A Wolf of the Cloth

By Dustin Miller

The plague of the undead sweeps across the United States, forcing the Hawkins family, among others, to seek refuge at a Catholic church located in the small mountain town of Denbrook.

A young boy goes missing, and a search party ventures outward in an attempt to find and bring him back to safety.

And in the midst of society's collapse, Father Ward promises safety, yet his intentions may be more of a threat than the flesh-eating creatures themselves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662460692

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A Wolf of the Cloth

Dustin Miller

Copyright © 2021 Dustin Miller

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2021

ISBN 978-1-6624-6068-5 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-6069-2 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Chapter 1

Dear Diary,

We will be leaving home today. The news is saying that it's not safe outside. I just don't understand why we have to leave. Mom and Dad want us to go to the church. They've been arguing all morning. They've been fighting a lot lately… I think they're scared… I don't know why. I don't want to leave. It's perfectly safe here… I gotta go. They're yelling at me to get my things together.

Arianna

Come on, come on, hurry along now, said Father Henry Ward as he directed several families inside the Catholic church from the main entrance at the top of the exterior stairway. Judgment day is upon us. Take refuge in the house of God!

According to reports, the outbreak had originated in heavily populated areas around the United States but was now spreading into smaller rural communities, including the desolate mountain town of Denbrook, located in the northwestern part of the country. As a result of the happenings, the National Guard was forced to step in. They had set up barricades in the streets, leaving eight blocks open in between the barriers with soldiers posted at each end. The church sat right in the center, having four blocks on each side.

Everything that had been broadcast on the news was now running rampant in the community, outside the blockades. Chaos had ensued to the point where it had become difficult distinguishing the attackers from the victims trying to escape, blending in with the crowds of terrified citizens as they scrambled in the streets. The general public were in hysterics.

Seeking out help from the local church seemed like the logical choice for the fearful families, which included the Hawkins family, devout Catholics who had been attending services for years prior. Their twelve-year-old daughter, Arianna, had been enrolled in Bible study from the time she had spoken her first words.

We have plenty of food and water and will provide you with shelter. To put your trust in the church is to put your trust in the Almighty himself, Father Ward proclaimed, and the parents guided their children in willingly. These creatures have a desire for only one thing: warm human flesh—and this craving for the flesh has rendered them sinners!

As the Hawkins family entered last, Arianna looked up at the portly priest, terrified. She noticed beads of sweat pouring from his thinning brown hair and down his forehead. Ward could see the child peering up at him from the corner of his eye. He glanced down at her through his wire-framed glasses and gave her a smile as she passed by him. His imposing presence struck Arianna as unusual, looming over her with his excitable demeanor; she broke eye contact and continued walking behind her mother and father.

Gunshots could be heard off in the distance, closer to the barricades. Close those gates! ordered the priest as the gunfire became more frequent and screams of disarray followed.

Simultaneously, the parishioners and groundskeeper approached the iron-clad fences, which surrounded the property, and began to close the gates from each side. As the metal made contact, a heavy clank rang out through the street; the latch was engaged, and the entryway was locked.

Father Ward turned to scan over all the families that had made it into the church and then poked his head outside. He glanced from side to side at each end of the street, checking for anyone else that might have been roaming. A few stragglers could still be seen headed toward the building, but Ward chose not to see them. He pulled his head back inside and promptly shut the two large oak doors.

Chapter 2

Dear Diary,

We arrived at the church this afternoon. My parents told me that this would be the safest place to be, but I don't know…everything's been so crazy. It doesn't seem like anywhere is safe with those sick people roaming around out there. Everything's happening so fast. We barely had time to gather any of our stuff. I miss my room… I miss home. I wonder if my friends are all right. Jimmy is here with his family, so that makes me feel a little better… I don't know… Father Ward shut the doors and gates on the people outside that were trying to get in. He says that they were sick too, but they didn't look like it… They looked scared… I think they may have been hurt…shocked by the gates or something. I'm scared… I want to go home.

Arianna

There were four other families camped out alongside Arianna's in the nave of the church—the central area of the building. Heather Langston and her young boy, Jimmy. Mark Banks, who was a single father of a four-year-old boy, Billy, a six-year-old girl, Vanessa, and his seventeen-year-old daughter, Sasha. Middle-aged couple, Murray Burton and his wife, Delilah, had arrived with no kids, only suitcases and one rolling drink cooler. They had recently become grandparents after their son, Jonathan, had become father to a newborn baby boy. And the last of the families to have made it into the building consisted of Frank Melbourne, his wife, Sarah, and their two sons, Jeremiah, six, and James, four.

Sleeping bags had already been laid out on the outer edges of the room, around the pews; luggage could be found nearby in the designated areas that the families had chosen for themselves upon their arrival.

The Langston clan sat directly across from the Hawkins on the other side of the nave. Jimmy was peering around at the other parents and children when he spotted Arianna sitting hunched on the floor with her head hung low; she was rocking herself back and forth. He excitedly ran over to her, moving swiftly between the rows of pews. After coming to a stop in front of Arianna, he pushed his glasses back up, onto the bridge of his nose, having slightly moved downward from his momentum.

Hi, Jimmy said with an enthusiastic innocence.

Arianna looked up and saw a big smile on the young boy's face.

What's he so happy about? she thought to herself and then said, Hey, Jimmy.

What's wrong?

What's wrong? she replied in a desperate tone. Do you know what's going on, Jimmy?

Jimmy glanced out the window and then turned back. I guess those people out there are sick. The news is saying that they're sick.

Arianna shook her head. They're killing people. Why do you think those soldiers are out there in the streets?

Jimmy paused for a moment and then looked around at the other families and said, Yeah, but we'll be safe here… My mom says that God will protect us.

Arianna just looked at the boy, feeling saddened by his ignorance toward the situation, but she also envied his innocence and unwavering enthusiasm, despite everything happening outside the church walls; he was only an eight-year-old kid.

She put on a smile and said, It's good seeing you, Jimmy.

He smiled back gleefully with his dimples on full display.

Come get your cots, fresh out of storage, Father Ward announced, carrying two of the foldable beds from out of the vestry, near the front of the nave. A parishioner followed close behind, holding two more.

Arianna's father, Seth, was hovering near one of the windows and looking outside when the announcement was made. He appeared to be in slight distress.

Honey, do you want to see if you can at least get a cot for Arianna? Jolene Hawkins said. She reached up and gently grazed her husband's hand.

In a daze, Seth flinched and then looked down at her.

He hesitated for a moment from his racing thoughts and said, Oh, yeah…of course.

He gave Jolene a blank smile and then turned to walk away, toward the priest who was standing on the stage where he would give his weekly sermons. Several of the other parents were quick to follow, eager not to miss out on something comfortable to sleep on for the night, and however long after.

Thank you for everything that the church is doing for us, said Seth as he approached the stage. He reached out to grab a cot.

Suddenly he was pushed to the side after Murray, being in a hurry, had bumped into him.

How many of those do you have? the forceful man asked, a man that Seth had been introduced to by the preacher when his family had first moved into town but had never talked to extensively enough to become friends.

Excuse me, Seth interrupted and grabbed one of the foldable beds. Murray gave him a poisonous glance but didn't say anything.

Father Wards eyes shifted from Seth to the other man. Only these three for right now, the priest replied. The others were stolen a couple days ago when things started getting bad. He stood by, waiting to see how things were going to play out between the two men.

You just have the one daughter, right? Murray said.

Yeah, that's right. Seth turned to face him. Why do you ask?

Murray looked back at Delilah and said, It's just that my wife has some back issues, you know, being a little older and all. He turned back to Seth. You think your girl can sleep on the floor…maybe one of the pews?

Seth shook his head in disbelief. "Are you serious?