The sun hangs in the sky; a golden disc shrouded in brown mist. The club of wood is heavy in the fist. The dead earth's dirt is baked and cracked. The green fluid moves like a glacier; its aura pulses. The body's confused cells cry in anguish, but the brain isn't listening. One foot moves and then the other.
Amidst the chaos in the large room of The Mother inside the vehicle's large structure and beyond, out into the murmurings and cheers of the crowd outside, in the background, is a sound coming from the East. It is some kind of music and chorus and it's getting louder.
Looking East you see the sun is setting and up against the ruby-red sun, there is a massive amount of giant birds. They appear giant because in their talons they are carrying humanoid figures. The humanoids are covered in fur of various earthen tones. There are both male and female humanoids. But some have dyed their pelts outlandish colors. The humanoids clutch weapons, which appear to be rifles. They also wear silvery helmets which cover their faces. The giant birds have human arms and hands that grasp cruder instruments of death, like swords and spears.
You can see there are different divisions marked by different colored birds and humanoids. They carry different weapons. There is a division which is playing the music. They have trumpets, reed instruments, and amplified stringed instruments.
They are and army. And they are all singing to the music. They begin to descend on The Thrice Church caravan.
The Twinses lead you through the glut of vehicles crowded outside the wall. Felix and Steven with their odd shared gait, and Rudy protruding from Harlowe's abdomen, like a child riding a person. Despite his uncomfortable-looking arched position, his movements are fluid, almost like a large dog loping along. You are headed toward the largest vehicle.
On either side are the members of The Thrice Church. There is a mixture of men and women in soft, felt clothing in two color hues, much like the "children," but in other color combinations, like red and purple, yellow and blue, and pink and umber, etc. Most don't look younger than forty. Tools hand from their belts. They all were different hats. Some with broad brims, others without brims at all. Some are shaped like stars, others vertical ovals, a few are tri-cornered.
There are others among the throngs of people who look like they've been on the road for all their lives. Their eyes, when they aren't hidden behind a mask, goggles or visor, are the color of slate, and seem to stare through you and into the distance. Their faces are weather-worn, speckled with tiny bright veins and black sores. They don't have many teeth. They have rope wrapped around them with various materials strapped to their bodies, over their ragged clothes for protection. You see different weapons hanging from their belts and sashes. Rusted blades, steel pipes, clubs, a few pistols, and some stranger shapes foreign to your memory.
Also, among the people you spot tall masked warriors, in the same cut as Telem and Forunata, but with different markings on their masks.
One of these types walks alongside your group. He is wearing a shirt and pants made from long brown hair and it ripples and waves as he walks. Sewn into the hair in a checkered pattern are human teeth and human toes. A small shield hangs from his left forearm and there is an antique sword on his hip and he cradles some sort of rifle in the crook of his right arm. With him he is leading two figures. One is a humanoid woman form, but who is made completely out of a single plant. The other is a squirrel walking upright, stiffly.
The man in the hair says something in a language you don't understand to the Twinses to look back and nod, Telem yells something to the man as well and the man guides the plant woman and squirrel into your group.
Looking behind you see Telem and Fortunata following you casually. You can see the rusted metal wall. You see the "children running through the streets. There are rooftops barely peaking out above the top of the wall.
Finally you come to the largest vehicle. There is a long, rectangular structure of gray brick sitting on top of it's wheel bed. Metal steps lead up into its dark interior. The Twinses stop on either side and gesture for you to enter the dark doorway.
Inside the pungent smell nearly overpowers your senses. It is a mixture of sweet rotting and spent fuel. Your eyes adjust to the darkness. At the far end of the one-room structure is a large figure seated on a throne upon a dais. From the abdomen of the figure a green gelatinous substance oozes forth and into an enormous vat. The vat itself takes up the majority of the room. And the green gelatin fills it entirely. The gelatinous form pulses and writhes, ever moving. It appears to glow in the darkness. Looking closer at the gelatinous form in the vat you see it there are shadowy shapes held suspended inside it, small human shapes, the size of children or babies.
The Twinses take up positions behind you.
"Let the Baptism begin." And they start to chant a strange ritualistic song.
