Chapter 182
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On Wednesday September 20th Eve had the day off from the farm. Amy went to the farm early, let Eve sleep in. When Eve finally woke up she saw mr Sanchez outside, feeding that stray cat. She decided to approach him, since he seemed in a better mood than usual.
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Eve: Does he have a name?
Sanchez: She. And I'm calling her Selena.
Eve: Like Catwoman. Cool.
Sanchez: We humans let them down. We should be taking care of these animals, not letting them starve like we do.
Eve: I know. I used to have a dog, Cujo, my dog put Cujo to sleep while I was helping to build an Ark.
Sanchez: This cat has more right to live than a lot of humans these days. I don't think I'd want to be on an Ark, not that they'll ask a man my age to come in anyway. I'd rather be reunited with my beloved wife. I hope my son gets chosen, carries on the family name. I gave forty years to the corps, to this country. Either ELE comes or not. They say this is the end of the United States of America. If that happens, as an old marine, I'd rather die with my country.
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On Saturday September 23rd Eve walked by a church having services. It wasn't unusual for churches to have Saturday services since 2/4. The people going inside seemed nervous. That might have something to do with the guy carrying a big sign outside. It said "Beware the devil's mark. Beware 666." That number sounded familiar to Eve for two reasons. She remembered christians fearing that number signifying the devil for some reason. She wan't sure exactly what the connection was, but it came to signify evil. Eve also remembered that today marked exactly 666 days until impact. Eve realied it was just a superstition, just a number with no power. But seeing this did frighten Eve. She found herself wondering if her mosque was having services today.
It wasn't too unusual for Eve's mosque to hold prayer services on a Saturday, especially since 2/4. It probably had nothing to do with the 666 thing. As Eve left the greeter was handing out pamplets. Eve took one, it seemed to be the same ones handed outside the church. This pamplet talked about rising crime. It was apparently the duty of decent citizens to fight against this. Eve knew there was too much crime, Maggie's followers were simply an extreme example. Robbery, assault, rape, were all far too common these days. But this leaflet was advocating some pretty harsh measures. Beating up criminals, cutting their hands off, even killing them. The minimum age for such punishments should be twelve. The greeter was apparently a religious version of those who wore the Batman masks. Eve was somewhat relieved when her imam chasticized the greeter for giving these pamplets inside the mosque. But she feared these ideas were becoming too popular.
After prayer services it was almost dark. Eve feared being on the street after sunset. Maybe she could've asked for a ride from someone in her mosque. But after people accepted these pamplets, maybe she should keep her distance, make sure they didn't know she was a murderer. Eve saw a bowling alley with a collective flag. She remembered Lee saying that bowling was his favorite hobby. Maybe he was here. Eve went inside. Sure eough Lee was here, bowling alone.
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Lee: Hey Eve. I didn't know you liked to bowl.
Eve: Kind of. Actually I was hoping you could give me a ride home.
Lee: Sure. I'm just going to bowl one more game after this one. Want to play?
Eve: Okay.
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Eve bowled a game with Lee, partly because it was better than just sitting around waiting. She heard people talking about Douglas and Santos. They seemed upset about Texas possibly secceeding from the collective. Lee was happy that this alley had a free market. They could buy french fries and soda without the state deciding prices. The prices seemed high to Eve, but she did like being able to eat what she wanted. She also used the ciggarette machine. She'd tried to quit, but wasn't yet successful. Lee easily beat Eve in bowling. She had bowled as a child at birthday parties, when they'd put buffers in the gutters. Eve didn't do so well without them, but it was still fun.