Awakening Sheeple

~ Chapter 37 ~

I fed Ruby, changed her diaper and put her back to sleep. I jumped into bed and closed my eyes hoping to find my way back to Kaysen in a dream. It was a long and detailed dream and not what I was hoping for at all.

There was a young family with three kids, a cruel abusive man. He was standing over a young woman yelling at her angrily with his fist raised threateningly. Blood trickled down her chin as she cowered against the old, tattered sofa. I could feel her pain and terror as my own. My mind left that scene and I looked around the drafty old farm house they lived in, it was cold and run down. I felt like she was a good Mom. My mind skipped to a point later that day when the mother told the kids they were going to play a camping game in the root cellar for a few days. It was under the barn which was mostly fallen down over the years from lack of care and use. I knew the woman had been secretly cleaning it up, reinforcing it, decorating and stocking it with food and water over the past year. She did it secretly because her husband didn't believe in the prophecy, he made fun of her and was very nasty. She did not want him to know. She had heard about our movie, but he wouldn't let her see it. She knew something was coming but didn't know what to do. She was frightened for the lives of her kids.

So the night of December 20th she gave her husband some sleeping tonic in his drink and snuck off with the kids to spend the night in the bunker. After they were all fast asleep she woke to a drumming sound, like a huge gust of wind and the earth moaned, it was a loud metallic sound! The cellar doors rattled and the ground vibrated slightly and then everything went silent moments later. The kids never woke. Her heart palpitated like it would burst from her chest, as did mine. Was that it? Nothing happened really, what if he wakes up and can't find them? What if he wakes up and does find them? Quiet tears of dread and uncertainty rolled down her cheeks as she lay there wondering. Did something happen out there? How would she know when to come out? She decided to play it safe and wait a few days, hoping her husband would go out looking for them and they could get away. Under the weight of the stress her body gave way to sleep. She woke up early and waited holding her breath for long periods, listening for the truck and angry calls. No sounds came to her, save the sleeping breaths of her three innocent children. She couldn't stand to wait any longer, she slipped to the door and peaked outside, the truck was in the driveway but the house was gone, burned to the ground. She ducked back inside the cellar trying to decide what to do. Her mind whirled, she felt relief but guilt , joy and dread over her husband's death. Did she cause the fire somehow or did he wake and burn it down in anger? Maybe she forgot to blow out all the candles? Now what should she do? She sat down on the dirt steps to gather her thoughts. How would she attempt to tell the kids what she had seen? The middle boy came around the corner and blurted out, "he is dead isn't he?" She replied slowly with some trepidation and shock, how could he know that? "Yes, I think he is because his truck is still there and the house is burned." He jumped up and down and shouted, "Yeah! Free at last! Thank you God for answering my prayers!" He was so mean and hurtful to the kids and their mother. "He was not our real father; I hated having to live with him Mom, he wasn't nice to us anymore and now its over!"

The lady cried and apologized over and over as the kids all hugged her forgivingly.

My mind drifted around the area outside. Beyond the smoldering farm house everywhere was blanketed in a heavy snowfall that continued to fall. No one was leaving there homes it was an eerie feeling of desertion.

Days passed and the lady decided it was time to move on, to start a new life. She barely managed to get the truck started after clearing away the layers of ice and soot from the windshield. Then they drove away from old troubled memories looking for shelter and help. She headed for the big city thinking there would surely be people there to help her. As the day progressed the winds seemed to lift the thick fog from the ground like a vacuum, making it easier to breath and see. They were shocked at the deserted snow filled avenues as they drove down the usually busy city streets. The overall feeling was creepy and shocking.