Jesus is Coming Soon

Chapter 9- Get Rid Of It

        Steven comes in my room, while I’m reading a book. The book is about a man who is deeply in love with a woman, even though the woman doesn’t even know he exists. It’s a very cliche book and I really don’t like it.

“May I come in?” Steven asks.

I smile. “You are already in, aren’t you?”

He smiles back and says, “I guess so,”

     I point to the chair next to me, and he sits down. He looks nervous, like he has to tell me something very important. I am afraid of what he might say and my breathe is very short. There is just silence between us.

     “Is there something you have to tell me?” I ask, breaking the quietness in the room.

     He looks up at me. His face is really red. Did he do something terrible? I am wondering what he is going to say. My gosh, will you already talk? I say to myself, meaning it for him.

     “I’m sorry, for it is very hard for me to speak,” he concedes.

     Well, I can totally see that, I say to myself.

     “But, I will like to say something to you. Tara and I were just talking and she was talking about how you like me. I think. Well, I was wondering, do you love me?” he spills it out.

     I am amazed by this. I never thought that Steven was feeling this way. I mean, I knew that he and I have been together forever, but like this.

     I mean, you kiss him. A lot of times. You even hold his hand and hug him a lot. I would say that you love. A lot. These thoughts are appearing in my head. Do I love him?

     “What kind of question is that, Steven? Of course I love you. You are the one who has stood by me ever since the rapture. I love you with all of my heart and I will do anything just to be with you,” I pour out my heart.

     I feel this certain relief. It’s like the pain just went away. I can tell Steven is surprised and quite happy. Steven scoots over and hugs me like never before, and I am certainly overcome by it. I am excited to tell Tara, not only because I want her to be jealous and stay away from Steven, but because I want her to feel my happiness.

    I run into Tara's room and jump on her bed. She is reading a magazine filled with women modelling for really expensive clothing. What is interesting about the girls is that, they have marks on their foreheads and right hands. I wonder why Tara is looking at the magazine, if she doesn't have the mark.

       "Guess what?" I ask.

       Tara sits up and hugs her pillow. She smiles and asks excitingly, "What? What's the news?"

       I take a deep breath and say, "I just told Steven that I love him. We are starting to go out!"

       Tara looks a little disappointed, but she gives me a high five.

       "Do you wanna go somewhere?” I ask. The underground shelter is very boring and short of air. All day, everyone is cooped up.

     “I don’t know. Steven said not to leave. We could get caught, you know,” Tara says unsure.

     I take her hand and drag her out of the bed. I bring her bag, thinking she has some survival gear. I give it to her and we go out in one of the secret passage ways. Before we leave, we make sure Steven isn’t looking. He is in his room, taking a nap. I can hear his snores. He sounds like a large bear and thunder mixed together.

     I lead the way, knowing all the curves and turns. Steven and I made a map, just in case one of us gets lost. Tara is looking around, touching the walls. The tunnels are dark, terrifying, and sometimes dangerous. We never know what can be down here.

     One time, while Steven was working on the tunnels, he saw something. It was big, like a large rodent. It was a huge rat. Its squeak was so annoying and its tail was huge. Steven killed it with his shovel and he brought it to me. I thought it was so disgusting. How the blood dripped down from its mouth, and how its eyes were opened and grey. Steven thought it was cool, which made me lose a little trust from him.

     We are now outside. I forgot all about the green in the trees and the clearness of the air. I forgot about all the animals and small flies in the air. Of course we have a window, so we can tell of any intruders. Still, it’s not the same of seeing everything in person. In real life.

     Our shelter is located in the woods. The farthest part of the woods. Tara is afraid of the woods. She is afraid of bugs, weird looking plants, and also small animals. I find a large stick, a walking stick. I pick it up and swing it, making sure it doesn’t break. Yep, it’s a good stick. I feel mosquitos biting me on the neck, legs, and arms. I try to swat them away, it’s like they are glued to me.

     “Tara, do you have any spray? These mosquitoes won’t leave me alone,” I ask. She doesn’t answer. I turn around and find out that she’s not there. I look on the around, hoping she didn’t leave me.

     “Are you done?” someone asks.

     I am very confuse, but answer them, “I don’t know what you mean?”

     I wait for an answer. “Swinging that thing. You almost hit me,” they reply.

     I cross my arms. “I know it’s you, Tara. I am done, so you can come out now.”

     She comes out. “So, what were you asking me?” she asks with an attitude.

     “Well, I was wondering if you had something in your bag. Like a spray or something. These mosquitoes are killing me right now,” I say.

     She goes into her bag and shakes her head. “Nope. All I have is my credit card. Sorry,” she apologizes.

     Wait! She has her credit card. We have to leave now. If we keep that card, we could be arrested by the police or the government. And then, they are going to figure out where we live and destroy everything.

“Tara, we need to get rid of that card. They could find us and we would get our heads chopped off and die!” I say, terrified.

The sound of death makes Tara shiver with fear. I grab her hand and we hurry back to the underground shelter. I have an idea that will help us out of this mess.