession was likely retribution for their sins. Instead, he would save those who were worth saving. Except with Andrea's idiocy, he would have to find someone else to do her job if he was going to use the refugee center as a base. Retrieving his wine glass, he returned to the sofa across from Andrea's desk. He knew how to appease her. "Oh, Andrea. Don't you realize that exorcisms create more people for you and your little organization to take care of? We need to fix the infrastructure before we can fix the people."She nodded as he spoke, but her expression gave away her cynicism. "But you still want to gather the other survivors for us to take care of?"

The dastardly woman was giving him a headache. It could have been the wine, but it was too early for a hangover. He hadn't even finished drinking yet. Unfortunately, her disrespect likely resulted from the fact that she hadn't seen his gift in action. He would have to arrange for one or two public exorcisms, just to mute the buzzing of flies like Andrea. "Tell you what," he said, adjusting the sofa's pillows. "I will exorcise a few people for you. Some old friends, perhaps, some family members. Or I'll clear a path to food, wherever your scouts know some remains. Then we'll have a little talk, and you'll listen for once. How does that sound?" He smiled.

Andrea did not. She tapped her finger against her chin. And frowned. And squinted. And opened her mouth, only for someone else to fill the silence.

"Ms. Larson," the guard interrupted. He had entered without knocking. Elijah scowled.

Andrea smiled. "What is it?"

"The night scouts just returned from the city." And brought the news of Lindsey's death or possession, Elijah hoped. The guard continued, "The man Elijah assigned to their troop last night has the ability to repel the possessed. They would like for him to be assigned to the day scouts so that they can be more efficient."

Elijah felt something wet seep through his shirt, then looked down to find that he had spilled his wine. He set the glass on the floor. Lindsey couldn't be like him. He couldn't be like that little girl. There couldn't be that many people with God's gift, not in the same area at least. What if God wanted him to work with those people? What if they had been Chosen to work together? The thought made Elijah want to throw up his liquid diet. Perhaps his hangover had begun prematurely after all. But it couldn't be. God would never make the mistake of joining the destiny of someone as confident as himself with those cowards. The girl was young enough for him to train her as a successor, assuming he didn't possess the gift of immortality as well, but Lindsey was his age, possibly older.