{"id":1715,"date":"2015-04-20T12:00:41","date_gmt":"2015-04-20T16:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/?p=1715"},"modified":"2021-06-07T18:40:26","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T22:40:26","slug":"writing-prompt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/?p=1715","title":{"rendered":"Writing Prompt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s this week’s Prompted Word!  Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Writing prompt #5 \u2013 You have magic soap. What does it wash away?<\/p>\n

Lamb\u2019s Blood<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHow good to see you again, Father. And so soon.\u201d The tall woman toweled sweat off of her brow and out of her close-cropped brown curly hair. \u201cI\u2019m sorry for my state, but you\u2019ve caught me during my workout. If you\u2019d made an appointment, I could have worn my Sunday best.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Priest\u2019s frown deepened. The wrinkles covering his gaunt face followed, as if his face preferred the expression. He glanced over the warehouse, noting the makeshift living quarters, a nondescript car just inside the garage door, and a few crates, bunched together haphazardly. The rest of the building was open and unused. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t ask you to change on my account.\u201d<\/p>\n

She smiled brightly. \u201cSo rare to hear from those in your profession.\u201d She tossed the towel over her shoulder and stretched her legs. \u201cWhat brings you to my humble abode unannounced?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Priest heard steel in that last word, but mentally shrugged it off. This girl would never threaten him; he was the customer. \u201cI need more soap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyebrows shot up and the grin dropped from her face. \u201cHoly shit.\u201d His frown became a scowl, but she didn\u2019t seem to notice. \u201cYou had a case. You\u2019ve burned through it already?\u201d<\/p>\n

He crossed his arms. \u201cMy congregation has more than recovered its population, in fact, attendance levels are requiring us to refurbish and re-open buildings that have been closed for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded, her hands on her hips. \u201cYou have a problem of unexpected demand. I gotcha. I run into that all the time. You need to up your regular order, and get a filler shipment expedited to meet the immediate demand, and prevent your consumers from finding what they need elsewhere.\u201d She cocked her head to the side. \u201cThat sort of thing runs expensive, but you usually make it up in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Priest sighed heavily, and the lines in his face relaxed as far as they were able. \u201cExcellent, yes, let\u2019s do that. I am ready to pay for expedited shipping, so to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

The windows that lined the top of the warehouse lightened as the sun rose outside. \u201cAw, hell, Father.\u201d His frown returned. \u201cI\u2019d love to do that for you, because more profit for me, but I can\u2019t. There\u2019s only one manufacturer for your\u2026 product\u2026 and I was able to get half of their last batch, which I sold all to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cold metal digging into the small of his back was starting an ache. \u201cYou\u2019re saying that you can\u2019t get any more? There are four group baptisms scheduled for next week alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman smirked. It was not altogether unattractive. \u201cWait, wait. You\u2019ve added the soap to your baptism ritual? They think that Jesus is washing away their doubt? Oh, Father, that\u2019s slick.\u201d The smirk widened back into a full grin. \u201cAnd probably grounds for excommunication.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Priest\u2019s right hand crept to his back. \u201cAre you threatening me?\u201d<\/p>\n

The smile stayed on her face, but left her eyes. \u201cNo, sir. Just stating the obvious. The reality of the situation is that I have no idea when more will be available, or if more will ever be available.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear mixed with anger on his face. \u201cI don\u2019t think you understand, little girl. Priests across the state are ready and willing to incorporate the soap into their rituals to revitalize their congregations. As you say, they are risking excommunication for the good of the Church, and I have made promises!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, I don\u2019t have any to sell you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pulled the gun and pointed it at her, hand shaking. \u201cThen you will take me to this manufacturer. Now!\u201d<\/p>\n

She heaved a dramatic sigh. \u201cHave it your way.\u201d There was a white blur, and his left eye exploded into pain and darkness. He dropped the gun to cover his eye as something warm flowed down his face. He heard screaming. His legs were knocked out from under him, and he fell to the cold cement floor. Pain exploded again, this time in his hip. The screaming stopped and turned into a groaning. An old man groaning in terrible pain. The woman appeared above him, holding the barrel of his gun in the towel. \u201cYou want to meet the manufacturer? Fine, you dumb old shit.\u201d Her hand, and the gun, came down, and everything went black.<\/p>\n

When the blackness receded, he felt like he was sliding off the edge of a cliff. One eye throbbed, and the other opened. The light was bright here, too bright to make anything out. There was an antiseptic smell, like a hospital. Two women were speaking quietly nearby. His hip ached as badly as his eye, and there was a burning pain in the side of his neck. He tried to raise his arm to wipe at his eye, or feel his neck, but it wouldn\u2019t move. Neither would his left. Something was holding his legs down, too. Panic struck his chest and he started to struggle. His eye adjusted to the room\u2019s light, and he saw the floor above his head and the lights below his shoes. He was strapped down to a bed or table, angled upside-down, and a red tube was hung from his table to the middle of the room, where the two women stood.<\/p>\n

Other beds were arranged around the room, sporting clear tubes coiled on their sheets. Twelve or fifteen of them in total. Why were the other tubes clear, while his was red? Oh, God\u2026<\/p>\n

A familiar voice called from the center of the room. \u201cLooks like Padre Wrinkleyface is awake!\u201d Footsteps echoed in the room\u2019s emptiness, and then a kind, middle-aged face appeared above him. Her black hair was shot through with gray, and she had amazing laugh lines at her eyes. He immediately relaxed.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, I can\u2019t tell you how happy I am that you wanted to visit my little facility. I have to admit, even though it\u2019s a sin, I\u2019m proud you get to see my new setup. The last one was just dreadful.\u201d She checked something at his neck, and the burning intensified for a moment. \u201cOh, honey, don\u2019t try and talk. You\u2019ve been gagged for safety\u2019s sake. And you\u2019re such a brave shepherd. Our mutual acquaintance here has been telling me about all the good work you\u2019ve been doing for the Church with my soap! And there are others that want to do the same!\u201d The Priest saw her eyes gather tears, and his own started to do the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t it great, Padre?\u201d The other woman\u2019s face pushed into view, devilishly amused. \u201cThe churches are going to get their soap after all!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, dear, you won\u2019t be conscious for much longer. I\u2019m one of the faithful, Father, and what you\u2019ve done with my soap is beyond my highest hopes. I\u2019m going to make sure that your work continues, and that the other Priests get their supply. The blood you\u2019re sacrificing is an essential ingredient. With as many times as Jesus has sacrificed His own blood through you, I hope that this carries personal, if not spiritual, meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Priest\u2019s eye slid closed, and he felt like he was floating. Her last words were so far away. \u201cI have to prepare the other ingredients. Drop his body off at his Church; he deserves a proper burial.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s this week’s Prompted Word!  Read more here. Writing prompt #5 \u2013 You have magic soap. What does it wash away? Lamb\u2019s Blood \u201cHow good to see you again, Father. And so soon.\u201d The tall woman toweled sweat off of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[],"tags":[28,15],"class_list":["post-1715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-fiction","tag-writery"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paQnES-rF","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1715"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8142,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1715\/revisions\/8142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidmcrampton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}