Bromford Below - Part 19

 

»Wow, what a trip«, Nigel utters.

»And it is not over, yet«, I agree.

»Look at these headlines«, Professor Sideburns says picking up a newspaper from the floor of waggon 6.

Needless to say and write that waggon 7 has disappeared like all the others before. And the door to darkness has now only one inscription in wide red letters,

END OF TRAIN.

»The Pilgrims just founded New Amsterdam around a fort at the southernmost tip of the island of Manhattan, known as Manhattoe before«, Professor Sideburns reads the headlines and the article. »New Amsterdam is part of the Colony of New Netherland. I wonder what year this newspaper is from. Only a few decades later and after some struggles with the English crown the city was renamed to New York City.«

»Well, well, well«, the llama says in its' most heavy British accent, »who gets the city quiz's points then? Amsterdam or New York?«

»New York«, Professor Sideburns decides.

»Look, there is a Priest in this waggon.«

Kylie is pointing at the man in his black robes with his white collar.

»Maybe he can show us a way out of our dilemma.«

But this Priest is looking furious. He is holding a wooden crucifix into the face of a woman standing in the aisle between the seats.

»In the name of the LORD, I command you to leave this dead body, demon!«

»Harry, I saw our apartment burst into flame, are you all right?«

»Don't touch me. And I am not Harry. I am Nathaniel. I am Father Nathaniel McKenzie.«

»But it's me, Eleanor. Your wife!«

»No! You're one of them, a devil! And you are dead. Didn't you listen to the song of the Four Apostles John, Paul, George and Ringo? Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name. Nobody came. Father McKenzie - that would be me - wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave. No one was saved!«

»He's delirious!« Eleanor is looking at us with her eyes begging for some kind of help.

»Lies! I saw the devil's sign!«

»What are you saying?«

»The green flash in the sky. His demons were here all along, in our hearts and souls just waiting for a sign from Him. And now they're destroying our world!«

»But they're not devils, they're Martians.«

No way. She will not make me believe that we are captured in this underground train by Martians or any other kind of aliens from another planet.

But the Priest - Father Harry or Nathaniel McKenzie - whatever his real name may be - is still walking towards the woman with the cross held high.

»Move back, devil«, he orders. »Move back to the hells where you cometh from.«

And almost singing he continues,

»The voice of the Devil is heard in our land! Listen, do you hear them drawing near, in their search for the sinners? Feeding on the power of our fear and the evil within us. Incarnation of Satan's creation of all that we dread. When the demons arrive those alive would be better off dead.«

And Eleanor is walking backwards, step by step.

»Once, there was a time when I believed without hesitation that the power of love and truth could conquer all in the name of salvation. Tell me what kind of weapon is love when it comes to the fight? And just how much protection is truth against all Satan's might?«

»No Nathaniel, oh no Nathaniel«, Eleanor replies. »No Nathaniel, no, there must be more to life. There has to be a way that we can restore to life the love we used to know.«

And still she is walking backwards towards the end of the train, one step by the other.

»All they are saying sounds familiar«, Nigel says.

And that he said it makes me think. Add a melody and you have…

»People loved you and trusted you, came to you for help«, Eleanor says to Father McKenzie.

And he replies in a resigned way,

»Didn't I warn them this would happen? 'Be on your guard', I said, 'for the Evil One never rests.' I said, 'Exorcise the devil!' But no, they wouldn't listen. The demons inside them grew and grew until Satan gave his signal and destroyed the world we knew! Now darkness has descended on our land and all your prayers cannot save us. Like fools we've let the Devil take command of the souls that God gave us. To the altar of evil like lambs to the slaughter we're led. When the demons arrive the survivors will envy the dead!«

»There must be something worth living for«, Eleanor says taking one step back.

»No, there is nothing!

»There must be something worth trying for.« Another step back

»I don't believe it's so!«

»Even something worth dying for.« Next step back. »If just one man could stand tall there would be some hope for us all, somewhere in the spirit of man.«

Add a melody to the words and you have…

»A song!« Nigel shouts out. »It's a song. I think it is called The Spirit of Man. And it is from the album Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds.«

That would explain the Martians, at least.

But we cannot stop Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie in their sad little play.

»Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone!« McKenzie says. »Didn't I warn them? 'Pray', I said! 'Destroy the Devil', I said! They wouldn't listen! I could have saved the world! But now it's too late, too late!«

Eleanor is now standing with her back to the two-parted sliding door at the end of the subway train. And before we even know what is happening the door opens and she is being sucked into oblivion.

»Eleanor?« Father McKenzie is crying out in pain, holding onto the door frame with one hand, watching out for his wife. »She's dead. Satan why did you take one of your own?«

He is throwing his crucifix into the living darkness in the tunnels and with it the remaining rest of his common sense.

»There is a curse on mankind. We may as well be resigned to let the devil take the spirit of man.«

With this last statement he is following his wife with a running jump into nothingness.

So, we have just witnessed the failed exorcism of Eleanor Rigby, I think.

Kylie is standing beside me again.

»Time to move on«, she whispers.

»Did you know«, Professor Sideburns asks, »they found the grave of an Eleanor Rigby on a graveyard in Liverpool? And close by a headstone was discovered bearing the name McKenzie. All in the neighbourhood where John Lennon attended Sunday School as a boy and he and Paul McCartney first met at a church fete in 1957. But up to this day Paul declares that it was totally coincidental and that they chose the names for their song because they sounded better than the ones they originally chose.«

🎄🎄🎄🕯🎄🎅
🎄🎄🎄🎄🕯🎄

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🕯

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"Bromford"

Bromford is what they would take when
Hard times opened their eyes
Saw pain in a new way
High stakes for a few names
Racing against sun beams
Losing against fig dreams
In your eyes

And I am
Stop
And go
In your eyes
Said I am
Stop
And go
In your eyes

Let's go


When I saw her for the first time
Lips moved as her eyes closed
Heard something in his voice
"And I'll be there", he says
Then he walks out
Somehow he was trying too hard
To be like them

Well I am
Stop
And go
In your eyes
And I am
Stop
Oh, darling let me go

Tried it once and they liked it
Then tried to hide it
Says, "I've been doing this 25 years"
Well I'm not listening no more
And these friends, they keep asking for more
Oh, but that's it.