the endless rain - 28. the endless rain

by nick nelson

part twenty-eight of twenty-eight

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the tiger chased mocko up a tree. socko, gocko, ocko, and jocko watched from the mouth of the cave. zocko huddled under another tree. the tree mocko had climbed was between zocko and the cave. it was raining, and had rained for days. everybody was hungry, especially the tiger. socko moved a little way from the mouth of the cave, picked up a rock and threw it at the tiger. it fell short, and the tiger paid no attention to it. gocko moved a little closer to the tiger, and threw another rock at it. it too, fell short, and te tiger ignored it. jocko picked up another, smaller, sharper stone and hurled it at the tiger. it struck the tiger, who turned and growled at the quartet in front of the cave. zocko, seeing his chance, ran out from under his tree and ran toward the brow of the hill, away from the cave. socko, gocko, ocko, and jocko all began picking up stones as fast as they could and throwing them in the general direction of the tiger, screaming at the tiger as they did so. the tiger turned completely around to face them. mocko leaped down from the tree and ran away in the same direction as zocko. but the tiger was having none of it. he turned again and began chasing mocko. mocko was the fastest and most agile member of the troop. he knew that he could not outrun the tiger, but if he could only catch up to and pass zocko, the tiger might settle for zocko and spare him! socko, gocko, ocko, and jocko all watched the tiger disappear over the brow of the hill. a great bolt of lightning flashed , striking the tree that the tiger had chased mocko up. the rain increased, coming down in wind driven torrents. the quartet retired to the cave. it had been a bad day. they had found no food, and one, and maybe two members of the troop might be taken by the tiger. they were mostly sheltered from the rain, but the wind whistled through the length of the cave, which had two entrances, the natural entrance, and a smaller one they had dug at the other end so that a tiger or other hunter could not trap them within it. they picked up an endless argument. should they continue living on the ground, and in the caves, or go back to living in the tall trees, like the monkeys. socko and gocko were for the ground, ocko and jocko for the trees. later in the night, mocko returned. he had outrun zocko, and the tiger had taken zocko down. mocko had then circled back to the cave. now he went to sleep, and took no part in the palaver. toward morning the tiger returned. jocko, the youngest member of the troop and a light sleeper, heard the tiger prowling and growlng on the roof of the cave. in the rain… in the endless rain. the end

the endless rain - 27. packy again

by nick nelson

part twenty-seven of twenty-eight

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the day was fading and a light rain began to fall as mr eggwhistle headed back to the city. he passed a couple of cornfields, then a wooded area, then a long stretch of nothing at all, and was just about to come to the main highway when he saw a solitary figure trudging along on the other side of the road., but headed in the same direction as himself. it was johnny. mr eggwhistle stopped. when johnny saw him, he walked across the road and got into the car. they continued down the road for a while without speaking. “so how have you been?” mr eggwhistle finally asked. “all right.” “you remember me, don’t you?” “sort of.” “back in indiana. i had a little tailor shop across from mr packer’s general store. you used to run errands for mr packer, and sometimes for me. you had one of the first bicycles in the state, and you were johnny the errand boy.” “i remember the bike. that was a good bike.” “i am sure it was. now, i understand you and mister packer have a little disagreement going on.” “a little disagreement! he owes me. i just want what’s rightfully mine.” “of course you do. i tell you what, why don’t we drive into town and i will see if i can find mr packer and see what i can do to straighten this situation out. it can’t hurt to try.” johnny shrugged. “i guess not. you can try.” * mr eggwhistle found packy in his usual spot in the back booth at ruby’s, doing his crossword puzzle. there was nobody else in the place, except florence, behind the counter, and al, in the kitchen. mr eggwhistle slipped into the booth across from packy. “remember me?” “can’t say that i do,” packy did not look up from the crossword puzzle. “where should i remember you from?” “well, that is neither here nor there. how about this fellow?” mr eggwhistle took a picture of johnny out of his wallet and put it on the counter. packy glanced at it. “no, i don’t recognize him either.” “he says he was talking to you just the other night.” “i can’t remember everybody that comes pestering me. that’s my problem, people always pestering me. how about you. people slays pestering you?” “not particularly. well, i tried, i guess i will be on my way.” “stick around, try the breakfast special. with the sausage. it’s pretty good.” * when mr eggwhistle got back to his car, the rain had stopped, but the street was still wet. johnny was gone. 28.the endless rain

the endless rain - 26. the circus

by nick nelson

part twenty-six of twenty-eight

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jonathon and the ogre came to the top of a hill. they looked down the other side, and saw a clearing, and what looked like wagons, or small huts, in the mist. behind the clearing was a thick woods. a town, said jonathon. no, said the ogre, it is a circus. those are wagons that you see. can you not see the horses around them? jonathon did not argue with the ogre’s superior experience. they started down the hill. when they were halfway down the hill, they saw what looked like frantic activity at the bottom. some of the wagons started to move. smaller things, people or horses, started to move , some of them up the hill , more of them to the east or west, along the line of trees. suddenly more horses burst out of the wooded area. the people, horses, and some of the wagons fled from them. what is going on? jonathon asked the ogre. nothing good, the ogre answered. we had best turn back. but he stood still, watching as the first fugitives - peasants, and clowns, fortune tellers, and rounders from the circus came up he hill! save yourselves! cried a clown. save yourselves! others following him took up the cry. it is the inquisition! the holy inqusition! terrified fugitives fled past jonathon and the ogre and then they beheld the horsemen coming up the hill behind them. the black clad, red helmeted soldiers of the holy inquisition! jonathon turned to join the fleeing mob coursing down the side of the hill they had come up, but as they did, jonathon was knocked down and trampled by a burly fortune teller. when he tried to rise, he was seized by an inquisition soldier and knocked on the head. * the ogre escaped, but jonathon and two dozen other unfortunates were carried back down the hill. they were bound and marched in to the presence of the chief inquisitor, who commanded that the demons possessing them come forth. the prisoners whose demons obeyed the summons of the chief inquisitor would be spared. those whose demons stayed within them would be burned at the stake. on this day no demons came forth. the soldiers set up stakes which they had brought in their baggage train, and jonathon and the other prisoners were bound to them, and kindling placed at their feet. a long fuse connected the stakes, so that they could all be lit at once. the stakes were set up with the prisoners’ backs against the western horizon. the fuse would be set up when the sun began to go down. the soldiers broke out gourds of wine, and made merry at the condemned wretches’ expense as they waited through the afternoon. finally, as the sun began to go down, the chief inquisitor’s assistant lit the fuse. the fuse flared up. then, suddenly, the sky turned black, and a great wind began to howl, and a great rain began to fall. the terrified inquisitors and soldiers fled. the prisoners were saved! but by whom? 27. packy again

the endless rain - 25. the master

by nick nelson

part twenty-five of twenty-eight

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the great emperor felt the earth trembling under his feet. he summoned his four wise counselors. why is the earth trembling under my feet? he asked the counselors. because a mighty army is approaching from the north, said the first wise counselor. what should i do? the emperor asked. raise a mighty army of your own, replied the first counselor. i already have a mighty army of my own, the emperor said. he turned to the second counselor and asked him - why is the earth trembling under my feet? because the great mountain to the west is beginning to crumble, said the second counselor, and when it is gone, floods of barbarians will overwhelm the kingdom. what should i do? the emperor asked the second wise counselor. bribe the chiefs of the barbarians with sacks of gold, the counselor replied. i am already doing that, said the emperor. they are already getting all the gold that all my slaves can mine. he turned to the third wise counselor and asked - why is the earth trembling under my feet? because a maiden is approaching from the east, said the third counselor. she is riding a mule, and she is bringing a message that will cause the earth and sky to split apart. what should i do? asked the emperor. should i have her intercepted, and hanged before she can deliver her message? the third counselor shook his head. the gods whose message she brings might not like that. perhaps you should wait, and hear the message that she brings, and hope that the earth does not split too close to your feet, and that the sky does not split too close to your head. you are not very helpful, the emperor told the third counselor. he turned to the fourth wise counselor, and asked him - why is the earth trembling under my feet? a master is approaching from the south, said the fourth counselor, bringing a message of his own. he should arrive in three days. perhaps we should wait to hear what he has to say. that sounds like good advice, said the emperor. we will meet again in three days. three days later, the emperor was again seated on his throne, with his four wise counselors beside him, and the master who had arrived from the south, a rather ordinary looking individual with a long gray beard, was brought before him. why is the earth trembling under my feet? the emperor asked the master. because the earth is under your feet, the master replied. the emperor was not amused. look here, fellow, he told the master, i have been listening to such so called pearls of wisdom from the likes of you all my weary life. i want something a little more definite. i think, the first wise counselor interposed, his celestial majesty would appreciate some specific ideas as to how to stop the earth trembling under his feet. oh, well, in that case replied the master, heed my words - first - gather all the frogs in the kingdom and have then turned into wolves. second - gather all the redhaired maidens in the kingdom and have them turned into lions. third - gather all the cats in the kingdom and have them turned into silver goblets. fourth - have all the water in all the rivers of the kingdom - that is quite enough, the second wise counselor interrupted. how do you imagine we are to do all that? why, said the master, do you not have magicians at your disposal? or at least one master magician? we thought that you were the master, said the third wise counselor. and that perhaps you could perform some magic? i am not the master, said the man who had been brought before the emperor and the four counselors. i am not a magician, and i am not even a magician’s apprentice. who then are you? the fourth wise counselor asked. i am only a poor peasant, and the master is only my dream. a dream? the emperor asked. yes, a dream i had thirty years ago, when i was just a poor goatherd’s assistant. i was caught in a rainstorm with the goatherd’s daughter, and he gave me a tremendous thrashing. when he was done i crawled beneath a pile of hay and began to dream… listen, and you can hear the raindrops falling… 26. the circus

the endless rain - 24. ace

by nick nelson

part twenty-four of twenty-eight

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it was getting late, and mr eggwhistle had a long drive back to the city, but he wanted to talk to ace, the last of the four individuals the director had named as possible confidants of johnny’s. despite being inmates of the asylum, zeke, ike, and luke had all seemed outwardly “normal” or at least harmless. mr eggwhistle found ace, when he finally tracked him down, a bit disconcerting. he was seated by himself on a chair in one of the corridors of inmates’ rooms. the corridor was filled wth shadows. ace was thin, hunched, looked to be about sixty years old, and was dressed as a “gangster”, i e . a gangster as seen in old black and white movies. he was wearing a black pinstriped suit with a black shirt and a wide white tie. his hair was shoe polish black. and combed straight back. ace did not look up as mr eggwhistle introduced himself , but nodded to indicate he had heard. him “i understand you knew johnny dark,” mr eggwhistle said. “knew him? i taught him everything he knew.” at that moment the lights in the corridor went on. in the light, ace looked closer to eighty than sixty. “you would not happen to havre a gospel of johnny, would you?” ace reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket and handed mr eggwhistle a pamphlet. “thank you very much.,” mr eggwhistle smiled, although ace had still not looked directly at him. “may i ask you just one question?” “you can ask.”, “did johnny ever talk about a guy named packy?” “i don’t talk about packy,” ace replied. “packy is dead to me.” “fair enough.” mr eggwhistle backed away from ace. and took his leave. 25. the master

the endless rain - 23. the wanderer

by nick nelson

part twenty-three of twenty-eight

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a farmer’s dog discovered a fox and chased it out of the farmyard and on to the high road. the fox climbed a tree on the other side of the road. the dog clawed at the trunk of the tree and barked at the fox. a wanderer came down the road, and encountered the dog and the farmer looking up at the fox in the tree. the wanderer said, if that dog were a cat, it could climb the tree. the wanderer passed on. the farmer and the fox watched him disappear down the road, in the direction of the mountain. the wanderer came to a house by the side of the road, that was on fire. a widow and her three children and a dog were standing outside the house, watching it burn. if the house had been made of water, the wanderer said, it would not have burned. the wanderer continued down the road. the widow and the children watched him go, but the smoke from the fire obscured his path. the wanderer came to another farmer, and yet another dog. they were gazing sadly at a barren field, whose wheat had been devoured by locusts. if the locusts had been rose petals, said the wanderer, they would not have devoured the wheat. the farmer nodded, the dog barked once, not very loudly, and the wanderer continued on his way. next the wanderer encountered a wise man seated on a rock, with a book in his hands. the wise man was weeping. nobody wishes to read my book, he said to the wanderer, though it filled with wisdom. if the book were a beautiful maiden, the wanderer replied, many would wish to look upon it. the wanderer moved on, the mountain was now casting its shadow on the road. finally the wanderer came to the mountain, where the road ended. a single locust was seated by the side of the road . if that mountain were a river, the wanderer said, and i were a bird, i would fly across it. 24. ace

the endless rain - 22. luke

by nick nelson

part twenty-two of twenty-eight

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mr eggwhistle found luke in the bakery. he had a big white beard and his face and arms were ccvered with flour. luke agreed to meet mr eggwhistle after dinner on the verandah. they sat in rocking chairs. the sun was gong down over the trees, on the other side of the wide green lawn. “johnny? sure, everybody remembers johnny,” luke replied to mr eggwhistle’s first questipn. “yes, but different people seem to remember him differently.” “i don’t know about that. was there anything in particular you wanted to know?” luke kept is gaze on the trees, and the crows flying over them. “the last two people i talked to about johnny,” mr eggwhistle said, “gave mr copies of gospels about him. would you happen to have one, too?” ”why,, of course. i thought you would never ask.” without looking at mr eggwhistle, luke shifted his weight and took a pamphlet out of his back pocket and handed it to him. it was about the same size as the pmphlets he had received from zeke and ike, and was titled the gospel of johnny dark, according to luke. does everybody in this place have a gospel of johnny dark? mr eggwhistle asked luke. luke seemed mildly annoyed at the question. “of course not. only johnny’s truest disciples. who else but a true disciple would write down anybody’s gospel?” “of course. that was a silly question. i don’t know what i was thinking.” luke pointed to the trees. “did you see that crow that just flew away?” “uh - no, i did not happen to be looking that way.” “you can’t look every which way all the time,” luke said . “that is very true,” mr eggwhistle agreed. “do you think the crow will return?” luke asked. “hard to say.” “yes, it is. hard to say. now you are beginning to understand.” mr eggwhistle noticed that luke still had traces of flour on his arms and on his shirt. 23. the wanderer

the endless rain - 21. the avenger

by nick nelson

part twenty-one of twenty-eight

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all living creatures have been betrayed. they were born to live and love and be free. but have been forced to fight and hate and serve death. how has this happened? one day, in a village in the hills of the great desert empire, a worker ant had a vision. the worker ant was employed in a great factory making swords and javelins and arrows for the army of the great desert empire. at midday, the ant was one of a platoon of workers being herded out of the factory for lunch and daily exercise. a dark cloud passed over the sun, just above the highest hill on the horizon of the desert. the ant took the occasion to step out of line and walk into the desert. he had often wondered who was responsible for the way the world was - why it was organized into empires who spent all their energy into making weapons, planning war on each other, and occasionally even going to war. and who fed their members only enough to give them the strength to work in the weapons factories, or to train for the coming warfare, or to work on the. farms that produced the food for the soldiers and workers. was it one, or was it many? was it the emperors themselves, of the rival empires? or was there a mister big, or great evil one, who ruled the emperors? or were there invisible hordes behind the emperors, or the great evil one , ready to thunder down upon any workers or soldiers or drones who rebelled? one, or many? the ant wandered deeper into the desert and met a locust, who lived as a hermit beside a small water hole. the ant asked the locust the question? one, or many? who should i seek? on who should i claim the vengeance of the generations of cheated ones? you can only search, replied the locust. but when you have found the answer, you will only have begun. the ant continued across the desert. 22. luke

the endless rain - 20. ike

by nick nelson

part twenty of twenty-eight

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ike was large and pale and bald and listless looking , and mr eggwhistle found him sitting on “his” bench on the outskirts of the grounds, with his hands on his knees, staring into space. the director had explained to mr eggwhistle that ike was mild mannered and harmless, but because of his size the other inmates felt intimidated by him and never challenged his right to “his “ seat. also, that ike was not much of a talker, but a patient listener, and the one of the inmates he had listened to was johnny. ike seemed to come to life a little when mr eggwhistle showed him the picture of johnny. “do i remember johnny? sure, how could i forget him?” “i understand he was a preacher,” mr eggwhistle said. “a preacher?” ike shook his head slightly. “i think calling him a prophet might be closer to the mark.” “really?” there was a wicker chair beside ike’s seat and mr eggwhistle sat down in it. “what exactly did he prophecy?” for answer, ike reached into his pocket and took out a pamphlet , about the same size as the one zeke had given mr eggwhistle. mr eggwhistle looked at the pamphlet. it was entitled the gospel of johnny dark, according to ike. “thank you,” mr eggwhistle said, watching ike closely for his reaction. “ i received a similar screed from zeke. may i ask, is this basically the same, or is it different?” “it is both ,” ike replied placidly. “ it is the same and different. johnny had many messages , but they are all the same.” mr eggwhistle smiled. “i will be happy to read it, as i read zeke’s. but do you mind if i ask you a few questions first?” “not at all. fire away.” “did he ever mention an individual named packy?“ ike laughed. “did he ever mention packy? yes, all the time. there were days he hardly talked about anything or anybody else.” this was very different from what mr eggwhistlre had heard from zeke, but he did not say so. instead he asked, “was johnny kindly disposed toward this packy?” “i should say not!” ike exclaimed. “packy was the evil spirit, and johnny dedicated his life to fighting him.” “i see. and packy, does he live in some particular place? like chicago, or st louis, or new york, or paris france?” “packy is everywhere. everywhere the truth is denied, which is everywhere.” “do you don’t think johnny went in search of packy, in some particular place?” “no, why would he do that?” ike pointed at the pamphlet in mr eggwhistle’s hand. “read that, it will tell you all about packy.” 21. the avenger

the endless rain - 19. the prophet

by nick nelson

part nineteen of twenty-eight

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for thousands of years, prophets and wise men crossed the land, offering prophecies and parables that their followers could interpret as they wished. a prophecy, a story, a dream foretold could have many meanings. the prophets disappeared down the roads, into the deserts and the mountains. the roads, the deserts, and the mountains, and the stars and skies above them, remained. another prophet appeared. with him, things were a little different. he said, darkness will cover the earth, and darkness covered the earth. he pointed to a mountain, and said, that mountain will crumble, and the mountain crumbled. he pointed to a city and said, that city will be destroyed by an earthquake, and the city was destroyed by an earthquake. he said, the sky will be filled with flying snakes, and the sky was filled with flying snakes. he said, the empress of the east will give birth to a three-headed bat, and the empress of the east gave birth to a three-headed bat. he said, the emperor of the west will be turned into an oyster, and the emperor of the west was turned into an oyster. people flocked to hear the words of the prophet. from the highest mountain, he delivered his final message. give up all that you have, he declared. and make ready, for in a thousand years such things will happen as have never been dreamed of. then the prophet disappeared. many who heard his words, took heed, and gave up all that they had. but a thousand years is a long time. after two hundred years, the prophet had all but been forgotten, and no original followers, who had taken his word to heart, remained. after four hundred years, only a handful of believers remained. after six hundred years, only one remains. there are still four hundred years to go. 20. ike

the endless rain - 18. zeke

by nick nelson

part eighteen of twenty-eight

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the director gave mr eggwhistle permission to wander around the facility and talk to some of the inmates who had been friendly, or at least on speaking terms, with johnny. mr eggwhistle was given four names - zeke, ike, luke, and ace. zeke was a bent old man who worked in the flower garden. mr eggwhistle appoached zeke and showed him a picture of johnny. “recognize this fellow?” mr eggwhistle asked. zeke did not ask mr eggwhistle who he was or what his business was, but immediately replied “of course, that’s johnny! johnny the preacher!” the preacher? mr eggwhistle thought. but he said, “you talk to johnny lately?” “not too long ago. just before he went over the wall - he went over the wall, you know.” zeke kept turning the dirt in the garden over with a small spade. he continued to talk to mr eggwhistle without looking directly at him. “yes, i did know. he didn’’t tell you where he was going, did he?” “no. didn’t tell nobody far as i know.” zeke seemed to take something out of his pocket . a seed? it was too small for mr eggwhistle to see what it was, if anything. zeke dropped the little something - real or imaginary - into the upturned dirt. “any idea where he went?” mr eggwhistle asked. “or why?” “he didn’t say he was going nowhere. as to why, i suppose it was to preach his message.” “his message. you know, this is the first time i heard of this fellow being a preacher. what was this message, exactly? could you give me some idea?” for the first time zeke turned and looked mr eggwhistle in the face. he looked surprised and slightly pained at the question. “why, he was preaching peace and love, of course. what else would a preacher preach?” mr eggwhistle did not answer zeke’s question directly. “dd he preach the gospel , you know, like matthew mark luke and john?” “no, no, he had his own gospel. his own religion.” “i see. but he didn’t - he didn’t have any particular place in mind? like, some city or town that was filled with sinners that needed to be saved?” “oh, no, nothing like that. johnny didn’t believe in sin. he believed in love.” mr eggwhistle decided to change the subject. “did he ever mention a person named packy? “ “packy? no, i can’t say that he did.” “did he ever mention anybody else by name? some body who did him wrong, maybe? or somebody he particularly wanted to preach his message to?” zeke considered these questons. as he did he reached into his pocket again. mr eggwhistle thought he would take out another small or invisible or imaginary seed, but instead he took out a small pamphlet. “read this,” zeke told mr eggwhistle. “it may answer some of your questions. now, if you will excuse me, i have work to do.” mr eggwhistle looked at the front page of the pamphlet. it was inscribed - the gospel of johnny dark, according to zeke. 19. the prophet