The gods came together again in their dark, cave-like meeting place.
“The time has come,” Zeus said. “The destruction of the world of the wicked is upon them. There will not be just attacks from the four of us who did so before. Now, all of the gods will contribute to the destruction of the world.”
“First, to take everyone off-guard—that is, everyone who hasn’t and will never heed our warnings—there will be a further sending of them astray,” Poseidon said.
“Many of us will distract the sinners with nonsense of various forms,” Hades said. “Then, when we four attack, the shock that the sinners will receive will feel as terrible as what will physically happen to them.”
“Gods,” Zeus announced to the Olympians, “hit the people in hard, but not devastating, ways. Distract them with pleasure, petty conflicts, the sort of thing that would keep their small minds busy while I, my brother of the sea, our grandmother of the Earth, and my brother of the underworld, prepare the worst for them.”
“As for those of you mortals who have ears to hear, and eyes to see,” Gaea warned. “Take heed. Watch how the troubles of the Earth worsen, and take these for signs that the end is near.”
Michelle woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. She wouldn’t go back to sleep for many hours. She feared not for herself, her family, or close friends. She feared for those who she knew would never listen to the warnings. She thought mostly of her sweet mother, sleeping in the house across the street from her.
She bowed her head and put her hands together to pray: “Please, Athena, keep my mom convinced of the need to go to the box when the time comes. She seemed convinced that it was a good idea when I showed it to her, but I’m still not sure if she’ll really go there with me.”
Gary’s upper half shot up from his pillow, and he gave out a grunt. How many more of these dreams are there going to be? he wondered. Then he thought of Cam, who still didn’t take his warnings seriously. How am I going to save him and his wife from destruction? I got the rest of the family to see the box, but neither he nor his wife will ever come out to see it.
Nina woke with a yelp that woke her husband.
“Oh!” Steve grunted. “Did you have a nightmare?”
“Well,” she said, “a warning of nightmares to come.”
“Oh?” he said.
“Yes,” she said, breathing fast and heavily. “You’re still going with me to that box when the time comes, right?”
“Yes, yes, of course,” he said, then yawned.
She looked at him, looking for signs of insincerity on his face. She was relieved to find none.
Shelly opened her eyes as soon as Gaea’s words were finished, but she remained calm in her bed. We must be patient, she thought. We must first get through the evil to get to the greater good.
She looked over at her husband on the other side of their bed. He was sleeping peacefully.
She put her head back on her pillow and closed her eyes.
I have faith in the gods, she thought as she began drifting off back to sleep. They’ll get us all through this. I haven’t been a pagan for all these years out of blind faith. We’ll be OK.
