TALES FROM THE RAPTURE: Thou Shalt Not Kill

"Hold still, little darlin' and this won't hurt as much," he breathed into her ear. He had his hand clasped firmly over her mouth while he leaned into a brick wall in an alley, pressing her up against it. A knife was in his other hand and pressed up against her rib cage.

She was on her way home from church, a normally short and uneventful jaunt, but tonight she had been accosted and hustled off into an alleyway out of sight of the roadway. A streetlight lit up the area, but unless you had walked into the alley off the street, you wouldn't see anything.

"Oh, God," she thought. "Why is this happening to me?! I was almost home! God, please help me!" Tears welled up in her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

"You smell awfully good, little missy," the brute whispered in her ear again. It was more than she could say of him. He wreaked of sweat and alcohol. "I was just lookin' for a little cash, but holdin' you close and smellin' you is givin' me other ideas."

"Please, God! Only you can save me now! Please, help me!!"

"Peace, be still," a voice in her head said. "Is that you, God?" she asked.

"It is I, be not afraid," the voice replied.

"Just relax, and ever'thin' will be alright," he was saying. "I don't want no trouble."

"Oh, God; Father, what do I do?" Psalm 23 suddenly came to her mind. "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want," she quoted in her head.

The man glanced down at the ground where her purse and Bible had landed. "A pretty little church girl like you probably don't get much excitement, eh?" he said.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

"Yeah, I'll bet you ain't never had a real man before, have yeh?"

He restoreth my soul: he leadeeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

"I s'pose I'll haf ta kill ya in the end, though. Can't have yeh runnin' off ta the cops, an' all; can I?"

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

He felt her relax in his grasp. "That's it; just calm fight down there. It'll all be over soon enough. Then I'll be off to get me a little bite to eat with the cash in your purse there."

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

"It's a bit of a shame to get blood all over these nice clothes of yours, but that can't be helped," he said matter-of-factly.

thou annointest me head with oil: my cup runneth over.

He hesitated for a moment. "You sure are relaxed for a young woman in your situation," he said somewhat startled by how calm she had become.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

"That'll make it alot easier. I'll be quick, and it'll all be over soon."

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

He took a deep breath. . .

for ever.

A loud thunderclap sounded as he stabbed the knife into. . . the wall, and the hand he had clasped over her mouth came smack into his own. "What the . . . !" he stammered. His face was wet, as were his hands. He dropped the knife to the ground and stared at his hands. In the light of the streetlamp he saw his hands were red with blood. Some of the girl's clothes were either plastered to his body, held there by blood, while the rest were lying in a pile at his feet. He stared blankly at them for a brief moment, then heard a low voice say, "Freeze!"

He turned suddenly to see two cops with guns pointed at him. "Put your hands where I can see 'em!" the cop said in that low, serious voice.

"I didn't do nothin'!" he stammered.

"Yeah, sure bud; that's how you got covered in blood with girl's clothes all over you. You must've snuck back here to get yourself all dolled up for a late date, right? 'cept I think those clothes aren't your size."

"I didn't do nothin'! he repeated vehemently. "You ain't got no body or nuthin'!"

"I'm sure that a DNA test on that blood and those clothes will be plenty of proof of foul play," the second cop noted, his gun still trained on him.

"You have the right to remain silent," the cop closest to him said as he moved toward him slowly. "Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law."

"There was a girl here a moment ago, but she, she just vanished," he stammered, looking at his hands again.

"Yeah, I'll bet," the cop said as he stepped forward and grabbed the guys hands and cuffed them together behind his back. "Tell it to the judge," he said as he led him out of the alley to the waiting squad car.

In the alley, a Bible lay open on the ground. It was open to Psalm 23.

********************************************************************

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12:36-37.

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:12. KJV