Chapter 2
two
Daylan
“Repent sinners,” I say, loud and clear to the men outside the fence.
“Repent and pray for mercy from the Lord who loves you. Drink the blood of Christ into your soul and allow Him to cleanse the wickedness out of your human body. We are called to serve and in serving we must ask forgiveness for our trespasses. Repent and be renewed in His glory.”
After the fire that ate the toolshed, it took a few days for God to send his cleansing red rain to us.
Angelo has been locked in prayer with the other three men seeking mercy this day and I send a secret prayer to the Lord for his sake.
As the storm clouds swirl overhead, I move from body to body, placing my hand through the fence to offer a blessing and prayer for safety to each of the sinners awaiting cleansing this evening.
I don’t know what sins they’ve committed, save Angelo, but I hope they find the mercy of the Lord.
Hope is all I can offer. Soon, the red rain will fall and with it will come God’s judgment.
“I don’t want to die,” Angelo whispers, turning his head to me as I reach fingers through the gap in the inner chain-link fence that surrounds our compound.
“Fear not, Angelo,” I offer back, gently pressing two fingers against his forehead as I speak his holy name. “The Lord sees your heart. Remain true to His word and you will not suffer.”
A shriek echoes in the night, and Angelo jumps away from me, eyes widening even more. He turns around and presses his back to the fence behind him, eyes on the much taller wooden fence in front. “We’re safe here, right? They can’t get in?”
“Yes. The outer wall will hold. The inner wall remains, and you will be collected after the last drop falls. Believe this and fear not.”
Angelo nods as I draw my fingers back inside the compound, the rope tied around his waist jiggling as he moves nervously from one foot to the other, then back again.
I glance down at the fence he is tied to, making sure the knot is secure before moving on to the next sinner awaiting the cleanse.
The ropes must be secure, or all will be lost to wickedness and depravity.
“What if I’m not granted mercy?” the next man asks as I reach fingers through the fence towards him. He is a younger man than Angelo, though his name, Herold, speaks also to the holy host of angels that watch over us.
“Do not think of it. Do not let such doubt cloud your mind.”
Herold nods, but I can see the worry plaguing his dark eyes. His knot is secure, but that does not mean that he will last this storm with his humanity intact. That he is already doubting God’s promise of renewal is a clear sign to me he will be lost this evening and his knot will remain tied.
Overhead, the thunder booms and lightning ripples through the clouds.
I make quick work of moving down the fence and offering fellowship and prayer to the remaining two men.
As I step away from the fence, the first raindrop splashes onto my white robe, leaving behind a tiny dot of blood red in the fabric.
By the time the storm ends, it will be stained red with the blessing of the Lord.
After it dries, I will present it to the Elders for safekeeping until the end of days.
When God returns to the earthly realm to claim his people from Bright Haven, he will be greeted by a community clothed in robes bearing his blessing.
A piercing cry echoes through the night as the rain pours down, and I shiver a little where I stand, though I cannot say it’s because of the sound or the storm.
Though the damned ones from Bright Haven, whom the Lord does not grant his mercy to remain knotted by rope to the inner fence of our community, the outer fence that keeps everything else away from us.
The woods that lie beyond the compound’s outer edges are full of damned beings who were once humans living among the wreckage of the world beyond our borders.
Thunder booms, and lightning dances through the trees as a low moan rises from the fence.
My heart drops as I watch Herold twitch, rain coating his face and slicking his naked chest red.
Angelo glances over, his eyes still impossibly wide, as Herold groans loudly.
His head falls to his chest, and a low hiss echoes from his chest as breath seeps from him.
Herold twitches and moans, head lolling on his shoulders and his hands clenching into fists.
He will not be saved this evening. God has not granted His mercy to Herold this night, and he is taken by the wickedness. I did not wish to be correct, but he doubted the Lord when he should have been praying for mercy.
God knows what is in our hearts.
Herold’s face twists, his lips peeling back in a vicious, inhuman grin.
He lunges towards Angelo, who screams, moving away from him along the fence.
Herold is lost to us, but Angelo will remain intact.
The ropes will hold, and they are far enough apart that Herold’s clawed hands cannot grip onto Angelo’s body.
He must trust that God will keep him safe.
The other two men along the fence have also moved away from Herold. One of them sits on the grass, his head tilted towards the red rain as it washes over him. His face is filled with peace and glory, and I am comforted by this sight even as Herold’s turn towards the damned rattles inside my head.
We stand beneath the rain until we are soaked through with it, shivering and cold as the wind ripples through the compound.
Angelo stands in a puddle, his worried feet tapping and splashing as he sways from side to side nervously.
I watch him carefully, while keeping my eye on Herold as much as I can.
I trust the ropes that hold them all and keep them separated, but tonight feels different somehow.
Perhaps it is because I still carry the knowledge that I could have stopped Angelo from being here.
If only I had stopped all talk of Lazarus before Father heard.
Regret will live inside me, but it is lessened as Angelo’s humanity stays intact through the red rains.
He is shivering and wrapping his arms around his naked chest, seeking warmth and comfort, while Herold has no will to preserve himself anymore.
He screeches and thrashes against the rope that holds him in place, joining the cacophony rising from the other damned souls that line the inner fence.
As the fall of rain subsides, the man on the ground stands, stretching his hands up to the heavens.
I watch as the man next to him joins him in praising the Lord for the mercy they have both been granted this day.
It brings a smile to my face knowing that even though the devil’s symbol has been left around our community, we still carry God’s favor and He still loves us.
Some of us, anyway. Herold has been taken into sin and will not get a second chance to live as a member of God’s chosen people in Bright Haven.
“Get me out of here!” Angelo screams as Herold lunges for him again. “Please, my Lamb. Please untie me!”
I move towards him, but untying him is not my duty. Father will send out an Elder to take stock of who remains and who has been lost. He will report this back to Father, and only then will those who have been granted mercy be allowed to kneel before him and ask to be readmitted into Bright Haven.
“Calm, Angelo,” I murmur as the young man presses himself against the metal chain link of the fence. “The Lord has granted his favor to you. He gives you mercy in your blood, may you find peace.”
“I don’t want fucking peace, I just want that thing away from me.”
He isn’t necessarily wrong; I wouldn’t want one of the damned that close to me either, but he is already on thin ice with Father for speaking his mind. “Watch your words, Angelo. Don’t forget how you ended up here.”
“No, my Lamb,” he blurts. “I do not forget.”
“Good. Please don’t give Father a reason to send you out here again for cleansing in the next storm. God has granted you mercy this one time. I wonder if you will gain it twice?”
He settles as my warning lingers between us. Turning, he sets his eyes on mine, and I can see his remorse before he even offers words to me, but he offers words anyway. “I am sorry, my Lamb. I lost sense of myself there, and I am ashamed.”
“I know you have fear, but you don’t need to let it take you. You are safe, Angelo,” I murmur back, offering a gentle smile his way as I can see he needs it. “Whatever sins committed that brought you to this cleansing are washed away in the blood of Christ.”
I step away from Angelo and turn to find which of the Elders has been called out to receive the cleansed this morning.
A frown crosses my lips though as I see it is Arn this evening, his broad body making its way to me where I stand by the fence.
Arn is not the kindest man, but he is the most obedient to our Father.
I can only hope that he means to be obedient to my words on this night, but knowing how he behaves, I fear the worst from him.
“Blessings Lamb,” he grunts as he draws up to stand beside me, his robe swishing across the grass as he moves.
“Blessings,” I respond, glancing towards Angelo, then back to Arn. “Please release Angelo first. He is not faring well out there with what once was Herold.”
Arn looks past me at the men between the fences and lets loose a loud laugh. “Oh shit. Herold isn’t doing so good. What the hell has the devil brought upon him tonight?”
I turn around to see that Herold has stopped leaping for Angelo and is instead grabbing at his own face, his nails stripping bits of skin out of his own cheeks.
Arn laughs like it’s funny to watch a tortured soul who has not been granted mercy flay himself open, and I am disgusted at the sound of it.