Purpose in Life, Part 2

Dec. 7 - Frenchtown, N.J.

At first I didn’t notice. Kate and I were so shut up in the apartment building that I didn’t notice the smell. It was the light that caught my attention. The flickering that danced even after the sunset. The town was burning.

I was not sure what to associate the fires with. There were two ways of looking at it. Well, three if you want to look at it literally. Literally, these fires were caused by one thing or another and went unchecked because there was no one to check them. No firefighters or rescue workers of any kind could be seen. Kate and I sat huddled in the apartment, worried at first about the flames reaching us. They wouldn’t, of course. We were separated by asphalt and water and grass. To be safe I went through to the utility room in the building and made sure the pilot lights were off on the boilers. Aside from that, the gas and electricity had fled like everything else. The only fire was coming from the matches I had left.

Again, I was left to wonder about the raging fires outside our shelter. There were two ways I was looking at it. Positively, these were the cleansing fires of the Lord coming to banish all the demons around us. Negatively, this was the final arrival of Hell. During the day, Kate and I would watch as different buildings collapsed and went ablaze. During the night, we would watch the shadows dance on the walls.

Three days went by and Kate was the one to have the frightful realization. She had been very quiet up until this point. The only times I heard her really speak were when I asked her direct questions or when she was pretending to talk to her parents on her phone. Please do not mention to her that I heard her doing this.

I do not know why I had blanked on this before, and I apologize to you about it. We never thought to think there would be other survivors trapped in those buildings. Well, that is not exactly true. We had thought of other survivors, but we were to upset to actually leave. On the second day of her staying with me, Kate had asked me not to leave the apartment to search. She also begged me never to ask her to go outside with me. We were shut-ins. This obviously could not last, but I stayed to keep her calm. And, to claim a bit of selfishness, I was still terrified of the outside. I am making small strides there.

Kate reminded me what I had told her on the first night we met. She reminded me of how I told her I was here to save people, to save the souls trapped out there. And she was right. That is what I am here to do.You are another example of that. I explained that we didn’t know exactly where anyone would be. I explained the danger. She told me we would be guided, somehow, like I was to her. Our faith became our courage. She said she was willing to come outside with me if it meant helping others.

It was this very morning, at the break of dawn. The dawn took longer than usual to break through the smoke. Breathing was a bit difficult, but we had to go. We went outside. I carried my bat. Kate carried a kitchen knife. We had no other ideas. I would lead and she would follow and we would simply go forward and see what we could do. We walked away from the apartments and across the parking lot and through the field and into the town. The destruction was, is, completely different up close. From the vantage of the apartment windows we could not notice all the ash. It was like a deathly snowfall. Everything was so untouched, to pristine in a haunting way. Kate walked closer to me.

She was the first to start coughing.

“Do you want to turn back?” I asked.

“No.” She coughed. “The air is just so thick. “She coughed again.

“This isn’t healthy,” I told her.

She gave me a smile. There was an angelic hint to it. “What type of saviors turn back at the first sign of trouble?”

“Well, just tell me if it gets worse.” I choked down my own cough. If Kate noticed, she didn’t mention it.

You know how cold it is right now, but this is not obvious in town. The heat from the fires and the embers of once-buildings is keeping it at a spring temperature. A comfortable Hell, perhaps. We walked through the destruction and avoided those buildings still being destroyed. We saw no sign of life, and no signs of the still moving dead. We saw none of it. The horrors of the past few weeks were being erased. Everything was being erased. There were no supplies to be found. There was no escape to be discovered. There was nothing.Three days of fire, going on four, and everything was disappearing. Perhaps the world will be uncreated in six days and we can all finally rest on the seventh.

Our lungs were burning and we were about the leave, to go back to our three-story tower of safety, when we heard you. You and your friends. Shouting for help in what would have been a vain attempt had Kate and I not been walking in that shell of a town at that very instant. God works in mysterious ways, but I think you already know that. We heard the calls and made our way to them.

The building all of you were in was one of the last remaining on the streets. The brick was washed with soot, but the flames had not found themselves to the actual structure yet. As I look out the window, I notice that they have made their way in now. The windows provided enough light for us to see inside. We could hear the cries but could not see where you were. Kate and I entered the building, not knowing what to expect.

I saw you first. Maybe you didn’t notice me at first, but I definitely saw you first. You looked so scared, trapped. The monster was near you, ignoring you some. It had a different target in mind. The person who had been keeping you alive, who had given up her life to make sure you kept yours, was dead when we arrived.Her humanity had left her at this point. From my experience, I can safely tell you that her soul was leaving her body and that body was being taken. The room now had two villains inside, keeping you and your friends trapped in those cages.

I heard Kate gasp. “Someone’s been in here this whole time. If we had come sooner, we could have saved her.”

You saw my rage. I was angry at the creature and angry at myself. My cowardice had let someone die. I let emotion get the best of me. Perhaps that is what I needed to take care of these two assailants. How else could I have saved you? I had no idea what would have happened if I left you there with them. Would you have become one? I do not want to think about it. I slammed my bat into the skull of the first creature and I felt the impact rattle my hands. The other, your former savior, caught me be surprise and took a swing. The bat was knocked from me. I was suddenly on the ground, with the remains of a woman trying to kill me.

I felt like I was alone and doomed. Had I forgotten Kate was with me? Part of me had. But part of me must have remembered. Why else would I have yelled?

“Kate! Save me!”

I will never forget what Kate did. Maybe you won’t, either. To see her, such a small woman, become so violent will always astound me. The way she tackled the creature. The way she yelled, cursed. The way she brought that knife so accurately into the creature’s eye. Do you think she knew that would kill it? I do not have the nerve to ask her yet. But I think there was more motivating her actions than just saving me.

So there we were, standing in front of you and all your friends. You were safe. God watches over all creatures, both great and small. I opened your cage first, as you remember. There was something about you that made me. You leapt out and licked me. No, I am not saying that in a bad way. I am saying it because it emphasized the point. I am glad that we were able to help all of your friends. And I’m sure they are glad, too.

Six dogs may seem like a lot, but I how could we just leave all of you to die in there? I am sure your friends had good reasons for running off. Just as I’m sure you had a good reason for staying by me. You may be making Kate jealous. Still, she did not complain when she helped me bring back those bags of food for you.

I think it’s your name that has struck us the most. Who names a dog Hope? Kate enjoys this greatly.

“I’m glad we found Hope.”

“I know, Kate.”

“Now we have Hope with us.”

“I know, Kate.”

“Hope is something we should always keep around.”

“I know Kate.”

Maybe I should get to the point. We saved you, Hope. You are another saved soul, along with your friends, wherever they went. I may be slow at this, but I am trying to save souls. And that brings me back to what I think the fires mean. I think they are a representation of Hell. I think they are Hell and that I am meant to walk through it to find those that need saving. They are Heavenly sent to tell me to get moving. And that is what I intend to do. With you by my side, and Kate, I am going to save more. Even if I have to walk through Hell itself to do so.