Suburban Vampire Ragnarok

Chapter 20

Pastor Larry Parker leaned forward against the lectern to emphasize his point. He quoted from the book of Matthew, chapter 16.

"'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?'"

Scott noticed that Larry was looking at him when he mentioned that bit about the soul. This was a sticky point with Scott; as a vampire, he was sure that his had been forfeited, through no fault of his own. Scott mused on how unfair that was, and how much he blamed Jack, his sire, for the unfortunate circumstance. Scott supposed that if Jack hadn't already been killed by Elizabeth, he'd sure like to kill him now. Larry's glance made him squirm, as it was more than mere conviction. It felt like condemnation. The rest of Larry's sermon was more positive, about how Christians should live sacrificially, giving their lives for others, much as Christ had done.

Of course, Scott let that part fly over his head, focused as he was on his own situation. You know I lost my soul, Scott wanted to tell Larry, or, rather, had it stolen from me. But I didn't gain the world. Okay, I did gain some freaky abilities, and I suppose those are kind of cool, but... pizza! I lost pizza! How is that fair?

The service ended and Pastor Larry stood in the narthex, greeting the attendees. Scott, of course, stood in line. Mrs. Wampler was before him, thanking Larry for the Word today, then launching into a sad tale about how her bursitis was acting up, and her allergies were also acting up, and how she was again having some problems with the consistency of her stool. Larry listened to the elderly lady's complaints as she droned on about her ungrateful children and mixed-up grandchildren. At length she concluded, thanking him again then moving on, slowly, of course. Scott was then able to approach the reverend and shake his hand.

"Nice job, Larry. I really liked the part about losing one's soul."

"Oh, hey, Scott, you know I didn't mean that to single you out."

"Really, Larry?"

"Of course not. It's not all about you, you know."

"Still, you know it's a sore spot with me."

"I get it, but like I keep saying, I think your soul is safe. I was hoping to communicate that you lost your life for something greater than yourself."

"I lost my life to an evil vampire, who wanted to use me as a political puppet."

"We've been over that before, Scott. I know your feelings on the matter, and you know mine. Anyway, this probably isn't the most discreet place to discuss this issue. Just know that it wasn't directed at you."

"Then why were you looking at me when you said it?"

"Because I like you. So, have you talked to Dawn yet?"

"Nice way to change the subject. Yeah, I talked to her. I'm having lunch with her family right after service."

"I'm glad to hear it. I was really hoping that you'd open the lines of communication with her. She really needs your support, Scott."

Scott sighed. "Yeah, I know. Hopefully now I can begin to help her deal with what she went through. But she said a few things that kind of troubled me."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"She says she 'wants in', that she doesn't want to be 'shut out' anymore. She says she's 'a part of this'. I don't even know what that means. What does that mean?"