Sunday morning came around and Nolan went to the grocery store for coffee and donuts with his father and Mr. DJ. He had an apple fritter and a giant cinnamon roll as the two of them spoke about the events in the Sunday paper. The governor had made the official announcement, he was running for president. Nolan gulped a little on his next bite, he had seen too much of this governor in his dream to imagine him as president. Nolan’s dad had recently started listening to Rush Limbaugh and was as Republican as they come, so what DJ said next fell on deaf ears.
“The governor isn’t any different from the president we have now.” DJ stated matter of factly. Nolan’s dad thought that was insane. The governor was a Democrat, he was working with the underworld in clear and obvious ways. The current president was an upstanding Republican, working to help good Christian people. It didn’t make sense to him and DJ could see it on his face. “He was director of the CIA, that’s how he got to be president.” DJ stated again, as if to say, ‘get with the program here’. But the Republican versus Democrat paradigm was so deeply engrained in his thinking that Nolan’s dad couldn’t even begin to open his thoughts up to the possibility that the guy he voted for was ever the bad guy.
It was at this point Nolan saw a flash in his mind. He saw a man from another time who spoke these words, “Claim everything. Explain nothing. Deny everything.” He shook his head a little as he went quickly into another flash, this time it was a skull and crossbones like a pirate flag or a bottle of poison on a cartoon would have. He was pretty confused by the whole thing and the two men he was listening to were changing the subject to avoid an obvious conflict. Nolan finished his breakfast and headed across the road to church.
When he walked in the side door of the church there was a woman standing there who Nolan knew as one of the witches from his dreams. She had attacked him and terrified him many times and he remembered her face vividly. Seeing her in real life was almost as terrifying as the night terrors themselves. She was acting all churchy and talking to people in the hallway as Nolan walked upon her. He fell completely on his back as he reversed course with his mind faster than he did with his body. Someone asked him if he was ok and he jumped up, told them he was a fine and went right back out the door he had walked into. He went back into the neighborhood, to the school playground to collect himself. No reason to try and come back into the church until his parents were around. Sunday school would just have to miss him this morning.
He waited across the way looking for his dad to walk in the door at the beginning of church. When Nolan spotted his father, he ran up the block in time to catch him before he sat down. Soon church began and Nolan’s thoughts calmed about the witch from his dream being in the hallway. He didn’t see her anywhere and thought that maybe he had freaked out for no reason. Was she even really there? He couldn’t tell until he saw a frightful sight. She walked up on stage with the pastor. He announced that she would be a special speak at church camp this week and she would be bringing the message in service this morning. She had something special for the kids and for all of us. Church camp? Nolan was leaving this afternoon and had forgotten about it! And now he had a witch to contend with, it all seemed like trouble where there was supposed to be fun. Nolan began to pray silently, and kept praying through the entire message brought to his congregation by the witch.
Practice Outlaw 