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Fire and Flood Page 5


  “I am very sorry,” Noah said gently. “I’ll go in and tell Laelah what’s happened.”

  I followed Noah into the house and made my way to my room. Pulling a pillow to my face, I screamed into it over and over as I imagined my mother’s body hanging over the evil Magistrate’s palace.

  How did she feel? What did she suffer? Over and over, images of my mother dying played in my imagination. I felt hatred for my father. How could he betray her?

  My grief lingered into the next day and the next. I kept to myself, only wanting solitude with my haunted thoughts and tears. I went back to the forest and cursed the Magistrate. I will kill him! I vowed. But he never appeared.

  A few days later, as I walked in the forest, I came upon a mother deer with a speckled fawn at her side.

  “Where were you?” I screamed. “She believed in you and you left her alone!”

  She was never alone.

  The thought calmly spoken in my mind quieted my heart. I knew that thought was not mine. I looked around. No one was there.

  “Are you here, Lord?” I whispered. Again, I pictured the moment of her death, trying to see Him by her side, but I couldn’t.

  You must stop thinking about her last moments there.

  Immediately, I felt warmth fill my sorely blistered heart. I tried again to picture my mother’s death, but I stopped myself, knowing that she would want me to obey the voice. I don’t know how long I walked in the forest, but I do know one thing: I didn’t walk alone.

  FIRE

  Chapter 7

  The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like women’s hair and their teeth were like lion’s teeth . . . They could torment men without the seal of God on their foreheads for five months. And the agony they suffered was like the sting of the scorpion when it strikes.

  Revelation 9:4–8

  I struggled to open my eyes. I felt like I was drowning and couldn’t pull myself to the surface. Finally, I pushed myself up on the bed, and a wave of nausea washed over me. Everything was spinning. My mouth was tacky. I clutched the sheets in my fists and took deep breaths, slowly in and out the way Daphne had taught me when I would begin to panic after a bad day back on the Compound. I knew that panic only made a bad situation worse. Where was I?

  After a few moments, I was able to open my eyes. I was alone. A fire cheerfully burned in a large, stone-framed fireplace. I was in a large bed with pristine white bedding. With difficulty, I staggered out of bed and found a bathroom behind a door to the right of the fireplace.

  I caught a glimpse of myself in the floor-to-ceiling mirror on my right and turned, startled. I was dressed in a simple white gown that gathered in just above my waist. My green eyes were accentuated by an outline of some kind, and my cheeks were an unnatural shade of pink.

  Oh God. Where was I?

  The last thing I remembered was Tomas. He came back to the motel room, and we drank a cup of tea. It must have been drugged! Someone must have brought me here. Changed my clothes. Painted my face. What else had they done?

  I slid open a glass door leading out to a balcony. I was on the second floor of a tall city building. It was close to sunset. Sunset? How long had I been here? Looking over the railing, I gazed in horror at the devastation below me. Buildings lay in heaps around a river. What was once a bridge was now twisted sculptures on either side of the water. Fires burned here and there across the city. As far as I could see, only a few buildings still stood. The discrepancy between the luxury inside and the devastation outside this building frightened me.

  I saw soldiers and military vehicles in front of the building. They had a large bonfire built in the middle of the street, and closer to the building, a chain across the road. I had to figure out what was going on.

  I staggered back into the room and tried to open the other door. Surprisingly, it wasn’t locked. I walked out of the room onto another kind of balcony. Dozens of rooms like mine encircled the hollow middle center of the building.

  Music and the sound of people drifted up, and I peered down over the railing. Tables, covered in white linen, lined one wall of the huge open area below, laden with food. Men were dressed in clothes I’d only seen in movies, shiny black suits and crisp white shirts. The women wore long gowns that sparkled with color.

  Suddenly, I heard shouts and sounds of chaos. I ran back into the room and shut the door, bolting all three locks. Making my way out to the balcony, I heard more shouting and petrified screaming. Then the hammering began. It sounded like the rhythmic pounding of horses’ hooves, only a hundred times louder.

  What was going on? The sound was growing louder. My heart beat wildly.

  Then I saw them. A wave of dark creatures scaled over the fallen buildings. They moved forward like a terrifying mass of insects, some pouring through doors and windows.

  As they got closer, I could see them more clearly. They were men, but not men—long tails, flared like those of scorpions, flicked behind them as they scaled the buildings. They were dressed in black armor. It felt as if I was in a nightmare, but I couldn’t wake up. Dark clouds filled the sky, but as the creatures got closer in the fading light, I could see crowns glittering on their heads, holding their long dark hair away from their faces. I have never seen such terrible, hideous beauty. I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

  The soldiers below me shot at the monsters, but their bullets had no effect on the approaching army. The creatures didn’t slow. They didn’t break rank. None fell.

  As they got closer, I heard piercing screams. I watched in horror as one of the creatures lifted a helpless soldier up off the ground. The dark attacker laughed mockingly, revealing long, razor-sharp teeth. As the man struggled, a tail slithered over the right shoulder of the man-like creature. It rose above the creature’s head before plunging into the soldier’s chest.

  I screamed and turned back toward the room, desperate to escape, but it was too late. A shadow flew over me and one of the terrifying monsters landed right in front of me on the balcony, blocking my getaway. My knees buckled as I stared up at the massive beast. Its muscles were larger and more defined than any man I’d ever seen. Lustrous, long hair curled around its enticingly beautiful face. I was terrified and mesmerized at the same time. It smiled at me, revealing pointed teeth, and took a step toward me, its tail waving menacingly behind its body. It was the very personification of wickedness and evil.

  Panicked, I tried to lunge away, but the creature grabbed me around the waist with one of its hands and pulled me closer, its sharp talons pricking into my skin. I screamed and struggled, kicking as hard as I could. The smell of its breath was like sulfur, and I turned my face away, terrified. Suddenly, the creature hissed in my ear, “Sealed!” and let go of me, dropping me onto the ground and knocking the breath out of me.

  I watched in relieved disbelief as the creature jumped off the balcony and disappeared. Scrambling on all fours, I crawled inside the room and slid the glass door shut, turning the latch.

  I’m not sure how long I stayed in the room as howls of terror from the creatures and their victims combined in a dreadful symphony. I tried covering my ears, but I couldn’t block out the sounds. At some point, I think I passed out. When I awoke, it was dark outside. My dress was soaked with sweat.

  Lying still, I listened cautiously. It was quiet and dark in my room. Staying on all fours, I crawled to the bathroom and drank some water from the sink. Shivering uncontrollably, I looked around and noticed a white robe hanging on a peg on the bathroom wall. Pulling it on, I cinched the cloth belt on my waist and made my way to the door that lead to the inside balcony. Cautiously, I opened the door. Crying and moans of pain filled my ears, and I tiptoed to the railing to look down below.

  It was a disaster. People lay in broken heaps everywhere. The luscious tables of food were smashed and tossed about the place. Furniture was overturned and there were holes in the
walls where the creatures had burst through. I watched for a full minute before backing into my room. Closing and locking the door behind me, I ransacked the drawers and closet looking for clothes. There was no way I could travel dressed the way I was. Finally, I found my clothes and shoes in a bin in the bathroom.

  Dressing quickly, I left the room and walked along the hallway, scanning ahead and behind for anyone—or anything. I heard some scrambling noises below, and I dropped to the floor, carefully maneuvering to the railing to get a look. I saw one of the monsters skittering through an opened door.

  I made my way down the stairs to the main floor. People were everywhere, lying on the ground, screaming in pain. It didn’t look like anyone was dead. I crossed over to the water fountain in the middle of the room and was surprised to see Tomas slumped next to it. He was barely conscious when I bent over and shook him.

  “Tomas! Wake up!”

  He stirred and woke with a shuddering wail. I jumped back away from him, not sure what he would do. I watched as he rolled back and forth on the floor, crying in pain. There was a rip in his shirt and I could see a bloody gash where one of the creatures had stung him in the gut.

  His eyes opened. “It’s you!” He grabbed my arm. “Dani, you have to help me! Get me some help. Please, I’m going to die!”

  I yanked my arm back and slapped his face as hard as I could.

  “Shut up!”

  He did, staring up at me with a blank expression.

  “How did we get here?” I hissed. “What is this place? What the heck are those things?” He began whimpering in pain again, wrapping his arms around the wound in his stomach. I kicked at him with my foot. I was angry. “Answer me!”

  “I’m so sorry,” he cried. “I shouldn’t have done it, but it was so much money . . . and a chance to live here.”

  “Where’s here?”

  “Spokane, Washington. Bringing . . . you . . . meant . . . I got to . . . join . . . the operation here.” He spoke in bursts before screaming in pain. “Make it stop! God, make it stop!”

  “I don’t think God’s going to make it stop any time soon,” a gravelly voice offered.

  Startled, I turned to see who had spoken. An older man stood with his arm wrapped around a young woman—neither of them looked like they had been stung. Looking around, I noticed we were the only people standing.

  “I’m Mitch. This is my daughter, Sierra. What’s your name?”

  “Dani,” I answered simply, not wanting to give too much information but recognizing I might need this man’s help.

  “We need to get out of here now,” he told me urgently. “Do you want to come with us?” He spoke directly without further explanation, clearly eager to get away.

  Tomas started screaming again. I looked around and realized my options weren’t any better if I stayed.

  “Okay, I guess so.” Turning my back on Tomas, I followed them warily out of the building to the street. The soldiers I’d seen from the balcony lay on the ground writhing in agony like the others inside. I picked my way through the fallen men, following closely behind Mitch and Sierra and listening intently.

  “What were those creatures?” Sierra sobbed, clutching at her dad as he helped her hobble along.

  “It’s one of the judgments—those monsters are demons that have been let out of the abyss,” Mitch told her.

  “Wait, wait!” I spoke loudly. “What judgments? And what the heck is ‘the abyss?’ What’s happening?”

  Mitch stopped walking and turned around. I moved closer, my breathing ragged. “I’ve been a prisoner all of my life and managed to escape only to end up here. I woke up to a living nightmare. What’s going on?”

  He sighed, rolled his tongue around in his cheek, and shook his head. “I’m sorry, kid, but we’ve got to get out of here. No time to talk. The long and short of it is that we’re living in a world under God’s judgment. Those demons are part of that judgment.”

  “Why didn’t they sting us?” Sierra asked.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. If your mom were here, she’d know.”

  Sierra looked at him in horror. “Didn’t you find her? You didn’t rescue her?”

  “Sierra, if this hadn’t happened, I don’t think I’d have even been able to rescue you.” Mitch spoke patiently to his daughter, despite his obvious desire to hurry them all along. “The place was too well guarded.” He looked down on her, a pained expression on his face. “I had to choose who to follow.”

  “What happened to Mom?” Sierra’s voice crackled. She bit her lower lip as she looked up at her father. “After they split us up, I didn’t see her again. Do you know where she is?”

  I stood awkwardly by, watching as Mitch explained that the older women were put on a train while the younger women were taken to Spokane. Mitch had chosen Spokane.

  “But I know where they sent your mom; I overheard some of the men talking. So, I came here to rescue you first. And right now, we need to get out of here.”

  “We need to find Mom,” Sierra answered forcefully.

  I followed them in silence, peering nervously into the darkness in case more of the creatures were around. Sweat trickled under my arms, and I started shivering. I had been betrayed by my mother, betrayed by Tomas, and attacked by monsters, and now I was forced to trust two strangers. I breathed slowly in through my nose and out of my mouth. I refused to panic.

  FLOOD

  Chapter 8

  So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! . . . And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

  Genesis 3: 13–15

  I didn’t get to see my future husband much in the days before my wedding. Besides constructing the wedding bower, Japheth and his brothers were busy helping their father with his building project, and the women were taking up the slack in the fields. Noah’s project was all-consuming and absolutely crazy. On his land, nowhere near water, he was building a huge boat, an ark. He’d been working on it for the past seventy years.

  Life was busy but good. I enjoyed spending time with my new family, especially Methuselah. Since everyone was so busy, he and I spent much of our free time together. Despite his advanced age, he was quite spry and quick-minded. We ambled together on long walks and talked about many things.

  One day, when everyone was busy, I asked Methuselah if we could ride out to the forest in one of the wagons.

  “I don’t think Laelah needs any extra help, and I have some questions I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

  He smiled. “Of course, I’d enjoy that,” he said.

  Eager to get my questions answered, I ran to the barn and took two of my favorite horses out of the stall and hitched them to one of the family wagons. They pulled the cart to the front of the house, where Methuselah sat waiting in the shade of the porch.

  It only took us a few minutes to pull into the cool forest. We got down from the wagon and made our way to one of our favorite spots. As soon as we sat down, I blurted out my most pressing question.

  “So, you believe the Creator actually told Noah to build this boat—the ark?” I asked. I wanted reassurance that the family I was marrying into was not deranged.

  “Yes, I do,” the elderly man answered.

  “But why? Why has the whole family spent so many years building it? Noah says the Creator is going to flood the whole earth. I don’t understand why. It doesn’t make sense to destroy every living thing.”

  Methuselah’s voice was deep and soft. “Not every living thing. Later today, at the community gathering, you will meet the other people who will join us on the ark. Not every human has been tainted. The Creator will save us all through the Flood.”

  “What do you mean by ‘tainted?’”

  “Let me explain. My father was a great prophet. You’ve heard of Enoch?”

  “Yes, of course! Everyone has heard of h
im. He is the only man who never died but left the earth to be with the Creator.”

  “It’s been over six hundred years since I saw my father. I was there when the Creator took him.” Methuselah stood up and plucked a few of the lush yellow fruits for us both. We ate in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the juicy sweetness of the yellow fruit.

  Methuselah wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and began to pray. “I thank you, Creator, for the fruit of Your creation.” Methuselah lifted up his arms and spoke with his eyes wide open. “Long have I lived on the earth, and never have You failed to provide for me in any way.”

  He pulled a flask of water from his bag and offered me a drink. “My father, Enoch, walked with the Creator daily. He loved my mother, brothers, sisters, and me, of course, but the Creator was his first love. The Creator would often speak to my father and reveal things yet to come. My father would warn others, but still, evil continued to grow. Enoch prophesied about the rise of the Nephilim long ago, and so far, all that he foretold has been fulfilled.”

  I shuddered, thinking of the Magistrate and the evil of the city. “How are they able to do the things they do?” I asked, a grimace on my face.

  “The fallen Mal’akh, an angel known as Satan, knows the prophecy that there will be a savior child born from a woman. In order to stop this, he had the Fallen Ones that he controls take human wives to pollute humanity with the half-breed Nephilim. That contamination has spread so far and wide that most of humanity has some measure of Nephilim in their ancestry. That’s why evil has grown so strong and why the Creator must flood the earth, so that we who follow the Old Ways, who have no Nephilim in our ancestry, can repopulate the earth and a full human savior can be born.”