“I’ve never been able to trust Him the way you did.”
That’s because you’ve never taken the time to really get to know Him. You would be surprised at what He carries in His heart about you.
“What do you mean?” It was more than a question, a desperate grasp for a lifeline, but the image was already fading. Jason felt his heart fade with it. “Nics don’t go.” He put his head in his hands and sobbed.
I will never leave you, nor forsake you.
The warmth of the Presence that enfolded him was overwhelming. He sank to his knees on the wooden slats; face still buried in his hands.
You’ve been wandering through the wilderness, tormented by doubt and fear. Desperate for truth, but afraid to trust. Now, know the truth and let it set you free… My name is Faithful and True. I am not man that I can lie. It was I who called you into the wilderness, into the place of loneliness that I could woo you and win your heart. In Me your life has purpose, outside of Me you will drift aimlessly. I came that you could have LIFE and have it abundantly. I died so that you don’t have to. But there is a price.
The words flowed over Jason and into him. His sobbing ceased as the words washed away the anger and pain, a soothing balm to his soul. His heart recognized Truth and leapt within him. Hands dropping to his sides, he raised his tear-stained face toward the Light. Eyes tightly shut; he saw the empty shell his life had become. Worthless, beyond repair, full of death. And he handed it over to the One who had power over death.
His saw in his mind the old hollow shell consumed by blazing Light and in its place a brand-new baby glowing with Life appeared before him.
You’ve stepped out of this darkness and into the Light. The old has gone and the new has come. Welcome My son!
Blazing warmth flooded through his body. He felt the Father’s smile and it melted his frozen heart. Jason felt the weight of years fall away. Years of feeling guilty, years of running from the Truth. With surrender came a Peace that permeated his being. “Yes Jesus. You can have my life; You can have all of me.”
He stayed there on his boat, lingering in the Presence of the One who had loved him for so long. Peace enfolded him, permeating every cell, every fiber of his being. It felt like being spring-cleaned from the inside out.
At some point Jason drifted into a deep, deep sleep. A sleep filled with Light and Life. Like a patient in the hands of an anesthetist before heart surgery, Jason floated into unconsciousness. Way beyond the realm of conscious awareness, the Architect of his life began operating inside of him; removing death and the cancer of sin, replacing it with Life and wholeness.
The sun had begun embracing the horizon when the waves knocked something against the boat with a loud thump. Roused from sleep, yet instantly awake, Jason scrambled to the side to peer into the water.
“What the—Oh no.”
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Rebecca had to think fast. Staying low, she backtracked away from the stairs toward the kitchen. Tumie grinned broadly when he saw her, “Hello Medem!”
Too scared to stop, Rebecca ignored him and ran for the back door. She quickly made her way to the street, checked for cars and crossed. The shop across the road from the restaurant had a quaint park bench outside. With a sparkling smile she managed to get her hands on a newspaper from a vendor, promising to pay later. Unfolding it, she sat down on the bench and hid behind it. She would have to stay there until Claude came out.
Ten minutes passed, and still no sign of Claude. By this time Rebecca was shivering violently, not having had a chance to dress for winter outdoors. Cars came and went. No Claude. A 4x4 pulled up and parked. Distracted by a stranger down the road who had hair like Claude’s, Rebecca didn’t see the passengers get out. She looked up just in time to see Shane. Not daring to draw attention to herself, she watched numbly as he went inside. Everything inside her wanted to shout out, but fear rooted her to the bench. A short while later, he came out with two other young men, one had black hair and the other whom she couldn’t see properly from where she was sitting. Two climbed into the 4x4 and left, the other took off toward the beachfront. Still no Claude.
She was starting to feel anxious. What if she’d missed him coming out and he was somewhere watching her? “Oh, God. Please help.” She stayed where she was, trying to look everywhere at once.
Two hours later, lips blue and fingers numb - she’d still seen no sign of him. The only thing she knew was that she couldn’t stay where she was any longer. Deciding that she must have been distracted and missed his departure at some point, she headed towards the restaurant with her heart hammering in her chest.
She tiptoed through the kitchen that was in the graveyard state that occurred between meals. All the staff were off on break. It took every scrap of her courage to climb the stairs to the staff quarters. The passage—lined with doors and dotted with chairs—was deserted. By the time she got to her room, her insides were screaming at her to run. Determined not to give in to fear she stretched out her hand to the door handle. As she pulled the handle downwards, her courage gave way and she started backing away from the door. Bile rose in the back of her throat as the door handle continued its downward slide and the door swung slowly open.
“Hello Rebecca. Have you been avoiding me?” Triumph gleamed in Claude’s eyes. A scream tore loose from Rebecca’s throat. Still screaming, she grabbed a chair and flung it at Claude, knocking him backwards. Rebecca turned and ran. Adrenalin pumped through her body as she flew down the stairs and out of the building.
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She ran towards the beachfront, not daring to look back. She could hear Claude calling. He was chasing her and slowly closing in.
Leaving the road, she ducked into the trees hoping to lose him. Branches tore at her face and hands. Rebecca fought down the sobs that threatened to erupt. Claude’s voice was muffled now. She’d managed to put some distance between them. The faint sounds of cursing filtered through the bush, Claude seemed to have lost her trail.
Working her way into the thickest part of the growth, Rebecca hid herself and remained as still as she could. Her breathing was still rapid and she tried desperately to breathe more quietly.
Perspiration beaded on her forehead and turned chill in the winter air, dropping her body temperature. The trembling started at her lips, but soon her whole body began quivering, then shaking with fear and cold. She had to keep moving.
Straining her ears, she tried to hear where Claude was. Deathly silence. Either he’d given up or—more likely—was waiting for her to move and give away her location. Her blue fingers convinced her, she had to move on.
The wind had picked up, disguising the rustling of leaves as she passed. Feeling more confident, she picked up speed. Hope surged in her heart until her foot caught on a tree root and she crashed down hard. No amount of wind noise could hide that. Immediately, Rebecca heard movement behind her. Scrambling to her feet, she pushed on through the bushes.
Her heart nearly stopped as she broke through the edge of the trees and found herself on an open stretch of deserted beach. The roar of the waves to her right was deafening, and before her snaked a silent river flowing into the ocean. If she could just cross the river, she would be safe. She knew from living with him on the farm that Claude was more afraid of water than she was. Any moment now, he would burst through the trees and find her out in the open. She had to move.
Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and headed for the water. “Oh God help!” Fear of Claude pushed her into the icy water. Ankle-deep, knee-deep, then up to her hips. The tide was going out, drawing strongly from the water in the river. Her muscles strained to keep her footing.
“Rebecca! You’re going to kill yourself. Come back!” Claude had found the beach and stood at the edge of the water, shouting in frustration. “AAH! Go on then. I’ll be waiting when the sea spits out your dead body.” He was pacing up and down furiously.
Desperate to g
et away from him, Rebecca threw caution to the wind and flung herself into the water. The current immediately snatched her up and started carrying her out to the open sea. It was all she could do to keep her head above water. Fear and cold were taking their toll and she knew she couldn’t go on much longer. Salt water stung her eyes, but closing them brought flashbacks—
— water rising. Water everywhere…
“No! No! NO!” Fighting rising hysteria, Rebecca forced her eyes open and kept swimming. A wave splashed over her causing her eyes to sting like hot pin cushions. Blinking and spluttering, the vision came again—
— “Mommy, who’s screaming? What’s happening?”
Caught in the fast-flowing center of the river, a log sped towards her. It rammed into her head, jerking her from the flashback, sending her to the brink of consciousness. Passing out would be the end of her. “God please help!” The salty tang on her lips was unbearable. Was it just seawater? Or blood. Blood would bring sharks. She’d become fish food. She didn’t want to die.
Using every last scrap of her will, Rebecca turned and wrapped her arms around the log. Clinging for dear life, she stopped fighting the current and let it take her out to sea. At that moment, the sole purpose of her existence was to keep her arms wrapped around the log.
A primitive survival reflex locked her arms around the saving timber as Rebecca slipped in and out of consciousness. Eyes aflame, then dancing stars — then blackness. Time stretched to eternity. Darkness was falling on the outside and the inside. No more pain, no more stars. Just welcome blackness. Her arms went limp.
Chapter 23 – Memories and Meetings
The evening shift was in full swing at the restaurant when Shane and Kenneth arrived back. They’d been down to the roadhouse for a burger, and Shane had shown Kenneth his favorite surfing spot just off Nahoon point. The plan was to meet with Jason in time for the evening shift, so that they could settle this Rebecca / Rachel mystery for once and for all.
Ten minutes later, Jason was still missing. Shane hated doing nothing. Even more than that, he hated waiting. Now they were doing both and it made him grumpy. “I’m thinking we don’t need Jason. You know Rebecca, I know Rachel. Let’s go and see if Rebecca is Rachel.”
Kenneth looked completely relieved. The waiting was setting his teeth on edge too. “You said it. Let’s go.”
The receptionist looked twice as harassed as what she had earlier. Seeing them back again turned her face an interesting shade of green. “I suppose you want to see Rachel? Well she’s disappeared. Gone off without a word to anyone. Fine mess she’s left us in. Poor kitchen staff is getting the brunt of Mr. Sheldon’s anger. You’d better leave before he catches you here wasting my time.”
Kenneth’s face mirrored the concern on Shane’s. They spoke together, “Claude.”
Shane spoke first, “You stay here in case Rebecca, Claude or Jason shows up. I’ll go see if I can find Jason.” He left without waiting for Kenneth to agree.
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Jason nearly fell overboard, but somehow managed to grab an arm just in time. They rode the swell of a wave with Jason hanging on with everything inside him. Hauling with strength that was not entirely his, Jason heaved and managed to get the body half into the boat. It was a woman. Soaked to the bone and frozen through. Grabbing her by the hips, he lifted and twisted bringing her legs on board.
Fearing for her life, Jason wasted no time checking for a pulse. He’d seen her lose her grip on the log, and knew that she’d only just lost consciousness. She drew a shallow breath, and brief relief washed through him. Then he saw the blood. Trailing down the side of her face from a jagged cut across her temple. The cold had slowed the bleeding, but she’d need to be stitched up. Working quickly, he ripped off a strip of his shirt and bound her wound. He also removed his jacket and covered her before turning the boat shore wards. She would need to get to a hospital fast.
By some miracle, Shane was already waiting as he docked the boat. “We need to get to a hospital.”
Catching the urgency, Shane ran to his vehicle and unlocked, not asking any questions. Jason clambered into the back, awkwardly hauling the woman’s inert body onto his lap. Shane was already driving when Jason finally got a look at his catch. Time froze as he brushed the ropy strings of wet, bloody hair from her face. He gasped in such shock that Shane nearly pulled over to find out what was wrong. “Keep driving.” It was a hoarse whisper but Shane heard and kept going.
There was no mistaking this face. For a moment her eyes opened before losing focus and closing again. The same eyes that had been haunting him since he had first seen the portrait. He held in his arms the sole focus of his life for the past weeks. How was this possible?
Wonder and amazement were quickly snuffed out by the devastating reality of what would have happened had he not been there. Rebecca would have drowned as surely as her Mom had so many years ago. He went cold at the thought of how close he’d been to ignoring the urge to go out on his boat. It was enough to make him queasy. He drew her more tightly to himself, trying to warm her with his body heat. His clothes were already soggy and cold from carrying her.
Stuck at a red robot, Shane broke the silence, “Bad news, Rachel was missing from the restaurant. Nobody had seen her since before we went looking for her at lunchtime.” The robot changed and they pulled off.
Jason hesitated before replying, “Shane, this is Rebecca.”
“What?” It was a credit to Shane’s driving skills that he remained on the road. “How on earth—”
“I was out on my boat, and the current brought her right to me, clutching a log to stay afloat. As she reached me her strength gave out, she lost her grip on the log and would have drowned. “Shane, if I hadn’t been there…”
“Don’t think about that now. You were there, by some miracle.”
Shane turned into the hospital parking lot, and swung around to Jason and the girl in his arms. His eyes stretched wide in a face the picture of disbelief. “But that’s Rachel! That’s the girl who kipped in your bed.”
__________________________________________
Lisa put down the phone and added another message to the long list of calls to be returned. She was completely annoyed. Stanton Trent was normally impossible to deal with on a personal level. That was one thing. But he’d always been impeccably diligent professionally - which is why he’d made such a success of his business.
But for the past two weeks he’d shown no interest whatsoever, leaving her to cover for him. Which — if she were honest — she wouldn’t have minded at all, if he’d only let her in on what was going on. From the small amount of contact that she’d had with him, she could tell that something had rocked his foundations. He was not the same man who had employed her six years ago and been meticulously predictable ever since.
With a sigh, she turned back to her computer to answer the e-mails that had come through urgently requiring his attention.
__________________________________________
Three floors down from where Lisa sat putting out administrative fires, Stanton Trent stood facing a locked door. He held a key in his hand, and was debating with himself whether he should use it or not.
Not really knowing what swung the decision; he closed his eyes and inserted the key into the door lock. He turned it and the door swung inwards, making perspiration break out in his palms. He’d run from this for so long that part of him had shriveled up and died inside. Frankly, he was tired. Like an engine firing on three cylinders, the rest of his life had had to compensate for the dead wood of those five years. He couldn’t carry on like this.
The room beyond was a simple study, with very little by the way of decoration. The bookshelf was the most impressive feature, being an ornately carved work of art depicting exotic birds frozen in flight. The only light source was a solar tube that somehow managed to connect the sunlight outside, with this little room buried in the middle of the mansion, with no natural a
ccess to the outdoors. Modern technology was amazing. The result was a round puddle of light that made the pale lemon carpet glow as if a UFO were about to land. A small desk and chair were the only other objects in the room.
Moving across to the bookshelf, Stanton couldn’t help chuckling as he reached up and tweaked the beak of a strutting peacock that inhabited the top right-hand corner. Immediately, the entire bookshelf swung back to reveal a staircase circling deep into the heart of the mansion. Stanton had had it custom built at great cost, and it thrilled the little boy inside of him. He had devoured books as a child, mystery novels, spy thrillers – whatever he could lay his hands on. Having his own secret passageway had delighted him. Though now, it was home to his most painful memories. Half of him never wanted to go down there again. Ironic that his boyhood fantasy had become the tomb of his teenage hopes.
But he was not one to turn back once he’d made a decision. Steeling himself, he stepped down into the blackness. As his foot touched the step, it lit up – an idea borrowed from his favorite Stephen Lawhead book. So he descended the staircase, leaving a trail of light in his wake. Round and down until he reached the room at the bottom.
__________________________________________
As soon as Rebecca was settled in a cubicle in the emergency room, the Sister on duty shooed Jason and Shane into the waiting area. Rebecca was still unconscious and the cut was bleeding profusely now and needed immediate attention.
“Where’s Kenneth?”
Shane slapped his forehead. “Oops. In all the excitement, I left him at the restaurant in case you or Rebecca showed up. I’d better go fetch him.”
“Do me a favor, take him home please? He’s so highly strung; my nerves just couldn’t take it.”
Shackles: The truth will set you free Page 18