Wake of Advent

At last I reached the top of the snow-covered mountainous hill. I grabbed the top of the summit and used the last of my energy to pull myself up. With my legs still dangling over the side, I twisted my lower half until my whole body was finally on the top of the snow. I wanted to rest, but I knew I couldn’t. At this point I was so exhausted that I had to summon the last of my adrenaline just to stand. How tired I was, and the strong evening chill made me feel faint. My knees shook and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. I took several deep breaths as I felt beads of sweat drip from my forehead. I took another deep breath and used the slight burst of energy to wipe away the sweat. As I looked down at my palm, my vision began to blur. Suddenly, all the strength in my body left and I collapsed onto my knees in the snow.

I took one last deep breath and saw it come out of my mouth like smoke. I had no idea just how long I sat there. Maybe a few moments, maybe a few minutes, there was no way to tell. The sun wasn’t even visible anymore due to the sky being blanketed in dark grey clouds. I clutched my elbows and shivered. There were no sounds anywhere, not even a faraway echo. I closed my eyes and held my breath for a moment to slow my heartbeat. I couldn’t even form coherent thoughts I was so lightheaded. In fact, a strong tingly went through my whole body as if I were taking a bath in cotton.

A loud rumble above caused me to instantly open my eyes. It sounded like thunder and clacking train cars. All of a sudden, the hill rumbled underneath me. I couldn’t tell if it was just the hill that was shaking or was it the whole area. Black clouds swirled above the wooded area below in a circular motion as if they were forming a tornado. The vortex was enormous. Maybe it was miles across, I didn’t know for sure. More clouds were pulled into the vortex as it twirled faster and faster.

Once more, I took another deep breath and mustered up the strength to stand. I started to make my way over to the other side of the hill. There had to have been just a few inches of snow on that hill, but when you’re so tired that it takes all of your being just to stand, then there may as well be several feet of the white stuff. Several times I fell on my knees and landed face first in the snow. I coughed and gaged as I spat out snow and dirt. I glanced up as the sounds of the rumbling became louder. At the center of the vortex, the clouds began to open apart. In the center was a gigantic, black-colored hole. I gasped and opened my eyes wider. The clouds had not revealed the blue that was the sky, but an empty black void. My sense of time was off, but it couldn’t have been night so soon. The grey clouds over the horizon were still illuminated so it had to have been evening still. But why was this black hole appearing in the sky amongst the clouds?

‘Now what?’ I thought. A few moments later, the dark void slowly began to glow brightly. It unleashed a bright yellow flash that seemed to light up everything. I had to shield my face from its intensity. It was almost as if the sun had returned and made up for lost time. Moments later, the bright flash died down and was replaced by a simple glowing yellow that filled in the void. Rays of light broke through the darkened clouds and shined upon the snow-covered landscape. The snowy woods illuminated brightly with a golden aura.

I force myself with nothing but willpower and adrenaline to stand back onto my feet. I finally made my way to the edge of the hill and stared outward at the snowy, wooded landscape below. In the distance the area was littered with the bleeding bodies of the dead. Their blood painting the snow a darkening red. It was horrible what happened to them. As I stared at them from above all I could do was think of brief glimpses of what happened. Crows, buzzards, and vultures were everywhere pecking at the corpses ripping the already disfigured bodies to shreds. The birds all looked mutilated and diseased. Some of them had their feathers falling off, and their skin underneath was decaying. As some of the birds pecked away at the bodies, they vomited violently causing their own insides to hang out of their beaks.

The sound of nearby flapping and a caw caused me to jump. I screamed and fell back on the ground. A lone, undisfigured crow landed beside me twitching its head rapidly. It spread its wings and cawed loudly. I could feel my heartbeat speed up. The cookies and soda I consumed earlier jumped back up in my throat. In the moment, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if the bird wanted to attack me or what. I didn’t want to provoke it, but I couldn’t help but feel myself tense up. Knowing what these little bastards have done I couldn’t hold in my anger.

“Get the hell away from me!” I shouted. I grabbed a handful of snow and flung it at the bird, which made it fly away. I watched the bird fly for a few moments before falling onto my back. As I laid there staring at the grey clouds above, I took more deep breaths. My heart continued to race rapidly but I did feel it begin to slow a bit. “I never want to see another goddamn bird,” I said to myself.

In the sky, white colored balls of different shapes suddenly appeared from all around that shined like light bulbs. They rose toward the big yellow hole in the clouds.

‘What the hell are those?’ I thought. I waited several moments until I was certain that a small amount of energy had returned to my body. Even still, I struggled with all of my might to stand. I looked outward and saw that the balls of light were coming from the bodies below. As the birds ripped them apart, the orbs came out and floated upward into the sky where they met up with the bright yellow void. I felt my jaw dropped. Suddenly, a sharp pain shoot through my head.

“What the hell is this? Shit! Not again!” I shouted. I grunted and grabbed my head with both hands. The pain felt like a strong migraine moving from my body up to my head. I staggered and shouted at the top of my lungs which echoed through the area. It was the same pain that I had recently grown accustomed to, though that didn’t make enduring it any less daunting.

I fell back onto my knees and collapsed face first in the snow. My head twisted to the side just enough to let me get a glimpse back up at the sky. There was no getting back up. I didn’t have any more energy. Not to mention that it felt like a burning anvil with nails on the bottom was sitting on top of my head. I glanced upward and noticed a ring of light forming a few inches above my head. All of a sudden, the pain in my head stopped and it felt as if some of my energy had returned. I didn’t know what happened, but I sat up on the ground. I reached up to grab the ring of light, but my hand passed right through it. Was this thing responsible for the sudden burst of energy in my body? My attention gravitated back to the sky. The balls of light nearly filled the sky as they continued floating upward into the massive hole.

“What is this? Why is this happening?” I said to myself.

So many things happened but I didn’t know why. I lowered my head and stared at the snow. What happened to us? How did we all get here? I didn’t know what to think about or even how to think. There was a huge blank in my mind. A heavy feeling dropped into the pit of my stomach. Who knows if it was the wind or not, but I felt a strong cold shiver go down my spine. I tried thinking back to before all this started but I had trouble focusing my thoughts. Everything for the most part seemed to be going right until all of this started.

But now I was here, in this situation. I didn’t know what would happen next. Would I be the next one to die? Would I end up like the others? My body shivered in anticipation. I closed my eyes. Even while attempting to remember back to what happened yesterday, I couldn’t help but to say the first thing that came to mind.

“Oh my god. Please let this be a dream.”

“Kate, where are you? You know you’re late, right?”

“Yeah, I know. Just chill out. We got held up a bit, but we’re nearly there. See you in a little.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

I hung up my cell and looked at the clock on the wall. They were supposed to have been here at three, but it was nearly five. Outside the clock’s ticking, the house was silent. Since the folks left to visit relatives for New Year’s Day a few days ago, I was left alone. It was pretty peaceful having the whole house to myself for a week. It was so nice to have some quiet time to myself, especially after the holiday season. So many relatives came to visit that after a while it made my head spin. Like always, it was the same old bullshit I had gotten use to since I was in my teens. Instead of getting a decent Christmas present, I got the usual clothes and underwear. There were so many questions concerning the pagan holiday I came to realize. Why do people take only one day out of the year to give someone a special gift? What do they do during the rest of the year? To me, Christmas was just a farce. Nothing more than just a pagan holiday mixed with Catholic customs. What was supposed to be a time of love and gathering was nothing more than just a way for companies to make profits off the naïve.

I wasn’t sure when the relative would be back but at least they knew I’d be leaving with my friends. Whenever they do return, they wouldn’t wonder where I was.

I walked to the window and pulled down the blinds. I glanced outside. About six inches of snow was still outside. Even after a week, it was all still there probably waiting for more to fall. The coffee and kettle pots strung up around the top of the porch were used as makeshift birdhouses. Each one was packed with snow. Even the bird feeders near the front of the porch hung from nearby tree branches had thick snow packed on their tops. What a sight of pure white fluff everywhere. I liked the snow even though it’s been all I’ve seen for the last couple of days.

In times of my youth, I’d go play in the snow. I would take long walks through the snowy forest, made snowmen, and had snowball fights with my friends. Back in those days, you could gather bowls of snow and eat it like ice cream. We’d take different flavors and mix it in making our own snow cone-like concoctions. But I guess when you grow up the novelty wears off. Now it was more than just something to shovel off the sidewalk and hoped that you could get your car out of the driveway.

Even still, I enjoyed the snow in my recent years. It was nice and calm, especially when it fell. The falling flakes created a soothing effect that just seemed to pull you in almost like watching falling water. Hard to believe as it may be but there were no two flakes that were the same. Every single one had their own distinctive personality and traits. To me, it was most beautiful during the evening when the sun illuminated the clouds reflecting an orange tint onto the snow. There was nothing like having a cup of hot tea while looking outside as the snow fell. It was just so mystical, majestic, and brought a tranquil feeling with it.

I gritted my teeth and frowned my eyes. I tapped my fist onto the windowsill. ‘Dammit Kate! Where are you? Come on!’

It was so annoying when a person said they’re coming and you’re standing there waiting for them to come but they don’t show. It’s so shitty. You wonder what’s taking so long while they’re probably out somewhere not even thinking about you. This shit always happens, and it shows you just how reliable people can be. People suck.

I got tired of pacing back and forth and looked back at the clock. My thoughts got the better of me. I was about to unpack and cancel the trip. I looked at the clock again and saw it was a little after five. ‘Yeah, they’re not coming,’ I thought. I slammed my fist against the wall. ‘I got some words for you Kate. Wait till I see your ass again.’

I began unzipping my duffle bags. For a moment, I wondered what I was going to do with that suitcase. I didn’t feel like dragging it all the way back to my room. All of a sudden, sounds of a vehicle pulling up in the driveway caught my attention. I looked up and dashed over to the window. I peeped out through the blinds and saw a black SUV. I sighed.

‘Typical, right when I start unpacking.’

I zipped my duffle bags back up, threw them onto my back, and grabbed my suitcase. I turned off the lights and left my house while locking the door behind me. I walked down the porch steps and took note of the snow still piled on the walk.

‘Forgot to sweep that off.’

Normally I’d sweep the snow off, but I was so busy working on my new book, which had taken a lot of time to construct. I loved writing. It’s always been my hobby. Even before college, I wrote several books and short stories. For the winter break I decided to finally start working on my latest novel. I considered working on it during this trip but decided not too as I hadn’t had a chance to fully relax yet.

I walked to the SUV and went toward the back. I pulled up the back door and saw several backpacks and suitcases stacked on top of one another. I looked around for a space where I could sit my belonging on. I tossed my luggage on the left and closed the door. I came around to the passenger door and climbed inside. Through the front rear-view mirror Kate’s eyes glared at me.

“Kate!” I shouted.

“I told you Stanford, it wasn’t my fault,” Kate turned around and looked at me. “If you’re going to be pissed at anyone it should be at Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb back there.”

I glanced to the left and saw Steve and Eric both decked out in heavy snow gear. Steve, the dark skinned one, had on a thick, silver snow jacket. He had a fresh short cut and a low-cut goatee. His overall appearance made me think of actor Michael B. Jordan. The other guy, the Caucasian one, Eric, just screamed Adam Irigoyen and had a short, wavy hairdo. He wore a black snow jacket and sat with his leg crossed. Both had silly looking grins on their faces.

“Steve, Eric, is this true?” I asked.

“No Stanford, it’s not!” Steve yelled.

“Yeah,” Eric said. “We just wanted to stop and pick up something to eat but Kate wouldn’t let us.”

Kate faced the front, “What they’re not telling you is that they were in the back playing those stupid video games of theirs while shouting and bumping into the front seats. I had to pull over a few times to get them to stop.”

“Right. Whatever Kate,” I scoffed. I folded my arms and leaned back in the seat.

“Hey Stanford!” a soft high-pitched voice call out in front of me. I peeped around the front seat’s corner.

“Hi Rhoda.” I wrapped my arms around the seat and hugged her from behind. I rested my head on her long, velvet red hair. “How’s my favorite little Arianna Grande lookalike doing today?”

“Really good, I’m excited about this trip that Kate invited us on,” she said cheerfully.

I snuggled my face against her cheek. “Me too, babe.”

I leaned back in the seat and looked at Kate, “You know, Kate. I actually started unpacking. I didn’t know if you got lost or decided not to come.”

“I keep telling you, it was those two,” she said while backing us out of the driveway. “But on the subject of stopping for something to eat, we can swing by McDonald’s if you want.”

“Nah, that’s okay,” I waved a hand. “I already ate. But thanks though.”

As we drove up the driveway, I took a moment to look at the woods surrounding my house. They were some pretty dense woods. Even during the day, there was a dark shroud blanketing them throughout. It was definitely a place one wouldn’t want to get lost in, especially at night. Some nights you could hear loud howling noises. Who knows if it were a wolf or some other animal, whatever it was it was as if it were saying to stay out of the woods. There were fresh deer footprints in the snow-covered grass just outside the woods. I wondered if they came out during the night or early morning as I never saw them during the day except in the misty early mornings of spring. They’d occasionally come out during the evening, but I suppose they did things differently in the winter.

At the end of the driveway Kate made a left, which took us east. I sat back and made myself comfortable. I didn’t know how long we’d be on the road and wondered if I should’ve brought something to read. My laptop was in the back with the rest of the luggage. Maybe I should’ve brought it up front so I could keep working on my book.