Chapter 2- Meeting the father

A.N: Some of the text has been taken from The Book of Joseph. I do not own this content; it is the property of Ubisoft.

The woman staring back at Lilith was not one she had seen in years. Her hair was neatly brushed into a half up half down style; small curls tumbled down over her collarbones. She wore minimal make up, had wide-awake eyes and fresh bright clean skin. Her skater dress was a duck egg blue floral print. Lilith's reflection looked like a young housewife straight out of the 1950's. It was a drastic change from her familiar short skirts, ripped jeans and leather jackets. She didn't know how to feel as she stared back at this new version of her. In one sense she welcomed the change. On the other hand it scared her how quickly the events had snowballed. It was only 48 hours ago that she was back in that hotel room. Now here she was in Faith Seed's bunker in Hope County, waiting to see a man who called himself the father. Nerves began to creep up on Lili. She wanted to go home. But she no longer had a home. The home that she had was long gone after the events of the other evening. The people she called her family had betrayed her. There was nothing left for her back home. It hurt. But Lili knew in her heart she needed to find a new path in her life, a place she could call her home and people she could call family. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reminding herself to keep an open mind about what the father had to say.

"Lili are you ready? The father is here to see you." Faith said, walking in with a spring in her step. .

"I think so." She replied nervously.

"Don't be afraid." Faith said touching her arm. "You look beautiful, like an angel. We are here to help you. The path to Eden is clear for those who have faith."

—-

Lili's leg was tapping the concrete ground repeatedly with The room was decorated with the lilies Lilith had seen before waking up with Faith. The walls were adorned with white silk sheets and photographs of a family of 4. Faith was twirling around in the corner of the room clutching a white leather book with gold embossing. She clutched it with such love it was as if her life depended on it.

The doors opened, his presence captured the attention of the room. A man who she could only presume was the father walked into the room with such an air about him it was as if he could part the Red Sea. He was middle aged, with his hair tied up in a top knot. He wore yellow tinted fighter pilot glasses that discoloured his bright blue eyes. His facial hair was neatly trimmed around his face. Dressed in a smart grey suit he didn't look like your typical preacher.

In the middle of the room, he held his hands out by his side, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. Faith immediately came over, bowing her head slightly and held the book out to him. He ran his fingers through her hair in an affectionate gesture and took the book from her. Faith turned on her heel and left the room. It was just him and Lilith in the room.

"You must be the father," Lilith said, desperate to break the silence.

"I am my child. But you may call me Joseph." He said with an oddly unexpected smile. Lilith half expected him to be an obnoxious man under false pretences but he actually had a warm omniscient presence about him.

"Tell me, Lilith Clarke, how did the world hurt you that lead you to come to us?"

"Excuse me?"

"Before you were here. How did the world hurt you?" He said, their eyes on each other.

She pondered his words for a moment. "The world hurt me in many ways Joseph, physically, mentally and emotionally." She closed her eyes and dipped her head. The memories of her past resurfacing.

"I saw your arrival in a vision my child."

Her eyes narrowed in doubts of his words.

"Many people claim to hear divine voices. There are numerous lunatics out there, and if it's not the voice of angels speaking to them, it's aliens, George Washington, or John Lennon. Every busy street corner has a chosen one, a mad profit. They announce that "THE END IS NIGH", that humanity has been irredeemably condemned for its sins and misdeeds, ordering you to repent and damning you to the eternal flames of hell. They frighten children and inspired a vague sense of pity in adults, especially when you catch a whiff of that body odour as you pass. Yet they claim to be heralds of the holy word.

Why should I be any more believable? How am I any different? Probably because I'm not here to talk about saving your soul. I'm here to talk about saving the human race, here and now, on this earth. I am talking about life before death. I'm only here to help you survive the impending chaos. Don't get me wrong–the world is coming to an end. Its destruction has been foretold. And as glassy-eyed as your street corner proselytizer is, as confused as his spirit is, I can't help but respect him for understanding better than anyone else that the clock is ticking.

But whereas he only senses a murky feeling of doom deep in his bones, I know it beyond a shadow of a doubt. I know it because the voice told me so. The voice of the creator.

I am here to tell you that God has tired of humanity's behaviour and intends to take back everything he has created. Man's pride has made him so forgetful and ungrateful, that God intends to start over. For we have learnt nothing. We have left filth on everything, soiled it all. And as insignificant as we are, our perversion, our duplicity, the indescribable cruelty we inflict on each other has fanned the flames of his anger. How can we still doubt the approaching deluge that will wash us all away?

We may have been created in his image, but we have reinvented ourselves, adding makeup, and contouring ourselves into strange shapes to become ghastly creatures. We were once so pure, who lived in Paradise, now wallow in muck day and night, entombing our original goodness under a thick layer of filth.

We have enraged our God and we will pay the price sooner than we think.

Look at what the world has become. Look at how some bask in opulence whilst others drown in misery. Witness the vicious cycle of conflicts spiralling out of control, of crusades driven by the greed of men. Greed–that is what drives mankind. In man's endless quest, a quest that never ends well, those with nothing are worth no more than those with everything. Victims never dream of a more just society, they yearn only to join the caste of the unjust, to tread on the poor in turn.

The greed of man destroys everything: forests, oceans, and their fellow man. Many kill, they poison, they corrupt. Men care not whether individuals die on the other side of the world as long as we possess the latest technology; they care not whether multitudes are trampled upon as long as they can fill their cars with cheap gasoline. In their frenzy for possessions, they mock everything. Nothing is sacred any more. They dance atop ruins, march through cemeteries parading the still warm ashes of those who were sacrificed in the flames. In a society where selfishness triumphs, where people can't see beyond the end of their noses, where they worship themselves, what becomes of the righteous? What becomes of goodness? Of the humble or those who wonder abandoned in that vast wasteland that the world has become? What becomes of those who prefer to understand rather than to possess, to share rather than to keep? They are ridiculed. We scoff at the generous, at those who care for others. We laugh at those who feed the destitute; we mock people who preferred the real world to virtual illusions. We point and laugh, we call them weak, simpleminded misfits. We heap insults upon them and beckon them to join the macabre carnival of frenzied consumption. And if they refuse, we become suspicious of them and cast them out. Who else do the FBI and other government agencies persecute these days? The pariahs are constantly harassed and subjected to the relentlessness zeal of federal authorities. They are subpoenaed, hunted down, kept tabs on and humiliated. Sometimes they're dragged off to prison and driven to madness or suicide. Look deep inside your heart: isn't this exactly what you've always believed to? Are you not a member of this new crop of martyrs, devoured by the invisible beasts of despair and solitude unleashed upon you in the world's arena?

I see that you hesitate to answer, that you do not agree. Your suspicion is understandable. This vice-filled world– a world to which you don't belong– has for so long forced you to hide your true self away, taught you in painful ways to protect yourself, beat down the impulses of your heart, distrust words, distrust others– and even distrust yourself. But let me tell you what the voice told me: the creator has never turned a blind eye to the distress of the righteous. He has been watching mankind and has seen those who desecrate his word, who desecrate themselves in a race toward material wealth and vainglory. Such sinners have angered him and it won't be long until he unleashes his righteous punishment.

The wheat will be separated from the chaff. This is the mission bestowed upon me. I must gather those who will be touched by the grace of its message and bring them together to form a family. The emptiness you feel inside is a resonant chamber that amplifies the voice so that you may know it is genuine. What if you could be one of the chosen ones, along with others who believe in me? What if you could be one of those who preserved purity allows you to grasp the divine source of the message that I'm spreading? What if you knew from the instant we met that I wasn't just another fool at the crossroads? If you to dream of restoring the world to its original beauty and harmony– if you have the faith and the drive– then join me, and you will survive the cataclysm that is upon us. To live again in the Garden of Eden. The way we did before."

Lilith was glued to his every word, drinking it in.

"You can judge me. You can judge us. The things that we have done… but people say… that I'm crazy, but when you wake up in the morning you look at the same news that I do. Do your eyes not fill with horror? This is the world?! This? This is the world we have built for our children? Communities being torn apart. Walls being erected. Because leaders are too impotent to act. Bullies are too addled to lead righteously. I did not ask for this. I was chosen. See, everything is coming to an end. You can feel that. I know you can… See, mankind is weak… and vulnerable. And we are hurtling towards our destruction and no one is willing to do anything about it. I can see that. You can see. And we are not crazy. So what are we supposed to do? We just sit back and await the inevitable? I don't claim to be a perfect man, but I saw what was coming and I chose to act. To lead. Because society is broken and the only way forward… is to go back to the way things once were. Innocent and pure. So safe and protected… in our Garden. I can save you. But you have to have faith."

There was a pause whilst the power of his words settled in the room.

"Joseph, I'm not going to lie to you. What you said was truly powerful. Your words spoke to me. I have felt an emptiness for so long now. I filled it with sin hoping it would save me. But too many times I felt myself feeling emptier than ever. I do not know if I can wholeheartedly believe if the end is nigh. But every word you have said wasn't a lie. You don't see it when you're there glued to your smartphone. The foundations of our existence are crumbling around us but we are to naïve and obstinate to see it. Whether I arrived here by accident or divine intervention I am here standing before you. I want to change. I'm not that girl from a band looking to rebel against my family anymore. I ran anyway hoping for a new life and to find something worth living for. I do not want to live in a word that continues to hurt people, where men in power dictate with an iron fist. I have seen the poverty that afflicts people and how the people at the top treat dirt better than they do the people at the bottom. I always wanted to change the world, but the world changed me instead. I beg of you. I thought rehab was what I needed, but now I feel… here is where I am meant to be."

The father grabbed her hands. "Lilith my vision showed you coming to us, you will rise like a phoenix from the ashes. You will bloom into the most beautiful flower if you stay here with us. Your place if you chose to accept, is here with us by your side. I can show you the beauty of the world again, help you atone for all of your sins, protect you from the hatred of the world and lead you on the path to Eden."

"This is where I'm meant to be. There is nothing left for me outside. Please, Joseph, help me on my path." She beamed.