Up on that stage, he was their messiah.
“They will do anything he wants them to,” I whispered. I watched my twin step to the side of the stage, hundreds of eager eyes following his every movement.
“The Lord had, many weeks ago, revealed to us that we were to take on the devil’s men in a holy war. It was a task we have prepared for for weeks . . . ” He paused, then said, “But today I received a new message. An important one . . . one that will save all our souls without facing down the demons.”
My eyes narrowed as he dropped his head. When he raised it again, he motioned to the guards and elders. My stomach dropped when I saw them remove the tops of the barrels and open the sealed boxes.
“Can you see what is in them?” Stephen asked. I craned my neck to see.
“Syringes,” I said in confusion. I looked to Ruth and Stephen. “Why would they have syringes and wine?”
No one spoke. So we kept watching. We watched as the most dedicated women and men were gathered and sent to the carts. They began to fill the syringes with the deep red wine that was in the barrels. The men and women gathered the syringes in baskets and began handing them out to the adults sitting on the grass. The children watched on in curiosity, reaching for the syringes.
Judah watched with a proud smile on his face. But I didn’t like the look of that smile. Nothing about this was reassuring. I was so fucking lost.
“What’s so important about those damn syringes?” I hissed. Panic took hold of me as the guards and elders formed a barrier around the people. They made a fucking wall. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steel bars of the door.
Judah took the mic again. “The Lord singled each and every one of you—us—out. Only you, the truly blessed, chose the right path in this world filled with evil and sin. The Lord has seen how we have obeyed him these past few weeks, and he is proud.” Judah’s face took on a concerned expression. “But we have also battled the devil in the process. A mighty adversary. Some of our most faithful members were corrupted and pulled under Satan’s control. And the prophecy ensuring our salvation was thwarted by a demon in disguise . . . a person I trusted with my life.” My stomach fell; he was talking about me.
“But then God spoke to me again.” Judah smiled, and the people smiled back. “God, in all his infinite wisdom and benevolence, saw how devoted we were to his cause, to his name . . . so much so that we were willing to walk through the gates of hell and sacrifice our souls for his glory . . . so that we could proudly reside with him in heaven, content in the knowledge that we served him to the utmost in this life.”
Judah walked back to center stage. “People of The Order. The Lord called to me on this very day. He called to me as we prepared for battle. We believed that we were taking the fight to the devil’s door, but the truth is . . . they are coming for us. In fact, they are on their way.”
The crowd burst into a terror-filled frenzy. People jumped to their feet, trying to break through the wall of guards. But the guards pushed them back, hitting them with the butts of their guns to settle them down.Brother Michael and Brother James fired shot after shot into the air. The people dropped to the ground. I studied Judah. My skin crawled. Judah watched from the stage with a potent hunger in his eyes. He was relishing the chaos. In this moment, he was a lord over the innocent.
He glanced to the side and held out his hand. Sarai, his consort, walked onto the stage and took his outstretched hand. I could see that Judah loved her, in his own way. And she loved him, but it was a love that was anything but great. It was a love born of cruelty and obsession. An evil soul bound to an evil soul.
Sarai nodded her head as he whispered something into her ear. She kissed him on his lips, and gave him her most encouraging smile.
He faced the crowd again. The people were all completely silent now. All waiting for the next words from their prophet. “Today we shall beat the devil at his own game. We know that the devil challenges the faithful by luring their souls in this life, by tempting them with vices and greed . . . by threatening death. But we, the truly faithful, do not fear death. How could we, when we know what our pure souls will meet—paradise. God calls on us, His chosen people, to welcome death. He calls on us to thwart the devil’s plans.”
I sat, breath held, as he shared the rest of his “revelation”. “Satan sends his men for us now. They come to wreak havoc and spread nothing but sin and pain. So we are to confront Satan with the greatest rebellion of all.” The people watched Judah with wide, trusting eyes, as he announced, “We shall place our lives into His hands. We will submit to His will. People of The Order! When the devil’s men arrive, we shall no longer be here in spirit. They shall mourn the loss of our captured souls when they see our lifeless bodies lying prone on this sacred ground. But we will be rejoicing with our Lord in Zion! We shall overcome their wickedness. People, be joyous for this day, for we shall soon be dining at our Lord’s table!”
Most of the people erupted into the throes of manic happiness, holding their hands in the air and worshiping my brother and their Lord. Others sat motionless, terrified . . . trapped by the guards.
“No!” I shouted when I realized what was about to happen. I gripped the bars harder. “The syringes . . . they’re not wine . . . they’re poison . . . fuck! He’s going to kill them . . . he’s going to kill them all!”
“No,” Ruth cried beside me, shock coating the word.
“Judah!” I screamed, panic and disgust surging through me. But the music drowned me out.
“Those who are beside a child, you have been given two syringes—one is for you, the other is for them. Like the holy caretakers that we are, that we pride ourselves to be, we will send the innocent souls of the children to God first,” Judah smiled a kind, loving smile. “He will cherish them in His warmth until we arrive soon after.”
“Oh no!” Sister Ruth cried. “The children . . . he’s going to kill the children too.”
Sickness worked its way up my throat. I screamed and I screamed as I saw Judah signal to the crowd to proceed. The women and men who were sitting beside children turned to face them. Scalding tears filled my eyes as the young children looked at the adults with such trust . . . such fucking trust that they would let them do anything.
My hands bled as I pulled on the bars, my skin breaking apart. My shoulders screamed out in protest as I tried to wrench the door off its hinges, but it wouldn’t fucking move. I heard Solomon and Samson roaring in rage beside me, screaming at the elders to stop. Stephen was white-faced with horror. Ruth cried, slumping to her knees when no one heard our calls.