Chapter 28: The Last Church in San Antonio

When the charter plane from Indianapolis arrived, Kay thought she knew what to expect. Three homesick priestesses and a spoiled goddess named Corrine. There were also some samples of a new steamless method of transformation.

What surprised her, though, was the hundreds of boxes containing transformation serum. It filled the cargo hold and most of the passenger compartment, leaving just two rows of seats open for passengers.

A note from Alice was attached to a box at the front.

Dear Kay,

This is about half of what we've produced so far. I think Moore Genetics can switch over to just producing test strips, like we discussed earlier. We can handle the serum production, for now. Call me if you don't agree.

Alice

Kay nodded. The boxes of serum were much needed. The Moore facility had not been keeping up with demand. Over a thousand women were waiting to be transformed, and the waiting list was getting longer every day. This care package would easily get them caught up, and then some.

Since the turning of the media, the Shiny Ladies of San Antonio had been moving on government offices and businesses.

They quickly moved in on all police precincts, then their headquarters. Next was the City Council, though most of them were already believers. Finally, the county, state, and federal judges were targeted and turned, as easily as all the others.

At the same time all types of businesses were brought under the goddesses' sway. From small machine shops to large corporations. From law firms to dentist offices. Medical centers to veterinary clinics.

Whenever an elementary school had parent-teacher conferences, the goddesses were there. Bars and clubs were also frequented by them, as well as the normal clientele. Concerts, movies, and all sport events were also regularly attended by the Shiny Ladies; converting all the attendees.

Within two weeks, the only public venue that had not become a domain for Kay and her sisters was the churches, synagogues, and mosques of San Antonio.

There were only a few mosques and synagogues, that were handled quickly and painlessly, but there were hundreds of churches, of all denominations.

Kay decided to tackle the problem by dividing the process into three steps. The first Sunday, they'd tackle the small churches, with a congregation of less than one hundred. The next week were the larger churches. And finally, the last Sunday, they'd take on the five really large mega-churches.

The first week went easier than expected. Most of the small churches were empty. All the members had been converted, or the few left had fled to the bigger churches for support.

The middle-sized churches' membership had been decimated as well. The number of immunes there were double the expected amount. Some people had already seen the goddess in public, but in a crowd. They had not been detected as immune.

There were five really huge churches in the San Antonio area. The monster of them all was Grace Central Christian Church.

Until a few weeks ago, it had been averaging over thirty thousand worshipers a week. On this Sunday, just a few weeks from Christmas, the total attendance was one hundred and fourteen.

The Ladies did not know this at first, of course.

The sign out front said the sermon was to be on the Shiny Ladies, with the scripture Revelations 17:1-2 underneath.

The group that took on the last church consisted of ten goddesses and fifty priests. Kay and Lisa lead their respective teams.

They entered the building ten minutes after the church's starting time. The foyer was empty, and there was no sound of music playing like they expected.

Roger, a former Marine, in his mid-forties, now a priest, took a quick look into the sanctuary. He opened the door just a crack.

"You won't believe it," said Roger, shaking his head.

"Try me," said Kay.

"In that massive, ten thousand seat auditorium, there are about one hundred people. It's kind of pathetic."

"Where are they located?"

"They are all front and center, right under the pulpit. It's like they're huddling together for protection."

"Very good. You and Lisa work out the strategy."

"It's going to be tricky. There's no way they won't see us coming, in that massive room."

"Then, let them see. Just make sure no one gets away."

"Very good, ma'am."

It took about twenty priests to cover all the possible exits. They posted an additional priest by each exit. The remaining priests searched the rest of the building, to make sure no one else was present.

A middle-aged woman in the congregation was standing and talking as the priests moved in. "... I don't know what the big deal is. They are just naked women. I saw them outside the Star Building, and they were nothing..."

Her voice faded as she saw Lisa and Roger walk down behind the pastor, through the empty choir loft. Both advanced with guns drawn.

Suddenly, through every door, came more bright green clad people; all armed.

Some people started to panic. Roger stepped forward to address the small audience. Lisa covered him from behind.

"Just be calm, people. Stay in your seats. No one will be hurt."

The preacher, Dr. Amos Edgington, held up his hands. "Have faith people. Have faith. God will protect us."

The congregation sat back down. Some started praying.

Roger waved to Kay, and all ten of the goddesses walked down to the front. One group of five down each aisle that bordered the section that contained the small group.

The Rev. Edgington did not seem to notice that the majority of his flock was mesmerized by the goddesses.

"You see!" he cried. "Put faith in God, and he will deliver you..."

Lisa shot the pastor in the back of his head, with her nine millimeter pistol. It made a large red dot at the base of his skull. He slumped over the pulpit, dead.

The echo from the shot seemed to last forever in the large hall.

The seven immunes in the congregation, including the lady who had been speaking, panicked, with several screaming hysterically.

They were soon calmed down, though. A gun in the face tends to do that. Especially if they don't know that the guns only shot tranquilizer darts.

The rest of the audience did not seem to notice. Their attention was fixed on the goddesses.

The priests escorted the immunes out of their pews, and over to the side of the auditorium.

Kay called to the escorts. "Bring them up front. They need to get a good look."

She turned to her new converts. "My friends, now is a time for rejoicing. You no longer have to rely on faith. We are not some God that's out there somewhere, maybe. We are flesh and blood, that you can see and feel.