The mental image of the demon god Pazuzu was still fresh on David’s mind as if it happened just a few minutes ago. The monster must have been several hundred feet tall as it rampaged through the city, brushing aside tank and missile fire as if they were nothing more than the sting of bees as it smashed through whole buildings. David and his team had been observing the giant demigod as it crushed everything in its path and they had barely got away in time. Even though Israel had been using the black magic of Rabbi Elijah Ba’al and his golems, what kind of defense could they possibly mount against a gigantic monster such as Pazuzu?
A tap on his shoulder made him come back to his senses as his colleague Benny was now pointing at the open crossing gate ahead of them. “David, let’s get a move on,” his radio operator said.
“Sorry,” David said as he maneuvered the Granite to the rear, behind the line of Israeli vehicles that were being allowed in. “I haven’t gotten any rest for the past forty-eight hours.”
Leyla just smiled at him through the rear view mirror as she noticed that the two men sitting beside her were fast asleep. She was able to calm the baby down and it was now napping.
A squad of heavily-armed IDF soldiers surrounded the vehicle. Benny took out a piece of paper and held it out to an NCO. “We are a forward observer unit with the Institute.”
The corporal took a look at the passengers. “You can go in, but you will need to drop off the woman and her baby over to the refugee processing center.”
David was shocked. “What? She’s the wife of an old friend. I’m taking her to stay with my wife in Beersheba.”
The IDF soldier shook his head. “Sorry, orders. I cannot let you go through with her in the vehicle. She needs to get out now.”
David’s surprise turned to anger. “This is outrageous! Who is your commanding officer?”
Leyla glanced around nervously as she held onto the baby in her arms. “David, what’s happening?”
The corporal sighed and pointed to a khaki colored tent behind the checkpoint. “Over there.”
David got out of the driver’s seat. His two other men had woken up. “Benny, take over. Do not let her out of the vehicle,” he said to his radio operator before turning to look at Leyla. “Don’t worry, I’ll sort this out.”
As Benny maneuvered the Granite to the side in order to let the cars behind them pass through the checkpoint, David headed over to the command tent. The heat and his lack of sleep was giving him a punishing headache. When he entered the tent, he noticed two IDF officers poring over a map.
David placed his hands on his hips. “Who is in charge here?”
A heavyset man in rumpled fatigues looked up at him. “I am. Major Shimon Shapira. Who are you?”
“David Zim, I’m with the Institute. I have a Jordanian friend with me in my vehicle but your border guards said that she must be taken to a processing center. I would like to ask you to make an exception with her.”
Major Shapira looked down on the dusty floor. “I’m sorry, but I have strict orders to bring all non-Israelis to the refugee camp.”
“Does that include women and children?”
The other IDF officer walked over to him. He had a lieutenant’s rank. “Yes,” he said. “That comes direct from IDF High Command. We cannot make any exceptions whatsoever.”
That was when David realized he hadn’t seen a single Arab at the outskirts of town at all. And Jericho was supposed to be administered by the Palestinians. “What is going on here? Where are all the Palestinians that were over here before we came?”
The lieutenant waved him away. “We cannot answer those questions. You can ask your own case officer about it when you get back to the Institute.”
David didn’t move. “I’m not going to give my friend’s wife and her baby away just like that without an explanation.”
Major Shapira sighed. Like David, he too was tired. “All non-Isrealis, and that includes the Palestinians, are being taken to a special camp outside of Jerusalem.”
The lieutenant put his hand up in protest. “But, Major, you’re not supposed to divulge this kind of-”
Major Shapira crossed his arms. “He has a right to know. I know who he is; his uncle is a member of the Knesset and he will find out about it sooner or later anyway,” he said to his subordinate before turning his attention to David. “The IDF is now pretty much under the command of that damned rabbi. I don’t like it anymore than you do, but he showed us in Qasr al Hallabat that we could win against these demonic creatures. So he pretty much gets what he wants these days.”
David’s mouth hung open. “Rabbi Elijah Ba’al? He’s behind all of this? Look, I was at Qasr al Hallabat and I can tell you it wasn’t a victory for us, all it did was to delay the inevitable. Those golems he created were able to hold back the Babylonians, but those damned demons just gathered reinforcements and ultimately pushed us out of Jordan anyway.”
“Perhaps you may be right,” Major Shapira said tersely. “But the IDF general staff and the Israeli government believes that if he can create more golems, then it might be enough to turn the tide in our favor.”
“That is insane! Do you know how Rabbi Ba’al creates those monstrosities? He uses Palestinian prisoners and then he…” David’s voice trailed off as he realized the awful truth.
Major Shapira held both his hands up in a gesture of peace. “David, you need to calm down, son. It’s not as bad as you think.”
But David wasn’t hearing him as he turned around and ran out of the tent. His legs were tired but he pushed on as he sprinted back towards the Granite reconnaissance vehicle. The soldiers at the checkpoint were just milling about as he opened the driver’s side door and pushed Benny back to the front passenger seat.
“What gives, man?” Benny said as he slid over.
David closed the door as he started up the vehicle. “Everybody get ready and just do as I say.”
Benny was suspicious, as were the other two. “I don’t like this, what’s going on, David?”
Omri leaned forward and stuck his face near David’s shoulder. “Yeah, what’s happening?”
David said nothing as he turned the vehicle and waited for the next car to pass through the checkpoint. The moment he saw a gap at the crossing, he immediately floored the accelerator and sped right through the checkpoint. One IDF soldier tried dive away to avoid being hit while the other Israelis aimed their weapons and shouted at them to stop.
With his three colleagues simultaneously screaming at him to stop the vehicle and to explain what he was doing, David noticed that Leyla had been fearfully staring at him while she gripped the crying baby even tighter. A machinegun emplacement just behind the checkpoint fired a short burst, aiming for the vehicle’s tires, but David was able to veer slightly to the left as he narrowly dodged a parked army truck and drove into a deserted street at the edge of the town. Two M-242 Storm Commander utility vehicles that were parked near the crossing started their engines and were quickly in pursuit, sirens blazing.
David kept his eyes on the narrow road. He knew that the village itself was quite small. Once he got past the town center, the Granite would be able to maneuver around the barren fields and into the desert beyond.
“Enough of this,” Omri said as he leaned over from the back seat and grabbed hold of David’s arms. Leyla screamed as the Granite skidded and nearly fishtailed into a brick building. Benny grabbed onto the car’s steering wheel and used his other hand to deactivate the ignition.
David snarled as he thrust his right elbow back, breaking the bridge of Omri’s nose. He quickly leaned back to the side of the door and pulled out his Jericho pistol. Omri had fallen back to his seat as he moaned while clutching his face. The other Mossad agents were too shocked to react as David alternately pointed the gun at each of them.
Benny had his hands in the air. “David, have you gone insane?”
David grimaced as he kept pointing the pistol at them. “All of you, get out!”
With a c
urse, Benny turned and opened the front seat door and slid out. The third Mossad agent helped Omri out of the backseat. All the while, David kept pointing his pistol at all of them. The pursuing IDF vehicles had stopped twenty feet away, their sirens still blazing.
When the other agents were all out of the vehicle, David glanced at Leyla. “Get in the front seat, hurry!”
Leyla quickly moved over the top of the front seat and sat down beside him. She had left the baby at the back after she placed a seatbelt on her. “David, what is happening?”
David quickly restarted the ignition as he saw his own teammates running towards the IDF patrol vehicles, shouting at them. He floored the accelerator and the Granite quickly sped forward along the dusty, abandoned street. The other Mossad agents quickly got inside the other vehicles and they soon started after him again.
He kept the Granite’s speed close to maximum, only taking his foot off the accelerator when he needed to make a turn. After a few minutes, they had made it past the town center and were now traveling across open farmlands. For a brief moment, he actually thought they were going to make it.
An IDF Cobra helicopter quickly spotted them and dove down in pursuit. As soon as it was in range, it began firing its M197 electric cannon. The 20mm rounds impacted the rear of the Granite and tore off the back portion of the vehicle. David immediately lost control as the car skidded and then rolled over as it lost its traction on the dusty farmlands.
David blinked his eyes as he woke up lying on the side of the vehicle. He must have lost consciousness for a few seconds but was woken up by Leyla’s screams. She had thankfully put on her seatbelt and was now partly suspended sideways. Her baby had also woken up and was crying as well. He moved over to the backseat and found the baby was dangling but secure on her seatbelt. David disengaged the baby’s seatbelt and cradled the child in his arms as he examined her for any injury. The baby didn’t seem hurt but she was clearly upset as she continued to bawl.
“My daughter!” Leyla cried as she began to disengage herself from her own seatbelt.
David kept holding the baby as he stood up and started to reach for the passenger side door. “Leyla, go! I’ll follow you, head for cover, we need to get to cover!”
With tears in her eyes, Leyla nodded as she started to climb out of the side of the tilted vehicle. David could hear the sounds of sirens as he started to open the door. He realized that the pursuit vehicles were already there. Just as Leyla was able to get her head and shoulders through the top part of the Granite, shots rang out and she instantly fell back into the vehicle compartment and collapsed.
“No!” David cried out as he crouched down and tried to examine her. Leyla’s eyes were open and he could see a bloody hole at the back of her head. David roared with anger and frustration as he put the baby down near his side and began to pump Leyla’s chest, hoping he could get her to start breathing again. The seconds seemed like an eternity as he kept alternating between pressing her chest and blowing air into her mouth. But it was no use, he soon realized that she was gone.
“You in there,” a voice above him said. “Put your hands up or we will shoot!”
David looked up. Two IDF soldiers were standing on top of the Granite, pointing their M-16 rifles at him. He realized it was over. As they pulled him out of the vehicle, all he could remember were Leyla’s eyes. They were deep brown and reminded him so much of his wife.
He could see a long, dust colored crack in the wall that had started from the concrete floor and forked its way up to the ceiling. David was sitting on a chair that was bolted to the ground and his right wrist was handcuffed to the metal armrest on its side. There was a metal table in front of him with a small plastic cup of water on it. He had been sitting there for hours after they had pried him loose from the vehicle. They had tried to question him about his motives but he just kept quiet and refused to answer. All he did since they left him alone was to stare at the cracks in the walls of the room.
A fly buzzed around and finally landed on the table near the cup of water. His left hand was inches away but he didn’t make a move as he continued to observe the winged insect as it started to move towards the plastic cup. When it got close, the little bug buzzed its wings and flew up again before landing in the inside of the container as it balanced itself near the edge of the clear water. At that instant, David snapped his left arm up and brought his hand down over the rim of the cup, trapping the fly within it. As the insect buzzed around within the cup, trying desperately to find a way out, David soon heard footsteps just outside of the room. He could sense a woman’s voice arguing with someone just beyond the door and he instantly recognized who it was. As he heard the door being unlocked, he pulled his left hand back, away from the cup. With its way clear, the buzzing fly flew off towards freedom.
When she entered the room he stood up, but his right shoulder slightly drooped because the handcuff chain was unable to give him enough of an extension. It didn’t matter to David as his wife ran over and they hugged each other.
Tzipi Zim kissed her husband lightly on the lips before staring into his deep brown eyes. She wore the standard-issue olive green uniform of the IDF. “What happened, David? I have been told all sorts of stories on my way here.”
David sighed as he kept his left arm over her shoulder. “They killed Major Ahmed’s wife.”
“Who did?”
He looked away momentarily. The memory was still painful. “Who else did but the IDF, of course.”
“But I heard that was because you ran through the checkpoint so they opened fire.”
“No! That wasn’t what happened. We were clear of the checkpoint and she got out of the vehicle and started running, that’s when they fired on her.”
Two of her fingers twisted his chin until they saw each other’s eyes again. “David, I am a warrant officer in the reserves. I have manned checkpoints myself. You must have done something to put them on alert. If you drove past the checkpoint, then they were within their rights to open fire.”
David’s chin trembled. “I-I was just trying to save her, and the baby. I couldn’t turn her over to them. I know what they were going to do to them.”
“What would they do to her? We were told that they would just be sent to the refugee center near Jerusalem, she would have been safe there.”
He grimaced. “That is a lie! They would have executed her and the child in order to get their life force- their very souls! It’s a fate worse than death, Tzipi!”
His wife’s surprised look made him realize she didn’t know. “But that’s impossible! I can’t believe what you’re saying! Why would we take their souls? What for?”
He put his left arm to his side as he sat back down on the chair. “They need souls to power the golems, Tzipi. Without souls, the golems are just nothing but clay statues.”
Tzipi just shook her head. “I-I can’t believe that.”
“You just don’t want to believe it. I’ve seen them being created by that accursed rabbi. The government is saying that he is protecting us, but that man is worse than the demons out there.”
“Rabbi Ba’al? But he is now one of the chief rabbis of Israel. Everyone says he’s a national hero.”
“The man is a disgrace! He isn’t a rabbi, he’s a murderer and a sorcerer, and he’s selling our souls to the very demons we’re fighting against! We are no longer the chosen people, not with what we’ve been doing to the Arabs and anyone who isn’t a Jew here. His black magic has betrayed the teachings of our god and our very identity.”
“What about the battle in Jordan? He’s built the Golem Brigade for goodness sake.”
“Dammit, Tzipi! Let me ask you, where are the Palestinians? Where are the other Arabs? Why are all non-Israelis in these camps?”
“Are you saying that he’s sacrificing them to build these golems? How is that even possible?”
“Look around you! The gods have returned! Everything that we once knew is wrong!”
Tzipi placed her ha
nd over her forehead and sighed. “What about Israel, David? Don’t you remember what our grandparents went through to create this country? If we don’t support what that rabbi is doing, if we don’t support what our government is doing, then we’re going to lose it all.”
David stood up once more as he squeezed her arm with his free hand. “Do you want to be part of a state that uses large scale human sacrifice in order to defend itself? Is that the kind of country you want to live in?”
She had tears in her eyes as she hugged him once more. “But what is the alternative then? If not this, then what?”
David kissed her on the neck as he rested his chin on her slender shoulders. “I don’t know. All I know is that what we’re doing is wrong. I tried to make a difference and now both my best friend and his wife are dead. What do you want me to do?”
At that moment, there were more noises coming from the door,people talking.
David looked up. “Who is that outside?”
“It’s Uncle Ariel, he picked me up and we rode in his car on the way here,” Tzipi said softly.
The door opened and Ariel Weizman came limping in as he used his cane for balance. David noticed the two guards along with Major Shapira outside; they had evidently wanted to come in but Ariel waved them away with the back of his hand. The major glared at David for a few seconds before ordering the guards to shut the door.
“Well, Tzipi, you had your ten minutes,” Ariel said as he moved over to a chair at the other side of the table and sat down. “I hope you’ve been able to talk some sense into your stubborn husband here.”
David backed away and pointed an accusing finger at his uncle. “You’ve got a lot of nerve talking to me in third person even though I’m here.”
Ariel sighed and put his right palm up as a gesture of peace. “Alright, David. I’m just glad that you’re in one piece. You could have been killed by our own forces and I would have had to give Tzipi here the bad news. What you did was brash and insubordinate.”
Canticum Tenebris (Wrath of the Old Gods Book 2) Page 22