It was mid-morning. The city was already well into its daily grind. People darted to and fro with haste, all locked into their own routines but all thinking of only one thing. The future suddenly held more possibilities than it ever held before. Darius met Kelvin at a dirt lot that was gated and looked around the site.
“Well I’d say we have a good plot of dirt here.” He exclaimed at the dry brush poking out of the earth. “Couldn’t we just use a spot that is already built? I mean, there’s lots of other options here to choose from.”
Kelvin smiled, “the church has to be unique and stand out from all the others. When people look at it, they have to instantly know what it is. It can’t be hiding in one of the shop blocks. It needs to stand tall and proud, inviting and welcoming.”
He held a roll of large papers in his hand and as he unraveled them he said, “look, this is what our church will look like. A tall steeple will frame the doorway and a holy cross will sit at the top. The windows will be stained glass with images of the life of Jesus Christ and the sanctuary will be filled with as many seats as possible so that people could come and worship together. We’ll even have rooms in the back for Sunday school classes for the children.”
“Sunday? I thought we were going to keep the doors open every day.”
“Yes, we will but Sunday will be the most important day. It’s the day the Lord rested from the creation of the earth. It’s the day held sacred by the Lord and given to his people also as a day of rest.” He put the black and white picture of a finished church to the back of the papers and showed Darius the blueprints of the chapel. “These come from my time. All the church leaders who came from the past have them and they are being used to resurrect a place of worship everywhere.”
He rolled up the stack and took a deep breath, “one day I will return home. I will go back to my family, my old life but after seeing the future, it won’t ever be the same again. Then when I’m old, the Faction will take over. They’ll allow millions to die. They’ll squeeze the life out of humanity and bend the will of the people to their wicked cause. I’m certain I’ll live to see the start of it but I don’t know how much I’ll witness after that. It’s been heavy on my mind and I’ve been praying everyday about it.”
“I’m sorry.” Darius said, “do you have to go back? Can’t you just stay here?”
He shook his head, “no, I want to go back. I want to live the life I was supposed to live and do God’s will. Even if that means I’ll be killed in the process by the evil that’s going to sweep the land of my time. I just pray the Lord gives me strength but until then, we have a church to build. Mr. Maple has put up the funds for all the churches to be built and we mustn't let that hospitality go to waste.”
As they observed the plot of earth and envisioned what the construction would look like in the end, a car pulled up to the curbside. Both men turned to see who it was. The engine stopped and a man got out of the driver side. He looked older than Darius remembered. His face was long and tired, his frame thin and tall. Yet his eyes held the familiar glare of noble positiveness.
“Eric.” Darius said under his breath as the man walked up to them. “Eric,” he said a little louder.
“Hey, long time no see.” Eric replied as he put his arms around Darius. Locked in the familiar embrace of friendship, Darius felt overwhelmed to see his long lost friend again.
“When did you get out? I had no idea you were even still alive.”
“They let all the political prisoners free a few days ago. But you just don’t come out of a sleeper cell and walk away. I had to be medically examined by a doctor and then I had to have a psych evaluation to make sure I was still sane. Then I had to be brought up to speed on what was going on. I damn near cried when they told me. I can’t believe we did it. I can’t believe we beat the Faction.”
“Damn, brother it is good to have you back.” Darius said, “this is my friend, Kelvin. We’re going to build a church right here in the middle of the city.”
The two men shook hands. “That sounds great.”
Then Kelvin said, “well I have to leave you two men alone. I have a meeting with the site coordinator in 30 minutes. See you in the morning Darius. Nice to meet you, Eric.”
They said goodbye to Kelvin who took off walking down the street to the construction office a few blocks away.
“You know, so much has happened since you’ve been gone.” He looked around, “so much that I don’t even know where to begin. It’s just, crazy really everything that happened.”
Darius looked back at his old friend and saw the same Eric in his smile and the same look in his eyes. “Well I hear Roxford is still open. How about a drink and a story then?” Eric suggested.
“Sounds good to me.” The two men started down the street in the opposite direction of Kelvin. The Roxford pub was only a block away. As they walked, a small plane went by overhead and thousands of white sheets flew out and scattered in the sky. As the sheets fluttered and danced to the ground, Eric picked one up and stopped to examine it. He traced his fingers along the title and smiled to himself.
This time, The Maverick announced a call to service in the new democractic nation of America. The military was recruiting in anticipation of a retaliation war not yet declared by the remaining Falconal Faction leaders in Europe and Asia. But in addition to that, forces were needed to help liberate the island chains of Japan who were currently locked in a revolutionary war. “Looks like Eisenhower is still writing. She always liked that name.”
“Oh you mean Nicole?” Darius smiled, “yeah we met. She’s down in New Mexico keeping your paper alive.”
Eric looked surprised. “Hey I did say a lot has happened didn’t I? Darius asked, “let’s go get that drink.”
THE END