Players: David and Hosea
Summary: David and Hosea are at Church….Church in Hell!
Date: October 10, 2010
Log Title: God?
Rating: PG-13
Tegu-Haaz - Xavier's Insane Asylum for Adolescents (Old Church)
What was once a small church is now a blackened and charred husk. Most of what remains of the walls is barely standing and the roof is no longer existent. The graveyard, woods and Asylum are all clearly visible from inside the church. A few wooden pews have survived but are covered in soot. Blank pages of hymnals litter the grounds and blow in the breeze. An alter still stands with two long candles in silver candleholders and a cross in the middle. The pulpit stands high with a bible sitting there, open but all the pages are blank.
Standing by what was once the pulpit, David dressed in period appropriate clothing peers and stares into what looks like a Bible. He keeps turning page after page almost entranced.
Unlike Nightcrawler or Connor, Hosea's teleports aren't accompanied by a sound effect. He appears at the entrance of the church, and takes a few steps inside. He is also wearing period clothes now, though they are a little too short for him. He looks around solemnly, and then up to David as he makes his way down the center aisle. "Have you come to find God's truth?" he asks. "It is not safe to travel alone." Of course, he didn't come with an entourage himself. His concern has been great for others, particularly since the loss of Kisha, but he seems remarkably unconcerned for his own safety, even to a fault.
Continually staring at the Bible, David speaks, "Hosea, I never noticed your ports did not come with a soundtrack like Kurt's or Connor's. But I still knew you were here the minute you ported. I sensed you." He finally looks up when asked about coming to find God's truth. "No actually, I was fascinated that this Bible is completely blank…but even I were…I don't think God is here."
The Nigerian makes his way to the pulpit, his lips pursed as he considers David's statement. "Really?" he asks, joining him next to the Bible. "Why do you say dat?" he asks. He looks at the blank pages curiously. It is indeed strange to see a book with no words in it.
Moving to the side of the pulpit to show Hosea, "It's just so weird. We've seen writing already like the names on the grave…but why are no words in this book. And it's not like the pages were ripped out or the words were crossed. It's a blank Bible. It was purposely made this way." He looks around the church, "What do you think could have happened here?"
Hosea lifts the cover of the book to see the outside. "In Nigeria," he says. "My village was burned to da ground when I was twelve years old." He rests the cover back on the pulpit the way it was. "Our church was burned to da ground. My mother and sisters were taken to be wives for da men who attacked us. My brothers and I were taken to be soldiers for da men who killed our fathers." He leans against the pulpit. "I believed dat God must have abandoned us," he tells David, and then taps his temple. "But. He had not. I would not see God again for some time. Da words dat were written in my mind from da Scriptures started to fade, and soon, dey were like dis book heah. Dis book is not a Bible. It is but pages which could contain da Bible." He lets his gaze drop across the burned old church. "I do not know what has happened heah," he says. "But da devil has many tricks. He would have us believe dat God cannot reach us heah."
Blinking at Hosea, David steps off the pulpit and takes a seat on one of the old burned out pews and looks at the cross, "I don't see a Jesus on that cross, so I take it this place wasn't Catholic." He looks down and then back to Hosea, "What happened to you and your family was horrible. I read part of your file regarding that, but it was a bit much to read. What happened to your family in the end?"
Hosea arches his brow, and closes the empty book before him. "Most of dem were killed. I have two brothers who still live. I do not know how many sisters." He seems mostly at peace with the situation. "Do you know dat while I served Nero, I could think of nothing more dat I desired den to kill him?" He smiles. "I did not see God, but I know he did see me. He brought me from dat life, and wrote his Word upon my heart. It shall not fade from dere. I think I would understand why many of da students here are afraid if God had not prepared me for this time. Are you afraid of this place?" he asks, casually pointing toward David.
David sits back and reclines in the pew, leafing through an empty hymnal. "Well, if you had killed him, some might say you would have been justified." He exhales, "I know we don't kill and revenge would not have brought your family back, but opinions differ among the students and even the staff about when and when not to kill." He ponders your last question and then responds, "No. I am not afraid of this place, but I am tired of it. It's been a week. We've lost Kisha." He sighs.
The African knits his brow. "Are you a stranger to loss?" he asks. "No one who has lost someone close would question whether I would be justified in taking Nero's life. I would be within what is right to repay their blood with his. But God desired something bettah then what I was within my rights to do. He desired to show me mercy. What would you do if you found da person responsible for this here? Would you desire to have his blood to repay Kisha's?" he asks.
Thinking long and hard for that, David closes his eyes and sighs, "Well my heart says one thing and my head says something else. I was the staff member. I was responsible for all of you! Damnnit! But no…It would be wrong to kill whoever or whatever is responsible for this!" He hmphs, "As for loss, while no one in my family has died. We all experience some loss. The loss of what life was before discovering we were mutants. The loss of a potential love before it even began. Everyone at Xavier's has loss something or someone. It's like a prerequesite to get it almost."
Hosea nods, and picks up the book. He sits down on the stoop of the altar, and places it on his lap. "Dis is not like dat loss," Hosea explains. "To know that you have lost someone dear to you because of a vicious act of another person brings such rage dat you can hardly imagine. You replay it in your mind again and again. You do not care if it would bring back your loved one, you want to have justice. I hope you will never understand what I mean." He puts a finger to the tip of his nose. "I was responsible as well. Here, da school does not exist. You are not a teacha, and I am not a student. Here, we must stay together to live. God has given us a gift to protect us. He has given us each other."
David exhales as he listens to Hosea's words, "You find great comfort in God, even here. Some people say we are in a hell. You never know, but even if that is the case, you are very hopeful. That's comforting to me that you have something to hold on to like that." He leans backs and folds his arms behind his head and looks into the night sky, "I wish we all had something like that, whether it be God or not. Just something."
Hosea lets the air fill with silence for a moment, studying David as he looks up at the sky. "My spiritual father, Abraham, would say to you: Only hold onto dat which will not break loose." He is quiet for another moment. "Is dere something dat you hold on to?" he asks.
David grins, "I mean. I have an understanding of religion. I studied and know alot about most of them from my research. but I would say, I always held onto the future. A weird kind of hope that things will always work out. And yet, it wasn't until Xavier's where I saw all that change. Not the part that things won't work out, but that there is almost always some sort of obstacle. Some sort of trouble!" He sighs, "If your question is if I believe in God. My response would be that I am agnostic. Pretty much, not sure. For all the research I have done. There is not 100 percent proof. It always comes down to faith, which is understandably dwindling the longer we are here."
The African nods, "What would be 'proof' dat you are looking for?" he asks. "What would prove dat God exists to you?" He places the book next to him. "If dere was a miraculous healing? Or if an angel came to speak to you? If someone came back from da dead?"
David starts to chuckle, "Not really. We live in a world where we each have powers. You can teleport. I can mimic anyone's skills. Miraculous healing. My former roommates brought someone back from the dead. As far as angels, we have had two at the institute. Apparently our conception of the Devil is potentially Nightcrawler's father and Angel from the X-Men is descended from a mutant race that were apparently real angels. Basically demons and angels are just mutants. So are we the miracle? And even knowing I am a mutant doesn't make me believe in Him anymore so."
"So you don't know what will be proof for you," Hosea confirms. "I remember when I was like you. Dere is no burning bush dat you need," he says. "Da evidence you need cannot be held in your hand. God must move your heart." He smiles. "Does your hope for da future give you enough to hold on to in a place like dis?" he asks.
David shakes his head, "Barely….But my faith was shattered long before here." He shrugs, "I guess for now it is enough, but not sure what else will happen, how much more we can take?"
"I can take until death," Hosea says with confidence. "I can speak for no one else. But when you can take no more, I will be heah to carry you." He stands back to his feet, picking the book up with him, as if he intends to bring it along.
David smiles, "Hosea, you may have enough strength for everyone. Literally and figuratively as well." David stands up taking the hymnal with him. "But still I wonder if this really was a church or something more sinister!"
