Did you hear that Hugh Howey’s Wool is coming to Apple TV+ next year? Pretty excited about it. About ten years ago, Wool was a huge indie-pubbed dystopian SF series of books that will soon be streaming on the small screen.
The show stars Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible, Dune), Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), and David Oyelowo (Selma), among others. And we have Apple TV! Score!
What’s cool is that when Howey first wrote part 1 of what became Wool, he opened his story universe to other writers who wanted to publish their own fan fiction. So for today’s installment of #FreeFictionFriday, I’m sharing an excerpt from my Wool-inspired novelet, The Last Prayer. (Details below on how you can read the rest.)
The Last Prayer by Lyndon Perry
—1—
The gaunt priest set up his makeshift confessional in silence.
It had been quite a few years since the last cleaning—
“Ten or so?” Elias had asked his younger companion when the sheriff had informed him of the recent verdict.
Samuel didn’t hesitate. “Twelve,” his secretary had responded, always accurate, always prompt.
The responsibility, grim as it was, had sparked in the frail servant of God a sense of somber purpose. One he’d thought he’d lost. His previous act of ministry had been declined, well, twelve years earlier—politely, but a rejection nevertheless—and Elias had discovered, time and again, various confirmations of his suspected irrelevance to life in the underground community.
Beads of perspiration dotted the priest’s balding pate as he finished erecting the booth. His secretary handed him the curtain that would provide the confessor a semblance of privacy for the last prayer.
“I hope we’re not disappointed again, Samuel. I fear if our services are ignored our standing in the silo may wane.” The older man sighed. “Maybe I’m fooling myself. Maybe our days are already past and I’m just a relic of a bygone era. Has the sun already set for us, Samuel? Has it?” The priest’s eyes begged for contradiction.
“Elias…” Always accurate. Always circumspect. “…it may be that a new day will soon dawn.”
But both of them knew the truth of it. The number of candidates entering seminary training had been on the decline for years—twenty-seven straight, he’d been informed. And that despite the inclusion of women and the nongendered.
Hell, they’ve even allowed nonbelievers into the priesthood! Elias couldn’t help but be cynical. Dispensing liturgical compassion and rote absolution was a role any literate person could fill, the mayor had told him. But, God Almighty, that wasn’t him! He was a believer, he was one of the faithful….
“Father?” Jedediah Alston knocked at the door, interrupting Elias’s thoughts. Peeking his head into the converted storage room, the broad-shouldered sheriff said, “The condemned has agreed to confession. You ready?”
Elias hid a satisfied tremor with a lift of his shoulders and gave his secretary a flushed smile. Maybe he was needed after all. Maybe he could help direct this one soul—terrified, surely, and lost—toward peace before the cleaning.
“Send him in. All is prepared.”
The sheriff replied with a curt nod and retreated down the hall, passing empty cells until he reached the one that held the prisoner.
“I’ll be just outside the door if you have any need,” Samuel said as he left the temporary chapel adjacent to the near-empty jail. Crime had decreased along with faith, it seemed.
Elias nodded and entered his half of the confessional, settling himself to hear the final prayer of a desperate man. Just as he pulled the door to, he caught a glimpse of Sheriff Alston escorting a young girl into the room and pointing her toward the booth.
This can’t be right. But then he realized he never thought to ask who the condemned person was. Was he addled or simply a foolish and self-absorbed old man? He shook his head to clear it.
The priest heard Alston leave and the girl enter her side of the confessional.
“Father?” she asked in a whisper.
Confidence flooded his veins. Here was a frightened soul needing assurance. Here was his duty. “Yes, my child? Do you wish to make a confession?”
Silence met his anticipation and disassembled it.
“No, Father,” the girl said, her voice bold now, urgent. “I’ve come to ask you to help me clean.”
Elias wasn’t one to sputter. On this occasion it couldn’t be helped. “What in heaven’s name do you mean, child?”
“Yes! That’s it, heaven. We have to scrub heaven’s window.”
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(The Last Prayer © 2013 by Lyndon Perry continues in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program or for puchase for only 99 cents. Click here for details. Affiliate link.)
Thanks for reading! Hey, by the way, if you are a cozy mystery fan, my latest novel is Secrets & Scents - A Kelli & Jo Candle Shop Mystery. It will be available as a First Edition Early Release via Kickstarter only, Sept 13 to Oct 6, 2022. To get notified of the launch click here and then the button: Notify me on launch.
Have a great weekend! - Lyn