He awoke in the middle of the night. A terrible, terrible dream. It was the type of thing that only disturbed people dream about. But it had seemed so real... It was real. It was going to happen. Its vivid images and clear message were too much to ignore. Sweat coursed its way down his face and neck. His head spun. There had been a voice. Joel, get up. Wake your wife and child. You are in danger. You must leave. It was all happening so fast. He sat there in bed thinking for a moment.
He was tired. His child, Joshua, was now approaching his first birthday and his wife was recovering from a strenuous trip on foot across the dessert while pregnant. He had travelled to the small, obscure city of Betlam, which was his hometown, to take part in a census that the government was conducting. It was thought that it was regular procedure but rumor had it that they were looking for... something. What was that something? No one knew. Joel hated gossip and rumor alike. He was an upstanding citizen, and a good person in general. He never cheated his taxes. He never dodged authorities. He never stole, for he never wanted to. He never coveted or felt envy or avarice. He was completely law-abiding and good.
Most of his friends were currently dodging the census. The interesting part about this is that it was nearly as inconvenient as actually taking part in the census. It took you away from your work and family for as long as the census would have and endangers you to the law. No, not out of preference did the people aggravate the government. It was out of necessity. A need to say no to a force that they constantly had to be abused and mistreated by. Every opportunity they had, they took to infuriate the tight vice that was authority. They felt cornered, trapped. And as the government treated them like beasts sometimes, like beasts they had begun to think and feel. When an animal is caged, don't get too close. It'll strike.
This was best described by the ragtag military known as the Zealots. They were a force of idealists and fighters that lived in a shroud of mystery and secrecy that, despite the numerous attempts of the government to stop them, has existed nearly as long as the government has. If you were running from the government, they were the place to go. Mysterious, brave and heroic, the Zealots were the pride of the people and the scourge of the law. They were also the one possible black spot on Joel's sparkling record. The leader of the Zealots, known as the Silhouette, was Joel's brother, Jacob.
Joel was in aw of his older brother. His efforts against the system shook his perfectionist attitude and his love for order. He had wrestled with himself on whether he would ever join his brother but know he knew. He had to escape, and his brother was the only option. His son, his wife and himself would all leave the town tonight. They would go into the wilderness to the dessert camp of the Zealots, and they would help the resistance. They would survive in this way. And the Chosen One would grow up under the care of the greatest soldiers of the century.
