Rebirth by Michael Poeltl

too intelligent to have such a scary side. The very idea of Earl in control made me sick with fear.
     
    Flipping through more of the text I stopped again at a section entitled; Sexual cleansing - the immediacy of procreation. “The purpose of life is to procreate and evolve. In a world where humanity has likely lost most of its populace, procreation is key to the survival of the species. What does not encourage procreation cannot be allowed to consume resources. A sexual cleansing is necessary. The homosexuals need be exposed and exterminated, so as not to consume that which will feed humanity’s future.”
     
    “So, whose journal is it? Kevin’s?” Seth sounded despondent. My heart went out to him. I knew he was gay, I’d always known, and reading Earl’s grand plan, I wondered if he knew it too.
     
    “No, Earl’s,” I replied and cleared my throat. Should I show him? I felt I had to protect him.
     
    “So, what’s he saying? Kill the flags - good. Hate your neighbor – good. No more ammo – bad. Something along those lines?”
     
    I laughed and smiled at him, then shook my head.
     
    “He’s fucked, Seth, and I’m afraid we’re in trouble. He’s talking about taking control, leading us all.”
     
    Seth didn’t like the sound of that. “Earl can go fuck himself. The guy’s a pussy with a gun. I’d never follow him.”
     
    “But what if he used the others to back him up? We’re two women and two men. He’s got four men.”
     
    “Well, I can’t see those guys actually forcing us to do something. I mean Jesus, we’re all friends here right?”
     
    I thought of what they’d done to Caroline and almost used it as an example but stopped myself.
     
    “I think they’re all under his spell and are capable of anything. The most we can hope for now is that the flags get to them before they get to the flags.” And I meant it. They would be doing us a favor if they killed Earl. I feared for our futures and for the future of my baby if he returned.
     
    Chapter Twelve
     
    Earl, Sonny, Fred and Kevin returned to the house a week later. My heart sank at the sight of them. One, two, three, four, I counted as they moved through the front door, no worse for wear as far as I could tell. Sonny went straight to the kitchen, passing me without a word.
     
    “What happened?” I asked, struggling to contain my hatred.
     
    “We got them,” Fred said on his way to the basement. I became nervous: they were all behaving strangely.
     
    “Well, is something wrong?” I asked.
     
    “Nothing to concern yourself with.” Kevin marched past me, following Sonny into the kitchen.
     
    “You fucking pussies!” Earl cried from the front hall. I jumped out of my skin. I flushed at the sight of him.
     
    “Rest easy, Sara.” Mistaking my rage for fear, he approached me. “We got all of ‘em!” While he spoke, he flapped a piece of something between his fingers. He also wore a colored cape draped over his shoulders.
     
    “Oh my God.” As he got closer I could see what he held. It was skin, flesh! I backed off automatically. “What have you done!”
     
    “This is my prize!” he shouted. “All of ours! Think of it as our flag, courtesy of the flags!” Then he removed the cape from around his shoulders, threw it over the railing of the staircase and went to the kitchen. I was frozen in terror at what I was seeing.
     
    *****
     
    That night, I couldn’t sleep. The mental image of human flesh draped across the railing just one floor beneath me was too horrifying for words. I could only imagine what my subconscious would conjure up if I allowed myself to sleep. I had seen so much death by this point, nothing should have shocked me. But this blatant desecration incurred a new level of horror. Finally, when I could toss and turn no more, I got up and wandered outside, escaping through the bedroom window, crossing the rooftop and navigating down the TV antenna to where Sonny was standing on the back