Day One Thousand Thirteen #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

His message delivered, Elijah’s pupil took  leave and returned to his prime assignment.

Before we left this morning, Quasimo found the hothead’s mangled body at the base of the nearby cliff. All we know for sure is the dead man’s link to the traitor, that fact supplied by visions given to the first twelve. And can only guess that his actions were all an act put on to throw off suspicion.

I shudder to think we were leading him back to the hiding place.

Another messenger appeared on our path. This one for Quasimo. He brought a warning for us to change our route to circumvent a new outpost keeping a watch in that quarter.

And an increase of patrols.

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Day Eight Hundred Six #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Today will be remembered for the dizzying amount of activity swirling around us. From our standpoint we were at ground zero of all this attention. But in every instance they kept well away from us.

I think it was designed to isolate rather than confront. Elijah for his part remained fully aware but unconcerned. He just plodded on.

A whole fleet of drones formed a moving dome over us. And beyond them warplanes flew far ranging patrols.

Even the roadbed out of our line of sight rumbled with more than the usual traffic noise. At a few points along the way I could take stock of the vehicles. Combat vehicles outnumbered the tanker trucks.

Elijah believes we will enter tomorrow.

Day Six Hundred Ninety Seven #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

We have wended by deserted farms and abandoned villages on this southern route around the bivouacked army. Nothing of value has been left behind. Either the inhabitants departed with their possessions, or foragers from the army scooped them up.

A number of times we were forced off the trail by the approach of patrols, and remained motionless until after they had passed. It makes our progress very slow.

On one of these occasions five peasants came up behind the patrol, in plain sight and made no move to avoid the soldiers other than leaving the road to them when passing them by.

As we were similarly attired, we were emboldened to do the same.

We quickened our pace after that.

Day Six Hundred Seventy Two #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Elijah and I passed the day dodging patrols searching for us. Patrols set upon us by the innkeeper who recognized Elijah as the “troublemaker.”

Before he came back for me, Elijah hid the Captain and Tomas away somewhere in the mountains. And they are waiting for us there now.

When we will rejoin them is the question. For we are being held here at the direction of the Spirit for His purposes.

In our wanderings we noticed that the army’s tanker trucks are hard at work siphoning up any water that is left in the river. The whole process shouldn’t take much longer.

I wonder what the town will do once the army leaves and they’ve taken all they wanted.

Day Two Hundred Sixty One #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

The image is forever etched in my mind’s eye. Those marks on the foreheads of the soldiers flashed and the consuming flames spread from there.  

It happened yesterday and twice today, as two more patrols tried to deny us access to the bridge or worse. Neither time did Elijah allow them to get close enough to harm us.

We paused our advance upon reaching the bridge. The area on the other side has changed. Gone are some of the ruins; new structures are rising throughout the core of the city.

It wasn’t long before a man under a flag of truce appeared at the other end of the bridge. Elijah allowed him to approach.

We have agreed to accompany him.