David Robbins - Thief River Falls Run

“Magic?”

“Yeah. Some mumbo-jumbo about askin’ this God for things you want.

Sounds crazy, right?”

Joshua was trying to understand. “The Porns don’t believe in God?”

Bertha studied him to be sure the question was in earnest. “Are you nuts? Of course they don’t. How can you believe in somethin’ you can’t see or touch or taste? That’s what this God bozo is, some kind of invisible thing. Imagine that!” She laughed.

“How do the Nomads feel about God?”

“The Nomads is made up of former Porns and Horns for the most part. Some of ’em believe in the God nonsense, the ones who used to be Horns. The Porns don’t, of course.”

“Of course.”

Bertha fidgeted in her seat. They had climbed into the front seats after Blade departed. She glanced at Joshua. “What are you thinkin’ about?” she asked him.

“What you just told me,” he replied. “I find it incredible that people could exist and not accept the reality of a Supreme Creator.”

“What?”

“I believe in God.”

“You do?” Bertha showed her surprise.

“Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, I was talking to God before you hit me on the arm.”

Bertha appeared startled. She quickly looked around the interior of the SEAL. “You was talkin’ to God?”

“Yes.”

“God’s in here with us, right this minute?” She bent and peered under her bucket seat.

“Of course.”

Bertha sat up, grinning. “You’re jive-talkin’ me, right?”

“I beg your pardon.”

“You’re puttin’ me on, Josh? Aren’t you?”

“No. I’m completely serious.”

“Uh-huh,” Bertha said slowly. “I can’t see no God in this thing. Where is it?”

“Right here.” Joshua reached up with his right hand and touched his forehead.

“What?” Bertha nearly screeched. “You tryin’ to tell old Bertha that God is you?”

“No,” Joshua patiently answered. “I’m simply saying that God is inside of me.”

“Don’t it get kind of crowded in there?” Bertha cackled.

“You don’t believe me?” Joshua asked.

“Do I look like an idiot?”

Joshua smiled. “I’ll try to explain.”

“Please do. I’ve been tryin’ to understand this God business for a long time.”

“God is spirit,” Joshua began, and was promptly interrupted.

“What’s spirit?” Bertha demanded. She placed her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her hands.

“Spirit is a level of reality existing on a plane other than the material.”

Bertha made a face. “Can’t you use a language we both can talk in? I don’t understand this at all.”

Joshua sighed. He touched his leg. “This body is called material. It’s part of what’s called physical reality…”

“Cute body too,” Bertha interjected. “Not as pretty as White Meat, but cute. You got skinny legs, though.”

“How am I supposed to tell you about God,” Joshua wanted to know, “if you won’t let me finish a sentence?”

“I’m all ears.”

“Okay.”

“I won’t break in again.”

“Okay. Now…”

“I promise.”

Joshua shook his head, grinning, and rolled his eyes skyward.

“You feelin’ sick?” Bertha asked.

“No. Now can we finish our talk about God?”

“You ain’t said nothing yet,” Bertha pointed out.

“I’m trying.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you.”

Joshua mentally counted to ten.

“Any time,” Bertha said eagerly.

“As I was saying,” Joshua continued, “our bodies are called material.

We live in a physical, material world. Everything we see and touch and smell is part of this material world.”

“I got that,” Bertha said proudly.

“There is also another level of reality we can’t see or touch or smell. It’s called the spiritual level, or spiritual world.”

“And where’s it at?”

“Right here. All around us. But we can’t see it.”

“Then how do we know it’s there?”

“By feeling it in our lives.”

“I just don’t get it,” Bertha snapped, annoyed at her own lack of comprehension. “How can we feel it if we can’t even see it?”

“We feel it here.” Joshua touched his forehead again. “When we talk to God, who is spirit, we feel it inside our heads. We can actually feel the presence of God, and the more we talk to God, the more we feel the presence of God.”

“Sometimes,” Bertha said hesitantly, “when I’m all by my lonesome, thinkin’, I do feel something in my head. Could it be God?”

“You need to be talking directly to God to feel God.”

“How do I talk to God?”

“The same way you talk to me.”

“Come again?”

“You talk to God exactly the same way you talk to me,” Joshua explained. “Just remember God is inside your head. The Spirit dwells in every man and woman, every child, on this entire planet. You can talk to the Spirit, but first you must open the door to your mind.”

Bertha frowned. “I’m tryin’, Josh, but I can’t say as I understand much of this. Z tried tellin’ me about God a couple of times, but it was no good then too.”

“Zahner believes in God?” Joshua asked her.

“Of course. Z used to be a Horn before he started the Nomads.”

“Of course.”

Bertha stretched. “All this talkin’ is hurtin’ my head. I think I’ll take a walk and clear the cobwebs.”

“Wouldn’t it be safer to remain in the SEAL?” Joshua anxiously inquired.

“Safer maybe,” Bertha admitted. “But I need some fresh air. Your friends have been gone a long time.” She opened her door.

Joshua reached into the back of the SEAL and picked up the Smith and Wesson Pump shotgun. “Here. If you insist on going outside, the least you can do it take adequate protection.”

Bertha happily took the gun. “Ain’t this a beaut!” she exclaimed, admiring the firearm. “I wish I’d of had one of these back in the Twins! I wouldn’t have worried about nothing.”

Joshua stayed in the SEAL, nervously scanning the trees and the nearest buildings. He didn’t like the idea of her leaving the safety of the transport. There was no telling what might be out there. More Watchers, Mutates. Or more like the thing that attacked Blade near the park.

The sun was high in the sky, white clouds floating lazily overhead. Four robins were half a block away, searching for worms and insects in a patch of grass.

It looked harmless enough.

Bertha had moved nearer the trees. She was holding the shotgun loosely in her hands, gazing at the wall of vegetation.

Joshua closed his eyes and concentrated, mentally probing, seeking any fluctuations, any disruptive patterns in their immediate area, utilizing his empathic ability as Hazel had taught him to do, trying to perceive the emanation of hostile emotions.

“Hey, Josh!” Bertha called, turning her back to the trees. “It’s beautiful out here! Why don’t you join me?”

Joshua felt… something… touch his mind,, something primitive, something elemental, something savage.

“Come on, Josh!” Bertha urged him. “Don’t worry! I’ll guard you, keep you safe from the boogeyman!” She laughed, her back still to the trees.

Joshua opened his eyes, terrified, reaching for the doorknob, knowing he had to warn her, to get Bertha back to the SEAL. Even as he opened the door, he saw the leafy green foliage behind Bertha part, revealing a hideous, leering dark face with a countenance straight from his worst possible nightmare.

“Come on!” Bertha waved to him.

Joshua’s feet touched the ground, his eyes widening as the creature stepped in view. Dear Father! No! It was a female version of the brute that had assaulted Blade, start naked except for a skimpy piece of buckskin around the waist, covering her private parts. It had the same big nose, and the same huge mouth, open now, revealing two rows of sharp, jagged teeth. The heavy body was blackish, rough, displaying dozens and dozens of scars. Two immense, pendulous breasts swayed as the creature walked toward Bertha!