Zen's War: Captivity
Chapter 22: The Days of Awe

Sahara awoke in a fog. Her mind was numb from the shock of her situation. Every night she would go to sleep, hoping that when she woke, she would awaken from her nightmare. Unfortunately her nightmare wasn’t a dream, but a reality. She hoped that one day she would wake up on the day that she had been captured. If she had only screamed louder, or asked one of her brothers to watch her as her mother requested. This was one time she knew she should have taken her mother’s advice.

Bridget slept peacefully on the futon beside her, her blonde hair disheveled. Her experience was quite different than Sahara’s. To her this existence was paradise. She had been saved, whereas Sahara had been condemned. Maybe her life had been a chaotic mess before Joshua had found her, but Sahara had been relatively happy. Her life wasn’t easy, but at least she had been relatively well taken care of.

The sun began to peak through the window, bathing the room in light. Bridget began to wake, roused by the light. Slowly her eyes opened revealing her blue colored irises.

“What are you doing awake already?” Bridget asked with a yawn.

“I couldn’t sleep. I was having nightmares about the exorcism yesterday,” Sahara answered.

“Don’t be afraid; better days are coming. This is the beginning of the Days of Awe. Tonight at sundown the Feast of Trumpets begins. It starts the ten day period that will lead to The Day of Atonement.”

“What does all that mean?” Sahara asked with a look of confusion.

“After the ten day period your fate will be decided,” Bridget answered, as if it was common knowledge.

“What fate?”

“The fate of your soul.”

“I don’t get it.”

“What don’t you get? Isn’t it obvious? Whether or not you will be forgiven for your sins.”

“What sins?”

“The sins you have committed in the past year.”

“I haven’t committed any sins,” Sahara responded, obviously offended.

“We all have. We all have to be judged. No one is innocent of sin. After the ten day period God will decide in which of the two books your name will be written.”

Sahara looked at her with a perplexed stare then asked, “What two books are you talking about?”

“All you do is ask questions. Don’t you know anything?” She asked, annoyed by her ignorance of the subject.

“Are you going to tell me or not?”

“Alright, alright, there is the Book of the Wholly Wicked and the Book of Righteousness. During the Days of Awe you will be able to repent for your sins through prayer and fasting. If your name is written in the Book of the Wholly Wicked your soul will be condemned to burn for eternity in the lake of fire. If your name is written in the Book of Righteousness then your sins will have been forgiven. You’ll then be able to enter the gates of heaven on judgment day.”

“Does this mean that more animals have to be sacrificed? I don’t know if I can handle seeing more innocent animals killed. It’s just so sad,” Sahara responded, paying little attention to Bridget’s explanation.

Before Bridget was able to respond, the now familiar voice sounded from the other side of the door. “Get up, it’s time to go. Joshua’s morning sermon is about to begin,” the disciple commanded.

They got up and dressed rapidly, in an effort to avoid punishment. Fear more than anything was what motivated Sahara. The night before she had considered how she would make an escape; but now the desire seemed to dissipate. For some reason the reality of her situation came into focus, and the thought of escape appeared further out of reach. If she did run, then where would she go? She would probably die of dehydration before reaching any water source. If dehydration or heat stroke did not kill her first, she would probably be captured and possibly sold into slavery or suffer a worse fate still.

The sound of the skeleton key being inserted into the key hole could be heard. The door of the room swung open. Standing in the doorway was the large disciple―whose name Sahara still did not know―that had been assigned to watch over Sahara and Bridget. His eyes had dark rings around them, revealing fatigue. His beard was long and black, with patches of gray. Over his shoulder he carried two white robes, which appeared to be made of linen. Linen had become an extremely scarce fabric, due to a lack of water to grow crops of any kind. Linen was made from the flax plant. How had they managed to grow flax?

“Change into these quickly. With every moment your fate is coming closer to being sealed,” he instructed them sternly.

They both untied the front of their dresses and quickly removed them. The disciple stood there watching their naked bodies from behind his brown eyes. He had no expression on his face as he watched them closely. Sahara didn’t feel like arguing so she said nothing, though she felt extremely uncomfortable. Sahara noticed Bridget’s bulbous stomach, swollen large with pregnancy. She looked trying not to stare, but found it incredibly difficult. Was that what she was going to look like? The thought of it made her skin crawl.

When they were dressed in their white linen robes, they followed the unnamed disciple through the doorway. As they walked down the hallway to the stairs Sahara asked, “What’s the sermon going to be about today?”

“The sermon today is all about sin, and what we need to do in order for our sins to be forgiven, so that our names can be written in the Book of Righteousness,” the disciple answered.

“By the way, what’s your name anyway?” Sahara inquired.

“My name is Bartholomew, but that’s not important,” he answered sullenly.

Again they walked down the hall that led to the sanctuary, where Joshua delivered his sermons. Sahara noticed as they entered the sanctuary that the eleven other apostles stood around the perimeter of the room. Bartholomew immediately took his place beside them. Sahara followed Bridget to where they normally sat, on the floor next to the ten other breeding vessels. When they sat down Sahara noticed that the other wives of Joshua. She noticed that they were wearing the same white linen robe that she and Bridget wore.

In marched Joshua through the door behind his pulpit, which was made of the same pine wood as the rest of the Temple. There he stood in all his glory, the self-proclaimed son of God. As always he had the same intense gleam in his brilliantly blue eyes. He wore a white linen tunic that extended to his knees and white linen pants beneath it. Tied around his waist was a multicolored sash, wound from three strands, that were purple, violet and crimson. Around his neck hung a gold chain, with the symbol of the cross within a Star of David. Around the circumference of Joshua’s bald head was his ever present tattoo of a crown of thorns.

“We are all born into sin. We must all seek redemption. The first cause of sin was when Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, after being beguiled by the serpent. Ever since, humanity has been condemned to suffer for this single indiscretion. Besides this original sin humanity was blessed with free will. Free will gives humanity the ability to choose whether or not to commit sins. Although humanity has always had this ability, the majority has always chosen to sin. Humans are slaves to their desires and the promises of pleasure these desires bring. Satan and his demonic army’s influence have contributed greatly to our decisions to commit these sinful acts. This evening will begin The Days of Awe. The feast of Trumpets is the first of The Days of Awe. During these ten days each of you will have a chance to atone for your sins. Do not doubt that you will be judged. The fate of your soul is in jeopardy. You must choose which side you are on; the side of light or the side of darkness; the side of heaven or the side of hell. In which book will your name be written, the Book of The Wholly Wicked, or the Book of Righteousness? Through prayer, fasting, and animal sacrifice you will seek redemption for your sins. By the eve of Day of Atonement your fate will be sealed.”

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