I could not believe that they kicked me out of the group. I loved them and cared about them. Now I felt like I was being punished for things I could not be responsible for. It could not be my fault that a child was gone missing or the soldiers were after me. I was upset and ever so sad. I felt like they were a family. I cared for them and did my best to take care of them.

Now I was alone, and I will be the first to admit that I was afraid. I hid in some bushes close to the hut. I was hoping that the gang would come and invite me back to the group. I had to accept that now I was alone. I was alone and very frightened. Every sound I heard was dangerous. I thought of wild animals and insects that would love to have me as a meal. I tried shutting the darkness and sounds out, but I could not, My heart was beating very fast and I could not rest or sleep.

I snuck into Jerusalem and thought it would be less dangerous. I finally found a good hiding place in what looked like it was some abandoned shed. I finally got some sleep and tried to forget how screwed up my life was.

The first thing I heard when I woke up was some Roman soldiers that marched by. I was told that they were looking for me! I wanted to go out and beg for food. However, I was too afraid. I decided that I would stay in the shed. This was so boring. There was nothing in the shed except some skins. There was nothing to drink or eat. It was just as bad that there was nothing to do. I sat in the dark shed all day, remembering my old tablet in 2020 and remembering the different types of food we had.

Time went by and I was there for a few days. This seemed like it was years. In the beginning, I would draw on the dirt floor. I would sing a song and tell myself a story. I began talking to myself, which is never a good sign. I felt so dirty and missed taking a bath or even toothpaste so much. Besides slowly going insane, I was very hungry. It was so bad that I even tried eating an ant! How far worse could things become for me?

I remembered when the magic sent me back to the cave days, and when they were about to sacrifice me, the magic sent me to this place. Now that it was so dangerous for me, maybe the magic would interfere once again and send me home. The Romans would just be a bad memory and I would once again ice cream!

As I was imagining what ice cream would taste like, this fat man opened the door and shouted and asked why I was there. He started saying bad things about the orphan children and rose his cane as he was about to beat me with it. I used what little strength I had and ran from the man and his cane. Every bone in my body ached as I ran.

I was in an alleyway when I collapsed to the ground. I used my last energy to move my body at the edge. Then I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was confused about where I was. Then I remembered how I got there. The strangest thing was that I had no hunger pains. I had no pain. The only discomfort I had was that my lips and throat were so dry. Otherwise, I was just weak and could not move. Over the next few days, I just drifted in and out of sleep.

I was happy when I was asleep. I was with mom. She would be showing me new clothes she got for me or we would be baking something. Mom would be smiling and telling me how much she loved me. She would promise me that we would go to the mall the next day, I would not be dirty in these dreams. I would not be hungry or being wanted dead or alive by the Romans.

When I did open my eyes, I would realize that this was all just a dream. I would also realize that I was hardly breathing. I knew that this meant that I would die soon. I did whisper "help" as people passed me. They just scowled and scoffed saying that homeless children were a plague. I would close my eyes again and think I would never open them again.

I was surprised when I opened my eyes after so long being ignored by bypassers. I noticed that a woman was kneeling beside me. I recognized her. She was the mother of Jesus. She was talking with two men, telling them that I was the girl that sang a song for her dying son. She ordered them to pick me up and carry me.

Everything went black then.

When I woke up, I was in a small bed in a small room. A woman and daughter were nursing me. When they have seen my eyes open, they smiled and started praising Jesus. I wanted to ask where I was and what was happening. I had no strength to ask. I closed my eyes again.

This happened for a while. I would wake up and the girl and her mom would be next to my bed and trying to get me to drink a small bit, I did my best but would just drift back to sleep. This happened again and again, but I could see that each time, I could stay awake longer and longer. Each time, they praised and thanked Jesus, especially when I had some soup.

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When I was well enough to sit up in the bed. The girl told me that her name was Ruth. She had heard that I was at the crucifixion and sang a song for Jesus. Ruth was a nice girl. She was by my bedside all the time, and at times, I could hear her praying. She told me that I was nearly dead when they found me. The fact was that Ruth liked talking. She would chatter and chatter. It made me think of my friends from 2020. I missed them.

I was now well enough to get out of bed. I helped to cook. I liked cooking. It was nice making food that tasted well and no one stressed me. It was like I was learning new things all the time. I also loved it when the women spoke. Despite the Romans could come and arrest anyone at any time, their friendship and their faith in Jesus was strong.

Ruth told me that the followers of Jesus stayed in this large house. It had a yard that was was closed off. The yard was surrounded by a big gate and high walls. Ruth said that it was dangerous being a follower of Jesus. However before he went back to heaven, he gave them the Holy Spirit. This meant that some men were now confident enough to go out and preach about Jesus. It made me smile that Ruth was so enthusiastic about talking about Jesus. It's something I never have done with my friends in 2020.

Mary heard our conversation and smiled. She told Julia that I already had the gift of the Holy Spirit. She did not understand why. Mary said I was on a special mission. I wanted to ask her if she knew about the magic book, but I was too afraid to reveal that. Who would believe that I travelled in time?

Life at the camp of the early Christians was blissful. Everyone helped each other and wanted the best for the community. I was known as the orphan that sang to Jesus. Despite that I missed my real family, I had so many adopted parents and brothers and sisters here. I felt like I was protected and loved by everyone. I was kept busy by cooking and cleaning, but it was not a chore. I was contributing to the community in the best way I could.

Ruth became a very good friend. I loved her spirit and how she cheered everyone up with her smile. She spoke a lot and I wondered if she knew what she was talking about most of the time. Still, she had a heart of gold and I figured she would never be enemies with anyone, as she did not know how to be cruel.

I trusted Ruth, so one day, I told her my story. I told her that I lived in the future and was a Christian there. Then some magical book sent me back in time to the cave days. After I told her what happened there, I told her that the magic sent me here. There was silence and I was thinking I made a mistake, and Ruth thought I was insane. However, she just smiled and said that she knew that I was special. Ruth told me that God was sending me on a mission.

Our conversation was cut short by a lot of commotion in the courtyard. An older man came through the gate and collapsed. He quickly was put on a bed and the old women nursed him. We found out that three men went out to spread the good news. They were arrested by the Romans and tortured. He was set free. This was the last thing that was said. Despite that he had the best care, he died on the bed. At least he died with the community that he loved.

One of the older men said that we had to leave. The man was released by the Romans to show them where we lived. This caused a big panic, and people were worried about the future. They wanted to know where a safe place would be. Some tried to calm others down by saying they must trust in Jesus. He will help and protect.

I could see that Ruth was no longer smiling. I sat down beside her and told her that I remember that early Christians were persecuted. However the Roman empire would be Christian at some stage and in a few hundred years, there would be no Roman empire. Christians would be the largest religion in the world. In the end, Jesus would have won!

Ruth had this confused look on her face as I explained the future. She did stand up and shouted so all could hear her. She wanted everyone to fall on their knees and pray to Jesus. She told us that we all had so much to be grateful for. Ruth also reminded us that we should pray for the Romans... our enemies,

As we were praying, the Roman soldiers broke through the gates. Everyone remained on their knees praying. No one tried to fight the Romans. This made some soldiers laugh as they swung their swords left and right, killing everyone in sight.

Then there was chaos and panic. I heard screaming and pleas. I have seen the Roman soldiers go crazy and just kill everyone. This was murder and very bloody. I felt like I would be sick as it was so sad seeing people I considered as a family being slaughtered. The worse bit was that I could not see where Ruth was. I hoped that she would survive this. I decided to close my eyes, as I could not look at so many innocent and peaceful people were being murdered.

Then I heard a man laughing in a wicked way. When I opened my eyes, a Roman soldier was standing in front of me. He had his sword lifted and it was clear he intended to try and cut me into two

Before the soldier could kill me. A fog started rising from the ground and there were thunder and lightning. The clouds went very dark. It was like nighttime.

Everything went black.

When I woke up, I was not home. It was like I was in some cage on a wagon entering a town. People were standing at the side of the road cheering at us. I could see that some Roman soldiers were escorting me. The problem was that I was in chains in a cage.

To be continued on the sequel

Signs of the Timez - Princess Hostage