Nineteen Eighty-Three (Red Riding, #4)

by David Peace

‘And after this Joseph of Arimathæa, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of thee Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away thee body of Jesus; and Pilate marveled if he were already dead and calling unto him thee centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he knew it of thee centurion, Pilate gave Joseph leave. He came therefore and took thee body of Jesus.’ Scratching my head – ‘And there came also Nicodemus, which at thee first came to Jesus by night and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound in weight. Then they took thee body of Jesus and wound it in linen clothes with thee spices, as thee manner of thee Jews is to bury their dead.’ Confused beyond existence – ‘Now in thee place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in thee garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid, but when they laid him out upon thee rock, they saw his wounds were bloody and bleeding beneath thee white linen, they saw he was not dead –’ Sat in the corner, shivering from fright – ‘Only bleeding –’ Feeling strung up – ‘And as they were afraid and bowed their faces to thee earth, he said to them: Why seek ye thee living among thee Dead?’ Out of my clothes and into the bed – ‘E am here; E suffered and am now risen from thee Dead and ye are witnesses of these things. But know ye who did this thing, for only one person could do this, thee one who did not forsake me, for whom death is not thee end.’ The movements in his bed...