Free Heaven and Hell by Kenneth Zeigler Page B

especially during the last five years. That was indeed odd, but he tried not to allow it to trouble him. After all, Jesus Himself had said that such things were to be expected. The important thing was that he was here, he was thinking more clearly than at any other time in his life, and he had been reunited with his mother.
    As day slowly faded, the fireflies lit up the lawn and the forest beyond. Chris and his mother watched it all from the porch swing, chit chatting the way they used to so long ago. How he had missed her since then.
    “I wasn’t sure that there would be a night in Heaven,” said Chris, gazing out into the fading twilight.
    “It all depends where in Heaven you are,” replied Jennifer. “We have day and night here, but they don’t in the City of Zion. There it is forever day. It always feels like early afternoon there, at least to me.”
    “Zion?” asked Chris.
    “Yes, I guess you could call it the capital city of Heaven, the dwelling place of God. It is really amazing, you’ll see. I’ll take you there in a few days, but I wanted you to get acclimated to your new home first.”
    “OK, Mom,” said Chris, placing his head on her shoulder the way he used to as a young boy. “Whatever you say. Right now, I just want to stay home with you.”
    Chris was greeted by a sky full of the brightest stars he had ever seen. It was several hours later when a feeling akin to tiredness began to overtake him. “It would seem that our bodies still need sleep,” he said, stretching out his arms wide.
    “You think you do,” Jennifer said, “and sleep is a good thing, even here. You’re used to the cycle of sleep, so am I, even after all of these years. But, believe it or not, you could go on without it. Your glorified body really doesn’t need to sleep. There are people here who have matured completely past the need for sleep. Maybe we all will, with time. But for now, I still sleep, but not as much as I used to. I’ll take you to your room.”
    Chris’s bedroom was on the first floor of the great mansion, a huge room that seemed immediately familiar. Within the walk-in closet, Chris found a complete wardrobe of clothes, everything he would need.
    Following a good night kiss from his mother, he was ready for bed. He truly felt like a kid again, and he loved it. As he sat there alone on his grand bed, he took a moment to offer his thanks to God. So far, Heaven had met or exceeded all of his expectations. He could hardly wait to explore it in greater detail; and explore it he would, for he had all of the time in the universe.

chapter four
     
    S ERENA tried her best to get some sleep. For a time, she dreamt of Chris, and the rock house in Oregon. In her dreams, she was lying in bed by his side, his arm wrapped around her. She could hear his gentle breathing, hear him call her name in the night, feel him gently caress her. Sadly, it was an illusion, a phantasm, a ghost of a time that would never be again. Her dreams were all too frequently interrupted by a commotion in the hallway, as yet another damned soul was ushered through to await their fate. The pattern of sleep and rude awakenings was repeated at least half a dozen times, before a different sort of disturbance caught Serena’s attention.
    She rose to her feet to hear screams from somewhere far down the corridor. It was not just the screams of one or two individuals, but those of a great multitude. She stumbled to the bars of her cell to find out what was happening. The commotion had attracted Benny’s attention as well, for he already stood by the bars of his cell, doing his best to peer into the corridor beyond.
    “Something’s happening,” he confirmed, turning to Serena. “This might be it.”
    “Oh God!” gasped Serena, taking a step back. She knew this moment was coming. She had tried to prepare herself for it, but she realized now that she wasn’t ready for the reality. It was now. It was time.
    If only she could get out of her