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This is the day. The day she has been dreading since this horrible nightmare began. It is Friday, her twenty-first birthday. A day that most people are excited about. In a perfect world, she would have a party with friends and family celebrating this milestone. For Hannah, however, this is the day that she wishes would never have come.
The preparations for today’s event are underway. Her day begins by being scourged by the raven-haired women. It is always the same four women who perform this task on her. They never acknowledge her pleas for help, nor do they make eye contact. Hannah has learned to endure the harsh treatment silently.
They remove the catheter that has pained her, much to her delight. She is given a plate of fruits and cheese. She doesn’t complain about this, in fact, she devours everything offered on the plate. It has been weeks since she has had solid food. She also relishes in the feeling of cool water rushing down her throat.
When she finishes her meal, she is promptly directed to a sterile white room which houses a small narrow bed. She is told to take a nap for a short while. She gladly accepts the opportunity, but regrettably, sleep never comes to her. She is instead overtaken by nightmares of what is to happen to her later. She rises and paces the room. She counts her footsteps from one wall to the other. Exactly thirty steps. She repeatedly recounts, struggling for any form of a diversion. She stops, kneels at the bed on the floor and prays. She fervently prays that God will either end her suffering quickly or that she will be rescued. She realizes praying for these people to have a change of heart is pointless, but does nevertheless. They are worshipping a false idol, a manmade god. They couldn’t be further away from the truth even if they tried, but they don’t care. They appear to love this way of life, this entirely incorrect way to worship.
There is a loud knock on the door. She stands, waiting for the door to open, not knowing what to expect. The door unlocks and Beau steps in. Hannah instantly tenses while she backs away from him. He wanders over to her as he takes her hands in his, disregarding her fearful stance.
“My mistress, in just three hours the plan of salvation will commence when we are joined together. You shall wear a white gown as you walk to the altar of our god. I will meet you there. I will be clothed in my purple robe of royalty. My brother, Savior Paul will also be on the stage near the altar, he will conduct the ceremony. Before we are united, Paul will take his rightful role as our new god. Are you not excited?” He cocks his head to the side, puzzled by her sickened expression.
“No, I’m not excited! How could I be? You people are crazy. Have you ever read the Bible before? Your brother cannot take over for my God, the one and only God. You are worshipping a false idol. I hope you like Hell since you and all these other people will be there, though not soon enough!” Hannah yells at the indifferent man in front of her. He bends and gets right in her face, scowling.
“Listen here you stupid, little tramp. You don’t know anything. You will serve your purpose, which is to satisfy me and bear my son. Once you have done that, you will be of no use to me any longer. You will be used up, and I don’t like worn out items. Then you will be sacrificed on the very altar which you and I will be using later. If I were you baby doll, I would keep my big mouth shut and go with the flow. Just do everything I say, when I say it and how I say it. If you can obey, you might just live to see another day. For now, my servants will be in to prepare you for later.” Beau turns then walks to the door. As he reaches for the knob, he turns his head and hisses.
“Remember baby doll, obey my every command and it won’t hurt as bad.” He laughs as he leaves the room. Hannah falls to the floor and sobs. She can no longer control herself anymore. She cries for the life she lost, the life she yearns to live, and for Sawyer. She is thankful that she was afforded just a small taste of a normal life. She is grateful that love had found her, something she never expected. The knowledge that she will never be with him again is excruciating, too much to bear.
The door abruptly opens as the stern women briskly enter. They pull her off the floor by her upper arms and shove Hannah out the door. The women drag her down a dark hallway to a dim chamber with one chair in the middle of the floor. She is forced to sit. She isn’t tied up, but two of the women keep their hands on her shoulders forcing her not to move.
The two other women begin combing her hair roughly, not at all in the manner Shelley had. She slightly grins as she remembers the kind, eccentric woman who was her first friend, besides Sawyer. Hannah had hoped to become even closer to the violet haired girl, but that isn’t to be now.
When the severe women are satisfied with her hair, they make her stand to change her clothes. They pull a snowy white gown of scratchy burlap-like cloth over her head that falls to her bare feet. She shudders when the gown touches her bare, red, raw skin.
Before she can dwell further on the gown, she is ushered out of the room back through the dim hall to a large open area. There are many people here, all sitting on benches facing a stage. As she walks she spots the altar Beau had mentioned. It is made from large, gray stones piled on top of each other. To the right of the altar are three thrones. One large purple and gold throne with a smaller purple and silver throne to its right. On the left of the large, grand throne is a simple, plain wooden chair. Seated on the middle throne is a man she recognizes. He is the curly haired, disturbing man that she saw the first day she was brought here. He must be Savior Paul, he is also the one who hit her and accused her of being demon possessed. She glares at him as she is forced toward the stage. She sees Beau sitting in the smaller purple and silver throne with a revolting smile on his face. He is wearing the purple robe he boasted to her about earlier.
She reaches the stage just as Beau stands to escort her to the altar. He extends his hand to her. Hannah stares at it, then remorsefully accepts, knowing that she has no other choice. Together they walk to the altar to stand before the group of the people who have assembled to observe the ceremony.
Savior Paul stands, speaking to his audience. “My children, we are here to witness a momentous event in the history of mankind. You will be able to tell of this day to your children and grandchildren and so on. My children, you all have played an important role in this, and I am proud of you for it. You all will be rewarded with salvation!” The group applauds and cheers at the words Savior Paul has just spoken to them. Hannah begins to hyperventilate, knowing that it is too late to get out of this. She knows that her hope of a rescue is now over. As this realization sets in, her body begins to tremble. Beau looks at her in disgust, then turns his attention back to Paul.
“It is time for our god to relinquish his ultimate power to me. He has chosen me, Savior Paul to be your god now. Arise and worship your god!” he shouts as he raises his arms up, gladly accepting the outpouring of praise that is being directed at him.
Hannah turns to Beau, then asks, “What happened to Chester?” She is expecting a simple answer, but that is not what she receives.
“My mistress, why do you care? If you must know, he was sacrificed not long after I saved you. That imbecile fulfilled his purpose of raising you, that was all he was needed for. Now pay attention baby doll, our fun is about to start,” he mutters to her.
“Thank you, my children! Now you may be seated. As you know, mankind will cease to exist beyond this day if we do not have the two chosen ones fulfill the prophecy. It is written that the chosen man shall be united with the chosen woman the day she turns twenty-one. Their consummation will ignite the plan of salvation. The male child from their union will be the pure heir of mankind. Once the next king is born, our Mistress of Salvation will be bestowed the ultimate honor of being a living sacrifice to me, as will any daughters that may be born from her. For the union to be made valid and fulfill what has been written, we must witness the consummation of the union on the altar before us.”
Hannah is sweating and shaking profusely. She had no idea of what exactly she was going to be forced into doing against her will. She begins yelling for them to stop, but no one acknowledges her. Four tall, large men forcefully lay her on the altar, then bind her arms and legs with thick corded rope. She is laying on the table with her arms and legs spread out away from her body.
She continues to yell for anyone to help her, to stop this madness. She is crying and screaming but to no avail. She looks at some of the members of the group and is shocked to see a look of joy on their faces. They are excited, even thrilled to watch as she is about to be raped by this sadist.
She attempts to squirm away from Beau as he walks to her right side and begins to lift her gown up her legs. Suddenly there is a loud sound of metal falling to the floor. The large men run from the stage in the direction of the noise. Everyone who has gathered sits still, listening for any commotion that may start.
One male voice shouts, “Now.” The whole room is now in a panic. The area fills with women screaming and running while the men shout out.
Savior Paul yells for everyone to arm themselves as he leaps from the stage. Beau stays where he is, with his hands on her legs as he watches the chaos before him in shock. Hannah desperately hopes that this is the answer to her prayers. She freezes as she hears an explosion, watching as people fall to the floor not moving. She cannot look away from the destruction. She blinks her eyes due to the heavy smoke in the air, as she now hears gunshots being fired. She can hear the bullets slicing through the metal walls and the cries of those who are injured.
As the air clears Beau reinitiates what he had started. He vehemently tries to get on top of her, but she squirms too much for him to be able to stay. Hannah continues to shout at him, but he ignores her.
“Hannah! Hannah!”
She swears that she can hear Sawyer’s voice calling her name. She entertains the thought and turns her head to sweep through the room for the tall, dark-haired man. Just when she is about to brush off the idea that he is actually there she sees him. Their eyes lock as her breath hitches in her chest. She smiles at him. He’s here, he is really here! Thank you, Lord! She watches as he runs to her, then as his face changes from happiness to horror. Hannah is confused, is he not happy to see her anymore?
“No!” Sawyer yells out to her. She turns her head to find Beau standing over her with a sword, the tip pointing at her chest. Beau looks at Sawyer sending him a wide smile as he plunges the sword into her chest. The pain is unbearable as she yells in shock. She can’t tear her eyes away from the silver metal that is embedded in her. She longs to run her fingers over the blade, just to see if it is as cold as it looks. She can see her reflection in it. She notices that her face is now ashen gray. She can feel the warm pool of blood that she is lying in. The room begins to turn darker as if the sun is setting quickly. She feels hands on her shoulders, shaking her relentlessly. She can’t turn her head to see who is touching her. Hannah can’t hear the screams or the gunfire anymore, she is in complete quiet. The room is now pitch black as she fades out of consciousness.