Appalachian Galapagos by Weston Ochse, David Whitman
Authors: Weston Ochse, David Whitman
Tags: Horror
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faith."
Jimmy nodded.
Frank smiled, "That could be true. That could very well be true. And it makes a certain amount of sense. Just don't go be discounting Darwin."
"So we're back to my original argument. This whole thing with the river and the Bigfoot has been a test of God's Emergency Faith Management System and we got to play it out. We have to finish the journey. Now, you can leave us here, head home and go back to your routine life if you want. But remember one thing, man. And I know you know this is true. We are the best friends you will ever have. If you leave us now, you may as well never come back. And I would regret the hell out of that, Frank, and I know that Jimmy agrees."
Frank stared at the light. He already felt lost. "I guess I'm not gonna turn my back on my friends."
Lukas growled as he picked up one of the beast's bristly legs.
"Then let's get movin '."
Frank said, making an effort to lighten the mood. "Especially since all our beer's gone. Let's get this the fuck over with. And I ain't carrying Mighty Joe Young any further than that light."
His imploring stare all but ordered his friends to assist.
"Who's with me?"
Chapter 5:
Church Key...Incense and Acid Drops...Machine Gun Wishes...Revenge Is Mine
Ten minutes of struggling found them standing in front of a long, single story church. Even in the darkness, the weathered gray of the clapboard sidings was visible. As was the white pinnacle and slightly skewed steeple wrapped in a length of rusted barbed wire. Three stairs made from old mortar and river stones rose to a tall door. Above this was a plastic-covered transom, from which muted light illuminated a small circle of night. The thick strains of a hymn seeped through and enveloped the three.
Before our Father's throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
Our comforts and our cares.
We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear,
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.
So lulled were they by the singing and their own exhaustion, they jumped as the voices within shouted, " AMEN !"
The daddy long legs along Frank's spine redoubled its efforts. There were no cars in the parking lot. There wasn't even a parking lot. There wasn't even a road. How had the people come here?
"This is straight out of a bad B-movie, guys. Shit like this is never good. People get eaten in places like that. I don't like it at all."
"So what are we gonna do?" asked Jimmy. "And tell me this don't seem like God's hand now. A church, smack dab in the middle of fuckin' nowhere. Right after we have a conversation about Him? Hell, I can practically see his fingers reachin ' out of the sky."
Lukas smiled, the power of the Lord within him. "I'll go inside and see if they have a phone or somethin '," he said, wiping his rank hands on his jeans. "If I start screamin ' y'all better come in and save me. This ain't West Virginia, so there shouldn't be no snake dancin ', but this place is weird enough that I don't know what to expect."
"Maybe it's one of those Satan churches," Jimmy said, staring at the Bigfoot's haunted eyes
"Right. And that's why they have the cross, fool," Lukas said, sighing loudly. "What a fuckin' idiot."
"No," Frank said. "Let me go in. I have a plan." He grinned tiredly. "But if they have a big-ass vat of Kool-Aid, I'm running."
Before they could argue, he ascended the steps. Flecks of dried mud and Bigfoot blood fell away as he stomped a few times. The smell of incense drifted through the cracked doors and smelled heavenly against the backdrop of the dead beast's rankness. He took a breath of mountain air courage and stepped into the lighted room.
The singing abruptly stopped as he entered, giving him the bizarre feeling that the door was an on/off switch. Dozens of heads swiveled towards him, their hostility cutting like hurled hatchets. Frank was reminded of old hippie communes as he noticed that most of the congregation had long,
Jimmy nodded.
Frank smiled, "That could be true. That could very well be true. And it makes a certain amount of sense. Just don't go be discounting Darwin."
"So we're back to my original argument. This whole thing with the river and the Bigfoot has been a test of God's Emergency Faith Management System and we got to play it out. We have to finish the journey. Now, you can leave us here, head home and go back to your routine life if you want. But remember one thing, man. And I know you know this is true. We are the best friends you will ever have. If you leave us now, you may as well never come back. And I would regret the hell out of that, Frank, and I know that Jimmy agrees."
Frank stared at the light. He already felt lost. "I guess I'm not gonna turn my back on my friends."
Lukas growled as he picked up one of the beast's bristly legs.
"Then let's get movin '."
Frank said, making an effort to lighten the mood. "Especially since all our beer's gone. Let's get this the fuck over with. And I ain't carrying Mighty Joe Young any further than that light."
His imploring stare all but ordered his friends to assist.
"Who's with me?"
Chapter 5:
Church Key...Incense and Acid Drops...Machine Gun Wishes...Revenge Is Mine
Ten minutes of struggling found them standing in front of a long, single story church. Even in the darkness, the weathered gray of the clapboard sidings was visible. As was the white pinnacle and slightly skewed steeple wrapped in a length of rusted barbed wire. Three stairs made from old mortar and river stones rose to a tall door. Above this was a plastic-covered transom, from which muted light illuminated a small circle of night. The thick strains of a hymn seeped through and enveloped the three.
Before our Father's throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
Our comforts and our cares.
We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear,
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.
So lulled were they by the singing and their own exhaustion, they jumped as the voices within shouted, " AMEN !"
The daddy long legs along Frank's spine redoubled its efforts. There were no cars in the parking lot. There wasn't even a parking lot. There wasn't even a road. How had the people come here?
"This is straight out of a bad B-movie, guys. Shit like this is never good. People get eaten in places like that. I don't like it at all."
"So what are we gonna do?" asked Jimmy. "And tell me this don't seem like God's hand now. A church, smack dab in the middle of fuckin' nowhere. Right after we have a conversation about Him? Hell, I can practically see his fingers reachin ' out of the sky."
Lukas smiled, the power of the Lord within him. "I'll go inside and see if they have a phone or somethin '," he said, wiping his rank hands on his jeans. "If I start screamin ' y'all better come in and save me. This ain't West Virginia, so there shouldn't be no snake dancin ', but this place is weird enough that I don't know what to expect."
"Maybe it's one of those Satan churches," Jimmy said, staring at the Bigfoot's haunted eyes
"Right. And that's why they have the cross, fool," Lukas said, sighing loudly. "What a fuckin' idiot."
"No," Frank said. "Let me go in. I have a plan." He grinned tiredly. "But if they have a big-ass vat of Kool-Aid, I'm running."
Before they could argue, he ascended the steps. Flecks of dried mud and Bigfoot blood fell away as he stomped a few times. The smell of incense drifted through the cracked doors and smelled heavenly against the backdrop of the dead beast's rankness. He took a breath of mountain air courage and stepped into the lighted room.
The singing abruptly stopped as he entered, giving him the bizarre feeling that the door was an on/off switch. Dozens of heads swiveled towards him, their hostility cutting like hurled hatchets. Frank was reminded of old hippie communes as he noticed that most of the congregation had long,
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