Loud: Turmoil

Chapter 5

       Anita and Roger lived together in a small apartment, and they both were in a financial crisis. The television buzzed with static, before flipping with a click from channel to channel. "Wait, stop, I like that one." She tossed down the remote and laid back. "You watch these old crappy sitcoms? This stuff should've been scrapped right after they aired it. God-awful stuff. I remember my grandmother watched this one show with actors and puppets talking to each other. Who's idea was that and how quickly did they get shot after making it?" He chuckled. "You're so judgmental. I bet you've never even watched an episode of this show!" "Yeah, well if it's anything like the other three thousand of them, then it surely won't be exciting. Was it well-received? Like did people even watch it?" "One thousand monthly viewers." She scoffed. "That's terrible." "Gracious, you really are the TV show critic, huh? What's a show that pleases you, oh wonderful critic?" She thought for a second. "Petty Family was good." He threw his arms up in a disapproving shock. "Petty Family? Oh my gosh..."

       There was a knock on the door. "Can you answer that?" she asked. "I'd get it, but this show is so captivating." He was not amused by her sarcastic joke, but he did get up to open the door. He brought it ajar, just to see who was there. It was a young man, about in his early twenties, wearing a formal white suit. He opened the door fully and the man started to speak. "Hello sir, doing well today I hope?" They shook hands. "Not doing too badly myself, what brought you to my door?" He shuffled his tie into place. "Well, you see sir, I hear you spread the word of God." Roger folded his arms. "A missionary?" A contrived smile showed on his face. "Yes, precisely sir. But I'm not a modern Mormon, don't make that mistake! I'm a part of something much smaller, and I started this all by myself right now, it's just me and a few friends I met online." "Well then, kid, spit it out, what are you?" He grinned. "I'm a part of the Exploration for the Pariah. That's our group, and that's exactly what we do."

       "The Pariah? Clue me in." "You see, me and my other members have picked up on patterns in history and taken the word of many ancient observers, and they all describe a being and an angel, who both will come at the end of time, and judge all who live. People, animals, all of life on Earth." Roger almost felt creeped out by this, but he thought about it more and came to the conclusion that this was just another false alarmist who claimed they predicted the end of the world. "I'm sorry but, I don't think I'm interested." The man didn't let this news sadden him, at least not visually. Instead, he replied, "That's alright sir, thank you for your time." "No problem." He started to walk off, but he turned around for one last question. "Actually, have you seen anyone with a small journal? My friend lost his." "No, but there's a lost-and-found downstairs. You could look there." "Okay, thank you." Then he parted.

       ...

       Lisa hid in the closet. It was uncertain which one, as all of them were locked. Lana also hid, but she'd dug a hole under the house to reside in as a small mouse does in its hole. Luan read more of the journal, finding disturbing quotes from people she'd never heard of before. Also found were odd quotes that came from the Bible - ones that instilled a sense of despair and cynicism rather than unity and benevolence. She found one of the first pages in the journal to read the following:

       "As it is written:
       'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.'

       Romans 3:10-18"

       This made Luan feel unsettled, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint why. She flipped through some more pages before she heard faint rustling coming from another room. She peeked into the hallway and saw Lana running through the hallway, and she was carrying something. She ran right past Luan, and outside to the yard. Multiple members saw this curious behavior and decided to see what was being orchestrated. Lori, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lana, and Lisa stepped outside and under the dark of night. When they all stepped out and crowded together, they saw a dramatic stunt about to happen. Lana and Lola, are both standing by each other, with Lana holding a lit match, and Lola holding a bundle of fireworks. Lori screamed out, "LANA, DON'T-" But it was too late. The sparks started to run off the ends of the fuses, and several fireworks shot into the sky.

       BANG! BAM! POW! Each one burst with a delayed pop and a colorful palate of diverse colors. One, however, had gone astray and slammed into the house behind them. The whole place was quickly set into a bright orange blaze, which was reflected in the frozen eyes of every sibling who stared into the flames as they licked up at the sky. Luan was frozen like everybody else, but then a scary thought came to mind. She patted her pockets with her palms and felt nothing... The journal! "No... nonononononono! NO!" She ran to the front door and grabbed the handle. It was hot to the touch, but before she could rip the door open, she was tugged back by the collar of her shirt by Lori. "What are you doing Luan?! You can't go back in there!" So, with exhausting despair, she stared at the smoke that arose from the roof, only to disappear into the black sky. Ashes carried through the air and fell back down like snow.