Alex and Sam looked in unison, noticing a patchwork of torn wires emerging from a rectangular slot of a hole where the radio should have been.
“I ripped that out so I could be alone with my thoughts during these drives, hoping maybe, just maybe, He might choose to let me hear the truth of His word. Then I finally realized I never would because that word hasn’t been written yet. I wish I could say what this overriding truth truly is but all I see when I ask for divine guidance is the face of man himself, not God. As if we made ourselves, while He sat back and watched. And how can that be, children? I ask you, how can that be?”
His question rang with restrained desperation. Sam realized Reverend Billy smelled vaguely of moss and fresh earth, on top of the weed and dried sweat, and thought she glimpsed strips of vine reeds sticking out of his mismatched hair. She pictured him sleeping outdoors at night, nothing between him and the stars. A man who spent his time digging holes into the earth, never finding exactly what he was looking for.
“You really think the end’s coming?” Alex asked Reverend Billy, no whimsy in the question at all.
“I’m sure of it, son, just as sure as I am your name’s not Kit and hers isn’t Anne. But it’s not going to end the way we expect, the one the Bible portends, no. It’s like we’re still gonna be us but not us, at the same time. It’s like it’s all gonna change with the turning of the sun, the world a whole different place when we wake up one morning than it was when we went to bed the night before. It’s like there’s a purpose we’ve been prepared to fill since time immemorial and everything else, what passes for glory and goals, are nothing more than illusions we’ve tricked ourselves into believing are real.”
Reverend Billy stopped again. The plaintiveness that had ridden his voice like a saddle had spread into his expression, making him look sad and a bit desperate. Sam wondered on what street corner he’d be found today, peddling his free Bibles to anyone who passed and preaching to those who lingered about the meaning of his tattooed knuckles. Then he’d pack up and resume the process somewhere else tomorrow, the cycle continuing with the record player needle stuck scratchily in place.
He resumed speaking, his voice hoarse and cracked with sadness. “I think we’re gonna get what’s coming to us and the simple fact of the matter is, based on what I’ve seen, Armageddon is the least of our problems.”
73
ALL FREE TOMORROW
REVEREND BILLY DROPPED THEM in the parking lot fronting a Buy Two store in a Daly City shopping center south of the downtown San Francisco area, Sam far more unnerved by his quiet rants than Alex.
“You’re shivering,” Alex noted, rubbing Sam’s arms, the gooseflesh prickling the surface.
She loved his touch but it made her feel no warmer. “Tell me that guy didn’t scare the hell out of you too.”
“I was too busy holding my nose. You wanna talk about scary? Try sitting next to him.”
“I’d rather not,” Sam said, watching Reverend Billy’s van shrink away down the road before disappearing altogether.
“The guy was harmless. Didn’t touch my knee or reach for something higher, nothing like that.”
“No offense, pretty boy, but he was looking at me, not you.”
“That was my hand on your knee, not his,” Alex quipped as they walked toward the Buy Two store, called that since buying two items got you a third, lower-priced one for free. No exceptions.
“Well, that’s a relief, anyway.”
They entered the store together to the sound of canned music piped in just under the sound of a happy voice singing out the praises of today’s specials, which featured no-name jeans to go with no-name shirts, shoes, and underwear. A huge banner, a bit worn and discolored by the sun, hung over the alcove entry, reading, ALL FREE TOMORROW.
“Too bad it’s not today,” Alex mused, digging a hand through his pockets.
“So let’s come back tomorrow, like the sign says. Catch ourselves in a vicious cycle where it’s never really today.” Sam’s features flattened. “Oh, man, I sound like Reverend Billy.”
“So long as you don’t smell like him,” Alex said, passing under the ALL FREE TOMORROW sign to enter the store.
*
Adding up all their cash, Sam’s and what Dr. Payne had tucked away in his jeans, came to a grand total of sixty-one dollars. Thanks to the Buy Two store’s mantra, that was enough for a change of clothes for each of them and some food with twenty bucks maybe left over. They filtered through the clothes piles in search of a decent enough fit.
“Be nice if we knew exactly where Laboratory Z was located,” Alex said suddenly.
“Well, we’ve got a general location.”
“San Ramon’s spread out over a pretty wide area.”
“Any other clues you can remember?”
“Horses and cattle.”
“Huh?”