I never realized how easily I take sleep and shelter for granted. Two things that have for the most part always been there for me. I was so tired and cold that I couldn't even think straight. I tried to focus my attention on something else besides sleep, maybe try to count the number of chirps I hear in a minute or the number of times I felt something fuzzy walk across my hand. Perhaps the number of times I swiped at an invisible mosquito. Anything but think of sleep. I found myself drifting to thoughts of home. Mom and Dad waking me up on Saturday mornings for breakfast, then playing with my brother before running to my backyard and shooting some hoops with Dad. I missed them so much. If I could see in the dark, dark night, I would've written them a note. Something to tell them how much I loved them all. In the morning I will. If I make it to the morning.
I had another bought of coughing, as the night went on, the fits became harder to control. I was getting sick. Gee I wonder why? Pull yourself together Nick come on you can do this! I adjusted on the tree so that I was lying on my back, looking up at the night sky. The moon was especially bright tonight. Thank God for small favors. I closed my eyes briefly recalling the guys. We had come so far. I was ready to leave them for something petty. What happened again? It's funny I don't recall. Whatever the reason, I was almost driven to leave the band. How stupid. Did I tell them how much they meant to me? Did I leave mad? I tried my hardest to remember back to the last time I talked to the guys. There were so many instances that we were angry with each other, especially of late. How petty and small it all seemed now. I know I had written it all down in Julia... God did I take her with me when I ran? No! Ah well, maybe someone will find it someday.
I lost my balance and fell.
Right onto the hard, cold ground. I just laid there with my head down and my eyes closed. Suddenly it seemed so comfortable. Like a feather bad. So comfortable and warm. WAKE UP YOU DUMBASS! I jolted awake, still all was quiet around me, was that actually me yelling at myself to wake up? It sounded a bit like AJ. Even in my brain AJ calls me a dumbass. I couldn't help but smile. I sat up finding it harder and harder to move, every bone in my body ached. Then I noticed I was able to see my hands. How was that possible? The moon couldn't have been that bright. I saw the shadow of daylight quickly engulfing me and realized that I had slept and more importantly survived through the night. I stood up very slowly surprised at how shaky my legs were. My feet were still asleep as I felt the prickles of pins and needles going up and down my legs as I tried to walk. Make it back up to the main road. That was my goal. Make it..or die trying.
I walked about a half mile, before I fell down again. I couldn't go on any further. My legs hurt too bad and the pain in my legs were only matched by the pain in my head. I laid down in a pile of pine needles. They smelled so good. Like Christmas. I tucked my arms under the pile and tried to scrunch them up as a pillow. The were pinching my face, but they smelled so good I let them. I wish I had a blanket.
"Are you here my young friend? I thought I saw you moving around out there?" My eyes snapped open at the sound of Joe's voice. He sounded like he was less than two feet away from me. I looked to my left and saw his boots. Muddy and worn, he had been out searching all night. "Nickolas! I know you can hear me. I know you are here!" His voice sounded groggy and agitated. I was defeated. I wanted to cry, hold up a white flag and let the cards fall as they may. I was going to give up!
I was just about to stand and let him take me when he moved further away from me and sat on a log. "I want to tell you a little story" He said staring up at the trees as If they were listening with anticipation to every word he said, "It's a story from the Bible Nick! I hope you have read it. I told you to, but you don't follow directions do you. DO YOU!!!" I jumped back when he screamed the last two words. "Anyway, it's about the seven bowls." He paused and pulled out a cigarette from his jacket. I never even knew he smoked. "It's from Revelation the last book of the Bible, one of the shortest, yet the most powerful!" He stood up then and took in a deep breath as if ready to sing. He held up his hand, the hand with the cigarette in it, "I heard a mighty voice from the sanctuary!" He was talking in a deep loud stage voice as he recited ver batim, the words of the Bible, "Say to the seven angels, Go and pour out upon the Earth the seven bowls of God's wrath!" He began to laugh. He stopped to take a puff of his cigarette and then continued, "The first angel Nick, he went out and poured his bowl on man and it was full of sickness, boils and sores appeared on all men who came into contact with the bowl" He took his cigarette and proceeded to burn himself on the arm, clearly in pain, he winced, but didn't stop.
When he finally brought the cigarette away from his arm he stood there admiring his burn. "Yup, I bet it felt like that Nick. Painful, but it was God's will" At the mention of my name, I tried to back up but stopped when I broke a twig making a slight cracking sound. He looked my way but didn't see me. I had managed to hide myself pretty well amongst the pine needles and branches.
"Anyway, the second angel poured out the contents of the second bowl right into the sea. Can you guess what happened Nick?" Like I was gonna answer, oooh ooh pick me? pick me? I know! He paused for a moment but then continued, "It turned to blood"
He started to walk towards me once again, I didn't make a sound. "The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs, they also turned to blood!" He was definitely looking for me. Not looking, he was hunting. All he was missing was the bright orange jumper. "Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters cry You are just oh holy one, who is and who was passing this sentence!" He stomped out his cigarette inches away from where I was hiding. He sat down right next to me, "See, Nick, the people where worshiping their God! They were afraid but they understood" I knew he was looking and speaking to me, I just refused to look at him. I sat up coming face to face with him. He smiled. "It's destiny my young friend" I rolled away from him and stood up on my shaky legs. He sighed and stood himself, not walking towards me but away, back to his original post where he was at the beginning of the story.
He turned away from me, speaking a little louder so I could here him with his back turned, "Revelation 16:8, the fourth angel poured out HIS bowl on the sun. He was commissioned to burn men with fire." He turned back to face me, and that's when I knew I was going to die. In his hand was another cigarette which wouldn't have seemed so terrifying if it wasn't being held right next to a canister of gasoline. It must have been there the whole time but from my view point I didn't see it. Then I noticed the puddles all around me, from the pine needles that were my security blanket, to the log he was sitting on all wet, with the fluid. "Those burnt by the intense heat blasphemed God Nick!" I turned to run as he lit the cigarette and threw it onto the wooded floor. In seconds, the twigs caught fire and everything was beginning to burn. I felt the immense heat right at my back as Joe continued to scream about destiny and bowls. I had to stop and cough and found myself very dizzy. The smell of gas coming up on me quick.
I turned to see if he was coming up behind me, but I found myself hitting the ground. I closed my eyes and coughed, hoping I would die a quick painless death. The smoke and heat coming fast upon me, I was helpless...
Revelation by Mare
