Page 33 of Going Home in the Dark

“He left the church door unlocked.”

“And we went inside.”

“The men were lined up in this room. Ten of them.”

“On their backs, eyes open, motionless.”

“We thought they were comatose or maybe even dead.”

“They were all naked. Weren’t they all naked?”

“Yes! I remember now. All naked. It was freaky.”

“And didn’t they ...”

“What?”

“Didn’t they all look alike? Pretty much alike?”

“Yes. And ... Oh my God. Oh my God. I’m in a horror movie.”

“What? What are you remembering?”

“They were naked and ... like unfinished.”

“Yeah, yeah. Kind of rough around the edges.”

“Pieces missing. Part of a hand missing on one.”

“No testicles on any of them. No penises.”

“One of them had a face without a mouth.”

“Lumpy and subtly out of proportion.”

“I don’t want to remember this.”

“Too late.”

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”

“Are we back to Pastor Larry?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“Tell us.”

“They began to finish themselves.”

“Yes! A mouth started to form where there’d been no mouth.”

“You’re right. I don’t want to believe it, but you’re right.”

“Fingers slowly sprouted from a lump of a hand.”

“But still none of them had a penis or testicles.”

“Maybe because it was a church.”

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