I Am Afraid

My brain was screaming for action but my body remained frozen, whether due to shock or some influence of the green light or whatever. Slowly it turned its head, taking us in, one by one. A quiet smile played upon its face. “So much life. I have been in the abyss too long. You creatures are strong here. Not strong enough.” It examined one of its hands. “This vessel. So fragile. It will suffice.”

The other gun man in the room pointed his gun at his former boss. “What did you do to Johnny?” he demanded.

“Johnny?” There was a moment of confusion. “Do you mean this creature here?” it asked, gesturing to the crumpled figure on the ground.

The gun remained on target. “You know I do.”

“I blessed him. He has become the first to be enlisted in my Army of the Dead. I am sure he will be more useful in that role than he was in this existence.” That must have been all the gun man needed to hear. He fired his gun at his former boss. From the way the body reacted, the bullet connected with it but was unable to knock it down. Another bullet was fired with a similar reaction. The man's confidence in his firearm visibly faded as he emptied the clip. “I see that you are eager to join my Army.” Calmly he stepped towards the gun man, who remained frozen in his position. With the gentle placing of his hands on the gun man's shoulders, the gun man collapsed, dropping like a marionette who had its strings cut.

The loud report of gunfire in such a confined spot had been enough to shake me from my haze. I pushed myself away from the possible path of bullets. As the creature had approached the gun man, I had approached Ms. Chapman. She was still frozen, rooted to the spot. I nudged her with my shoulder. “Come on, time to go.” This did little to unphase her. I would have liked to have drag her away but we were both still bound, out wrists trapped behind our backs by a sturdy plastic loop. It also occurred to me that I wasn't sure which path to take to escape. I knew essentially where I was but, not having been in the exhibit previously, I didn't know the twists and turns. A moment's hesitation could be our end.

I continued nudging her, trying to break her free. Just as she seemed to be reacting, the creature turned its attention to us. There was something in the coldness of its stare that froze a person in place. “You two. Not warriors like these were I sense. You have intelligence. The Army also requires strategists. Planners. Officers.” Still with the faint smile playing about its lips, it advanced towards us. “You will do nicely.”

“Intelligence?” I echoed, babbling with nerves. “I don't know about that. I mean, I think I'm clever. My mom thinks I'm smart but most moms think highly of their children, right?”

“Under my influence, your nonsense will be removed; your intelligence focused. You will prove to be very useful.” It continued to advance. “What do you accomplish here? You eat, you work, you sleep, you reproduce. What impact do you have, truthfully? In my service, you will do great things. Powerful things. You will be important.”

Ms. Chapman was now pushing back against me. As I backed up, so did she. At least for the moment we were keeping some distance between us and it. “It's not every day you get a job offer,” I joked. Surprising how helpful a joke, even a bad one, can be in a situation like this. “What does the position entail?”

“There are those that have wronged me. They have misjudged my intentions. They must be shown the error of their ways.”

“Is it the killing that maybe makes people misjudge you?” I asked. There's a wall behind me. Crap!

“I bring peace. I bring the end to confusion. To pain. In serving me, there is only focus. All will be decided for you. The rewards are great.”

“I like the benefits package where I am, thank you.” Where's the door? There should be a door somewhere! It's too dark to see at the moment.

Our lack of movement seemed to activate something in Ms. Chapman.”What are you?”

The creature pressed. “Am I gone that long? Has the memory of me faded or perhaps disappeared? The fading coals of my remembrance shall be fanned to a raging fire. They will burn as will this world! I am Set! Seth! Sutech! I am the storm and the desert! I am your lord and master!” With a gesture the bodies of the gun men rose from the floor to stand at his side. “As they join me, so shall you.” His hands stretched out towards us.