The Book of Josiah - Chapter 22

   The elevators reached the inner sanctum with a satisfied ping.
    The doors slid open gently, revealing rows of silent black guns. Like a machine, the Security forces marched into the room and took up commanding positions, crouching behind steel pews, pointing their guns at their designated targets. Elijah’s guards had scattered too - they were outnumbered two to one but had had time to prepare their barricades. Elijah, however, had not moved an inch. He simply stood behind the altar, silver robes unmoving, an icon of steel - even his eyes were still. He watched and waited.
    Then she made her entrance, her robes the colour of bronze and blood, sweeping behind her like the trail of a comet.
    “Where is he?” Elisha demanded imperiously.
    Josiah hardly dared to breathe. The smallest sound could give him away. Amber too was perfectly still, looking pale and anxious. A thin wooden wall was all that stood between them and a violent death.
    “Where is who, Arch-Lector?” Elijah replied, a quiet smile on his lips.
    Their lives were in Elijah’s hands. Elijah, who had been about to cut off Amber’s ear, who thought he was the messiah! But there had been no other option. At least Elijah wanted him to live. Even so he would probably never leave here alive, he knew that now. But Amber… If it came down to it, he would choose her. ‘And if you have no choice?’ he asked himself, unbidden.
    Josiah put his eye back to the narrow slit in the wall and watched.
    “I am in no mood for games, Lector. Where is Josiah?”
    “I have not seen him.”
    Elisha laughed coldly.
    “You would not wish me to spill blood in the inner sanctum, would you?”
    “Everything with you is about blood,” Elijah retorted harshly, “did you learn nothing from me? All those years I was your master, did you never listen?”
    “I did listen, and I learnt that you are at best misguided, at worst a heretic - ‘For this shall be my blood of the new testament, shed for the remission of sins’.”
    “You quote the book but have not yet discerned its meaning - ‘neither shalt thou stand by the blood of thy neighbour’.”
    “You think you are wise, and yet it is not you that is Arch-Lector. ‘On this day, atonement shall be made for us, to cleanse us of our sins. And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself’.”
    “‘Choose life, so that you and your people may live.’”
    “‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’!”
    “‘Thou shalt not kill’!”
    “Not kill?” asked Elisha, and Josiah could picture her lips twitching, “I think it’s a little late for that.”
    And then all hell broke loose, as the guards from both sides opened fire, spraying molten death across the sanctum. Glass shattered, steel buckled. Guards went down clutching their chests but did not scream.
    As Josiah ducked back from the wall, he saw the two Lectors staring at each other across the sea of gunfire, unmoved by the events that were unfolding around them.
    At least now there was little danger of them being overheard. He looked around their hiding place, a small vestry at the side of the sanctum, whose only contents were a wooden chair and a small table. At least it was well positioned - Elijah had thrown the two of them in here knowing that few shots would be aimed in their direction. The chances of them getting hit by a stray bullet was low. But Elijah’s men were outnumbered, and it could only be a matter of time before their hiding place was found and they were both killed - or sacrificed.
    He turned to face Amber.
    “It looks like this is it,” he said softly, not knowing what else he could say.
    “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Amber mumbled, with tears forming in her eyes.
    Josiah reached out and held her tightly.
    “Don’t be sorry,” he said, “this isn’t your fault - you were there for me, when I needed you most. You were there”
    Amber held him close.
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered again.
    He had no words left. They clasped each other tightly, listening to the bark of gunfire, the howl of shrieker bullets. Silent tears ran down Amber’s cheeks. He shut his eyes but did not cry. Was he resigned to his fate? Or were there simply no more tears in his body?
    A bullet passed through the wood, mere centimetres from Amber’s head, before shattering a darkened window and heading out into the night. A thought suddenly struck Josiah - he had been so stupid, he had been thinking within the walls.
    “There might be a way out,” he said simply, releasing Amber, who had barely even noticed the bullet.
    She wiped her tears away and looked at him.
    “This high up, the whole building is lined with icons. I think we might be able to climb down.”
    Amber rose to her feet.
    “Are you sure about this? We’re a long way up.”
    “We can but try,” he answered and forced a smile.
    Carefully, Josiah knocked out the remainder of the broken glass and stuck out his head.
    “I think this might actually work,” he said.

*  *  *

    The descent seemed to take forever. Feeling the way down with aching feet and fingers that were turning blue in the cold. A harsh wind blew about them, threatening to tear them from the wall and drop them hundreds of metres to the concrete below. Snow flakes blurred in front of Josiah’s eyes, making it nearly impossible to see. There was only one goal, and one direction - down.
    Much of the Cathedral was empty, especially in the middle of the night, but there were rooms full of guards and others on patrol. They might be seen at any time. At least the wind stole most of the noise.
    Josiah’s knees were bitterly complaining, his eyes were blind. When would it be safe to re-enter the building? He could not look down, even had he been able to see. How far had they gone?
    One hand gripped a steel fist, while Josiah’s foot searched for a hold on a full moon. The irony of entrusting his life to the icons of the Steel God was not lost on him.
    Then a shaft of light caught him in the eye, shining through the darkened windows. Recognition burst on Josiah’s mind.
    “Amber,” he shouted, “we’ve reached the school-yard.”
    “What?” she shouted back.
    “The school-yard!”
    She shook her head, not understanding. Never mind. He steadied his feet and kicked at the glass. Once, twice. The third time it gave way in a shower of diamonds. A few more and the way was clear. Josiah leapt through the gap, and turned to help Amber.
    “Are we safe?”
    “Should be,” Josiah answered, “the guards never really come here.”
    “How did you know?”
    “I recognised the window. Back when I was in school I used to look at this old stained-glass and wonder why no one had repaired it.”
    “Lucky break for us,” Amber said, rubbing her arms to stop the shivering.
    For a moment or two neither of them moved. It was all too close, too painful. But they were alive. They had a chance.
    When vision returned to normal, and when his hands had regained some feeling, Josiah looked around them properly. Red swings rocked back and forth, quietly creaking at remembered play. An old see-saw, painted with red and silver faces, a frame of softened steel with a red plastic slide - all so small, so still. How had it got so small?
    There was something mesmerising about them, as if he had just found a great treasure that had been lost for years. The smell of children at play filled him. The times he had spent out here, sliding, swinging, rocking to-and-fro. Just in that corner was the sandpit - no, it was there no longer. Wait, it was, just covered by a green cover - he had never seen it that way before. And that was the place where they had caught a lizard. And there, Dinah swinging on her favourite swing - it was hers, no one else was allowed to play on it - but she was the best at it and Joey didn’t like the Swings. No, he liked to play on the merry-go-round - a kick to the ground and then ride round and round, endless circles. He smiled and pushed off once more…
    “Josiah!”
    He opened his eyes. For some reason he was lying on the ground.
    “Are you okay?” Amber asked fearfully, rushing up to him.
    “Yeah, uh, what just happened?”
    “You just collapsed. Are you alright?”
    He thought about it for a moment.
    “Everything seems to be working, I was just dizzy for a moment.” But that wasn’t it at all - it was just easier.
    “Yeah, maybe,” Amber agreed but looked at him somewhat sceptically.
    “Anyway,” he said, picking himself off the floor and trying to change the subject, “I should be asking about you. Are you alright?”
    She put her hand to her ear reflexively, and felt the cut. “More or less. I think I set my leg off again. Banged it on an icon.”
    “Can you walk?”
    “I can manage. We’ve got this far.”
    “Well, the sooner we’re out of here the better, I don’t think Elijah’s men can hold out for very long. Come on, the skyway is right over here.”
    He got up and strode past his childhood toys, aiming for the door on the far end. A few steps behind, Amber hobbled after him uncomplaining. They were nearly there. But it  couldn’t be this easy.
    The door opened. In marched a pair of Security guards, hidden behind their armour plates and black helmets. Their guns were levelled.
    “Alright you two, that’s enough,” one of them said, his voice cold through the helmet, “the Arch-Lector wants a word.”
    “Josiah!” Amber whispered urgently but if she was going to say more, Josiah never heard it. He was furious. This had gone on for too long - they had taken everything from him, his life, his machine, even his past - all to make him into their image of God. Well no longer. Whatever happened, he was not going back.
    There was a sudden noise from behind the guards. A point of silver emerged from the chest of one of them. He looked down at it and Josiah could imagine the curious expression on his face. The other turned to see what was going on. But Josiah was already shooting, squeezing the trigger, firing shot after shot, over and over.
    “They’re quite dead,” said Amber.
     Josiah stopped firing, only now seeing the blood and entrails that were splattered across the cement. He lowered the gun.
    Looking up, he smiled as he saw a familiar face - Duke, in a massive black coat holding a knife in his hands, and Thee, looking worried but relieved. Then his smile turned to a scowl of hatred, for there was Lovecraft still skulking behind them.
    “Traitor!” Josiah shouted, pointing his gun directly at Lovecraft. His large eyes opened wide, his face turned pale.
    “Josiah,” bellowed Duke, “what the hell are you doing? We’re here to save you.”
    “Maybe you are, but that bastard betrayed us.”
    Lovecraft was still and silent, the gun he was wearing, still in its holster.
    Thee stepped between Josiah and Lovecraft. “He isn’t a traitor, he helped us to find you, please, just put the gun down.”
    “I can’t do that, Thee. Please. Move out the way. I don’t want to hurt you.”
    “You’ll have to kill us both,” said Duke, stepping in front of Theano. “He is no traitor but a loyal friend.”
    “Open your eyes!” Josiah shouted, still holding his gun straight, looking for a clear shot. “Of course he knew where to find me - it’s his fault I’m here. Amber, tell them. Tell them that Lovecraft had you kidnapped and brought here.”
    She said nothing.
    “Amber, tell them.”
    “It’s true,” she said sadly, “he’s been working for the Circle from the beginning.”
    Duke furrowed his brow. “Amber? How can you say that? We’ve all been friends for years.”
    “You heard her, now move out of my way before he betrays us again.”
    Duke turned his back for a moment. Then turned with a gun drawn.
    “You’re wrong, Josiah. I don’t want to do this but I won’t let you kill Lovecraft, he is as innocent as I am.”
    “Damn it Duke! Don’t make this any harder for me!”
    Duke almost laughed but kept his gun steady. “I won’t let you shoot him. Now, put the gun down so we can get out of here. We can talk about it later.”
    What should ge do? Could they be right? No, it was Lovecraft on the recording. And Amber agreed.
    Sweat was pouring down Duke’s forehead. Thee fidgeted nervously.
    “Okay,” Josiah said lowering his gun and trying to appear more relaxed. “We do it your way, let’s just get out of here.”
    Duke gave an enormous sigh of relief, holstered his gun and wiped his face clean, looking at the sweat in disgust.
    “Come on then,” Theano said, “the skyway is just down here.”
    They turned to go but Lovecraft hadn’t moved - even as Josiah raised his gun once more Lovecraft was totally still. There was no choice. It had to be done. Lovecraft’s eyes spun, and he smiled a small, wistful smile as he watched Josiah aim. And then there was nothing but red.

If you've been reading the Book of Josiah thus far, thanks for coming along for the ride! The final chapters are coming in the next two weeks or so. In the mean time, I would love to hear from you. What parts have you enjoyed? What hasn't worked for you? Was it easy to follow? What could I do to make it easier?

Thanks again and see you next week.