Life Everlasting

Chapter One ;The light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ;--John 1:5 kjv ;Baxter Richardson opened his eyes. He didn't know where he was or how he had gotten there, but the pale white ceiling pushed aside the impenetrable darkness that had threatened to engulf him. He lay still, not yet aware that he couldn't do anything else. ;He heard a woman singing. With the sound came a memory. He closed his eyes. Music had rescued him from the abyss and guided him through the black mist. Without the music, he would never have found his way to the light. ;He opened his mouth to speak, to ask a question of the singing voice. But all that came out was a groan. The singing voice stopped. A speaking voice replaced it. ;"Mr. Richardson, I'm Sarah Locklear, one of the nurses taking care of you. Can you hear me?" ;Baxter tried to open his eyes a second time, but they refused to obey. ;"Mr. Richardson," the voice repeated. "You're at home in Santee in the cottage next door to your house. Your wife is there now. Do you want me to get her?" ;The darkness reappeared. The young man fought to drive it back. ;"Did you hear the music?" ;Baxter watched in terror as the darkness grew until it met over his head like a great black bowl. ;"If you can hear me, make a sound." ;Baxter moaned in agony of soul. The circle of darkness was complete, and the sides began to move slowly, inexorably, downward. Once the inky gloom enveloped him, he knew he would be dead. Lower and lower it came. He gasped for breath. ;"Praise God!" the voice said. "Thank you, Jesus." ;The darkness moved to within inches of Baxter's face and stopped, an invisible force held at bay by an unseen power. ;The singing voice returned. The stalemate continued. But as the voice grew stronger, tiny flashes of light began to streak across the dark like shooting stars, glimmers of hope in a hopeless world. Baxter listened. The melody rose to a higher place. The pinpoints of light increased. Their flickering glory didn't fade. ;Baxter took a deep breath. ;---- ;Rena Richardson rolled over in bed and opened her eyes. Her hair had fallen over her face, and when she looked sleepily toward the bedroom door, she mistook the man standing there for a few strands of blonde hair twisted together. She brushed the hair from her face. The figure remained. She jerked awake and sat up. ;"Who is it?" she called out, her voice echoing in the large bedroom. She reached for the nightstand drawer. ;The man stayed in the shadows without moving. Rena opened the drawer and felt the cool barrel of the pistol. She grabbed the gun. ;Her voice trembled. "I have a gun!" ;The man didn't move or speak. Rena pointed the pistol, but her hand shook so badly she wasn't sure she could hit the doorway, much less an intruder half hidden in the shadows. ;The man still refused to budge. Rena squinted and rubbed her eyes with her left hand. Suspicion surfaced. Still holding the gun, she reached over and turned on a small lamp. The dim beam barely reached across the room to the door, but there was no mistaking the identity of her visitor. ;Baxter. ;Rena collapsed back onto the pillow for a moment and shut her eyes before bouncing up for another look. ;"Are you still there?" she asked peevishly. ;The figure continued to stare at her impassively. [read more]