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Chapter 14
After a few days of trying to escape Mark finally gave up. No matter where he went either Agnus or Charles was watching him. There was no way he could leave. With some thought and some, not so kind, words from Agnus Mark finally accepted that what he was trying to do would only end in Sarah’s death. They had no way to fight the vampires. They were forbidden from killing.
Two weeks after Sarah had left, Mark was no closer to finding a solution. He began to hate himself for what he had done but how was he supposed to know that Sarah was talking about him? These thoughts plagued him and he often found it hard to concentrate. He spent every waking hour either researching old texts about vampires or training with Charles. Eventually Mark started training with Agnus. After a long discussion about how it wouldn’t help Sarah, Mark rebutted with the fact that he may need to fight the vampires to get Sarah out so Agnus relented. She taught Mark every fighting style she could think of and Mark got pretty good at all of them. If it came down to skill and speed Mark could hold his own with Agnus, if somehow Agnus forced him to fight with pure strength, she could still take him.
After one of these training sessions Mark headed back to the library. It was nearly dark but Mark had taken to staying at the library until one or two in the morning, then rising at dawn to start it all over again. He couldn’t take time to sleep more than was necessary and he had no time for social interaction. Sarah was being tortured because of him.
Mark grew frustrated and tossed the book across the room. This book had looked promising but ended up being a parable about a vampire who died in God’s light. It had no factual basis to back it up and God’s light was not something he could take to Samael’s office. Mark had spent a great deal of time looking over the blueprints for Samael’s office. Samael was on the twelfth floor and Sarah, most likely, was on the same floor. It looked like the perfect spot for a prison and Agnus assured Mark that Sarah would be kept in some kind of prison that specialized in torture.
“Another wasted day!” Mark shouted at himself. He had been certain that this book was the one with the answers he needed but he was sadly disappointed. Then Mark had a thought. God didn’t speak to humans anymore but maybe God could give him a sign. God still did that right? He pondered how to ask for a sign then gave up when he decided that God wouldn’t give a sign to an Asuune, he was only partially human. Maybe he just needed time to think.
Mark reached over and turned on the radio. It was on Katie’s favorite station still and Mark thought maybe the quiet conversation about God might help him relax. Sometimes he had his best inspiration when he wasn’t actively thinking about the task at hand.
The radio host was in the middle of taking calls from listeners. The woman who had just finished had a question about forgiving her husband who had cheated on her forty years ago. The host gave the woman some advice that seemed to placate the woman and she thanked him before hanging up. The next man had a more serious religious question and it caught Mark’s attention.
“This is Anthony, your host. What’s your name and how can I help you today?” Anthony said in a calm, fatherly voice.
“My name is Burt and I have a question about the Ten Commandments.” Burt said in an apprehensive voice.
“What’s your question Burt?” Anthony asked kindly.
“Recently I was home with my wife and ten month old son. We were having a nice dinner when a man came to the door. He said he was there to fix my dishwasher which was on the fritz. I thought it was strange because, even though we had called a repair man, it was seven o’clock at night.” Burt began.
“I’m with you so far Burt, keep going.” Anthony really was a good listener, he knew exactly what to say and how to phrase it to keep information coming in.
“Well the man pulled a gun and held it to my wife’s head. He told me to get all the money I had and he would let us live.” Burt continued.
“I’m so sorry Burt, that must have been horrible,” Anthony chimed in.
“Yes, it was. As soon as I gave him all the cash and whatever my wife had in her purse he started to act strange. I could see from the look on his face that he was going to kill us. I told him that I would give him my pin number to my credit card and he could take out nearly five thousand dollars if he just left now but he started sweating and shaking. He told us he couldn’t let us live, we had seen his face. He pointed the gun at me and I reacted. My wife got knocked to the floor and I ended up on top of the man. We struggled for the gun and it went off. It hit him in the head and he died immediately. People have praised my quick thinking and bravery for attacking the man before he could kill us but my question is. Why do I feel so guilty? How does God feel about breaking this commandment? Am I going to hell?” Burt trailed off but Anthony was quick to respond.
“Give me a second here Burt, there is a passage in the bible that I think can answer your question. But first let me say that it is natural to feel this way. You took a man’s life. You can never give that back. This doesn’t mean that you made the wrong choice. It is never a good idea to let bad things happen. Think of the parable Jesus told about the Good Samaritan. All those people, good, holy people passed that poor man by. It was the least likely of people that helped the poor man and Jesus admired him for it. This doesn’t exactly address your issue but there are many more instances of God telling us that doing nothing is the same a sin.” Anthony paused for a moment then returned. “Yes, my assistant has found the verse that more closely addresses your situation. Let me read it to you.”
