Armageddon's Slaves Chapter one

Samuel snapped out of the reverie, in response to his wife’s demand that he get ready to go to Gathering.

“I’ll be down in a minute.”

He had no idea why he’d suddenly started thinking about an event that happened over eight years ago. Anyway, what he thought he remembered couldn’t be right. The Apostles knew better than to make a specific prediction. The Disciples let the excitement cloud their thinking. Somehow, his mind overlaid his hopes at the time onto the memory.     

He shouldn’t let negative thoughts overwhelm him. Lately, it took all his energy to drag himself out of bed and prepare to go to Gathering. He shoved the negative thoughts out of his mind, took a deep breath, and closed his briefcase.  That at least covered up the source of his thoughts. This morning’s Bible study guide contained yet another lesson about faith in the speedy arrival of Paradise on Earth.

No, he couldn’t think like that, of course the Great Day was near. If nothing else, he needed to focus on seeing his daughter in the resurrection – seeing your loved ones again in Paradise was point number four in today’s study. He put on a happy face like a mask, he did not want his wife asking about his mood. Who knew measles could kill a child?

David stood in the living room while his mother fussed over him. Judith said something about him looking like he’d slept in his Gathering clothes.

“Hey,” Samuel said with forced humor, “that sounds like a good idea. Saves time.” 

“Don’t encourage him.”

David suffered his indignity in sullen teenage silence. Probably today’s study had rubbed him the wrong way. David didn’t hide his desire to go to college when he graduated from high school in a few months. Point two in today’s study – don’t waste time on postsecondary education, Paradise will arrive before you get your degree. The same section made similar points about career advancement, which made Samuel wonder what he was going to say to his boss about the promotion. He’d turned it down last time during the excitement over 2008, something his manager did not understand at all. Of course, the Great Recession hit after that, putting expansion plans on hold. Which only proved The Word right about the short-lived nature of careers.

The car pulled out of the garage into cold sunshine a light dusting of snow still lay in shady spots.  Judith chattered on the way to the Gathering House, filing the silence from her husband and son.  Mostly she repeated “news” items passed on by her sister. Another black thought crossed Samuel’s mind, if Caleb Larson was going to chair the Servant Committee he should duct tape his wife’s mouth shut. No that was wrong, he needed to shut himself up, Sophia just passed on supposedly confidential information pried from her husband.

It didn’t help that Share and Judith’s brother was the  Spokane Area Servant and had no qualms about telling his sisters the latest news from New Jerusalem, the religion’s headquarters in Seattle.

“My attitude sucks,” he thought, “I’m thinking like an Outsider. Maybe we should take a couple of days, get a room on the coast. Talk about family plans. I need a change.”

He needed to think about the promotion, he honestly did not know what to do.  He needed to pray about it, and perhaps to talk to someone. For now, he’d try to pay attention to Gathering.

They arrived at the Gathering House, a plain wooden building set in one corner of a square lot. A few neglected shrubs grew in planters between lot and building, adding nothing to its mouse-brown color. 

They joined a stream of Disciples arriving for the Sunday morning Gathering. The building’s plain interior matched its exterior. Decorating their auditorium wasn’t important to Disciples. Rows of stackable metal chairs with fake leather seats faced a simple lectern on a low stage.

Sergei Ivanov tapped Samuel on the shoulder as soon as he walked through the door. The two men walked to a back corner to talk privately.

“Is there any reason you can’t take part in an informal review of Gloria Lighthorse?”

Normally Sergei was cheerful, the way his paunchy belly wiggled when he laughed was a well-worn joke among the Disciples that knew him. This morning, he was dead serious. Although he loathed the idea of sitting in judgment of a teenage girl, Samuel said he could be on the committee. Sergei said he wasn’t sure the matter needed a committee. He’d just heard a rumor the Servants needed to investigate.  After a first meeting, they’d discuss forming a committee.

At that moment, Caleb Larson stepped up to the microphone. Speaking formally, he announced the North Spokane Gathering of Disciples of The Word would begin Sunday Gathering. A brief musical interlude, played over a CD sound system began playing. Samuel saw movement out of the corner of his eye, Phil Peterson taking a seat in the back row.

Six months earlier, a Review Committee cast-out Phil, expelling him from the Gathering. Now, no one could even speak to him until he convinced the Servants of his repentance. Samuel wasn’t supposed to know what he’d done, since he had not served on the committee. But, as always, Sophia told Judith everything. Phil, contrary to rules about mixing with Outsiders, had a beer with some co-workers.  Several Disciple women, including Sophia, spotted him and claimed they saw him with his arm on an Outsider woman’s shoulder.

 Phil made no effort to hide, he’d waved at the Disciple women. When they reported the matter to the Servants, Phil denied touching anybody, the Servants didn’t believe him. Now he had to prove he was a good Disciple. Meanwhile, he sat in his car in the parking lot until it was time for Gathering to begin, while his wife chatted with friends, or at least those that still talked to her.  

As the CD switched to instruments only and the Gathering began singing, Samuel wondered what Gloria Lighthorse could have done to get herself into trouble. He didn’t want to hear about it. More negative thoughts, he tried, unsuccessfully to stop thinking about it. The Servants most important job was keeping the Gathering free of sin.  How could they receive The Lord Almighty’s blessing if they allowed wrongdoing to continue unchecked? Did that require treating people like lepers?

After the morning service, Samuel met Sergei, Gloria, and her parents in the upstairs library. They crowded into the small room, which barely held a table and four chairs.

“Gloria,” Sergei said with a smile, “why don’t you wait outside for a minute while Disciple Wilson and I talk to your folks.”

Gloria stepped out to the stairwell. As she closed the door, Samuel thought she looked terrified. For that matter, her parents looked frightened. He didn’t blame them. Sergei made an effort to set the parents at ease. He’d heard a rumor about their daughter, the Servants had to examine those involved to preserve the Gathering’s good standing before The Lord. He sought to guide Gloria’s development as a Disciple.

Sergei’s leadership was just fine with Samuel. This wasn’t his first time working through a problem with the Lighthorse family. A few years earlier, they had become involved in genealogical research, convinced that they were part Native American. After the Servants pointed out the impropriety of such investigation, based on Paul’s advice to Titus and Timothy, they abandoned the project. They still grumbled about losing a chance to get money from some tribe.

Samuel quickly learned that Gloria met several times with a boy, without a chaperone present. Her parents thought this might lead to trouble, could the Servants help them guide their daughter? Sergei smiled warmly and assured them they would. They also explained that they were doing everything possible to provide their daughter with guidance from The Word.

She knew, they said, that dating was not acceptable conduct. Somehow, when they let her go out for group evenings with other young ones from the Gathering she found a way to sneak out with her boyfriend. Samuel didn’t say anything, but Gloria used way too much make up, and dressed too provocatively. That did not excuse the boy’s conduct, but it didn’t help.

“Who’s the boy?” he asked, “we should talk to him, too.”

“Ricky Halbert.”

Inwardly, Samuel groaned. The kid was a pain. His father was Senior Servant of a Gathering on Spokane’s South Hill. Unlike most Disciples he had some money, as he owned a car dealership.  

More importantly, his brother was one of the Twelve Apostles, the Word of God Foundation’s board of directors. This made him influential within the Disciple community.

Gloria’s father went on to explain that several Servants thought the Halbert daughter would be a good influence on Gloria. That led to her developing a crush on Ricky.    

Sergei ushered Gloria in, and her parents out. She sat stiffly in her chair, and smeared her makeup trying to catch tears with a tissue. As Sergei asked questions, and received mostly monosyllabic answers, Samuel formed one quick opinion. Gloria Lighthorse, to put it bluntly, wasn’t very bright. 

She admitted to seeing Ricky, they had known each other for a few years and enjoyed each other’s company. Then she made a startling admission.

“My father is mean to me. He says I’m incorrigible, I don’t even know what that means. He says…” 

At this point she broke down. She cried uncontrollably, trying to talk through her sobs.

“He says he has to beat the devil out of me.”

Sergei and Samuel exchanged looks, now they had two problems.

“He hits you?” Sam asked, hoping he sounded gentle.

“Yes. I suppose I see boys I shouldn’t. I just want somebody to love me. I just want a Dad.”

At that moment, Caleb Larson burst through the door. Behind him, Samuel could see the clearly upset Lighthorses clinging to each other.

“I think, Disciple Jarvis,” Caleb snapped at Sergei, “that if you’re going to start a review matter you should inform the Gathering’s Senior Servant.”

“I’m not starting a review, I’m trying to determine if we need one.”  

 “I will decide that.” He reached behind him and slammed the door of the shut.

“Don’t cast her out,” Lizbeth wailed as the door closed, “she’s a good girl.”

Caleb sat in a chair directly across from Gloria and leaned close to her face. “We need to know if you had sex with the Halbert boy?”

Gloria had returned to crying, and smeared her makeup more, trying to compose herself. “Well…” she started to say something and collapsed into more sobbing.

“Come, answer my question! I’ve talked to Ricky’s father, I know you’ve been throwing yourself at him.”

“I don’t know. We’ve seen each other a few times. He kissed me and put his tongue in my mouth, does that count?”

Samuel almost laughed, but suddenly the whole conversation seemed sad. Caleb’s continued his questions. Did they touch each other?  

“He touched my…” she motioned toward her breasts, unable to keep talking.

Samuel made up his mind. This child needed help, not harsh discipline.

Caleb continued to hammer the girl with questions, like a prosecutor grilling a suspect on the stand. 

For her part, Gloria had completely lost her composure and cried uncontrollably.  Samuel realized that had Charlene lived, she would be about Gloria’s age. How would he feel if a bunch of middle-aged men asked her such intimate questions? Did they need to do that just now?

“Well,” Caleb announced suddenly, “I will start a committee to look into this formally. The Gathering must remain clean.”

Armageddon’s Slaves © Jeffrey Thomas  All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. All events and characters are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.