I Read, I Write

This is the last and best of cliff Ball's End Times books. Here is a quote from the book: 

"

Administrator Davis reported to his local Universal Congregation building shortly before he went home for the evening to do his fourth and final worship of the Patriarch for that week. As he was worshipping, he heard a woman scream and other people start wailing and crying out as if they were in some kind of horrible pain. The person next to Wayne collapsed and he watched in horror as worshippers began being covered in painful looking sores, blisters, and boils. What’s going on? Maybe I should get out of here before that happens to me. He thought to himself, as he started standing up so he could leave. Before Wayne walked a step, pain like he never felt before shot through his entire body and he was instantly covered with various skin diseases and sores. He collapsed to the ground, curled up in a fetal position, and then passed out.

When he woke up, Wayne found himself staring up at the ceiling lights in the hospital, but he felt very numb, like he was being pumped full of drugs. He looked around, but saw no one, so he called for the nurse using the call button next to his bed. The nurse, who looked awful because of the sores all over her body, and was obviously in pain, came to him, and asked, “What can I help you with, Administrator?”

Slurring his speech because of the numbness that apparently affected his tongue too, he asked, “What happened?”

“We’re not entirely sure, sir. All we know is that most everyone in the global community have painful sores riddling their bodies. Pain medication works to a degree to soften the pain from these sores, but we don’t know how to get the sores to stop being so painful or to disappear,”

“Oh. How long was I out?”

“You were brought in here by one of your security guards about six hours ago, but I’m not sure how long you were passed out before that,”

“Has the Patriarch said anything about our affliction?”

“Sorry, I haven’t exactly been paying attention to the news, we’ve been busy with this latest emergency,”

“Okay, that’s all right. How long before I can go home?”

“Whenever the meds wear off, probably in the next two hours or so. We’re currently in crisis mode, so we need all the beds and meds we can spare. Sorry,”

“Don’t I get anything to lessen the pain?”

“Sure, as much aspirin as you can stand to take without overdosing. Look, Administrator, as much as you’d prefer it that I stay here and talk to you, I do have a job to do. The case manager will probably be in here in the next hour, she’ll have you sign your release papers, and then you’d get to go home. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there are other patients who need my help.” She walked out of the room to attend to the next patient."