Loud: Turmoil

Chapter 3

Paranoia. Apathy. Repulsion. Irritation. Anger. Hatred.

He drove hastily through the blowing wind, the trees struggling to stay straight. He glanced down at his journal, then back at the road. He pulled into the driveway and walked into the house where all the others were waiting. Jackson was the first to greet him with concern. "What's wrong? You said it was important." He threw the journal down on the glass coffee table. "Did you all see it? The sky? It's gone red!" Another man called out "What of it? It's getting late, it's the color of dusk." He became angry. "Are you all stupid?! The poem! The telling of a red sky? The coming of the Pariah!" They all laughed.

       "You actually believe it's here? Come on now, it's getting late! Maybe we should consider the possibility that you've taken one of your meds a little off schedule." "It's not a delusion! The sky! How do you all dismiss it so easily?!" They all looked at each other. "Take a seat, Flip. Maybe you've overworked yourself at the station. You're kinda scaring us now." He fervently yelled out to them, "YOU SHOULD BE SCARED! ALL OF YOU! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! HOW DO YOU NOT SEE IT? HOW DO... DO... do..." He fell to the ground. He hit his head on the coffee table, and his eyes looked blankly at the ceiling. The others gathered around and anxiously called out to each other. "Call someone. Call an ambulance, NOW!"

...

"He asked the big monster, 'Are you going to eat me?' The monster responded, 'Eat you? Haha! No, child. I am not an evil monster! I am a nice one! I am the monster of good dreams!' The child was confused and asked: 'There are good monsters?' The monster smiled and replied, 'Absolutely! Why don't I bring you with me, and you can meet my nice friends?' The kid was excited, for he had expected to meet such a nice, kind-"

"Luan. Don't read that with her." Rita said sternly. She frowned, and put the book aside. "Sorry, Lily. Maybe another time." Lynn Sr. walked by the doorway and asked Luan "Have you seen Lucy?" She replied, "Nope, haven't seen her." The dad pursed his lips out of bemusement and curiosity, then walked off with a shrug. Luan stood up and Lily tugged at her sock. She giggled, then tugged her foot away from her. "I love you, Lily." She left the room. She went into the kitchen and looked into the fridge. She saw very little left, so she called out to her mom. "I'm going to go pick us up food." Her mom immediately rushed in and screamed, "You are not going ANYWHERE! I forbid it! You are... you are..." She paused to take a deep breath. "I don't want you to get hurt." She was referencing what happened to Leni, no doubt. "Mom, I promise, it's only up the street. I'll be extra safe. I love you, Mom." Rita smiled. "...Okay. If you aren't back in an hour, I'll come after you. Okay?" "Okay, Mom."

She headed down the sidewalk and around the corner, where she spotted the colossal supermarket with its flickering neon light. She walked into the store with the fifty dollars her mom gave her and checked her written grocery list. After she'd found everything, she brought it to the self-check-out and paid. Then she walked out with two plastic bags filled with fruits, meats, and veggies. She started back home but noticed it was getting very dark out, so she walked a bit faster, and soon it transitioned into a run. She ran a good distance with confidence, the bags supported by her arms so they would not break or drop.

Soon, however, she bashed into something that she did not see at first. She fell to the ground and her bags spilled all over the ground. She whined. "Oh man..." she said with a sad shaky voice. She looked up, and saw a man on his bottom as well, rubbing his head. "Ouch..." But oddly, the man soon showed a face of shock, then quickly got up and ran as if he was in a hurry. Luna looked down and saw that he'd left something behind. She shouted out to the man "You dropped your journal!" The man did not hear her and was too far away to catch up to. So, Luan, being such a curious and mischievous child, looked inside the man's journal, and felt sick to her stomach.

...

'A world run by Titans that we can not see because they only show themselves when it's necessary. No human can summon them by ritual, as these Titans act by their own will. God, Satan, The Purger of Purgatory, Baphomet, the Vile, Thanatos, and the Angel of Eyes. There are, however, other beings in power. One of the most powerful is said to be summoned under a red sky. She can become invisible, change shape, and alter reality in almost any way imaginable. This creature - is the Pariah. There was a poem that was found in a Greek structure in Turkey. Translated from Latin, the poem reads:'

She turned the page.

       'For at the end, there will be judgment.
A being of red formed in ferment.
Pariahs volunteer to assist the hand.
Expect her to come; for blood, and for man.
The red sky is planned,
and will be the harbinger of the Damned.'

       Beside the poem, she saw a sketch of a face, and there was doubt in the world. It was a sketch of Lincoln. Under his head, was the word "Angel".

       She turned the page.

       'I pray that when the red sky comes, and the Pariah plans on summoning herself onto Earth, I will be able to kill myself before I suffer the pain that the Greeks foretold. From what it may seem, there are two Hells. One is after death, and the other is before it.'

       'The angel will come to judge us all. The Pariah is coming. God save us all.'

       Luan tossed the journal to the ground. It was like the small book heated up to a thousand degrees. Then, right in front of her, it burned in seconds. From leather and papyrus to ashes in the wind. "Lincoln?" she thought to herself. "Is... an angel?"