End Zone (Book Five)-4
1376 Words
“Did you hear that?”
“No,” whispered Allie in the cold, musty darkness.
“I think someone’s coming.”
It had been a few hours since the girls had been taken to an old house somewhere in Minneapolis by Billie. There, they’d been welcomed by a small group of people, who were now holding them prisoner in a bedroom up in the attic.
Allie sat with her back against the wall, staring down at the quiet baby in her arms, who surprisingly, hadn’t slept or fussed for hours. In fact, Adria gazed up at her intently, and she almost felt like the baby was trying to somehow console her.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered down at her. “I’m scared too, but I haven’t given up yet. Neither should you.”
“Hey, did you hear me?”
Allie sighed. “Yes,” she replied, trying to remain calm. As much as she wanted to remain positive, the truth was that they were being held prisoner by a bunch of psychopaths, and nobody knew where to find them. Not Cassie, Kristie, or even Bryce. “Well, maybe they’ll bring us some food, I’m starving.”
The noises out in the hallway drifted away and Kylie crawled over to them. “I wouldn’t trust eating their food. They might poison us or something. Anyway, we have to try and escape, before they hurt Adria.”
She held the baby closer. “I’m surprised they haven’t tried taking her from us.”
“I think they’re afraid to touch her.”
“Good. Crazy whackos. Do you really think that Adria is what they say she is?”
Kylie lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling. “The ‘Chosen One’?”
“Yeah.”
She paused for a few seconds. “Oh, I don’t know. Heck, I don’t even know what being the ‘Chosen One’ really means.”
“What about the ‘End of Days’ thing you were talking about before? The signs of the apocalypse and all that?”
Kylie sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, they never mentioned anything about a baby or any other kind of person saving the world. This just doesn’t fit in to what it is supposed to say in the Bible.”
“Have you read it?”
“No. I’m just going by what I saw on cable.”
“I haven’t read the Bible either. It just looked so long and confusing. What else did it say on that documentary show?”
Kylie sat back up. “Well, from what I remember, there would be a lot of bad things happening, like the seas turning red, earthquakes, volcanoes, and then complete darkness. There were also supposed to be two evil men who would join forces. One of them gets possessed by Satan, making him the Antichrist. They referred to all three of them as the ‘Unholy Trinity’.”
“Now that’s confusing,” said Allie, wishing she would have gone to church more. To her, church had always made her sleepy and even a little bored.
“I know. You’ve heard of the ‘Holy Trinity’, right? Father, Son, Holy Spirit?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, this ‘Unholy Trinity’ is supposed to be Satan’s mockery of that. So, it’s Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.”
“Is the Antichrist supposed to be Satan’s son or something?”
“Not sure. I think that Satan takes over his body though, or something later.”
“Oh, well what about the False Prophet? Where does he fit in to all of this?” she asked, now really getting the chills. All of this talk about the Devil was freaky.
Kylie thought back to what they’d said. “Um... oh yeah, I think the other dude is supposed to try and turn people away from God or something. That’s why they called him a ‘False Prophet’.”
“Oh.”
“This just doesn’t seem right, though. This isn’t happening the way they explained it. And I definitely don’t remember anything about a ‘Chosen One’.”
Allie rubbed Adria’s back. “Honestly, the more I think about it, the harder it is to believe that a small baby could have that kind of power and be able to save the world.”
“Well, those people in the next room obviously believe that she is a real threat. I think they’re planning something for her and I’m getting some really bad vibes about it.”
Allie studied Adria’s face. All she could see was a pretty baby blowing bubbles and making gurgling noises. “Adria can’t even crawl yet, how is she supposed to be a threat to anyone?” she replied as the baby tried to grab a lock of her blond hair.
Kylie reached over and touched the baby’s head. “I know. Obviously, they’re all wacked in the head and all of that talk about the End of Days happening right now is really just a bunch of crap. We have to keep her safe from those delirious freaks. No matter what.”
Voices on the other side of the doorway startled them. Kylie and Allie stood up and backed away from the door.
“Ah... here are my girls,” said Billie, turning on the light.
A younger woman stood behind him, carrying a metal tray. She smiled pleasantly.
“Why are you just sitting around here in the darkness?” asked Billie. “There’s a generator, you know. The lights actually do work.”
Neither girl responded, just stared in unease as the couple stepped closer.
“We brought you some food. I’m sure you’re famished,” he said, motioning toward the tray as the woman set it down on the old pine nightstand next to the bed.
Allie stared at the cheesy pizza and cans of grape soda; her stomach growled.
“See, you’re hungry,” said Billie. “You girls must like pizza? Am I right?”
They both nodded.
He grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “Just what I thought. As you can see, there is a lot of cheesy goodness on the pizza, and it’s probably one of the last ones edible on this planet.” He inhaled. “Smell that sauce? Let me tell you, I had a piece of this earlier, and it’s to die for.”
Kylie glanced at Allie, her eyes wide.
“Come on now, don’t let this treasure go to waste,” he prodded, lifting one of the plates. He held it under Allie’s nose and smiled again as she bit her lower lip. “It’s all yours. Don’t be foolish and waste such a treat.”
Allie, unable to take the smell or the hunger tormenting her inside, turned to Kylie. “Maybe one piece wouldn’t hurt? We haven’t eaten for such a long time.”
Kylie frowned. They’d just talked about this. “Allie.”
Allie sighed.
“Look, even the baby wants some,” giggled the woman.
Adria, staring at the mouthwatering food, tried reaching for the plate.
“No,” said Allie, stepping away from the pizza. “You can’t have that, Adria. I’m sorry.”
“Oh... hell, just give her some,” said Billie as Adria began to whimper in frustration. “She needs to eat. Just like you two.”
“But not this, she’ll choke. Do you have any bottled water?” asked Kylie. “She’s dehydrated and needs water.”
“I’ll see what we can find,” he replied. He turned to Jenny and nodded.
Allie’s stomach rumbled again; she wanted nothing more than to eat. “Billie, please let us go,” she begged. “We just want to get back to our families.” And food we can trust, she thought.
“Tell you what,” he said, sitting down on the bed. “If you do what you’re told and help me with something, I’ll release you.”
“Help you? With what?” asked Kylie.
A cold smile spread across his face. “Retribution.”
3
Cassie
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- Writer
