Chapter 5… I liked this chapter! READ!

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Chapter 5: The Story

"Thanks a lot, Jack." Jack waved it off, "No problem. I needed the company."


Cliff was laying down on the couch. Jack was getting ready for bed. "Cliff, do you snore?" Jack asked partially as a joke. Cliff thought about it, "Um . . . I don't know. How am I supposed to know? I'm asleep at the time." Jack shrugged, "Can't argue with that logic."

"How are you feeling, Karen?" Ann asked. Karen sighed, "Ann, for the last time, I'm fine!" Ann sighed. Karen had been pretty edgy ever since they left Jack's house. Ann knew that Jack seemed to have that effect on Karen. When she was around him, she felt more relaxed. More calm when he was there. Or, at least, that's what she had told Ann.

Ten o'clock. Eleven hours until Jack and Cliff had to be at work.

Jack sighed and rolled over in his bed again. He just couldn't get to sleep. The image of Karen, bruised and broken, had hit him hard. It reminded him of his life as a teenager after his mother died. That was the first time he had ever experienced the painful experience of child abuse. It hurt more mentally than physically though. And seeing Karen's wild spirit broken like that, it brought back all the pain and suffering he had endured. She just sprained her ankle yesterday for Pete's sake. She doesn't need this. I bet she's had a pretty rough life too. An alcoholic father. My grandpa dying. From what Ann told me, she's not looked upon as a good person in this town. They think that she's too rude and mean. And now this. Jack sighed heavily. At least she has Ann. And now Cliff. He couldn't have come at a better time. I think she'll be able to get through this a lot easier with him being here.

Jack sighed and got up after another half-hour of tossing and turning. He just couldn't sleep.

Okay, he was up, but what now? He decided to take a walk. The unspoiled country sky was full of stars as far as the eye could see and there was a full moon out. These provided plenty of light for him as he walked through the large meadow at the base of the mountain.

The air was filled with the sounds of crickets chirping and owls hooting. It was so peaceful, but, at the same time, Jack could sense something . . . ominous about the place. Something about this place at night scared him. Not because of the sounds or whatever, it was just a gut feeling. There was something wrong here.

Jack, ignoring common sense and not going back home, continued walking. The sense of dread never left. He walked past the carpenter's house. As he walked, he gathered some of the berries that grew around the place. They wouldn't earn him much, but they could probably make a great tasting pie. All he'd have to do is grab a box of pie crust from the market and he'd be set! Maybe he could give it to Karen as a feel better present.

With this in mind, he began picking more.

He came to a strange clearing. Inside were flowers galore. Each one seemed to shine in the brilliance of the moon. There was also somebody in there that Jack couldn't recognize in the light.


Jack hid in the bushes. He heard the man talking in a low voice that Jack could barely hear. Talking to who? Jack wondered. His question was answered seconds later as a woman that he had not seen spoke back.

Unlike the man's voice, which he couldn't hear very well at all, he could understand the woman's voice easily. Jack was only able to pick up parts of the man's speech, "My Queen . . . have you . . . new man . . . the village. He . . . the grandson . . . farmer." Jack realized that the man with talking about him! "Do . . . anything . . . worry about . . . as we . . . his grandfather?"

The female spoke, "No. He does not hold the beliefs that his grandfather held. He will not be a threat to us. And if he is, we'll dispose of him just as we did him." The man laughed. "Yes . . . Queen. That . . . ingenious . . . that you thought of. Now we . . . nothing . . . worry about." He said.

"No!" The female yelled suddenly. The voice had changed so much during that outburst that Jack quivered. It hadn't sounded like a woman. It had sounded deep. Maybe even evil. "We do have someone to worry about! The newcomer! He's a great threat. He is weak now, but he can become stronger. When that happens, he will fool many in to following the Evil One. We can't let that happen." The deep voice had reverted back to the calm woman's voice. Could she have been talking about Cliff? What's this about? Jack thought to himself.

The man's voice was quivering when he spoke. Luckily for Jack it was slightly louder this time, "How should I dispose of him? Should I poison him as I did the old man?" Jack's eyes narrowed in anger. If his suspicions were correct, his grandfather had been murdered!

"No. It would look too suspicious. The old man was going to die soon anyway. You just sped it up some. This new man is younger, stronger. It would look suspicious for him to die of 'old age' so soon. No. It will have to look accidental." There was silence for many moments until the man spoke again, "How?" The woman's voice turned sinister again, "Oh . . . I'm sure you can think of something. We are at the base of a mountain after all." The man begun laughing. The woman, complete with deep voice, joined in. Jack shuddered at the sound.

"Now leave me." The woman said. "Yes, my Queen." There was the sound of feet shuffling closely and Jack hid deeper into the bush. The man walked briskly past and didn't look back. In the moonlight, Jack still couldn't see the man very well.

He waited for the woman to come out. She never did. Jack got out of his hiding spot and peered inside the clearing. There was no one there. He walked in slowly and silently. He looked around and found nothing unusual. He stepped over to where the man had been and saw two large footprints in the soft ground.

Suddenly, as if he had been hit, Jack blacked out and hit the ground with a thud. Before he completely fell unconscious, he heard the evil laughing of the woman that the man had been talking to . . .

Jack awoke with a start. He was drenched with sweat and he was breathing hard. "Nightmare?" Jack jumped at the voice. It took him a few seconds to recognize the voice of Cliff.

Jack sighed and relaxed slightly. "Yeah." Cliff nodded. "What time is it." Jack asked. Cliff shrugged, "I dunno. You don't have a clock in here." Jack sighed and looked at his watch. His eyes widened when he saw the time. "It's eight forty-five!"

CRACK! Jack wiped his sweaty brow with a handkerchief and picked up the pieces of lumber that he had just separated from a log.


"Okay, boys! That's enough!" Joseph yelled loudly enough for them to hear. It was five o'clock and Jack and Cliff were completely exhausted. jack thought that he had never been more tired in his life. Cliff, well . . . Cliff was tired, but he was used to this kind of work. Wandering around from town to town for five years had that affect of a person.

"So, what are you going to do?" Ann asked Karen. Karen sighed, "I don't know. If I go to work, I run the risk of seeing my dad. If not, I might get in trouble with Duke." Ann looked at Karen, "I don't think you should go. Good standing with Duke is not worth potential future injuries."

Karen was angered by this. Ann didn't understand the other reason Karen wanted to go to work. Well, she'd have to tell her. "You may love Flowerbud, but I don't! I hate this town more than anything else! I'm getting out of here as soon as I got the money!" Ann looked down hoping that Karen was finished. She wasn't. "How am I supposed to get the money if I don't show up for work?" Ann didn't answer. "Well?!"

Jack was about to follow Cliff out of the meadow, but something caught his eye. Not too far from the carpenter's house was a small enclosed area. Jack's breathing became short and fast as fear overtook him.

Jack walked tentatively into the clearing and peered around. He was avoiding looking at the ground by the small pond from his dream though.

Finally, when he looked everywhere else, he looked down. There were two footprints facing the pond. Jack's eyes widened and he blinked a few times. After his last blink, the prints just disappeared. Jack stared at the spot for a few more moments and began blinking again. Nothing. It was as if the footprints never had existed.

Jack sighed heavily and smiled. This was followed by soft laughter. "I must be going insane. First I had that dream, and now I'm seeing footprints. Yep. I'm going insane."

All sound disappeared from the meadow abruptly. Jack paused in his laughter. There wasn't a single natural sound anywhere. No crickets chirping. No birds singing. No bees buzzing.

Jack laughed nervously and immediately ran out of the meadow to catch up with Cliff.

"So, Jack. Do you know where that Ann lives?" Cliff asked as the two walked toward Jack's farm. Jack nodded, still shaken by the his experience in the meadow. Cliff smiled, "What do ya say we go see how Karen's doing?" Jack's mood brightened, "Yeah. Why not?"

Karen just barely made it to the bar before it opened. She went inside and immediately began wiping down the tables and the counter. Why did I blow up at Ann like that? She asked herself over and over again. She was only trying to help.


Duke walked in through the back door and was surprised to find Karen there. "Karen! I thought you were hurt. A broken ankle or something." Karen sighed, "It was a sprained ankle and I'm fine now." Duke nodded and then noticed all of the bruises on Karen's face. "What about those bruises? You look like you were beat up." Karen scrambled for an answer. "Ann and I got in a fight." She lied. Duke was silent for a few moments, "Have you two made up?" Karen nodded curtly and started mopping the floor.

Duke walked over to her and grabbed the mop from her hands. "Go home, Karen. You look exhausted." Karen actually almost took him up on his offer, but her pride kicked in and she snatched the mop back. "I'm fine."

Jack knocked on the door to Ann's house. Ann answered it, "Jack, Cliff, what are you two doing here?" Jack answered, "We're here to see you and Karen." Ann looked toward the floor, "Karen . . . Karen's not here." Jack looked at her in confusion. "Where is she?" Ann looked up at him, "She went to work." Jack's eyes widened, "In her condition?! Is she insane?!" Ann laughed, "No. She's just determined . . ." Jack sighed and started heading out of Green Ranch. "Jack! Where are you going?" Cliff called. Jack turned around, "The only place to go. The bar."

The bar was a madhouse tonight. Karen didn't know why tonight was any different, but she had heard rumors of a contractor coming over to Flowerbud for some reason. "Karen! Another round!"–was yelled by the one and only Kai. "Just a second!" She growled and then she turned back to her customers . . .

Jack ran through the village wondering what exactly he was going to say to Karen to get her to come back to Ann's house with him. When he arrived at the bar, he still had no idea. He sighed before entering the bar; he'd just have to play it by ear . . .

"So . . . Karen wants to leave Flowerbud?" Cliff asked. Ann nodded, "Yeah. She says that she wants to go to the city." Cliff nodded and sat back in his chair. He sighed heavily, "She doesn't know what she's getting into . . ."

Jack pushed the door open only to find himself just barely ducking a flying shot glass. "What the–?"

The bar was in an uproar. Nearly the entire male population of Flowerbud, not to mention a few females, was there. "What's going on here?" Jack asked while staring in horror at the chaos. And Karen was right in the middle of it . . .

Karen couldn't believe the chaos that seemed to overtake the small bar. The bar had only been open for an hour and, already, it had become one of the worst nights Karen had ever seen. In between the noise and Kai's constant hitting on her, Karen wished she had just stayed at Ann's. Nothing was worth this.

The door opened, ringing the little bell, and Karen saw Jack step into the building, only to, just barely, avoid getting beaned by a flying shot glass. Karen caught sight of the man who had thrown it, it was none other than Kai. Ooh . . . he's gonna get it. Karen thought to herself.

"KAI!" Karen yelled. Jack watched as Karen stormed up to a black man, presumably named Kai. 'Kai' turned to look at Karen. "Yes, Angel?" He said in a slurring voice so the 'yes' came out more as 'yesh'. "Don't you 'angel' me! I saw you throw that glass!" Kai gave an innocent look, "I don't know what you're talking about." This only made Karen angrier. "Why you little weasel." Karen grabbed Kai's shirt and pulled him out of the chair. "Out!" She shoved Kai toward the door.


Kai spun around to glare at Karen. "I'll leave when I want to." Karen smirked and pushed Kai once more. This time, he fell to the ground near Jack's feet. "I said, 'Get out!'"

Kai got back up and walked slowly toward Karen. Anger shone through his eyes. He only stopped when his face was inches from Karen's. "Don't ever push me again. If you do, this will happen." Kai, too fast for Karen to react, punched her in the gut.

Karen doubled over in pain only to be ripped back upward by her hair. He brought his hand to slap her only to have it ripped backward with such force that it felt like it nearly dislocated his shoulder.

Kai yelled out in pain and whirled to face his adversary. The only thing he saw was a fist right before it connected with his jaw.

Kai stumbled backwards and crashed into the bar itself. By now, people had noticed the struggle, but instead of helping, they just watched. Duke was nowhere to be seen.

Kai got back up after a few moments and charged at Jack. Jack simply sidestepped him, grabbed his arm, and threw him into the wall. Kai groaned and promptly blacked out.

Jack ignored the watching eyes and walked over to Karen. "Come on, Karen. We're going back to Ann's house." Karen stared Jack down, "I'm not going anywhere! I have work to do." Duke entered the bar from the back room. It only to a few seconds to sum up that there had been a fight, in which, Kai got knocked unconscious. He figured that Karen was in no shape to work tonight.

"Karen! Do you want to be around when he wakes up?" Jack asked. "Jack! It's my job! I can't just leave!" Duke stopped her from saying anything else, "It won't be your job any longer if you don't go home." Karen looked at him in astonishment. "W–what?" Duke smiled slightly, "Karen, I am suspending you from work until you are better. If you don't go now, I won't hesitate to fire you." Karen was stunned at this, "But–" Duke cut her off, "You can come back to work in two weeks."

Karen glared at Jack and stormed out of the bar. Jack sighed and looked back at Duke. "Thanks for the help." Duke just nodded curtly.

Jack exited the bar, but not before grabbing Karen's jacket off of the coat rack

"Ann . . . I need to talk to you about something." Cliff said quietly. This is it . . . I can't believe I'm going through with this . . . What if I ruin our friendship? What if she hates me for it? I really like her, I don't want to push her away before we even had a chance . . . Cliff's mind turned to a phrase that had been burned into his head over and over. "I'd rather you hate me and know the truth, then love me and perish." Ann cleared her throat, jarring Cliff from his thoughts. "I asked, 'What is it?'."

Jack ran down the road looking high and low for Karen, but she was nowhere to be found. He found his first clue when he saw the open door that led into some kind of church.


"Ann, do you remember when I said earlier that I had come here to see my family?" Ann nodded. Cliff sighed, "Well. That was only part of the reason why. You see, the other reason why is . . . to shake the foundations of your main religion here." Ann just looked at Cliff in confusion, "W–what do you mean?"

Jack peered inside of the old church. Inside, a gentle sob could be heard. Jack walked slowly into the church and peered around. He caught sight of Karen moments later. She sat in a pew that was directly in the middle of the church.

Jack walked silently toward Karen. He only took his eyes off her once, and when he did he caught sight of a statue of a woman in a frilly dress. Lifeless eyes deep into him. It felt like they stared straight into his soul. Goose bumps formed everywhere on Jack's arms and his hair stood on end. There was something seriously eerie about that statue.

"How can you say that?!" Ann cried half in anger and half in disbelief. "You show up out of nowhere and you come claiming that things I put my life into are all a sham?! Some fake, lifeless idol?!" Cliff sighed, "Quite frankly . . . yes. That's exactly what I'm claiming." Ann glared at Cliff angrily, "Why?! How can you be so arrogant to think that you are right and the rest of us are wrong?!" Cliff smiled slightly, "Because, Ann. I've seen him."

Jack plopped down on the pew, that Karen sat in, making himself known. Karen never looked up, although she was trying to compose herself. Finally, after many failed tries, she managed to stop crying and to look up into the eyes of Jack.

Jack wasn't looking back at her though. He was actually looking at the statue of the goddess and was upon the small platform where Pastor Brown spoke from every Sunday.

"It's the statue of the goddess." Karen said quietly. Jack jumped and looked back at her. Karen's eyes widened. Although it was pretty dark in the church, she could still see fear, or some emotion like that, in Jack's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Ann asked in a voice so quiet that it was nearly a whisper. It was as if she was scared to find out. Cliff sighed slightly as memories flooded his mind . . .

"My family used to come here . . ." Karen said sadly. "Every Sunday we'd be here. We were highly respected in the village at that time." Jack listened quietly. "That is, before my Grandmother died. I guess . . . she was the one that made us go all along. When she left us . . . we just stopped. We stopped just like the vineyard stopped giving good wine." There was complete silence for a few moments.

Jack finally spoke minutes later, "Karen?" Karen looked at him, silently prompting him to continue. "I've been meaning to ask you . . . What exactly did my Grandfather leave you?"

"I didn't believe all of these things a year ago. I had heard it all my life, but I never figured it out. In fact, as I grew and matured, I began to resent all of the 'fanatics' out there who claimed, 'Repent! Repent!'. I ended up persecuting them, not physically, mind you, but vocally. I'd make fun of anyone who dared to mention Jesus to me. I'd make fun of them more than anyone else. Even when most of them decided to give up on me, I'd continue to make fun of them.


"I soon realized that people had stopped preachin' to me after a while. I didn't stop though. When I ran out of Christians to make fun of, I started going to churches. I'd stand up right in the middle of the sermon, and interrupt the preacher. I'd raise questions that the pastor couldn't answer right away and then mock him because of it, calling him a 'wondrous man of God', sarcastically, of course, among other stinging names.

"I even ended up making the congregations doubt their pastors. I'd spread all kinds of rumors. From adultery to thievery. I soon became known as a menace to Christians. Nobody dared speak to me about it anymore.

"Anyway, about nine months ago, I was walking toward yet another church I could terrorize. When I saw the church something amazing happened. There was a bright flash and suddenly I wasn't on the concrete sidewalk anymore. I was on a dirt road following a man in some kind of robe. Along with him were a few other men. Once again, there was a bright flash and a man appeared in front of this first man. The words he said scared me horribly, because at that time, I realized what I was seeing. It was a story that had been told to me by countless Christians.

"'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' The man asked. 'Saul' replied, 'Who are you?' The man seemed to look past Saul and straight at me when he spoke. 'I am Jesus, the one you persecute!' Paul trembled and so did I. Paul asked, 'What do you want me to do?' Once again the man, this Jesus, seemed to look straight at me. 'Continue on to Damascus. I will give you further instructions there.'

"Jesus disappeared after that and Saul continued on down the road. But I didn't move. I just stayed still, trembling. Finally, the world flashed again and I was back on the sidewalk that led to the church. But before the vision completely faded, Jesus' first words that he had spoken to Saul rang out in my head. But, instead of 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?', I heard 'Cliff! Cliff! Why do you persecute me?'."

"It was a recipe of some sort. It's a wine recipe. I think . . . it's my Grandmother's wine recipe. If it is, then the vineyard will, finally, be able to prosper again." Jack nodded, "Okay. But . . . why'd your Grandmother give it Grandpa?" Karen looked at Jack, "I . . . I don't know."

Ann was silent, but when she tried to speak, Cliff cut her off. "I only have one more thing to say. I want to tell you what happened afterwards." Ann nodded telling him, silently, to go on. This was very interesting to her.

"Well, I continued, mindlessly, to the church. I wasn't really planning on doing anything, good or bad, at the time; I just felt like the church was calling me somehow. I couldn't really resist it in my state of shock.

"I got to the church in a matter of seconds. I walked inside, still mindlessly, and walked into the main room, ignoring the greeters, and, worse, the people appalled to see me there. I just walked straight into the room.

"In there, the band played soft music and the pastor was getting ready to begin his sermon. I, somehow, ended up in a pew. Completely alone. Nobody dared sit next to me.

"The pastor was in deep prayer for some reason and I found out why seconds later when he said, 'I was planning on preaching a sermon on Revelation today, but the Lord has something else in mind. If everyone can turn, in their Bibles, to Acts 9, we can get started. After that, he began reading the exact story I just told you. With the exception of me not being there, of course."

Cliff was getting kind of emotional now. He found it hard to speak. "When he finished, he asked if anyone wanted to receive Jesus into their hearts. I was the first to stand up and go down to the altar. Of course, when the pastor saw this, he was scared that I was about to mock him or that I was tricking him. But, out of nowhere, he changed his mind about me. I didn't know why then, but afterwards he told me. He had a dream the night before, telling him that I would be coming to the church, and that my heart would be ready to receive…"

"I gave my heart to Jesus that day. I'm not done though, for I need to tell you the name of that little church." Ann nodded once more. "That church, where I gave my heart to Jesus, was called Road to Damascus Community Church."

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--Ben