Page 1 of Drag You Down
CHAPTER 1
LEVI
The city of New Bristol is dirty and crowded. The people push past me, not stopping to say hello or even so much as glance at me. They wear their overly styled suits, their revealing dresses; they paint their faces and pierce their skin, all in defiance of God.
This very city is the Whore of Babylon, dragging humanity down.
I’m being punished, and that’s why I’m the one forced to confront sin like this, over and over.
I’m beingtested.
I notice a handsome man in a shirt so tight, it clings to his arm muscles. He’s talking to another man, holding his hand, and as I watch they lean in to kiss each other.
I lick my lips, and I wonder what it feels like to be kissed.
I’ve already resigned myself to the fact that I will never have that. It is not God’s will. I need to be strong enough to resist these temptations that the world offers up on a platter.
Indulging in hedonism and pleasure is one of the ways the Devil hooks his claws in us.
I force myself to continue, past more beautiful men, past the people smiling and laughing and completely unaware that all of our souls are in danger at every single moment of our lives.
I’m almost home, though. I’m almost safe from myself.
The odds and ends we need for dinner will make it back in time, and my sister and the other women will cook us a satisfying meal. I’ll know thatwe, at least, are good people.
Just a few more blocks.
But the sidewalk gets more crowded, and I hear that obnoxious honking of the cars. Up ahead, there’s yelling, and my stomach sinks in disappointment as I see police cars setting up a blockade that will keep me from reaching the other side of the intersection.
I look around, hoping for an easy detour, but there are two cars in the middle of the intersection. An ambulance is approaching, and everything swarms with spectators and news crews.
I want to see what happened.
I want to discover whether there’s blood and gore on display, to stare like everyone else at what could be a tragedy or a…
Amasterpiece. The word comes unbidden, like a breath in my ear, and I shudder.
It’s wrong. It’s so wrong.
I’m not supposed to want to see the ugly parts of this world.
I stop to take a breath so I can get my bearings.
There’s always a way home. Father Zachariah made that clear. We are never alone; we are never far from the safety of his embrace.
I spot a gap between two buildings nearby. If I’m right, it should lead me away from the commotion and closer to home. The dark and the stink make me wary, but I don’t have a choice. I can’t be late.
I can’t linger, where I might be tempted to gawk with the rest of the onlookers in the hopes of seeing something titillating.
I squeeze through, doubting myself as I lose most of the sunlight. The space between the buildings is so narrow that I bump my shoulders, and I start to doubt myself.
Maybe there’s nothing on the other end, only more darkness.
Maybe I’ll step into a gaping maw and get dragged down.
I whimper and squeeze my eyes shut—then force them open and look up, at the small sliver of sunlight visible between buildings.
Hurry, hurry.
