Zen's War: Captivity
Chapter 2: Via Dolorosa

“I can’t walk any further, I’m too tired,” Sahara said with exhaustion in her voice. She had been forced to walk a good part of the day with no food or water. Early that morning she got up from her sleeping place to use the bathroom. She had gone to find a semi secluded area, and decided to go on the other side of the small hill that her family’s encampment was situated near. When she had started to go pee, someone came up behind her and grabbed her from under her arms. Immediately the figure blindfolded her before she could see who it was.

Her eyes were covered by a blindfold, and her hands were bound behind her back. Her hair was a tangled auburn mass on her head. She wore a white sleeveless T-shirt and a pair of blue gym shorts. Her mouth was dry, and she felt dizzy. Her feet were bleeding and sore from walking on the desert sand and rocks. She had no idea where she was being led to, or by whom. Suddenly, she became lightheaded then lost her footing and fell to her knees. Her knees stung from the heat of the ground. One of her captors turned around, kneeled down to the ground, grabbed her forcefully by her arm and pulled her to a standing position. Her knees were almost numb from the force of impact. In the fall, she had lost her blindfold.

At first, she could not see due to the brightness of the sun. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the light. Standing around her she saw six men who must’ve been in their twenties. All six men wore white robes, which were badly torn and covered in dirt. On the back of their robes, each of the men had stitched a black leather cross. Each of the men wore black sashes around their waists that looked to be made of hemp. From the hip of each of the men hung a large knife, about the same size and shape of a machete, their handles carved in the shape of a cross.

The one who seemed to be the leader named Joshua turned to her and said with anger in his voice, “If you fall again we will be forced to leave you behind.”

Sahara felt that she wanted to cry, but she was out of tears. At first she had been terrified, now she was too tired, thirsty and hungry to care. Although she tried to resist her abduction, it was of little use. Her captors were too strong for her to put up much of a fight.

The leader of the group was a very intense looking man. He had no expression on his face and he did not seem to blink at all. Across his forehead was a tattoo of a crown of thorns that extended the circumference of his bald head. He was the only one of the six men who had this tattoo. The skin of all seven men had a slightly yellowish tinge, which was probably due to the effects of radiation. He had very intense blue eyes, enhanced due to the sunlight reflecting off of them. He was handsome, but there was something unsettling about how he looked at her. She had never been separated from her family, and she was terrified. Her greatest fear was what these men intended to do with her.

“Why are you doing this to me?” She said with tears in her eyes.

Joshua turned to face her. “Why are we doing this is? We are doing this to save you and the other heathens from an eternity of suffering. Up until now you and the other heathens have served no purpose. You and the other heathens move from place to place with no hope or destination. This is the time of the great tribulation. All of the satanic power of the earth must be destroyed, before God’s kingdom on earth can be realized.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Don’t worry, in time you will,” Joshua responded.

“What gives you the right to take me from my family? My mom and dad are probably going crazy looking for me.”

“I know God’s will. You are part of a preordained plan, and your salvation is close at hand.”

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