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Chapter 10

  "Are you alright, Zane?", Mom asked. "You've been acting funny since I picked you up from school."

   Zane ran through the house and up the stairs as fast as he could. "Yeah! I just have some homework to do!" Before she could protest he slid into his bedroom and shut the door.

   Not waiting a beat, Zane threw his backpack onto his bed and pulled out the Holy Bible. Mom talked the whole ride home, so I wouldn't have been able to focus. He opened up the book and flipped to where he'd left off. I need to know more. I want to understand what the heck is happening. He stopped at his chapter, chapter 6, which was labeled The Seven Seals.

Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

   So one seal summons a guy with a white horse to 'conquer' things. Is he a good guy or a bad guy?

   He continued reading.

When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

   Okay, so the red horse is the bad one. The rider wants there to be no peace. You know, that kind of sounds like the terrorists. They don't want the world to get better. Could the red rider be them?

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!"

   What the heck is a denarius? It sounds like it's like money. But what does it mean for this? Is it talking about overpriced food or something?

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

   Wait, I thought the red rider was the one who killed people. So two horses come and kill people? He sighed. Why does this book have to be so confusing? Why can't they just say how it is?

   Still, he continued.

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

   Zane blinked in surprise. Why does the Sovereign Lord wait? Why does there have to be a certain amount of people to die before he avenges them? If I were him I would just stop the killers so that no more people would die. These people sound like they're relying on him. Why would he just let them die? Zane didn't have to force himself to go on.

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

   Zane gulped silently. More bad things happen! Why does this Lord let these things happen? In previous chapters, his people were singing praises about how holy he was, but this chapter says when he breaks these seals, bad things keep coming, each one worse than the last.

   This Lord, or Lamb, is just as confusing as this book.

   Zane had to sit back and let his mind relax. This stuff was pretty heavy; it was just too much to take in in one sitting. But he wanted to keep going. No, he had to keep going. He needed answers. He needed to understand. Especially after today; after seeing the numbers on Calvin's hand. It's exactly as what chapter 13:18 said. What if everything in this book actually comes true?

   Who the heck am I kidding, it is coming true.

   So what's coming next?

   A ding sound suddenly went off, making Zane nearly jump a foot off the bed. Realizing it was his phone, he was relieved and annoyed to see that it was a message from Josh.

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: Ok man, I've got an idea.

Zaneiack: Finally. I haven't heard from you since you said to give you a MINUTE.

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: I know I know. I just needed to make sure my plan was foolproof.

Zaneiack: Foolproof? What are you talking about?

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: We've tried to find erin through Facebook, right?

Zaneiack: Duh where else would we look?

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: Her house.

Zaneiack: Dude we don't even know where she lives.

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: Yes, we do. Remember when she posted a picture of her and family in front of their new house last year? I saved the picture to my gallery and wrote it down. It's gone from it now, but I still had it written down. Yesterday I looked it up and it turns out she lives in Southington. That's the town right in between yours and mine.

Zaneiack: That's creepy josh. What are you trying to say?

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: I'm saying we should go over to the house and check it out.

Zaneiack: Are you crazy?! That's trespassing. What if someone else lives there?

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: Then we won't go inside.

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: We can meet in front of the public library and work together from there.

Zaneiack: How do you know theres a public library?

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: I've been there a few times. I know where it is. I'll send you directions.

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: What do you say?

Zaneiack: I don't know. My parents would kill me if they found out.

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: Well I'm doing it whether you do it or not.

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: I care about erin. I'm gonna do what i can to find her.

JoshRogersInTheHouse!!: Are you with me?