Read The Gates: An Apocalyptic Novel for Free Online Page A

finish.”
    Samantha sipped the hot beverage and sighed at the
spreading warmth in her tummy. “Makes you wonder when they’ll stop, doesn’t it?
One day we’ll all be drinking from buckets.”
    The old man put his hands on his rotund belly and
chuckled. With his white hair and wizened, grey eyes, he resembled Santa Claus.
    “So, why are you so tired, miss?”
    “I didn’t realise I looked so bad. You can tell
just by looking at me?”
    “The bags under your eyes give you away. I used to
work night shifts at a grain mill in Buffalo as a young man. I know tiredness
when I see it.”
    “Wish I could say it was because I was hard at
work all night, but it was irresponsible fun, I’m afraid.”
    “Partying with your boyfriend?”
    “Girlfriend.”
     The old man recoiled. “Oh, excuse me, I never…”
    “No, it’s okay. Sorry, I don’t know why I felt the
need to correct you.”
    The old man recovered and shrugged his shoulders. “Because
I needed correcting, miss. Why should I assume that you have a boyfriend and
not a girlfriend? I should have said partner. I’m afraid you’ll have to forgive
an old man for being old-fashioned.”
    Samantha grinned, again reminding herself how much
she loved this city. If she’d told an old white guy in Utah she was gay, she might
have been heckled in the street, but not by this old New Yorker. “You’re
forgiven.” She smiled. “My name is Sam.”
    “Ha! Mine too. What a coincidence.”
    “No way! Your name is Samantha? How weird.” She
chuckled.
    “You silly thing. No, my name is Samuel, but my
friends call me Sam.”
    “This might become confusing.”
    “It just might be. Maybe we should go our separate
ways, miss.”
    Samantha giggled. “Maybe. You staying to watch the
glowing black stone from outer space?”
    “It would feel wrong not to stay. It has a
momentous feeling about it, don’t you think? Like something is going to happen
worth staying for. You heard identical stones are all over the country?”
    Samantha nodded. “Yeah, but this one is ours. This
is the New York black stone. I just hope it doesn’t turn out to be anything
bad.”
    Samuel patted her on the arm. “I have faith it
won’t be. All these people gathered… It must be for something good. I think we
can all feel it. We’re meant to be here. Something will happen soon, and things
will make perfect sense. It’ll be good, I know it. A gift from God.”
    A lifelong atheist, Samantha would usually object
to such a claim, but the old man had accepted her for who she was, so she was certainly
willing to accept him. “You might be right,” she said. “Come on, Sam, let’s go
find somewhere to get a better look.”
    “Okay dokey, Sam. You lead the way.”
    “Sure thing, Sam.”
    “Thank you, Sam.”
    “You’re very welcome, Sam.”
    The old man chuckled. “You sure we shouldn’t have
gone our separate ways?”
    “Too late now. Come on, Sam.”
    “Okay, Sam.”
    ***
    They managed to find a spot
next to an overcrowded hot dog vendor where Samantha bought them both a foot
long. Samuel took his with onions and mustard, her without.
    “Taste buds need a kick at my age,” he explained. “Among
other things.”
    Samantha rose on her tiptoes and tried to see over
a large woman’s shoulder. She couldn’t see the black stone, but could see the
light coming off of it, and that was what finally made her nervous. At the beginning,
the stone had merely been peculiar, but now that it glowed, it seemed alive .
Was it really from outer space?
    “What can you see?” Samuel asked her.
    “Not much. It’s still glowing. I think…” She
hopped up and down to get a better look. “I think the light is spreading out.”
    Samuel grinned. “It’s happening. It’s going to
reveal its secrets.”
    The crowd hushed. Several thousand people stood in
complete silence. The strange light was definitely spreading, the glowing loop becoming
a frame within which a translucent layer shimmered. Sam