But Thomas had forcibly kept her from doing so.
At first, she hated him for it, but inwardly she knew he most likely had saved her life. The center was swarming with NWU troops, and they would never allow anyone to stop what had to be their strict orders to get everyone injected with the Seal of Satan.
Sara had stopped at the threshold of the NWU Medical facility. Just for a second. She’d glanced over her shoulder as if she wasn’t sure about what she was doing. But before Tori could even wave or yell, the darkness inside the building reached out for her and swallowed her up. Since then, Tori had been unable to go an hour without crying. Sara was lost. Hopelessly lost, and she would spend eternity in hell. The thought was so overwhelmingly torturous, Tori lost the will to go on, the will to eat, the will to do much of anything, even the will to pray.
Honestly, she was mad at God. He’d purposely brought them to that place…to that very spot where people bowed before the Beast. Why? A test for Sara? A recovering addict suffering from detox? A weak, new believer? Why would God give her such an impossible temptation?
Thomas had repeatedly tried to console her, but she ignored him. Brianna remained quiet, just as upset as Tori was. Yet now, as they plodded along in an open field outside the small town of Dawsonville, she glanced at Aaron hobbling along with his cane to her right. She was sure he’d given Sara something, some drug to help with her detox, but he’d repeatedly denied it. He was lying. She knew it. But why? Who was he really? Doubts crowded her mind about the old man. She needed to ask the Lord to reveal the truth to her, but she was mad at Him at the moment.
???
“I don’t know how to help her,” Thomas said to Brianna walking beside him.
Brianna sighed and shifted Callie to her other hip. “Give her time.” She brushed a tear from her eye. “Losing Sara…” She shook her head, gathering her own emotions. “Well, it’s just too much. She’s seen too much pain. We all have.”
Thomas wasn’t sure if getting thisMarkwas an eternal death sentence like they said, but he, too, was sad to see Sara go. The girl had been making progress, growing stronger each day. Well, until she’d witnessed the crucifixion. That may have been the final straw that pushed her over the edge.
It nearly pushed him over the edge, too. He could hardly believe the NWU he’d once served could perform such barbarism. Sure, he knew they crucified some Deviants, those they wanted to make an example of. But he’d never witnessed a crucifixion, never really considered how brutal and cruel it was. No, the NWU was certainly not the kind, benevolent, world government he’d once believed in. In all the cities and towns they’d traveled through, he’d witnessed none of the advancements they claimed to be enacting, not even a hint. In fact, he’d seen nothing but destruction, devastation, crime, filth, garbage, hunger, and disease.
“But she won’t even eat.” He ran an arm over the sweat on his brow. “She hardly says a word.”
Aaron hobbled up on Thomas's other side. “Give her time, son. It was a shock, and she cared a great deal for the girl. I did too.” He muttered out a sob that seemed devoid of real sorrow.
What was Thomas thinking? Aaron had been a great comfort and help to Sara. Of course he cared about her. They were all in mourning.
Even Carla, walking beside her mother was not her cheerful self.
“You were a great help to her, Aaron,” Thomas smiled at his friend. “I’m sure you’re feeling the loss too.”
“I am.” Aaron gripped Thomas's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I am, son.”
Excusing himself, Thomas moved to walk beside Tori. “You really should eat something.”
She flashed the glimmer of a smile his way but said nothing. It was the first smile he’d seen on her lips in days, and he’d take what he could get.
“We close?” he asked.
She nodded. “Almost to the outskirts of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Then I’ll try to contact Nyla.”
He gripped her hand and squeezed it. “Then your job will be done.”
“My job will never be done in the Tribulation,” she shot back harshly, jerking back her hand. After several seconds, she added, “I’m sorry. Yes, you’re right. I won’t be totally responsible for anyone’s life anymore.”
A hawk squawked overhead as they reached the edge of the field and stepped onto a dirt road.
“It isn’t your fault, you know,” he said.
“So you told me.” She halted, shielding her eyes from the sun. “What is that?”
“What?” He followed her gaze where a dark line, or maybe a road? cut across the landscape.
“It looks like a huge crater.” Tori pulled out her map and studied it. “It’s not on the map.”
“Hmm. Maybe it’s not too deep,” Thomas offered.
But after they walked another mile and halted at the edge, it might as well have been the Grand Canyon. At least a hundred feet deep and a mile across, it stretched as far as the eye could see to both their right and their left.
Tori sank to her knees. “This isn’t supposed to be here. It will take us weeks to find a way around it. Nyla may not wait for us.”
