Day One Thousand Three #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

The matter of the tribal discord weighed heavily upon me. So I made it a point of intercession all the way back to the second village and on through half the night, taking it up again upon waking.

All the while, Elijah kept a respectful silence, breaking into it only as necessary when attention was demanded elsewhere.

The situation dictated the topic as the Purser saw it. Everyone has now arrived at this second stage and are settled in. His thinking calls for a longer stay to prepare for a longer transit around the ruined city.

And two further complications were added when Jezer and Tomas reported that the well at the crossroads was failing and a drone was sighted.

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Day Nine Hundred Seventy Five #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

We continued our journey through the desert while Tomas inspected the villages along the road. We agreed to reconvene in the desert to the east of the last village two days hence.

Elijah thought that the day after should land us at the crossroads where we first met Jezer. At that point we could decide whether to  return on the side to the west of the road, or retrace our steps to Babylon.

Our discussion out of the way, we trudged on in silence. But now a new thought was stewing in my mind.

Finally, I asked Elijah why we just did not wing to Babylon on the Spirit to check my hunch.

He replied that he had already asked.

Day Eight Hundred Fifty Three #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

I twisted my ankle on our transit last night. Elijah caught me before I hit the ground. Otherwise the injury would have been more serious.

As I sat there he rubbed his hands together creating heat from the friction. Then seized the point of the swelling. I could sense warmth radiating from there throughout my body.

In moments I was able to stand. He loaned me his staff as a precaution against further missteps.

We called an end to our night walk early for we came upon a well at a crossroads.

We drank our fill and found a place nearby to rest and pass the day.

Given the crossroads we had another decision to make, hopefully not under duress.

Day Seven Hundred Ninety Eight #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

We covered a good deal of ground today. The terrain changed. We have left the hills behind. Now we have entered into the prairie – still on our southwest trajectory.

Our resting place this evening finds us at a crossroads. The six of us gathered for a meeting. Each one knew before a word was spoken that a momentous shift was afoot.

Elijah looked from one to the next in succession, and lastly to me.

It fell to my lot to make the announcement.

Tomorrow, Elijah and I were to part from them. They – Mei, Raj P, Tomas and the Captain and their groups will take the road west. Elijah and I shall head south.

There were no questions, just assent.

Day Six Hundred Twenty #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

The sun arose unopposed by clouds. It grew warmer each passing minute.

We bid goodbye to our neighbor, thanking him for the cool draft of water his friendship had been to us.

But we had gotten no further than the crossroads when a squad of soldiers blocked our way. Their leader recognized Elijah and ordered his men to arrest him.

Elijah took one step towards them and they fell backward to the ground. Their leader raised a weapon and Elijah merely breathed in his direction.

He was incinerated before our eyes, the flames spreading to the others as they arose to oppose us.

The Captain led the way from there.

Finding the camp empty we pushed on in their wake.

Day Six Hundred Eighteen #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Three days from today we will set out. We are no longer contending with each other for our future destiny. The Spirit has shown each one that to follow Elijah is to follow Him.

We must prepare. Each one in his own way.

Elijah visited his spot on the causeway.

The Captain traveled beyond the crossroads to reconnoiter the area towards the army camp.

I accompanied the Captain, only parting from him later to better cover the vicinity down by the river to search out crossings.

Tomas remained in the house and conversed with our neighbor.  It was from that source that he learned another name for Hamashiach – Yeshua. Our neighbor carries it from the memory of being left behind.

Day Six Hundred Fifteen #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

The stamp of feet no longer reverberates throughout the house. The last soldier column passed our crossroads around midnight during my watch.

The silence was welcome.

After my turn on guard I slept and actually got some rest.

Upon rising, Elijah was just returning from some time apart on the causeway. He reported more strangeness.

The farmers were on the roads again, but instead of being bound for the city, they were headed towards the army camp.

We decided to postpone our departure for today. Instead we dispatched the Captain into the city to reconnoiter.

The news he brought back was disconcerting. Not a single man of military age remains in the city, only women or children or old men.

Day Six Hundred Eleven #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Our neighbor returned in the wee hours. It was in the middle of the Captain’s last watch for the night.

He went out to greet him and learned he had indeed been to the other side of the city. In his travels he hadn’t crossed paths with Tomas. It is probably too much to expect that he would have, still we remain hopeful for our friend.

We invited our neighbor in and he gave us some valuable information. There was no military presence once he got through the city, not even any guards at crossroads.

When I explained our desire to relocate, he immediately offered the assistance of his fellow exile.

Now we just have to wait for Tomas’ return.

Day Six Hundred Three #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

We actually saw the squad of soldiers coming a minute before our neighbor’s signal. And like he thought they tackled his home first.

The Captain and Tomas had plenty of time to hide themselves in the tunnel.

When the soldiers finished banging around our neighbor’s home, they regrouped outside, conferred briefly, then entered our dwelling.

Elijah stood immovable in the middle of the great room. The soldiers ignored him, peppering me instead with their questions.

Because we are obviously foreigners, I believe they stayed longer than at our neighbor’s, scouring through our things.

At long last they departed, and when they did, they took the guards at the crossroads with them.

Our friends emerged, having spent the whole time praying.

Day Six Hundred Two #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

A different pair of guards were at the crossroads this morning. So we knew there had been a change during the night.

I was wondering what would come next and talking with the Captain and Tomas about their views when Elijah joined us.

He announced simply that the troops would soon be making an house to house search.

At that very moment our neighbor appeared out of thin air and said he had a way around that problem.

Recovering from our shock, he took us down to the cellar and over to his house via a subterranean passage.

He believes his will be searched first and can signal to us when our fugitives need to hold up in the tunnel.