Joab's Pagiel | Part 7

Joab didn’t walk to the chapel.

He vanished—air cracking softly as he accelerated—and reappeared at the doors just as the sun dipped low.

platinum white & pale Golden light spilled inside, dust motes glowing like something holy.

Joab stepped in, breath uneven.

“I don’t want to die young,” he said to the empty room.

Silence.

“Make me something else,” he whispered. “A prophet. A Nazarite. Anything that keeps me here.”

Joab didn’t know if God answered prayers made out of fear, But Joab prayed such a prayer, regardless.

God heard his prayer, and understood it. God decided to let him do this one thing: Stay safe behind closed doors while the others handled it for a time.

Meanwhile...

Jameson knelt alone in his room, hands clasped so tightly his knuckles burned.

Nineteen years old. Training to become a Phineas Priest. Raised on scripture and doctrine and fear.

Jameson had broken all of it.

Aya’s face kept appearing in his mind—not naked, not sinful, but crying. Trusting him.

Jameson whispered prayers anyway.

“I didn’t mean to,” Jameson said aloud. “I didn’t think—” Jameson had thought.

Jameson just hadn’t cared enough.

Jameson didn’t know she was pregnant. Jameson didn’t know yet that the child would become a fault line running through the entire town.

Jameson did know one thing: If they found out, she would suffer, And he would be praised for repentance.

That knowledge sat in his chest like rot.

Images in his head of them dipping, passionately kissing, falling over backwards bathed in sunlightl. Images of them at his home going further. He saw Aya in the forest as she was searching for food and waving those at the united front goodbye.

He wasn't dressed in klan garbs, so she smiled at him and had waved "goodbye," she said politely.

Jameson followed her deeper intot he forest,t rying to talk to her because he thought she was pretty. This was odd, however, he was quite young. He was also deceptive and kept a lot of things hidden.

Once he got alone with her, he started flirting and she was so confused by his advances until realized "Are you courting me?" So he nodded, "yeah, of course." Thismade her smile so much. She always wanted a man to fall in love with her. She looked around for some fruit growing on trees to gather as Pagiel told her it was the safest fruit to gather and that was their favorite thing to do together, honestly.

After awhile of them talking, Aya and him started courting... Well, she was the one mainly courting him because he was not familiar with Amish culture. However, he refused to go see her parents and let her see his.

This caused a horrid level of concern in her that he didn't truly love her, but he just told her that "There is no reason to think that. My family is ignorant and racist." And she replied, "Mine aren't!" But he replied this ominous reply "If they knew who mine were, they'd reject me. No more questions."

Present day

The United front had begun sending Joab many letters, so Joab just gave in as God was telling them to back off. Joab got ready as God told him "I told them to back off." Joab nodded then allowed for it.

Meanwhile, Pagiel was helping Sarah prepare for her baby. Sarah is being taught how to care for one just like Pagiel taught Aya.

Meanwhile....

Dwight lay awake staring at the ceiling, Sarah’s name repeating in his head like a sin he couldn’t confess.

She didn’t know who he was.

Didn’t know what he wore when he wasn’t with her.

Didn’t know the baby inside her was already condemned by association.

Barker’s voice echoed in his memory.

"Prove loyalty."

Dwight rolled onto his side, heart pounding.

He had joined the Klan believing in hierarchy, not slaughter.

Now hierarchy demanded blood.

And the blood was personal.

To be continued...