Blogtober 2021 Story Project
Lucius forgot their situation for a moment and stared at the wreck of the city surrounding them. Smoke filled the air with the unmistakable stench of death and destruction. Buildings on fire set the night aglow like a fevered nightmare of the underworld. The fires revealed the silhouettes of crosses outside the crumbled remains of the city walls.
Chaim and Kamali joined him outside, their reactions to the destruction identical to Lucius. Their presence jolted him out of his awe-inspired trance, and he surveyed the area to confirm that their captors were not closing in on them.
“What is this place?” Kamali asked.
“Jerusalem,” Chaim said. “What’s left of her.”
“Rome did this,” Lucius said. “We heard stories in Alexandria from comrades who had been here during the siege. That was horrible enough in itself, but this is beyond imagination.”
“Yeshua foretold this to his followers,” Chaim said. “He warned us this would happen.”
“Did you have family here?” Lucius asked.
“No,” Chaim said. “My wife died when we were both young, and I never remarried. I joined The Way 30 years ago and been part of the ecclesia in Damascus ever since.”
“The men who captured us are not Roman soldiers,” Kamali said.
“Of course not,” Lucius said.
“So who are they?” Chaim said. “Why are they here?”
“I cannot say for certain,” she replied, “but my master trained me to be aware of dark magic and its corruptions. These are not mere men but some kind of monsters.”
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