Chapter 1: Chapter-1: Dave

Dave likes the quietness that the local church offers at night. After 9:00 pm, not many people come to church to preach. There is only a handful of people that could be seen at this time and that includes the father as well. And it is because of this precise reason, that Dave likes spending his time in church at night. He is not a weirdo that likes quietness. It is just that after doing two shifts in a local Deli, one could use a quiet environment such as this.

In such a quaint and peaceful environment he likes to think. And he thinks a lot. As an overthinker who had no idea what he suppose to do in the future, thinking helps a lot. It helps him get his priority straight. He is not like his junky parents whose every decision only revolves around drugs. He is a smart man.

Like any other man his age, he wants to marry a beautiful girl. Father at least two children. And make a house of his own. But the status of his love, as well as his social life, had been stuck in the same place for more than a decade. He wants to change. But his abusive father and mother had fucked him so much that he had become a paranoid weirdo. He had become this anti-social animal that wants to make friends but every time he attempts to do so, he somehow messes it up badly…

As Dave was sitting there contemplating his life and its direction, the door of the church was opened slightly and an old woman walked in. That woman's heels echoed throughout the church and as she passed by Dave. When the lady passed by him, he smelled the fragrance of jams and jellies coming from the old lady.

The old lady is a store owner of a local bakery. He had heard that she makes jam and jellies which are 100% natural and made from fruits that are locally grown. And people love them. And he respects her as she was able to open such a business at such an age and still didn't crumble as most old people do at her age.

After lighting a candle the old lady prayed for a minute. Then she turned around and started going back. But as he was going, suddenly a blue color wisp fell from the sky and entered her body.

The wisp entered her body without making any sort of disturbance or sound. It was invisible to the naked eye so neither father nor Dave was able to see what had happened. But after the wisp entered the old lady's body, her demeanour changed. She became more confident and started smiling as he came toward Dave.

While coming toward him, the old lady snapped her fingers. And magically, Dave's wallet which was safe and secured in his right breast pocket appeared on the floor beside him. While on the other hand, Dave didn't notice anything unusual and just sat there with his thoughts…

"Honey, I think you dropped your wallet." The old lady said as she came to a stop beside Dave. She then pointed toward his wallet which was lying on the floor.

"Oh… Thank you, mam." Dave said with a smile. He then picked it up and opened it to see whether the wallet belonged to him. When he saw that it was his wallet he was confused as he thought that his wallet was secured in the upper right-side pocket. But it seems he was wrong.

"No problem dear. By the way, you are John's boy if I am not wrong?" the old lady asked. Hearing his late junky father's name, Dave smiled awkwardly and nodded.

"I am sorry for your loss dear." The old lady said with a sad look and sympathetic look.

"It is okay mam. It is not like my life had changed a lot since that car accident. Both my parents were never there for me for most of my life. So their death didn't make any difference for me." Dave said.

"Is that so…" the old lady said. There was a tinge was awkwardness between them. Dave thought that with this the old lady would leave him alone. But he was wrong…

"By the way, you work at a local deli, right? Do you like that job? I mean I have a job that I have in mind which would a perfect for a young man like you." The old lady said and she started rummaging through her side purse that she was carrying around.

"What kind of job?" Dave asked getting slightly interested in what the old lady had to offer.

"Here." The old lady said after she finally found what she was looking for. She handed Dave over a card.

The card in question was a simple plain black color business card. There was no name, email, or company name on the card. There was just a simple golden color phone number inscribed on the black card.

"What is this?" Dave asked.

"It is the phone number of the company. This number works 24/7 and you could get a decent job if you call this number. Try it." The old lady said.

"But what is the name of the company or organization that this card belongs to?" Dave asked.

"This company is related to the church. Just say 'yes' when they will ask you whether you are ready to serve God." The old lady said.

"But mam, does it need some educational qualification or something? I have not even graduated high school, let alone a skill school." Dave asked.

"Don't worry dear. You are qualified enough. Just call the number. This call will change your life forever. Believe me. Just make a call." The old lady said.

"Thank you, mam," Dave said while looking at the card.

"Don't worry about it. But promise me that you will make the call." The old lady said.

"I promise. Thank you, mam." Dave said. Then the old lady said goodbye and started heading out of the church.

Dave looked at the number in his hands weirdly. He didn't know what to think about the number. The old lady did not mention what kind of job was it nor did she reveal any description of the job. But seeing the quality of the card, he figured that this card must belong to some high-end big-shot company.

He didn't know whether such a company would even think about hiring someone like him, but it was still worth a shot. After all, he was just a simple cook at the deli. He was already at the bottom of the food chain. How much lower could he drop?

He then safely pocketed the card and he then got up and started heading home…

***

As Dave got out of the church, he looked around the empty streets of his small town. There was no human nor a car in sight. He was not afraid of walking alone at the night, because his town was relatively safe. But seeing the empty streets make him wonder how life is in the big cities. He had heard about New York and how it is a city that never sleeps. And here is his town which becomes an abandoned ghost town just a little after 6:00 pm.

Dave had a long walk back home. As he started his journey to his house, he remembered the card that the old lady offered him. He said that the phone line works 24/7 and he started wondering whether the card could be his ticket out of this town.

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As he had nothing better to do, he took out his phone and the card and dialed the number.

TRING TRING

"Welcome R3T, how may I help you?" came a woman's voice from the other end.

"Hi, my name is Dave. An old lady gave me this card and told me that you guys can offer me a job of some sort." Dave questioned.

"We can offer you a job." The woman replied.

"And I don't have any good educational qualification so to speak of. Will that be a problem?" Dave asked, praying inwardly that the old lady's information comes out to be accurate and he could get a job without a high school diploma.

"Your education has nothing to do with the job. Any person can be qualified for the job who has a healthy body with no diseases like asthma, diabetes, or any sort of heart condition." The woman on the line said.

"Is that so? Then what kind of job are you offering?" Dave asked suspiciously.

He had become suspicious of the motives of this company. After all which company out there doesn't recruit asthma patients? A normal asthma patient does not have any sort of weakness that could hinder any normal job. If he were to think about it, only people from the army would reject asthmatic patients because they wouldn't be able to go through the harsh training required by the army. But other than which kind of job would reject asthmatic patients?

"The job is that you have to work for GOD. Do you want to work for GOD?" the woman asked.

"But still, what is the job?" Dave asked again.

"It is a work for God. Do you want to work for GOD?" the woman asked again.

"I will work for GOD. But I still need to know what work I have to do?" Dave asked again.

"Our agent will contact you soon. Good Bye." The woman said and then hung up the phone.

David looked at the phone screen and started thinking about the weird conversation that he just had. That lady didn't even take his credentials so how the hell will their agent contact him? Maybe they will contact him again on the number from which he called…

He then understood that maybe this was a prank of some sort. So he threw aside the card and continued walking to his home. But it was then, that Dave saw some light coming from his back. He figured that some car was coming so he didn't mind it.

But the car in question came to a stop just beside him. Seeing that car stop by his side, Dave unconsciously reached for the gun on his back. This was a safe town, but still, humans are very vicious creatures. He had never used the bad boy on his back before but he always kept it with him. After all, it made him feel safe.

The car in question was a Mercedes sedan. He didn't know the model of the car, but it looked expensive. He then just bend to see the driver of the car. And it was then he saw that woman was driving the car.

The woman in question looked like a 25-26 woman in her prime. She was wearing a two-piece suit with a hat on the top. It was pretty clear that she was a driver of some sort. Looking at her, he wondered whether she had stopped to ask for some directions or something.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked cautiously with still his hands on the gun.

"Are you the one they call Dave?" the woman asked.

"That depends on who is asking?" he asked.

"Well, I am asking." The woman said.

"What do you want with me?" he asked while getting more suspicious of the woman.

"Hop in, I am here to take you with me. I am with people from R3T." The woman said.

"R3T? What the fuck? But I just talked to them." Dave asked.

"We are very fast. Hop in." The woman said.

"Woah Woah… This is way too creepy. I am not hopping in. Get the hell out of here lady, if you don't want to get shot." Dave said while stepping away from the car.

"I am afraid, you can't back out now." The lady said.

And it was then something incredible happen. Dave just blinked and the lady sitting in the car a moment ago suddenly appeared right beside him. This freaked him out, even more, he took out his gun and pointed it at the freak of nature standing beside him.

But before he could do anything else, the woman slapped the hands holding the gun. Because of the jerk, the gun went flying away. And then quickly she took out what look like a small deodorant from her pocket and sprayed it on Dave's face.

The spray worked wonders and before he knew it, Dave was knocked out…

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