#Zechariah 12

[at-the-end-of-days]

Well this sucks.

What does this say about us as a people?

What does it say about us as a nation, that we are SUPPORTING the mass murder of so many?

Now I think that this article above is misconstruing actions.

But so many are supporting Palestine against the “colonists,” the Israelis. The zionists. What do we see on social media? People catering to what is the “right” thing to say. Angry at the “right” things. People can’t even call out what they think is the wrong “think-speak” unless they believe that they have the opinion of the greater community behind them, least they be “wrong,” and “canceled.” And then people get into bubbles, echo-chambers, where opinions are repeated back, over and over again, surrounded with the same opinions.

This used to be Jewish land. Then it became Palestinian land. Now Israel is back. When does it become morally “correct” for someone to take their land back, or to give up on it? A few short years, such as in Ukraine? Should Poland try and get land back from Russia? It hasn’t been that long. Why is it that Israel should leave because it’s Palestinian land now? How much time must pass for this to be “correct”? But even then! That doesn’t mean that either side is totally correct! There are shades of grey! Grey that so many on social media cannot see, as people can no longer reason about issues, things MUST be right or wrong.

Have we not seen it on tumblr? Just these past three days? Going from “oh no, Israel,” to “people did bad things to each other,” to “people in Israel should just leave!” Because that became the “right” opinion.

But that doesn’t! Mean! I think Israel is in the 100% moral right here. Ideally everyone could live together. But that can’t happen. But drawing and redrawing borders for peace also can’t happen, when both sides want the land. They had to completely divide Jerusalem, and there’s still no end to the tension there.

And what does this say about how we wage war, when Israel has cut off water, WATER for the people it is fighting? Not just the terrorists, but civilians?

I whole heartedly condemn all celebrations for Hamas.

I condemn all celebrations for this loss of life.

I say that Israel should NOT use water as a method of waging war.

All I can hope for now? Is that the American presence is small, that Iran doesn’t get involved further, and that this doesn’t escalate.

And as a reminder this isn’t a news blog, or a war blog, it’s a Christian Revelations blog.

So let’s throw in some scripture.

Zechariah 12, King James Version.

12 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

4 In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God.

6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

7 The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.

8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

So no, I do not think this conflict will end with Israel being torn down stone by stone. I do not think that Israel will fall against Hamas, against Iran.

I think public opinion will side with Palestine, and Israel will lose more and more support.

But I think, after an enormous loss of life, that Israel will be left standing.

That men, women, and children, will all have suffered.

That Palestinians and Israelites will have suffered.

And that in the end, the atrocities they have committed, the rape and parading of Israelite women, the cutting off of water to all the people in Gaza? Will be left to be settled on judgment day.

[jeffersonvann]

mourning day

20250422 Photo by Bruno Thethe on Pexels.com mourning day Zechariah 12:1-13:9 Zechariah 12:1 A pronouncement: The word of Yahveh concerning Israel. A declaration of Yahveh, who stretched out the sky, laid the foundation of the land and formed the breath of man within him.Zechariah 12:2 “Notice, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering for the people surrounding the city. The siege…

[jesus-is-lord-and-savior]

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

(Zechariah 12:10, ESV)

[cursedbanalities]

✨Zechariah 14:12-13 Chapter 2✨

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“Yo, what’s Ethan’s problem?” Mason asks, walking to the back of Eugene’s Pizza to help Hunter finish closing.

“The man got bit on his last delivery.” Hunter says looking over his shoulder as he leans over the dish sink— there’s still a few dishes left, a couple of pizza cutters and a few lids from the deep dish pans. “Whatever it is he did, I don’t blame him.”

“Fuck, for real?” Mason asks, cocking his head and furrowing his brow. “I mean… that’s fair then I guess. He have to shit too or something?”

“I don’t know, probably. I’m sure he’s just ready to go home. By the way, we got mostly everything done. We just have to finish up these dishes and mop,” Hunter sighs, ready for this shift to be over.

Mason nods, giving Hunter a quick smirk and a thumbs up. Hunter returns the thumbs up and scrubs at the lids and slicers, spraying them down and dunking them into sanitizing water. As he drains out the sink, Mason starts to mop. He goes around the store, mopping the walk-in freezer, the areas around the dish sink and metallic tables, and by the phones that take deliveries. Ethan stays in the bathroom the whole time, prompting Hunter to say something to Johnny as he gives him his money for the day- a whopping three order’s worth of cash, and $13 in tips.

“Well, I’ve had the same kinda issue.” Johnny says to him as he counts Hunter’s money. “Y’know, I’ve been tryin’ ta reach my wife and kids all night. Just, ghosted. I figured I did somethin’ to make my wife mad at the very least, but she hasn’t even opened my texts! They just say ‘sent.’”

“Oof, man. I hope she isn’t mad or anything.” Hunter says. “But, what’s that got to do with Ethan “shittin’” his brains out up there?”

“Man, I dunno.” Johnny says, slightly exasperated. “He’s prolly jus’ mad ‘cause I made him stay here later y’know?” He finishes counting the cash, and gives Hunter his measly amount in tips.

“Thanks,” Hunter says sarcastically. He turns and starts to walk away as Johnny pulls out his phone.

“What the fuck?” Johnny mutters, just loud enough for Hunter to hear. He turns around with a “hm?” and Johnny shows him his phone screen. The last text he sent, just before he gave Hunter his tips, was grayed out with a “not delivered” just below it.

“Well at least you know she isn’t ignoring you? Hunter speculated.Johnny shook his head.

“Well, that might’ve been the case if I had any service, which I obviously must’a just lost. I was lookin’ somethin’ up just a second ago.”

Hunter pulls out his phone and turns it on. Same thing, zero bars. Andy and Cameron, who were on the other side of the kitchen talking about something else, happened to hear Johnny and checked their phones too.

Same thing.

Cameron even confirmed it by trying to look something up in his browser, with the only thing popping up being a notice for no wi-fi.

“Well, shit. I know I paid my phone bill at least,” Cameron said. “But if the network is down, wouldn’t they send out a message telling us about why it’s down or something? I’m surprised they haven’t yet.”

“Maybe they jus’ haven’ noticed it?” Johnny asks. “Whatever. Maybe the news’ll have somethin’ to say about it.” He walks out to the lobby, grabbing a tv remote from under the cash register, and turning the lobby tv on. While he did that, Mason walked into the kitchen, and told Hunter that he’s gonna kick Ethan out of that bathroom whether he’s done in there or not. Hunter gives him a shrug, so Mason grabs the mop bucket and rolls it up the inclined hallway towards the backroom.

Hunter walks out into the lobby to see what was happening on the TV. Johnny, Cameron, and Andy were staring at the TV with their arms crossed or hands on their hips. The news was talking about the viral infection coming out of Singapore.

“Well, nothing about cell phone outages,” Johnny mutters. “That infection shit is pretty fuckin’ scary though.”

“Eh, I mean. Covid wasn’t THAT bad.” Andy shrugs. “I never got it. How bad could this really be?”

The TV goes black, and a series of deep siren-sounding beeps comes out of it.

…EEEEH…

….EEEEH…

…EEEEH…

EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM

EAN SYSTEM

ISSUED AN

EMERGENCY ACTION NOTIFICATION

A computer-generated voice of a man comes over the tv speakers:

“We interrupt this program as this is a national emergency. Important instructions will follow. This is not a test. A severe viral infection has been located in several cities in the United States, overwhelming medical officials and the United States Military. The cities include: New York, Baltimore, Miami, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

“This viral infection has outpaced protective measures put into place by the Center for Disease Control. Citizens living within these cities are recommended to seek immediate shelter. Citizens who do not live in these cities are asked to return to their homes and lock the doors. Do not open them unless the all-clear has been given. Tune in to a local station to listen. Ensure that you have water, food, and a flashlight.”

Text on the screen changes:

Remember:

- ENSURE YOU HAVE FOOD AND WATER FOR (1) WEEK AT LEAST

- LOCK YOUR DOORS

- DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PREMISES

- IF YOU OR A FAMILY MEMBER HAS BEEN INFECTED IN THE LAST HOUR (VIA BITE OR CONTACT WITH INFECTED BODILY FLUIDS): SEPARATE AND QUARANTINE.

The voice continues:

“The CDC has reported that the infection travels via the bloodstream through contact with the infected victim’s blood, and is often transmitted through a bite from an infected person. Avoid all contact with persons who may have been bitten. The United States Government has authorized civilians to take up arms to defend their life, and property. This message will repeat.”

…EEEEH…

….EEEEH…

…EEEEH…

Hunter, Johnny, Andy, and Cameron all look at each other, their eyes wide and mouths agape, as they hear Mason scream from the storage room.

They run into the kitchen. Mason sprints down the hallway from the supply room. Ethan’s hot on his tail, crashing into a wall as they round the corner. He launches himself at Mason and connects, bringing both of them to the ground. Mason wrestles with him, trying to keep him off as strands of red spit drip from his mouth and onto Mason’s face. Hunter and Johnny both run over to them, but Hunter gets there first. He grabs Ethan, putting him into a bear hug and pulling him off, inadvertently pointing him at the rest of the group. Ethan squirms in his arms, violently shaking his shoulders, before digging his nails into Hunter’s forearms and breaking free. Ethan flails his arms, and charges towards the first person he sees— Johnny. He grabs the wide man, sinking his nails into Johnny’s arms and shoulders as he tries to wrestle him to the ground. Johnny struggles to defend himself, and Ethan gnashes his teeth at him. He yelps as Ethan bites and scratches at him, leaving scratch marks on his face and neck.

“C’mon Ethan!” he yells, “Get the fuck off of me!” Johnny starts to lose strength as Ethan relentlessly fights to bite a chunk out of him.

Hunter freezes with fear. All he can do is watch as his friend clacks his teeth, trying to rip out his manager’s throat. He snaps out of it when he sees Cameron pat his lower back, just above his waistline. He pulls up his shirt, revealing a semi-automatic pistol with a wooden grip and polished silver finish. He pulls it out, cocks the slide back, and points it at the side of Ethan’s head. Hunter and Andy both jump when they see the gun, and Hunter reflexively ducks when Cameron points it at Ethan.

“YOU BROUGHT YOUR FUCKING GUN?” he lets out, causing Ethan to look at him just as Cameron pulls the trigger, shooting the back of Ethan’s head.

Hunter flinches as Ethan’s forehead explodes, leaving a large crater behind and spraying Mason and Johnny with blood. Hunter’s ears ring, and he feels the bile rise in his throat. Everything’s spinning, and he starts hyperventilating. He backs up until he hits a wall and clutches at his chest. He looks down at Ethan’s body. His arm is mangled, with deep scratches and bite marks covering his right arm and hand. It looked like he had been chewing on himself— chunks of missing flesh went right down to the bone. His teeth were a bloody red, and blood pours out of his nose, mouth, and the gaping hole in his head.

He sees Andy yelling at Cameron, trying to grab the gun out of his hand, but Cameron pushes him away. Andy’s screams are muffled since Hunter’s ears are still ringing, but after a few seconds it starts to dissipate. His heart is still pounding. He fully regains his hearing while Andy is still yelling at Cameron.

“-ou fucking crazy?” Andy screams at him. “Dude, what if there was a cure or something? You just murdered Ethan!”

“How do you know if there’s a cure? Haven’t you ever seen a zombie movie? There’s never a cure!” Cameron fires back.

“How the hell do you know that? Even then, rule number one about zombie movies is to NEVER shoot your fucking gun! For all you know, you just brought them all here!”

Mason shakily stands up, trying to avoid looking at the growing pool of blood seeping out of Ethan. He takes a few steps back, and starts to stutter something. He points at Johnny, eyes wide, who’s clutching at his forearm. His hand is soaking in blood. Hunter’s eyes widened.

“T-take your hand off.” Hunter stutters, still shaken up from the gunfire. Andy and Cameron whip around, as though forgetting there were other people with them. Johnny shakes his head.

“Yo, don’t play with me man,” Cameron says, pointing the gun at him. Andy tries to tell him to put the gun down, but puts his hands up after Cameron points it at him. “Back up! Show me your arm!” Johnny shakily removes his hand, showing the wound: two large curved lines nearly touch, creating an oval on his forearm. Hunter gasps, Mason and Andy let out an exasperated groan when they see the bite, and Cameron’s eyes start welling up.

“Please, PLEASE, man!” Johnny pleads, “I gotta get back to my wife and kids!”

“How the fuck are you going to get back to your family if you’re bitten? Do you want to kill them?” Cameron shouts at him, putting his finger on the trigger. “I’m sorry man, but we can’t take that risk!” Johnny starts to cry.

“Dude, will you chill out a second? We can figure something out!” Andy exclaims. “Your first thought shouldn’t be to just fucking kill him!”

Hunter speaks up, “Look, we don’t know how long this thing will last. Couldn’t we at least give him the benefit of the doubt? Hell, Ethan lasted at least an hour before turning.” Cameron gives him a glare, but Mason disagrees.

“Didn’t you see how Ethan almost got us? Imagine if Johnny was able to move like that! Could you imagine trying to wrestle him off of you? We wouldn’t stand a chance!”

“No, please! I can just go and lock myself in the bathroom or-”

“I don’t have any choice, man!”

“Cameron, just do it!”

“What are you fucking nuts? Just make him quarantine! We can-”

A figure walks by the window, illuminated by the fluorescent lights of Eugene’s Pizza. Everybody in the store to go silent. It stops, and walks towards the window. A man, with bloody teeth and a large chunk missing from his shoulder, walks towards the window, and starts awkwardly pounding at it. The glass bends and shakes with every impact. In the distance, the group can see more figures walking towards Eugene’s.

“Holy shit,” Andy mutters, sprinting to the lobby to lock the double push doors. He runs back to the kitchen. His eyes are wide with fright, but he takes a deep breath to steady himself.

“O-okay, listen. We have to get this place barricaded. Hunter, get those tables from the back and put them in front of those doors, I’ll help you. Mason, you gotta find some weapons. Maybe try sharpening the pizza cutters, or find something to make a spear with the brooms and knives we have.” Hunter and Mason nod. Andy turns to Cameron, “Please. We have to deal with this before we deal with Johnny. We’ll just lock him in the freezer. Is that okay, man? Are you going to put the gun down?”

Cameron keeps pointing the gun at Johnny, whose eyes are red and filled with tears. His hand starts to shake as he white-knuckles the gun. The thumping at the window grows as more people with bloody teeth start smacking at the windows. Cameron’s face turns to stone, and he shakes his head. “No. I-I’m sorry.”

Johnny screams, before being cut off with the flash of the gun’s muzzle and an explosion. He falls over, the wall behind him painted red. Andy screams, Hunter and Mason both jump from the sound and look away.

“You fucking asshole!” Andy yells, punching Cameron in the jaw. Cameron takes it, and stumbles back, but he looks like he didn’t feel it. He’s still in shock, staring at the two dead bodies of his coworkers- both dead by his hand. The infected outside of the store start screaming, throwing themselves at the window. There's at least a dozen of them. “You have to get those bodies out of here. NOW.” Andy commands, pointing at Johnny and Ethan.

Cameron doesn’t look like he heard Andy, so Andy yanked the gun out of his hand and slapped him— not hard, just enough to snap him back to reality.

“Take care of their fucking bodies. You killed them, after all.” Andy said, cold as ice.

Cameron opens his mouth to speak, but silently relents. After putting a couple pairs of nitrile gloves, he walks over to their bodies and starts dragging them out the back door, leaving a trail of slick scarlet in their wake. He gags while he does it, but manages to roll them out of the way.

Hunter and Mason look at each other. Despite their disagreement, they know that fighting amongst themselves would only kill them— not like they have much of a chance at living, anyways. The screams of the infected are only getting louder. It feels like the group outside is only getting larger.

Hunter gives Mason a thumbs up. Mason returns it, and they get to work trying to save their lives.

————————————————————————

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[slayeroftears]

[autoacafiles]

[bojackson54]

Jesus Was Never a Victim. He Was a VOULNTEER

One of the things that Passion Week helps us to see (mentioned yesterday) is that Jesus was not a victim but a volunteer. Today is Palm Sunday, and Jesus is traveling with his friends. After the Sabbath, Jesus and the disciples walked from Bethany NW through Bethpage to Jerusalem, a journey of 8-10 miles. The Victim who Walked Right Into a Trap? He rode the last part on the colt of a donkey,…

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Bowen's Daily Meditations

by Rev. George Bowen

Devotional for May 23, 2023

"They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn." - Zechariah 12:10

Think not that they who were personally concerned in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, were sinners above all the sinners of the world. Christ on the cross, the righteous Advocate, was able to find something extenuating in their conduct. " They know not what they do." Afterwards, when they saw what they had done, when the Spirit of Pentecost made him known as the Prince of life, many of them repented of their sin, and made haste to believe upon him. The measure of knowledge is an important element in determining the measure of sin. The measure of the means of knowing, let us say rather. There are thousands who are every day guilty of conduct as odious in the sight of heaven as that of the parties who nailed Christ to the cross, and thrust a spear into his side. These indeed, were mere Roman soldiers, having no personal animosity to Christ, whose language even they did not understand; the guilty parties of that scene did not themselves lift a finger against Christ. And their guilt falls immeasurably short, as we have said, of many who now live, read the Gospel, speak about it, profess to look to Christ for salvation, and yet utterly falsify his religion in their practice. When men attributed his blessed works and words to satanic influence, the heart of Christ was pierced; but it is even more pierced when men profess to be his disciples, and by continuance in sin teach the world that Christ has no objection to sin. These are engaged in crucifying the Son of God afresh. They crucify his love with their contentions; his holiness with their profane conduct; his justice with their unrighteousness; his mercy with their unmercifulness; his truth with their deceit; his generosity with their selfishness. They crucify him by falsifying him. Some pierce him by denying his divinity; some by teaching that he will save all, whether they repent or not; some by withholding his Gospel from the multitude; some by exalting a mere ceremony to a glory above that of Christ; some by substituting a crucifix for him; some in one way, some in another. All whose life, teaching, conversation, go to. misrepresent or degrade Christ be they as numerous as they may, as admired as you please, they are piercing Christ, and they shall mourn. The thing which will fill Christ’s meek ones with ineffable joy, will fill the hearts of these professors with anguish that no tongue can describe.

[kdmiller55]

On That Day…

1 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift…

[graceandpeacejoanne]

Revelation 21: How Firm a Foundation

There are several clues in John’s vision of a voluminous golden city descending through the sky that lead the reader to believe it symbolizes spiritual truths. #Revelation21 #NewJerusalem #TwelveFoundations #PearlyGates

There are several clues in John’s vision of a voluminous golden city descending through the sky that lead the reader to believe it symbolizes spiritual truths. In comparison to Babylon—portrayed as a woman of excesses—the bride motif of new Jerusalem symbolizes the far superior role as Christ’s beloved, than as the world’s. The purity and luminosity of the precious materials in the city’s…

[tom4jc]

Zechariah 12:10 Grace Brings Mourning

And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced. yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zechariah 12:10 People often recognize how wrong they had been when someone extends a hand of grace towards them and not…

[scripture-pictures]

[cursedbanalities]

Zechariah 14:12-13 (A Horror Story)

Index | Next Chapter ->

CW: Blood and gore

“And the Lord will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.”

“...What the hell?”

Ethan flips the note around to look at the fake five dollar bill he’s been given as a tip. He should’ve known that it was a fake tip; it feels like cheap printer paper, but he was trying to hold onto hope that driving this far into the country to deliver a pizza would’ve given him some sort of restitution.

“I guess not.” he thinks, crumpling up the paper and throwing it into the back seat of his car. People have been so edgy lately. As Ethan drives away from his subpar delivery, he thinks of the recent news stories covering a new virus that appeared in Singapore, and with that, the constant speculation that it’s going to be the next Covid. However, since Singapore’s government hasn’t said anything more about it, a nervous note has hung in the air ever since the announcement. It’s no wonder the religious nuts are being extra crazy, Ethan thinks. Always trying to find some way to say the apocalypse is just right around the corner. Having lived through Covid and not getting sick, Ethan can’t help but not care that much. At least he’ll get a couple of weeks off from his college classes if it does come to the United States. Ethan turns up his car radio and bobs his head to his favorite song, Add it Up, immediately forgetting about the fake bill and possible viruses, and mimicking the ways that Gordon Gano sings— nasally, and full of angst:

“Don’t shoot, shoot, shoot, that thing at me,

“You know you got my sym-pa-thy

“But don’t shoot, shoot, shoot that thing at me!”

Ethan speeds down the country road, aiming to make it back to the restaurant before it gets any later. Thankfully, it wasn’t a busy day. His delivery to the bible thumper was the first they had in a while, but he wasn’t looking to stay for any longer than he needed to. He drives past a large open field, where twinkling lights from the only airport in the county lights up the sky.

A 747 lands on the tarmac just as another takes off. It's weird how slow it’s been, especially for the summer. The town Ethan delivers in is on the coast, and is the biggest in the area. While it’s a small town, the summer tends to inflate the area with tourists and rich people in their summer homes. That being said, Ethan doesn’t mind a slow day every once in a while. It gives them a breather from having to bust their asses every single night.

Ethan speeds up, accelerating until he sees red and blue lights flashing ahead of him. He brakes, not trying to get a ticket. As he drives by, he sees three police cruisers with their lights on parked in the driveway of a farmhouse. A group of them are walking towards the house with their hands on their guns, illuminated by the headlights of the police cruisers.

Huh, weird, Ethan thinks as he passes the farm, speeding up now that he’s safe from being pulled over. He’s never seen that many cops in one place around here. Usually it’s so slow they “call in backup” just to waste time, so having three cars indicates a serious crime. Oh well, not my problem, he thinks.

Ethan comes up on a curve, taking it fast. A little too fast, from the way that his old Ford Focus starts shaking, but that was quickly forgotten when, up ahead, he sees a woman walking along the side of the road.

Well, walking was a nice way to put it. She was stumbling, barely able to stay on her feet. As Ethan got closer, the headlights illuminated more of the her: she was filthy, wearing a pink shirt and running shorts with short dyed red hair. She walks into the path of his car, and before he could react, Ethan runs into her.

The woman’s head smacks against the hood with a loud ka-thunk! She rolls over top of the car and crashes onto the pavement hard. Ethan’s eyes widen with shock and he slams on the brakes, screeching to a halt. He sits in his car, panicking. What the fuck is wrong with her? Is she drunk, or high on something? Oh god, did he just kill her?

He looks in the rearview mirror and sees that she’s up again, walking towards his car. Well, she’s definitely on something, he thinks. That’s gotta be some crazy shit if she’s back up already. He throws his car into park and steps out, leaving the door open. Ethan flings his arms up and yells at the woman.

“HEY! What the fuck were you thinking?”

The woman just walks towards him.

“HELLO? Are you listening to me? What’s your problem?”

The woman continues walking towards him, his car’s tail lights illuminating her. A spattering of blood covers her chest and mouth. Her blood-covered teeth glow a dark red as she bares her teeth at Ethan. She also has what Ethan thinks is a large gash in the shape of a crescent on her neck, just above her shoulder. Her eyes are bulging, as though she’s either trying to contain herself, or she’s in horrible pain. The woman groans at Ethan.

“Oh shit,” he mutters, taking a step back. She’s way worse off from getting hit than he expected. He puts his hands up and says, “Are you okay? I... uhm-- I gotta get back to work, but I can drive you to the hospital or some shit. That looks really bad. Seriously, I ca--”

The woman lets out a scream. The kind of scream that’s full of phlegm and tears at her vocal chords; animal-like in its nature. As she screams, she pushes her chest up and arches her back, standing on her toes with her hands pulled close to her chest and a stream of spit and blood dripping from her mouth; it's like she was having a standing seizure. Finally, she stops, and, after a beat of silence, launches herself at Ethan, her bloody mouth flicking strings of red spit. He flinches, and tries to move out of the way, using his hands to redirect the charging woman. He’s too slow, and moves his hands a little too high as she connects with him, almost knocking him to the ground. His hands push at her face, trying to get the woman away from him, and she sinks her teeth into the webbing of his hand- just between his thumb and index finger. Ethan lets out a yelp, and immediately slams his fist into the side of her head. She breaks free from his hand and falls to the ground, bouncing her head off of the asphalt.

“WHAT THE FUCK LADY?” Ethan screeches, holding his bitten hand. “You bit me, you bitch!” One of her teeth got deep enough for blood to start oozing out of the gash. He runs back to his car and speeds off, covering the wound with an extra napkin he brought from the restaurant. He sees in his rearview mirror that the woman was back up and sprinting towards his car, but he didn’t care. He accelerated, trying to get back to his workplace as soon as he possibly could.

Ethan gets closer to town and stops at an intersection. His heart is beating hard enough he can feel it in his throat. He looks around. There’s nobody on the streets, and it looks like he lost that "crackhead" back there. Ethan pulls out his phone to call 911, holding his bleeding hand against his thigh to help staunch the bleeding. The call goes through, and Ethan’s greeted with a busy line.

“Ugh, fuckers. Of course.” Ethan mumbles under his breath. He steps on the gas, and beelines towards Eugene’s Pizza.

***

Pulling into the delivery driver’s parking lot of Eugene’s Pizza, a square brick building with two large windows in the front of the store, Ethan rushes to the backdoor of the building. The napkin is starting to bleed through, and he wants to get to the first aid kit as soon as possible. Walking around to the back door, he sees two of his co-workers sitting on metal folding chairs and sharing a joint. The first one, a tall, blonde man with shoulder-length hair named Andy, takes a couple of puffs and passes the joint to his friend; a shorter man with olive toned skin and a goatee named Cameron. Cameron has his phone out while he takes a few hits. He's telling Andy about a new gun he bought.

“Yeah man, she’s a real beauty,” he says, showing Andy a picture. “See that grip? I had that shit custom made. You gotta see it in real life though. And shooting it, man?” He does a chef’s kiss, and smiles.

“Daaaayum. Yeah, bro!” Andy says, taking another hit, and letting out a slight cough. “You free this weekend? I’d love to take that bad boy out to the range.”

“Hey, maybe! I only have a clip’s worth of bullets right now, but once I get some more... we’re gonna have some fun, baby!” Andy and Cameron both laugh, and give each other a fist bump.

Ethan pushes by them and throws the back door open, and some of the smoke starts to seep inside of the restaurant.

“Hey man, what the hell!” Cameron exclaims, “I don’t want the inside smelling like a skunk’s ass!” Ethan ignores him.

He walks past the kitchen, his manager for the night was running around cleaning up the toppings area while tending to the couple orders they still have. He’s about 45 years old, and is wider than he is tall. Greasy black hair shines from underneath his hat, and the smell of menthol cigarettes waft from him. A hand-tossed pizza reaches the end of the conveyor-belt on the pizza oven, and he cuts it into slices with a large, machete-looking pizza slicer. He looks up at Ethan as he walks by.

“Hey! Can you please get those two dipshits inside? I know it’s slow, but I’m tired of doin’ everythin’ back ‘ere.” He says with a gravelly voice.

“Yeah, yeah. Sure, man.” Ethan says, only really half listening as he finally makes it to the first-aid station-- or rather, a white metal box fastened to the wall. He starts pulling out gauze and antibiotic cream and setting it on a nearby metal table. His friend, another delivery driver named Hunter, is scraping the sides of Eugene’s Pizza’s deep dish pans.

“Damn, what the hell happened on that delivery?” He asks Ethan as he scrapes.

“Some fucking crackhead bit me.” Ethan spits, focusing on dressing his wound.

“What the fuck? Are you serious?” Hunter lets out a stifled laugh, “Hope she didn’t give you AIDs or something.”

“She didn’t give me AIDs.” Ethan chuckled, despite himself. “If she did, though, I’ll pass it on to you! I’ll bite you or some shit.”

“Yeeeah, whatever man.” Hunter laughs. “Like I’d let you bite me.”

Ethan shrugs and nods. Hunter’s easily half a foot taller than Ethan, and weighs a bit more than him too. If they were to get into a fight, Hunter would 100% destroy him. Johnny comes out of the kitchen and sees Ethan bandaging himself up.

“Holy shit, what happened to you?” Johnny asks, mouth open and eyes wide.

“Oh, you know, I got bi--”

“Some lady gave him AIDs.” Hunter said, cutting Ethan off. Jonny laughs.

“Yeah man, what he said. I think I have to go to the hospital. I might as well get checked out, right?” Ethan says, and Johnny comes up to get a closer look at the gash the woman’s tooth left behind.

“Meeh, it doesn’t look that bad,” Johnny says, ignoring the blood pooling out of Ethan’s hand. “An’ even if you do have AIDs, there’s nothin’ you can do about it now. I think you’re fine to finish closin’ up.” Ethan opens his mouth to say something, but Johnny turns and walks back toward the kitchen. Muttering under his breath about how maybe he’ll bite him instead, Ethan finishes wrapping up the bite and puts the first-aid supplies away. While he was focusing on treating his wound, he didn’t even realize that they were down a driver.

“Hey, where the hell’s Mason?” he asks.

“Yeah, some asshat called in a delivery while you were gone. He left before you got back.” Hunter replies, and Ethan groans. “At least it’s not busy, right? We should be out of here in no time.”

“Yeah,” Ethan says with a shrug. “Let’s hope so.”

He and Hunter start cleaning the back of Eugene’s Pizza. Hunter finishes scraping the pans and pours ladles full of corn oil into each of them. Once he’s done, Ethan douses the table with a foul smelling degreaser that makes him cough, wipes it up, and starts sweeping the floors. Andy and Cameron run to the back to grab some cleaning supplies and, much like Johnny, their eyes widen at the sight of Ethan’s bandage.

“Yooo, what the fuck happened to you man? Cameron says, chuckling with a relaxed smile on his face and squinted eyes.

“I got bit by someone on my last delivery.” Ethan says, showing them his bandaged hand and scratching at it. “According to Hunter, she gave me an STD or some shit.” Ethan digs his nails into his hand, turning the area around the bandage red.

“I dunno man, from the way you’re scratching at it it’s prolly a super STD or some shit.” They all laugh. “Seriously though, did you call the cops?”

Ethan cocks his head and squints at Andy, confused. “Whaddya mean?”

“Bro, some bitch bit you and you didn’t call the cops?”

“Well, right before that I saw a bunch of cops with their lights on outside of a farm, or something,” Ethan says, shrugging. “I kinda just figured they were after her. Besides, when I called them all I got was a busy line. I figured they had bigger issues to deal with or something.”

“Wait, you said the line was busy?” Hunter asked. “That’s fucking weird. You'd think they'd be able to answer. Noting ever happens here.”

“Man, between that shit in Singapore and Ethan getting bit, maybe people are just getting spooked,” Cameron scratches his goatee shrugs. “Maybe they think there’s a zombie outbreak or some shit.”

“I did get some freaky ass bible quote instead of a tip.” Ethan says in response. “I can totally fucking see that.” Everybody laughs and makes remarks about Ethan’s misfortunes of the night before dispersing and continuing to clean up the store. Hunter finishes the final dishes of the night, wiping out the walls of the dish sink. Andy and Cameron join Johnny out in the kitchen cleaning the counters and sweeping the floors. Ethan’s sweeping too, finishing up the back of Eugene’s Pizza.

As Ethan sweeps the floors, he scratches at his wound. For whatever reason, his hand is tingling. It’s almost like he was slowly getting his feeling back after his arm went numb. Pins and needles poke at every nerve in his hand, especially around the bite, making it unbearably itchy. No matter how much flexing or scratching he does, it doesn’t go away. If anything, it gets worse. He suddenly feels dizzy, and his stomach growls loudly.

“Damn, you hungry? I know I could go for something.” Hunter asks, looking up from the dishwashing sink. Ethan didn’t expect him to hear his stomach growling, and looked up with a start. He was pretty hungry.

“N-Nah, I think I just have to use the bathroom.” He says instead. He wants to look at his wound without hearing any more comments from the rest of the staff; plus the pins and needles are gradually moving up his arm.

“Alright man, have fun.” Hunter says, turning his attention back to the dishes.

Ethan quickly walks towards the back door, and Mason walks in-- A shorter man, with a skinny build and freckles. Short, ginger hair peeps out from underneath his Eugene’s Pizza hat. He starts to ask about Ethan’s delivery, but Ethan pushes past him as he rushes to the employee bathroom. The itch is getting worse. It's starting to burn.

Closing the bathroom door behind him, Ethan rips his bandage off and digs his nails into the back of his hand and forearm, searching for the sweet release from the horrible itching from his wound. He looks down at the bite mark. The skin around it is a bright red, with deep cuts from his nails covering the back of his hand and forearm. Blood oozes from the self-inflicted gashes, and Ethan stares at them as they flow like crimson rivers down his arm and onto the floor.

His stomach growls again.

God, he’s so hungry.

***

[[Hey guys! Thanks for reading this piece-- I wrote this in early 2023 while I was a delivery driver. Pizza-making is a theme in my works, since most of my career since going to college has involved making those delicious, greasy saucers. There was some contempt I had with some of my co-workers that might've slipped into the piece, but I think I still gave them plenty of time to shine both in this chapter AND those going forward.

[[Hope to see you guys in the next chapter!!]]

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