Richard looked down at the map and moved his finger upwards, He looked ahead in the road and noticed a figure moving in the distance. He tapped on David's shoulder softly.
"Look…"
"Yeah, I know. I see it. It looks like someone."
"What do you see?" asked Becky.
"That looks like a person," said Dana,
"Huh, another brother," remarked D.
A teenage boy jumped up and down, waving his hands at the vehicles. The sleeves to his raglan button-down shirt was pulled up. A small rope tied around the right leg of his khaki joggers, holding a small knife. The teen's sneakers were neatly tied unlike his messy, short, and curly hair.
"Help! Please help!" cried out the teen. "Hey, over here! Help!"
"Should we stop?" asked Richard.
Dana gasped softly.
"Of course we should! We can't just ignore him!"
"Sure we can," said Richard. "I don't want us to take any more damn chances. Better safe than sorry."
"He could be right," said David as the RV approached the kid.
David did not press on the brakes. Vonda stood up from the booth table and close to the seats. Lynn and Jason followed her.
"He's just a kid!" said Vonda. "Just like us! And he's alone! We can't just assume he's dangerous."
"She right David, we can't just leave him out there he needs help so stop the damn RV now," said Jason.
The teen stopped waving his arms around and turned back, facing a roamer. He pulled out his knife from the rope tied around his right leg and swung it at the roamer. It dropped to the ground along with the teen. He pulled the knife out of the roamer's skull and remained in the ground. Another roamer approached him.
"Fine," said David.
He pressed the brakes of the RV and slowed the vehicle down. The two other vehicles behind him followed suit and eventually, the RV stopped beside the teen.
Vonda came out of the RV and shot an arrow at the roamer, striking it in its head. The roamer dropped close to the teen as he shuddered and moved away. Vonda quickly jogged to the teen and held out her hand. The teen smiled and grabbed her hand, standing up.
"Thanks," said the teen. "I'm so glad you guys came here. I really need your help. My uncle–"
"Wait, hold on," said David. "Who are you?"
"My name's Preston. I'm 16 years old. I'm just some kid who needs help rescuing his uncle."
"Where's the rest of your group?" asked David.
"It's… just me and my uncle. Please, I need your help!"
"George, search him. See if he has any weapons."
"Come on, seriously?"
"Sorry man they just want to make sure you're not dangerous. Don't worry we'll help you," reassure Jason.
Preston raised his hands and allowed George to pat him down. Bobby stepped forward.
"Are we not going to listen to him? He clearly has something to say!"
"Yeah, I do! My uncle's trapped inside a barbershop by the demons! We were just trying' to go to the hospital before we realized it was filled with demons!"
George pulled out the teen's backpack. He pulled out a Boy Scouts handbook, a long rope, two water bottles, a flashlight, a couple batteries, and more everyday items. He then pulled out the Bible and other religious texts.
"Please handle those gently."
George placed it back into the backpack and placed the other items inside as well.
"He's clear," said George.
"Thanks George," said David before facing Preston. "Demons? Are you talking about the roamers? The undead?"
Preston nodded.
"I beg you guys to help me kill the demons trying' to kill my uncle!
"Yeah, let's go!" said Vonda. "David!"
"Alright. Everyone let's go! Preston, lead the way."
Preston ran deeper into the city, followed by the rest of the group. He felt invincible as the group killed off the roamers approaching him. Arrows flew through the air, knives swung around, and other bladed weapons slashed the monsters.
"The barbershop is right around the corner!" said Preston.
"Over here!" yelled Richard.
Sam thrust her ice pick at another roamer's skull, triggering a memory of Jayden. She backed away from the corpse and headed back with Luna. Lori, Jason, Lucy, Luan, Benny, and Lincoln protected Clyde and Luna as they limped to the barbershop. Preston slowed down and allowed the group to witness the pack of roamers crowded outside of the barbershop.
"Alright, Richard and George, take the left! Sergei and Benny, you guys are taking the right! Chunk, Jason, Lori, and I are taking the middle! The rest of you, watch our six!"
The roamers approached the group. Benny stabbed the closest one, while Lori chopped another one. A man inside the shop watched the massacre outside and held on tight to his small knife. With one roamer left attempting to break inside the shop, David pulled out his pistol and shot the roamer in its skull. Its brains splattered in the window of the shop and slid down, leaving a bloody mark.
The group knocked on the door of the barbershop. The man inside the shop, hid behind a counter and looked around for his nephew. Preston walked by the window and nodded his head. The man quickly ran to the door and unlocked the door, allowing David to come in.
"Thank you. Thank you. May the Lord bless you."
"Are you alright, Uncle Jeff?"
"Yes. God must have sent you guys because that door wasn't going to hold forever."
"Yeah, let's save the lecture for later! We have to go, now!" exclaimed Preston. "Remember? Noise attracts the demons!"
"We're not going anywhere," said David. "I need to know who you two are before we let you guys run off."
"But the monsters!" exclaimed the man."
Exactly. You might want to cooperate with me as fast as you can."
"Alright, what do you want to know?"
"What's your name?"
"Jeffrey. Jeffrey Salas."
George patted down the man. He tapped the pocket in his white flannel shirt and the pockets in his dress pants. He removed the knife from the man's hand. The man rubbed his short, curly hair and sighed.
"Do you have a camp?"
"No. There's a church, though."
"Where is it?"
"It's a mile in the northwest direction."
"What are you doing here?" asked David.
"Umm… my nephew and I were looking for medical supplies to take back to the church."
"What about food, water, all that kind of stuff?"
"We have that. You want to come with us? You can continue questioning me while I lead you guys there. I'll give you some of my supplies for saving me."
"I'm not too sure. The last time my group and I decided to follow two people somewhere, two little girls we're nearly murdered," said David.
Lori rubbed her arms while Bobby held Darcy and Ronnie Anne's hand tighter. Meli held on to Jason tightly while he rubbed her head.
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Jeffrey.
"You guys don't trust us, right? I mean, you don't have to come with us," said Preston.
"No, I trust you I know you aren't bad people my group is just being precocious," said Jason.
"It's okay, we understand," said Jeffrey.
"I just have one more question," said David. "Do you know who General Quentin Black is?"
"I'm afraid not," replied Jeffrey.
David looked back at his group and nodded. He then stepped out of the exit of the shop, allowing Preston and Jeffrey to leave. The group looked through the window and searched for nearby roamers.
"Did you guys come here by foot?" asked George.
Preston nodded.
"I was kinda hoping that you would bring us to the church. We'll show you where it is!"
"Well, I'm not even sure if we're…"
"We're coming with them," said David. "I hope you're not lying about the supplies. Go this way."
"Thanks. Can I get all of your names?" asked Jeffrey.
The RV, Vanzilla, and the other van came to a stop near a flat building with a white spire, sitting in the outskirts of Portsmouth. Jeffrey, Preston, and the others stepped outside of the vehicles and watched the church with wonder.
"Here we are," said Jeffrey. "The Lord's house."
"Are you like a priest or something?" asked Leni.
"Nah," answered Preston. "My uncle's an Elder."
"Elder?" replied Leni, now looking at Preston. "He doesn't even look that old!"
Preston chuckled as his uncle grew a grin in his face. Lori couldn't help but look at her sister flatly.
"Leni, it means that he does missionary work. Well, he USED to."
"Well, Sister Lori. The mission doesn't stop, even in this world of sin that God is testing us in."
"You're… still doing missionary work? In this hellish world?"
"Now, it might feel like Hell, but believe me Lori," said Jeffrey as he opened the door to the church, "Jesus will protect us just like he did with the three men in the furnace. In a way we're walking in the midst of fire. That reference comes from Daniel 3:25. I don't expect you to know about that, but I won't stop preaching the word of the Lord and his son."
Lori stopped in her tracks. Bret's voice repeated in her head with the sound of the crackling fire in the background. She wanted to say something to Jeffrey, but she choked.
The group walked inside. There was a hallway that led to a giant room with wooden seats in neat rows. Many lamps hung in the wall near the seats. The podium stood facing the seats in the room. A cross hung in the middle of the church. There were hymns and Bibles lying in a shelf near the windows.
Lori passed by a room with seats facing an empty baptistry. The walls were white and held paintings of Jesus Christ, the afterlife, and other religious aspects of life.
"There's something I've been meaning to ask," said Jeffrey. "The boy. What happened to his leg? The girl. What happened to her arm?"
"You're talking about Clyde and Lucy?" asked David. "I don't believe they wants to talk about it."
"It's fine. I'll explain," said Clyde. "It happened while we were in New York. We encountered a herd of roamers. We tried running away from them and we did, but not without consequence. A couple of us went inside a store and we were trapped… kinda like you were, Elder Jeffrey. However, the roamers broke inside and I was bit. We ran upstairs in the store where we were safer. A belt was put around my leg and she amputated my leg off. The details after that were fuzzy since I wasn't exactly conscious to experience it."
"As for me. It's similar," said Lucy. "Me and some of us were captured by some bad people, me along with the other were lined up together with the leader of those people holding a roamers behind us. I tried to get out of the way it almost bit my neck but got my arm instead. Some as Clyde my arm was amputated by him and I was out for a couple of days."
"Who was she? And who was him as well?" asked Jeffrey.
"It was me," said Lynn. "I chopped off his leg to save his life. I don't know how, but I just… did."
"And I was the one that cup of her arm," said Jason.
"Christ must have given you strength. Both of you. It's not easy surviving in this world, but if you have faith, then you'll make it through."
"Well, I wished Christ would've given me more strength to save my friend," said Lynn.
An awkward silence filled the church. Preston looked at his uncle who struggled to speak. But he was able to get a couple words out.
"I'm sorry. Sometimes, the Lord works in mysterious ways. I'm sure it was hard burying him."
"We never got to burying. Not just him, ELDER. It was a couple others. We lost more people than we can count with our hands. Like his fathers."
Jeffrey looked at Clyde. He looked away from the Elder.
"His fathers?"
"Show us where your food and water is," said David. "We'll be glad to give you our medical supplies."
Preston walked inside the kitchen of the church where dozens of cans lied in a table, stacked on top of each other like a pyramid. He flicked a lighter and lit a lamp to light up the room. A large table stood in the middle of the room, with many chairs around it. Luna sat in one of the chairs while Sam sat in the other.
"Thank you for saving my uncle. Help yourselves to the food," said Preston.
"Now that you good people are here," said Jeffrey, "you mind helping us with scavenging the rest of the city? Our food is not going to last you all for a long time."
"We gotta be somewhere," said Richard. "We got a mission to do."
"A mission? I suppose it doesn't involve spreading the word of Christ?"
David looked at Jeffrey, keeping a stern glare at him.
"You… mentioned the name General Quentin Black before. I assume this man is somehow involved in your mission?"
"You're assuming right," said David. "We're going to Houlton, a town in Maine. We are traveling there to hunt down this man and rescue our family. This man leads an army of rogue soldiers, slaughtering families and capturing people, with the purpose of subjecting them to horrible experiments and doing whatever other shit they–"
"This is the Lord's house. Sorry, just… try to refrain the use of that language."
"No offense, Elder Jeffrey, but do you think the Lord would give a SHIT about whatever I say if he let all of hell loose in this world? Two little girls were going to be burned alive and are still breathing thanks to one of us. You think he wouldn't have allowed a four-year-old and six-year-old to burn alive while we all, ALL OF US, watched? There are lucky to be alive today because one of them was supposed to die that night. Countless of innocent people died in the hands of one man and there was nothing done about that!"
"Is that one man, God or the General?" asked Jeffrey.
"Who do you think I'm talking about?" asked David.
"David lay off. And try to make him question is faith," said Jason.
"I'm not. I'm just saying that facts," said David.
Some of the group members exited the kitchen and walked into the hallways.
"Do you mind if we stay here overnight?" asked David. "Again, no offense, Elder."
"It's… alright. There's a bedroom upstairs for Sister Luna and Brother Clyde."
David nodded. Jeffrey and Preston walked away from the hallways and into an office upstairs.
"Looks like I have a lot of work to do," said Jeffrey.
"You sure do, Uncle Jeff. Does this mean we're leaving the church?"
Jeffrey nodded.
The roamers walked back into the quiet city, following the noise of the gunshot. Despite the darkness in the sky, the roamers were able to stay in their path to nowhere. And as the light dawned on the sky, the corpses of the roamers lied in the ground. There also remained the corpse of a man, with a bite mark on his left arm. A small knife lied in his hand.
"Do you think we can come with you?" asked Jeffrey. "We can't stay here any longer."
"Yes," said Jason.
"No," said David.
He placed his shades on and his hat back into his backpack. His stubble held more patches of hair. Jeffrey looked at his nephew and scratched his head.
"You're not taking us?" asked Preston. "We can't stay–"
"We don't have the supplies. You pacifists clearly don't want to get involved with what we want to do in Maine. Preston would make a great addition to our group. You, on the other hand, Jeffrey, can't even fight off a couple roamers. I'm guessing your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, won't allow that, huh?"
"David please don't be an asshole or I will punch you," said Jason.
Jeffrey grabbed his nephew's shoulders and patted them.
"I can give your people hope."
"From you? I doubt they want to hear you," said Richard.
"No, I do it be good to hear some hopeful words," said Jason.
"Really Jason," said Richard. "You seriously want–"
"Yes, I do Richard," said Jason.
"What about your families in Houlton? They're going to need to see the light of God after everything they witnessed."
Bobby stood next to David and motioned him to follow him. They walked to the corner of the church.
"It's true," whispered Bobby. "It's not about the word of God or whatever. It's his optimism and uplifting spirit that none of the people in our group have."
"He doesn't know how it is… the life in the outside. How do we know that optimism doesn't die the moment he steps into hell?"
"It's a very quiet church, guys," said Jeffrey. "I think suffering an oppressive life in Cuba would've killed my optimism. The boat ride to Key West. A tormented march to Miami. Christ led me through it all."
"This guy is clearly not your normal religious man," argued Bobby. "He knows his stuff, plus he's got a nephew who was a Boy Scout!"
"You should listen to my boyfriend," said Lori. "Or if you're looking for my insight… I feel like we should let 'em into the group."
"Bobby and Lori are right David," said Jason. "The group needs some optimism and I'm not as good as this guy is so let them join the group,"
David softly nodded his head and looked at Richard. Richard crossed his arms and left the church. David then walked to Jeffrey.
"Fine, you're in, but if you hurt anyone in the group… well, we'll see if the 'Lord' saves you."
Jason punched David in the arm.
"He's not going to harm anybody so don't make any threats against him," said Jason.
"I'm just letting him know not to do anything."
Jeffrey rubbed his head and gulped. Preston let out a sigh and walked back upstairs in the church. His uncle followed him as the group packed up to leave.
The group returned back to the I-95 highway where they encountered clutters of cars. Preston watched the group implement Lincoln's Traffic Removal Method with great New Hampshire Turnpike was no more. The wheels in the RV, Vanzilla, and the other van were now driving in the pavement of the Maine Turnpike.
"We're here," said David. "The last part of our journey. Welcome to Maine, everyone."
Unenthusiastic cheering filled the vehicles. Jeffrey and Preston admired the city of Portsmouth for the last time as they headed for Houlton.
The longer they were in the seats in the RV, the more they learned about Black's actions in Michigan. The Elder and the Boy Scout learned about the slayings of Clyde's fathers, Tim Crowley's murder, the Detroit Massacre, the bombing of Detroit, and Operation Exodus. They also learned who Sherry Crowley was and the men and women she led. They learned about all their close ones that were lost to the apocalypse, starting from Sam's parents.
"He wanted us to keep running to Detroit," said Sam. "My father stayed back to save my mother from the debris and… the roamers got him. Got them both, actually. The next few days were hard. But the hardest part was when my brother, Simon, ran away with the roamers on his tail. And all I could do was watch. He ran into an alley… and that was the last time I ever saw him."
Sam gripped Luna's hands in a gentle manner. Both girls smiled at each other.
"At least I have her," said Sam. "She's the most wonderful girl in the world. I… know you won't feel so comfortable about this but–"
"Don't worry about it," said Jeffrey. "The Lord says to love thy neighbors. Who am I to judge?"
"I thought– wow. Thank you for being so accepting," said Sam.
The RV continued heading northward in the road. A few birds flew across a utility pole.
"It's bullshit, I tell you," said Richard. "I believe that it's determination that creates those favorable outcomes. Anything other than determination is just a lucky coincidence."
"According to Luna, a younger sister of hers was shot in the head, but she lived, fortunately. You want to tell her that it wasn't the work of the Lord, a miracle that she lived?"
"It was a rather fortunate result that she survived that encounter," said Lisa, "and I wouldn't have it any other way, but it was not a miracle that she lived. Luan had the willpower to stay alive. Carol worked hard to keep her respiratory systems up and running."
"There will be moment in time when you are in desperate need of divine intervention, and poof! The Lord cooks up a miracle for you."
"I'm in desperate need of fuel," said David, keeping his eyes on the road. "Think the Lord will cook up a miracle for us?"
"If the Lord deems the moment fit, he'll provide the miracle for you," said Jeffrey.
"Then I guess you can say that I'm a miracle from God," said Jason.
"What do you mean?" asked Preston.
"I know the future and some of the people here would be dead right now," replied Jason.
Jeffrey and Preston stared at him surprised by what he said they looked at David who confirmed it by nodded his head.
"I'll be damned," said David. "Looks like we got ourselves some fuel."
Jeffrey and Preston smiled. David parked the RV next to the gas station.
"Pfft. Probably completely diluted," said Lisa.
Gasoline poured out of the pump and into the jerry can as Lisa extracted the fuel from the container. The can overfilled, leading Sergei to lift the pump and pour it into the RV fuel tank. Upon Lisa's command, Sergei moved the pump to Vanzilla, and then to the other van.
"Well, that's all the fuel that was left in the truck," said Lisa. "It was enough to fill the tanks in our three vehicles."
"Finally," commented Lana. "We don't have to run on fumes anymore."
After the group members ate their lunch, the three vehicles were back on the road again. For a while, Richard and Lisa remained silent, until later in the evening.
"We need food and water," said Richard. "We need that more than fuel. How come we didn't get any more in the road?"
"I think a miracle a day is enough," said Jeffrey.
"No, that was not a miracle," said Lisa. "This was a relatively empty area. Of course, no one was going to get the fuel from the truck."
Jeffrey took out the Bible from his backpack and began flipping pages while responding to Lisa.
"If the Lord deems it fit, he will provide you with food and water."
The RV slowed down. Richard walked back to the front of the RV, followed by Jeffrey and Lisa.
"What's going on, David? I thought we weren't supposed to stop until– damn."
"Damn, indeed," whispered David to himself.
The low sunlight showed a truck in the side of the road with an open container in the rear side. Inside it were a few MRE's, a dozen water bottles, and a packet of salt.
"There's no one inside," said David, lighting the driver's seat with his flashlight. "Someone must have been in a rush to leave."
"There's a house over there," pointed out Benny. "Think we can sleep for the night over there?"
"We'll see," said David. "Take all the supplies inside the vehicles! Then, we'll check out the house!"
Luan and Benny stormed inside the house, swords in their hands. The house showed no signs of life, as everything remained intact. David and George scanned the area with their flashlights, finding nothing but unkempt books and tables.
George walked into the kitchen, pointing his flashlight at a refrigerator. He found a note stamped into the metal box with a magnet, reading, "Meet me in Portland. Safeguard there. Protected by Maine State Guard."
"It's clear here!" exclaimed George.
The night was quiet with most of the survivors sleeping on the floor of the living room. Jeffrey walked outside and noticed Richard sitting on top of the RV.
"I was looking for you," said Jeffrey. "I want to ask you something. Do you believe in miracles now? It's the Lord's way–"
"Shut the hell up," grumbled Richard.
He stood up from his seat on the roof of the RV and climbed down. He pulled out his Python and checked his bullets. Jeffrey took a step back while sweat ran down his palms.
"Don't worry," said Richard. "I ain't gonna kill you. Yet."
Jeffrey continued looking at Richard, shaking as he fixed his collar.
"Yet?" asked Jeffrey.
"You're up to something. There's no way that we were lucky enough to run into supplies of food and water and fuel. You're definitely hiding something."
"It's God creating miracles. I have nothing to do with anything!"
"I'll find out what you're hiding. If it's anything that I don't like…"
Richard cocked his revolver.
"...I'll kill you. Now, go back to your room. Get some sleep. We still have many miles ahead of us."
Jeffrey gulped and immediately turned around. He walked back inside the house while Richard climbed up the RV. He pulled out a picture of his former wife, tearing up as he rubbed its polished texture. He cupped his hands together and sighed.
"He's not up to anything, so don't go threatening him."
Richard looked down from the RV and saw Jason with his arms crossed staring at him.
"How would you know. Let me guess, because you know everything that's going to happen?" said Richard.
"Not everything, but I know enough to know that Jeffrey isn't a threat. Richard, think and don't try anything stupid again or else," replied Jason.
Richard jumped down from the RV and approached Jason stare him down.
"Or else what?"
"Or else I will have to stop you from doing something without thinking I understand that you're still grieving but don't let that make you do something that Missy–"
"Shut up! Right now or–"
"No! You need to hear this, I know that you probably think I hate you, but I don't I do care about you Richard. I hate that you don't think before you act like with Jake, I stop you from killing him because you would have gone back and lie to David saying that he got away that would have lead to Darcy's death! I know that Missy wouldn't want her death to hold you back and wouldn't like how you're acting and treating people!"
"Well, she isn't here anymore! And maybe if you told me she was going to die I could have saved her!"
"I already told you she didn't want you to know because she knew you would be worried about her constantly, so did I she didn't want you to get killed worrying so much or get someone else killed because of it."
"Just shut up already! And leave me alone my wife is dead, and I didn't get to avenge her!"
"She was averaged the moment Sherry dead along with the other people she killed."
"But I didn't do it, I didn't get kill the woman that killed my wife! So do me a favor and leave me alone."
Jason sighed and walked back to the house knowing that it was pointless to continuing this argument.
The sun beamed on the three vehicles as they paused in the middle of the road for lunch. David opened up a can of peaches, stuffing them into his mouth as the group set up a poor version of a picnic.
"The next time precipitation occurs," informed Lisa, "it is necessary to use our water bottles to store the tiny raindrops. We'll be able to boil and drink the water."
Lisa sat down and was nudged in the shoulders. Lana offered her half of a chocolate chip cookie. Lisa grabbed it and munched it quietly, wiping the tears away from her face.
"Spiders?" chuckled Preston. "Out of everything in this terrifying world, and your biggest fear are spiders?"
"What? They crawl around weird and have hairy bodies!" giggled Leni. "But seriously, don't get me near one of those things."
Luan patted her own shirt and skirt. Benny couldn't help but try to figure out what Luan was doing.
"What are you looking for?" asked Benny.
"My fake spider," replied Luan. "I just want to lift the mood for a little, but… nevermind. I don't have it. I left it back in Detroit."
"No, I wouldn't kill it," said Leni. "I would just ask one of my siblings to take it out of the house! My brother says I would never kill a fly!"
"Oh, is that right?" asked Preston.
"Yeah. You wouldn't believe how innocent she is," said Lincoln.
Their voices faded away as Jeffrey looked into the distance. A hand in his shoulder snapped him back to reality. He looked at the hand and then at the person standing above him.
"Hello, Sister Lori. What can I help you with?"
"The other day, you said something about walking around in fire. Then you mentioned Daniel 3:25. Were you talking about Hell?"
"No. That is a very interesting interpretation of it, though," replied Jeffrey. "Why the intriguing question?"
"It's just… I wanted to be sure what you were talking about. When my group and I were met by a group of looters near Boston, the leader said something about his group. He mentioned something about walking in the midst of fire and how we were going to go through the same fate. He mentioned how Darcy. The little girl that we told you about she my daughter. Was to walked in the fire. Was he… by any chance… quoting 3:25?"
"Not exactly. I believe that Hell will be a cold and lonely place, rather than a burning inferno," answered Jeffrey. "Would you like me to read Daniel 3:25 for you?"
Lori nodded. Jeffrey opened his backpack and took out the Bible, flipping pages. He stopped close to the middle of the scripture and laid his finger on the text.
"He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of fire, and they have no hurt. And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
"I… don't understand," said Lori.
"Should I start from the beginning?" asked Jeffrey.
"Yes, please."
"Alright, I'm going to start from 3:1," said Jeffrey as he moved a few pages back. "Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold…"
Later, in the night, the vehicles were parked near a diner, where the group decided to stay for the night. Lori and Jeffrey sat across each other in one of the tables by the window. The diner was dark, although it was safe since the group found no roamers inside.
"That sounds like BS, Elder," said Lori. "I mean, come on, all I have to do is confess my sins to the Lord, repent, and all is forgiven? That sounds… too easy."
"I would not say that. It is easy for those who truly feel remorse for their sins."
"What about murder?" asked Lori. "I have killed to protect my family… will God forgive that?"
"If you never enjoyed the bloodshed, then I have high hopes for you."
"I don't know if I can do it. I can't pray. I don't know why I have to."
"You are thinking about Darcy, am I correct?" asked Jeffrey.
Lori covered her face with her hands as her elbows stood on the table. She nodded.
"This might not mean much to you, but I believe all children who die at a young age go to the best part of the afterlife. She is still alive and with you and that's what matters. However, with how this world is like now, she will have to grow up in this world where death is a normal event to see."
"But I that's fine! At least she is alive and didn't have to suffer painful death. She like my daughter!"
"And that is okey because she has you in her life too guide her. Your siblings are in this world with you, and they are alive because, according to you, you and brother Jason protected them. I'm not saying you shouldn't weep for the fallen, but you should be thoughtful of those who are still with you."
"I see," said Lori. "I have ten siblings with me. And I have other people I care about. Thanks, Elder. Thank you for reminding me of who I have. Maybe praying won't be so bad. It's the least I can do for you."
Jeffrey smiled.
"I will leave you alone for a little. Come outside when you are done."
"Wait! I don't know how to confess and repent!"
"Let me show you, then," said Jeffrey.
Jeffrey moved Lori's hands and held them together. He then asked Lori to close her eyes. He continued to tell her how he repented. After a couple minutes, Jeffrey left the diner and Lori remained inside, sitting in a table. Thousands of stars lit up the clear night sky.