New Story: The Adjusters #37

Here is February's installment of The Adjusters, “A Wedding and a Confrontation”, wherein Daniel and Shawbank and our Special cross paths.

As usual, comments welcome.

I'll also remind you that we have a Speculation Thread available for general discussion. (A thread which I read but do not comment on.)


The Adjusters #37 - A Wedding and a Confrontation

(Charleston, West Virginia. Now.)

Elizabeth Bowden followed her friend Shelley Caskill into the
abandoned church, ducking in through a recessed side door that was
left unbarricaded. Elizabeth wanted to ask how Shelley knew that the
door was unlocked, but Shelley would have answered to simply trust
her, her answer to every question Elizabeth had asked since they
arrived. And Elizabeth did trust her friend, so she followed.

Once they were inside the church, Elizabeth forgot about asking
questions, and looked up in wonder. It had been more then ten years
she had not come here, but she remembered most of the details, the
high arches, the columns, the attempts at merging a modern decor with
antiquated aesthetics. The pews were still there, empty, gray with
dust, looking forlorn and sad the way empty churches sometimes did, as
if they received their life from the souls of the visiting
congregants.

In her mind, she had half expected Our Saviour's Lutheran Church to be
falling to pieces, the way abandoned buildings did. But of course, it
had been only a decade. She did not know exactly why the parish had
decided to change location and build a new church three blocks
away. The old church was still there, however, still sturdy, still
filled with the memories of her youth. She could imagine turning
around and seeing her mother behind her, silently urging her to keep
walking until they got to her favorite pew, the third one on the far
right when facing the altar. Unbidden, she felt a tear form behind her
eyelids, and she fought it back. What was Shelley up to? Why did she
bring her here?


Continue reading...


Next month: “A Wedding and Three Debriefings”.