(Felix and Leroy Muir.
Perished at Sea.) the reverend everly thomas
(It was not well-done. It appeared the angels meant to operate on the young sailors. But were confused as to how to begin.) hans vollman
(Also, for some reason, a pair of oars lay upon the operating table.) roger bevins iii
Only then did we remember the lad, and what he must now be enduring.
hans vollman
And roused ourselves, despite our weariness, and started back.
roger bevins iii
LXXX.
And though that mass co-habitation had jarred much loose from me (a nagging, hazy mental cloud of details from my life now hung about me: names, faces, mysterious foyers, the smells of long-ago meals; carpet patterns from I knew not what house, distinctive pieces of cutlery, a toy horse with one ear missing, the realization that my wife’s name had been Emily), it had not delivered the essential truth I sought, as to why I had been damned. I halted on the trail, lagging behind, desperate to bring that cloud into focus and recall who I had been, and what evil I had done, but was not successful in this, and then had to hurry to catch my friends up.
the reverend everly thomas
LXXXI.
The lad lay collapsed on the floor of the white stone home, cocooned to the neck in a carapace that appeared fully concretized.
hans vollman
The putrid smell of wild onions pervaded that vicinity, progressing, in its density, toward a different, more sinister odor, for which there is no name.
the reverend everly thomas
He lay gazing up at us, dull-eyed, acquiescent.
roger bevins iii
It was over.
the reverend everly thomas
The lad must take his medicine.
hans vollman
We gathered around to say goodbye.
roger bevins iii
Imagine our surprise, then, when a woman’s voice rang out, offering a parley, suggesting that “HE” would have no objection if we wished to transport the boy back up to the roof, so that he might serve out his (infinite) interment there.
the reverend everly thomas
Mind you, none of this is by our choice, said a bass voice, with a slight lisp. We are compelled.
roger bevins iii
These voices seemed to be emanating from the carapace itself.
hans vollman
Which seemed comprised of people. People like us. Like we had been. Former people, somehow shrunken and injected into the very fabric of that structure. Thousands of writhing tiny bodies, none bigger than a mustard seed, twisting minuscule faces up at us.
the reverend everly thomas
Who were they? Who had they been? How had they come to be so “compelled”?
roger bevins iii
We won’t discuss that, said the woman’s voice. Will not discuss that.
Mistakes were made, said the bass voice.
hans vollman
My advice? said a third, and British, voice. Do not massacre an entire regiment of your enemy.
Never conspire with your lover to dispose of a living baby, said the bass lisper.
roger bevins iii
Rather than murdering your loved one with poison, resolve to endure him, said the woman.
the reverend everly thomas
Sexual congress with children is not permitted, said the voice of an old man, from Vermont, judging by his accent.
hans vollman
As each spoke, the associated face bloomed up out of the carapace for the briefest of instants, bearing upon it a look of agony and aggrievement.
the reverend everly thomas
We had seen many strange things here.
roger bevins iii
But this was the strangest yet.
hans vollman
Are you—are you in Hell? asked the Reverend.
Not the worst one, said the British fellow.
Are not compelled to bash our skulls against a series of clustered screw-drivers at least, said the woman.
Are not being sodomized by a flaming bull, said the bass lisper.
roger bevins iii
Whatever my sin, it must, I felt (I prayed), be small, compared to the sins of these. And yet, I was of their ilk. Was I not? When I went, it seemed, it would be to join them.
As I had many times preached, our Lord is a fearsome Lord, and mysterious, and will not be predicted, but judges as He sees fit, and we are but as lambs to Him, whom He regards with neither affection nor malice; some go to the slaughter, while others are released to the meadow, by His whim, according to a standard we are too lowly to discern.
It is only for us to accept; accept His judgment, and our punishment.
But, as applied to me, this teaching did not satisfy.
And oh, I was sick, sick at heart.
the reverend everly thomas
What will it be then? said the Brit. In here? Or on the roof?
hans vollman
All eyes turned to the boy.
roger bevins iii
Who blinked twice but said nothing.
hans vollman
Perhaps, Mr. Bevins said. Perhaps you could make an exception.
And from the carapace burst forth the sound of bitter laughter.
He is a fine child, said Mr. Vollman. A fine child, with many— We have done this to many, many fine children before, said the woman.