The 23rd Psalm

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:"

His pale hands easily slid bullet by bullet into the ammo clip. The scratches on his knuckles were a mixture of both new and aged wounds. Oddly, his finger nails had been kept both trimmed and clean. Deftly, those finger tips finished their task and with a swift motion the clip was now loaded into a .22 caliber pistol.

"He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake."

Weapon hanging to his right side, the young man walked down the center aisle between the old wooden pews. His steps, though both soft and deliberate, still caused an occasional creak to groan out of the decades old flooring. As the sound echoed off the crucifix laden walls the young man stopped his journey in front of the main entrance.

Two of them had been spotted wandering just outside of the church. Mentally he examined what he was about to partake in in the same vein as a chess player; planning his coming moves, the possible reactions to his actions and every possible outcome. Finally fully prepared he nodded to himself, reached down, lifted the steel gate blocking the main door and stepped out into the darkness.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;"

With a series of premeditated movements the young preacher quickly rounded the corner of the building. It was then he saw the two slouched figures futilely attempting to paw through the iron bars shielding the stained glass window in front of them. Their flesh decaying, their foul stench filling the air, the two figures instantly smelled the living being now just a few feet away from them. Without hesitation the preacher closed the distance and with two quick motions pulled the trigger twice, sending a bullet between the eyes of each ghoul.

Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;

Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

As both bodies fell in a heap to the ground the emotionless preacher noticed that one of the beasts he had taken down was Robert Novak. Once a 56 year old volunteer usher at this very church, Robert had been lost weeks ago. Now his wife and two grown children were sleeping soundly, safe in the basement of the temple. The preacher couldn't help but let out a deep sigh and wonder just how many more former members of his church he would have to put an end to.

Out of the darkness came a rigid, decaying hand as it grasped the preacher's shoulder. He almost swore under his breath out of frustration from letting his guard down. The preacher whipped around to place the firearm into the forehead of the monster but instead his arm was now in the grasp of another fiend. As he struggled to escape their clutches, he could feel their foul breath on his flesh. Only a matter of inches separated his body from their blood stained teeth.

Twisting roughly he pulled away for a mere moment. Within that second he raised his weapon and pulled the trigger. Just as the bullet was leaving the chamber he was pulled down from behind. Catching the brute in the side of the neck did nothing to faze his attacker. Falling backwards the preacher landed on top of the monster as the other was heading right down on top of him. With an arch of his back the preacher brought a hasty up kick to the jaw of the front attacker, sending it sprawling backwards. With both arms now in the vise grip of the other ghoul, the preacher had to act fast before those teeth finally found the meaty part of his shoulder.

Planting both of his feet into the hard ground the preacher trashed wildly as he attempted to stand. Fighting for every inch of distance from the worse than fatal bite of his soulless assailant he found the footing and strength to stand. However, his personal predator now had both arms engulfing him and was ready to finally sink its teeth into his neck. In a last ditch act of desperation the preacher used all of his lower body strength to launch himself and his attached enemy backwards into the air. A sickening crack sounded as the two fell to the cold, unforgiving dirt.

Finding himself free of any restraint the preacher quickly reached to his left and scrambled to find his weapon. A loud moan sounded as the second ghoul lunged forward ready to finish the job. Cold steel met warm flash as the preacher's hand found the handle of his weapon. In a split second the lurching monster was put down.

Realizing the possibility of still potential danger the preacher jumped to his feet. Looking down he discovered that the head of his first attacker had met a large, sharp rock in a messy end. Scanning his surroundings the preacher dusted himself off. Exhaling shortly, the preacher reached up and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. His thoughts went back to Robert Novak but he forced himself to quickly shake them off. Heading back into the church the preacher couldn't decide whether to inform Bob's family of the events. He decided to rest and pray about it. The sun would be rising soon. Tomorrow would be another day.

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever."