Blogtober 2021 Story Project
The streets of Jerusalem were empty, which was not unusual for deep in the night, but this was not a city asleep but a city of the dead. Homes and shops were either burning or dark and empty. They walked without encountering another person until the ramparts of the Damascus Gate appeared through the haze of smoke.
Three bright flashes in the sky were followed by an explosion of thunder, and within seconds after they were soaked in a torrent of heavy rain. This increased the smoke as the rain smothered the flames, casting the gate into obscurity.
Finding no shelter from the rain, they pushed ahead toward the gate. Lucius expected to find a garrison awaiting them on the other side, but he couldn’t see anyone. In the shelter of the stone archway, they escaped the rain, but the roar of water hitting the ground echoed off the stone walls.
Lucius approached the outer walls of the gate certain he would find his comrades standing guard, but he couldn’t see anyone through the rain. Could the Legions have already abandoned the city? This would have been unusual but not inconceivable.
He heard footsteps in the muddy ground outside, and a figure moved toward him. As he drew closer, Lucius recognized the centurion’s uniform, but it was muddy and disheveled. Lucius looked for the rest of the men under the centurion’s command, but he was alone.
“Hail, Caesar!” Lucius called.
“Your Caesar does not command this city,” the centurion replied.
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