A little O/S.
Just for fun *giggle*
Huge thanks to my beta's, 'Writing2StayHalfSane' and 'Sweetishbubble'. My American English sucks big time!
A shout out to 'middlewife' for her pre-reading hints and encouragment :)
No copyright infringement is intended, S. Meyer owns it all. However, I can't resist dipping my toes in her pool.
THE END IS NIGH.
"The end of the world is at hand! Beware the wolf in sheep's in clothing! Take heed my friends…The end of the world is at hand!"
Bella tossed her head to her left, using her long brown hair to hide her eyes from the crazy man on his makeshift pedestal. She shuffled faster through the throng of people on the sidewalk. She wished she could take another route to work and avoid him altogether, but that would just make her late for work. She couldn't afford to be late again. Mr. Banner would kill her, or fire her at least.
And she needed her job; as insignificant as it was, it paid her rent. No rent money meant moving back in with Charlie. That was just not an option. Not since he had hooked up with Sue from the reservation. It was just too awkward to see her father in love after all these years. Especially when she was still single. Just…yuck. Renee and Phil were no better a choice either. Bella thought the honeymoon phase was supposed to be over after the first year. Obviously this was not the case for her mother and stepfather. They were still going strong, and besides, she hadn't been back in Phoenix since...forever.
Why did the man on the corner make her feel so uncomfortable? Why did she cringe from making eye contact with him? He was clean cut, tall, always dressed well, and was certainly not ugly. She appreciated his looks from a safe distance, of course. If she was entirely honest, it was his boldness that made her cringe. Never very brave herself, his courage to stand up there in front of strangers and shout his convictions made her feel ashamed. He seemed so fervent and passionate in his beliefs and made her feel humble.
So she avoided his eyes and his ridiculous message and rushed past hoping he didn't see her. Every now and then some poor unsuspecting person would get caught in his trap. At least that's how she thought of it-a trap. His victims were forced to listen to him babble on, and he would even show them a passage of scripture or two from his ragged and well used bible.
Those were the mornings she didn't have to hide behind her hair. Those were the mornings she could catch a glimpse of his emerald eyes and his bronze hair, of his broad shoulders and his well-formed ass.
But this morning she was late, and there was no time for well-formed asses. He was the reason she scoffed when her best friend Alice suggested she cut her hair. What would she hide behind if she cut her hair?
She roughly pushed opened the café's glass doors, the bells chiming loudly to announce her arrival. She felt Mr. Banner's eyes on her as she rushed past the breakfast crowd and quickly out to the back kitchen. She flung her backpack in her rusty locker and snatched an apron from the hooks. In a flash, she had her notepad and her pen tucked in the pocket at the front. She had a second to spare to tear the elastic tie off her wrist and wrap it around her long hair. Mr. Banner required all the girls to tie up their hair- for health standards she understood-but Bella hated it. Her hair was her wall, her hideaway from things she didn't want to face.
She rushed out of the kitchen and stepped behind the counter, placing herself in her usual position, manning the large coffee machine. Could she sneak in a latte? She saw Mr. Banner approach out of the corner of her eye. He was tapping the face of his watch impatiently.
"Excuse me, Miss, but can I order a tall cappuccino to go?"
Bella ignored Mr. Banner and looked up with a huge smile at the voice coming from the other side of the counter.
Her jaw dropped. It was him. The crazy preacher from the corner. Why hadn't she recognized his voice? Oh, those eyes were even more stunning when they were scarcely two feet away and looking deep into her soul. Bella's vision blurred as the man smiled. His teeth were perfectly straight and he had a small dimple in his chin. She smiled faintly. Why did his face appear to flicker in front of her eyes? Why did he look so surprised? Why was he suddenly so much taller?
"Hello?"
"She alright?"
Bella's head felt very foggy. Her eyelids were so heavy that she could barely open them. She squinted at the figure looming over her.
"Hello? Miss?" The emerald eyes were full of concern. She tried to lift her head, slowly taking in the cold hard floor and the stainless steel cabinets where they kept the sandwich supplies. Bella realized that she was on the floor. She also realized that the man with the green eyes was practically lying across the counter top and peering down at her. Bella cringed inwardly when she felt Mr. Banner's rough hand on her shoulder. She peeked out of half-closed lids to see his face. Granted, he looked partially concerned, but mostly he looked peeved.
Great, she was in trouble again. What did she do this time?
"Bella, you passed out!" Mr. Banner's gruff voice made it sound like an accusation.
Bella's mind quickly rummaged through her diet for the last few days. Okay, the rent was due and she had just used the last of her pay on the utilities, meaning two minute noodles had been her staple for almost a week. What was bad about that? She had a little change left for coffee, one of the five necessary and required food groups, so as far as she was concerned they were healthy choices. Obviously her blood pressure hadn't been in agreement. She suddenly remembered that she had missed breakfast too. She sighed in irritation.
She didn't like the attention, and the man with the concerned emerald eyes was making her feel uncomfortable. She tried to sit up.
Epic fail.
Her head swam and her stomach churned dangerously. She was suddenly grateful for missing breakfast. It just might have been launched across the cafe floor right now, had she had eaten it. Mr. Banner's hand on her shoulder had her pinned. She could hear the café stirring, the whispers of the curious patrons and the casual staff members still rushing to get the orders out. No wonder Mr. Banner looked exasperated. It was their busiest shift and she was wasting time lying on the floor and staring at a guy with broad shoulders and russet hair.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Banner—" Bella began but she was cut off before she had a chance to finish.
The ground suddenly moved. The café floor undulated and rolled and Bella thought she was falling into unconsciousness again.
Bella instinctually lifted her arms to cover her eyes as the commotion grew louder. The café was plunged into darkness as the large glass windows seemed to spontaneously implode. Shards of glass went flying across the room. The patrons screamed in fear and confusion and Bella found herself joining in.
What was happening? It sounded like there was a thunderstorm inside the café. Bella risked a quick glance, opening her eyes carefully and behind her palms, just in case the glass was still a danger. She couldn't see anything. A hazy smoke that stung her sensitive eyes and forced them shut filled the café. Mr. Banner was gone, the man with the green eyes had disappeared, and Bella was suddenly very scared.
Minutes dragged by and the noises from the street filtered into the café, frightening Bella even more. Garbled words, echoes of fear and pain filled the air. Bella rolled onto her side and curled herself into a ball. Thoughts of her empty stomach faded into the back of her mind as her sense of self-preservation kicked in.
Protect your vital organs, Charlie's voice rang in her ears.
Protect them from what, Dad?
Bella pushed thoughts of her father and mother out of her mind. She started to pray. She didn't really even know how to pray, but crazy words came flowing out of her mouth.
Oh, please help me, God.
I'll do anything if you can just get me out of this alive.
A loud scream pierced Bella's brain. She prayed harder.
I mean it, God.
If you let me survive this, I will do anything you ask.
And I mean anything!
I'll feed the poor, I'll-
She tried to think of things God valued.
I'll go to church,
I'll- I'll- I'll listen to the crazy guy on the corner!
I promise.
She was shivering as she whispered the last few lines.
The café fell silent.
Bella waited a few seconds until she felt safe enough to lift her head and see what had happened. She sat up gingerly, careful about where she placed her hands to avoid the glass that covered the linoleum floor. She turned her head all the way to the left. She peered past the steel cabinets. The body of Mr. Banner lay twisted awkwardly, only a few feet away from her. Blood pooled around his head and Bella knew he was gone. She swallowed the panic that threatened to bubble over. She held the insanity at bay. She didn't know how she did it; it was like she was floating in the third person, seeing all the chaos. However, the chaos didn't touch her. She drifted past it all.
Bella moved past the body of Mr. Banner and Mike, the latest kid hired on minimum wage for the busy breakfast shift. She didn't look at his lifeless eyes staring openly at the ceiling. She didn't look at the patrons of the café. She refused to see the broken bodies, the blood, the pain etched permanently in their features at the moment they passed. Instead she focused on the outside.
The sky was dark and if she didn't logically know it was early morning, she would have convinced herself it was twilight. The street looked deserted and ruined. Bella wondered if she had been suddenly transported to war torn Iraq, but she knew better. She knew this was still downtown Seattle. She vaguely wondered if the entire city had been hit like this or was it just their area. She broke into a run and stumbled down the street. She glanced into the familiar buildings and shops. She passed Con, the funny Greek guy who ran the local grocery store. He was staggering down the middle of the street. Blood leaked from a small cut on his forehead.
Bella blocked her ears as he wailed for his wife.
She ignored his plaintive cry for Maria.
She didn't have time for sympathy; she needed to see the next street and to confirm if it was the entire city. For some reason, she felt it was important knowledge. She skidded to a stop as she rounded the corner store. She had a good view of the west side from there.
She felt her legs crumple beneath her as the full impact of what she saw hit her. She knelt in the glass and debris, her eyes dropping to notice her faded blue jeans. Fresh and clean just a short time ago, they were now black from the dirt and rubbish. She rested her hands on her knees and let her head fall to her chest.
It was the whole city.
She picked up the scent of fire as what had not been destroyed in the blast- or whatever it was- caught alight. She could hear the survivors. She drew some comfort in hearing their cries but, ultimately, she had never felt so alone in her life. She thought about her family and her few friends.
Were they alright? Were they safe and worried about her?
She sensed a change in the atmosphere and quickly looked up. The sky rumbled as she raised her eyes heavenward. Her breath left her lungs in a gasp. The sky was blood red. No clouds, no sun, no moon. Just blood.
She shivered.
"Celestial phenomenon."
She heard the deep soulful voice and recognized knew who it was. She even had the sense to wonder briefly how he had survived. Wasn't he in the café when the windows exploded?
She turned to his voice.
He stood gazing at the sky. His green eyes were searching, and they moved back and forth before they rested on Bella. It wasn't his eyes that took her breath away. It wasn't his perfect teeth, or his slightly messy bronze hair. It wasn't the broad shoulders or the perfectly formed ass-which she couldn't see from this angle-it was something more stunning.
He was perfectly unharmed. His suit was still spotlessly clean, his face impeccable, his posture proud and steady. He was not fearful. He was not concerned. On the contrary, he looked practically ethereal. His determined face virtually glowed as he watched the dark horizon.
He spoke again and Bella found herself straining to hear his words.
"The sun will be turned to darkness. And the moon blood red, before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives."
Bella's thoughts ran wild, and she found it hard to focus. What did he mean? Was he on something? And yet deep down, she got it. The information filtered slowly but surely through her cerebral cortex.
He knew, standing on his little milk crate, shouting a warning to the people who passed by. He had the courage. He had the knowledge. He was prepared.
And what was the rest of the world doing?
An ancient lesson suddenly popped into her mind, a lesson learned when she was very young and Renee had gone on a religious binge for a month or two. The story of the flood, a story that Bella had loved, purely because of the animals. What were the people doing back then?
She remembered it clearly.
Eating and drinking, men marrying, and women being given in marriage. Until the day the flood came and swept them all away.
They hadn't listened to Noah's warning; they had been busy leading their daily lives. Not doing anything wrong, just...living. What was the point of the story?
Bella's religious instructor's words rang in her ears.
THEY TOOK NO NOTE.
Now it had happened again. People had taken no note and look where it had gotten them this time. No flood to drown all the wicked this time, but something just as deadly and devastating.
Bella felt the hysteria begin to bubble forth. It started with a wide eyed giggle but quickly burst into full blown laughter. She flung back her head as the crazy sound tore out of her dry throat.
Who was the guy in the clean suit?
A new age Noah?
A crazy harbinger of doom?
A simple messenger?
A modern day Messiah?
Bella wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
Would you want to?