Zen's War: Captivity
Chapter 16: The Exorcism

On the morning after the Sabbath, Sahara was unexpectedly awoken. It took her a moment to wake up enough to realize what was happening. Two cloaked figures picked her up one carrying her by her arms, and the other by her legs. At first she struggled to resist, but realized it was pointless. Bridget who was sleeping did not respond at all, instead she snored peacefully.

Sahara did not know where she was being taken to, or for what purpose. If yesterday was any example of upcoming events, then she was not anxious to discover what awaited her. They quickly carried her out the open door and down the hall. At the end of the hallway they came to another door. One of the men held her across his shoulder, while the other unlocked and opened the door.

The interior of the room looked very similar to that of the other room. It had the same brass candle holder across from the door, with a lit candle in it. The walls and floor were made of logs, the same as the other room. The only difference between the two rooms was that instead of a futon on the floor, there was an actual bed. It wasn’t just a mattress on the floor, but an actual bed with a frame. The frame of the bed was carved from Pinewood. The head of the bed had the now familiar cross within a Star of David carved into it.

The larger of the two men held her down, as the other bound first her wrists to the bedposts at the head of the bed and then her ankles to those at the foot of the bed. The ties were rough hemp ropes that irritated her skin. She didn’t remember a man tying her ankles, but the other man she did recognize. He was always one step behind Joshua. If she remembered right, his name was Peter. He was always there to keep the brides in line.

“What are you going to do to me?” Sahara asked, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her body coursed with adrenaline, due to the overwhelming fear she felt. The two men did not answer. They simply stood there stoically, having no reaction whatsoever.

Before her mind had time to form another thought Joshua suddenly burst through the door. He had the same fanatical look as he did during the sacrifice the day before. His eyes sparkled with the same intensity. He wore a white poncho like sheet of cloth with a hole big enough for his head to fit through. On the chest portion of this cloth, was that ubiquitous symbol, Sahara had seen carved into the bedpost. Both the Star of David and the cross had been sewn on with a golden colored thread. It was extremely unlikely that they were derived from actual gold, gold being an extremely hard to come by commodity. In his left hand he held his rosary, tight within his grasp. In his right hand he held a leather bound copy of the King James version of the Bible. He walked over to the bed, raised the crucifix on his rosary near Sahara’s forehead, then made the sign of the cross with it.

“Demon or whatever evil spirit inhabits this child of God, identify yourself!” Joshua commanded.

“What are you talking about, I don’t have any demons?” Sahara said, stuttering with fear. Her eyes were rimmed with red from crying.

“You’re a liar and a deceiver,” he said in return.

“I’m not a liar.”

Joshua threw his rosary onto the bed, and reached into an inner pocket of his robe and pulled out a small vial of holy water. He unscrewed the cap then splashed water into Sahara’s face.

“What was that for?”

He did not explain himself, he instead began to spout scripture:

“I command you, unclean spirit, whoever you are, along with all your minions now attacking this servant of God, by the mysteries of the incarnation, passion, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the descent of the Holy Spirit, by the coming of our Lord for judgment, that you tell me by some sign your name, and the day and hour of your departure. I command you, moreover, to obey me to the letter, I who am a minister of God despite my unworthiness; nor shall you be emboldened to harm in any way this creature of God, or the bystanders, or any of their possessions,” he continued, screaming.

The two other men stood idly to the left and right of the bed. It was unclear, what if any purpose they served. Sahara writhed and thrashed from side to side, trying in earnest to free herself, but in the end being unsuccessful.

“Stay still, you evil spawn of hell. Do not incite my wrath. You have unleashed only a fraction of my heavenly power. Your master the devil has already tasted the judgment of the father, now so shall you.”

“You’re insane. I don’t believe any of what you’re saying. All of this is an act. You’re just trying to make me think I’m possessed by a demon. You’re a liar. Demons aren’t even real, their make-believe like elves and leprechauns.”

He did not respond to what she said, but continued as if she’d said nothing. She looked to the men to the left and right of the bed with a desperate look. They seemed to have no compunction about what was going on.

“Won’t either of you help me?” she said frantically. “How can you listen to these lies and believe them,” she continued, as her eyes again began to well up with tears.

Her tears however did not evoke any sympathy; they were of course tricks employed by the demon. Instead of sympathy these tears instead evoked more words of Scripture. “Why do you still linger here? Give honor to God the Father almighty, before whom every knee must bow. Give place to the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His most precious blood for man. Give place to the Holy Spirit, who by His blessed apostle Peter openly struck you down in the person of Simon Magus; who cursed your lies in Annas and Saphira; who smote you in King Herod because he had not given honor to God; who by His apostle Paul afflicted you with the night of blindness in the magician Elyma, and by the mouth of the same apostle bade you to go out of Pythonissa, the soothsayer. Begone, now! Begone, seducer! Your place is in solitude; your abode is in the nest of serpents; get down and crawl with them. This matter brooks no delay; for see, the Lord, the ruler comes quickly, kindling fire before Him, and it will run on ahead of Him and encompass His enemies in flames. You might delude man, but God you cannot mock. It is He who casts you out, from whose sight nothing is hidden. It is He who repels you, to whose might all things are subject. It is He who expels you, He who has prepared everlasting hellfire for you and your angels, from whose mouth shall come a sharp sword, who is here to judge both the living and the dead and the world by fire.” “My dad taught me about men like you. They pretend they’re all religious to control people. They claim they are working for a higher purpose, but in reality they’re really only in it for themselves,” Sahara said smugly.

“Stay silent you spawn of Satan. I’ll banish you back to hell,” he said, continuing his exorcism.

“There is no hell. But, if there was, you’d be the first to go there,” she said then spat in his face.

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