I look inside myself and see my heart is black. I see my red door and must have it painted black. Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to
face the facts. It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black. No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue I could not foresee this
thing happening to you.
The storm was reported to be just a tropical depression but Jen couldn’t believe the wind at this point. If this was a tropical depression then she
didn’t want to see what they considered to be a hurricane. She was able to see the trees blowing furiously through a small space between the planks
of plywood that had been nailed to all of the windows in the Church. The local radio stations and electricity had gone down about an hour ago and all
she and the rest of her Church members could do was wait it out at this point and pray.
The storm was guided directly over and through the massive spill in the Gulf. The seas churned up huge chunks of tar balls and oil soaked sea life.
The storm gained strength as the oil laden bodies of dolphins and other creatures were blown toward the shore furiously. The hydrocarbons were
evaporating out of the disturbed oil and tar balls rapidly creating a huge pocket of very volatile vapors.
The preacher took his place at the pulpit and urged everyone to sit for a moment. The candles illuminated the interior of the Church in an eerie
yellow glow while the wind could be heard howling outside. All eyes were now on the preacher and he believed he had received a message that he needed
to share with his congregation. It had come to him all of a sudden as he sat praying for the protection of the Gulf Coast.
Tears filled the Preachers eyes as he opened his Bible to the appropriate page. “Please follow along with me in the Book of Numbers chapter
eleven.” He paused as he scanned the verses and the congregation hurriedly leafed through their pages under the dim candle light.
“We recall how God had freed the slaves from Egypt. We recall how glorious that time must have been. Soon though they forgot what God had done for
them and they demanded more. They demanded more and were not pleased with the manna that God provided them on their journey. Their hearts had become
darkened and they did not consider the awesome work that God was doing for them. So God gave them what they wanted.” A loud thud startled everyone
suddenly as everyone’s eyes looked to the ceiling when the first large tar ball struck the Church roof and stuck.
“Never mind that my beloved. This is what we get now. We demanded more and more to make our lives simpler and easier. We lost sight of the
awesome work that God was doing for us already. We demanded more and so we’ll get what we wanted.” Another loud roaring wind and a thud as the
carcass of an oiled dolphin slammed into the exterior wall of the Church. Everyone nervously shifted in the pews as the rain’s cadence
intensified.
“Read with me my beloved in Numbers chapter eleven verses nineteen through twenty.” A loud roar of wind followed by more thumps as tar balls
began sticking all over the Church and surrounding houses and buildings. Tree branches strained against the force of the wind as more tar accumulated
on their branches. The Preacher read.
"Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; but even a whole month,
until it come out at your
nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we
forth out of Egypt?" The Preacher slammed his fist down and wept.
Jen was terrified. This was only supposed to be a small storm but it sounded like a full blown hurricane to her. She couldn’t wait for the
Preacher to finish so she could peek outside quickly.
“So this is what we have done my beloved. We have demanded more and more and now we will get what we wanted until it comes out of our nostrils!
Seek ye the Lord while He may be found and repent! Pray for forgiveness and protection!” The preacher closed his Bible and hung his head in
prayer. More thumps could be heard with every gust of wind now as the entire coastline from Louisiana to Alabama was being pummeled with the bodies
of dead sea animals and tar balls.
The small facility atop Woodall Mountain remained unaffected. The man inside concentrated on the placement of his package. The eye would soon be
over the target areas and that was when he would be shutting it down. He switched on his communications gear.
“This is Viper Two Seven, package has been delivered. Next phase in four, three, two, and one.” The man reached across the console and lifted
the cover that shielded a toggle switch. He put the switch in the down position and the ionosphere snapped back into its original shape.
The whole congregation had moved to the lowest part of the Church by now. The winds had gotten so bad that they feared the whole building would be
moved off its foundation. Everyone sat huddled together praying fervently. Suddenly their ears all popped at the same time and the roaring winds
ceased. They couldn’t believe it. Everyone looked at each other in disbelief and began smiling. Jen made her way upstairs quickly to see the
devastation through the small crack that she had been looking through much earlier.
The scene was horrific. Everything was black. Large clumps of black were scattered as far as she could see. She knew right then and there that
nothing would be the same. What she couldn’t see were the vapors that were accumulating heavily in the air.
The man inside the small facility atop Woodall Mountain watched the particulate count rise. As the ionosphere regained its shape it created a higher
humidity and pressure and with it highly volatile and flammable hydrocarbons evaporated out of the tar balls and oil rapidly. The count was just
about right now.
“This is Viper Two Seven, the air is fine, engaging flares. Standby gentlemen.” With the flick of a switch, prepositioned thermite flares were
set ablaze all along the coast. They were hidden in transformers, mailboxes, cars and just about everywhere. From Louisiana to Alabama, the entire
coast line exploded like it was one big thermobaric weapon.
The man locked the door behind him atop Woodall Mountain. He secured the gate and entered his vehicle as he surveyed the enormous plumes of smoke
rising from the coastlines. He was heading East now. There was more work to be done.
Jen survived the blaze. She had third degree burns and it took her several years to recover fully. Her and the few remaining Church members that
survived now lived to force legislation for a green economy. All along the coast people that survived the hurricane wanted nothing to do with oil
anymore. There were committees and groups formed that unified under the banner, “Numbers”, and they had a very powerful influence on world
affairs.
The severity of the storm was blamed on the oil spill of course. It was something that the experts had not seen before and they couldn’t account
for the catastrophe that ensued. All of them agreed though, this could never be allowed to happen again.
[edit on 23-6-2010 by jackflap]