Once the girls regained their composure and prayed for me and my captors, they decided to head out and try to save me. Now in their mermaid forms, they swam out to Mikeru's castle. It was a fair bit father out than their old foes, but they knew it once they spotted it. It glowed brilliantly in the sea. Nonetheless, they knew that regardless of how brightly it shined, it would never outshine God in His just and righteous character.
"Well girls, this is it. Where do you think Max could be in here?" Luchia was right to think about this. By the time they came here, it was late at night and the villains had gone to bed. They had guards in the castle, but these guys where thankfully a mostly dim bunch so they were fairly easy to bypass. The mermaids found a small opening in a window that was just big enough for them to slip through.
I was still sitting there in my cell. The only other thing in there was a cold, uneaten tray of what's supposed to be 'food.' I'm sorry, not even the stuff from my school cafeteria days was that bad. Hunger was the least of what was on my mind; for now, that was trying to escape from this wretched, ungodly place. Suddenly, I see the mermaids in the corner of my eye. Not wanting to alert the guards, I silently wave my arms and whisper. "Hey, over here."
"Pastor, you-"
"Shhh." They'll have to be quiet too.
"You're alive. We're so glad to see you."
"I know, but how am I going to get out of here? This force field is mighty strong." Luchia then remembered how everything worked here.
"Because they're all asleep, we need to work quietly. It's still the North Pacific, so I still have control here." Luchia then controls a shark to have it bite at this wire, as this wire provided the power supply to the force field. Once this wire is severed, the force field in my cell disappears. I was so relieved to step out of my cell and embrace the mermaids in my arms.
"I'm so glad to be back with you guys." I could hardly contain my excitement to be with the seven again. I then pointed down the hall. "We need to pass through that room and hallway again to escape, but we need to keep quiet. Follow me, everyone."
I tiptoed as the mermaids quietly floated alongside me. Unfortunately, we only thought that everyone was asleep. Apparently, that was not the case, as Mikeru was sitting in a nearby room monitoring various screens showing different parts of the Earth and sea. Sheshe couldn't sleep, so she went to check on Mikeru.
"Still up, Mikeru?"
"Evil never sleeps. How can I rest when there's so much on my mind?" Alala then came into the room.
"Sheshe, you know I can't sleep without my seahorse."
Sheshe rolled her eyes as she thought to herself. Twelve years old and still sleeps with that stupid thing? Alala's stuffed seahorse was in the laundry.
"Does it really mean that much to you?" Alala nods. Sheshe then reaches under the cupboard in Mikeru's quarters. "Here's this piece of steel wool, it's just as good." Sheshe hands the steel wool to Alala, who then rubs it against her cheek.
"It's so cold and scratchy!" Just as Alala was about to return to bed, she stops. "Uh, guys. I hear something."
"What the?!" Sheshe was surprised by this. Everyone else was in bed. It could only mean…
"Just keep going, we're almost there. I can taste the freedom. Almost there…"
*PFHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!*
As soon as we heard that whistle go off, the eight of us froze in place. We knew there and then that we had been busted.
"Stop, don't go any further!" Sheshe then ran up to us with two guards in tow, along with the other servants. By now, we are surrounded by them. "Pastor Max, you and your mermaid friends just made a huge mistake trying to escape!" With little to lose, I take the pudding from my dinner and toss it into Sheshe's face, momentarily blinding her.
"Gaaaah! I can't see!" I then shove past Sheshe.
"Go! Now's our chance!" The mermaids and I rush out of the crowd and down the hall. Mimi comes to Sheshe's side and wipes the pudding off her face. Lady Bat then comes up to Sheshe.
"What's the matter? Got egg on your face? Gaaah!" Sheshe knew where to hit Lady Bat where it hurt most. Not even his long hair, feminine clothes, and makeup could protect his willie. As Lady Bat fell to the ground in pain, Sheshe clenched her teeth in anger. Before she could say anything though, a loud crashing noise is made as all the external windows and doors get locked down. I, the mermaids, and the servants are all startled by this loud noise. Mikeru and Fuku then appear before us.
"My, you sure are a brave one, Pastor Max. Trying to escape from us and all. Too bad you broke your own book's rules. Does it not say that you must submit to my rule, as all authority is from God and those rulers were instituted by Him (Romans 13:1)?"
"Heheheh, you can't even follow your own Holy book, so how can you expect others to do the same?"
"If I'm kept here, I can't reach out to my people about the truth." Mikeru smirks at me.
"Oh, so you see yourself as this kind of messiah, don't you?" I hate how they always twist my words as well as God's. "Well, I think we have a special punishment for someone like you." After I was stripped of my clothes, we are then led to this room where there is a large cross laying sideways.
"Go pick it up, Pastor!" The guard shoved me towards the cross. It didn't look too heavy, but when I touched it, a strong sensation of pain went through my body.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!" This pain I felt in my body substantially weakened me as I tried to carry it.
"Pastor Max!" The mermaids tried to help me, but Sheshe and Mimi trapped them in this bubble. I was then made to carry this cross down the hallway in withering pain. Imagine touching an electrified fence, only you weren't allowed to let go. That's what it felt like for me, throughout my body. As I was trudging down that hall, the water servants were shouting all kinds of nasty things to me.
I knew exactly why they inflicted this on me. When someone is crucified, even before they are nailed to the cross, they are forced to carry their cross over a distance. Along the way, they are tortured to make the walk all the more arduous, which in this case was me basically being zapped. Once we got to the final place, the cross is de-energized. Even though I was relieved at that, the exhaustion brought on by dragging that cross, my ordeal wasn't over. The guards tied me to the cross. Mikeru then appeared before me.
"I know we said we didn't want to hurt you, but you were just too much of a threat to our plans. Such a shame, you seemed like a wonderful gentleman. Anything to say for yourself?" I had nothing left to say, otherwise I would've just repeated myself. "Very well. Guards, execute him."
Next thing I knew, the cross was standing in place with me on it. A searing pain suddenly went through my wrist as the guards pounded a nail into it. The mermaids froze in sheer horror at the sight of their Pastor being executed. A second nail was then driven into my other wrist, followed by a third nail in my feet, and finally a crown of hawthorns being pounded around my head. I saw my blood diffusing into the water around me. The nails in my wrists also broke the tendons in my arms, which made supporting myself on this cross very difficult. Just to breathe, I had to tense up my legs. It was very exhausting.
"All hail, the savior of mankind!" The servants mocked my suffering as I laid on that cross. I could not save anyone from their sins, nor could this atone for anything; it was all in vain. Sheshe and Mimi then pulled out their microphones and began to sing He Will Come and Save You [2].
All of the mermaids were withering in pain, covering their ears. I didn't get it; we have sung this song at youth group before. It was when I listened carefully when I realized that they were singing this in a dark, mocking way. They weren't using this to praise God, but rather mock Him, and myself!
While they were singing this, Sheshe and Mimi began to get handsy with each other. I won't describe the things they did, but it was done to be an affront to the King of Kings and His design for love and procreation. A shameful, disgusting site, and all the more shameful that I had to see that as the energy was slowly being drained from my body. At the same time, Lanhua divided into little versions of herself, all playing music and dancing. I found myself succumbing to this sudden temptation to dance along, even though it was all the more painful. Breathing became even more of a chore.
This not only caused the mermaids to pass out in pain, but I was nearly at the end myself. All the servants stood smugly as I looked down at them, managing to crack a rusty smile.
"I… I knew what I was getting into… when I said that… God is our refuge… and our strength!" After getting those words out, my body went limp and everything went black. It was over.