My family was religious. Extremely so. We were probably the only ones in St. Louis who cared about God or Jesus enough to go to church on Sunday morning. My parents, especially my mother, did not take their religion lightly; they believed deeply and passionately. I did as well, of course, though not nearly as much.

I guess that was why my mom thought that the dreams everyone was having were signs from God. Rarely, our town would share a dream. I've only lived through two, but apparently when this phenomenon happens, it means something really awful is going to happen. Something we're all meant to prevent.

But no one ever did. The dream I first experienced depicted a mist passing over our town, enveloping it in its folds. In the following day, there was a gas leak inside someone's house, resulting in the deaths of everyone in the family. The incident, however, meant nothing to the residents of St. Louis, and not long after, everyone brushed it off as a coincidence.

A couple of weeks ago, around the start of school, the town experienced another dream. This one was different. It wasn't depicting anything besides darkness and a figure sitting cross-legged in the center. It was human, but only vaguely so. Despite being completely naked, it had no discernable body parts, save for its limbs and face.

There was no part of its facial structure that gave away its race, sex or age, if it even had any of those. Its lips parted, revealing a row of teeth. There seemed to be a black void behind its eyes—blackness that extended forever more.

"Like Sodom and Gomorrah," it said, not with a voice, but rather with words sent straight to my mind. "You have continued to defy the word of God. Time and time again, I have attempted to warn you against your transgressions. Yet still, I watch and wait, with my patience wearing thin."

It held up its hand, raising a finger. "I shall give one last chance. When dusk approaches, your judgment will arrive. Those of you who sin, you shall perish without grace, like all who dare to disobey the righteous path of light. However, if you are a follower of the Lord, then leave now. Do not linger here and pay your penance."

Then it stood up, walking away and into the pitch black, white skin fading from sight.

I awoke with a start, panting heavily, the covers tangled around me. From my parent's room, I could hear shuffling as they had just gained consciousness as well. "Mary?" My mother's concerned wails reached me as she jumped out of bed, hurrying across the hall to my room. "Mary, are you alright? D-did you see the dream?"

It was pretty obvious from my frightened expression that the answer was yes. Still, I nodded my head, my entire body shaking. It was my expectation that she would have an explanation in response to the dream. Instead, she sat next to me, wrapping me in an embrace. Her soft, warm hands rubbed my back soothingly. "It's going to be alright. God is trying to see if we'll listen to Him, He won't destroy the town."

In response to this, dad shook his head. "What we saw clearly wasn't the Lord. God is trying to test our faith by seeing if we will listen to a false deity. We have to stay here and pray that God will protect us, not some demon trying to deceive us."

Mom glared at him, eyebrows furrowing into her skull. "Do not insult God like that, David. What we saw is our Lord, whether or not you like it."

"Are you hearing yourself? God has not revealed himself to anyone. Why would he start with a town like ours? There is no way that was Him!"

She stood up, raising her hand like she was going to hit him before calming down. "Not here. Not in front of her." Although he was still frustrated with her, he complied, crouching to my level.

"Your mommy and I will talk about what we'll need to do. Just have fun at school today. Don't worry, okay?" Despite how he wanted to appear, I could tell he wasn't convinced by his own words. Their argument continued in their bedroom, where the sound of the voices passed by the thin walls.

At school, the dream was all anyone talked about. Every kid had a different explanation for what it might mean, if it was true or if they were going to leave St. Louis. Some claimed that this was just a coincidence, and others claimed it was brought about by mass hysteria. One girl even suggested the government was testing some kind of weapon that caused people to hallucinate, but that theory was quickly dismissed.

As the teacher failed to get the overlapping voices to quiet down, I turned to a boy who never spoke. "S-so, what do you think? About the dream, I mean. My dad thinks the thing is fake, a way for God to measure our loyalty, while my mom thinks it is God and that he won't actually destroy the city, but is just trying to test our trust."

He didn't even bother looking at me, dull eyes looking aimlessly into the distance. "Why haven't you considered the possibility that it will destroy us?"

The question left me stumped for a moment. "Of course, he won't. He's righteous and just. He wouldn't potentially hurt innocent people just to punish others." I turned to him with wide eyes. But his expression remained blank. "God is fair."

His next words didn't just shock me. They frightened me to my core. "And if he isn't?" My heart stopped, as did the world around me. The question felt wrong, like I would be smitten for even thinking it. What if God wasn't fair? Of course he was, I assured myself. The stories told were all about how he protected those who followed the path of righteousness. Surely he wouldn't lay ruin to a town just because not everyone was a believer. If that were the case, there would be far worst places that were destroyed before St. Louis. It made no sense.

The rest of the day passed by in a flash. The only thing I could think about was the question. Mom always told me "what if" questions were stupid, but I couldn't help asking them. When I got back home, the sound of my parents arguing remained. I tried to pass by their room unnoticed, but their heads snapped toward me like predators seeking prey.

Mom got up, immediately clutching my arm with enough force that I could feel my bones crack. "We are leaving." She demanded, dragging me downstairs. My dad quickly caught up with her and grabbed me by my other hand, pulling me away from her. Like two kids fighting for a toy, they tugged me in opposite directions. Any second now, I thought I would split in two and cotton would spill from inside me.

"You are NOT taking our daughter out of town all because of a dream!" He protested, his voice rising in pitch as the tension increased.

"If you want to betray the Lord, that is your decision, but you can't force it on her!"

Their faces were inches apart, glaring daggers at each other. That's when, suddenly, mom grabbed the vase on the table near her and smashed it over my dad's head. He screamed in pain and grabbed his head, blood streaming down. He let go of my hand, stumbling backward into a chair, and sending it crashing onto the floor.

Using this opportunity, mom continued to drag me toward the car. "Get in, now." She demanded, taking a glance at my dad shambling towards us. As soon as we got to the car, she pushed me into the seat, slamming the door behind me. Before dad could ever reach our vehicle, my mother peeled out of the driveway, tires squealing.

I never knew silence could be this deafening. I looked back at the house and the shape of my dad on his knees in the distance. "M-mom..." The word caught in my throat. "Why are you doing this?"

"To save you." She answered, her eyes fixated on the road ahead of her, lips pressed together in an angry thin line. The road through the town was surprisingly empty. I thought that there would be at least a couple of cars attempting to escape, but it seemed like it was just us. After an hour, the sign that read: "Welcome to St. Louis!" appeared. She didn't so much as blink as she passed by it.

I looked at the time on the digital clock above the radio. It was dusk. I tensed, expecting for the town to suddenly combust or cease to exist. Clenching my eyes shut, I awaited the explosion that never came.

After a few moments, I opened my eyes, realizing that nothing had happened. Turning around, I found it was just clear skies and the bright sun hovering over our town. With a sigh, I turned back around. But then I saw it; the sun. It wasn't over the town like I first thought, but instead on the distant horizon, barely visible.

If that were the case, what was the light looming over St. Louis? Looking back at the town, I realized that the light over it wasn't actually the sun. It looked long, like a tear in the sky was being opened and rays of sunlight were pouring out of it. "Mom?" My voice was barely audible as the fear consumed my body.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine." Mom said. She had a reassuring tone of voice. "This is God's will. Trust him and everything will turn out okay."

"Mom, what is going on?" I ushered her for an answer, but she wouldn't say anything else. She just kept looking straight ahead. The line of light expanded, the wound opening up enough to match the circumference of the town. "Mom!" Before my voice got out, a massive pillar of light burst from the sky like a volcano erupted. It hit the earth with such ferocity that our car was propelled forward at least fifty meters. A horrendous screech came from the blast, the blinding light causing my mom to nearly drive the car off the road. But then everything was quiet once more. The vehicle had stopped shaking, and the light faded into darkness.

I would have noticed the fact the car stopped if it weren't for the sound of my heart pounding against my ribcage. Turning to face my mother, I was horrified at her expression. Her eyes were glued to the rearview mirror. Immediately, I got out of the car to see the aftermath of the pillar of light.

When I looked at where the town was, a crater of fire had been left in its place. The buildings were unrecognizable, melted by the heat of the blast. There wasn't even any ash remaining. I could only look on in horror as the wreckage turned into a distant, smouldering pit.

"Mom?" I finally broke the silence. "Why... What happened?" I asked, dreading the answer.

That was when my mother spoke. "Divine retribution. God warned them, and they did not listen."

"That wasn't God," I whispered, slowly getting into the car, unable to stand the sight any longer. Suddenly, my mom slapped me across the face.

"Shut up! Don't blaspheme!" She yelled at me. "God is going to take care of us. You just keep believing in him, and everything will be okay." My hand hovered over where she hit me, tears forming in my eyes.

"D-did dad deserve to die? Is he going to hell?" I continued to question, sobs occasionally interrupting me.

"That's for God to know. All we have to do is follow his word, and everything will work out." She insisted again. I could do nothing but hope she was right. Before this all happened, I would have probably prayed for our safety, but now, I wasn't sure what I've been praying to.

We drove the rest of the night, leaving the destroyed town behind. We stopped only to get gas and food, which we ate in silence. Mom took the idea of starting a new life unnervingly fine; within a few days, we rented out an apartment room to live in. But I couldn't sleep. My mind was too troubled with thoughts of Dad's death and the destruction that "God" has wrought upon our town.

A few days after the destruction of the town, two men in black suits visited us. After the police investigated the crater that resided where St. Louis once stood, they found out that there were a few survivors; us. They began interrogating us, asking what happened, or why we left the town before the destruction came. Mom only answered with the vaguest answers, acting like she hadn't seen what happened. I wanted nothing more than to tell them about the dreams and the pillar of light that appeared in the sky, but I feared for how she would react.

I could tell they were suspicious, but there was no possible link between us and the crater. After all, what could we have done that could cause such devastation? After concluding the interview, the men left us. Overhearing their conversations, I could hear a part of it; “It’s just like all the other cases.” That confirmed that our town wasn’t the only one being targeted. Not that it helped me at all. In fact, all it did was make me ten times more anxious. I could take solace in the fact we weren't the only ones going through it, but the fact it has been doing this to other towns shook me to my core. How long until its next targets were cities?

I thought that this was the point that my life would return to normal, that I would begin attending school once more. As my eyes shut, I felt the tiniest bit of hope rising within me. Things would become better.

But, of course, this God couldn't even give me that much. Instead of waking up to the blinding rays of the sun, I was met with total darkness. It didn't take me long to realize I was back where the dream took place and, as expected, the creature claiming to be God waited for me.

"Out of the hundreds of residents in St. Louis, you two are among the few survivors. You have listened to my orders, and salvation has been granted. However, it has come to my attention that you, Mary, have lost faith in me. Worst yet, you think of me a liar. This is sacrilege of the highest order."

My stomach churned, nausea building up in my throat. I wasn't able to say a word, but even if I was, I wouldn't. After all, it spoke the truth. "Abigail, I will leave you one last test to overcome. Think of this in the same way Abraham had to kill his son; end your daughter's impiety and her life with it. It's time to prove whether you are worthy to follow God."

The monster, who claimed to be God, then left. As soon as I awoke, I knew I was in danger. The sound of my mom skittering outside the room was proof enough. Immediately, I got to pushing the bed in front of the door and locking it behind me. With no windows or means to escape, I began writing this. I guess it's my final testimony. As I'm typing this out, my mom is currently slamming on my door. Her voice started out low, but the more she rages, the louder it became.

She's telling me that the less I struggle, the more willing God will forgive me. But I refuse to go down without a fight. Even if I have no way of escaping, it won't stop me from telling others about this impostor. I'm not sure what its plans are, or how many more it intends to target; all I know is that it isn't God. It is a product of pure evil, not any different from Satan.

May God have mercy upon us all.