Lost Time (Time Out)

by Joshua Grant

  I moved off to the side of the door, behind Japheth as the animals continued to enter the ark. If I had ever before been curious as to how Noah had fit all the animals on the ark, that question was answered the minute the first animal walked through the door. Babies! That made perfect sense, I thought. After all, why would God send old animals onto the ark? First off, most of them would be too old to procreate, so their species would die out a few years after leaving the ark. Second, baby animals would take up a lot less space, food, and water. I marveled at the genius of it.

  I waited for what seemed like hours as animal after animal piled in. It sure was a sight to watch! From the gracefulness of the bald eagle to the swift ostrich, they were all there. I saw ponies, kangaroos, bears and several species of monkeys. Mountain lions, snakes, buffalo and deer, elk and moose – on and on they came, their eyes trusting as they clamored inside, allowing Noah and his sons to herd them into their proper stalls, cages or pens. Seeing God’s creation gather like that in one place is a memory I will cherish forever.

  After a few more hours, I heard Noah shout from somewhere in the back of the ark.

  “Okay, we’re done! The last of the animals has been secured.” He then turned to his son, Shem. “Shem, go and make final preparations for the flood.”

  “Yes, father,” Shem nodded, then turned and disappeared downstairs.

  I decided to go back up to the living quarters to watch the approaching flood. My steps felt heavy as I took the stairs one slow step at a time. The time was near, and my thoughts were depressed. So many people out there; people who didn’t know that their life was about to end – that the world they knew was about to disappear. As I looked out the window, I almost fainted again… but this time from shock! The sky had turned black as tar though it couldn’t have been much past noon. Not a few hours ago, the sky had been as clear as a bright summer day, but now it was as dark as hell itself! I leaned out of the window to get a better view of the sky, and almost fell out when the ark shook.

  “What was that?” I shouted down to Noah, standing in the middle of the ark. I was concerned that something might have damaged the ark. He looked up to where I stood and answered calmly.

  “God has closed the door to the ark. The flood approaches…” Noah said, his voice heavy with sadness.

  That’s when I heard the banging and shouting.

  “Please, Noah, let me in! I believe you now!” one man wailed.

  “Please tell your God to forgive me and save me from this flood!” a woman pleaded.

  “I’ll do anything you want, just let me in!” another man said.

  Noah and his family joined me upstairs. One look at their faces and I saw their tears forming. Not just in the eyes of Noah and his family, but in mine too. Now I knew what my professor had meant when he said it would be hard not to interfere. Oh, how I wanted to! How I wanted to rush downstairs and fling open the door… but I knew that I couldn’t.

  “It is too late for them,” Noah said, with much sorrow in his voice. “They have turned their backs on God, and now they are paying the price for it. Come, let us go to the living quarters.”

  Noah and his family turned to leave, but I continued to watch through the window as the flood grew. Some still pounded on the side of the ark, while others had scrambled for shelter in the nearby hills. They would find no solace there, I knew. By the end of the fourth hour, the flood had risen above the trees and the screams for help had quieted to soft cries. By the end of the ninth hour, the flood had risen almost halfway up the mountainside and the cries had stopped all together. I supposed that everyone caught outside the ark was dead. Finally, by the end of the day, the floodwaters had risen above the mountaintops and I could no longer see any landmarks, mountains or otherwise. All I saw was water. We now floated on the biggest ocean in the world, if you could even call it that, since an ocean assumes the presence of land.

  I turned away from the window and headed downstairs. I then decided that I’d leave the following morning. I couldn’t take anymore of this sadness, and I felt sure that no one would notice that I was gone. Noah and his family would be busy with the animals, and think perhaps I had fallen overboard. They surely wouldn’t need my help during the next forty days and nights. After all, in the Bible story, they did everything fine by themselves. I’d stay one night just to see what it was like, and then leave tomorrow morning before any of them woke up.

  “Adam, come join us for supper,” Ham called out to me. “You’ve been staring out that window forever. There’s nothing any of us can do for any of those people, so you might as well join us; they’ve paid the price for rejecting God’s warning.”

  I turned around and took my time seating myself at the table. As I sat down, I was deep in thought, so sad that these people had to die. “Noah,” I asked. “I know that all of those people were trapped in their sins, but why did they have to die?”

  “Adam, what I’m about to say is very important, so please listen to me.”

  The old man stopped passing wooden plates to his sons and looked at me, his expression somber.

  “Those people committed such atrocious sins that it angered God, causing him to wipe them out with this flood. The wages for sin have always been death; they just learned it the hard way. But, the good news is if we turn away from sin and try to live a life that is pleasing to God, he will bless us with more than we could ever imagine.”

  I thought about his words and then nodded. “Thank you, Noah. Your words are a great encouragement to me and have lifted a weight off my shoulders,” I said.

  Just as we finished talking, Noah’s wife emerged from behind a curtain off the middle of the large room. In her hands, she carried a tray laden with a delicious-smelling meal. When I saw what it was, however, my heart sank. The tray was filled with bowls of steamed vegetables! It was times like this that I wish we had more than two of every animal, I thought with disappointment.

  After the meal was over, Noah and his sons checked in on the animals and then headed toward their own pallets. I ventured toward my designated sleeping area and sat down. I had drunk plenty of water during the meal to make sure that I would wake up early in the morning for my discrete exit. As I drifted off to sleep, Noah’s words echoed in my head, “…if we turn away from sin and try to live a life that is pleasing to God, he will bless us with more than we could ever imagine…”

  When I awoke, it was still raining outside. Duh, I thought. They still had thirty-nine more days and nights to go. I rose quietly and ventured downstairs so as not to disturb anyone with the bright light of the device that I now held in my hand. Looking around, I found a small corner between a few bales of hay that seemed to be as discreet a place as any to make my exit.

  I pulled the T.O.M. device from out of my pocket and attempted to prepare myself for what I might see on the other side as I hit one of the change channel buttons. The wavering portal appeared, and taking a deep breath, I stepped through.

  Chapter 4

  As with the first two times I entered the portal, I felt an odd sensation rushing through my body. It felt almost as if my joints painlessly disconnected, leaving me without solid shape or form. Usually, I felt tingling, but this time, the sensations felt different than anything I had ever experienced before. Within the portal, I saw undulating light, a combination of blues, grays and silver. The light took on the texture of mercury; a semi-solid mass of thick liquid bubbled in undulating waves around me, cushioning me. I didn’t have the sensation of falling, per se, but I did feel disconnected from gravity to some extent, and my thrashing arms and legs never did strike anything solid to grab onto. I had always enjoyed roller-coaster rides, so in a sense the feelings evoked by my portal journeys were similar to the sudden rises and falls of a roller coaster, but different just the same. It’s so hard to explain, because I have nothing to compare this to.

  Inside the portal, I felt an overwhelming sense of calm. I wasn’t afraid – of bodily injury, at least. My thoughts went blank
inside, which is why, perhaps, I’m having so much trouble describing the experience. Nevertheless, I’m trying to convey the experience so that it’s recorded on paper as fully detailed as possible. Perhaps I should put it this way. My time in the portal seemed endless when I was inside. What I was thinking when I entered it was instantly forgotten, only to be recalled when I was regurgitated out the other side. Inside the portal, it wasn’t so much that I was moving, but that the portal moved me. In essence, inside the portal, time seemed to stand still, much as if I were frozen in time. Only when I emerged out the other side was I able to recall my experience; the sights, sounds, smells and incidents that I had just left behind.

  So it was when I emerged from the portal, I instantly recalled that I had zapped myself away from Noah and his ark, oddly depressed and somber by the massive loss of life that I had sort-of witnessed.

  I emerged from the portal abruptly, as if someone had given me a mighty push. I stumbled and quickly tried to regain my footing while at the same time attempting to gain my bearings on this side. I found myself in a desert city, surrounded by small buildings clustered in a haphazard manner. Constructed of both hewn and unhewn stone imbedded in mortar, the buildings and homes had flat roofs, atop which people sat and gathered, watching the goings-on around them. It didn’t appear that anyone had seen me – yet. The sun set slowly in the western sky, casting a dull haze over the desert scene, enveloping the buildings in a subtle purple glow. I noticed I stood at the opening to an alley off a busy marketplace. Strange smells assailed my senses as my gaze skimmed over the dozens of booths set up along the main thoroughfare of the city, filled with people hawking their wares. I smelled a myriad of breads, along with the scent of coriander, cumin and anise. The air was heavy with the scent of curry and garlic, and I got an overwhelming whiff of honey as a breeze swept along the street, ruffling through my hair. Baked bread loafs and buns nearly spilled over from one stand, while right next to it, I saw a stand filled with overflowing bowls of figs, nuts, olives, and grapes.

  The cacophony of sound surrounding me startled me after the near silence I had experienced aboard Noah’s ark, and my ears now rang with loud trills, men hawking their wares, people shouting, bargaining and laughing. People wore long cloaks of mostly dark and drab colors, while the blankets that sheltered the booths in the market regaled my senses with bright colors; striped fabrics, embossed and embroidered lengths of cloth flapped in the breeze.

  I cast an anxious glance behind me to make sure the portal closed, then straightened and walked into the hustle and bustle of the crowd. My heart pounded as I gazed at the marketplace, amazed at the boisterous activity taking place everywhere I looked. The street nearly overflowed with hundreds of people, all seemingly talking at once, making bargains, arguing over prices, and gossiping all at the same time.

  The day didn’t last long, and before I had walked the length of the street, night had fallen. Torch lamps were lit at places along the street while merchants began to gather their wares and close up shop. The crowd slowly thinned and I soon found myself standing alone at the far end of the street, where houses and small buildings were more spread out. I glanced up and noticed that stars were coming out, and without all the ambient light from a city, these stars really popped. Living in a busy city, I never really appreciated the beauty of a star-filled sky, but tonight, wherever I was, I looked up in awe, amazed at the sight of millions of stars shining brightly in the night sky. I even spotted the Milky Way, and what could have been the Big Dipper, though I certainly was no astronomer. As I gazed upward, I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of angry red color, but I quickly dismissed it as my imagination.

  This city didn’t seem so bad, I thought, turning around to look at the buildings behind me. I had walked up a slight rise, and the city itself now appeared to lay in a shallow dip of land, surrounded by rocky hills. That’s when I saw the signs. Are you a weary traveler looking for love? Then come in here and all your dreams will come true! Honest. That’s what one sign read above an inn that appeared as if it was rented out by the hour. I felt rather startled that I could read the words carved into plaques of wood, or painted onto the sides of buildings. Whether you like women… or even men… Sodom is the place for you! read another sign. I continued walking along the street, which curved around and headed back toward the middle of town and the town square. As I walked, I saw many signs that had stuff on them just like these. I also saw what appeared to be a fighting ring, surrounded by a spiked wooden fence twice the height of the men currently fighting within its confines. As I passed by the fighting ring I noticed that one of the fighters, the smaller one, was trying to escape. Rather than allow him to leave, his opponent came up behind him and slid his sword into the back of his neck as casually as you or me might slice an apple. I realized that the fighting might not be consensual between both fighters. “So this is Sodom,” I murmured. “Now I know why God got rid of this place.”

  I headed toward the main gates and decided to go for a walk to visit nearby Gomorrah. After all, how many chances did anyone have of visiting either of these ancient cities, let alone both of them prior to their destruction? The gate was massive, constructed of stone and timber foundation. Around the city rose a wall that must have been twenty feet tall, enclosing the city itself, which I guessed to encompass about ten acres. I looked at the hundreds of people still milling through the center of town, heard the raucous laughter coming from the ‘red light’ district and quickly turned to pass under the gates. I had barely gotten outside the gate when I was stopped by two men. They were clothed in dark robes, their long hair tied neatly back in ponytails, each sporting long but neatly trimmed beards.

  “Sir, where are you going?” one of them asked.

  “I’m walking to Gomorrah, to visit it,” I said. I knew that they were both very evil cities, but I wanted to see which one of the cities was worse before God destroyed them.

  “Come with us,” they said in unison.

  I paused. Normally, I wouldn’t follow orders from complete strangers, but something told me I could trust these men. I decided to follow them.

  After we had returned through the main gate, we were greeted by a middle-aged man. He, like the others, wore a robe, but the hair on his scalp was cut short and his face clean-shaven.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” he said, looking at the men. “Come with me to my house and rest. You can wash your feet there.”

  “No, that’s okay, Lot,” one of my bearded companions declined. “We’ll be more than content to sleep in the city square.”

  “I insist!” Lot said.

  He again gestured toward the small stone house standing a short distance away from the main gate, near the wall, away from the noise erupting from the center of the small city.

  “You must come to stay with me,” Lot countered. “This city is not safe, and you will be in danger if you sleep out in the open.”

  Finally, after some discussion between the two bearded men I had met outside the gates, both agreed to follow him. I watched the three with interest, my gaze returning again and again to Lot. He was an old man, his face wrinkled by the passage of time, yet his eyes shone with the alertness and vigor of a much younger man. Once we arrived at Lot’s small stone cottage and went inside, Lot closed and locked the door behind us.

  “Now that you’re here please rest your feet,” he said, inviting us to sit at a wooden table in the middle of the room. To my right, a fire burned in a fireplace, and a small arched doorway to the left led to the kitchen or food preparation area, as evidenced by a rough-hewn hearth constructed into the far wall. Another arched doorway led elsewhere, most likely the sleeping area, it’s doorway hidden behind a thick woven blanket hanging over it.

  Lot then went into the kitchen to prepare food while the three of us made ourselves comfortable. I tried to memorize everything I saw; the construction of the table and benches, the mantle over the fireplace, carved with strange, foreign figures, the design and weave o
f the blanket over the second doorway leading from the main room of the small house. I turned toward the kitchen when I heard the sound of female voices just as Lot emerged from the cooking area with whom I assumed to be his wife and his two daughters carrying plates filled with delicious-looking food.

  The women quickly busied themselves setting the table, gathering extra cups and plates and filling the cups with small amounts of wine. Once the table was set, we sat down and enjoyed a very good meal. I’m not sure of some of the dishes, but I do know I tasted dates and pomegranates, and mostly likely some kind of game bird, lentils and some kind of grainy dish that might have been hummus or couscous. I wasn’t sure, but I was famished and ate everything I was given. “That was some of the most delicious food I’ve ever tasted!” I exclaimed, patting my satiated belly for emphasis.

  “Thank you for the compliment,” Lot smiled. “I appreciate your kind words.”

  After we finished eating, the women cleared the table and then disappeared. Lot suggested we prepare for bed. He gathered a few extra pallets from the room behind the curtain, and had just handed them to us when we heard a crowd gathering outside the door.

  “Hold on a minute, I’ll take care of whoever it is,” Lot said, walking toward the door.

  Lot opened the door, and over his shoulder I saw see an angry-looking crowd gathered outside. I knew eavesdropping was not polite, but I couldn’t resist and tip-toed over to the window to listen.

  “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you?” demanded one of the men, apparently their leader.”Get them out here! We want to see them, and have sex with them!”

  Right away, I could tell this was going to get ugly. I glanced at Lot, whose face had paled.

  “Please, my brothers,” Lot begged. “Don’t do such a wicked thing. I have two virgin daughters. Do with them as you wish, but leave these men alone, for they are under my protection.”

  Wow, I thought, those men he had befriended must be important to Lot if he was offering up his daughters’ virginity as an alternative. I frowned in disappointment. Why would any man offer his daughters in lieu of two grown men who—then it hit me. These must be the angels spoken of in the Bible – the two angels that came to help Lot and his family escape from the city before God destroyed it.