The Disappearance of a Pied Piper

The World is Against Us

"HELP! HELP! SAVE US!" came screams out on the lawn near the water's edge.

"That's my cue, my Dear," Bud said. "We'll have to talk later. Gotta go."

In a flash, Bud was bounding across the lawn from the church steps. At the water's edge to two of the women, who had gone for a walk, not seeing the creatures, that were approaching them from the shadows of some bushes. The creatures were as big as an Australian Shepherd dog, but they had leopard claws and the stingers of scorpions. The women had tried to run away, but they weren't fast enough. Each creature had clawed one of the women by the leg, and not only were they in pain from the claws, but they were terrified by the leopard-like jaws, that were trying to eat them, while their tales were trying to sting them into submission. They fought for lives with all their strength, swatting away head and tail as best they could.

Bud arrived just in time to put a bullet between each pair of eyes, and in a moment the creatures lay felled on the lawn. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"We're alive," they said in chorus. "Thank you so much for that, but okay? Not hardly. Those claws lacerated our legs terribly, and we need some doctoring quick."

"Cynthia," Bud yelled. "Get Myrtle and the others, who are serving as medics. Bring first aid. Thanks."

Turning to the wounded ladies, he said, "Lie still, now. Help is coming. We're going to do everything for you we can."

The medics arrived in short order, starting to doctor the women, whose husbands Pace and Calvin were just arriving, too, to comfort them in every possible way.

Bud looked around to see four officers, who were watching his back. "Thank you, Gentlemen. It is an honor to serve with you. You've always got my back. Now, we've got more work to do. Jerome, round up the foragers. Have them see if there's any way to cook any parts of these creatures. We could use some extra meat. George, let's start walking our beats with guns at the ready. Warn the community to steer clear of the water's edge. These new creatures are apparently worse than saltwater crocs. They're easy to take out. One bullet between the eyes does the trick. Stan, keep reading your brother's materials, letters, books, sermons, anything. I want every clue he left for us as to what is coming next. Rich, start a beat around the perimeter of each of our shelters. I don't want any of those creatures getting in, while the community is sleeping. The overnight watches especially are critical to our survival. You have your assignments, Men. Move out."

Bud went back to check on the men and their wives. "How are you feeling, now? I hope the pain has subsided."

Pace said, "Pearl is still in quite a bit of pain, but at least that stinger never landed true."

Calvin agreed, "Gem has nearly thrown up a couple of times, but she's alive. We're very grateful to you for that."

"I'm glad I could make it in time," Bud said. "You are most welcome. Once they're fully bandaged, move your wives back to the shelters, and make sure they get some rest."

"Will do, Chief," Pace and Calvin responded.

"If you've got the situation under control, I'll leave you to it, and move back toward the church to check on provisions, and progress toward supper," Bud said.

"We've got it, Sir," Pace assured him.

Bud took half a dozen steps in the direction of the church when he heard, "Oh, God, my eye! It burns! It burns!" Liam kept screaming, holding his right eye with both hands, rolling around on the grass, convulsing to the point of having a seizure.

Bud crossed the lawn to him in mere seconds. "I'm here Liam! Let me see, so I can help!"

Pulling his hands back, Bud could see, that his right eye was no more.

Still screaming, Liam tried valiantly to tell his story. "I was watching a meteor hurtling from the sky near me when it slammed into a pine tree. I don't know if part of the meteor hit me or part of the pine tree hit me or some of both, I only know that it burns, and I've lost my eye!"

"MEDICS!" Bud screamed, "Bring first aid!"

From the back of the parsonage, another scream came, "Owwwwww! HELP, ME! HELP ME! The vine's got me" Bud ran flat out to find Altimus entangled in a large stand of kudzu. This variant was leaving red welts all over his body in addition to cutting the skin everywhere it touched.

"Be right back, Altimus!" Bud said, "I've got to run to the tool shed for an axe." Moments later Bud was back cutting Altimus free from the killer kudzu. "MEDICS!" Bud shouted. "We need first aid out here, too!"

Turning to Altimus, he said, "When you get cleaned up, start making your way back to the parsonage, and take everyone you meet with you. We've got to get everybody inside, right now. We need to talk over these new threats."

"Everybody in the shelters, NOW!" Lem Cutter screamed. "LOOK AT THE PERIMETER!"

Bud stopped on the bottom step of the church to pivot 360. What he saw pumped adrenaline to the point, that he jumped the rest of the steps, then dropped his mouth open at what must have been a hundred hybrid creatures with the scorpion tales. His order was forceful and quick, "INSIDE, NOW! DO IT!" He held the church's front door open as the last dozen members of the community scrambled through the portal to safety.

The creatures scurried across the lawns, and up to the shelters, pummeling doors and windows with tiger claws and scorpion tales. Only the size of adult Australian Shepherds, they could barely reach the glass of the windows when on their back legs, but still cracks were forming as two glasses shattered on the sides of the church building.

The community shored up their defenses by placing a couple of bookshelves in front of the broken windows, but the creatures started to climb through on massive tiger paws. Bud aimed, dispatching the two front runners with a bullet each between the eyes. Before replacements could take their cause, crawling over their dead bodies, hail-sized meteors started pummeling the creatures all over their bodies with actual hailstones following to put out the flames.

"Foragers to the ready!" Bud shouted. "We've got more potential meat for salting. Have you figured out what's edible, Yet?"

Grady shouted back in the affirmative. "Yes, Sir. There's at least two steak's worth of meat on every torso. I tried some this morning. Excellent flavor."

"Then, you've got your work cut out for you," Bud said. "Get out there, while the getting's good. Carve up the good meat, and roll the rest into the surf. My men and I will have your backs."

Within five minutes every one of the foragers was starting to scream in pain, "There's something different about the sun, Chief," Grady shouted through the pain. "We're all sunburned, now. A little help?"

"Mrs. Myrtle, please see if you can find some umbrellas in the church house," Bud said.

She moved inside as quickly as she could, and a few minutes later came back with fifteen umbrellas. The officers held umbrellas over the foragers while trying to hide under the shade, too. Again, less than five minutes later, every one of the umbrellas started to burst into flames.

Jerome shouted, "This ain't working, Chief."

"Grab the meat you can, Everyone, and run to the church," Bud shouted. "We've got to let the rest go. All sunburn victims go to the medics, immediately."

Nobody responded. They just ran.

As they hit the top step, the wind picked ferociously.

"I think it's a hurricane," Bud shouted. "Everybody inside. Take shelter somewhere, even sprawling on the floor."

As ordered, everyone sheltered within thirty seconds as Bud bolted the door for added security.

It seemed like everything living headed inside the shelters because shortly thereafter, moans could be heard all over the auditorium.

"What's wrong, Everyone?" Bud asked.

"Fleas," Pace shouted.

"Flies," Lem followed.

"Gnats," Bubba John added.

"Wasps," Grady cried out.

"Gnawing worms," Altimus said.

"Splinters are flying about," Myrtle cried, "I'm stuck all over my body."

Valiantly, Bud started taking blankets from the back corners of the auditorium, throwing one on every body he saw. "Cover up with the blankets. Keep your skin from being exposed."

"In this heat, Grady," shouted back. "You've got to be kidding."

"Got any better ideas," Bud asked.

"Not at the moment," Grady said and covered up.

In the heat and pain, most of the community passed out as Bud started to pray, "Oh, God. I think you exist, now, and I am scared. I don't know what to do. Would you please help us with the hurricane-force winds, the insects, and whatever else is causing us pain? If we are intended to live, then please make it so we can. If this is our last day on Earth, then just kill us, but have mercy on our souls."

Right then, a piece of particleboard pulled loose from a wall and smacked him across the face. He fell backward, and everything went black.

Silence for ages.

The winds carried away the fleas, flies, gnats, wasps, and splinters. The heat burned up the gnawing worms. Then, the wind blew through the openings in the windows, cooling off the feverish community, disappearing like the waves at Jesus' command.

In its place cold came in as the people under the blankets were starting to wake up, grateful for such coverings.

Bud shook himself. Where's the sun? he thought. How many hours have I been out on the floor? "Is everybody still alive," he called out.

"I am, Chief," Grady said, "but I've got welts all over from the wasps. However, I would like to thank you for urging me to get under the blanket. It's cold in here. What happened?"

"It's night, Buddy," he said. "It's like we're living in a desert, now. Extreme heat in the day. Extreme cold at night."

"You got that right," Grady responded. "Need help checking on the rest?"

"I'm still, here," Lem said through a raspy voice.

"Good to hear, Lem," Bud said. "Yes, Grady, and Lem you can help, too. The onslaught of a few hours ago was rough. I think the world is against us."