Religious Fiction

Barriers and Brothers

Jim tried to scream as he was sucked upward. It felt like he was being pressed through a solid flexible barrier. Every pore in his body stung with increasing intensity. There was a flash of green light and he saw no more. He wobbled, lost his balance, then fell to the ground, landing on his back. He lay motionless and clenched his fists harder than ever he had dared to before. He half expected to feel warm scarlet blood pouring down his trembling palms, but his skin remained intact despite the immense pressure. He pressed his fingertips harder and harder, attempting to relieve his physical stress through his hands alone.

Jim tried to kick, but his legs refused to respond. He attempted to flail his arms, and yet nothing would come of his aggressive attempts. He felt nothing, his brain had ceased working, and there was not an essence of emotion in his body. He unconsciously became still. His vision began to increasingly darken until there was not a trace of light. Then he rested there for hours, not awake and yet not dipping into sleep either.

Then he became faintly aware of a distant sound…. A rush of air, soft and shrill, similar to that of a tree being engulfed by a weak summer’s breeze. He felt every part of his body suddenly begin to continuously vibrate, a both terrible and wonderful sensation. The vibrations, though, quickly slowed, then his body was still.

Jim’s eyes became abruptly open, but would not close. All surrounding him remained still and dark. He tried moving his eyes to peer around, but they stood still in their sockets, his only vision was one enormous black circle. He was surprised, for he had feared the dark his entire life, and yet now it seemed like a new home, a never ending citadel of welcoming peace.

Jim noticed the pressure, that is to say, the sensation of being forced against the flexible barrier, was still upon him. The feeling irritated his emotions, and seemed to agitate his very soul. Extending both arms forward, and then found them against a “canvas” of sorts. He tried to lift the canvas up, as if it were a curtain, but there was no bottom. No matter how many folds he pulled from any direction there was seemingly no end to the cloth. He stopped to think. It all seemed to be so familiar, yet so strange.

Jim tore at the canvas for hours with his senseless hands but found that he worked in vain , for with any amount of strength to open up a tiny hole, nor could he bring himself to shred any small strip. The canvas felt so thin, but so strong, and the substance was something he had never before felt. It was similar to the texture of ash, and yet it held a thickness that resembled that of a winter’s slush. Jim wished his vision would return.

Then there was a second sound, almost an exact replica of what Jim had heard prior, but louder. The sound reached the intensity of a rushing stream, as if a gust was proceeding closer and closer. Jim ceased his attempts to damage the surface of the mysterious barrier. He stilled himself, realizing now that he was still on his back, though he knew not what he could be resting on. Perhaps the entire world was coming to an end, and his situation was equivalent to everyone and everything in the far corners of the world. But he had been on a field, hadn’t he? He found himself struggling to remember, and groaned in frustration. The sound was barely audible over the ever increasing distant breeze. Jim thrashed, startled by his own sigh.

“Hello.” Jim said to himself. He heard the word echo for nearly half a minute until it became too faint and was drowned out by the whistle of the wind. The breeze had become a distant roar now. He felt the tips of his closed lips curl upwards into a small grin. He imagined that this was how life went when an infant experienced it’s first moments on planet Earth. Perhaps he was insane. Perhaps he himself was just engulfed in the very pits of his brain. Maybe this was a coma. Could this be nothing more than an uncontrollable psychological or physical break down.

Jim tried to sit up, but he was glued, like a magnet, to the “ground”. He squinted his eyes, but he could make out no traces of light, let alone movement. The roar of the distant wind suddenly reached such an altitude that Jim found himself clasping his hands over them. The sound increased in intensity, his entire countenance seemed to shake with the size of the sound waves. All at once everything seemed upside down, as if the entire world had flip flopped. He tried to shout as he plummeted forward, and was engulfed into the depths of the canvas barrier.

All at once the barrier became a stormy sea, engulfing him into it’s depths. He felt himself sinking deeper and deeper, gradually coming to a slow stop as his fall’s momentum faded, and he became so entangled in the canvas’ surface that it

Jim became aware that the canvas surrounding him was moving, dragging him deeper and deeper. The feeling made him nauseous, like being dragged down an enormous beast’s throat into its belly.

Then there it was, an inexplicable light engulfed him and the canvas was gone. He instantly felt a warmness beyond any he had ever felt take his entire soul. He was soaring, soaring above and beyond all time. His eyes adjusted and his brain became aware of the others. A stream of people from every ethnic origin and of every age streamed ahead of him towards some location over the horizon. Thousands upon thousands of them, all dressed in a perfect white to blend with the light around him, streamed into the distance. All of them jubilant and cheerful in their flight, all showing no sign of exhaustion or stress. Jim twisted around and beheld a black veil extending as far as the eye could see in all directions. Similar stream beings in movement were in motion further away, but all members began their flight from the canvas. He remained motionless and confused, not knowing how to proceed with the rest of the beings.

Jim watched as more and more people emerged from the black barrier all imitating his actions, he also noticed others ahead of him that seemed to be struggling to do that of which he now puzzled over. He watched as one of those who was struggling suddenly gained control of his “flight” and, grinning, progressed speedily into the depths of the stream and out of sight. Jim found himself panicking, wanting nothing more than to get into that stream and to get to whatever may be at the end of the stream.

Jim watched as animals, too, emerged from the vast black blanket. All floating with ease towards the location of which so many human beings now flew at. The odd sense that the animals gave was that they all seemed calmer, and more comfortable with this new location than the humans were. He watched as fish, birds, mammals, insects, and all matters of creatures Jim had failed to see before now emerged. He felt

Jim peered down and realized that far below, where he now was, rested two distinct smaller sections divided by the source of light each contained. One dark sky was illuminated by a distant red moon, and in the other section rested a very small star that appeared as a tiny speck of light. Jim saw that streams of people similar to those heading from the canvas into the bright horizon were also heading from the distance towards either the star or moon. These men and women held solemn expressions, and the few that set their paths for the very distant star seemed to be weeping. Jim couldn’t tell, for he was a great distance from any of the streams or people making their way for the darker locations. Jim saw no animals visibly directing themselves for the darker sections nor out of both.

Jim set his sights towards the horizon again. He thrashed and kicked, trying to gain control and proceed, but he prevailed not. Despite of his panic attack he found that his energy level was limitless, Jim didn’t feel the slightest amount of fatigue or stress. He ceased his panicked frustration in fascination, now acknowledging the fact that his body was flawless. The scar on right wrist, resulting from a car accident, had faded away and left no trace. He also realized no blue lines appeared in his wrists, nor any color revealing his blood circulation. Yet his skin’s tone remained the same as it had been, and now observing the other’s around him, so did everybody else’s. He took up his struggle to control his flight, focusing every part of his body on that one goal.

Then Jim felt the hand on his shoulder. He stopped struggling and turned to look into the face. The man that met his vision stood a good two feet taller than Jim was himself, and held with him a solemn expression yet one that still gripped such incomprehensible happiness. What struck Jim was not his complexion, though, but that the man had a pitch black beard. This feature alone clashed with everything around it, the black shade of his hair stuck out as if it were a light in a dark room.

The man spoke, his voice soft and yet holding more power than Jim had ever come across. “Well done my fellow servant, enter into the presence of the Lord.”