It was true that Eve didn't know exactly how much time had passed but the tell tail signs of pregnancy that only she could feel had begun. The swell of her breast and the mild bloating of her abdomen sent her stomach churning daily. Morning sickness was something she could hide but she feared that John would soon notice the subtle changes within her body given that she was never alone.

If it wasn't John than it was his brother, Joseph who dominated her time. The debilitating fear Eve once felt started to wain but only slightly as her captors attempted to woo her. Eve tried to remind herself of their ever-present threat as a crazed fanatic cult but out of sight and out of mind, even that was ebbing away with the usual brutality hidden from sight

Visits from The Father were less than desirable, the man constantly spoke in religious riddles but somehow he would always worm his way into her solitude.

Although kind and gently, Joseph always kept her on edge with his infatuation. Softly spoken whispers and intimate words about her unborn child's future and her own that Eve could never repeat to another living soul. The tiny developing fetus wasn't even showing yet the glint in Joseph's eyes held so much faith.

He knew. He believed, but then Joseph always had...

It was Eve's own reluctance that allowed her doubts to flourish.

The Father never made any blatant acknowledgement but the protective nature he had adopted was enough.

She would almost have favored John's company over his brothers.

Almost.

So in the hopes of gaining allies in this doomsday preparation Eve would steer the conversation on to more pressing matters.

"Can I speak to Hudson? Maybe I could help?" Eve offered up. She knew that the women was important to the heralds plan, but maybe they didn't realise how useful she would be for Eve.

"That is very kind of you Evelyn, but you are not ready. There will be a time and place but it is not now" The Father spoke softly as he led Eve to the back deck.

"Did you know that I had a wife?" Eve shook her head in a silent reply, imagining him as a husband seemed quite the stretch. They had both settled on the chairs out back as Joseph began another one of his stories. There was always a hidden message that she would have to decipher, some clue that would help her understand their purpose.

"We were pregnant with our first child. And we were just babies ourselves, really. And I was terrified about becoming a father. Mostly about money. She wasn't worried. She had faith that things were going to work out. She always had faith… "

"And then one day, she was going to go visit a friend. There was an accident… and the Lord taketh" Joseph stopped to take a deep breath, the memory still so vivid in his eyes. She could practically feel his heart ache and wished that her own empathy would stay in check.

"They rushed me to a hospital and put me in a room with this little pink bundle stuffed with tubes and told me I had to be strong because my little girl was going to live. God was looking out for our daughter. And they left me, alone in a room with her."

"I just… stared… at my daughter. So helpless. So innocent… and all she had in the world was me. A nobody, from nowhere, with nothing." Eve's hand came up to her lips in shock, this man had lost everything. She wanted to console him to offer some form of comfort. Her own eyes blinking rapidly keeping back the tears that so desperately wanted to fall in hormonal sympathy.

"What happened to your daughter?" Eve couldn't stop herself from asking, this story was already playing on her heart strings and she desperately wanted to hear a happy ending that her own life seemed to be missing.

"God giveth and God taken" was his simple statement and with a sad smile he closed his eyes for a deep breath.

But he wasn't done yet.

"It was my test" Eve found herself leaning away in confusion as the atmosphere changed around the man sitting beside her, suddenly she wanted to be as far removed from his presence as possible. His emotion transformed into something unreadable, almost alien, neither happiness or sadness shone in his bright green eyes. An emotionless dictator reading his life story to her unwilling ears.

"In that moment I knew that God was testing me. He was laying out a path before me and all I had to do was choose."

"So I put my hand on my little girls head and I leaned in and we prayed together. Prayed for wisdom. Prayed for strength… then I knew. I heard God's plan for me. And I took my fingers and I put them on that little plastic tube taped to her angelic face and I pinched it shut."

The silence stretched out as Eve registered his crime, she desperately tried to un-hear what Joseph had said to erase it from her memory.

After a moment the cult leader continued completely ignoring Eve's ghost white complexion. Her hand remained plastered to her mouth. Eve's unseeing eyes had drifted to the table, watching a none existent spot unable to look at the monster directly.

"And after a little while her legs began to kick and kick… then nothing… stillness. Release. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh."

"Please stop," she sobbed out, no longer able to take his murderous words. The shock of what he had just told her made her insides numb, not even bile dared to climb up to her quivering lips. Her face was wet, yet Eve couldn't remember when the tears had started. With shaking legs, she stood to move away from him quickly.

"Pain… sacrifice… these are all part of his test, and we have to prove that we can serve God no matter what he asks." Joseph insisted as his chair scraped along the floor following suite.

"I hate you all" she screamed, rounding on the calm man. the burst of anger was like a bolt of lightning flashing across her glistening eyes, there for only a moment to give her strength then gone without a trace leaving behind an emotional wreck.

She wanted to hate him, but there was still so much within this cause that made sense. It felt like her eyes were being pried open to reveal the evils in this world that she had been completely blind too.

"Love and hate, such powerful emotions, so similar."

"Only through love can you hate." Eve just shook her head as she tried to back away from the preacher. She didn't want it to make sense. He was a murderer, they all where.

"Sometimes denial is easier than acceptance but once you do, you will see. It isn't at all what you expected," He followed her slowly, step by step until her back hit the house.

"You will be tested, you will have to choose when the time comes," He caged her against the wall. One of his strong hands lifting to Eves trembling shoulders, the other gingerly cupping her tear stained cheek. Eve wanted to lean into the warmth, into the promise of sanctuary.

"Don't be tempted by sin, don't go with him Evelyn. You have gained so much here." Her eyes snapped up to meet his, what did he mean?

"I have lost everything." Her broken voice pleaded for reason in her own mind.

"You have our trust, our love and our future" his hand trailed down between the swell of her breast to sit along her tummy.

"You are my light" ever so slowly Joseph's head closed in. A soft touch keeping her face still as his lips brushed over her own before he stole a kiss.

It was delicate and gentle, there was no lust only pure love in his action. Eve could feel all of his muscles relax against her form as the kiss came to an end. As he pulled away, a few stray tears had trailed down Joseph's face.

"Don't go with him," the man before her pleaded with desperation. His eyes slowly searched her own but in no avail, he never found what he was looking for.

"Who?" Eve whispered, so unsure of what this man was trying to say.

No answer was ever given as The Father released her trapped form, but Eve could just make out his quiet murmur as he retreated.

"And hell followed with him."

Thanks for reading!

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