Read The Outside for Free Online

God speak in a way that no one could understand?
    “He’s crazy,” Ginger whispered. I took her hands in mine, squeezed.
    “Quite possibly,” Alex agreed. “But I’m not sure that matters at the end of the world.”
    I shuddered at the sound of the squeak of fingertips on the window, the scrape of a fingernail. I heard high-pitched pleas outside. I wondered if Pastor Gene’s wife and children were there, if he’d flung himself into this ecstatic state to keep from looking at the chalky woman with the fathomless eyes behind the glass.
    “They can’t get in. They can’t call us. They don’t know us, have no tie to summon us. We’re safe here,” Alex said.
    A fat copperhead slid along the back of the pew, and Ginger’s nails dug into my palm.
    Her gaze was wide behind her glasses. “I’m not convinced.”
    “As long as God is convinced.” I screwed my eyes shut as a snake tongue flickered on the back of my sleeve.
    ***
    Thunder rolled in from the west. I tried to sleep but fell into a rigid doze, punctuated by Pastor Gene’s mumblings and pacing, the slither of snakes, the hiss of rain, and the wails of the vampires. I was afraid to let my feet touch the floor, but exhaustion dragged me under. I would nod off and start awake, hearing the roar of thunder and feeling each rustle of my dress and twitch of Ginger’s hand as the movement of a poisonous snake. At some point during the night, I felt Alex come sit beside us, the reassuring warmth of his side against mine.
    And the oil in the lamp burned out.
    This must be hell
, I remembered thinking. I sat on the pew between Ginger and Alex, my fingers intertwined in theirs. Pastor Gene’s speaking in tongues had grown louder, almost furious. I heard the hissing of the snakes but couldn’t tell where they were. I saw vampires slipping against the wet windows. They reminded me of the fish one of my friends won at a carnival on
Rumspringa
, swimming against the plastic bag and brushing against the glass bowl.
    I prayed under my breath, prayed for morning to come.
    I prayed for the snakes to leave us all alone.
    I prayed for sleep.
    I prayed for the vampires to go away.
    I knew that it was wrong to ask for specific things from God. But I think that God heard me.
    The dim light outside the church began to lighten almost imperceptibly. I recognized that light, despite the rain. It was a fine change in the graininess of the dark, but it signaled that morning was coming.
    I blew out my breath, thanked God.
    Thunder crashed overhead, deep enough to rattle the pews and the timbers of the church. Pastor Gene paused in his hoarse litany. The hair on the back of my neck and arms rose. My body tingled. I smelled something metallic in the air.
    My heart leaped. I felt surreal. Light. Almost floating. As if God was close. I looked skyward, hopeful that perhaps this terrible Darkness was at an end.
    A blinding flash of lightning seared through the windows, and a deafening crash struck the roof.
    I jumped to my feet, jerking free of Alex and Ginger, and nearly stepped on a snake. I stumbled back and slapped my hand on the back of the pew. I felt something small and sharp sinking into my hand. I cried out, tripped. Alex caught me, and I could hear him swearing under his breath. I smelled something burning.
    I glanced upward. A dull orange glow was emanating from the roof. A spark drifted down, and a snake slithered away from it.
    “Lightning!” Alex shouted. “We have to get out of here.”
    “But the vampires,” Ginger said. “We can’t.”
    “It’s almost dawn,” I said.
    I turned to look for Pastor Gene. He was facing the altar, reduced to a black shadow in the lurid light. I smelled smoke, and it moved between us. “Pastor Gene!”
    His silhouette half turned toward us. I could feel snakes seething along the floor, like water flowing downstream. Orange light glistened along their scales. They sensed that fire was coming. Surely Pastor Gene could be shaken from his