Icy Rapture

Malcolm’s eyes snapped open when the lights flickered. He straightened in the old rocker as they dimmed. He smiled when they went out.

“It’s time.” A gust of wind peppered the window with flakes of snow, punctuating his whisper with its howl.

An engine hummed in the distance and the lights flashed and came back on as the gas generator kicked in. Malcolm’s wife, Sarah, stood in front of the stove with her arm wrapped around a ceramic pot and a wooden spoon paused in the act of stirring.

“What’d you say, Malcolm?” she asked, her voice husky with emotion.

Malcolm sprung from his seat, defying aged muscles with his agility. He wrapped his arms around Sarah and started dancing. He stopped and stared into her eyes. His glowed with a bright passion and Sarah gasped for breath as they pierced into her soul.

“The Rapture, Sarah. It’s come. We must prepare, immediately.”

“How can you be sure?”

“The darkness has come.”

“Maybe the storm just knocked out the power? Surely the generator wouldn’t work against the power of Christ.”

The lights in the cabin popped in a flash of sparks and the room plunged back into a deep black. The whirring of the generator sputtered and died.

Malcolm let loose a bellowing laughter. “The Lord has answered, Sarah.”

He produced candles, lit them, and placed them in holders around the house, basking the room in a dancing glow.

The front door opened icy cold air blew in, threatening to extinguish the candles. The flames held and Malcolm and Sarah saw a pretty blond teenager in the doorframe. She was wrapped in a thick coat that didn’t hide her shivers.

“What is it Disciple Magdalena?”

The girl closed the door. “The generator is broken. It’s dark and I’m scared.”

Malcolm hurried to the girl’s side and put a comforting arm around her. “Don’t be frightened, child. All is as it should be.”

Magdalena looked up and grasped at the glimmer of hope he offered. “So you think we will have light again soon?”

“Yes, oh yes. We will never know darkness again.”

“You can fix the generator?”

Sarah moved to Magdalena’s other side and put another arm around the girl. “The light we’ll know needs no power but the Glory of God.”

“I don’t understand,” Magdalena replied with less confidence in her voice.

Malcolm guided her into his rocker. “This is what we’ve been waiting for all this time, Disciple. The Lord is coming for us. We just have to prepare our souls for him—leave these husks that contain them.”

Magdalena’s face drained of color. “I can’t do that. I came here to get away from my family. I love the simple life we live. I wake up every day happy to do chores and pray, but I don’t want to die.”

“It’s not death,” Sarah said. She looked annoyed and Magdalena shrank from her glare. “We’re joining our Lord in Heaven. It’s what we always wanted. It’s what you said you wanted when we took you in.”

“I thought it was just harmless crazy talk.”

Malcolm grabbed Magdalena by both arms and she shrieked in pain. “You took an oath,” he said between clenched teeth. “You put your hand on my Bible and swore on it.”

Magdalena pushed his arms away and jumped out of the chair. “I was on the run and scared. I didn’t know you were crazy. I thought you were just nice simple people.” She rushed to the door and put her hand on the knob. “I won’t be a part of this.”

“It’s no longer your choice. You swore to God,” Malcolm yelled.

He lunged at her as she opened the door. His hand clutched her coat sleeve, but his arthritic hands couldn’t hold against the force of the door closing.

*          *          *

“What’s going on, Pa?” Luke asked Malcolm.

“Disciple Magdalena has fled her destiny. Bring her back, boys.”

Jeremiah nodded his head. “Don’t worry. The roads are all snowed in. She won’t get far.”

“Good. I’ll get the others into the barn and spread the gas. We will be ready for the cleansing when you return.”

*          *          *

The snow fought Magdalena’s progress as if intent on trapping her in its icy grip. Her legs kept churning in the knee-deep fluff, refusing to succumb to it.

“Our Father, who art in Heaven,” she mumbled the same line of prayer over and over.

She saw unmoving headlights in the distance and her heart raced. She ran towards them. There was a utility truck wrapped around a pole. Fallen cables sparked all around it. The driver was hunched over the wheel, unconscious or worse.

An engine roared behind her and Magdalena turned to see a four-wheel drive pick-up with oversized tires coming towards her. She waved her arms.

“Over here. Help!”

The truck stopped and two men emerged from it.

“No,” Magdalena screamed when she recognized Luke and Jeremiah.

“Come on now, Disciple. It’s time,” Luke said.

“Our Father, who art in Heaven,” Magdalena intoned.

“You’ll see him soon enough.” Jeremiah giggled.

The wind blasted an unnatural gust. It blew the cables at the two men, their sparkling ends touching each of the brothers. The men squealed as the electricity flowed into their bodies. They fell to the ground, Jeremiah on top of Luke and the cables still filling them with current.

Magdalena opened the truck and pushed the driver aside. “Hallowed be thy name,” she said as she started the vehicle. It came to life and she drove away from the scene towards town and safety.

*          *          *

“We can’t wait any longer,” Malcolm said headed outside to the gas-soaked hay bales around the barn, torch in hand.

As he reached the giant double-doors, the lights in the barn came to life.

The crowd of fifty clapped and there were a number of sighs of relief.

“It’s not time, Malcolm. Not yet.”

Malcolm extinguished the torch in the dirt. “No, but it’s getting near. I can feel it.”



Word count: 1000