Chapter 219: Noise after mass.
Sunshine looked around the church, studying the behavior of those in attendance. She did not pay attention to those that had come wearing exaggerated hats on their heads or Justice Marley who was suddenly the picture of reverence with her head bowed and a palms together, whispering prayers like she was the one meant to deliver the sermon.
What caught her eyes was the whispering and glances people sent their way. Some appeared to be curious and others accusatory.
"I hope we won’t have to shoot anyone in the church." She whispered to Hades.
Hades was also observing the residents and understood why his wife felt uneasy. If people were whispering, it meant there was a rumor. This only happened when something disturbing was going on in the base. The next general meeting was tomorrow and normally the whispering would be addressed then.
But it seemed like this could not wait. "We better brace ourselves for what is coming." He called Lisha and asked her to take the children away.
He did not want them around in case some of the residents lost their minds. He would never forget the one that pulled his gun on Sunshine and tried to stage a one man coup.
Sunshine let out a weary long sigh, the day had just began but already trouble was looming around the corner. How were they supposed to enjoy their Sunday?
She thought about her beds; the one at home and the one in the space. How she would have loved to be in any of them rather than a church filled with residents that looked suspicious of each other!
Her hammer appeared in her hand, it expanded and she held it between her legs, leaning on the handle.
"No bible but a hammer!" Warren leaned over and whispered.
She shrugged. "I cannot throw a bible at troublemakers but I can throw my hammer at them."
"Nobody is throwing a hammer at anyone in the Lord’s house." Rori hissed.
"With all the gossiping going around, I don’t think the Lord would want to live in this house." Sunshine leaned over Hades and whispered to Rori.
"If it is a house of prayer, it is the Lord’s house." Rori said firmly.
Sunshine sighed and leaned on the handle of the hammer again. No matter what Rori said, if someone threatened their lives, it was hammer time.
A smile came from her lips as she repeated the words "its hammer time" over and over in her mind, trying out different voices.
Hades smiled as he saw the expressions on her face changing a few times. He did not know what she was thinking about but she bet it was funny.
He watched her until the choir which was made up of children and adults started singing the first hymn.
When it was time for the main sermon, father Nicodemus took place at the pulpit. His voice, calm and resonate, carried through the whole room. His message was simple yet deeply moving; mercy, forgiveness and love.
"Our lord tells us to live together in harmony," his gaze sweeping across all of them. " but how can we do that if we do not have these principles at heart? Without these, the apocalypse will not have to destroy us, for we will do it ourselves."
He noticed that Sunshine was sleeping, her head resting on Hades’s shoulder. Instead of waking her up, he had wrapped a thick shawl around her, indulging her to the fullest.
None the less, he went on with his sermon, encouraging the residents to be good to each other.
Silence followed after the last worship song, father Nicodemus then asked innocently what the congregation had learned in the sermon. "Please do not be shy, raise your hand and share."
Sunshine was finally awake and she was very attentive. She saw the hand at the same time as others at the front. Violet Craydon. Her fat arm trembled as it lifted, though her jaw was set with determination.
And beside her like a shadow urging her sideways, was Justice Marley Craydon, her mother-in-law. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she pushed Violet to speak.
Sunshine’s stomach knotted. That bad feeling in her stomach started to dissipate as she figured out the source of the trouble.
Violet ignored her son’s plea to sit down, she stood slowly, voice wavering before it became steady. "Father...you preached about mercy today. Forgiveness and loving our neighbors." She paused, her breath shaking. "But does that apply.....to the rapist on the base? Some sins are unforgivable and whoever this person is, he should not be here with us!"
The words struck like lightning in the hushed room.
Murmurs erupted among the congregation, some turned to one another whispering furiously and nodding their heads.
Major Elio stood up and bellowed. "There is no rapist! Will you stop spreading wrong information for fucks sake!"
The devout Christians gasped along with Father Nicodemus.
"Lie!" Justice Marley stood, her index finger pointing at the priest. "Father tell us in the name of the lord, is there a rapist or not?"
Father Nicodemus hesitated in giving an answer, his gaze shifted a questioning gaze toward Sunshine. He was planning to discuss this same issue with her because people had flooded into the church the previous night about the matter but he had no knowledge on it.
Sunshine’s face remained expressionless, only because some people were staring at her but, she expected Father Nicodemus to deny knowing anything which was actually the truth.
"Father tell the truth, we are in the house of the lord!" A man shouted from the back. "We have the right to know if we are living with perverts or not. Name them so that we can protect our children."
Justice Marley let out a derisive laugh and stood up. With her hands on her waist, she said loudly, "We heard this news from the soldiers. It is an undeniable truth. Do not lie to us Father."
"I..." The priest started.
Voices were raised, most of them, angry.
Father Nicodemus’ legs melted as he fell back in the chair. "Oh for God’s sake!...."
Anymore harassment of the priest and he would faint. Dwayne did not want that so he stood up and bellowed through the mega phone Lisha had left him. "How do you morons expect the priest to even know of such information?
Does he work in the information center or anyone else that has access to information on the base? The poor man spends eighty percent in this church or visiting the sick and helping out in the daycare.
You want the truth...why? Are you going to eat it for dinner? What will you do if you get confirmation that someone once accused of rape is living on the base? You cannot make the presidents throw that person out if they don’t wish to. You keep forgetting that this is a privately owned base.
You are guests here and your residency card can be pulled at anytime. You all are safe and that is what matters. This place is crawling with people of different origins from all around the country so it’s expected that we may be living with some criminals, but the base authorities will handle such issues, that is why the prison exists."
Justice Marley was not done. "If such a criminal exists then just throw him out of here and let him freeze outside the wall. At least for the sake of us women and children." She shouted, getting wild cheers.
"Wow! A few seconds ago you were shouting hallelujah yet here you are suggesting that we commit murder." Rori scoffed.
Sunshine stood up.
The action alone made the residents shut up. Justice Marley even sat down, shivering because she saw sparks coming from the hammer in Sunshine’s hands.