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

imagined, and was inches away almost immediately. “I understand how you’re feeling right now,” he said, “And I know that even as I’m talking, you’re likely thinking, ‘well, who in the front door does he think he is?’ Well, I’ll tell you exactly who I am. I’m a man, no different from you, Desmond. I just saw something you didn’t, something most couldn’t, and not because I wanted to. And once I saw it, well, that something changed everything.”
    The Prophet started pacing, shaking his head earnestly side to side. “No, I didn’t ask to see what the Good Lord saw fit to show me. And no, I can’t say it’s been an easy burden to bear. But I don’t have a single regret. It’s all a blessing, from the sky opening up and taking my family, my congregation, and little Ellie May, to the pox upon my face. And why do I feel these things are blessings?”  
    The Prophet paused for an answer he didn’t expect, then dropped his voice to something just above a whisper. “Because I know my purpose. And when you know your purpose, everything else is gooood. ”  
    His voice returned to its full bellow, “I’m here because while most men ignored God’s voice, I listened . My congregation was welcomed into Heaven because they listened.”
    “I’m curious,” Desmond said, sounding sincere, “Why did the rest of your congregation go to Heaven, but you were left behind? Doesn’t seem like a very nice thing to do to one’s messenger.”
    The Prophet smiled, “That’s a great question, son, and one I must admit, I wondered about for a bit. After all, He had promised to reunite me with my wife. Yet, he took all but me. And I wondered, had I not been true enough to His Word? Had I strayed? What had I done to anger him so? But then I realized that perhaps God wasn’t punishing me, but testing me. Could I, in the face of conflict, maintain my faith? Could I persevere? Could I still deliver His Word? Could I be a tenth of the man that Job was? Was I truly worthy to enter His Kingdom?”
    The Prophet paused, and his pale blue eyes met Desmond’s. “I wasn’t always a righteous man. I wasn’t always a good man. And though He forgives, He does not always forget. I believe this is my final test. To show God what I am truly made of. That I am worthy. That I have repented and learned from all my youthful indiscretions. And that’s why I’m here, to do His work. To serve as His instrument until I have fulfilled my obligation to Him.”
    The Prophet turned to Mary. “I have seen terrible things. I saw you in my visions. You and your daughter, slaughtered by the very beasts who invaded your home this morning. God gave me this vision, worked through me and this church to intervene and save you all. To bring you here and offer you sanctuary from the Demons.”  
    Demons?
    The Prophet let the word sink in, then chewed on his lips and adjusted the mask which covered the left half of his face before continuing. “You see, while the Good Lord was smart enough to leave a man like me down here to help you, he isn’t the only one with skin in this game. That black backed Beelzebub downstairs is also playing for keeps. And much as I don’t like to admit it, I think he might’ve outfoxed the Good Lord on this one. See, as capable as I might be at keeping you safe and spreading The Word, I am just a man. There is a war for this world and the souls left behind, and Satan has set his Demons against us, looking to claim us all.”
    Desmond waited until The Prophet turned his head, then caught his eye and said, in an uncharacteristic smirk, “These Demons, are they the ones who made all the bullet holes?”
    The Prophet chuckled. “No, no. I wish. At least then I could blame it on pure evil rather than my own dirt poor judgement. Even when God himself will take the time to speak with you, no one likes to be wrong. And I’m downright ashamed of some of what’s happened on this here holy soil.”  
    The Prophet held Desmond’s eyes, then shook his head. “No, the bullet holes were my doing. On October 15, after the Gates swung closed and left me alone without my flock, I needed help. Unfortunately, I’m a man of faith who put my faith in the wrong people in the immediate aftermath of His Glory. There were survivors nearby. I took them in and gave them a job to do: to help me find someone. But they did things in their own way, and not in a way the Good Lord would approve of. They’re all gone now, sizzling