The train halted at Denver on the fourth day, Hogan now wore comfortable clothes that he was glad he had packed and Ann wore a beautiful blue sleeveless dress, which they changed into in the private area of the train. Hogan had come up with an excuse for why he must wear his makeshift handkerchief mask, citing an allergy to exhaust fumes.
It was a sunny day in Denver, a contrast to the frequent thunderstorms they encountered during the journey; Hogan played the gentleman and helped Ann lift her box which contained belongings of her late husband according to her. Soon they boarded a cab and Ann gave the driver directions. Hogan observed the City of Denver through the cab windows, he had never been here on any mission, it was very much developed than Annapolis, although he wouldn’t expect such developments in a place that was home to The Brotherhood headquarters. Low rise buildings were the vast majority of the residential areas, mega billboards displayed the goat head of Baphomet, and many others with the inscription ‘Hail Lucifer’. Soon the developments seemed to stall as the cab ventured further into more remote areas of Denver, there were no more tall buildings and they got scantier as the cab ventured on, soon they were flanked by the woods left and right and the cab pulled up on such road to Hogan’s bewilderment.
“We are here” Ann remarked.
Hogan paid the fare of four Lu and helped with the heavy lifting once more.
“Where is your place?” he asked.
“Over there” Ann pointed.
A lowly cabin was visible in a clearing between tall trees; a visible path led form the highway through the woods and unto the clearing, the pair took the path towards the house. The white paltry Cabin and its surrounding looked peaceful, surrounded by a green carpet of grass; the windows are square and divided into smaller squares, the air around the cabin smelled fresh. The walls of the Interior ware a polished brown and a set of cotton chairs graced the sitting area, a fireplace stood cold and idle. Ann swiftly lit a lamp with a match and placed it on a wooden center table.
Hogan tried to make sense of a woman living alone in isolation, but sense he did see, given that she was religious and this would be the only way to stay safe. The cabin looked devoid of electricity and he couldn’t blame her, only the wealthy few had access to that. He helped her drop off her luggage before she introduced him to his own accommodation within the cabin. The bedroom was a comfortable looking space with a solitary mid-sized bed, a wooden table and a single wooden chair and an equally wooden wardrobe, it had only one window. Hogan unpacked and settled in the home of a person he was trained to call ‘the enemy’. His head was in constant turmoil but that feeling, that alien feeling still existed and it stood tall against his nature.
The sun set and it was time for dinner, they sat at small round table that had just the pair of chairs, Ann served lentils in shallow ceramic plates, and water from what looked like Greek Hydriai water jars, he could understand her difficulty in getting much richer diets and made a mental note of hunting for meat by day break.
“I’m glad you decided to stop by” a clearly happy Ann said after dinner.
“I should be the one thanking you, for having me, so thank you Ann” he replied.
“I know what you must be thinking, a woman living at a lonely place as this”
He had indeed thought of that and linked it to her religiousness, a topic he had carefully planned to avoid for now.
“Not at all, although it’s a bit unsafe but everyone wants a bit of quiet I guess” he quickly eased her mind.
Ann smiled lightly at him but did not continue the line of discussion. Soon they said their goodnights and Hogan carried one of the oil lamps into his room, he situated the lamp on the woody table before he lying on the bed, he looked up at the ceiling and thought;
What am I doing?
***
The dreams that had ceased to be all through the train ride returned, his night was sleepless as it has been at the base, he persevered till the wee hours of the morning. He got up and made himself useful, it seemed Ann was still very much asleep, he tore down some logs of wood he found with an axe at the backyard of the cabin after which he pocketed a handy knife at the kitchen and headed deep into the woods to hunt. He pushed branches out of the way as he walked in search of an edible animal, the first few minutes were futile, there were either no life in these woods or the animals were very good at hiding. Hogan decided to make things easier for himself; he closed his eyes just like he did at a young age when he went hunting, the sounds of birds chirping became clearer and louder before it faded out, he heard the sounds of leaves rustling as the slow current of the winds brushed past them, that too soon faded out, then it was the sound of his own heartbeat that grew louder before dying down, he opened his eyes and the remarkable sharpness of his senses returned, he sensed the silent movement of something in a bush ahead, it was not so big and not small either he could tell, he crouched and walked in stealth towards the bush, his right hand remained tightly around the knife handle as he moved closer to the bush, a springbok dived out but he had seen it, he had anticipated the swift movement of the animal, he hurled his knife with a godlike speed, the knife flew point first in a blur straight through white belly of the animal and impaled on the trunk of a tree, the springbok fell dead on the spot.
Hogan carried the spoil to the cabin to an awake and thankful Ann; they had a decent meal that day and the next, and the next. Five days passed and Hogan remained at Ann’s cabin, his mission had taken the back seat of his mind, he was enchanted and enthralled by this woman, he had not felt anything like this before and he could not understand it, his feelings for her made him want to tell her the truth about himself and his mission. Lying to her on the train had been easy but as the days went by it has been heavier to hold the lies. His thought did not also go from the fact that he should be cleansing this Christian woman, but he could not bring himself to do it in the train and it certainly was impossible for him to do it now.
“I have a confession to make” he said after another wonderful dinner.
Ann looked at him with her wolfish eyes, and he took a deep breath, steeling himself for the moment.
“My name is not Bernard, my name is Hogan, I am a soldier of The Brotherhood, I have killed scores of people, and I was on a mission to Santa Fe to find a Christian encampment and cleanse them” he said, a weight lifted off his shoulders but his heart pounded in anticipation of Ann’s reaction.
“I’m glad you finally opened up” She said coolly.
Hogan looked at her in bewilderment, “You knew?”
“Not at first no, but I noticed Bernard, I mean Hogan, I knew you were a soldier at about the second day of our train ride” she said.
“…and you allowed me into your home? Do you know the things I have done?” Hogan asked, his confusion reached greater heights.
“If you would hurt me, you could have done it on the train, and about the things you have done, do you feel remorse?” she asked softly, she put her small hand over his large manly hand on the table.
At that moment, the very last of his rigidity crumbled, his emotions piled up, he thought back at the civilians of Crofton, he thought about several others he had killed, the blood he has single handedly spilled, this all combined with the strange desire to pour out his heart to Ann.
“I do” he said in a broken voice, he couldn’t hold it in anymore, the tears came rolling down his cheeks, the anguish, the pain he has kept in burst through to the surface. Ann quickly crossed over and pulled him up into an embrace, they stood locked in each in each other’s arm, he held on to her small frame as the emotional rollercoaster continued.
“They were so innocent and I killed them, I killed them”.
“Shhh, its okay” Ann comforted him; “You can start all over again with a clean slate”.
“How?” Hogan broke the hug to look down at her face.
“When you confess your sins and open your heart, he will forgive you and wipe your sins away” She said.
“Who?”
“Our father in heaven, God himself”.
Hogan blinked back the tears, ambiguity raged within him, he had been taught to loath the religious all his life but here he was, he wanted nothing else than to be saved from this pain, he wanted a clean slate like Ann offered, a salvation from his anguish.
“Do you want God to forgive you? Do you want him to take away your pain?” She asked with soft eyes, her hands caressed his cheeks.
“Yes”
“Good, I know a priest, I will take you to him and your sins shall be a thing of the past”. She said.
“One more thing” Hogan said, he looked into her eyes and tried to find the words, the words he had never said all his life.
“I…I love you Ann” he said.
Ann smiled brightly at Hogan, “I feel the same for you” she said with a giggle.
***
The broad leaves of the tall tree created a canopy that restricted the rays of the sun; this made the air so much cooler, the path they walked on soon faded as they ventured deeper into the woods, the trees had black trunks and decomposing leaves covered the ground, the atmosphere was thick. Ann led Hogan on; their destination was the secret hiding place of the Christian priest. Their effort to remain hidden impressed even Hogan; no soldier of the brotherhood would venture this far into the thick woods in search of religious folks. Soon, the trees stood more apart and the ground was a slope, Ann instantly put an arm in front of Hogan to halt his procession, he looked around in search of what had made them stop but he could find nothing, they were alone in these woods.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
Ann looked up at the murky heights of a thick tree, “he is with me, we are here to see the priest” she said to the nothingness.
A perplexed Hogan focused his gaze on the tree and soon he could make out the shape of an individual perched high on the branches of the tree, a thick rope originated from the murky heights of the tree towards a direction ahead, several bells hung from the rope, this was certainly an alarm system, Hogan thought.
“That is a watcher, his job is to raise alarm in case of any suspicious intruder, and there are several others in these woods” Ann said as they continued their walk down the slope. They arrived at a patch, still very much covered by the overhead canopies, several individuals were present here, all adults, they sat on rows of makeshift benches made from bamboo sticks, they clapped and sang in melody facing a pulpit near which stood a man in a black long sleeve robe with buttons from the neck to the hemline, around his neck hung a decent sized golden cross, he was definitely the priest. The thick rope that had originated from the watcher’s tree ended tied to a tall pole, several other ropes from different direction of the woods also ended up on the pole.
“Come” Ann took Hogan’s hand and they took the back row of bamboo seat, the clapping and singing ended and the priest spoke;
“Welcome brethrens, you all took the deadly risk to come here once more in these perilous times, you have stood your ground in defiance of the evil forces that now occupy the high places, though we may be persecuted, we stand strong by his grace, God loves each and every one of you, he will continue to protect and guide each and every one of you present here today”.
“Amen” they replied, Ann especially made her note higher, before smiling sideways at Hogan.
Minutes after the sermon, the congregation dispatched in different directions into the woods, but not after exchanging hugs and greetings. Hogan was surprised at how a few of them even shook his hand cheerfully while saying “go with grace”. It was surprising how no one knew him and his infamous reputation here; it was relaxing how people interacted with him normally instead of gasping and giving him space. Ann led Hogan to the priest after the congregation dispersed;
“Good evening father”
“Grace is with you my child” the priest replied, tracing what looked like a cross in the air.
Ann took Hogan’s hand and ushered him forward. “This is Hogan, and he was once a soldier, he is of a repentant heart.” She said.
The priest certainly looked joyous.
“I am happy you came to seek the face of God, he is ready to forgive all of your sins, all you have to do is confess your sins and he will forgive you, follow me” the priest prompted.
The priest led the pair to an erected tent, in the tent was what resembled an altar, a human height cross stood at the very middle of the altar, on it was the sculpture of a man with thorns on his head, his hands were bounded to the horizontal piece of the cross by what looked like prism metals, his feet were also bound to the base of the vertical piece and he was clad only around his waist, there were lit candles around the cross. The priest stood in front of the altar and beckoned on Hogan;
“Come; confess your sins and he will forgive you”.
Hogan looked back at the smiling Ann who gave him an encouraging nod. He walked towards the priest and instinctively went on both knees with a heavy heart.
“Forgive me, I have sinned, I have taken the lives of many innocents, my sword is stained by the blood of men, women and children, I have served Lucifer all my life, forgive me, please forgive me” he said in anguish.
“You have confessed and he has heard you, your penance shall be protecting those you have once persecuted, take this as your lifelong duty till the day he calls you home, arise my child, you are now a servant of the most high God.”
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