Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone)

you can say ‘Hallelujah!’”
    Desmond laughed, a broken cackle, but genuine. He said, “I’ll be here, waiting,” then pulled Mary into a hug. “I love you,” he said.  
    “I love you, too.”  
    Mary left Desmond with a lingering kiss at the edge of his mouth, then headed toward the church. She saw The Prophet standing by a tall pile of wood, hands folded in front of him, eyes scanning the wall of The Sanctuary. He turned his nose to the gray sky when Mary was just a few feet away. “Looks like it’s gonna snow tonight.”
    “Not yet, it’s too warm,” Mary said. “It’ll probably just rain.”
    The Prophet shook his head, “I say it’s gonna drop a good twenty degrees. I imagine we’ll be looking at a world that’s white as an angel feather by morning.” He found Mary’s eyes. “Of course, I couldn’t be more excited. I love it when it snows, the way it looks like God is giving the world a brand new chance.”  
    Mary wanted to look away, but couldn't. The Prophet held her eyes like slaves. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Mary. Starting over. We’re here waiting for the Gates to open. That means we’re waiting here to keep the Devil from winning. That’s why I’m rebuilding the Church.” The Prophet gestured toward the structure behind him, which was coming along quickly; a frame and roof were already in place. “It’s a testament to my faith in Him. I’m here because The Good Lord needs me. As much as I long to walk through those gates and greet the God who gives us breath, to see my loved ones, including my   sweet Ellie Mae, I know I’ve got souls to save and a Devil to beat before I do.”
    “Now, Mary,” The Prophet put his hand on her shoulder, “I know you have some legitimate concerns about the way we go about following The Word here at The Sanctuary. I appreciate those concerns, and want nothing more than to answer each and every one, take care of them here and now. While us good people and humble servants are here at New Unity waiting for the Gates to open, we need good people like you and your friends to wait right along with us. The Demons have claimed enough souls already, thank you very much. The Devil doesn’t like what we’re doing. He is building an army. I can feel it as sure as you can feel Paola’s love. If you’re out there in the troubled world beyond our walls, Satan will claim you.”  
    The Prophet’s voice lowered to a rumble of warning, and he withdrew his hand, yet moved closer to her. “We have something special here, Mary. Something the Demons can’t breach. This truly is a Sanctuary. I know the punishment for that Rebecca, seemed about as harsh as the sharp side of a wallop, and I do apologize for the dull weight of the required lesson. But it’s imperative we keep our children from the Devil, now more than ever, and not just from the minions beyond these walls.” He leaned in closer. “We must protect them from the whispers within them as well.”
    Mary kept her voice steady. “I’m not sure I believe in the Devil,” she said. “At least, not like you do. The kids weren’t doing anything wrong. Not really. Just the sort of stuff that kids do. No, they shouldn’t have snuck out. And they shouldn't have made everyone worry. And on a practical level, we shouldn’t have spent our resources and risked our people to chase them down and bring them back. But I don’t believe it was “evil,” or “the Devil’s” handiwork. It was a harmless picnic, prompted by an innocent crush.”
    “No, Mary,” The Prophet looked down, as though the weight of her decaying faith was too heavy for him to hold his head to the heavens. “There is no such thing as innocence; not anymore. Not now in our second Age of Conscience. Do you know what the Age of Conscience is, Mary?”
    Mary shook her head. The Prophet said he’d be happy to tell her if she cared to hear the story, almost as though she was being given a choice.  
    “A long time ago there was a Garden, and in that garden the first sin was committed. Once man sinned, God no longer saw him as innocent. And once man was no longer innocent, the Good Lord had to appeal to his conscience. This was called ‘The Age of Conscience,’ and lasted until after the flood. During The Age of Conscience, man was tested on his own conscience – that is, to his knowledge of what was right or wrong. Needless to say,” The Prophet chuckled and wiped his eyes, “man didn’t do so