Prologue

Prologue for mystery story submission for contest.

  It seemed the finger of God Himself had touched the

desert as the flesh-tearing sandstorm raged angrily on the horizon. The road weary traveler gazed through

sun-ravaged eyes at the monstrous sight. Pleased that God had not chosen to send His “angel of destruction” towards him; the man got back into his truck and continued east, towards the seaport where a cargo ship awaited. On it he would gain his freedom from this place only to possibly lose it once again upon reaching his destination. Lose it trying to deliver something that would benefit all of mankind. It is sacred thing and vitally important to keeping the moral fabric of the world intact. For centuries men have killed to either protect or destroy it. That precious something is called ‘truth’. God, it seemed, would not destroy His messenger this day. But the path he must travel would make no such promises. For this messenger holds a secret truth in his soul, his very center of being and knows only that he must keep it alive. As is His nature, God usually gives a solitary figure the task of preserving humanity. Whether saving or destroying it in this case is still to be determined. Some lifetimes ago it was said that a certain man once walked a very harsh path and in the process saved all humanity. Today this traveler would very much like to keep the tradition alive.