Scene 4

Jade led Abel further into the forest. Junia was at the rear carrying herself nervously with them. 
"It's important to stick together." Jade started. "The dangers of the island cannot be put in simple words. You've seen it yourself." 
Abel thought back at the many stories his mother told him. He tried to extract more information out of it that would help the three of them. 
Jade halted their advance. "Something isn't right." Abel could hear Jade sniffing the air. "Blood..."
Abel took a deep breath. 
Nothing
"Junia, can you remove those plants for us?"
Abel was confused. Why did Junia have to move the plants away? Is this tied to her being an immortal? Abel still doesn't believe it.
But Junia did as Jade asked her to. She moved some bushes to the left, then to the right. Then she jumped back as if something scared her. 
Jade was quick to put a hand on her shoulder and comfort her. He looked at whatever Junia revealed. 
"Joseph... Old bastard, what happened to you?" 
Abel looked over Jade's shoulder. Junia didn't move enough foliage away for him to see it directly.
"Stay back, Abel. This is not something you want to see."
Abel disregarded Jade's warning and tried to get a peek in.
The scene was grotesque. It was straight out of a horror movie. Before them was an older man pinned to, what seemed like, a thorn bush. His arms were spread in a T-shape. His body was elevated from the floor. 
"A Cruzifier..." Abel muttered under his breath.
Jade looked at him. "You know about these?" 
Abel snapped back to reality. He looked around, searching for a shell. 
"There's something under his foot." Junia proclaimed. 
Before Abel could process what she meant he jumped to halt her.
Junia was surprised and her breath got caught in her throat as she, attached to Abel, hit the ground.
"That hurt!"
Abel, suddenly flustered, got off of her. "I'm sorry! I wasn't sure on how to stop you."
Jade gave Abel a curious look. "You know more than you let on, don't you?"
Abel cleaned himself from any dirt. He then helped Junia get up from the ground.
"You were looking for a shell just now, right?"
"How did you know?"
"It's not the first time I've seen this - a Cruzifier." Jade started. "One of the many man-made traps left behind by the people of Itheh." 
Abel was surprised Jade knew so much about it.
"I've been on the island for a long time now. But what about you? You couldn't possibly know about this, but not know our norms and traditions."
Junia pointed to the feet of Joseph. "There it is. The shell I saw."
Abel felt the gaze of Jade piercing through him.
"Well, everyone has their secrets. But if you know more, that would heavily increase our chances of survival." 
Abel was quiet for a moment.
"But first, we need to get Joseph down. Fortunately a Cruzifier is spent. It should be safe to get him off that."
"What about the thorn in his neck?"
"What about it?"
"It pierces the motor nerves. If he's alive he should still feel everything."
Joseph did not look alive. It was hard to imagine that he would be, given how much blood had been spilled. 
Abel looked closely at the thorns. It was as if a tree grew and took Joseph with him. It was a horrifying sight; a true testament of the horrific end one awaits at the island. 
And as if to answer Abel's question, he saw the eyes shift very slightly. 
He bit his tongue. "He's alive..."
"Then we need to get him off that thing immediately."
Jade shook his head. "Didn't you hear? His motor nerves are cut. Poor guy is feeling every bit of agony and is unable to escape it."
The Cruzifier - a Trap Artefakt that was scattered everywhere on the island. It's a remnant of the old Itheh civilization. But why would anyone be willing to make such a horrific torture device? 
The structure and methodology mirrors that of a certain execution of a Messiah millennia ago. Even the thorn-like structure carries that ill omen of that faithful day. But that would require having knowledge of those events.
The Cruzifier... The demented stories of his mother. There's something that doesn't fit.
"It's alright, old friend. The Mother will take you in her arms now." And Jade drove a spear-like weapon through the chest of Joseph. 
The coldness of the action shook Abel. It left him speechless. He tried to look for comfort at the mild-mannered Junia, but found her unshaken by this sight. Death seems to be a common occurrence on this accursed island.
Abel was silent. He tried to search the courage to break the silence. "Say... Jade? Who is the Mother?"
Jade cleaned up the mess and put Joseph down. He walked over to Abel with the same confidence he always had. 
"Who do men call for when they're met with agony and despair?"
"They turn to God."
"And when death's footsteps draw near?"
He did not understand where this was going.
"Think hard. Who do we go to when we're scared and lost?"
The question struck him as strange. Abel had always been alone. Was it David? He had his back, sure. But what had that to do with the one they call...
"Our mother... We beg for our mother." It was Junia who spoke up, presumably since she saw Abel struggle with the question.
Jade shook Abel's shoulder firmly. "You should be able to figure out now who it is we pray to."
He pondered the meaning once more, but he couldn't come to an answer. 
"Now let's get moving. It is close."
Jade and Junia continued their march. And it was then that Abel noticed that their surroundings turned eerily quiet.