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Chapter 11

  This is crazy!, Zane thought to himself, pulling his jacket closer to himself. Why did I agree to this?

   It was strangely chilly out, but Zane couldn't tell if it was from the air or his pounding heart. Had it really only been just last night when he'd agreed to go with Josh to Erin's house? It hadn't been easy getting out of the house. He'd had to come up with the excuse that he wasn't feeling well and went to bed early. He had made sure to lock his bedroom door and shut off the lights before climbing out the window and running all the way to a bus stop. Now here he was, sitting on a curb in front of the Southington Public Library, waiting for Josh to pick him up. Why did I agree to this again?, he'd been asking himself the whole way to the library. He'd come up with the same answer: Because you want to help Erin. On the bright side, you get to meet Josh in person, a little voice encouraged.

   Yeah, but I had wanted it to be the three of us; me, Josh, and Erin. And we wouldn't have been breaking and entering any houses. I thought we would end going to a movie or Lake Compounds.

   He sat there for a while longer, blowing on his hands every so often to keep warm. Why is it so cold? It's almost summer. Maybe it's just because it's night. Josh should be here any minute. I hope. Zane mentally kicked himself for not making a time for him and Josh to meet. And now he was paying for it.

   Why don't you read more of the book while you wait for Josh, the little voice spoke up. It will keep your mind off the cold and make the time pass faster.

   Agreeing with the voice, Zane pulled out the Holy Bible and opened up to where he'd left off; The 144,000 of Israel Sealed. Wait, what about the seventh seal?, Zane realized. This chapter should be on the seventh seal. Being too cold to check the next chapter, Zane just started reading.

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,

12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,

12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

12,000 from the tribe of Asher,

12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,

12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,

12,000 from the tribe of Levi,

12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,

12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,

12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

   So 144,000 people are going to be 'sealed' before more bad things happen. What does that mean? Does 'sealed' mean being rescued? Protected? And what are the Tribes of Israel? I've heard about Israel; they're a nation in the Middle East. I didn't know there were tribes in Israel.

   Keeping these questions in mind, he continued reading.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

   Whoa, wait a second! They wash their clothes in the blood of a lamb? That is messed up. Who washes their clothes in lambs' blood?

   Still curious, he kept reading.

"Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

   So the lamb is God, or the Lord Almighty? But he's going to be a shepherd to his people. That doesn't make any sense. How is a lamb supposed to be a shepherd?

   He sighed, blowing on his hands before turning the page. This is like some, weird version of Alice in Wonderland; all these riddles and messages are too confusing for me. I want to stop, but I have to know more.

   With that in mind, he moved onto the next chapter, The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer.

When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

   So the seventh seal makes Heaven go quiet for thirty minutes. Then people's prayers get put into this... censer, and it gets emptied into the earth and it turns into a storm and an earthquake. Not a bad finish to the seals, but then what happens now? If there are no more seals to break, what comes next?

   A Honk! from a car went off, making Zane jump up in surprise. Looking up, he saw a small, silver car parked in front of him, still running. Zane jumped to his feet. "Sorry!", he yelled, backing away from the car. He turned his back to the car and pulled out his phone. I can't wait any longer. I'm telling Josh it's a no go.

   "Hey!", a voice yelled. "Zane!"

   Zane stopped walking. He turned around to see a tall blonde boy standing next to the silver car, the driver's side open. Zane recognized him from the pictures and videos he'd seen on Facebook, but he still couldn't help but ask, "Josh?"

   The boy smiled. "The one and only. Josh Rogers is in the house!"