"As long as God is convinced." I screwed my eyes shut as a snake tongue flickered on the back of my sleeve.
***
Thunder rolled in from the west. I tried to sleep but fell into a rigid doze, punctuated by Pastor Gene's mumblings and pacing, the slither of snakes, the hiss of rain, and the wails of the vampires. I was afraid to let my feet touch the floor, but exhaustion dragged me under. I would nod off and start awake, hearing the roar of thunder and feeling each rustle of my dress and twitch of Ginger's hand as the movement of a poisonous snake. At some point during the night, I felt Alex come sit beside us, the reassuring warmth of his side against mine.
And the oil in the lamp burned out.
This must be hell, I remembered thinking. I sat on the pew between Ginger and Alex, my fingers intertwined in theirs. Pastor Gene's speaking in tongues had grown louder, almost furious. I heard the hissing of the snakes but couldn't tell where they were. I saw vampires slipping against the wet windows. They reminded me of the fish one of my friends won at a carnival on Rumspringa, swimming against the plastic bag and brushing against the glass bowl.
I prayed under my breath, prayed for morning to come.
I prayed for the snakes to leave us all alone.
I prayed for sleep.
I prayed for the vampires to go away.
I knew that it was wrong to ask for specific things from God. But I think that God heard me.
The dim light outside the church began to lighten almost imperceptibly. I recognized that light, despite the rain. It was a fine change in the graininess of the dark, but it signaled that morning was coming.
I blew out my breath, thanked God.
Thunder crashed overhead, deep enough to rattle the pews and the timbers of the church. Pastor Gene paused in his hoarse litany. The hair on the back of my neck and arms rose. My body tingled. I smelled something metallic in the air.
My heart leaped. I felt surreal. Light. Almost floating. As if God was close. I looked skyward, hopeful that perhaps this terrible Darkness was at an end.
A blinding flash of lightning seared through the windows, and a deafening crash struck the roof.
I jumped to my feet, jerking free of Alex and Ginger, and nearly stepped on a snake. I stumbled back and slapped my hand on the back of the pew. I felt something small and sharp sinking into my hand. I cried out, tripped. Alex caught me, and I could hear him swearing under his breath. I smelled something burning.
I glanced upward. A dull orange glow was emanating from the roof. A spark drifted down, and a snake slithered away from it.
"Lightning!" Alex shouted. "We have to get out of here."
"But the vampires," Ginger said. "We can't."
"It's almost dawn," I said.
I turned to look for Pastor Gene. He was facing the altar, reduced to a black shadow in the lurid light. I smelled smoke, and it moved between us. "Pastor Gene!"
His silhouette half turned toward us. I could feel snakes seething along the floor, like water flowing downstream. Orange light glistened along their scales. They sensed that fire was coming. Surely Pastor Gene could be shaken from his trance. The snakes were dropping from him as the smoke filled the tiny church. In the flickering light, he blinked at us, dazed.
Alex lunged up to the altar, grabbed his arm. "You have to come. Now."
Ginger and I made our way to the back door. My vision was filled with yellow flames shining on black smoke. My eyes teared up, and I couldn't breathe. I reached for the pawing white shape by the door, for Horace, and Ginger shoved the door open. Cool dark air sucked into the structure, shoving my skirts and the smoke behind me.
I turned, and saw fire racing all along the roof of the church. Alex and Pastor Gene were stumbling toward the door. My hands were wound in Horace's reins, and he dragged me out. My feet barely touched the steps as he lunged down, down into the dark.
I gasped for air, wavering on my feet, coughing. Rain spat on my face. I heard Ginger coughing beside me. I braced myself to feel the bright pain of vampires tearing into my flesh, but no pain came. Through slitted eyes, I saw a bright ribbon of gold under gray clouds at the horizon.
Dawn.
A terrifying crash sounded from the church as the roof collapsed in on itself. The roof was too wet to burn, but the old timber beneath it went up like dry pine. This was like a fire that I'd seen as a child. A neighbor's barn had burned to the ground in the winter, devoured by a conflagration that killed three men. The men in our community had rebuilt that barn, but I knew that wouldn't happen with this church. Fear lanced through me when I realized that Alex wasn't behind me.
"Alex!" I screamed. I took two steps toward the door of the church, but Ginger grabbed me around the waist.
"No!" she shouted. I struggled against her, screaming.
Two dark shapes appeared in the ruined door frame, and I gasped in relief. Alex was supporting Pastor Gene, and they clambered down the burning steps to the cool of the grass. The last of the rain spangled the gloom and fire.
I moved to embrace Alex, but my legs felt rubbery and didn't obey. My hand burned. My heart pounded like the thunder and my breath came quickly.
I stumbled. I fell to the ground and tugged up the edge of my sleeve to stare at my hand, dimly remembering the sting in the church. It had blossomed into a terrible pain, and blood trickled down my wrist into my elbow.
My fingers spasmed, and I turned over and vomited into the wet dirt.
I felt a shadow over me and cool hands on my wrist. Ginger ripped open my sleeve above the ripe, swollen flesh. Alex cradled my head in his lap. I could see Parson Gene above me.
"She's been snakebit," Ginger said. "Did you see what kind of snake got you, sweetie?"
I shook my head. That gesture caused my head to swim.
"How bad is it?" Alex demanded.
"Bad." Pastor Gene's face was white, white as a vampire's. "It's poisonous. Runners of poison are moving up her arm. I saw this once before . . . my uncle got bit by a copperhead when I was a boy."
"How did you stop the venom?"
"We didn't."
I blinked up into the drizzling dawn. I had not imagined that I would die this way. It was laughable, really. I expected to be chewed to pieces by vampires. Not poisoned by the bite of a snake.
But a part of me had hoped that I'd survive this, that my faith would be strong enough to see myself and my friends through the Darkness. I wanted to believe that I was indeed favored by God and that I would eventually be united with my family in heaven. I wanted to believe that I was special. Loved.