Invasion of the Spirit Snatchers by Johnny Townsend

Author:Johnny Townsend [Townsend, Johnny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction
Publisher: Johnny Townsend
Published: 2023-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

The Gathering 10

“Mormons also had dances to keep up their spirits in pioneer days,” said Quinn when Jon was through. The baby was back asleep on the floor.

“You didn’t like my story?” he asked, looking a bit miffed.

“I’m just saying.”

“And who would you dance with anyway?” asked Nellie, not looking up from her runner.

“Aren’t you about finished with that damn thing?” Quinn asked in return.

Nellie was silent a moment as she carefully tied a knot. “A true work of art takes both time and patience.” She set the fabric down and took a sip of water. “Just like crafting a pure and obedient soul.”

“Oh, brother.”

Gavin closed his eyes. The bickering never seemed to stop. It was as if the only way they could keep the peace was by stuffing their mouths with the nonsense words of fabulous stories like a gag. Only he wasn’t sure those words weren’t suffocating them instead.

But he did want to live. And people would do whatever it took to survive. They’d eat their dead companions after crashing their plane in the Andes. They’d eat them while stranded in a snowy pass on their way to California. Perhaps what they were doing now wasn’t so terribly different.

Was that also the reason for all the General Conference talks twice a year, year after year after year? Gavin had always wondered why Mormon “revivals” were so dull, when they were supposed to be regenerating everyone’s commitment to the gospel. If Gavin and his housemates needed to tell fanciful stories to get through their present ordeal, maybe Church leaders were doing the same thing. Earth life even under the best of circumstances was always described by the prophets as something that had to be “endured,” perhaps just as much a matter of starving or rationing as their current predicament.

Were the leaders right now plotting to eat the Indian guides leading them through the Sierras? Or the pilot who had descended too soon before fully crossing the Andes? It suddenly struck Gavin that demanding he give up the life he wanted to live was a way of serving him up as dinner for everyone else. Was this the only way Mormon leaders could offer genuine sustenance to their followers?

Gavin felt as if he’d finally understood what letters were, after seeing the alphabet in front of him for years. Understanding the talks of the apostles as a form of cannibalism somehow seemed to make everything else fall into place.

“Is it snack time yet?” asked Emma. “I don’t need much, just a bite of something.”

“I can help you in the kitchen,” Jon offered.

Nellie looked bored but nodded. She led them down the hallway, and a few moments later, they came back carrying little boxes of Sun-Maid raisins. Everyone took the opportunity to chew in silence, but Gavin was contemplating what he would say next. It was his turn to tell a story. He thought about all the times in his life when he’d just shut up. If he was going to die soon, he wanted to do it as a brave man.

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