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Hogan watched their happy faces as they danced and sang, the happiness and pure excitement on their face fascinated him. In a world that has been configured to persecute them, to destroy their very belief, they have found happiness in one another. The children danced around camp fires, the adults danced in pairs, some played the mandolin, some the flutes, a few of the women shook maracas, the Easter spirit was in the air this night.
“Why don’t you join in?” A voiced suggested behind him.
Hogan glanced back from his comfortable chair at Mason Liam, the leader of the camp, clothed decently in a gray long sleeve tucked in black trousers, the man was fine to look upon, a square even brow and a nose that ended in a blunt plane rather than a point.
“I’m afraid I can’t dance” Hogan replied as Mason took a seat beside him.
“Anyone can try new things, you are an example yourself, and you are here, in a Christian gathering as one of us” a smiling Mason said.
Hogan laughed, “In this case that won’t apply, and some things are just not meant for me”.
“How are you feeling Hogan?” Mason asked in a more serious tone.
“Generally, I am okay, mentally, not so okay, seeing the happiness on the faces of everyone here, I just can’t help but think about those I have caused pain, how many smiles I have wiped away forever with my sword”.
“Hogan” Mason tapped him on his shoulder, “Your past does not matter here, what matters is what you are doing now, how you strive to make up for your past mistakes is what matters”.
The wind blew across Hogan’s dace and he looked up at the twinkling lights of the night sky.
“He is watching Hogan, he knows our heart, the heart of each and every soul that is here, and it is what is in our heart he looks upon, you are here with a repentant heart to make up for all the things you have done, that is what matters”. Mason said.
Hogan spared a glance at his sword in its scabbard, resting on a raised stone, the weapon had been heavy in his mind since the conversion, it suddenly felt unwieldy, carrying the stain of his past life and tainted with the blood of the countless innocents he had killed in the name of Lucifer, then his thoughts travelled to the Christians he had vowed to protect, will doing that not make him wield the sword again? If The Brotherhood were to find this place, he would have no choice than to use the weapon he now despises, or perhaps he could make them see reasoning without bloodshed, but that edged on the side of impossibility, The Brotherhood as he had known are bloodthirsty and vicious and it would definitely be Robert Murray heading any mission to find this place, a bloodthirsty fanatic, Hogan feared he would be forced to kill again, to wet his blade with human blood and it did not intrigue him anymore.
“Do you know how we got here?” Mason’s question interrupted his thoughts.
“Who?”
“All of us right here” Mason gestured at the bubbly crowd.
“I did think of that, about how you managed to get everyone safe to this place” Hogan said.
“It was God’s doing, I was on my knees one day, praying at my home town at Roswell, praying for the mercy of God on the lives of his children, the faithful Christians around the world, and right there on my knees, I got the mandate loud and clear, to help the persecuted saints, I left my hiding spot in Roswell and travelled west to Las Cruces, where I met two other Christians like myself, I was happy, it was like God had planned it, they were also travelers, I told them of my mission and they quickly offered to join me, then we travelled west to Carlsbad, we followed whispers about covert Christians gatherings, we met with some of them, they were hiding in slums and despicable places with very poor living conditions, soon we set up a camp at Carlsbad, more and more Christians joined us and we took care of ourselves, we weren’t as many as this though but it was quite an impressive number, but soon we were being hunted by The Brotherhood, it was no longer safe, we fled north and camped several times along the way, but The Brotherhood were still on our tails, we kept moving but The Brotherhood were persistent on finding us, I went down on my knees in prayer once more, and God gave me an insight, to move into this city of Santa Fe, the gloom of this city is widely known and I seriously doubted that insight, even the people were concerned, but it was God’s will and we obeyed and came here to Santa Fe, we found this place and here we are, we have been here longer than any other camp we had set up in the past, we flourished here, built the walls and we plan to build a cathedral soon”. Mason tapped Hogan on his shoulders again, “Love conquers all Hogan” he added.
Love, the word stirred something up in him, he thought of Ann, back at the lowly cabin in Denver, when he glanced up he met with the sight of a couple sharing a warm laugh, he turned to Mason. Mason seemed to catch his gaze and a smile played on his lips.
***
Hogan walked on in silence under the scorching sun, the tall metal scraps on both side flanked the wide dusty path, giving the semblance of a valley between two mountains, and the air smelled of rust, he adjusted his sheathed hung on his back with a strap and he was glad he went for a sleeveless silk tee in the searing heat. His breath was hot under the handkerchief mask and beads of sweat ran down his face. Hogan had volunteered to retrieve the latest round of supplies dropped off at the outskirt of the scrap yard.
The clanging of metal within the junks alerted him, he turned and looked frantically around for the source of the sound, on seeing nothing he continued his walk, but he felt the presence, the feeling that he was being watched, he unsheathed his sword and narrowed his eyes in focus.
“Come on out!” he shouted, his voice echoed around the scrap yard. “I know someone’s here!” he said loudly again.
“Hogan” he heard the all too familiar voice call behind him, he turned around and saw the figure of a short well rounded man, Charles Binnins stood with his sword in hand and a piercing gaze in his eyes.
“Charles?” Hogan looked carefully for a sign of another soldier but Charles was alone; he held his sword aloft in caution as he studied his old friend with ambivalence.
“What are you doing Hogan?” Charles asked with an air of coolness about him.
Hogan shook off the initial surprise. “I will ask same of you Charles”.
The two men watched each other for a moment.
“When did this happen Hogan? When did you lose faith?” Charles asked.
“Open your eyes Charles, think deep, search for it deep down, are you not tired of the killings, the spilling of blood?” Hogan asked.
“It’s Lucifer’s will!” Charles bellowed.
“There is no Lucifer’s will Charles, it is all a fallacy, it is all wrong, we killed innocents, countless scores of them…”
“They are no innocents! They are filths that must be cleansed!” Charles scowled.
“They are humans like you and I Charles! They are no filths, the sooner you open your eyes, the easier it will be for you to redeem yourself”
“Redeem myself? What redemption? I have seen the light, you are the one who needs redemption Hogan, from the brainwashing of the barbaric Christians, give me one reason why I shouldn’t go in there and cleanse them!”
“The reason is standing right here, you will have to get past me first Charles, you are my friend and I respect you but I will not hesitate to protect them”
The two men breathed rapidly after the loud exchange, Charles finally lowered his sword, and Hogan followed suit.
“I rooted for you Hogan, when the talk was against you, when the rumors of your disappearance swirled around The Brotherhood, deep down in me, I rooted for you, but here I am and my worst fear is true, we trained together, went through fire together, we bled together, you were the most devote of us all, where did it go wrong?” Charles solemnly asked.
“It never went wrong Charles, it rather went the opposite, it went right, I met my salvation, I met the one true God, I am a new man, you could be one too, and he can offer you a clean slate, a new beginning”. Hogan said softly.
“A new man?” Charles dropped his sword on the ground and made strides at Hogan who remained in a constant state of alert, he stopped a few inches in front of him, “You think you can just put everything behind you? The Brotherhood made you who you are, everything you know, every skill you now possess, The Brotherhood made you, they shaped you from that little boy to the vicious and ruthless weapon you came to be, the one standing here in front of me, and you talk about a true God, what true God? Look around you Hogan, this is a new era, the old world has crumbled, where is the God of the old world? Where is the one you call the one true God?”
“He is watching Charles, he is everywhere, he lives in the heart of his children” Hogan replied.
Charles burst into a soft laughter, which immediately turned to rage, “Think Hogan! Think! In the name of Lucifer think! You are wiser than this, don’t let them fool you” Charles said angrily.
“I am not being fooled Charles, have you ever seen happiness? True happiness? Have you ever seen pure joy? Right in there…” Hogan pointed in the general direction of the camp, “…there is joy that I haven’t seen in my life, there are parents holding the hands of their children with a sparkle in their eyes, there are husbands looking at their wives with genuine affection, wives praying for the protection of their family, even grandparents cherishing the rare opportunity of cradling their grand children in their arms, there is peace Charles, something I never knew at The Brotherhood, at The Brotherhood it was one fight to another, one massacre to another and for what? Lucifer? The very tenet of the worship of Lucifer is pure evil.” Hogan said.
A dumfounded Charles looked at him with a shake of his head, “I came here as a friend Hogan, and I have done my bit to spare you the trouble that is coming, I will respect the bond of friendship we have, but I can only go as far, Robert Murray and his soldiers are on their way here, prepare yourself” Charles said, he picked up his tossed sword before brushing past him.
“Stay and fight by my side Charles, fight for the right cause” Hogan said.
“I have no problem with fighting by your side Hogan, I have always done that, but I cannot go against my brothers in arm and I can certainly never go against our lord Lucifer, doing this already goes against my code on so many levels” Charles walked away, he stopped and glanced over his shoulder, “And Hogan, there will be something waiting for you at the old cathedral, ten clicks East, that is if you survive this and I hope you survive this Hogan” he walked away this time without looking back.
Hogan watched the man he once called friend walk away before sprinting back towards the encampment.
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