Unbreakable IV
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IV.
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.8 His name was Famine.
Sloth.
He bolts upright in bed, drenched with sweat and panting. Slices of the dream begin to fade away like shards of glass, some melting away, some pulverized like thousands of grains of sand. He blinks hard and gets up, lights his desk and writes until early dawn.
The next morning is chilly and he shrugs into the jacket his father gave him to keep warm as he goes about his business, planning the day and preparing meetings with his father's business partners. At midday, he goes out in search of his brothers and finds them in the fields, napping on the ground in the sun's rays with hayseed in their mouths and the animals grazing around them.
What are you doing out here, Joseph. Why don't you go back to your abacus and leave us to the real work.
You don't know what you're doing, Joseph replies softly.
Of course we do, Joseph.
Well then, that's worse. Now it has become something that you are.
What in God's name are you talking about? Spit it out before we knock it out of you.
You're all going to die, Joseph says around the tightness of his throat. I saw it, in a dream. You all die and it will be my fault.
Reuben lifts himself from his place under the shade tree and tries to calm Joseph with a touch on his shoulder. Youngest, we've listened to your dreams before, but you mustn't speak that way of your elders. This is our job.
Joseph pulls away. Hate me all you want. But the only way I'll ever be able to save you is if you trust me.
All the brothers, all but Reuben, rise in anger from their cushions on the ground and pick up young Joseph. They carry him on their shoulders as he struggles and they shout, All hail Joseph! We are going to bow down and put him in the ground.
Reuben watches as they beat him, hike Joseph high over their heads and throw him into a storage pit in the ground. To avoid suspicion, Reuben walks away with them to leave him there overnight, with a secret plan to go after him before sunrise. But his brothers beat him to it. They drag Joseph up from the pit, strip him of his clothing, and sell him to the first slave trader who happens by.
They soak Joseph's jacket in goat's blood and tell their father that he was attacked and eaten by a lion. Jacob mourns day and night on the ground near the fire in his tent; he pays no mind to the ashen dust clinging to his face or the holes that appear in his clothing.
Decades later, Jacob hears word that his son is alive. Joseph's dreams have earned him the trust of a king, and he has been made viceroy and given charge of an entire kingdom's resources. Joseph sends for his father to join him and escape the famine in their homeland, he sends for his brothers, he sends for their families; and they come.
They all arrive together and go in search of their salvation. At first sight of him, they fall in relief at his feet, clinging to the folds of his coat like moths.
As there is Sloth, so there must be Diligence.
I’ve gotta find Dad. It is the only thing he thinks about. That, and Jessica motionless in a lake of fire on the ceiling.
That, and the mother he never knew. That, and how he wants nothing more than to find and kill the thing that did it. That, and how Dad is the only clue; how he has to stay by his side, find and end this threat against their family, together, no matter what happens.
That, and how it all fades away when he sees Dean motionless in a lake of water on the floor.
And you found the kids in the basement? the cops says and nods, overlooking the fact that he has heard Sam give two different last names to two different people within the last five minutes. Well, thank God you did.
We can’t work miracles, the doctor says, and just like that, Dean has traded his life for someone else, again.
Dean is always trading his life away: for Dad’s cause, for Sam’s freedom, but never for himself.
No more. Not on his watch. What are you talking about? I’m not gonna leave you.
Hey Dad, it’s Sam. Uh…dunno when you’ll get this but uhm… it’s Dean. He’s sick and uhhh… doctor said there’s nothin’ they can do. But uhhh… they don’t know the things we know, right? Ummm, so don’t worry, ‘cause I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get him better. Awright. Just wanted you to know.
Sam calls his father's friend, Joshua. Joshua doesn't know where his father is, but he knows someone who can help. Sam drives and Dean fakes sleep, clutching at his sides to hold himself together, leaning against the rain on the window.
Dean finds a new heart and Sam finds that whatever it takes can sometimes be too much.
John gets Sam's message and calls Joshua. Joshua tells him that he sent his boys to a faith healer and that Dean will be just fine; it's in the interest of higher powers to use evil for good when the situation calls for it. John doesn't understand what he means, but he's gotten used to Joshua's strange observations.
Three days later, John gets a call from Caleb: Joshua is dead, John, and you were the last person to talk to him. What the hell is going on?
Chapter V