Jakin was angry

Jakin was angry. He wished he could have done something to stop Bart, maybe he should have shot him. He almost wished he had. Then maybe he would have Marion back. He slowly walked to the sheriff's office, wondering how no one but him had seen Bart take Marion. He wondered why the street had been so empty, and where the people were. Then, he remembered. The drawing.

He decided to go on in the sheriff's office, and see if there were any of the sheriff's friends hanging around the place. He went inside, and quickly scanned the room. Seeing no one, he headed back outside, and then stopped in his tracks. There had been no one in the room…not even in the cell. Running back inside, he saw right away that he was right. The cell door was swung open, and the cell was quite empty. "What? How did they all get out?" He thought aloud, and then came up with something that seemed quite reasonable. Black Bart let them out. They had to be part of his gang. Now the stakes were even higher, and things were much more dangerous. Jakin sank down into the sheriff's chair, only to stand up again, and turn around to see what he had almost sat on. It was a worn and torn copy of a book, and on the cover it read, "Holy Bible." Now you must understand that there were no Bibles in the time that Jakin and Marion lived, so Jakin had no idea of what a Bible was. Now he gently picked it up, sitting back down. Slowly opening the flap, he saw Charlie's full name inside. Some other names were in there too, but Jakin didn't recognize any of them. He continued turning the pages, and began to understand that it was a collection of stories. Flipping through the Bible, he saw several names: Esther, Adam, David, and Jesus. He stopped flipping, and read, "Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard." Looking at the top of the page, it said, 1 Samuel, 22:23. Jakin tried to absorb what he had just read. Who was this speaking? The only person he knew that he could always rely on to protect him always was Eashoa. Flipping through the book, he read several more passages, and soon felt that the book in his hands was a great and powerful thing. He also read, "Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee. Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge."

Tears formed in Jakin's eyes as he continued reading, and realized that in this book Eashoa spoke to all of His people. He held in his hands that in his time, he would never live to see, and it was both sad and strange knowing that this might be the only time he would ever read it. Oh Eashoa, please protect Marion and I from harm. Please show me what to do; I am so lost right now. You sent us here to help, yet we are the ones who need help! As soon as he said this, the tears came fast and furious, and he dropped to his knees. He thought of the names he had read in the Bible, Eashoa's other names. Strange and new, yet they seemed to fit Him immediately. Jesus. Lord. Messiah. Majesty. The list went on, and on. He wanted to keep the Bible, to be able to hold it forever, but he knew he couldn't. He had Eashoa with him always, and that was more important than any item he could ever have. His anxiety and confusion withered away, and a peace and courage filled him once again, as it had when he had been before the battle with Melech and Caspar. He stood up, gently placed the Bible on the chair, and walked out of the room. Lead me, Lord.

Bart slid Marion off the horse, handing her to one of his men. It had been easy enough getting the men out of jail, since no one was there. Now he was dropping Marion off at the hideout, then he was going back in town to the drawing. Marion kicked and screamed, but it did no good, as the man who was holding her was extremely strong and didn't mind a few kicks, and because they were out in the middle of nowhere, and no one would hear her. All the same, the man holding her punched the side of her face when she kicked him, which Bart seemed to think was funny. "Take her in back of the house and tie her to a tree. I'll be back soon enough, and then I'll deal with her." With a nod, the big man holding her jerked and dragged her behind the rickety house, where Marion saw a big tree. The man threw her over his shoulder, while he tied one loop of a rope around a high branch in the tree. Setting her down, he tied the other ends of the tree to her wrists, let her go, and then pulled on the rope. Marion's wrists were jerked upwards, and her feet left the ground. Now hanging in the air by her wrists, she bit back a cry of pain as the ropes bit into her skin. The big man smirked, then left. Marion was tempted to just scream in frustration, then decided that wouldn't do her any good. Instead, she tried to swing her legs up, and to try to get her legs around the branch, so that she might hang upside-down, and free herself. She proceeded to do so, and had gotten one full leg around the branch (not really caring at this point if her dress was immodestly showing anything, as she just wanted to get out of there) but then, the big man came back, baring another rope. "Ugh!" was all Marion said, as the man forced her leg back down, and tied both legs together. Now she was really stuck.