#Zechariah 12

[at-the-end-of-days]

Well this sucks.

What does this say about us as a people?

What does it say about us as a nation, that we are SUPPORTING the mass murder of so many?

Now I think that this article above is misconstruing actions.

But so many are supporting Palestine against the “colonists,” the Israelis. The zionists. What do we see on social media? People catering to what is the “right” thing to say. Angry at the “right” things. People can’t even call out what they think is the wrong “think-speak” unless they believe that they have the opinion of the greater community behind them, least they be “wrong,” and “canceled.” And then people get into bubbles, echo-chambers, where opinions are repeated back, over and over again, surrounded with the same opinions.

This used to be Jewish land. Then it became Palestinian land. Now Israel is back. When does it become morally “correct” for someone to take their land back, or to give up on it? A few short years, such as in Ukraine? Should Poland try and get land back from Russia? It hasn’t been that long. Why is it that Israel should leave because it’s Palestinian land now? How much time must pass for this to be “correct”? But even then! That doesn’t mean that either side is totally correct! There are shades of grey! Grey that so many on social media cannot see, as people can no longer reason about issues, things MUST be right or wrong.

Have we not seen it on tumblr? Just these past three days? Going from “oh no, Israel,” to “people did bad things to each other,” to “people in Israel should just leave!” Because that became the “right” opinion.

But that doesn’t! Mean! I think Israel is in the 100% moral right here. Ideally everyone could live together. But that can’t happen. But drawing and redrawing borders for peace also can’t happen, when both sides want the land. They had to completely divide Jerusalem, and there’s still no end to the tension there.

And what does this say about how we wage war, when Israel has cut off water, WATER for the people it is fighting? Not just the terrorists, but civilians?

I whole heartedly condemn all celebrations for Hamas.

I condemn all celebrations for this loss of life.

I say that Israel should NOT use water as a method of waging war.

All I can hope for now? Is that the American presence is small, that Iran doesn’t get involved further, and that this doesn’t escalate.

And as a reminder this isn’t a news blog, or a war blog, it’s a Christian Revelations blog.

So let’s throw in some scripture.

Zechariah 12, King James Version.

12 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

4 In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God.

6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

7 The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.

8 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

So no, I do not think this conflict will end with Israel being torn down stone by stone. I do not think that Israel will fall against Hamas, against Iran.

I think public opinion will side with Palestine, and Israel will lose more and more support.

But I think, after an enormous loss of life, that Israel will be left standing.

That men, women, and children, will all have suffered.

That Palestinians and Israelites will have suffered.

And that in the end, the atrocities they have committed, the rape and parading of Israelite women, the cutting off of water to all the people in Gaza? Will be left to be settled on judgment day.

[jesus-is-lord-and-savior]

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

(Zechariah 12:10, ESV)

[cursedbanalities]

✨Zechariah 14:12-13 Chapter 2✨

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“Yo, what’s Ethan’s problem?” Mason asks, walking to the back of Eugene’s Pizza to help Hunter finish closing.

“The man got bit on his last delivery.” Hunter says looking over his shoulder as he leans over the dish sink— there’s still a few dishes left, a couple of pizza cutters and a few lids from the deep dish pans. “Whatever it is he did, I don’t blame him.”

“Fuck, for real?” Mason asks, cocking his head and furrowing his brow. “I mean… that’s fair then I guess. He have to shit too or something?”

“I don’t know, probably. I’m sure he’s just ready to go home. By the way, we got mostly everything done. We just have to finish up these dishes and mop,” Hunter sighs, ready for this shift to be over.

Mason nods, giving Hunter a quick smirk and a thumbs up. Hunter returns the thumbs up and scrubs at the lids and slicers, spraying them down and dunking them into sanitizing water. As he drains out the sink, Mason starts to mop. He goes around the store, mopping the walk-in freezer, the areas around the dish sink and metallic tables, and by the phones that take deliveries. Ethan stays in the bathroom the whole time, prompting Hunter to say something to Johnny as he gives him his money for the day- a whopping three order’s worth of cash, and $13 in tips.

“Well, I’ve had the same kinda issue.” Johnny says to him as he counts Hunter’s money. “Y’know, I’ve been tryin’ ta reach my wife and kids all night. Just, ghosted. I figured I did somethin’ to make my wife mad at the very least, but she hasn’t even opened my texts! They just say ‘sent.’”

“Oof, man. I hope she isn’t mad or anything.” Hunter says. “But, what’s that got to do with Ethan “shittin’” his brains out up there?”

“Man, I dunno.” Johnny says, slightly exasperated. “He’s prolly jus’ mad ‘cause I made him stay here later y’know?” He finishes counting the cash, and gives Hunter his measly amount in tips.

“Thanks,” Hunter says sarcastically. He turns and starts to walk away as Johnny pulls out his phone.

“What the fuck?” Johnny mutters, just loud enough for Hunter to hear. He turns around with a “hm?” and Johnny shows him his phone screen. The last text he sent, just before he gave Hunter his tips, was grayed out with a “not delivered” just below it.

“Well at least you know she isn’t ignoring you? Hunter speculated.Johnny shook his head.

“Well, that might’ve been the case if I had any service, which I obviously must’a just lost. I was lookin’ somethin’ up just a second ago.”

Hunter pulls out his phone and turns it on. Same thing, zero bars. Andy and Cameron, who were on the other side of the kitchen talking about something else, happened to hear Johnny and checked their phones too.

Same thing.

Cameron even confirmed it by trying to look something up in his browser, with the only thing popping up being a notice for no wi-fi.

“Well, shit. I know I paid my phone bill at least,” Cameron said. “But if the network is down, wouldn’t they send out a message telling us about why it’s down or something? I’m surprised they haven’t yet.”

“Maybe they jus’ haven’ noticed it?” Johnny asks. “Whatever. Maybe the news’ll have somethin’ to say about it.” He walks out to the lobby, grabbing a tv remote from under the cash register, and turning the lobby tv on. While he did that, Mason walked into the kitchen, and told Hunter that he’s gonna kick Ethan out of that bathroom whether he’s done in there or not. Hunter gives him a shrug, so Mason grabs the mop bucket and rolls it up the inclined hallway towards the backroom.

Hunter walks out into the lobby to see what was happening on the TV. Johnny, Cameron, and Andy were staring at the TV with their arms crossed or hands on their hips. The news was talking about the viral infection coming out of Singapore.

“Well, nothing about cell phone outages,” Johnny mutters. “That infection shit is pretty fuckin’ scary though.”

“Eh, I mean. Covid wasn’t THAT bad.” Andy shrugs. “I never got it. How bad could this really be?”

The TV goes black, and a series of deep siren-sounding beeps comes out of it.

…EEEEH…

….EEEEH…

…EEEEH…

EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM

EAN SYSTEM

ISSUED AN

EMERGENCY ACTION NOTIFICATION

A computer-generated voice of a man comes over the tv speakers:

“We interrupt this program as this is a national emergency. Important instructions will follow. This is not a test. A severe viral infection has been located in several cities in the United States, overwhelming medical officials and the United States Military. The cities include: New York, Baltimore, Miami, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

“This viral infection has outpaced protective measures put into place by the Center for Disease Control. Citizens living within these cities are recommended to seek immediate shelter. Citizens who do not live in these cities are asked to return to their homes and lock the doors. Do not open them unless the all-clear has been given. Tune in to a local station to listen. Ensure that you have water, food, and a flashlight.”

Text on the screen changes:

Remember:

- ENSURE YOU HAVE FOOD AND WATER FOR (1) WEEK AT LEAST

- LOCK YOUR DOORS

- DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PREMISES

- IF YOU OR A FAMILY MEMBER HAS BEEN INFECTED IN THE LAST HOUR (VIA BITE OR CONTACT WITH INFECTED BODILY FLUIDS): SEPARATE AND QUARANTINE.

The voice continues:

“The CDC has reported that the infection travels via the bloodstream through contact with the infected victim’s blood, and is often transmitted through a bite from an infected person. Avoid all contact with persons who may have been bitten. The United States Government has authorized civilians to take up arms to defend their life, and property. This message will repeat.”

…EEEEH…

….EEEEH…

…EEEEH…

Hunter, Johnny, Andy, and Cameron all look at each other, their eyes wide and mouths agape, as they hear Mason scream from the storage room.

They run into the kitchen. Mason sprints down the hallway from the supply room. Ethan’s hot on his tail, crashing into a wall as they round the corner. He launches himself at Mason and connects, bringing both of them to the ground. Mason wrestles with him, trying to keep him off as strands of red spit drip from his mouth and onto Mason’s face. Hunter and Johnny both run over to them, but Hunter gets there first. He grabs Ethan, putting him into a bear hug and pulling him off, inadvertently pointing him at the rest of the group. Ethan squirms in his arms, violently shaking his shoulders, before digging his nails into Hunter’s forearms and breaking free. Ethan flails his arms, and charges towards the first person he sees— Johnny. He grabs the wide man, sinking his nails into Johnny’s arms and shoulders as he tries to wrestle him to the ground. Johnny struggles to defend himself, and Ethan gnashes his teeth at him. He yelps as Ethan bites and scratches at him, leaving scratch marks on his face and neck.

“C’mon Ethan!” he yells, “Get the fuck off of me!” Johnny starts to lose strength as Ethan relentlessly fights to bite a chunk out of him.

Hunter freezes with fear. All he can do is watch as his friend clacks his teeth, trying to rip out his manager’s throat. He snaps out of it when he sees Cameron pat his lower back, just above his waistline. He pulls up his shirt, revealing a semi-automatic pistol with a wooden grip and polished silver finish. He pulls it out, cocks the slide back, and points it at the side of Ethan’s head. Hunter and Andy both jump when they see the gun, and Hunter reflexively ducks when Cameron points it at Ethan.

“YOU BROUGHT YOUR FUCKING GUN?” he lets out, causing Ethan to look at him just as Cameron pulls the trigger, shooting the back of Ethan’s head.

Hunter flinches as Ethan’s forehead explodes, leaving a large crater behind and spraying Mason and Johnny with blood. Hunter’s ears ring, and he feels the bile rise in his throat. Everything’s spinning, and he starts hyperventilating. He backs up until he hits a wall and clutches at his chest. He looks down at Ethan’s body. His arm is mangled, with deep scratches and bite marks covering his right arm and hand. It looked like he had been chewing on himself— chunks of missing flesh went right down to the bone. His teeth were a bloody red, and blood pours out of his nose, mouth, and the gaping hole in his head.

He sees Andy yelling at Cameron, trying to grab the gun out of his hand, but Cameron pushes him away. Andy’s screams are muffled since Hunter’s ears are still ringing, but after a few seconds it starts to dissipate. His heart is still pounding. He fully regains his hearing while Andy is still yelling at Cameron.

“-ou fucking crazy?” Andy screams at him. “Dude, what if there was a cure or something? You just murdered Ethan!”

“How do you know if there’s a cure? Haven’t you ever seen a zombie movie? There’s never a cure!” Cameron fires back.

“How the hell do you know that? Even then, rule number one about zombie movies is to NEVER shoot your fucking gun! For all you know, you just brought them all here!”

Mason shakily stands up, trying to avoid looking at the growing pool of blood seeping out of Ethan. He takes a few steps back, and starts to stutter something. He points at Johnny, eyes wide, who’s clutching at his forearm. His hand is soaking in blood. Hunter’s eyes widened.

“T-take your hand off.” Hunter stutters, still shaken up from the gunfire. Andy and Cameron whip around, as though forgetting there were other people with them. Johnny shakes his head.

“Yo, don’t play with me man,” Cameron says, pointing the gun at him. Andy tries to tell him to put the gun down, but puts his hands up after Cameron points it at him. “Back up! Show me your arm!” Johnny shakily removes his hand, showing the wound: two large curved lines nearly touch, creating an oval on his forearm. Hunter gasps, Mason and Andy let out an exasperated groan when they see the bite, and Cameron’s eyes start welling up.

“Please, PLEASE, man!” Johnny pleads, “I gotta get back to my wife and kids!”

“How the fuck are you going to get back to your family if you’re bitten? Do you want to kill them?” Cameron shouts at him, putting his finger on the trigger. “I’m sorry man, but we can’t take that risk!” Johnny starts to cry.

“Dude, will you chill out a second? We can figure something out!” Andy exclaims. “Your first thought shouldn’t be to just fucking kill him!”

Hunter speaks up, “Look, we don’t know how long this thing will last. Couldn’t we at least give him the benefit of the doubt? Hell, Ethan lasted at least an hour before turning.” Cameron gives him a glare, but Mason disagrees.

“Didn’t you see how Ethan almost got us? Imagine if Johnny was able to move like that! Could you imagine trying to wrestle him off of you? We wouldn’t stand a chance!”

“No, please! I can just go and lock myself in the bathroom or-”

“I don’t have any choice, man!”

“Cameron, just do it!”

“What are you fucking nuts? Just make him quarantine! We can-”

A figure walks by the window, illuminated by the fluorescent lights of Eugene’s Pizza. Everybody in the store to go silent. It stops, and walks towards the window. A man, with bloody teeth and a large chunk missing from his shoulder, walks towards the window, and starts awkwardly pounding at it. The glass bends and shakes with every impact. In the distance, the group can see more figures walking towards Eugene’s.

“Holy shit,” Andy mutters, sprinting to the lobby to lock the double push doors. He runs back to the kitchen. His eyes are wide with fright, but he takes a deep breath to steady himself.

“O-okay, listen. We have to get this place barricaded. Hunter, get those tables from the back and put them in front of those doors, I’ll help you. Mason, you gotta find some weapons. Maybe try sharpening the pizza cutters, or find something to make a spear with the brooms and knives we have.” Hunter and Mason nod. Andy turns to Cameron, “Please. We have to deal with this before we deal with Johnny. We’ll just lock him in the freezer. Is that okay, man? Are you going to put the gun down?”

Cameron keeps pointing the gun at Johnny, whose eyes are red and filled with tears. His hand starts to shake as he white-knuckles the gun. The thumping at the window grows as more people with bloody teeth start smacking at the windows. Cameron’s face turns to stone, and he shakes his head. “No. I-I’m sorry.”

Johnny screams, before being cut off with the flash of the gun’s muzzle and an explosion. He falls over, the wall behind him painted red. Andy screams, Hunter and Mason both jump from the sound and look away.

“You fucking asshole!” Andy yells, punching Cameron in the jaw. Cameron takes it, and stumbles back, but he looks like he didn’t feel it. He’s still in shock, staring at the two dead bodies of his coworkers- both dead by his hand. The infected outside of the store start screaming, throwing themselves at the window. There's at least a dozen of them. “You have to get those bodies out of here. NOW.” Andy commands, pointing at Johnny and Ethan.

Cameron doesn’t look like he heard Andy, so Andy yanked the gun out of his hand and slapped him— not hard, just enough to snap him back to reality.

“Take care of their fucking bodies. You killed them, after all.” Andy said, cold as ice.

Cameron opens his mouth to speak, but silently relents. After putting a couple pairs of nitrile gloves, he walks over to their bodies and starts dragging them out the back door, leaving a trail of slick scarlet in their wake. He gags while he does it, but manages to roll them out of the way.

Hunter and Mason look at each other. Despite their disagreement, they know that fighting amongst themselves would only kill them— not like they have much of a chance at living, anyways. The screams of the infected are only getting louder. It feels like the group outside is only getting larger.

Hunter gives Mason a thumbs up. Mason returns it, and they get to work trying to save their lives.

————————————————————————

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[slayeroftears]

[autoacafiles]

[bojackson54]

On the Road to Emmaus, Some Disciples Connected the Dots. Have YOU?

Shortly after Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, some disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus with a Rabbi unfamiliar to them who obviously knew the Old Testament pretty well… They didn’t really know this Rabbi, but he was bold enough to be somewhat sharp with them: “He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to…

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Bowen's Daily Meditations

by Rev. George Bowen

Devotional for May 23, 2023

"They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn." - Zechariah 12:10

Think not that they who were personally concerned in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, were sinners above all the sinners of the world. Christ on the cross, the righteous Advocate, was able to find something extenuating in their conduct. " They know not what they do." Afterwards, when they saw what they had done, when the Spirit of Pentecost made him known as the Prince of life, many of them repented of their sin, and made haste to believe upon him. The measure of knowledge is an important element in determining the measure of sin. The measure of the means of knowing, let us say rather. There are thousands who are every day guilty of conduct as odious in the sight of heaven as that of the parties who nailed Christ to the cross, and thrust a spear into his side. These indeed, were mere Roman soldiers, having no personal animosity to Christ, whose language even they did not understand; the guilty parties of that scene did not themselves lift a finger against Christ. And their guilt falls immeasurably short, as we have said, of many who now live, read the Gospel, speak about it, profess to look to Christ for salvation, and yet utterly falsify his religion in their practice. When men attributed his blessed works and words to satanic influence, the heart of Christ was pierced; but it is even more pierced when men profess to be his disciples, and by continuance in sin teach the world that Christ has no objection to sin. These are engaged in crucifying the Son of God afresh. They crucify his love with their contentions; his holiness with their profane conduct; his justice with their unrighteousness; his mercy with their unmercifulness; his truth with their deceit; his generosity with their selfishness. They crucify him by falsifying him. Some pierce him by denying his divinity; some by teaching that he will save all, whether they repent or not; some by withholding his Gospel from the multitude; some by exalting a mere ceremony to a glory above that of Christ; some by substituting a crucifix for him; some in one way, some in another. All whose life, teaching, conversation, go to. misrepresent or degrade Christ be they as numerous as they may, as admired as you please, they are piercing Christ, and they shall mourn. The thing which will fill Christ’s meek ones with ineffable joy, will fill the hearts of these professors with anguish that no tongue can describe.

[kdmiller55]

On That Day…

1 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift…

[graceandpeacejoanne]

Revelation 21: How Firm a Foundation

There are several clues in John’s vision of a voluminous golden city descending through the sky that lead the reader to believe it symbolizes spiritual truths. #Revelation21 #NewJerusalem #TwelveFoundations #PearlyGates

There are several clues in John’s vision of a voluminous golden city descending through the sky that lead the reader to believe it symbolizes spiritual truths. In comparison to Babylon—portrayed as a woman of excesses—the bride motif of new Jerusalem symbolizes the far superior role as Christ’s beloved, than as the world’s. The purity and luminosity of the precious materials in the city’s…

[tom4jc]

Zechariah 12:10 Grace Brings Mourning

And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced. yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zechariah 12:10 People often recognize how wrong they had been when someone extends a hand of grace towards them and not…

[scripture-pictures]

[cursedbanalities]

Zechariah 14:12-13 (A Horror Story--Part FINAL)

CW: Blood and Gore

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Hunter runs back to the dish area to grab two large double-decker metal tables. It takes a lot of effort to get them to the lobby quickly; both the shelves on the top and bottom of the table are weighed down with various supplies— some plastic wrap, scales, pans, oil to fill pans with, etc. Thankfully, the tables have wheels, making it slightly easier. He and Andy position them in front of the doors and windows, and start filling any cracks with chairs from the lobby. Mason scrounges for some duct tape and zip ties amongst their cleaning supplies, allowing them to zip tie the table legs together for better support. Andy tears into the manager’s office to look for anything useful. He finds a box of N95 masks and, thinking it could help keep blood out of their mouths while they fight, he tells everybody to put them on.

Mason zip ties a couple of kitchen knives to broomsticks, taping them down to ensure they stay on better. Cameron helps build their arsenal, sharpening the machete-like pizza slicers with a commercial knife sharpener. Andy and Hunter both wrap towels around their hands as they push the still-hot pizza oven in front of the window of the kitchen to better barricade the lobby windows, and Hunter brings pallets of two-liters from the storage room and into the lobby. He’s managed to cover the whole front of the store, but as he puts the last pallet of pop down the windows start to break. Cracks web through the glass as at least twenty hungry infected people pound on the windows. Hunter runs to the kitchen, locking the door behind him.

“It’s time to fucking go,” Hunter blurts to them, almost too quickly to be real words. Each of their faces darkened, and Hunter could feel the tension in the air grow to an almost crushing weight. His adrenaline starts to go crazy. Is this really worth it? He thinks, growing more and more unsure of their chances with the clamoring horde at their front door.

Andy checks how much ammo the pistol has, ejecting the magazine, and racking the slide. A bullet jumps out from the chamber, and clinks when it falls on the ground. Andy picks it up, and starts counting the ammo left over in the clip, his hands shaking.

“...7, 8, 9…” he counts, “and the one in the chamber makes ten.” Andy looks up at Hunter with a grin, “I mean, that’s ten bodies down, as long as I’m accurate. I’d say that evens our odds a bit, eh?”

“Yeah, there’s a bit more than ten out there.” Hunter remarks, trying to understand the gravity of the situation.

“Yeah, no shit.” Andy says, voice shaking and clearly not in the mood for Hunter’s smart-ass comments. “It’s not a lot, but it’ll have to do. We have to make a stand here. We won't stand a chance trying to get somewhere safe tonight.”

“Woah, what are you, nuts?” Hunter exclaims, throwing his hands up. “Look, those barricades aren’t going to stop them, at most it’ll slow those fuckers down. All that gun is going to do is attract more of them, so unless you think we can defend ourselves with a few knives, we have to leave. NOW.”

“And go where?” Andy responds. “Listen, even if we’re able to make it to our cars, who’s going to let us inside their house? Don’t you live on-campus anyways? I doubt they’ll be too happy when you suddenly show up after dealing with this shit! They’ll probably think you’re infected and kick you out!”

“Look man, I don’t know, okay? I don’t have the fucking answers. But you’ve gotta be stupid to not realize that staying here is going to be the death of all of us.” Hunter argues, pointing his finger around the room. "Do you really wanna take that chance? Or do you want to find some way out while we still can?"

One of the windows in the lobby shatters, and the screams from the infected people immediately grows in volume as they start pushing their way into the store. Hunter cracks the kitchen door to peek into the lobby. The table is still holding, but it's only a matter of time. The infected's hands are bloody from the shards of glass still embedded in the windows, and the tables start shaking as they try to push through the pallets of 2-liters.

“Too late.” Andy says, loading the pistol and racking it. “You can try running if you want, but I’m telling you, we have to stand our ground.”

Hunter lets out a sigh, “Ugh....Fine.” Cameron and Mason rush over and give them the sharpened pizza slicers, ready to slice into the flesh of those invading their store. They both take a couple of practice swings to prepare for the fight while Mason and Cameron grip their crafted spears tight in their hands, knuckles white, and shaking with a nervous anticipation.

“So, what? Any words of encouragement before we do this?” Cameron says, almost trying to crack a joke. Nobody laughs. Andy glares at him.

“Yeah, we wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for you, prick.” Andy spat, “If we die, I’m blaming you.” Cameron opens his mouth like he’s going to fire something back at Andy, but before he could, Andy unlocks the kitchen door and runs out into the lobby; Pizza slicer in his hand, and Cameron’s pistol tucked in the waistband of his jeans. Hunter shakes his head, adjusts his mask, and follows Andy with Cameron and Mason close behind him.

The lobby’s already a mess, with two-liters and broken chair pieces littering the ground. The tables are painted a crimson red from the glass cutting into the infected people, and there’s a hole in the barricade. It’s not large, but enough for an infected person- a woman in a business dress- to fit through. Andy’s already set to work, hacking at the woman with the pizza slicer as she tries to force herself through. Every chop flings blood into the air, painting both Andy and the ceiling in red. He takes one more swing, and finally sinks the blade into her skull. The infected person stops moving. Two more sections start to weaken, shaking as the group of infected slam themselves into it. A couple of arms poke through the left side of the store, their hands covered in dried blood and dirt; Hunter runs over to chop at them. He manages to get through one of the arms, slicing through it at the elbow. It falls onto the ground with a wet plap. Mason comes up and pokes the spear through a gap in the stacks of two liters a couple of times, before he yanks it out with a bit of effort, blade covered in blood and brain matter. The arms that Hunter was chopping at go still, but more start to poke through in the barricade, and he focuses on those.

Hunter, Mason, Cameron, and Andy fight back against the infected, locked into a dance of chopping, slicing, and stabbing. It feels as though they’ve been at it for hours, and their skin and masks have been painted red. More of the two liters have been pushed off of the table, but have been replaced by the bodies of the infected that have accrued- about ten of them have been fully killed so far, but some of the arms that Hunter have chopped at are still moving, their stumps trying in vain to grab at the four of them.

Hunter looks around at the three people he’s with, breathing hard. “Holy shit, we’re actually doing it!” He thinks, feeling more confident about his chances of surviving. Everything’s in slow motion as he sees Andy chopping at more bodies poking through the barricade, assisted by Cameron gutting any infected he sees. Hunter turns and locks eyes with Mason, who smirks and gives him a thumbs up. Hunter start to do the same, when an infected man pushes through the pile of bodies and launches himself at Mason. Hunter calls out to him, and starts to run over to help him. Mason’s barely able to get his spear up in time, stabbing the infected man in the gut. The knife shifts, and the zip ties and duct tape holding it together breaks, leaving the knife inside of him. He lands on top of Mason, pinning him onto the ground and biting him. Hunter screams, and sinks the pizza slicer into the back of the man’s neck- nearly decapitating him. Hunter tries to get the body off of Mason, but the head was sticking to him. Hunter gave it a little jerk, and it came free- with a chunk of Mason’s flesh in its mouth. Hunter looks down at Mason, half of his skull was chewed on by the infected person, and his right eye was missing- replaced with a bloody eye socket. Hunter stares at Mason, and feels tears welling up. Mason’s good eye starts to cry as well, and he reaches a shaking blood-covered hand to Hunter. He mouths something, and Hunter starts to get in close to hear what he has to say.

BANG!

Hunter whips around and sees an infected person’s neck spurting blood and dropping to their knees as they bleed out. Andy’s standing on the other side of the store with his gun raised, smoke pouring out of the muzzle.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HUNTER?” Andy screams at him, “YOU CAN'T STOP NOW! MOVE IT!”

Hunter turns back to Mason. An infected person- a twenty-something woman in a fast food uniform- has already gotten through the barricade and back on top of Mason. His hand is no longer outstretched and lays limp on the ground. Hunter chops at the woman, aiming for the back of her neck. He just misses, and lands the blade into her shoulder. He pulls it out as she jerks up and flails at him. Hunter chops at her side, getting just above the hip and causing her to grasp at it, before pulling it out and sinking it into the side of her neck. She falls to the ground, spraying blood all over Mason's corpse.

Andy fires off the gun at more of the people streaming into the lobby, hitting and killing two, who immediately fall to the floor, and hitting the third in the shoulder. It recoils from the bullet, giving Cameron enough time to swing the spear at the infected person’s throat, slicing it. The gunfire brings more attention to Andy, as a man in a flannel shirt with bloody teeth runs through the doors and grabs at him. Cameron and Hunter both try to help him, but more people keep forcing their way into the lobby.

As Hunter looks out the lobby windows. The ten-or-so infected that they’ve dispatched have already been replaced by new people. Cameron stabs at an infected person sprinting at him and catches them in the throat, but his knife breaks off inside of them. They fall to the ground, but another runs over them and hurls themself at Cameron, pinning him against the cash register counter. He’s able to hold his ground against the infected, putting the broomstick in his hands against their throat, but Hunter could tell that he was tired from the fight. He quickly swings his pizza slicer into the necks of two more infected, before sprinting to Cameron and tackling the infected to the ground. He slides the pizza slicer across the blood-soaked linoleum floors to Cameron, who grabs it just in time to swing it at more infected pushing through the doors. Hunter plants his knees into the infected person he’s on top of, who snarls and spits at him. He stands, one foot on their chest, and stomps on their head until they stop moving.

The infected begin to overwhelm Andy. He’s still standing, knife and gun in hand, but with a few infected people latched onto him, sinking their teeth into his neck and shoulders. He screams, and reflexively pulls the trigger on Cameron’s gun, firing it until he empties the clip.

Most of the shots go wide, either tagging an infected person in the arm, or hitting the wall behind them. Hunter throws himself to the slick bloody ground, trying not to be hit in the stray fire. Another shot ricochets off of the metal tables with a “ptew!” and hits one of the dead bodies piled on the table, but the other shot gets Cameron in the side as he was mid-swing at an infected woman. Hunter watches as he stops swinging and clutches at his bullet wound. They lock eyes for a second, Cameron's face twisted into one of pain and pleading, and the woman tackles him. She bites into him, with more infected following suit and piling on top of him.

Hunter looks at Andy, who’s now dry-firing the pistol, slowly getting eaten alive. Despite the screams and snarls of the infected, Andy’s screams rise among the rest of them, before getting cut off with an “GGGGHHHH!” as his throat is ripped out. Hunter starts hyperventilating, he’s the only one left. He gets onto his feet, everything’s spinning again. He almost forgets where he is, but he slightly recovers when an infected woman tries to grab at him. She connects with him, but he breaks her grab and punches her in the jaw. She almost stands her ground, but starts to slip on the bloody linoleum, and falls to the ground. More infected look up from Andy and Cameron’s half-eaten corpses, and scream at him.

Everything is a blur after that. Hunter remembers running to the kitchen and slamming the door behind him. He sprints to the back as the infected start to break through the door into the kitchen. Hunter sprints and slams his body into the back door, and tripped on Ethan and Johnny's corpses. He hits the ground, vaguely remembers the frantic sprint across the parking lot, and the next thing he remembers was getting into his car. He’s panting, lungs on fire, his legs and arms felt like jelly. Looking around, he’s in a place with no more screaming infected, and he’s able to catch his breath for a second. It's silent, other than his heaving breaths. He’s able to think. He thinks about how quickly everything went to shit. How Ethan and Johnny were both taken with such ease, how one stupid, unavoidable mistake cost Mason, Cameron, and Andy their lives. Hunter started to cry, bitter tears seeped out of his eyes, leaving streaks on his bloodstained face.

A scream makes Hunter snap out of his misery, as a man in a leather jacket throws himself at Hunter's car. Hunter jams his keys in, and starts the car. The engine turns over as the man starts smacking at his windows, with more of them coming towards him from the lobby of Eugene’s Pizza. He puts it in reverse, steps on the gas and whips the car around. The side of the car hits the leather jacket-man, causing him to roll over the hood of Hunter’s sedan. He shifts it into drive, jerking his wheel to the side and accelerating as more infected pour out of the lobby and towards his car. He sideswipes some of them as they throw themselves at him, but Hunter makes it to the street and drives further into town.

He starts driving towards the college campus. The only thought on his mind is trying to get back to his home. He has to dodge past some groups of infected people, all of whom give chase after Hunter as he speeds down the city streets. Some houses are fully barricaded, with beams of light seeping through the boarded-up windows. Cars lay abandoned on the side of the streets. Some with doors open and windows covered in blood. Hunter tries to not look at them. He's able to make it to campus quickly and notices a massive smoke stack rising over the academic and administrative buildings, illuminated by the orange-yellow glow of a fire. It’s in the direction of the dorm buildings that he called home. A pit forms in his stomach as he drives closer to the smoke billowing into the night sky. The orange glow grows brighter and brighter, and Hunter comes face to face with his fear as he turns onto the road of his dorm building. The four-story building that Hunter lived in was completely engulfed in flames. Hunter can see figures running out of the fire, arms flailing. He stops in the middle of the road, engine still running, and stares at the raging flames. A flurry of emotions hit Hunter: Anger, sadness, fear; but most of all, an overwhelming wave of hopelessness washing over him. His whole body feels numb, and he doesn’t even notice himself driving away. He just stares ahead as his subconscious takes him out of town and onto the highway.

He rubs his eyes and sighs. He finally broke out of his trance. He doesn't know where he is, or where to go. The road’s dark, the headlights illuminate the empty street and trees surrounding it. It feels suffocating, having just a circle of light to be able to see. Hunter finally feels happy-- no, he's elated. He starts laughing to himself. It starts out as a quiet chuckle, before it slowly crescendos into a boisterous, almost crazed belly-laugh. He welcomes the road with trees. He's just happy that there’s no more people with bloody teeth. He’s alive, whatever that means. He’ll figure it out as he drives. With a smile, he turns on the radio and is greeted with static. So, he plugs his phone into the aux and hits shuffle on his downloaded music. South of Heaven by Slayer comes over the speakers, and Hunter bangs his head to it. Despite being so surrounded by death, he’s never felt more alive. He screams along to the song:

“Chaos rampant in an age of distrust

Confrontations, impulsive sabbath

On and on, south of heaven

On and on, south of heaven”

____________________________________________

[[Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this story of mine! This is the longest piece I've fully written and edited, coming in at around 25,000 words. It's my crowning achievement so far, and I'm hoping I can keep pushing the bounds of what I can do!]]

[[I've been working on some other stories in this universe, and I thought it would be cool to have them all connected in some small way! Like a small overlap of events or location, something like that. I'm also writing a dramatic re-enactment of my Dungeons and Dragons Campaign, so stick around for that!]]

[[See ya'll next time!]]

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Testing some waters with today's profiles

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First Sunday Of Advent 2023

[reedreadsgreek]

John 12:12–15

12 Τῇ ἐπαύριον ὁ ὄχλος πολὺς ὁ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὴν ἑορτήν, ἀκούσαντες ὅτι ἔρχεται ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα 13 ἔλαβον τὰ βαΐα τῶν φοινίκων καὶ ἐξῆλθον εἰς ὑπάντησιν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐκραύγαζον· 

ὡσαννά·  εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου,  [καὶ] ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. 

14 εὑρὼν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὀνάριον ἐκάθισεν ἐπʼ αὐτό, καθώς ἐστιν γεγραμμένον· 

15 μὴ φοβοῦ, θυγάτηρ Σιών·  ἰδοὺ ὁ βασιλεύς σου ἔρχεται,  καθήμενος ἐπὶ πῶλον ὄνου. 

My translation: 

12 The next day, the great crowd having come unto the festival, having heard that Yeshua is coming into Jerusalem, 13 took palm branches of palm trees and went out unto a meeting with him and they were crying out, 

“Hosanna;  the one coming in the name of the Lord is blessed,  [even] the king of Israel.” 

14 And Yeshua, finding a small donkey, sat upon it, just as it has been written: 

15 “Be fearing not, daughter of Zion;  look, your king is coming,  sitting upon a colt of a donkey.” 

Notes:

12:12 

The dative of time τῇ ἐπαύριον (“the next day”; see note on 1:29) modifies the main verb ἔλαβον in verse 13. 

See note on verse 9 for the article ὁ with ὄχλος πολὺς, here again a doubtful reading (ICC). The articular 2nd aorist participle ὁ ἐλθὼν (from ἕρχομαι) is attributive. The participle is modified by the spatial prepositional phrase εἰς τὴν ἑορτήν (“to the feast/festival”). 

ὅτι introduces indirect discourse after a verb of perception, the aorist participle ἀκούσαντες (from ἀκούω) which is temporal-antecedent (“when they heard”) with the main verb ἔλαβον (v. 13), or causal (“because they heard”). The subject of the present ἔρχεται (from ἕρχομαι) is ὁ Ἰησοῦς. The verb is modified by the spatial prepositional phrase εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα. The present-tense is retained in indirect discourse, and is progressive (“Jesus was on his way”). 

12:13 

ὄχλος πολὺς (v. 12) is the subject of the 2nd aorist ἔλαβον (from λαμβάνω). 

The hapax legomenon τό βαΐον, an Egyptian loanword, is “palm branch”. τὰ βαΐα is the direct object of λαμβάνω above. 

ὁ φοῖνιξ (2x; gen. φοίνικος) is, “date-palm, palm tree” (BDAG). τῶν φοινίκων is a partitive genitive with τὰ βαΐα (lit. “the palm branches of the palm trees”). 

ὄχλος πολὺς (v. 12) is also the subject of the 2nd aorist ἐξῆλθον (from ἐξέρχομαι). 

ἡ ὑπάντησις (3x) is, “a meeting, a coming to meet”, from ὑπαντάω (10x) “I meet” (see v. 18). The prepositional phrase εἰς ὑπάντησιν αὐτῷ (lit. “unto a meeting with him”) is rendered in most translations as an infinitive (“to meet him”). 

ὄχλος πολὺς (v. 12) is also the subject of the imperfect ἐκραύγαζον (from κραυγάζω “I cry out”; see note on 11:43). The imperfect-tense of the verb could be inceptive (“began to shout”, NASB, NET) or iterative (“kept shouting”, HCSB). 

ὡσαννά (6x) is a transliteration of the Hebrew הוֹשַׁע נָא meaning, “Save (us)!”, but by this time was used as a simple interjection expressing praise (EGGNT). The LXX reads, σῶσον δή, “Save [us] indeed”. 

The present passive participle εὐλογημένος (from εὐλογέω) is predicate with an implied ἐστιν whose subject is the substantival present participle ὁ ἐρχόμενος, which was a stereotyped phrase to refer to the Messiah (cf. 6:14, 11:27). ICC says, ‘The sense is missed if ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου is connected with ὁ ἐρχόμενος. The Hebrew priests were chosen “to bless in the name of Yahweh.”’ Most translations, however, keep the Greek word order which seems to connect ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου with ἔρχομαι; ZG acknowledges both possibilities. The phrase comes directly from the LXX of Psalm 117:26 LXX (118:25 MT). 

[καὶ] is epexegetical before ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ (“Blessed is the coming one, [that is], the king of Israel”; NRSV: “the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!”; NASB: “... even the King of Israel”; NIV & NET simply repeat “Blessed is” before each substantive). 

12:14 

δὲ is transitional, omitted in most translations. 

The present participle εὑρὼν (from εὑρίσκω) is temporal-antecedent (“when he found”) with the main verb ἐκάθισεν below.

The hapax legomenon τό ὀνάριον is, “little/young donkey”, the diminutive form of ὁ ὄνος (see v. 15). ὀνάριον is the direct object of εὑρίσκω above. 

ὁ Ἰησοῦς is the subject of the aorist ἐκάθισεν (from καθίζω), intransitive and ingressive (“sat down”). The verb is modified by the spatial prepositional phrase ἐπʼ αὐτό, referring to the donkey. 

The comparative adverb καθώς modifies the present ἐστιν (from εἰμί) which forms a periphrastic construction with the perfect passive participle γεγραμμένον (from γράφω) introducing a citation from the Old Testament. 

12:15 

This verse is a condensed form of Zechariah 9:9. 

The negated present imperative μὴ φοβοῦ (from φοβέομαι) denotes a command to stop an action already in progress. The Hebrew of Zechariah 9:9 instead reads, “Rejoice greatly” (so LXX: Χαῖρε σφόδρα). 

θυγάτηρ is a nominative used as a vocative (θυγάτερ). Σιών is indeclinable, but here is a genitive of relationship (so NASB, NRSV: “daughter of Zion”) or it could be an appositional nominative (so NIV, HCSB: “daughter Zion”; NET: “people of Zion”). 

For ἰδοὺ, see note on 4:35. ὁ βασιλεύς, modified by genitive of subordination σου, is the subject of the present ἔρχεται (from ἔρχομαι). 

ὁ πῶλος (12x) refers to a young animal, i.e., “foal” when referring to the young of a horse or, as here, a “colt” referring to a young donkey (BDAG). 

ὁ ὄνος (5x) is, “donkey”. ὄνου is a genitive of relationship with πῶλον. The spatial prepositional phrase ἐπὶ πῶλον ὄνου modifies the present participle καθήμενος (from κάθημαι) which denotes manner with ἔρχομαι above. The LXX instead reads, ἐπιβεβηκὼς ἐπὶ ... πῶλον νέον (“having gone upon a young colt”). CGT suggests John was translating directly from the Hebrew.