style="font-size:15px;"> hath not sent thee; but thou makest
He’s sweating.
Thou makest this people to trust
I won’t
in a lie. Therefore thus saith the Lord—no.
No.
No I won’t.
Exhausted.
No.
I won’t.
He falls back unconscious. The lights swiftly dwindle.
The sound of his dreaming begins, low.
EMILY (After a ghastly pause): We’ll be back for him, in the morning.
HANANIAH: You’re leaving him here (.)
CHAPTER 14
THE DREAM OF JEREMIAH
There is a garble of back-sound: the mutter of overheard conversations, street noise, the sound of a subway car entering a station—all of it barely possible to make out.
Underlying it all, and increasing in volume, is an unearthly bit of pre-singing.
As the dream progresses, something martial and stirring and uneasy may make its way in.
EMILY (Fading): We’ll be back for him, in the morning.
HANANIAH (Fading): You’re leaving him here.
EMILY (Fading): We’ll be back in the morning.
HANANIAH (Fading. To Ruthie): This is—no.
PERSON A: You cannot burn enough Danish embassies in my opinion.
PERSON B: Because what it is you’ve got this sheath of muscle right? Right on the bone.
PERSON C (Lightly sarcastic): Cool. Thank you Dr. _______.
PT: Me and some of the guys would go down to the quarry in the morning, just at sunrise, the sky’s just turning pink, and the water down below you is black; we stripped down, our nuts were all shriveled up
PERSON B: Dr. _______. That’s right. Dr. _______ to you. Thank you Dr. . . . . . . Dr. Bedhead.
EMILY: They said “shoe your feet, your bare torn feet, here are sandals put them on” but I said no
PT: It’s freezing cold. You dive in a coward, and you break out of the water raging.
EMILY: They said here, “your throat is dry, here is water, drink, drink the water, quench your—”
RUTHIE: But I said no,
PERSON A (On cell phone): Oh, okay
PERSON D (Simultaneous): It takes a certain person / certain people
PERSON A (On cell phone): Where are you?
RUTHIE: I must be shoeless, thirsty, heedless—
PERSON E: The Lord hath opened His armory and brought forth the weapons of His indignation.
THE NON-PROPHET (Sharp. Urgent): Make bright the arrows; gather the shields.
PERSON F (Also urgent, but in a different way): Mom? I can hold my breath for twenty-eight seconds. That’s my highest maximum.
PERSON G (Compelled): One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another.
Revealed:
The Whore of Babylon. She takes up her song in earnest. The Scarlet Beast is near.
And, The Non-Prophet is doing a flamenco dance.
THE WHORE OF BABYLON (Sings):
Thy soul ached for me and
you cried out for me
I did not answer thee
but laughed from the dark hillside
there are lions in the forests
and wolves in the evenings
You were in longing for me
and I did not repent thee
You were an astonishment
a desolation
I ran in the wilderness
I was an exhilaration
a leopard has found the city gate
and pushed it open with her maw
CHAPTER 15
Still raining, but slowed to a soft patter. The middle of the night.
Ruthie crosses the dark living room for a drink of water.
Jeremiah stirs, and half raises himself.
RUTHIE: You’re awake.
JEREMIAH: I am. I remember where I am.
RUTHIE: Do you want . . . water? I was just getting water. Or something to eat?
JEREMIAH: I want water.
She goes offstage, gets a glass of water, brings it to him. He drinks it in one go.
RUTHIE: You were thirsty. Do you want more?
JEREMIAH: Please. And I think I need food also.
She goes. Returns with the glass of water refilled, and a hunk of bread on a plate.
Thank you.
He drinks half the glass of water. Sits up and holds the plate of bread on his lap. Picks up the bread.
This is a—
This is a miracle. If I walk into a field. If I walk. This is a. If I walk into a field of wheat I can’t eat it. I can’t eat the wheat. This. This.
(To Ruthie) I’m sorry, I’m trying to. I’m trying to, uh
I can’t.
RUTHIE: You know, if you’re not hungry . . .
JEREMIAH: No, I’m hungry. I’m very hungry.
I’ll just. I’ll just eat it.
