Angel of the Apocalypse Read Free Page A

made of money, you know.”
    “ Sorry,”
said the pastor, as he placed the stopper on the table. He then took
a swig from his bottle. “Hey, this is pretty good! Maybe your
best batch yet.”
    “ Thanks,”
said Fred. “Next year, I'm going to apply to the University of
Colorado in Boulder. I think most of my community college credits
will transfer over. I'm going to major in chemistry. If I graduate, I
hope to get a job at Coors as a Brewmaster.”
    “ Just
give Coors a sample of this beer, and they'll hire you one the spot,”
laughed the pastor. “Come on, the fights about to start.”
    Fred
and the pastor walked into the living room, were Sarah, Isaac, and
four other members of the congregation were eating chips and watching
TV. “Fred! Glad you could make it,” said Sarah.
    “ You
bet,” said Fred. The chairs and couch were occupied, so Fred
sat on the floor Indian-style next to Isaac. “Hey buddy.”
    “ Hey
Fred,” said Isaac, playing with a giant Transformers toy.
    The
fight started. Twelve rounds for the IBF light-heavyweight title. A
few of the people watching the fight stared at the TV intently, not
saying a word. A few other people talked among themselves, and only
glanced at the TV when the action heated up. Pastor Abrams was among
those who watched the TV intently. He involuntarily clenched his
fists and slightly moved his head from side to side as the fighters
circled each other.
    “ Justin
really gets into the fights,” commented Sarah.
    “ Uh-huh,”
said the pastor reflexively, as he took another swig of beer.
    Shortly
into the fight, a news alert ticker scrolled along the bottom of the
screen. Reports from around the world were coming in. Some kind of
disease was breaking out, causing painful sores and boils on the
skin. The disease was spreading rapidly, and most airports were
already shutting down international flights.
    “ Holy
crap,” remarked Fred. “Should we be worried about this?”
    Before
anyone could answer, one of the fighters in the ring doubled over in
agony. It was strange, because his reaction was not from a punch.
Before everyone's eyes, the fighter's body started to blister. The
fighter fell to his knees, spit out his mouthpiece, and yelled in
agony.
    Everyone
in the room just stopped and stared at the TV screen. It was surreal.
    “ Dude,
what's going on?” asked Fred in a slightly hysterical tone.
    The
pastor tried to calm everyone down. “I'm sure there's an
explanation for this,” he said. Honestly, he wasn't so sure.
What could be the explanation? He had never seen anything like it.
    The
boxing match was stopped by the referee. The fight doctor rushed into
the ring and started to check the boxer who was writhing on the
canvas in agony. A moment later the sports station switched to an
emergency broadcast.
    “ We
interrupt this program to bring you an important news bulletin.
Several thousand cases of an unidentified disease have been reported
throughout the world. As a precaution, all public transportation has
been shut down until we can determine the source of the outbreak. It
is advised that all people remain in their homes until we have
further information.”
    The
news bulletin then displayed a map of the world, with reported cases
of the disease showing up as red dots. Every second or two, a new red
dot appeared at a seemingly random location on the map. Every
continent already had thousands of red dots, with more being added as
the seconds ticked by.
    “ That
doesn't make any sense,” commented the pastor. “A disease
starts in one location, and spreads out from there. This seems to be
happening everywhere at once.” He looked at his wife, as if
looking for answers.
    “ I
think it's best if we all go home,” said one of the guests. “We
all have family we need to call.”
    “ Absolutely,”
said the pastor. “If you have any problems, anything at all,
just call me. We'll be praying for you and your families.”
    The
guests nervously left the