Shawn was now alone in the room.
Elena had left a while ago, but not before giving him one clear order:
Rest!
An order Shawn was more than happy to follow.
'This is perfect!' he thought, a grin spreading across his face. 'I don't have to do any work!'
Without a second thought, Shawn dove straight onto the bed.
Fwump!
The mattress was decently comfortable, though noticeably harder than the one in his apartment.
Shawn closed his eyes, expecting to be out cold in seconds.
But nothing happened.
He frowned and rolled onto his side.
He waited.
Nothing.
'What…?' he thought, confused.
Shawn flipped facedown, burying his face in the pillow.
Waited again.
Still nothing.
'Why can't I fall asleep?' he thought, frustration creeping in.
Shawn had developed a talent that many insomniacs would kill for: the second he touched a bed, he was gone.
Didn't matter if there was noise, light, or if he was uncomfortable.
He always crashed instantly!
But now…
'I can't sleep!' he thought, irritation growing.
And worse, his body felt restless.
Extremely restless.
It was as if something inside him was screaming that he needed to move.
Shawn got up from the bed, bored out of his mind.
"This is ridiculous…" he muttered under his breath.
A little embarrassed, he started doing small hops in place.
Then some stretches—arms up over his head, bending side to side.
'Why does this body have so much damn energy?' he thought, confusion washing over him.
After a few minutes, Shawn walked to the window and leaned out.
From there he could see the cobblestone street below, people walking back and forth.
Children running around, playing tag, laughing their heads off.
Birds soaring in the sky, gliding with wings spread wide.
Shawn stared, a strange calm settling over him.
'This is… kinda relaxing,' he thought, resting his elbows on the windowsill.
Watching the kids run, watching the birds fly…
For some reason, it made a huge, goofy smile spread across his face.
'Why do I feel like this?' he thought, frowning.
But before he could dwell on it, a scream of pain echoed from the floor below.
"Aaahhh!"
Shawn jumped back, startled.
'What was that?' he thought, heart racing. 'An attack?'
Then another voice.
"Quiet!" someone barked in a deep voice.
Shawn froze, listening carefully.
More screams and pained groans continued from downstairs, though muffled now.
'What the hell is going on down there?' he thought, curiosity taking over.
Shawn started toward the door, thinking about sneaking down to snoop.
But then he remembered Elena's order.
'She told me to rest,' he thought, stopping. 'Besides, I'm still a total stranger in this world. It'd be weird to barge into a place I wasn't invited.'
Shawn sighed and went back to the window, trying to distract himself.
He looked up at the sky, searching for more birds.
None left.
He looked down at the kids playing.
And right then, one of them tripped.
Thud!
The kid hit the ground hard and burst into tears.
A wave of concern surged through Shawn.
Before he even realized it, one foot was already on the windowsill.
'What…?' he thought, staring at his own foot in shock.
He yanked it back and stumbled away from the window.
'Am I seriously not aware I'm on the second floor!?' he thought, panic rising. 'If I jumped from here I'd obviously get hurt!'
Shawn clutched his head, completely lost.
'Why did I do that?'
And then the pained screams started again from below.
"AAAHHH!"
This time they sounded more tortured, like someone was being actively hurt.
Shawn heard the sound of something being sawed.
Srrrrk! Srrrrk!
'What the actual fuck is that?' he thought, a shiver running down his spine. 'Are they cutting meat or something?'
The sound was sickening, almost unbearable.
Shawn clenched his teeth, discomfort flooding him.
"If I had that book, I could do something," he muttered aloud without thinking.
And then a small glow appeared in front of him.
Fwip!
Shawn jumped back, startled.
The glow faded, and floating in the air was the Bible that had brought him to this world.
Shawn blinked, staring wide-eyed at the book.
"What…?" he murmured, reaching out.
The book dropped gently into his hands.
Shawn held it carefully, surprised by its weight.
"Uh… hey, boss," he said quietly, clearing his throat.
Then he corrected himself fast.
"I mean… God."
The book flipped open on its own.
Fwip!
And text appeared on the pages.
[What troubles you, my child?]
A chill ran down Shawn's spine.
'This is a loaded question!' he thought, panic rising.
In his experience, whenever a superior asked something like that… it was because they were playing dumb right before dropping a massive scolding!
Beating the lecture to the punch, Shawn apologized out loud.
"God, I'm sorry for being so useless," he said nervously. "I don't know what to do right now. They locked me in this room against my will, so… I can't really do much to spread your word at the moment."
The text changed.
[Calm down, child. This is a slow process. I trust you will do well.]
Shawn felt a stab of guilt pierce him.
'Shit,' he thought, shame flooding in.
Just minutes ago he'd been doing everything possible to do absolutely nothing.
He'd even planned to sleep for hours just to skip the work.
'What a piece of trash I am,' he thought, teeth gritted.
Not wanting to look bad on his very first day with God, Shawn coughed and asked:
"Uh… could you give me any advice on what to do right now?"
The text changed again.
[You are not here to do it perfectly. You are here to learn. Make mistakes. Correct them. Try again. That is how a messenger is forged.]
Shawn stared at the words, a memory flashing through his mind.
His first boss had told him something similar: "Don't worry about doing it perfect. Just learn and get better."
But in the end, that same boss fired him for incompetence.
Shawn felt fear creeping in.
'What do God's firings look like?' he thought, panic growing. 'Doesn't that basically mean if I screw up He's sending me straight to hell!?'
The text changed once more.
[When you return to your world, you will receive the words that are missing. For now, act.]
Shawn's panic spiked even higher.
'Shit!' he thought, tears prickling his eyes. 'I'm doing so badly that God's already about to hand me a manual!'
But then another part caught his eye.
'Wait,' he thought, a spark of hope flickering. 'He said I'm going back to my world?'
That calmed him a little.
"How long am I going to be in this world?" Shawn asked aloud.
The text changed.
[The time you have left is already marked. On your body.]
Shawn frowned, confused.
He looked down at himself, searching for any mark.
And then he remembered the eight small black stripes on his right forearm.
Shawn raised his arm and examined them closely.
"You mean these marks?" he asked, pointing.
The text changed.
[Yes]
Relief washed over Shawn.
'So it's not a curse,' he thought, tension easing.
But then another scream came from downstairs.
"AAAHHH!"
This one was more agonizing than the others.
Shawn swallowed hard, fear returning.
"What other powers do I have besides miracles?" Shawn asked quickly. "Because… miracles take time to perform."
The text changed.
[Your body is blessed. Simple things such as healing people with your hands or walking on water are things you can do now without any difficulty.]
Shawn read carefully, excitement starting to build.
But then a doubt hit him.
"That's it?" he asked, frowning.
The text began to change again.
But before he could read it, another scream rang out from below.
"¡¡AAAHHH!!"
This one was louder than all the previous ones.
Shawn couldn't take it anymore.
Without thinking, he bolted for the door.
Bang!
He flung it open and raced down the stairs.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His feet pounded the steps, heart hammering.
When he reached the lower floor, he burst into a fairly large room.
And froze, mouth hanging open.
It was a medical ward, but it was absolute chaos.
Dozens of guards lay sprawled on the floor, armor removed.
All of them were injured, with bite marks on various parts of their bodies.
What shocked Shawn most was that the wounds left a spreading purple mark creeping across their skin.
'What…?' he thought, fear gripping him.
And then he saw something that left him paralyzed.
An old man was holding a bone saw.
And he appeared to be in the middle of sawing off a knight's arm.
Srrrrk! Srrrrk!
The sound of the saw cutting through flesh was unbearable.
Shawn didn't hesitate.
"STOP!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.