Decoration Day by Vic Kerry

brush the other man’s hand off his shoulder.
    “I’m going to the light, to God.”
    “There is no light,” Marsh said.
    David looked at the third floor. The light still spilled over the edge of the landing, but had dwindled. He reached toward it.
    “It’s boiling out like fog,” he said.
    “There is nothing there. Let me take you back to your room. You don’t need to be out of bed. Ebenezer said that your fall has aggravated the concussion. You’re probably hallucinating,” Marsh stepped around him and tugged on him to go back to his room.
    “What is the problem?” Ebenezer asked, coming up the stairs.
    “Reverend Stanley has wandered out of his room, trying to get to the light that he’s been dreaming about,” Marsh said.
    “It is real. I see it spilling from the third floor.” David pointed down the hallway, which was now lit with electric light. The God light no longer drooped down but clung to the flat ceiling.
    “You need to return to your room,” Ebenezer said. “Alistair found you unconscious on the floor of the church. You’ve aggravated the concussion you received. You need to get off your feet.”
    “The light is God. He wants me to come to him,” David almost raved.
    “He is hallucinating,” Ebenezer said to Marsh. “Get the others up here to help get him to his room. I’ll go get some medication to help him.”
    “Nahum, Horace, please help me,” Marsh yelled down to the ground floor.
    Ebenezer let go of David’s arm, but before he attempted to wrench himself away from Marsh, the other men were upon him. They dragged him down the hallway and back into his room. Without any ceremony, they flung him onto the bed. The springs sank and jabbed into his back. The men loomed over him, holding him place. David thought about lashing out, but they kept a secure grip while pressing him down.
    “Don’t you understand that the light is God?” He looked up at the ceiling. The purple light continued to shine around the edges of the moldings. “He called to me.”
    “He took quite a bump to the head,” Marsh told the others. “He believes the light from his nightmares is talking to him. Ebenezer is going to get something to help him settle down.”
    Nahum looked up at the ceiling. David thought the man saw the light. Something in his eyes gave it away. The oldest of the men looked back at him. “There’s nothing up there but cobwebs.”
    David started to say he’d never said the light was on the ceiling, but Ebenezer came in at that moment. He saw him uncork a small bottle that he recognized as the sleep dram. They planned to drug him again. He knew what he’d seen and what he’d heard.
    “Open up.” Ebenezer squeezed his jowls until his mouth opened.
    The liquid filled up his mouth. The doctor closed his lips and held his mouth shut. Ebenezer rubbed his throat, forcing David to swallow the dram. Now God would be angry. He hoped that the Almighty would hold them accountable. Once he’d swallowed, Ebenezer let go of his mouth.
    “The wrath of God will be upon you,” David said.
    He tried to struggle, but the drug worked fast. All his strength drained from him. His limbs went limp, and his lids slipped shut. All he saw was the purple light. The thrumming of it echoed through his head. The men let go of him. He willed himself to jump up and run, but the dram sucked everything from him.
    “Is he out?” Marsh asked.
    David felt his arm rise and fall. “Yes,” Ebenezer said.
    “Is he really crazy?” Nahum asked.
    “Look up,” Horace said. “What do you think?”
    “He’s not,” Ebenezer said. “He’s delirious from that damned light but not crazy.”
    “That light has never shown up in all the years we’ve celebrated Decoration Day,” Nahum said.
    “It’s because he’s the one. I am almost sure of it. No other preacher has ever been so affected by the place, and none has ever been so determined to work at our church,” Marsh said. “I just hope that the light