The church gathering Tuesday noon was unusual, but so were the events a few hours earlier. As a siren droned from an old police cruiser outside the church, people rushed into the white planked United House of Prayer in downtown Monterey Virginia.
Seems it all began about nine on a warm May morning. Ruby Thorn, the town whore, was just leaving the Econo Lodge when a brilliant shaft of light spiraled out of the sky, briefly illuminated her in it's pure white glow then sucked her straight up into the sky. Simultaneously, an alley cat, old man Jorgenson, and a half dozen other people on the town's main street were blasted by a blinding light and sent flying skyward. Some witnesses staggered in fright or fell to the ground as they beheld the unbelievable events of the morning. A few people reported that they saw people shooting through the roofs of homes and cars into the radiant beam of an intense white light.
Inside the church the level of excited chatter was a shock to the normal quietude of the sanctuary. Assistant Pastor Quinn shuffled up three steps to the pulpit and nervously tapped the microphone to quiet the overfilled hall. He cleared his throat and wiped the steady bead of sweat from his brow and spoke. "Folks, what we got here is a divine Rapture. Almighty God has finally signaled his second coming and taken the faithful to be with him in paradise. Best we can calculate about half the towns people are gone and a goodly number of graves out at the cemetery have been emptied." He paused and as he looked down at his scrawled notes, a fresh wave of loud comments and conversation commenced. Mr. Hook the high school science teacher proclaimed "it's that damned global warning, I tell ya". Another person cried out that "it's the work of Satan", someone else questioned why God would straight away lift up an old whore and alley cat and skip so many good church folk. Quinn continued, "now Deputy Till called the State Police and Governors Office and they claimed to know nothing about a Rapture or any strange goings on anywhere else in Highland County or the state. The National Guard has been mobilized to insure nobody does any looting so you all stay away from places where people have disappeared. We're trying to get together an exact list of everybody that's gone and we need your help to complete our tally. Please see a volunteer in the vestibule before you leave."
"Now my friends let us pray, dear God we thank you for all your blessings and ask that you guide us through this strange day. We don't fully understand your ways but trust your judgment and your holy words of scripture. Bless all our family and friends who you have suddenly summoned as your newest saints, and help all of us who remain so that someday we may join your heavenly family way up in the sky. Dear Lord we ask for your mercy and the forgiveness of our sins on this day of grand revelation."
After a few seconds of meditation Quinn lifted his head as the throng quietly shuffled from the pews and out the door. He realized he would be assuming the role of pastor since Brother Jackson had been swept up in the Rapture. He couldn't suppress his hope that the Church Board would see fit to raise his monthly stipend and at the appropriate time allow him to occupy the recently remodeled parsonage. Of immediate concern as he slumped into his office chair were the phone calls to cancel the upcoming spaghetti dinner and re arrange the months calendar to accommodate those parishioners who had vanished.
The little village was quiet for a few hours. But, as the sun slowly began it's descent behind the western mountains, traffic got busier than normal. Television news crews from Richmond and Washington were setting up for live broadcasts. Insurance claims agents had reached town and quickly rented all the available rooms at local inns and motels in Monterey south to Warm Springs. Volunteers out at the cemetery were filling in the empty holes with fresh dirt. Memorial services were set up for the 118 adults and children taken away in the Rapture. A few people were reviewing life insurance policies of loved ones and discovering the "acts of God" clause. More than a handful of locals were pondering their reactions such as " why not me Lord? " and "thank God it wasn't me!"
The future came without further excitement but the people in the area strove everyday to be better Christians while always keeping an eye on the sky.
Seems it all began about nine on a warm May morning. Ruby Thorn, the town whore, was just leaving the Econo Lodge when a brilliant shaft of light spiraled out of the sky, briefly illuminated her in it's pure white glow then sucked her straight up into the sky. Simultaneously, an alley cat, old man Jorgenson, and a half dozen other people on the town's main street were blasted by a blinding light and sent flying skyward. Some witnesses staggered in fright or fell to the ground as they beheld the unbelievable events of the morning. A few people reported that they saw people shooting through the roofs of homes and cars into the radiant beam of an intense white light.
Inside the church the level of excited chatter was a shock to the normal quietude of the sanctuary. Assistant Pastor Quinn shuffled up three steps to the pulpit and nervously tapped the microphone to quiet the overfilled hall. He cleared his throat and wiped the steady bead of sweat from his brow and spoke. "Folks, what we got here is a divine Rapture. Almighty God has finally signaled his second coming and taken the faithful to be with him in paradise. Best we can calculate about half the towns people are gone and a goodly number of graves out at the cemetery have been emptied." He paused and as he looked down at his scrawled notes, a fresh wave of loud comments and conversation commenced. Mr. Hook the high school science teacher proclaimed "it's that damned global warning, I tell ya". Another person cried out that "it's the work of Satan", someone else questioned why God would straight away lift up an old whore and alley cat and skip so many good church folk. Quinn continued, "now Deputy Till called the State Police and Governors Office and they claimed to know nothing about a Rapture or any strange goings on anywhere else in Highland County or the state. The National Guard has been mobilized to insure nobody does any looting so you all stay away from places where people have disappeared. We're trying to get together an exact list of everybody that's gone and we need your help to complete our tally. Please see a volunteer in the vestibule before you leave."
"Now my friends let us pray, dear God we thank you for all your blessings and ask that you guide us through this strange day. We don't fully understand your ways but trust your judgment and your holy words of scripture. Bless all our family and friends who you have suddenly summoned as your newest saints, and help all of us who remain so that someday we may join your heavenly family way up in the sky. Dear Lord we ask for your mercy and the forgiveness of our sins on this day of grand revelation."
After a few seconds of meditation Quinn lifted his head as the throng quietly shuffled from the pews and out the door. He realized he would be assuming the role of pastor since Brother Jackson had been swept up in the Rapture. He couldn't suppress his hope that the Church Board would see fit to raise his monthly stipend and at the appropriate time allow him to occupy the recently remodeled parsonage. Of immediate concern as he slumped into his office chair were the phone calls to cancel the upcoming spaghetti dinner and re arrange the months calendar to accommodate those parishioners who had vanished.
The little village was quiet for a few hours. But, as the sun slowly began it's descent behind the western mountains, traffic got busier than normal. Television news crews from Richmond and Washington were setting up for live broadcasts. Insurance claims agents had reached town and quickly rented all the available rooms at local inns and motels in Monterey south to Warm Springs. Volunteers out at the cemetery were filling in the empty holes with fresh dirt. Memorial services were set up for the 118 adults and children taken away in the Rapture. A few people were reviewing life insurance policies of loved ones and discovering the "acts of God" clause. More than a handful of locals were pondering their reactions such as " why not me Lord? " and "thank God it wasn't me!"
The future came without further excitement but the people in the area strove everyday to be better Christians while always keeping an eye on the sky.
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