Universal

Chapter 7

Troy drove carefully along the bumpy dirt highway. Judson was in the seat next to him, freshly discharged by the hospital and grabbing his bruised body with every uneven spot that the old truck's tires went over. 

"I'm sorry, Jud." Troy sympathized. " I'm tryin' my best to take it easy."

"The condition of the road isn't your fault. I did want to ask you though," Judson said looking over to Troy. "How hard did you hit me, cause these bruises are no joke!?"

Troy chuckled, "As hard as it took to knock the sense to stay alive into you!" They both laughed at this, then continued on in silence for a few miles. 

Finally, Troy broke the silence. "Hey Jud," he said. 

"Yeah?"

"What was it like when you...."He didn't know what words to use.

"When I died?" Judson supplied. 

Troy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He hoped it didn't bother Judson that he asked, but the dreams had made Troy curious. "Yeah," Troy said, "what was it like?"

Judson stared out the window, fixing his eyes on a spot far off in the distance. "It was dark." He said. "For a minute, I was still there. I couldn't see or hear anything around me, but I was still alive. I felt trapped in a dark room and I could feel death looming around me. Almost like the walls I couldn't see were moving in."

"Were you scared?" Troy asked.

"If I wasn't already more than half dead, it would have scared me half to death." he replied. "It felt like something bad was there in the dark with me. The last thing I remember is being dragged off into the darkness and I couldn't do anything to stop it."

Troy's throat went dry and he could feel his heart beating in his chest. He didn't know what to say. What Judson had just described was so much like the dreams he had. Troy was having a hard time chalking it up to coincidence. Finally he found a couple of words. "Did you ever see a field of flowers?"

Judson was confused by this question. "A field of flowers?" he asked. 

"Yeah, you know...like something peaceful to let you know it would all be ok?" 

"No," Judson answered. "Nothing like that. I saw the dark room, I was pulled away, then I woke up and saw you and Patricia. What's this with a field of flowers?" 

"Ah, nothing important." Troy tried to brush it off. "When I was a kid, my Grandma' died and I was taking it real hard. My mama told me that she imagined that when you die you go to a place that's calm and beautiful and it puts your soul at peace. She told me that my Grandma's favorite place was a field of flowers in the summertime and we always just assumed that's where she went.  I was just wonderin' if you got to go somewhere like that."

"It sounds beautiful," Judson said, "But I never saw the flowers. Maybe you saved me before I got there."

"Maybe." Troy said. 

The rest of the trip was made in silence. 

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When the old truck made the turn off of the highway onto the driveway leading to Judson's home both men leaned forward to try and make out the figure they could see on the porch of the old house. Troy had finished the siding while Judson was in the hospital and he had begun the job of replacing the porch. All he had left to do was add the railing. As they made their way closer they could see, standing there beside a pile of lumber was pretty little Patricia Stanfield waving her handkerchief at them with a mile wide smile on her face. 

As they parked the truck in its home under the pecan tree she ran to greet them. "Mr. Camp!" She said, opening his door for him. "I am so so glad to see you up and about!" She was talking a mile a minute, not once giving Judson a chance to reply to anything she had said. Instead he just smiled as he listened to her. "We thought for sure you had gone on to meet your maker!" She continued. "I figured you boys would be hungry as horses when you finally made it home, so I brought you by some supper. Chicken and dumplins' with a home made apple pie!" 

She was one one side of Judson, and Troy was on the other. With Judson's arms draped over their shoulders, they led the older man inside the house. It was easy to see that a lot of work had been done while Judson was away. The steps of the new porch felt sturdy under Judson's feet. The door, freshly secured on new hinges opened easily to the most picturesque little house he had ever seen. Judson blinked, expecting the sight in front of him to go back to what he remembered. He was pleasantly surprised when it didn't.  The old walls had been covered with new panels of wood, and the windows had been framed with red checkered curtains. A braided rope rug was in the center of the floor and there was a freshly made cot under a window on the far side of the one room house, a place for Troy to sleep. Patricia had set the table with 3 settings, and as he only had 2 chairs she had used an old milking stool for the third seat. There were wildflowers in a jar on the table and a heavenly aroma of a hearty home cooked meal filled the room. 

"Patricia Ann," Troy said with a gasp. "You have outdone yourself!"

"I agree with loverboy." Judson said as they lowered him into a chair at the table. "The house looks amazing, and this food..." he sniffed deeply, "woo, it makes me happy to be human!"

The young couple laughed as they took their seats as well. 

The trio ate and conversation passed easily between them. It was nice to be home, Judson decided. He knew he could get used to this, and that thought scared him. They were running out of time. It wouldn't be long before the Evil One realized that he hadn't been successful in getting rid of Judson, and they had to be ready for his next attack. Judson would have to tell Troy the truth soon, as he feared the results might not be so pleasant when the Evil One struck again. 

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If only Judson had known how close the evil loomed, he would have told Troy the truth at supper that night. Not far from the house, close enough to see through the window, the Evil One stood. He was watching them. Disgust and hatred oozed from the being like a bad stench. The thin lips around his disturbing mouth twisted in anger over what he saw. 

"How can this be?" He said to the nothingness around him. "How does this human live?" He had been sure that the bolt of lightening he had sent would be more than enough to finish the job. He hadn't expected the boy to be strong enough of heart to bring The Creator's Redemption back from death. It was time to forge a new plan, the Evil One thought. Like a snake slithering into his hole, the Evil One vanished back to the hell he had come from.