[DL] Deadlands Fiction Contest Entry

["Matt Maybray" <reginald_q_bumbershoot@hotmail.com>]

Here's my entry. BTW, are we allowed to submit more than one story?


"Prayer"


  Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Hear the prayer of 
Your humble servant.
   First, I ask of you to forgive my sins. A member of the congregation,
Jasper Howell, came to me last Tuesday seeking comforting words, words of 
the Lord. Jasper looked like he had seen years woth of horror in less
than a day. I've known Jasper quite a whileand knew well that something
troubled him greatly. He told me a tale of how he had journeyed into the
woods the day before, seeking some fresh game for his family's supper the 
next Sunday. He had no luck that day and, with dusk fast approaching, he 
decided to head home. That's when he heard the screaming. He ran to a 
clearing and saw something... At this point he had trailed off and turned 
white as a sheet. I said nothing, knowing that he would tell me if he 
wished. He then described a gruesome act: a young girl was being ravaged, 
not by a man, but a... a thing. The creature was a bald, chalk white 
monstrosity with fiery eyes and teeth like railroad spikes. It was feeding 
on the girl, and the poor child was not dead! Jasper painted the scene so 
vividly, I swear I could almost see the girl's face. Jasper brought his 
rifle to bear and fired upon the creature, but it only glared at him with
a sneer fit for old Scratch himself. Jasper dropped his rifle and ran home.
  After completing his tale, Jasper looked at me, a desperate look in his 
eyes. I suppose he wanted forgiveness, or to be told he did all he could. 
Something.
  Forgive me Father, but I did not believe his tale. In a small county
like ours, a brutal murder like that would've drawn more attention than
just Jasper, and no one that I knew of had gone missing.
  I told him that what he had seen had all been in his mine, that it was a 
manifestation of his guilt for not catching fresh meat for his family. I 
tried to reassure him that his family would be fine, they would not starve. 
Jasper sighed wearily, thanked me and left.
  I was informed of Jasper's suicide the next day. He had hung himself in 
his barn. He had left a note which read simply "Forgive me".
  Jasper's death weighed heavily on my mind. Why was his tale so easy to
discount? Because he saw a monster? In the book of Revelations, Saint
John himself recounts visions of several monsters. Daniel wrestled a
dragon, and Samson pulled honey from the belly of a lion. The entire
Scripture is full of what the Tombstone Epitaph would call "paranormal
phenomena", yet I read it to my congregation every Sunday. Was it really
so hard for me to believe Jasper saw a creature of Hellish imaginations?
  The Texas Ranger rode into town on Thursday, asking if the townsfolk
would join him in a search party to find a girl who had gone missing four 
days prior. Perhaps it was your hand, Lord, that drove me to volunteer, just 
as it must have been your hand that drove me to that spot in the woods where 
Japser no doubt stood. The look of terror still etched on that girl's face 
will haunt me the rest of my days...
   Friday night I went to Jasper's grave, to tell him I was sorry, to tell 
him I was wrong. When I got to his gravesite, I saw the earth upturned and 
splinters of wood all around, as if something had rose up from beneath the 
dirt. That's when I felt a hand on my arm, and turned to see Jasper, 
grinning despite the rope burns etched deep into his neck.
   I don't quite remember what happened next. To be honest, after seeing
Jasper, the next thing I remember is the Ranger helping me off the
ground, Jasper's headless corpse lying some feet away. The Ranger asked
me not to share this tale with anyone, though I doubt he'd mind if I
shared the tale with you, Lord.
  Lord, I ask now first your forgiveness in causing poor Jasper fate.
Then, I would ask that you guide me as I strive to make sure something
like this does not happen again. I have seen the evil that walks the
land, and I will fight against. For too long have I merely stood behind
the pulpit, for too long have I not acted on my faith. I ask that you
guide me to those that need the comfort and strength that you provide, O
Lord. And I ask that you provide me with the strength and wisdom to fight 
the kind of evil that killed that poor girl, and, ultimately, poor Jasper. 
And though this path may take me through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, 
I will fear no evil. I will take comfort in the words of your Son, Jesus 
Christ, and I will see to it that others, man and demon alike, know those 
words as well.


In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp