The Last Handful of Clover - Book 3: The Stone in the Stream

3.16 Inferno

June 16, 9:15 am

"We need to find a map," Billy said.

"A map? What good is that going to do us?" Richard asked, his frustration threatening to boil over.

"It's hard to explain. But I think if we have a state map to look at, it might help us tie all this together. Where can we find one?"

"I have maps at my place. That's not far..."

"No," Billy sighed, "that's not going to work. It's not like we can unfold a map, or even pull an atlas off of a shelf. We need a map already open. Like a poster."

"Oh, yeah..."

Richard felt embarrassed, because for a second he really imagined rushing back to his house and digging through the bookcases or the glove compartment of his car for a fold-out map. It was disconcerting how he could so easily forget that he was no longer part of this world.

"Wait, I know just the place," Richard said, standing up. "There's a Sinclair station just a couple blocks up. It's where Keith and I always stopped to fill up before heading out to Wendover. And I remember there's a big map of Utah on the wall of the 7-11, just inside the door. It's the kind that shows the entire state, with a red star to show tourists where they are."

He was already headed up the aisle of the Tabernacle, with Billy trailing behind. Even as he finished his sentence, he was bursting out of the Tabernacle doors, just as he had barely more than twelve hours before.

But this time, the contrast couldn't have been greater.

When they had arrived at Temple Square a couple hours earlier, he'd noticed that it had seemed deserted, but in the dim light of morning he hadn't really stopped to look. Now he could see that nobody was visible in the vast expanse of the square, except a half dozen security guards in full riot gear, clustered near the padlocked gates. Alone in the square, the guards walked aimlessly now, weapons drawn, with absolutely no one to confront.

A strange, calm, deadness pervaded the scene. For other than those guards, it appeared that Temple Square had been completely abandoned. The near riot that he had witnessed when he and Tuilla emerged the day before was long gone, but the signs of violence remained. The bodies had been removed, but the blood on the stone walkways was still there, now black and almost as smooth as glass. A dozen flies congregated in the largest pool. Even the spot where the desperate crowds had been attempting to climb over the fence was now empty.

Perhaps, Richard thought, people just finally realized that they weren't going to find refuge here, and dispersed. He hoped that was true, but he had an uneasy feeling that it wasn't. Not by a long shot.

Passing through the bars of the gate, he and Billy found evidence of what must have been a major riot. There were pieces of discarded and torn clothing everywhere, along with abandoned backpacks, hats, purses, eyeglasses, and even watches. All the windows across the street were shattered. And there were still a half dozen bodies crumpled on the sidewalk and in the street that nobody had bothered to move. Looking to his left, Richard gasped at seeing bullet holes scattered like black cockroaches up and down the wall in both directions. But surprisingly, there was very little blood. Looking closer at the bodies and the street, Richard realized everything was soaked. A powerful blast of water had been used here, most likely from a water cannon or fire hose. The bodies still leaked some blood, but mostly, they looked strangely clean. The pools that gathered around them were pink and not red.

The faithful hadn't simply given up trying to get into Temple Square, he realized. They were driven away with hoses and guns.

Hurrying away from the scene, they cut down State street. Richard planned for them to take a left at the end of the next block, and go straight up 1st South to the Sinclair station. But before they could reach that street, he and Billy were stopped cold by the most horrific scene Richard had ever encountered, either alive or dead.