Here it is! - chapter 3.

For those of you who have not read the preceeding 2 chapters I suggest you do so before jumping in the middle here. However, I am dependant on the kindness of strangers to provide the links for me. Hopefully some nice soul will post them at the bottom of this chapter as they have been doing thus far. My thanks in advance. As always - I enjoy reading your comments.

- Story Teller

Y2k Chronicles  Chapter 3 - The Service

It was a warm quiet night. Helen glanced at Cedric fast asleep across the camp. The dogs lay in between them. He had made himself fairly useful thus far. He was good at catching small animals and knew how to tend a fire. It seemed laughable to Helen now that this boy could ever have looked menacing. Cedric was not an idiot, and soon realized that Helen was a woman and not just some guy who never had to shave. He was so emotionally lost and so relieved to have found her  a mom - that she doubted she could have gotten rid of him now. He was eager to help and worked hard at collecting firewood.

Helen found she had gone from the stress of worrying how to stay protected from him to fretting about how to keep him safe. It seemed unfair to her that she hadn't been allowed a rest space of simple apathy. Gawd  the freedom of being able to not give a damn. She saw why so many indulged in the habit. Very liberating to care only for oneself. But then, that was how the world had gotten into this mess to start with.

She looked at Marly and smiled. Caring for her daughter was what made her strong. Working to keep Marly safe was what made Helen fight so hard to survive when so many others had given up. The idea that emotional isolation was a good way to be tough seemed silly to Helen. To be alone and hunkered in your bunker caring for no one but yourself, had to be the most cowardly way in the world to survive. Its loving that takes real guts, thought Helen.

Helen felt a change in the forest. Lately she had become as alert as a bird - listening for subtle changes in the sounds around her. There was a hush which often meant that something disruptive or dangerous could be nearby. She began to shield Marly without even thinking about it. So many of her movements had become instinctual now. Without the distraction of anything but the natural world Helen had learned to pay attention to the environment around her in a whole new way.

She was so tense with anticipation that she felt like she might shatter. When she heard the singing it took her a moment to figure out what the sound was. With a sudden snap in her mind she made sense of the tune and the words. Someone was singing "Onward Christian Soldiers" in a deep mellow tenor. Soon Helen heard the high arcing tones of a gifted soprano. The woman's voice was so achingly clean and sweet that Helen was lost in it. When the possessors' of the voices finally stood in front of Helen she was temporarily transfixed with wonder. Then the dogs jumped up and began to bark - causing Cedric and Marly to wake up and shaking Helen out of her stupor.

The tenor was a man of average height but of incredible build. He looked to be in his mid 40s. He had very short hair and glittery too-bright eyes. His chest was wide and he stood with his legs planted on the earth like pillars. He had a large backpack. In one hand was a bible and in the other a large black metal flashlight.

The soprano seemed very small to have such a large voice. She was wearing a dirty white sweatshirt with a heavy black skirt and hiking boots. It was hard to tell how old she was. She could have been anywhere from 30 to 50. She wore her hair braided in two plaits and she kept looking down. It was hard to believe that so much pure tone could have come from someone with such dull eyes.

"AND THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH" bellowed the man. " AND THE WICKED SHALL BE LAIN LOW AND THE JUST WILL RISE UP" he yelled. Marly began to whimper and Helen embraced her with one arm while reaching for her rifle with the other. Cedric looked alarmed and began to stand slowly.

"Hello" said Helen. "What can we do for you?" She said this almost too casually. As though she was sitting on her front porch at home on a normal day sipping lemonade. The man glowered at Helen and said. "You can repent, sinner, for the wickedness in your soul that brought you to this evil place. You can beg forgiveness of the Lord my God Jesus Christ. For His is the Kingdom and the Glory of heaven. Amen." Then he shone the flash light full into Helen's eyes. "You must SEE the light! Or you will forever be blinded in the darkness!" Helen blinked and looked away, tightening her grip on Marly and pushing her down. "Now Greg you've gone and frightened the little boy." said the woman. "What?" said Greg, and mercifully moved his flashlight to shine it on the woman instead "I said, your yelling is frightening the little boy over there." "Hunh" he grunted and abruptly sat down. "Woman, set up camp." He shrugged off his pack, let it drop on the ground and began to read the bible to himself. The woman scurried around rolling out sleeping bags and setting up a camp stove. Helen was astounded. They had propane! They had fresh vegetables, and omigod  coffee, bread and butter!

Helen found herself drooling. She knew at that point she would gladly confess too sins involving barnyard animals for one slice of buttered bread and a cup of coffee. As it turned out she didn't have to. The woman (Lisa was her name) handed her some as well as everyone else. Lisa served the whole camp and Helen realized with a shock that neither Cedric nor Greg found that the least bit odd. Both seemed to take it for granted that Lisa would prepare and serve all the food by herself. It occurred to Helen that she should have tried cross-dressing before. Just to see how the other half lives.

Greg continued to read from the Bible. He rocked gently forward and back as he caressed each page. He seemed to have forgotten about everyone and everything else. "More coffee!" he barked and Lisa scurried forward with the hot pot. The smell of real coffee steaming in the fresh air of the deep forest made Helen feel intoxicated. When Lisa stumbled and fell, it happened so fast the Helen barely had time to register it. Greg stood up, hot coffee dripping off his face and began to strike Lisa with the drenched Bible. "Clumsy slut!!!!" he screamed and began to kick her. This was more than the dogs could take and they rose up as one and lunged at Greg. He struggled to push them off, dropping the flashlight. The Bible fell to the ground and he tripped on it, falling backwards with the full weight of both of the snarling, snapping dogs. He rolled to his side, groped under his left arm and pulled out a gun.

--------------------- To be continued ------------------------ ;-)

-- Story Teller (anonymous@for.now), June 17, 1999

Answers

Good stuff, Storyteller. A real page-turner...and no more pages to turn..arrrgh.

I especially liked this: " It seemed unfair to her that she hadn't been allowed a rest space of simple apathy. Gawd  the freedom of being able to not give a damn. She saw why so many indulged in the habit. Very liberating to care only for oneself. But then, that was how the world had gotten into this mess to start with." I'd like to edit that and include it in my sig-quote collection.

Hallyx

"Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance." --- Cowboy's Guide to Life

-- Hallyx (Hallyx@aol.com), June 17, 1999.

Story Teller . . .

fess up . . you ARE Jeffrey Archer arent you ?

Jeffrey . . have you been drinking from the dog bowl again ? You KNOW how that messes with your medication. Back to bed now.

"It occurred to Helen that she should have tried cross-dressing before. Just to see how the other half lives."

ROFLMAO

-- So awful its actually (quite@engaging.in.a.quaint.kind.of.way), June 17, 1999.

Story Teller,

The single criteria to make an author successful is readers. You clearly have plenty of those (including me). I look forward to the next chapter.

Y2k Chronicals - Chapter 2 - Hel and gone

Y2k chronicals - chapter1 - The Horde

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), June 17, 1999.

I'd like to see the 'dog' characters developed a bit more. Let's get into their heads, find out what they're thinking, what their motivations are. Were they abused as children? Are their coats shiny?

-- Spidey (in@jam.com), June 17, 1999.

Aw, now you had to go and ruin my enjoyment! You had to go and pick a "religious" person as the bad guy. Typical, though, and straight from media influence. Lots of bad guys in tv and movies are "religious fanatics."

You notice that I didn't identify your bad guy as a Christian. It takes more than thumping a Bible and quoting verses to be a Christian. And it definitely takes more than Bible thumping and verse quoting to be a man. I'm talking about a REAL man, not an insecure male who stokes his ego at the cost of his relationship with his wife.

But, I rant on. I know that this is just a story (BTW, Ive read all installments so far) and I will continue to read but I will cringe everytime you use the 'Greg' character.

Linda, who has the love of a REAL man, who does read his Bible and know verses but who would never intentionally degrade his wife.

-- newbiebutnodummy (Linda@home.com), June 17, 1999.

Thanks for the hard work your putting into this Story Teller. Now can I just get one more chapter? Please... just one more.. I'll do anything. LOL

I really like the fact that you took the liberty to go the route of political uncorrectness. This new guy with the "Jesus is Lord when you die but I'm your Lord for now" attitude is really great. I don't know how many times I've met someone with the Holier Than Thou attitude (especially around churches). If it were me writing the book I'd have had Helen squeeze off a couple of rounds from her trusty M-40 A1 and do some crazy, Xenaesque amazon battle cry right before she charges them with her bayonet drawn....

Nah, I like your version better. LOL

Thanks again ST, can't wait for chapter 4.

-- (oldyeller@sanfran.com), June 17, 1999.

I promise you that I am not Jeffrey Archer. Whomever he may be.

Linda,

Take heart and be patient. Greg is not the only Christian you will meet in this story. Not all Christians are bad nor are they all good. They are a mixed bag like every other group. Greg has his own story and his own reasons for being insane. I don't consider him to be a villain. Just extremely dangerous in his dementia. You certainly don't have to be a Christian to be crazy.

Anyone is free to quote from the text in whatever capacity they desire as long as they are not making money off my writing and will provide a URL or hot link to the chapter they took it from and don't alter my wording.

I am struggling with the anononymity (sp?) issue. On the one hand it provides me with a great deal of freedom - on the other hand it negates any desires I have lurking in my heart for fame and infamy as a writer of fiction. However, writing is a risky business as Rushdie knows. A nom de plume is often a writer's best insurance. I guess if anyone has a compelling reason to know who I am (like they want to reprint the chapters in dead tree format or -gasp- offer me money) then let me know. Otherwise I am perfectly happy to remain a mystery.

Thanks all for your comments. More soon.

-- Story Teller (anonymous@for.now), June 17, 1999.

Love the story. Keep it coming.

-- DJ (reality@check.com), June 17, 1999.

Looks like you have run out of story and have jumped into the cesspool. Like many others at this forum I will read no further updates to your story. Please do not continue to waste bandwidth here.

-- T (seeapervert@storystinks.com), June 17, 1999.

Story Teller, I could put up a webpage for you (for free) on my site where you could post your stories enmass. E-mail me if you are interested.

-- ExCop (Yinadral@Juno.com), June 17, 1999.

oldyeller -

I really like the fact that you took the liberty to go the route of political uncorrectness.

You're kidding, right? Crazed "Bible-thumpers" are stock characters in modern American story-telling. Cape Fear comes to mind, but examples are numerous. Bad-crazy, verse-spouting, and most often male, they provide easy antagonists, especially for bright, spunky female protagonists. Shades of the lunatic "Preacher" character in Lucifer's Hammer, but without the cannibalism...

Quick: name four current television series (out of over 100) which feature devoutly religious (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, you name it) protagonists. I'll make it easy and provide two: Promised Land and Seventh Heaven. Name two more.

Name four movies (out of over 100) released in America in the past two years which featured devoutly religious protagonists. Not very easy, is it? Might have to cite The Phantom Menace just to list one.

Faith is not mainstream and definitely not politically correct.

Story Teller -

My apologies for taking over the thread. Must be a bit odd to get feedback on one's writing in such an "interactive" manner. May prove useful should you get the opportunity to polish and publish, though.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), June 17, 1999.

Um Mac, that is kind of what I meant. Maybe you misread my post... I said political UNcorrectness. I never hear about the crazy christians that are so damn abundant in this world, especially not the abusive, violent types. Oh they exist alright, we just never hear about them. But anyway, to whoever wrote that crap about wasting bandwidth... it's not your call to make and I think it's painfully obvious that a majority of people here like the story. So shut your yapper!

-- (oldyeller@sanfran.com), June 17, 1999.

I am enjoying the story. Looking forward to more! Marcy

-- marcy Sawyer (marcia@madnet.net), June 17, 1999.

To All,

I am enjoying the interactive nature between my story and the forum. I was hoping that this story would spark thoughtful debate. As long as it does not degenerate into flaming and abuse I will be happy.

-- Story Teller (anonymous@for.now), June 17, 1999.

Story Teller, we've hazarded a guess as to who you are ;^)
There have been great sagas on this Forum. Keep going. They all stopped after about 4-5 installments -- break the record!

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), June 17, 1999.

Chapter 4 is posted.

Ashton and Leska if you think you know who I am then e-mail me! Maybe I should give a prize to the first person who guesses correctly. On the other hand I am likely to get around to offending more people with every chapter. So perhaps I'll keep it a secret after all. :-)

-- Story Teller (anonymous@for.now), June 17, 1999.

oldyeller -

Judging from your reply, it seems that I was unclear. Since the early 70's, the "Christian" villain has become a common, stock character. A protagonist with deeply-held religious convictions of any kind, on the other hand, is difficult to find (I cited two, and of course we have to add Touched by an Angel to this list).

That's why I posed those questions. It's quite difficult to name TV shows or movies which show sincere faith of any kind in a positive light, and it is certainly not a dominant theme. Far more common is the attitude of the ever-popular Bart Simpson as he says "Grace": "Dear Lord, we paid for all this food ourselves. So thanks for nothing."

Sorry, Story Teller. I'll stop now. 'Tis your thread...

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), June 17, 1999.

OK, Story Teller, check your InBox, we've wagered a wild guess in the dark ;^) Twill be interesting to see if we can matching writing styles "blind." Heeheeheeeheee, the entertainment continues.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), June 17, 1999.

Story Teller, keep it coming. I enjoyed the humor when Helen was drooling over the food and was willing to confess to deeds with barnyard animals (or something to that affect) This is wondeful...and I see Chapter 4 is already posted....2 in 1 day!! Thank you

-- quielty (quietly@lurking.com), June 17, 1999.

Story Teller,

Keep it coming! My favorite line of chapter 3 ". It occurred to Helen that she should have tried cross-dressing before. Just to see how the other half lives."

Great stuff.

mb in NC

-- mb (mdbutler@coastalnet.com), June 17, 1999.

Story Teller-Thanks for the reassurance. I'll hang on for more 'entertainment'. Thanks for your efforts. A little diversion is good for the overworked! Linda

-- newbiebutnodummy (Linda@home.com), June 18, 1999.

to the top

-- libby alexander (libbyalex@aol.com), June 20, 1999.