Late nighter - The sleeping congregation | Part 1
PART 1
The sleeping congregation
...Where am I? …
… what am I doing here? …
… what is happening to me?
… why … why … why only me? ….
… how did I even get here …?
I asked myself these questions when I came to realize that I was the only one awake…confused and in query. I didn’t know where I came from, let alone where I was going… my thoughts were clouded with unending questions. And I couldn’t see past the corpse beneath my feet…
Corpse …
… are they really corpse? Are they even dead? I asked myself.
I looked for vital signs but they had none … so why do I get the feeling that they are still alive? … or are they just on the verge of the living and the dead? Why are they like this? Why are they not breathing? And why are they not moving?... questions kept flooding my mind.
… but there was no answer …
* * * * * * * *
The silence and emptiness surrounding me filled me with dread… The darkness was so deep I felt like it would swallow me whole and take away the light that was left within me…
What should I do? … where should I ran to …? can I escape this darkness? …Should I shout? …Do I even have a voice? …Can I speak? …Even if I have a voice and I shout, who is there to listen? …the corpse? …is there anybody else out there who can see me? Who could see us? Somebody …? anybody …?
Confused as I was, gathering my strength I picked one corps at a time as if I was getting them off of my shoulders… lost and wondering, my eyes started gazing to find some glimmer of hope… someone who can help me or at least explain things…
* * * * * * * *
Not far from where I was standing, I saw a dim flickering light coming from one of the corpse… or so I thought.
I was not the only one awake…
From a distance the dim light I saw was a person standing just like me…" he is just like me", I said to myself.
Not even taking the time to catch my breath I started to walk forward so as to get the slightest clue to what's going on
“Hello!” … “over here…! can you see me? … over here!!”
Not a flinch… he couldn’t hear me.
So I tried moving closer to him, trying not to get out of sight I continued my call...
“Hello… Hey … over here…!!”
I kept calling out but no response. As I engaged and got closer I began to realize I was beyond recognition. What is wrong with him?? I thought he was awake?...
When I finally reached there, what I saw shocked me. Not only was the light within him fading, but he was also slowly turning into one of the corpses, the ones who are on the verge of the living and the dead.
Wait … how did this happen?? could he not have moved and escape while he still had some light within him? "According to his belief so shall it be unto him"
He was breathing but his eyes look scared and his body worn out … his whole being shouts out hopelessness. Desperate and incurable. But the wounds on his body were witnesses that he didn’t go down without a fight. I looked at my body to see if I was injured and had wounds like his. And i saw I had wounds, but not as harsh, mines are like paper cuts in comparison.
What happened to this guy? What could have caused him this? The cruelty he faced brought tears running down my cheeks.
Little did I know while I was just standing there in pity my own light had already started to fade and my legs started to feel heavy… it was getting harder to move.
What is happening to me …? I was just standing here, I didn’t even get that close to him and touch him … why am I feeling the same coldness and numbness like him...?
No…no…no I can’t let this happen! If my light gets dimmer than it is right now, I won’t be able to see myself…
I need to fix this, and fast!
As time passed by my legs felt more heavy and dragging myself was tiresome
“I … need … to … move … I … need … to go … I have to … escape …”
Was easier said than done… I barely can move my legs, how on earth am I supposed to run and escape??
Well … uff! I exhaled as I finally come to a conclusion…
Well, I don’t see any other way out …
so with no other option I did what I thought was my only chance of progress … “Forcing my legs to move using my hands, one step at a time…”
* * * * * * * *
while I was crawling without knowing where to, I felt something grab me from behind.
My heart skipped a beat…
What was that? Strong and firm was the grip that even my numb legs felt it! I am done for! Was the only thought I can think of.
“Could it be, one of the corpse that was laying on the ground? But how is that possible?”
Some part of me wanted to stay like that, because the hand that held my leg felt warm. Where did it come from? And why did it grab me…? My instinct was telling me to run… but I don’t want to, the warmth kept me standing. I was terrified to look back but the warmth was kept me standing.
I thought back and forth for a while. I couldn’t decide whether running away or taking a pick to see what grabbed me is the best thing to do at the time.
Finally, my curiosity to know the source of this sensation over powered me and I slowly turned around …
To Be Continued...