by Summer Lee
Sam smiled. Four items. Four of us.
The blinding white light consumed the room. Sam passed out.
***
Sam blinked his eyes several times as he woke up. He tried to get the spots from the light out of his eyes. As his blurry vision cleared, he noticed Achava standing by him with a smile.
He looked around and noticed that they were in some kind of forest. The trees were extremely tall and thin and had little to no leaves. They were also spaced about 10-15 feet apart, which allowed good visibility for at least 100 yards in any direction.
Achava helped him up. “We have to be careful now, since we are out in the open. I am not quite sure where we ended up. This is not where I thought we were going.”
“Any sign of Anthea or Khassima?” Sam asked.
She shook her head as she lowered her eyes. She then dropped her smile. “I’m sure they’ll turn up. Hopefully sooner than later. Especially if we are where I think we are. We could have just traveled anywhere from 2,000-3,000 years back in time.”
That was all Sam needed to hear to make his stomach churn.
Without warning, several men dressed in animal skins and wearing animal skin shoes, came out of nowhere. They looked unwashed, and their long hair and beards were matted. One of them spoke.
“Did you understand what he said, Achava?” Sam whispered.
Achava’s eyes widened. “I barely recognize some parts of Hebrew and some parts of Sumerian. I have no idea how we’re going to communicate with people in this time frame, though.”
Sam frowned, as all he could think of was Achava using another contraction. That she said we’re was the only positive thought he had.
The End
To be continued in:
The Ark of Noah
Return to the Table of Contents
THE ARK OF NOAH
by
SUMMER LEE
A Guardians Adventure #5
The Ark of Noah
Published by Summer Lee
Copyright © 2015 by Summer Lee
All rights reserved.
Ebook Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dedication
To Leah Flaherty, the Church of Fontana
Special Thanks
JR Rain
Eve Paludan
The Ark of Noah
Prelude
Samuel Godfrey had a partner—Achava, descendant of Caleb, referenced in the Book of Joshua. Samuel and Achava were in the same unit that found the staff of Moses and the sword of Peter. They teamed up to search for the fleece of Gideon and the crown of thorns that Jesus wore on the day he was crucified. The power of thought manipulation took them where they needed to go, along with other adventurers. They broke the time barrier to travel to a site where thorns, molded in the shape of a crown, were bundled with three rusty nails. Amazingly, the crown had the power to modify space to keep humans away; this caused the unit concern. After losing one member of the team, they found a path to escape. But the need to get the crown back home caused the crown to produce its own protection.
Samuel Godfrey, a former pupil of Professor Albert Salinger, was now a retired professor himself. Sam believed that there was actually more corruption of the soul in the twenty-first century than the time of Christ. If he would try to explain anything from modern times to anyone in the first century, they wouldn’t—couldn’t—even begin to fathom what he was talking about. The people in Israel were simple people of faith, at the time of Christ. Now, humans are controlled by fundamental technology, not considering the supernatural.
Sam looked at Achava. She was connected to the universal power source—the creator of the universe. She had childlike faith that nothing is impossible, rather than scientific knowledge.
Sam asked her, “What is our next adventure?”
“Our next stop is to check on Noah’s Ark,” said Achava.
Prologue
Achava and Sam had been joined by Anthea, her sister on her mother’s side. They had different fathers. Anthea was restless. “Okay,” Anthea said. “Let’s get the heck out of here and on to Noah’s Ark.”
Khassima was a new team member. Her sin of asking for the death of John the Baptist, haunted her throughout the centuries. She could not find peace. She asked, “Must I go find the ark?”
Before anyone had a chance to say or do anything else, voices were heard from outside the Jerusalem cemetery, where the group had gathered. All four of the team members froze in place and listened for a clue. Only Achava could understand Hebrew.
“What are they saying?” Sam asked.
“They are speaking in Hebrew,” Achava said, softly. “I am not quite sure.”
Khassima panicked. “What do we do?”
Sam turned off the flashlight and put it back into his pack. It should have been pitch black, since night had fallen. There was a flicker of light coming from just outside the stone wall. A large boulder, on the path, was the only thing separating the young group from whoever was outside.
“It sounds as if there is an army of soldiers out there,” said Achava, appearing nervous.
With a look of determination, Anthea moved toward the opening. There was a heavy iron wheel attached to the boulder. It moved slowly around, as it blocked those outside tried to get in. Anthea braced herself against the stone and grabbed the wheel. Her grasp prevented it from opening further. “Act fast,” she said.” I can only hold it for so long, folks. Hopefully, Achava, you’ll have a plan before they get in here. It’s not like we have a back door. One thing’s for sure. Don’t plan on touching that bundled pack anymore. It has a source of power that we know nothing about. I think it’s safe to say that we’re not supposed to touch it.”
“Agreed.” Even though no one could see her in the dark, Achava bowed her head and clasped her hands in prayer. “Our Holy Father in heaven, we have journeyed far to come to a standstill. I believe we are not supposed to touch something that is beyond our power, like the crown, that was originally meant to ridicule and demean Your Son. It now has His blood on it, which makes it more precious than any jewel in any time-period. Too precious for any man to possess. Knowing this now, we ask that you reclaim the crown and what I believe to be the nails from the crucifixion. The crown which was once meant to make fun of our Savior, let it now be protected by you. That which was made from thorns, may it be made sacred by your touch. The crown was on the head of our King of kings. Let that which was forged by man, be made new by You. I pray in His Holy name, by the blood of Jesus, the Son of the living God and our Savior. Amen.”
The darkness disappeared as the brightest and whitest light appeared through a hole in the roof of the tomb, where it spotlighted the bundled crown on the sandy ground. The light lit up the tomb, and then circled the cemetery.
When Achava saw the light extending itself around the cemetery, she turned her full attention to the light. “Anthea, do you see the light?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Just as soon as the light reaches you, Soul Merge!”
“What?” Anthea exclaimed in disbelief. “I thought our supernatural traveling abilities didn’t work here!”
“We’ll do it by faith.” Achava grinned, as her golden eyes glowed brightly. “Trust me, it is too much of a risk for us to Soul Merge at the same time. We must do so separately. Take Khassima with you, and I will take Sam.” Achava turned toward Sam. “Hold onto me, Sam,” she said. “Hold onto me, as if your life depends upon it.” She then looked at Khassima. “Do the same to Anthea, Khassima! Hold onto her, as if your life depends upon it, because it just might.”
Anthea turned to look at her sibling and smiled. “Take care, sister. We will meet up as soon as we can. Make sure you feed your pet well.”
Khassima smiled weakly. “Alright.”
To Sam, it felt like butterflies in his stomach. He watched
Anthea and Achava’s eyes as they locked in a stare. The fabric with the bundle unraveled, to reveal the crown of thorns, along with three large rusty nails that resembled spikes. The crown looked as if it had been broken apart when it was removed from Christ’s head and an attempt had been made to put it back together again. The blood on all four items turned from red to gold, as the items began to rise in the air.
Sam smiled. “Four items. Four of us. It’s a sign we will see the crown again.”
The blinding white light consumed the area, and Sam saw brilliant spots before his eyes. He felt ill and thought he would pass out. Sam gripped Achava and blinked his eyes several times as he tried to get the spots from the light out of his eyes. When his blurry vision cleared, he saw Achava standing beside him, wearing a smile, holding his hand. He sighed. “Gracious!”
“We reached our destination,” she said.
He looked around and saw that they were in some kind of a forest. The trees were extremely tall and thin and had practically no leaves. They were also spaced about 10-15 feet apart, which allowed good visibility for at least 100 yards in any direction. “Gracious,” he said again.
Achava held his hand. “We have to be careful, since we are out in the open. I am not quite sure that we ended up exactly where we thought we were going, but we’re here.”
“Any sign of Anthea or Khassima?” Sam asked.
“Not yet.” She shook her head as she lowered it. She then dropped her smile. “I’m sure they’ll turn up soon. Hopefully sooner than later. Especially if we are where we think we are. Although, we could have just traveled anywhere from 2000-3000 years back in time.”
That’s all Sam needed to hear to make his stomach churn. “Really?”
Without warning, several men dressed in animal fur, wearing animal fur shoes, came out of nowhere. They looked unwashed, and their long hair and beards were matted. They looked somewhat civilized, but confused. One of them spoke in a language that was unfamiliar to Sam.
“Did you get that, Achava?” Sam whispered.
Achava’s eyes widened. “I barely recognize some parts to be Hebrew and some parts Sumerian.”
“Try to understand.”
“I have no idea how we’re going to communicate with people in this time zone, Sam.”
“Let’s go home then.” Sam panicked, as all he could think of was getting out of there. A bearded man approached him and attempted to communicate with Sam, who just shook his head. He did not comprehend what was going on.
Achava was trying to say some words in Hebrew. Sam was not sure just what. One man nodded that he understood.
The men pushed them in the northern direction. “Walk that way,” he said.
So that is where they walked. As Achava and Sam walked north, the men turned the other way.
“I wonder what that was all about.” Achava felt her skills would work there.
Chapter the First
ACHAVA SAID, “I guess we go this way.”
“It looks like it.” Sam nodded.
Achava looked tenderly at Sam, wondering if he regretted coming with her. She wanted to hug him, but hesitated, because she could not read his mind. She did not know his thoughts, since the two of them had not teamed up alone in a while. It was important that they stay calm. She thought about the consequences that each of her actions could cause in the time period they occupied now. “We need to ask God for wisdom,” she said. “We can’t make a mistake.”
“Agreed.”
“So let’s remain silent until we know.” Achava thought about Khassima returning to the first century, where she had once lived. How had she been able to time travel so far into the future and meet up with Achava’s team in the 21st century. She couldn’t stop thinking about Khassima, wondering what they had accomplished for her by taking her with them to the time-zone just after the crucifixion. It appeared pointless now.
As the step-daughter of King Herod, Khassima had belly danced before the drunken king. For her reward, Khassima had asked for the head of John the Baptist. Once the prophet was killed, Khassima became mentally unstable. That was how Achava had found her in Israel in the 21st century. For now, she was part of the secret team, looking for Biblical artifacts.
In their pursuit of the crown of Christ, they managed to lose a friend, and their identity was almost revealed. They found the crown of thorns and the nails used to crucify Christ. They prayed over them and gave them to God, but they did nothing else to protect the artifacts. Perhaps the items would show up another time.
Achava now thought about the fate of Anthea and Khassima as they changed time zones together. Did they get lost in the time stream? Were they ripped apart, before they ever had a chance to get into another time zone? Were they with Sam and her, but just not visible yet? Achava knew that both women were survivors. She hoped they would find their way out of the maze.
Sam and Achava made a treaty not to speak unless it was absolutely necessary. They didn’t want to freak out the locals. They also had to be careful, because of the fact that one tiny change in this past would cause a tremendous ripple in the fabric of time. Achava thought of the primitive men. The fact that they had been seen by the men of that time period may have been enough to change something important in the future. Both Sam and Achava knew the implications, so they remained silent.
Achava smiled every time Sam looked in her direction. She could tell that there was something on his mind. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
He whispered back. “As long as you don’t desert me, I’ll be fine.”
She stopped walking and stood in front of him. Placing her hands on both sides of his face, she reached up and kissed him. In a low voice, she said, “I’ll never abandon you.”
“Thanks.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He returned the kiss. “How about you? Are you okay?”
Achava pointed toward the men disappearing in the distance. “We should be safe now.”
“So, are you alright?”
“Almost.” She looked into his eyes. “There is a strange thought filling my head that is distracting me from my current mission.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“One name keeps going through my mind, over and over.”
“Which is?”
“Achsah—my ancestor.” she said. “I wonder if I can use time travel to see her. Could it take me to see her?” She sighed. “I’ve been estimating it in my head.”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
Achava said, “If I have computed correctly, we are in a time frame approximately 1,050 years before my ancestor, Achsah, was born. The time Joshua was in charge began right after the time of Moses. Achsah was there, as a woman of God. She was righteous and blessed with God’s guidance. I’d love to see her.”
“I don’t have an answer,” Sam said. “Just knowing that we are in a dimension long before Achsah must affect you.”
“It does.” Thinking about it has made her feel even more out of place. Not that she needed anything else to make her feel that way.
The forest of thin trees got thicker, and appeared endless. She had no sense of direction. Sam seemed to know. “We are still going north, aren’t we?” he said.
“I believe so.”
From time to time, they passed huts that looked like Navajo hogans. The women and children came out and watched them go by. She had to turn her head away, when one of the locals would stare at her. She was surprised that instead of staring at the amazing invention called the backpack that Sam carried, they were much more entranced with her face. She knew why.
It wasn’t her clothing, or how tall she was. It was her eyes. Her golden eyes.
No matter what time zone she ended up in, her eyes would make her stick out like a sore thumb. Could wearing sunglasses help? Probably not. She knew that Sam didn’t have any sunglasses in his pack anyhow. It did not matter. That would have made her stand out as well. She doubted that they had sunglasses in that time-frame.
&
nbsp; Turning, she looked behind them. “Sam, look. Those men are now following us.”
She noticed that once the bearded men had Sam and Achava going in the direction they wanted them to go, they chose to follow. They were behind about thirty feet. Not in a rush, they were content traveling at the time traveler’s speed of their time—a slow pace.
Becoming aware of the men was nerve-wracking. So she inched closer to Sam and held his hand.
“Don’t worry.” He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “They are not bothering us. They are just making sure we are not bothering them.”
“I think you are right,” said Achava, her voice shaking.
Achava looked around at the men again. “I haven’t been able to figure them out yet. Their dress indicates the correct timeline, but I don’t understand their actions. You might be able to figure it out sooner than I can, because of your archeological background.”
“Maybe,” he returned. “I take it we’re not going to see where they’re taking us.”
“I don’t know right now.”
“Are we going to escape?”
She saw the fire in his eyes of expecting action, to go along with their adventure. “Of course. I do not want to underestimate those men as being our guides, but it should be simple to get away.”
“Now?” Sam asked, impatiently. “Can we go now?”
She had to restrain her laughter. “Soon.”
“You’re the boss,” said Sam. She did not answer, so they walked in silence. Sam’s attention seemed to be diverted inward. He appeared lost in his thoughts. “If it’s alright with you, Achava, I’d like to start writing about our adventures.”
Achava stopped short and then returned to her stride, so as not to bring attention to herself. “Sam. I would hope that you realize the sensitivity of a lot of the issues we have dealt with. I would ask that you think about that for a while, before you begin creating a journal of what we’ve done. It could damage my—our—future missions.”
