Chapter Five
The group moved along the trail for a moment or so, walking up a hill.
"Oh, come, family!" said Hananiah. "We have a long way to travel! Make sure you have your papers with you! There are Romans about!"
"Yes, keep together, family!" said Ruth from the back of the group. "We must keep moving!"
Sam and Dean spotted smoke rising ahead of them behind a tent on the left.
"Come, family, there is another fire ahead!" said Hananiah. He led the group towards the tent.
As the group congregated in front of the fence, Sam and Dean assessed the new scene. A tent on the left, a campfire in the middle, and another tent—this one open on both sides—in the back of the scene. They could look through the tent and see a similar scene down on the lower trail. This scene appeared to be connected on both sides. Two women in traditional costumes stood around the fire as two men in brown tunics and tan jackets with hoods stood next to them.
"Dude, check it out," said Dean, gesturing to the older man with a white beard. "It's Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"Dean—" began Sam.
"Yeah, yeah, no comments," muttered Dean.
There were more "Jedis" in the open tent, holding scrolls in front of them and reciting words in a strange language. The one on the right would read a word, and the two on the left would recite the word back.
"That sounds like Hebrew," Sam whispered to Dean.
"Shalom, may we warm ourselves at your fire?" asked Hananiah.
"Oh, yes!" said a servant in a red tunic and striped headdress.
"Come, family!" said Hananiah. "Warm yourselves at the fire! Gather close! Let the little ones up front! Come warm yourselves!" He moved to the right of the fence, glancing down towards the left side of the fence where the tent was. "Are you there, Ruth?"
Ruth brought up the last of the group as she took her place at the fence. "Yes, Hananiah, we are all here!"
"My, you have a large family!" said the servant in a purple tunic and blue headdress.
"Yes, Jehovah has blessed us," said Hananiah.
"Well, you are welcome to share our fire," said the red-tunic-servant. "My name is Lydia, and this is Phoebe." She gestured to the purple-tunic-servant.
"We are honored to be servants for the Rabbi and scribes," said Phoebe.
"I am Hananiah, and this is my family," he told the servants.
"I am Mathias," said the older scribe. He gestured to the middle-aged scribe. "And this is Nathaniel. We are scribes for the Rabbi Mordecai." He gestured an arm towards the reciting scribes in the tent behind him. "We are making copies of the Holy Scriptures."
"Family, the Holy Scriptures are God's Words that have come to us through His prophets," said Ruth.
"Yes, they are," said Nathaniel. "The Holy Words of God give us great hope."
Dean leaned towards Sam and whispered, "What is with them pushing this whole 'hope' thing?"
"They probably theme this thing every year," Sam whispered back.
"If you listen carefully," said Phoebe, "you can hear the Rabbi reading to the scribes."
Everyone in the scene paused as they turned towards the tent slightly so the group could hear the scribes reciting Hebrew.
"Listen to them, family," said Hananiah.
Lydia turned back towards the group. "You look as though some of you have come from a land far from here. The Holy Scrolls are written in the Hebrew language."
Dean elbowed Sam. "Told you."
Sam frowned at him. "Whatever, I told you."
"Well, perhaps you could translate some for our family?" asked Ruth.
"Yes, of course," said Nathaniel. He gestured towards the scribe tent. "Rabbi Mordecai is reading from the prophet Micah." He looked back at the scribes and listened for a moment. He turned back towards the group. "'For you, Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah,'" he paused for another moment to listen again, "'out of you will come one for me who will be over Israel.' This is how we know that the coming Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem."
Lydia, Phoebe and Mathias all nodded.
Hananiah stepped forward, gesturing wildly. "Bethlehem? Well, that is where WE are traveling to! Would you tell us more of our Messiah?"
"Oh, yes," said Phoebe. "Over six hundred years ago, the prophet Isaiah said, 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and shall call His name Immanuel.' The name Immanuel means 'God with us'!"
Mathias stepped forward. "Isaiah also foretold, 'For unto you a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon His shoulders and His name shall be called,'" Mathias raised his arms higher and higher with each word, his voice rising higher and higher also, "'"Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace!"'"
Nathaniel, Phoebe and Lydia also raised their hands and said, "Prince of Peace!"
The actors dropped their arms.
"The Prince of Peace—our Messiah!" said Ruth. "It will be wonderful when He comes!"
"Yes, hallelujah!" said Mathias, raising his arms. Everyone nodded.
"Praise God!" said Hananiah. "You have renewed our hope. Thank you for sharing your fire, but we must be on our way to Bethlehem. Greet them, family. Shalom!"
"Shalom," greeted the scribes and servants.
"Remember," Nathaniel called as the group began to leave, "that the coming Messiah will be born in Bethlehem!"
A little girl, who was being carried by her father in front of the Winchesters, turned her head towards the scene. "We know!"
The servants and scribes all laughed.
"It's in the book!" the girl went on as they walked away.
"Have a safe journey!" called Phoebe.
"Have your papers ready," said Mathias, approaching the fence. "The Romans are just around the corner."
Several kids in the group looked around with scared faces until their parents reassured them.
"How's that fish coming, Lydia?" asked Nathaniel.
"It would have been better if I had some help, Phoebe," Lydia joked.
Sam and Dean looked back to see the actors all laughing among themselves and talking as they waited for the next group.
"Dude, they have to stand out here all night and do that scene over and over again?" asked Dean.
"Probably," said Sam.
"Man, that's worse than real actors," said Dean. "At least with real actors, you have a lot of scenes to do and you can take breaks when they call 'cut' and you have trailers on the set and food the people give you. Out here all night…How long does this thing last?"
"I saw a sign in the lobby," said Sam. "It lasts from 6:30 until 9:00 Thursday and Friday, and then from 5:30 to 9:00 on Saturday and Sunday."
"Four nights?" asked Dean. "Damn."
"And they probably have to be out here an hour before it starts," said Sam. "And the line shuts down at 9:00, but the people still in line have to go through, so they're probably out here for an hour, sometimes two after it closes."
"Holy crap," said Dean. "Why would someone volunteer for this?"
"Because it means something to them," said Sam. "They really believe what this program stands for, so they do it because they want to get a message to the community."
"Family, move along!" called Hananiah. "There is another camp ahead! We must keep moving!"
"Yes, keep moving, family!" called Ruth.
"I think I feel worse for these guides," said Dean. "They have to keep taking these 'families' through this trail over and over again. They don't get to stand around the campfires."