Chapter 10: Spark of Hope.
On Earth, the peoples of the overcrowded cities went about their daily lives just trying to survive in a world that was dying around them, with no hope for a better future. A certainty of a worse fate than the mere decaying of their world, unless the Corporations found enough unobtainium to keep the generators going, hung over the whole planet like a dark shroud, chilling the heart and numbing the soul. However, even as the masses moved through the daily grind of life, certain individuals were gathering in secret in homes and businesses all over the world. In one such place, a group comprised of good friends and family gathered in the home of Lena Moon.
"Is everyone here?" Lena asked, closing and locking the door.
"Yes. Jackson was captured last week. He thought he had found a potential new ally, but he was betrayed. Fortunately, he won't give them anything useful when they 'question' him," the last person to arrive reported.
Lena sighed. "More and more of our people are being found out and captured everyday and it seems as though no one rises up to take their place. But we cannot loose hope and I have a bit of news from Pandora that just might be the encouragement we need."
The group gathered in the tiny living room of the small apartment looked at their host eagerly. For so long they had waited and hoped and prayed for revival with what seemed like no answer. Any good news would be like water to a person in the desert for these watchers.
Lena saw the look and took a deep breath. "Our brothers and sisters are safe on Pandora."
There was a sigh of relief and some people quietly cheered. It had been unknown if the old ship would even make the trip or if it did, if those who had gone would be welcomed on Pandora. Once the first wave of happiness was subsided, Lena continued.
"They have a settlement and are actually forming very good relations with both the Na'vi and the normals who are already there. It appears that our information about the revolt at the base was accurate and those living in the base are firm friends and allies with the Na'vi. More than that, it seems a few of our brothers and sisters in Christ were among those who sided with the Na'vi and those who remain are open to hearing the gospel. Even the Na'vi are curious about our faith and seem to feel it connects us with them somehow."
"At last! The answer to our prayers! Even if we should fall here, the truth will be kept alive in fresh new ground. Where I to die tonight, I could go home happy in the knowledge our sacrifice was not in vain," an older man said, tears of joy flowing down his face.
"Don't be too eager to leave us just yet, Marlow. There's still work to be done here. My sister Leah confided to me in her last message that our cousin Illira has a feeling that revival here on Earth is about to happen. Leah feels the same and so do I. I don't know why, but I keep feeling that soon, we shall find more people willing to listen to the truth," Lena said.
"Well, I can say one thing with absolute certainty. No matter what happens, God will never desert us and His purposes can never be thwarted," a young man with shaggy black hair said.
There was a murmur of consensus among those assembled. Just then, the front door was smashed in and soldiers swarmed in, subduing and seizing everyone present. Once everyone had been cuffed and had an armed guard standing over them, stun-rifle planted firmly on their head, the commander of the squad walked in.
"You are all under arrest for treason to the government, insubordination to the governing authorities, and conspiracy to spread lies and superstitions with intent to cause mass panic. Get them out of here," he said coldly.
The soldiers hauled the Christians to their feet and literally threw them into the back of a black van. The van then quickly sped through the crowded streets on its way to the Administration of Justice building, escorted by three black armored troop transports. Every one of the Christians knew they were going to die for their faith, but each one was more determined than ever now to stand firm, the hope of revival still strong within them, having been breathed back into mighty flame with the news from Pandora.
"If they're cracking down this hard, something must have happened to spook them," a young woman observed.
"Yes. It seems the wheels of change are beginning to turn faster now. Revival is coming," Lena replied.
"Shut up, back there!" the soldier driving barked, flipping a switch.
Electricity was charged into the rear of the vehicle, electrocuting everyone in the back and knocking them out. The soldier chuckled, pleased with the pain he'd caused.
"Shocking, isn't it? They'll be feeling that when they wake up," he said to his partner.
His partner looked back at the prone figures in the back with a hint of pity. "Don't you think you were a little harsh? They were just talking amongst themselves."
The driving soldier snapped at his counterpart. "They got off easy! These traitors deserve far worse than anything we can do to them. Remember where your allegiance lies," he warned darkly.
The other soldier gulped, but wisely shut his mouth. Still, he didn't know why, but he felt that what they were doing was wrong. Shoving the thought to the back of his mind, he leaned back and closed his eyes. Soon the black van and its escort pulled into the black steel gate of the twenty-story, black ultra-steel pyramid that was the Administration of Justice building. Driving down a long tunnel to the underground entrance, the soldiers readied themselves to unload the prisoners.
Once the van came to a stop, the back was opened and the now conscious but very groggy Christians were hauled out. They were forced into a line, with soldiers on either side of and behind them, then marched to some kind of registration area. Each person was forced to enter a stall where their prisoner identification number was ink-branded on their left arm. They were then forced into another slightly larger stall where they were forcibly stripped and microchipped in the back of the left shoulder. Then they were given a dark-grey prison jumpsuit and grudgingly allowed to dress. Once all this was done, they were forced to march barefoot through many long dark halls lit with glaring white lights high in the ceilings, to the prisoner area, where the warden awaited them.
The soldiers kept behind them, tightening their grips on their weapons, looking for any excuse to shoot one of the Christians in the back. However, the warden had other ideas. Stepping out in front of the line of new prisoners, the warden looked them all up and down, a grim smile of satisfaction on his face.
"So, you've caught me some new meat, eh? You hound dogs aren't so useless after all. I've got it from here, Commander. You and your dogs go on and leave me and my boys to our work," he said, never taking his eyes off the Christians.
The commander stiffened at the insult to his men and by extension himself, but made no reply. Instead, he simply about-faced and marched away, his men grudgingly following. Once they were gone, the warden's grin got positively fiendish.
"Alright, now that it's just us, let me lay down the law. Here you will be under surveillance twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year, if you live that long. There is no place the cameras don't cover, you have no privacy. I and my boys can see you even when you're on the potty or in the shower. My word is law. If you break that law, the consequences will be so severe, anything your so-called 'god' can do to you will seem like a love-tap. Do you understand?" he asked, his expression a bizarre mix of pleasure and anger.
The Christians remained silent, but most nodded.
"Good. Once you pass through this door, your freedom is officially gone, your lives forfeit. There is no escape. Not even your 'god' can save you now. Now get in there, you useless maggots!" the warden said, smacking the first person in range with his electrified baton.
Everyone was forced through the door and found themselves in the prison common room for that cell block. A few other people were in there, milling around or sitting on the floor as there were no chairs. The first thing all the new arrivals noticed was that everyone seemed hopeless.
Walking up to one of the men near the center of the room, Lena said in a low voice, "Why are you so crestfallen, brother? Take heart, for the Kingdom has come to Pandora."
The man shook his head. "No. You speak things you hope to be true. You will soon find that there is no hope. Everything is for nothing. They have spies everywhere. It's only a matter of time before we are all dead and the Word gone forever."
Lena and the others all looked around in astonishment. "Do you all believe this? Have you all truly lost hope?" Lena asked.
The despondent looks were answer enough.
"Have you all forgotten what is written? Where are you men and women of courage?" Lena said with some fire.
Then, someone in the back began to sing.
"Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things;
Give heart and soul and mind and strength,
To serve the King of kings.
Rise up, O men of God!
His kingdom tarries long;
Bring in the day of brotherhood,
And end the night of wrong.
Rise up, O men of God!
The Church for you doth wait,
Her strength unequal to her task:
Rise up and make her great.
Lift high the cross of Christ,
Tread where His feet have trod;
As brothers of the Son of man,
Rise up, O men of God!"
"At last! Someone holds faith! Step forward, brother and make yourself known," Lena said, looking for the singer.
A long lanky figure with long, grey, greasy, tangled hair strode forward. The man came to a stop in front of Lena and slowly lifted his face. "You bring hope with you into this darkness. Your words to Mathias reached my ears and breathed hope anew in me. I am Nathaniel Oxherd. I have been here for nearly twenty years and now, I take up the call once more. Rise up, O men and women of God! Fear not the sword of death! Our God is King and Lord as yet! Rise up in hope and faith!"
Suddenly a group of guards armed with electro-batons rushed in and began beating and shocking anyone they could lay hands on. Soon everyone was thrown into their cells and left to sleep off the shocks as best they could. However, while the warden had intended to crush the hope that was threatening to blaze up in the prisoners, his little stunt had done more to fan the flames than he realized.
Author's Note: I don't own the hymn 'Rise Up, O Men of God.' I just thought it would fit the scene.