Revival

Blustery winds buffeted the canvas walls of the little tent causing them to make a cracking sound so loud it woke Aaron and Jane from a deep sleep. While the two were resting the cold weather had coaxed the companions into unconsciously cuddling to stay warm. Now they were awake, both scurried to the opposite sides of the tent, each looking a little embarrassed. Aaron was the first to leave the tent to empty his bladder and start a fire. Jane, still looking a little uncomfortable from her close encounter, left the camp for a short time but returned a little later with some wood for the campfire.

“Jane, I’m planning on heading toward that mountain. It looks as though there is what’s left of a road leading that way. Do you know anything about it?”

Fear shoved aside her timidness and she clutched Aaron with both hands.

“You mustn’t go there. Only bad people live on that mountain. It’s where the Four Disciples rule over everyone. They are the ones who burned the brand into my back. All newcomers are killed as a sacrifice to the Dark Lord.”

“How many people live on the mountain and why would they let anyone do such a heinous thing to another person? Who are these so-called four disciples? I’ve never heard of them.”

Jane’s demeanor visibly shifted from a person becoming comfortable with her new situation to someone expecting past horrors to be revisited on her.

“I mustn’t speak their names to strangers or I’d suffer the lash. They are His representatives in this world. He placed The Disciples in charge of the planet after the great cataclysm.”

“If you’re afraid to speak their names, can you tell me how they’re dressed?”

She looked puzzled, as if working through a complex math problem, but eventually reached a conclusion.

“I suppose describing their clothes is allowed. One Disciple wears a long black robe with multiple buttons down the front and a red sash around his waist. I think I heard someone call it a cassock. The next Disciple also wears a long robe but different from the cassock. He also wears a beany kind of hat. The third man always wears a scarf on his head that’s held in place with a piece of black rope and the last Disciple wears a black suit with a white shirt and a black tie.”

“What you’re describing are clergymen from the Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Protestant religions. These are the men that are responsible for your branding and all the other atrocities that you say have happened to the people on the mountain? Why do the villagers put up with it?”

“They control the special medicine that keeps the pain away. It comes directly from Him. Those that don’t co-operate lose their ration.”

“So, this is how humanity will finally meet its end. The great global shift wasn’t catastrophic enough, those of us that have survived need to use religion and drugs to finish the job. You’re right, Jane, we don’t need to go that way. Let’s pack up and head in the other direction.”

Who’s your new friend, Jane?”

Startled, Jane and Aaron spun in the direction of the voice as five men stepped into the clearing.

“Disciple Peter will be pleased to see you again, Jane. You are our guest of honor at tomorrow night's Angra Mainyu Festival and the party wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“No, no, I won’t go back! You can’t make me! I don’t believe in your evil crap!”

The man in charge reached back and sent a backhand toward her face but it never reached its target. Aaron blocked the blow with lightning speed and produced a Bowie knife that he pressed against the man’s neck, stopping short of piercing the skin. As the other four moved in, Aaron spun with his captive to face them.

“One more move and I cut his throat. You heard the lady; she doesn’t want to go. Jane, my crossbow is already cocked and loaded. Shoot the last one to leave. I’ll hang on to this clown until they’re gone. If everyone leaves now, I may let him live.”

There was a scramble to see which one of the four could leave first, but they quickly disappeared into the woods. When Aaron was sure they were gone he released his captive and gave him a message to deliver to the Disciples.

“Leave us alone and we all live. Come after us and you all will die.”

Now Jane had many questions for Aaron.