The Disappearance of a Pied Piper

Connections Happen

Bud made his way to the kitchen/dining area of the church, making mental notes of the church as he went. The carpeted floor is navy blue. The draperies are sunset yellow. The piano is a Wurlitzer. The organ is a Hammond. The pulpit appears to be made of cherry wood. 15 quilts each in the back wings of the church. The church pews and choir loft are all made of wood. The big bathtub behind the choir seems so out of place. Maybe someone will remember what that is from childhood. His thoughts were to lighten his mood as he prepared to be the MC of a Community Meeting.

In the kitchen/dining room, he met Myrtle, who was already there organizing rations for long-term usage.

"What have you found, Mrs. Myrtle?" Bud asked.

"The preacher was storing up supplies," she said. "He must have been expecting something like this. I've found 20 - 5 lb. bags of flour, 20 - 5 lb. bags of sugar, and 20 loaves of bread. He apparently wanted them to last for a while because he was storing them in a large top-opening freezer unit. Sure enough, there are no bugs or mold on any of them. Who knows how long they've been here?"

"That's great," Bud said. "Keep doing what you're doing. You may plan on giving me a more detailed inventory later, but now I need to meet and greet with the people you got to come for the Community Meeting."

"Sure thing, Bud," she said, "You're doing a great job. No worries."

"Thanks for the encouragement, Mrs. Myrtle."

"Chief, we have some injuries we need to attend to before we start the meeting," Jerome said.

"What happened?" Bud asked

"A dozen folks have terrible sunburns from just walking across the yard. Three people are suffering from scorpion stings, and five have deep wounds and burns from small meteors, that hit some part of their bodies, an arm, a leg, or the torso. Amazingly, there are no wounds to the head. That might have killed somebody."

"What have you found for treating the injured?" Bud asked.

"Between the church and the parsonage, we have five first aid kits, a dozen dispensers of wide clear tape, and 15 dispensers of scotch tape," Jerome reported. "There are four cans of burn cream and three aloe vera plants in five-gallon pots."

"That should cover the sunburns and meteor wounds, mostly," Bud said," but have you been able to extract the meteors, and cleanse the wounds before using the cream, and covering the wounds?"

"We have, but the scorpion victims are in severe pain," Jerome said.

"Treat it like a rattlesnake bite," Bud said. "Let them bite down a rolled-up rag, and slice the wound a little to let the blood flow. Suck out as much of the venom as possible, and spit it on the ground, of course. Apply aloe vera, and cover the wound."

Fifteen minutes later most of the pain was at least tolerable, and Bud attempted to start the meeting. "Friends, I thought this meeting was about sharing some amazing good news with you all. That would be, that we have found some stores of survival food, that should last us all for about six months."

The group cheered and clapped over that news.

"However, life on this island has just gotten worse, too," Bud shook his head. "The scorpions, that I thought had been washed away by the huge wave are back sadly, and some of you know that better than I do. I thought the meteors were simply an anomaly, but apparently, they are becoming a daily occurrence. On top of that, the sun is getting hotter, causing sunburns. These sunburns are happening on more than fair skin. Everyone is susceptible. Start covering your skin when you go outside. Wear hats, neckcloths, long-sleeved shirts, and blue jeans or long pants, if you have them. Of course, wear shoes, too. Whoever found the ten containers of vacuum-packed meals, thank you very much. We have a great deal to be thankful for, but as we have seen in the past hour, keep your guard up. Don't leave the windows up. Don't leave the doors open. We need to use cloths or towels to cover the door jambs. Assign this as a responsibility of someone in your shelter. Maybe we can keep the scorpions from coming into our sleeping quarters. Mostly, we have to redouble our efforts to protect ourselves. We need to be proactive. Watch each other's backs. That is the only way we can survive over the long haul. Jerome, I'm going to stop talking for the moment. Do you have anything to report through your first shift of studying the Bible for answers?"

"I do, Chief," he smiled. "Daniel and Revelation have a lot of similarities to what we've been experiencing over the past three days, but amazingly enough the bookmark you've been using is more than just an old letter the preacher stuffed in the Bible. It is a letter he wrote to us before he left. Would you like to know what he said?"

"I really would," Bud leaned in.

"I have it with me right here," Jerome said. "The preacher wrote, '"To Whom It May Concern: Dear Friends, I have often felt like a failure because no adult has been saved under my ministry here in Fairly Same. However, I am writing this note in the hopes, that this circumstance is about to change. If you are reading this, then either I'm dead, due to some unknown cause, or The Lord Jesus has snatched me out of this world in the Rapture of the Church. If the second option is true, then your lives have become very challenging because of environmental, social, and governmental changes. Please, read I Thessalonians 4, the entire chapter, but your clue will be found in verses 16 & 17. Since you've never heard me preach, I must assume you know nothing about the Bible. Look at the Table of Contents, and follow the page number to the start of I Thessalonians. I pray the Lord will grant you all repentance and faith, during the Great Tribulation. In Christ, Pastor John 'John-of-the-Book' Spurgeon.'"

"Oh. My. Goodness," Bud shook his head in disbelief. "You mean I had the clue all the time, and brushed it off as an old letter?"

"It could have happened to any of us, Chief," Jerome assured him. "I took the time to read the verses in the Bible, that the preacher pointed out. I can read them now if you like. I brought one of the copies, Mrs. Myrtle found."

"Of course," Bud said. "Please, read it to us."

"This is I Thessalonians 4:16-17 in the King James Version, 'For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.'"

"What do you make of it, Jerome?" Bud asked.

"Though none of us heard the shout, nor the trumpet blowing the other night, our children and the preacher must have because they are now gone, and we are here. Left behind."

"So, you think our children and the preacher were caught up to the Lord in the air to be with Him forever," Bud said.

"Yes. I do, Chief," Jerome said. "Though I never put much stock in it when I was younger, I heard the word, Rapture, that comes from the words, 'caught up together' in verse #17. If I had paid more attention back then, I could be with them right now."

Bud cleared his throat, coughed, and hung his head for a moment, then looked up and addressed the group with care. "As the chief lawman in this town, you have all expected me to be a good judge of character, but I have a confession to make. I have misjudged the preacher in recent days. For years I thought he was an irritant, talking with me often about the God I had walked away from in my youth. Yet, when he disappeared with all of our children in one night, I started thinking he was some sort of heinous pervert, who didn't deserve to live. However, now I know, that he was snatched away by the same God, Who took our children to live safely with Him forever. That is more than can be said for our existence on this little island, right now." With a voice, that started to crack, he said, "I can't save any of you from the elements."

Myrtle stood to her feet, "Bud Best, your mother was my best friend, and I can tell you, that she was always proud of you. I have been, too. You are doing the best you can, given the circumstances you are having to navigate. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Please, just keep doing your job to the best of your ability, and we'll all be happy with that." She clapped and motioned for the group to do the same.

They all clapped, standing to their feet in a great ovation.

"Thank you, Everyone," Bud gathered himself. "You may be seated. I want to ask you all to keep your eyes open. What you see, that needs to be done. Please, do it. I want every one of you to grab a Bible, and keep it with you. Study it, looking for survival guides. How did the people in the Bible survive the things they faced? Write your notes on a sheet of paper, or make notes in the Bible itself. Mrs. Myrtle, would you be willing to create a poster of something, that we all can write on? Maybe posterboard, or paper, that we use to cover tables for big meals."

"I can do that," Myrtle said," especially if a few folks will help me."

"You've heard the request, Everyone," Bud said. "Now, we need volunteers. If you're willing, then tell Myrtle after the meeting."

"Thank you," Myrtle said.

"Let's start to post our findings from The Bible on that big poster, and we can learn from each other," Bud said. "Does anyone have anything else to add?"

Calvin spoke up, "Leaders don't have to be perfect. If you level with us, like you did today, then we'll stay on your team for a long time to come."

Everyone nodded their agreement.

"Thanks for that, Calvin," Bud said. "Well, that's all I have. We have about half a day's worth of daylight left. Let's make it count before we have to take shelter for the night, but watch out for the sun's rays. They're a little hotter, now. You're dismissed."

"Jerome, walk with me," Bud said.

"Sure, Chief. Whatcha got?"

"The preacher and my children told me repeatedly, 'You need to be saved,' but I didn't listen," Bud said. "Now, they're gone, and I'm here."

"Me, too, Chief. You heard what I said."

"That's why I'm asking you. Would you make it priority #1 to find out how to be 'saved'? I think for the first time in my life, I'm ready if that's something I'm still allowed to do. Or however, that happens to a person."

"Most definitely, Chief," Jerome said. "I'm on it. I want that for me, too."

Jerome looked for a good place to sit down and start hunting how to be saved. Now, what was that Bible verse my Momma taught me to memorize when I was a small kid? Jerome thought. Oh, yeah. John 3:16. I wonder, if I can still repeat it from memory, today. He spoke it out loud, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." That was great!. Maybe I should study the whole chapter. I'm sure I'll have something to report to the Chief.