Looking for the Light

             Samson found a corner in the abandoned house and curled up into a ball. Then he let the tears fall as he let the grief come to the forefront. He knew he had little time to grieve before his younger sister, Abigail, woke. Then he will need to put on a brave face once again as he leads his sister to this torn land.

             It seemed like countless years ago that the two of them were in a family of five. There is a father, Michael, their mother, Sara, and youngest brother, Joseph. A young family enjoying life as much as they could in a society that was rapidly heading downhill.

             “Why is there all this bad stuff going on?” Samson asked his parents after his father turned off the TV.

             Samson had just turned sixteen, wondering if he will see twenty with the number of killings every day.

             “Humanity has decided they want to run the show full time,” his father replied. “They decided what is good for this country is now considered bad, and bad is now considered good.”

             Samson realized his father was talking about taking God out of the equation and humanity will do things their own way. A large portion of the population didn’t believe in a God, so the leaders needed to be the people’s god from now on. Everyone needs something to worship.

             “I wonder why God doesn’t stop all of this?” asked Samson.

             “One day it will come to an end,” his mother said. “It is not our place to question God. We don’t have the authority or a sliver of a concept of His ultimate plan. Humanity wanted to be like God and be in control from the beginning.”

             “And if you have been paying attention to history, I have been teaching you we have been messing things up time after time. Need we blame God.”

             “Since we are such screw-ups, I’m surprised He doesn’t destroy us,” Samson said.

             “He came close, but we don’t have an inkling of His love and patience with us. Many nations have been given hundreds of years to change their ways. If it had been a human ruler, it would only be days or weeks before he brought judgment,” his father said.

             Samson remained silent for he didn’t really understand all the craziness of this world. He had a hard time grasping at a loving God. Maybe one day.

             It was not long after his seventeenth birthday that the chaos of the world hit home.

             Samson was home with his sister, Abigail. She had turned fifteen years old a few months ago, so their folks decided they were old enough to stay home as they went for a drive with Joseph.

             “Make sure every door and window are locked after we leave,” his father said as he put on his coat. “And heaven forbid it would happen. You know where I keep the pistol.”

             “Yes, I do,” Samson said, having practiced firing it a couple of times, cleaning it, and putting it away.

             His parents left with Joseph. Samson and Abigail waved to them, not knowing it would be their final time seeing them.

             It was a few hours later that there was a knock on the door. Abigail checked to see who it was before she opened the door. Samson came up behind her, having just used the restroom, and they both saw a cop standing there.

             Both stood in stunned silence as they heard the cop tell them their parents and younger brother were killed in a drive by shooting. No reason why, except some thug wanted to try out their new weapon.

             “The good news is that the killer was caught and will be heading to prison,” the cop said with a grin.

             Good news? What the hell/ That is good news to hear of someone who will spend some time in prison? To be let loose to kill again.

             “Life is cheap,” they heard their parents say over and over. “It is almost as if the ones in charge want to see the population depleted.”

             The cop left, and the two sat down, not saying a word. What could they say at that moment as they tried to grasp what had just happened? Their parents were taken from them. Their brother was taken. Now, just the two of them. Very few family members are older than them around. An uncle that they felt like they were more mature than him.

             “We will stay here as long as we can,” Samson finally told Abigail later that evening.

             Samson worked a job that paid okay, and Abigail worked a part-time job. Probably not enough to stay in the house. Eventually, the city will come in and send them somewhere.

             “They will probably just kick us out of the house,” said Abigail as the tears flowed.

             The two of them didn’t have to think about what was going to happen to them, for complete anarchy had gripped the city. Had gripped the country. Not long after, their house had been firebombed, and they had to flee. They couldn’t go to their neighbors, for their houses had been bombed or invaded. Luckily, Samson knew how to get around the city until they made it to the outskirts. Samson was thankful that he didn’t have to use his pistol.

             Samson stayed curled up as he let his emotions out. He didn’t dare do so around Abigail. She was barely hanging on, at times just wanting to end it.

             “Don’t say or think of such things,” he told her over and over.

             With the chaos, he wondered if they would be able to last much longer. They have been lucky to find food and safe spots. His parents would say it was the will of God. Samson was having a hard time to think God was even around.

             He sat up when he heard a sound at the front door. Samson took out his pistol and hurried into the living room where Abigail slept on the couch. Before he could reach her, the front door burst open. He put pressure on the trigger but couldn’t make himself fire.

             “Take us out so we can reunite with our family,” he thought.

             But there was no gunfire.

             “Put the gun down, boy,” a deep sounding voice called out. “We are the good guys.”

             The man, who was in shadow, stepped further into the house, and he saw the man was wearing army gear.

             “The cavalry is here to save humanity,” the man said with a grin.

             Abigail woke with a cry and rushed over to Samson. He calmed her down, then looked into her eyes.

             “We are saved,” he told her. “We will be all right.”

             The chaos was eventually extinguished. Many lives were lost. Many leaders were pulled from power.

             Samson and Abigail did their best to move on. A revival in the land helped bring the light into many lives.