Have You Heard About... ? - ZACHARIAS

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VILLAGE SQUARE SLUMS

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The rain finally passes, but the village remains trapped beneath its shadow.

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Mud coats the crooked roads. Water drips from sagging roofs. Gray clouds smother the sky, turning afternoon into a gloomy imitation of dusk.

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A lone carriage rolls through the poorer quarter of the village.

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Inside sits Zacharias, High Priest of the Village Square, alongside his assistant.

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The assistant nervously peers through the rain-speckled window as the horses pull them deeper into the slums.

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"We shouldn't be here, Rabbi," he says. "The Guard should have been called."

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Zacharias frowns.

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"This is a spiritual matter. If we do not answer such calls, who will?"

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His assistant throws his hands in the air.

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"We can't run toward every absurd beckoning call."

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"Show some backbone."

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The assistant scoffs.

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The carriage lurches to a stop.

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Zacharias steps out first.

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His polished black boots immediately sink into the mud.

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"...Wonderful."

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The assistant climbs out after him, dressed in simple tan robes.

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Together they follow a narrow, soggy path winding between miserable clay huts.

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Zacharias keeps his head down. High Priests do not enjoy being recognized in places like this.

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One hand strokes his gray-black beard while the other rests over his chest.

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Then they hear it.

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A scream.

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Both men freeze.

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A violent crash follows.

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Glass shatters.

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Wood splinters.

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The assistant nearly jumps out of his skin.

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Zacharias swallows hard.

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For several seconds he forces himself onward.

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Then another shriek echoes from the house ahead.

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Far worse than the first.

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The High Priest stops dead.

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"Rabbi..."

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"We continue."

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"Rabbi."

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(Beat)

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"...yes?"

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"We need the King's Guard."

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Zacharias ignores him.

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Mostly because he agrees.

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Slowly he approaches the hut and pushes open the old wooden door.

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It creaks inward.

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The smell hits him immediately.

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Ash.

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Mold.

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Rotting water.

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The kind of smell that suggests a house is no longer interested in housing the living.

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Zacharias leans his head inside.

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Just his head.

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No more.

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Like a cautious child checking beneath a bed for monsters.

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The room is wrecked.

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Furniture lies shattered.

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Broken pottery litters the floor.

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Clumps of black hair are scattered everywhere.

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At the center sits a woman wrapped in a coarse potato-sack dress.

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Her hair hangs unevenly from her scalp.

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Parts of it look torn out.

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Blood stains her neck.

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A cold wind blows through the room.

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The problem is...

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There is no wind outside.

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Zacharias feels his stomach drop.

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He straightens.

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Lifts his chin.

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Attempts to summon the authority expected of a High Priest.

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Then he steps inside.

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His assistant follows.

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Reluctantly.

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Very reluctantly.

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Standing in the center of the ruined dwelling, Zacharias folds his hands behind his back.

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His posture resembles a judge entering a courtroom.

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"Ma'am," he declares, "I am Zacharias, High Priest of the Village Square."

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The woman slowly rises.

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She turns toward him.

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Zacharias immediately regrets introducing himself.

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Her skin is pale as parchment.

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Sweat pours down her face.

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Blood streaks her arms.

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Most horrifying of all are her eyes.

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Pitch black.

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Not dark.

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Not shadowed.

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Black.

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As though someone stole the light out of them.

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Zacharias has dealt with curses.

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Witches.

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Possessions.

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At least three false prophets.

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Nothing has prepared him for this.

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The pale woman tilts her head.

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"Who are you?"

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A shiver runs down Zacharias's spine.

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Every hair on his body stands upright.

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"I..."

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The woman slowly cranks her neck sideways.

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Her smile widens.

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"I know the priest of this village."

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Her voice lowers.

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"But you're not him."

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The assistant immediately grabs the back of Zacharias's cloak.

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Hard.

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The High Priest can feel him trembling.

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Zacharias clears his throat.

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Raises a finger.

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And summons every ounce of courage available to a terrified religious leader.

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"I command—"

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The woman screams.

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The entire hut shakes.

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A blast of invisible force erupts through the room.

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Both men are launched backward.

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Ghostly fire bursts around her body.

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Dark smoke churns across the ceiling.

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The air itself seems to groan.

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Even her voice drops into impossible octaves.

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Windows explode.

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Pottery shatters.

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Wood cracks apart.

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The assistant screams.

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Zacharias screams.

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The two men scramble to their feet.

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Dignity abandoned.

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Duty forgotten.

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Survival embraced.

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"RUN!"

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"I AM!"

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They crash through the doorway.

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The wooden door bursts completely off its hinges.

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Villagers watching safely from a distance scatter.

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The priest and his assistant sprint through the mud, robes flapping wildly behind them.

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Glass and debris shoot from the hut as another scream echoes through the stormy air.

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Zacharias nearly trips over his own robes.

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The assistant actually does.

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Somehow both men reach the carriage.

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Zacharias dives inside with an agility nobody his age should possess.

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The assistant throws himself in after him and slams the door.

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The horses look confused.

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The driver looks confused.

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Everyone looks confused.

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Zacharias points furiously toward the road.

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"MOVE WITH HASTE!"

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The driver snaps the reins.

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The carriage lurches forward.

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Then proceeds at a disappointingly normal pace through the mud.

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Zacharias stares through the rear window.

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The screaming gradually fades into the distance.

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The hut grows smaller and smaller.

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Neither man speaks for nearly a full minute.

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Finally, the assistant clears his throat.

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"So..."

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"Not a spiritual matter."

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"No."

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"King's Guard?"

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"Immediately."

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"Excellent."

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Scene fades to black.

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