by Dawn Morris
“There was one room in the basement that was intact. I think it might have belonged to the janitor. He had a locker full of stuff.”
Miraculously, Mitch pulled some chocolate bars out of the box and handed me one. I’d only had chocolate once in my life. Slowly, I peeled back the wrapper and took a small bite. Some kind of nut was wedged in its creamy goodness. I closed my eyes as I savored it.
“I also found some aspirin for Sierra and some water.” I watched in silence as he woke his daughter and tenderly cared for her. My anger toward God twisted into something else as I watched the two of them. Here there was real love. Maybe there was something good that would come out of all this?
“Will that help her?” I asked.
“It should.” He pulled a jacket out of the box and covered her with it before turning back to me.
“Dani, I want to ask you something. The military base isn’t too far from here, but I don’t want to risk your safety. Would you stay here with Sierra while I go try to rescue Cheryl?”
Panicked thoughts bombarded my mind, and I considered the very real possibility that he might not come back. One thing I knew was that no one could be trusted. I racked my mind for a way to convince him to let us go with him. “But have you considered the possibility that we’ve been seen?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that there’s likely to be some people around here. It’s not as bad as what we’ve seen traveling. We might have been spotted. What if someone sees the truck and comes here to investigate? I have no way of protecting your daughter. I would run.” I spoke in a high-pitched, childish tone, hoping he would realize what he was asking of a teenage girl and change his mind.
He pursed his lips together as he listened to me. “I hadn’t thought of that. I just wanted to give her time to rest, but you’re right.”
He moved away from the couch and pulled a couple of chairs close to the candle. “Let’s get some rest for a few hours. Then we’ll all go together and find Cheryl.”
He put the chairs together and motioned for me to lie down on the make-shift bed. “I found a couple of jackets in the locker. Here’s another one.” Mitch bent over and pulled another jacket from the box. “It’s not a blanket, but it’ll help.”
He tucked it around my shoulders and said goodnight. Tears welled up in my eyes and ran down my face, so I turned my head into the jacket to hide. I fell asleep right away.
“Time to get up,” Mitch said quietly before moving over to wake Sierra. Wearily we made our way out and got into the truck. Mitch started the engine and pulled back out onto the road. It was still pitch black outside.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“3:00 a.m.”
We drove for a while before Mitch came to a stop. It was so dark; I couldn’t see a thing.
“Stay here while I take a look,” Mitch ordered before opening his door and getting out of the truck. He flipped on a flashlight, and I watched it flitter back and forth. A roaring sound came through the slightly opened window.
“Sounds like water,” Sierra whispered. I looked back at her. She had been groggy when we got up, but she seemed to be doing better. About twenty minutes later, I saw the light headed back our way.
Mitch pulled open his door and leaned in. “Get out. We’re going to have to walk from here.” He pulled back his seat so Sierra could exit. I pushed open my door and stepped out of the truck. It was so dark, I couldn’t see much at all.
“Where’re we going?” Sierra asked.
“We’re going to cross the river. All of the other bridges we’ve passed were down. This one’s intact.”
“Why are we getting out of the truck?” I asked.
“It’s a railway bridge for trains and some numb nut barricaded the head of the bridge on this side. We can’t drive across, but we can walk. Hopefully we can find another vehicle on the other side of the river,” Mitch explained.
“If they keep prisoners here, aren’t there guards?” Sierra hung back against the truck.
“I checked; there are none from what I can tell.”
As we neared the bridge, the roar of the water intensified. The light from Mitch’s flashlight shone on the dark metal trusses of the bridge.
It took us a long time to get across, but we finally made it to the other side.
“There’s light up ahead there!” Sierra whispered. In the distance, we could see electric lights piercing through in the dark.
“I think that’s the military base,” Mitch said.
As we walked in silence toward the light, I fell behind Mitch and Sierra, afraid of what was waiting for us up ahead.
FLOOD
Chapter 12
My beloved is mine, and I am his.
Song of Songs 2:16
The massacre at the gathering, the journey to the city, Methuselah’s murder—it all felt like a nightmare.
When we finally returned home, we sighed with relief to find Laelah had recovered from her illness with Nua’s help, although she could hardly lift her head
“I am feeling so much better. It must have been something I ate.” Laelah leaned against the headboard of her bed. “Where is the healer?” She looked around the family to the empty doorway. “Why have you been gone so long”
Embracing her, Noah broke down. With difficulty, Japheth told the other family members what had happened, and everyone joined Noah in grieving. The days that followed were heavy and sorrowful.
Noah called the family together for a meeting about a week later. Ham and Taina straggled in late and sat together on the empty bench next to us.
“Oh, Ariana,” she leaned over and hugged me. “You’re taking this so hard.”
My eyes felt hot and tired. I couldn’t even respond; I just shook my head and struggled to listen to Noah, vainly trying not to replay the horrific images of Methuselah’s body chopped up in that wicked place.
Noah sat in his favorite chair. He looked terrible. Dark shadows underlined his bloodshot eyes.
“We all are heartbroken for our people and for Methuselah. You know the prophecy his father Enoch made: ‘When he dies, judgment comes.’ The Creator wants us to pack and get ready to enter the ark tomorrow.”
We had been prepared to go for some time, but no one had expected it to be so soon.
Noah instructed us to get some sleep before we headed to the ark. As we walked back into the house, Japheth lamented that we would not be able to spend one night in our wedding bower.
“Oh, I didn’t think of that! What a shame!” I exclaimed, thinking of how devotedly Japheth had labored to finish the bower for our wedding night.
Laelah, following closely behind us, overheard. “Oh, surely husband, we can give them a proper wedding? Before we go to the ark?”
Noah stood on the porch leading to the entrance of the family home. He looked haggard and worn. Closing his eyes a moment, he lifted his face up to the sky, drew in a deep, ragged breath before turning to look at Japheth and me. “Of course, you must take advantage of our last night here.” For the first time in a week, Noah’s eyes sparkled again, briefly.
“Ariana, go change your clothing. I believe you have something special you wanted to wear? Laelah, you and the other women can prepare something simple, some cheese and bread and wine. Yes, some wine will be good. The Creator has given it to gladden our hearts. Tonight, we celebrate your love and marriage.”
I went to my room and looked at the clothes I’d packed in a carved wooden box. Nothing seemed right to me. I heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I called. Nua came in with something white in her hands.
“I wondered if you might like to wear this,” she said softly. “I made it for my sister.”
“Oh, Nua, it’s beautiful.”
It was a simple white dress made of the softest material I’d ever felt. Silently, I hugged her and whispered my thanks. Nua’s sweet sister would never have her wedding night.
I put the dress on, my hands shaking
.
“Are you nervous?” Nua joked.
“Honestly, I am feeling so many different things right now.”
“I know. There’s never been a night like this in the world before. The night before it all ends.” She sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her. I sank down next to her, and she put her arm around me. “But it’s also the night where everything begins for you and Japheth!”
We sat together for a few minutes in silence.
“Ariana, Nua!” Laelah called from the other room. “We’re ready!”
I got up, pulling Nua up with me, and we joined the others outside in the small orchard. The trees were covered with pinkish-white blossoms.
Japheth and I faced each other, our hands joined together as pink and white petals fluttered in the soft breeze around us. Dappled sunlight shone through the leaves with a special glow. I looked into Japheth’s dark brown eyes and squeezed his hands.
Noah asked the traditional questions, and we responded with the traditional answers, sealing our promises with joyous kisses and laughter. We shared a bit of food and a glass of wine with the family before going to our wedding bower.
That night, I began to learn about marriage and love. That night, in the midst of terrible sorrow and fearful anticipation of what was coming upon the world, Japheth and I discovered joy and pleasure in married life.
I woke the next morning in the arms of my husband, and despite all the horror of the past few months, felt peace. We are together. I gazed at Japheth’s profile in the early morning light and smiled sleepily as his dark brown eyes opened, and he turned his face toward mine.
“Good morning,” he whispered, lightly kissing my mouth. A horn blew in the distance, and he pulled away with a sigh.
“Is it time to go already?” I asked, desperately wanting to stay where we were and never leave.
“Yes, I’m afraid it is.” The next kiss was filled with passion and promise, and then we reluctantly left our wedding bower for the house.
Laelah prepared a simple meal for us, and we all ate gratefully. Instead of the heavy silence of the last week, Japheth’s brothers gently teased him about the previous night, which made everyone smile and my face turn hot.
After we finished eating, Noah asked to pray. “This is our last time around this table, where Laelah and I raised our sons. This is our last time in the home where each of them brought their wives and added to our family number.”
His eyes filled with tears as he raised his hands up to heaven. He spoke of those who were to have entered the ark with us, thanking the Creator for the comfort of knowing they were with Him.
When Noah finished speaking, we left the table for the last time, bundled up with extra blankets against the chilly morning, and climbed into the wagons for the ride to the nearby valley where the ark waited. As Japheth drove our wagon, he talked about all of his friends who had helped the family build the large boat over the years. Tears ran down his face as he mourned their deaths. No one had ever expected it would only be eight of us entering the huge boat.
Japheth worried about the Nephilim. “Father is not worried,” he told me. “But the Magistrate knows what is to happen. I can’t help but think he will try to stop us somehow.”
I agreed and shuddered. As our wagon lumbered along the track made over the many years the family had traveled to the valley, I kept watch for any sign of trouble. The horses were pulling the wagon up the last hillock when I spotted movement in the woods to our left and alerted Japheth. “There! Look!”
But to our relieved amazement, there were no soldiers marching toward us but hundreds of animals. All the wagons pulled to a stop at the top of the hill as we sat and took in the incredible scene below us in the valley. The ark towered over the west side of the valley; the east side was filled with creatures advancing toward it. The noise was deafening. We sat watching the scene unfold before us, marveling over the approaching creatures.
“Look!” I pointed to the lumbering yellow-spotted giants that appeared right beside our wagon.
“Those are young giraffes,” Japheth observed. We enjoyed watching the diversity of creatures, many strange and unknown, for awhile before continuing to the ark. The men had brought the clean animals to the valley a few days before. I saw them in an enclosure in the field next to the huge boat. God had instructed Noah to take more of the clean animals than the unclean because we would need some of them for sacrifice.
Japheth nudged me. “Look at the lambs.” There were a few of them on top of a pile of hay. I laughed watching their antics for a few moments in the bright sun before we headed into the ark. Japheth led me around, showing me what the men had added in the last month.
“Methuselah had a brilliant idea for piping water into the troughs in the section over here. We have one central tub we fill with water, and these bronze pipes carry the water to all of the animals in this section.”
He took my hand and led me up the ramp to the top floor of the ark. Each of the three levels of the boat was the same height. The family quarters were at the top. As we walked up the ramp, I wondered what it would be like once the animals were on board and the door was shut. We passed shelves of provisions neatly stacked in specially made racks designed by Noah. There were rows of jars: wine, oil, and honey, even shekhar made from various grains. Dates and other fruits had been dried and put into clay pots.
As we entered the family quarters, I noticed the area for preparing food. I walked over and ran my hand on the wooden surfaces where we would cook, spotting the ingenious oven designed by Shem. It had taken him quite a while to figure out a way for us to heat food and water, but he drew on his skill working with pottery.
“This is amazing!” I exclaimed. Three vases acted as chimneys, which directed hot air from the brazier below.
“Ariana, look here!” Japheth walked across to the doorway of our compartment just off of the family living space. Each of the brothers had designed his own living space, and each reflected his individual character. The youngest, Ham, was inclined to do only what was necessary. Taina followed his lead; their apartment was functional and tidy. Shem, I was learning, was especially devoted to the Creator. He and Nua had decorated their living quarters with a large painting of life as they imagined it in Eden before the fall.
As I entered our compartment, I marveled again at its warmth and beauty. Japheth was a fine craftsman. Across from the entrance was an alcove. Vines bursting with flowers were carved on the frame. Within the alcove was a plush couch, piled with colorful pillows. My favorite blanket was draped on the right side. A table in front of the couch held a tray with the most exquisite goblets I have ever seen. I picked one up to admire the dark veins that ran through the golden wood.
“They’re made from a small tree that grows in clusters. Do you remember the family box, that holds the treasures from the First Ones? It’s made of the same kind of wood. When I saw Shem and Ham bringing it onto the ark, it occurred to me I could make a beautiful gift for my bride using the same idea.”
“It is lovely.” Japheth moved closer and I leaned up to thank him with a soft kiss.
“I have some other gifts for you,” he whispered, pulling back from our embrace.
“I only need the giver.” I smiled, pulling him back into my arms for another kiss.
“I love you,” he whispered into my ear, brushing my cheek with his lips before moving away. “Let me show you the other gifts,” Japheth said. He loved to give gifts to others and was always eager to see how they would be received.
He pulled a basket from under the table, which stood in front of the couch. It was filled with small pots of paint and brushes. “I deliberately left the alcove and other carvings unpainted, so you could finish them. I thought that would help pass the time.”
He showed me around the rest of our small home, pointing out the carvings he had left undone. Even as I was thanking him, he bent down and pulled another box from under the bed.
“Inside here are slices of wo
od that I’ve smoothed out, so you can paint or draw on them. You draw so well; I thought you might even do a likeness of each of the family. Mother and Father would treasure such a thing.”
There were dozens of small wooden panels inside the box. In whatever free time we would have, I knew I would enjoy using the creative gift.
“These gifts, and the way you have thought of every comfort and need I might have speaks deeply to my heart.” Tears filled my eyes as I looked up at my husband. Incredibly, despite the terrible events we’d gone through and the unknown future ahead of us, I was completely happy in that moment.
FIRE
Chapter 13
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand.
Revelation 20:4b
As we neared the military base, we could see light coming from a large building near the main gate. Everything else was pitch black.
Mitch signaled for us to hide behind a bush while he went ahead to check things out. We crouched close together, huddled in the dark, alone. Sierra started to whisper something, but I elbowed her in the ribs. “Shh!”
It seemed like forever before Mitch came back. I could just make out the dim glow of his flashlight as he crept back toward us.
“The building is a barracks, but I don’t think anyone is there,” he whispered. “We might as well go in and rest until daybreak. I’m not sure what else we can do tonight.”
Sierra and I followed him without a word. We passed unchallenged through the gate shrouded by vines.
There didn’t seem to be signs of anyone around, just the eerie light of the barracks building amidst the dark and empty shadows. It seemed like every light was on in the building, while every other building was dark. I felt the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
Mitch led us through an open door to the right and we followed. I went in reluctantly. It was strange that the lights were on and the door opened. I was reminded of something Daphne used to mutter when my father called me. “‘Step into my parlor,’ said the spider to the fly.”
