Twin Cities Run

Chapter Eighteen

He was reclining on a comfortably made bed in a spacious room illuminated by sunlight streaming in through four windows, one in the center of each wall. Colorful blue draperies hung on the windows. A worn blue rug covered the wooden floor. Beside the bed stood an oak table, the leftovers from his last meal on top.

Joshua sighed, at ease. His head had been meticulously tended to and bandaged, and they had changed his clothes, providing some of the typical garments they wore, a black shirt and pants.

The door opened and in walked a short, bearded man with gray hair, narrow features, and a pronounced limp.

“How are you feeling, Brother Joshua?” asked the newcomer.

“Just fine,” Joshua confided. “I can’t thank you enough, Reverend Paul, for all you have done for me.”

“Please, just call me Paul.” The Reverend, likewise attired in black, sat on the foot of the bed.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Joshua reiterated. “I never expected to find such kindness in the Twin Cities after my initial experiences.”

“Don’t thank us.” Paul held up a gold necklace, consisting of Joshua’s cross and chain. “Thank this. If my alert brethren hadn’t found this when they were searching you, they would have left you there for the animals to devour.”

“A cross made that much difference?”

“A cross makes all the difference!” Paul stated emphatically. “Our Master went to his reward from a cross.” He stared at the Latin cross on the chain. “The heathen would never wear a symbol like this! They have entered sinful ways! They are evil.”

“By the heathen,” Joshua said, “I take it you mean the Porns you told me a bit about?”

“Of course!” Paul’s vibrant voice rose. “Who else? But then,” he quickly added apologetically, “I must remember you are not from the Twins.

Astonishing!”

“No, I’m not from the Twins,” Joshua said softly, “and I’d like to know more about them. I’ve answered all your questions concerning how I came here and where I came from…”

“Incredible!” Paul interrupted. “Praise the Lord! He has sent you to us.

Brother Joshua. We would never have expected that there is another group who believes as we do.”

“We believe in the Supreme,” Joshua said, selecting his words with the utmost discretion, “and we are taught that all men and women are brothers and sisters.”

“Praise the Lord!” Paul exclaimed happily.

“And I’ve already told you about the Family and the Home,” Joshua continued. “Now, I would be pleased if you would consent to answering some questions I have about the Twin Cities.”

“I would be glad to do so,” Paul said heartily.

“Can you tell me how the current situation came about?” Joshua inquired. “Do you have any idea of the history of the Twin Cities since the war?”

“I know it all,” Paul said proudly.

“You do?”

“Of course.” Paul gazed at the white ceiling, sorting his facts. “Each leader of the First Church has kept a journal of events, beginning with Reverend Jack Wilcox, our illustrious organizer, the man who established the First Church of the Nazarene.”

They had touched briefly on this subject the night before. “He was the one who refused to evacuate when the Government gave the order to leave the Twin Cities?” Joshua asked.

“Exactly. Reverend Wilcox was a true fundamentalist, and he was a great man, with profound faith in the Word. He knew his flock had nothing to worry about, and he called on them to stay here with him, to show the sinful world that there were Christians willing to commit themselves, totally, to their Lord, and to rely on Him to preserve them in times of crisis. Bless them! Most of them saw the light and stayed! Two hundred and ninety-four souls stood firm and stayed in the church, praying to their Maker, while panic filled the streets and the populace fled.

And here we have stayed, ever since, never leaving St. Paul. We have withstood the onslaughts of the degenerates and the wicked! We have stayed true to the Word!”

“How many of you are there now?” Joshua asked Paul.

“Let’s see.” Paul calculated a moment. “I would say upwards of four hundred.”

“You have prospered over the years, I take it?”

“Of course! The Lord looks after His own.”

“How many of the other groups are there? The Porns and the Nomads and the Wacks?”

“I can’t answer with complete certainty,” Paul said. “But I would estimate there are close to six hundred Porns, damn their souls! They’re filthy creatures, little better than an animal in their moral and spirutal status.”

Joshua noted that comment for subsequent deliberation. “What about the Nomads and the Wacks?”

“The Nomads were only formed seven years ago,” Paul stated sadly, his face downcast, “by one of our own brethren. Zahner is his name. He and I were close. I can’t understand why he did what he did.”

“How many follow Zahner?”

“Surprisingly, our estimates place the Nomad population at two hundred or so.”

“Why does that surprise you?”

Paul frowned. “It reveals that many apparently feel the way Zahner does.”

“How does he feel?”

Paul leaned on his right elbow. “He left the First Church because he said he was tired of the constant warfare between us and the Porns.”

“Which prompts another question,” Joshua said continuing his probe.

“Why do you call them the Porns? And why do they call you the Horns? And what about the Wacks?”

“Let’s see.” Paul idly picked at the blanket Joshua was lying on. “Taking them one at a time, in sequence,” he said, revealing his information, “starting with the vile Porns, our journals tell us that Reverend Wilcox was not the only one who remained in the Twin Cities. Another man, a dealer in pornography and other diverse wickedness, a man with an organized criminal empire, an owner of what were known as porno movie houses and massage parlors and a previously convicted dealer in drugs, also stayed. This man was named Creel. His businesses were established along Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, and he refused to leave. Many of his criminal cohorts stuck with him, his muscle men and the pimps and the whores and the addicts and the rest. There they are to this day, breeding like rabbits!”

“Fascinating,” Joshua said, amazed. “So Minneapolis was taken over by this pornographer, Creel, and St. Paul by the First Church, two groups with diametrically opposed views and lifestyles.”

“Precisely,” Paul confirmed. “At first, the two sides managed to live in peaceful coexistence, until the fateful day when one of the Porns raped one of our young women. The Porns refused to turn the culprit over for proper punishment, so the First Church retaliated, attacking their camp and destroying part of their food supply.”

“And let me guess,” Joshua finished. “The Porns then took revenge on the First Church, and the First Church had to have retribution, and reprisal followed reprisal until the two sides came to hate each other.”

“There’s more to it than that,” Paul said stiffly.

“If I comprehend this,” Joshua reasoned, “the pornographers became known as the Porns. Am I right?”

Paul nodded. “I don’t know who first started it, but at one point in his journal Reverend Wilcox began referring to Creel and his ilk as Porns.”

“But how did the First Church become known as the Horns?”

“They did it”

“The Porns?”

“Yes. Again, my information in this respect is sketchy, but evidently the Porns began referring to us as self-righteous, vain, and intolerant. Imagine that!”

“Yes, imagine that.” Joshua suppressed a grin.

“Anyway, at one point they began casting aspersions on our physical sharing…”

“On your sex life?”

Paul’s face reddened. “Yes. They said our morality had repressed our human sexuality.”

“They called you horny?” Joshua, at last, saw the light. The slang word was infrequently used by the male Family members, usually when the Warriors were gathered, reveling in their machismo humor. Telling jokes was a popular entertainment. Come to think of it, the last time he’d heard the word was when Hickok was telling a tale about a Warrior who’d encountered a beautiful woman in the woods and didn’t know what to do with her because he’d failed the Family course in Sexual Organs: Their Function in Reproduction, a course taught by a senior Family couple.

Joshua had overheard Hickok telling the story and, despite his initial embarrassment, he’d laughed his head off. Hickok was a gifted storyteller when he was in the mood. Where was Hickok at this very instant? And Blade, and Geronimo, and Bertha? Had the Wacks killed them? He realized Paul was speaking.

“…and we became known as the Horns to them. We never use the word ourselves, you understand?”

“Of course. Thank you for telling me this. It explains a lot. That leaves only the Wacks.”

“Ahhh, yes. The poor lunatics.”

“How do you mean?”

“From what the records reveal,” Paul explained, “when the Government called for everyone to evacuate, everyone did, as quickly as they could. The entire staff at the Minnesota Hospital for the Criminally Insane, set up a few years before the war in Bloomington, in south Minneapolis, deserted their charges and left them to fend for themselves.”

“Dear Father!”

“Indeed.” Paul nodded. “The mentally depraved inmates took over the Hospital, and have flourished, scrounging like savage animals, ever since.”

“But why are they called the Wacks?” Joshua still didn’t comprehend their name.

“The Porns started it.”

“How?”

Paul sighed. “The Porns have a remarkable faculty for devising quaint terms for everything. Part of their street heritage, I believe. They began calling the insane ones the Wacks, a derivative of the word wacky, possibly, or of one of their obnoxious gutter expressions, wacko.”

“At last.” Joshua sat up, grimacing as the back of his head twinged with pain.

“At last what?”

“At last I have a glimmer of understanding as to how things reached the deplorable state they’re in here in the Twin Cities.” Joshua leaned back, resting against the headboard. “Now all that remains is to develop a viable solution.”

“A solution to what?”

“A solution that will have everyone in the Twin Cities living as true sons and daughters of God should.”

Paul’s eyebrows arched. “You can’t be serious?”

“I am.”

Paul laughed. “Perhaps the blow to your head caused internal damage!”

“Why do you say that?”

“You can’t really expect us to try and live in harmony with the Porns? Or even the Nomads, for that matter?”

“I do expect it.” Joshua nodded slowly. “It is your duty to reach out to them in friendship and brotherhood.”

Paul rose to his feet. “Says who?” he demanded, annoyed.

“Says our Master,” Joshua stated solemnly.

“What?”

“Jesus left us with specific instructions regarding situations exactly like what you have here in the Twin Cities.”

“What are you referring to?” Paul asked skeptically.

“Do you have any Bibles?”

“Of course,” Paul stated. “We have quite a collection of sacred literature and other books. The stupid Porns burned most of the books in Minneapolis, and wherever else they found any. Once we became aware of what they were doing, we tried to salvage as many books as we could. We keep them under guard at the former Harding High School. I don’t think the Porns even know we have them, or they would have tried a raid by now.”

“But you have a Bible in this building?”

“Certainly. I’ll go downstairs and get mine.” Paul walked to the door.

“Say, Paul,” Joshua said before Paul could exit. “I’ve been meaning to inquire about where I am in St. Paul?”

“Oh. You’re in one of the buildings we maintain on the campus of Concordia College. There are far too many buildings in St. Paul for us to keep them all in useable condition, so we preserve certain ones, the ones best suited to our purposes. I’ll get the Word.” Paul departed.

Joshua folded his hands on his lap, trying to stay calm, to control his excitement. After reviewing his recent conduct, he considered his performance more of a detriment than an asset to Blade and the others.

He viewed his contributions on the two runs in a negative light. What good had he done them? He’d protested every time the Warriors had defended them. He’d whined and moaned whenever they’d killed someone.

Sure, he had saved Bertha from the Brute, but felt miserable afterwards.

In the fight against the Wacks, he’d only been of minimal assistance. This might be his golden opportunity to achieve a positive goal, to reconcile the Horns and the Porns and end their incessant bloodshed. The Twin Cities were large enough for both groups, and the Nomads, to live side by side without trying to exterminate one another. If he could succeed in attaining a state of peace between the various factions, he’d feel as if he’d been of some small benefit on his journey. Was it possible, though? Was he being realistic or idealistic? After all, the Horns and the Porns had been contending for close to a century, and he recognized how difficult a task it was to alter human behavior once that conduct had become habitual. His one ray of hope was the statement about Zahner and the Nomads. If a couple of hundred had already joined Zahner, former Porns and Horns, it seemed to indicate that maybe, just maybe, the general populations on both sides really wanted peace. Maybe the Porns and the Horns wanted to terminate their conflict and get about the business of making the Twin Cities a better place in which to live.

Paul came into the room, waving a Bible in his right hand. “Here it is!

Now you show me why I should extend friendship to the Porns!”

“Gladly.” Joshua took the Bible. “But if I convince you, will you help me to persuade the other members of the First Church? Will they listen to us?”

Paul sat down on the edge of the bed. “They will listen to me! I am their leader and spiritual guide.”

“All of us have a spiritual guide within us,” Joshua said to Paul. “The Spirit is in each of us, trying to show us God’s way, to reveal the Lord’s path for us.” He turned the pages, searching for the passage he wanted.

“Tell me. How strongly do you believe in the words of Jesus?”

“With my heart and soul and mind and strength,” Paul said indignantly. “I am a shepherd to His nock.”

Joshua was still looking for the quote he needed. “So you believe that whatever Jesus said takes unqualified precedence over anything else in the Bible?”

“Jesus was the Word made flesh,” Paul stated. “He is to be obeyed without question. Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy.”

“True,” Joshua agreed.

“But what did you mean by what you said a second ago?” Paul inquired, intrigued by Joshua’s audacity in lecturing him on Scripture, and impressed by Joshua’s dignity, his concern, and his evident faith.

“There are no contradictions in the Bible.”

“Oh.” Joshua stopped flipping the pages. “For instance, take Psalm One.”

“Psalm One?”

“Verses Five and Six.” Joshua ran his finger under the lines as he read.

“‘Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish,’” he quoted.

Paul smiled in satisfaction. “See! What did I tell you? That applies to the Porns if anything does!”

“Wait a moment.” Joshua hurriedly turned to the New Testament. “I’m not done yet. I know you are intimately familiar with the Scriptures, so I’ll simply quote several passages and let you tell me if they also apply to the Porns. Fair enough?”

“Go ahead,” Paul grinned. “But you won’t change my mind.”

“I’m not going to,” Joshua replied. “Jesus is.”

“Oh?”

Joshua quickly turned from one reference to another. “Let’s start with Luke, Chapter Four, Verse Eighteen.” He read the excerpt slowly. “‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.’” Joshua glanced at Paul. “Does this apply to you as well?”

“Of course. I am a minister to His fold. I must follow in his footsteps.”

“Good.” Joshua smiled. “Then let’s keep going.” He continued turning pages. “Remember when the scribes and the Pharisees became upset and asked why Jesus ate and drank with the sinners and the publicans?”

“Of course.”

“From Luke, Chapter Five, Verses Thirty-one and Thirty-two,” Joshua said. “‘They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’” He scanned the next page. “And listen to Chapter Six, Verses Thirty-five, Thirty-six, and Thirty-seven.” He shot a look at Paul, pleased at his furrowed brow and thoughtful countenance. “‘But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.’”

Paul reached up and scratched his chin. “I’m aware of these teachings…” he began.

“But you refuse to apply them to the Porns?” Joshua interrupted.

“Our situation is unique,” Paul responded. “We are…” He fell silent, gazing absently at the floor.

Joshua turned to John, Chapter Five, Verse Twenty-four. “‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.’”

“They are our enemies,” Paul said softly. “They are.”

Joshua found Chapter Ten, Verse Nine. “‘I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.’ Note that Jesus stresses ‘any man.’”

“True,” Paul said, struggling with an intense, personal revelation.

Joshua tried another quote, from Chapter Twelve, Verses Forty-six and Forty-seven, in John. “‘I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.’”

Paul stared at Joshua with fresh respect. “You certainly know the Scriptures.”

“I have spent the greater portion of my life studying the Bible and other special writings.”

“I am impressed,” Paul conceded.

Joshua leaned toward Paul. “Are you impressed enough to send an envoy to the Porns and request a meeting to iron out your differences?”

“They would laugh in our faces.”

“You don’t know that.”

“They’ll kill anyone we sent,” Paul objected.

“But if someone did go, and they agreed to meet with you, would you talk to them?” Joshua said, pressing.

Paul nodded, very slowly. “Yes. I would. If there is any chance we can reach a peace, I am bound by my allegiance to our Lord to try it.”

“Good.”

“But you won’t find anyone willing to go,” Paul remonstrated. “No one wants to die uselessly. I’d go, Brother Joshua, but they would kill me on sight. Their current leader. Maggot, has boasted he will crucify me on a flaming cross.”

“It was I who convinced you to attempt a reconciliation with the Porns.” Joshua reached out and placed his right hand on Paul’s left shoulder. “I wouldn’t think of requesting that you impose on one of your brethren, or asking that you jeopardize your own safety.”

“Then who will be the envoy you mentioned?”

“I will.”

“What?” Paul stood, gesticulating with his arms. “You will not! I won’t allow it.”

“You have no other option.”

“Yes I do. I can forbid you to go.”

“I am not a member of the First Church,” Joshua reminded Paul.

“Rightfully, you lack authority over my actions.”

Paul vigorously shook his head. “No. You don’t understand. It is precisely because you are not of the First Church that I can’t allow you to go. Don’t you see?” Paul began nervously pacing the floor.

“All these years of trying to maintain our moral and spiritual integrity in the face of civilization’s decay have exacted a horrid emotional toll on us. In recent years, I have detected a growing restlessness in my congregation. Their collective faith and enthusiasm is faltering, and who can fault them? We struggle for the basic necessities, hunting what little game there is, salvaging what we can from the ruins of the city, growing meager quantities of food where feasible, and resisting the depredations of the Porns and the Wacks and the animals. The one essential element conducive to spiritual growth we lack, and that is peace, the peace necessary to pursue our lives without hindrance and interference.”

“What does all this have to do with your forbidding my going to the Porns with a peace proposal?” Joshua asked.

Paul ceased his pacing, his shoulders sagging. “My flock believes in the reality of our Lord and our eventual reward on high. This cherished hope sustains us in our travail. What we don’t have, however, is a hope for our immediately earthly future. What do we have to look forward to? A lifetime of interminable conflict, periodic bouts with rampant disease, and, more often than not, a slow, painful death. But you change all this!”

“How?”

“You are our hope for our earthly future!” Paul exclaimed. “Just knowing that there is another group somewhere, similar to us in their beliefs, is immensely encouraging. It means we are not alone in this world!

Can’t you see how much that would mean to us?”

“I believe I can,” Joshua said thoughtfully.

“You are the key to our future,” Paul said excitedly.

“I am?”

Paul came up to the bed. “I was going to wait, but now is as good a time as any. I have a proposal for you.”

“What proposal?”

“I humbly beseech you to allow us to come and live at the Home.”

“What?” Joshua, startled, swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

“You heard me.” Paul stared into Joshua’s eyes.

“Are you serious?”

“Absolutely,” Paul stated earnestly.

“But you have lived in the Twin Cities all these years,” Joshua pointed out.

“And hated almost every waking minute of our miserable existence.”

“But the Home isn’t large enough to accommodate all of the First Church members,” Joshua objected.

“I’ve thought of that,” Paul responded. “We could enlarge the Home, couldn’t we? Erect wooden walls and make a new perimeter? You said the soil is fertile and easy to till, and that game is plentiful. We could become pastoral in our lifestyles, become farmers and hunters and live as your Family lives. We could start a new center for mankind’s progress! We could begin a new society, a new culture, and a new hope for mankind!”

Joshua grinned at Paul’s bubbling vitality. “You’ve given this considerable thought.”

“Yes, Brother Joshua, I have. What do you say?”

“It isn’t up to me,” Joshua informed him.

“Oh.”

“Don’t look so downcast,” Joshua said, encouraging him. “The final decision on a matter of this import must come from the entire Family. A vote must be taken, and the Elders must be permitted to express their views.”

“What do you think they will say?” Paul asked hopefully.

“I have no way of knowing,” Joshua admitted.

Paul, dejected, sat down on the bed. “I was so hopeful,” he mumbled.

“You have no reason to be so depressed,” Joshua said. “I haven’t said no. The Family may agree to the idea.”

“You really think so?” Paul brightened.

“We’ll never know unless I return to the Home.”

“And how will you accomplish that?”

Joshua hesitated. Despite his affinity for Paul, he’d wisely withheld telling about the SEAL. There was always the possibility the First Church of the Nazarene might arbitrarily assume possession of the transport if they became aware of its existence. “I will find a way. But first, I must ascertain if my friends have perished. I must return to the site where the Wacks attacked us.”

“I don’t know…”

“I will not return to the Home until I learn the fate of my comrades,” Joshua said. “And you will never have the opportunity to leave the Twin Cities if I do not make it back.”

Paul nodded. “We could assist you in finding your friends. My men found you wandering, almost senseless, near dozens of bodies. They were attracted by the ravens circling overhead. We could take you there, and see if there are any clues as to their fate.”

Joshua smiled, pleased with his subterfuge. “Would you?”

“Of course. I will arrange for it now. Are you up to the exertion required?”

“I won’t have any problem,” Joshua stated. “My head is sore, but beyond that, I’m fine.”

“Good. You can leave in an hour. There is plenty of daylight left.” Paul walked from the room, pausing at the door. “You will take care of yourself?

We can’t allow anything to happen to you.”

“I will take care,” Joshua promised.

Paul nodded and left.

Joshua smiled, surprised at himself. He had deliberately deceived a brother, a fellow son of God. What in the world was happening to him?

First he’d killed. Now he’d lied. What was next? Would he lust after a woman? But his deception was justified, he mentally noted. And he hadn’t lied in every respect. He would go with them to the point where the Wacks had attacked. Then, when an opportunity presented itself, he would sneak away from his escort and find the Porns. It shouldn’t be too terribly difficult. If he headed west, and avoided the Wacks, sooner or later he would meet the Porns. He would convince them to take him to their leader, and he would prevail upon this Maggot to arrange a meeting with Paul. It could be done! Paul was too pessimistic. The Porns couldn’t be that bad! There had to be a glimmer of decency remaining in their jaded souls, and there was only one way to find out.

Joshua smiled.

Hickok would be pleased. This type of devious action was his forte.

Yes, sir! He was really getting the hang of this Warrior business.

Besides, the Spirit would preserve him. What could possibly go wrong?