The Rat Pack: “Guilt & Pain: Mourning a Brother.”

Young Ezrae sat straight up, as a damp towel fell from his head. Confused, he looked around frantically, trying to figure out what was going on. The first face he saw was Shelomith, and her eyes were full of worry, and fraught with grief.

She had been silently crying to herself, but when Ezrae sat up and looked around; she immediately threw herself into his lap, and started to bawl as loudly as she could. In turn, there was a commotion as Ezrae's friends all tried to rush into the tent.

He was in a tent, and there were Israelite markings and relics around… his head was pounding, and all of his friends were here… wait… where was Amon?

"What happened? And why is everyone here and looking worried? And where is Amon?!" Ezrae's voice became more frantic with each question, his natural need for answers digging at the back of his skull.

Divora walked over and gently put an arm around Shelomith, looking sad, she shook her head. Reyna was sitting in a corner with Caleb, her arms wrapped around him, both of them looking tired and sad.

Finally, Taza was sitting alone in a chair by the entrance, looking pale, and horrified. But Amon wasn't there…

Ezrae was confused, and scared, and that's when he felt a warm hand placed on his right shoulder. He looked over, and standing there with a sad smile on his face, was Moses.

"I am glad to see you're awake, Ezrae… It looks like we need to have a talk, Talitha. A lot happened today, and your heart has taken a big shock. Taza, can you please go ask Father Aaron to bring some clean water, please?"

Taza, who had been dead quiet since everything had happened, just simply nodded his head, stood up, and walked out of the tent. Moses sighed sadly; grief, worry, and stress were etched into his face.

It would be 37 more years until his interactions with the Pharaoh as the Prophet of Yahweh, and this event was one of the first that snapped him into seeking liberation for the Israelites. As such, he had begun to be well known among the Israelite camps.

Moses at this time was just a Priest, and he taught the Torah to the Israelites; helping to uphold their culture and worship in an oppressive Ancient Egypt. Ezrae looked up at him, and in his fashion, began to ask a ton of questions.

"Where is Amon? Why is everyone sad? What happened to the thief? Is my grandpa okay? Is this…"

Moses cut him off "Ezrae. Stop. I know this is a lot to take in, but let me tell you what happened, don't worry. Your questions will all be answered.

You see, I was watching the situation, because I was there, in the Market center. I saw the destruction that took place, I saw your choice to show mercy to the thief, and I saw what happened after.

When you turned your back on the thief and dropped the blade in the sand, the thief took the opportunity to strike, one last time.

He pulled a wand from inside of his sleeve that he had received from the wizard in the center, when he robbed him. He pointed it at you, and somehow managed to activate the magic in it…

Which leads me to believe this entire thing may have been orchestrated by Egypt to cause death and pain to the Israelites. But we will get there.

Luckily, Amon managed to act in time and tackle you to get you out of the way… But unfortunately, he paid an incredible price.

The magic in that wand was pulled from the coldest places on earth, and when he tackled you out of the way, he took a direct hit from it to his back and upper body…

When you guys hit the ground, YOU hit your head on a large chunk of rock, debris from the accident… And Amon…"

Moses choked up, as tears came to his eyes. Amon wasn't an Israelite, but nonetheless, he was a child, and he was still innocent, and he did not deserve what happened to him…

He cleared his throat, and wiped his eyes as Ezrae looked at him, confused and terrified.

"Ezrae… when Amon's upper body hit the ground, the impact caused his frozen flesh to shatter. His entire upper body crashed to pieces on the ground."

He paused, and the tent was completely quiet, aside from the sobs and sniffles from the children who were still there. Taza quietly walked back in, followed by Aaron, who carried a large bowl of water and a few towels.

He rushed over to Ezrae, who was completely speechless at what had just been told to him, and put another towel on his forehead, gibbering at him in Amaraic.

Taza walked over and put his hand on Ezrae's shoulder, saying "I'm really happy you're okay, Ezrae… But, now that you're awake, I need to go home. I love you, Akha." He had a deadpan look on his face while he talked however, showing no emotion whatsoever.

Ezrae didn't have the heart to say anything back except "I'm so sorry, Taza… I love you too." Taza just nodded weakly and headed out of the tent, leaving the rest of the rat pack with Moses and Aaron.