I AM GOD!

From beyond the iron fence, haunting screams and shouts resounded.

Tall lush trimmed hedges aligned the sides of the church"s concrete pathways which Rick and Mary were quickly walking down, towards the parking lot.

"Papa.. we can"t leave Jason behind.. He"ll be lonely." Mary whimpered with fresh tears leaking from her eyes.

"It"s too dangerous Mary, I"m sorry but we can"t go back.. " Rick said with a crack in his voice as he pulled his daughter along.

"But.."

"Mary please.. there will be a time to mourn later when we"re safe. For now.. just follow papa okay?" Rick replied, a hint pleading in his tone.

"En.. " Mary nodded weakly, her eyes appearing soulless.

The two finally reached the open parking lot where various cars were parked neatly.

Rick saw his old truck in one of the parking s.p.a.ces, perfectly fine which filled him with relief as he half expected it to be destroyed or at least stolen.

"We"re almost there Mary, just a little bit more."

As they were about to leave the pathway, a shadow leapt out from the hedge towards Rick.

Rick saw the sudden movement and put his arms up, shielding his face. In the next moment he felt a burning sensation across his forearm.

"Papa!" Mary cried out in worry.

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Growled Rick.

Rick and the shadow tumbled over, he desperately gripped what looked to be a man in a blue overalls, grabbing what felt like an arm. Moving his hand down, he managed to grab ahold of what had been used to attack him, a pair of hedge trimmers.

"L-let go!" The man in the blue overalls struggled as he pulled against Rick on the ground. He kicked Rick"s chest leaving him gasping for breath, feeling Rick"s grip loosening on his garden tool, he smirked.

"Leave Papa alone!!"

The man in the blue overalls noticed a blur in the corner of his eye and before he could even see what it was, he felt something slap his face hard leaving him stunned.

His mind didn"t have time to process what happened before he was slapped hard again leaving his ear ringing.

Noticing the chance to turn the tables, Rick pulled hard.

The man in the blue overalls panicked as he felt his garden tool leave his hand.

*Smack!*

He couldn"t utter another word as he felt a heavy blow to the back of his head.

Rick gasped for breath, his forearm bleeding from a large gash. He inspected the man who he knocked out with blunt end of the trimmers vigilantly. He laid unconscious on the paved pathway, not moving; a little blood leaking from his head.

"He"s just a gardener.. " Mary said with disbelief in her voice as she gripped her shoe tightly. Even the gardeners were going crazy; leaving her feeling more frightened than she already was.

"Gardener"s don"t attack people Mary..," Rick sighed as he shook his head. "Let"s go."

Dropping the trimmers, Rick grabbed Mary"s hand and pulled her towards his truck. As they entered, the familiar smell of old leather seats reached their noses, calming their nerves if only a little.

Rick inserted the key and turned.

*Bang* *Pop*

The rusty truck"s engine roared to life which was like music to Rick"s ears.

Mary was silent, her hand slightly shaking as she put her shoe back on. Now that they were relatively safe, she couldn"t help but remember the traumatic events in the church as her eyes once again began to wetten. Jason"s look of terror was seared into her mind.

Rick navigated around the surrounding cars as he pulled out of the parking lot. Shifting the gear, he began driving towards the church gate as distant screams were coming from the church.

His eyes were alert as he spotted several screaming relatives escaping from the church and running towards the parking lot; behind them were several priests covered in blood, their eyes filled with madness.

*Bang*

"Ah!"

One of the priest"s had jumped run out onto the road and rammed themselves into the side of his truck, startling Mary.

"GET OUT! YOU NEED TO BE SAVED!!" The priest screamed fanatically as he banged on the window, a b.l.o.o.d.y chair leg was gripped tightly in his hand.

Rick glared at the Priest and said. "f.u.c.k off!" Before hitting the gas.

His truck spurted out a puff of smoke before gaining speed, swiftly exiting the church gate and leaving the crazy priest behind.

The highway was a complete mess with several crashed cars and people running around.

Rick maneuvered the road carefully, avoiding people and other cars as best he could. Mary seemed to be heaving nervously as she observed the chaos outside the truck.

After a few close calls, Rick finally exited the town. Both he and Mary gave a collective exhale of relief.

"We"re out Mary, we"ll lay low at home for a while okay?" Rick adjusted the rear view mirror after which he saw Mary"s haggard appearance.

Worry shone in Rick"s eyes as he said. "Mary.. get some rest."

Mary sniffled as she slowly nodded her head.

Rick sighed and focused on the road ahead.

........

//Several Hours Later~//

Rick was driving down the old dirt road on his way home. He had to take the long way around since the road had been blocked by a blockade of crashed cars.

His eyes were distant. Mary was sitting quietly in the back, her hands gripping her blood soaked skirt tightly. She was pale and listless, her eyes closed asleep.

The sun was setting in the background, the horizon dyed red.

Rick"s eyes began to wander off the road, noticing several smoke clouds rising in the distance.

"The world"s gone crazy..." He muttered under an exhausted breath.

As the old truck drove along, Rick had continually glanced at the radio on his dashboard. He knew there would be nothing but bad news if he turned it on but there was a small glimmer of hope.

Hope that it was just this town and nowhere else that had gone mad. [Maybe it was a government experiment, or aliens.] He thought optimistically.

"Argh to h.e.l.l with it!" Rick switched on the radio and listened bated breath.

As the radio crackled to life, a voice of a man could be heard through the static. The voice was filled with terror.

The voice on the radio became clearer until it was easily understandable. "I- I just saw the studio manager choke Charlene my a.s.sistant to death! I c-couldn"t do anything.. All I could do was block off access to the broadcasting room."

Banging could be heard in the background startling the panicked radio host. "They"ll break through soon, James and Charles..I thought they were harmless but... " The banging grew louder and louder till it was almost deafening.

The radio host"s voice grew more agitated and afraid by the second. "Those of you still listening, stay in your homes! Keep your families safe! Don"t trust anyone!" A loud boom was heard in the background that sounded like the shattering of wood, it was followed by panicked shouts.

A loud thwack could be heard and then silence.

"Praise the azure G.o.d!" An excited croaking voice sounded from the radio.

Rick covered his mouth in shock.

"I didn"t want to believe it, but it"s true...our world is ending." He mumbled as he switched to a different frequency, a hint of despair flashing in his eyes.

It was a radio host he was familiar with called Fiona, she broadcasted from a small town in the next county. A single housewife with 2 children, she had a certain flair about her that always seemed to cheer him up.

As he drove, the red sunset gave way to the dark night. A gentle voice sounded from the radio, it was pleasant on the ears.

"All"s well in my little town my dear fans, no need to worry about me. Many people in my lovely town are old retirees so none of the crazy shenanigans going on elsewhere are happening here thank G.o.d! Now I know that these are troubled times but will that stop me? No my dear fans, even if the world is going down the drain I"ll still be here broadcasting and giving prime housewife advice! Now listen close, today"s daily recipe is a new take on the old lasagna dish-"

Rick"s worries seemed to fly away as he listened to the radio, his focus on the road waning. He had driven down this road countless times before so he knew it like the back of his hand. He drove steadily as the red sunset gave way to the night.

*Smack!*

Rick was snapped out of his little daze as his truck hit something that gave an audible groaning sound, he couldn"t quite make it out since it happened so fast.

"s.h.i.t!" Rick stepped on the brakes, his rickety truck coming to a halt.

"Papa.. what was that?" Mary rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"Nothing, nothing. Go back to sleep Mary." Rick a.s.sured her before stepping out of the truck.

Walking up to the front of his truck, he saw a rather large dent along with a fairly noticeable blood splatter.

"f.u.c.k!" Rick cursed, he looked around and heard a weak whimpering coming from behind the truck.

Walking towards the source of the noise Rick found a dog, it had brown s.h.a.ggy fur and one floppy ear. The other ear seemed to have been torn off. It breathed faintly before finally succ.u.mbing to it"s heavy injuries.

"The boy"s dog.. " Rick rubbed his face in frustration. "Everything wrong seems to be happening today, could it get any worse?" He muttered.

*Click*

Rick"s hairs stood on end, a cold sweat running down his back. That sounded distinctly like the pump of a shotgun.

"Hands up! Turn around, slowly." A cold but familiar voice sounded from behind.

Rick raised his hands turned around.

Grim was standing behind the nearby fence, a large shotgun in his hands pointing directly at Rick.

"It was an accident boy, I didn"t mean nothing by it." Rick"s hands grew sweaty.

"Old man...are you good?" Grim held the shotgun steadily, there was a threatening tone to his voice.

Rick shook his head hastily. "I- I don"t know what you mean boy."

Grim"s eyes narrowed as he replied in a deep voice. "I just killed the Thompson"s from the next farm over after they attempted to kill my wife and son, I"d known them for over a decade. They were nice people but they weren"t good, you get me?"

Rick gulped nervously. "L-listen boy, I just came back from the most f.u.c.ked up wedding you would ever see. The pastor killed me son-in-law and then wanted to kill my little girl. Me and Mary just barely managed to escape that h.e.l.lhole, please boy...w-we just want to go home."

Grim"s expression eased as he slowly lowered the shotgun. "Rick, come inside and have a drink. We need to talk."

Rick let out a breath of relief.