“We call it the Blood Mountain. It’s on the far side of our city. There’s a small opening that leads to a tiny ledge. The ledge looks down over the plain, but there’s no path. Just jagged rocks that rise up like blades of the fiercest warriors. When a person is exiled, they are sent to the ledge and not let back in. The strong ones think they can make it down the treacherous cliff, but soon find out they are not just fighting the rocks. Birds of prey quickly find them too weak to defend themselves. The winged ones have figured out that a few quick strikes will eventually make the people fall. The birds are patient and continue the strikes. After that, when they know there will be no more fight, the birds feast and spill the blood of the man over the hillside.”
Jake tried to process what the boy was saying. “How do I get to the ledge?”
“It’s no use. Even if you got there, Ka’nah has it guarded from the inside. That big man you saw in the vault has a twin brother who guards the door that leads to the ledge.”
Jake had no way of winning that fight. He put Levi on hold for a minute. “How about Dair? Does anyone know him?”
The boy who had been talking to Jake looked back at the group of boys. He pointed to a tall boy standing near the back of the huddle. “He’s Dair’s brother!”
Jake smiled and introduced himself. “Hey. I met your brother yesterday. He was showing me around when Ka’nah’s men showed up and took him away.”
“Yes, Dair was trying to get back home to check on our sister. She was being bothered by some people in the city. He didn’t return when he said he would, so he was tracked down and brought back here.”
“Where is he now?” Jake hoped the kid wasn’t going to say Blood Mountain.
“Under the vault.”
“Under the vault?”
The tall boy stepped forward, pushing the smaller boy aside. “Here, let me show you.” He went into Jake’s room and stepped up to the window. Jake followed. The boy pointed down toward the dying garden.
Jake looked but wasn’t sure what the kid was pointing to.
“The two trees. Look to the right of them, on the ground. Do you see it?”
Jake looked in the spot he thought the kid was talking about but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “No. What am I looking for?”
“That line of green. See it?”
Jake adjusted his line of sight. “Yes.”
“It’s the only part they keep watered. It marks a hidden entrance to the vault.”
“Dair is under there?” Jake asked.
“No. He’s under the vault. The vault serves two purposes. The one that you probably saw on the way in here is the part where treasure is stored. The other vault, below that one, is where people are kept for punishment. But, if you want to get him out, your only shot is going down that way.”
Jake had no idea what was going on. Things here in this otherworld kept getting crazier and crazier.
“And, if you want to try to get him out, I’d go during the meeting. It’s going to start soon. When you see the main courtyard fill with people, that’s when you should go.”
“Have you tried to get your brother out?”
“No, because if I get caught, Ka’nah will take our whole family and throw us out on the ledge.”
Jake had one last question. “What makes you think I can get him out?”
“I don’t think you can get him out. But I’d rather you try and fail than not try at all.” The boy walked away from the window and left Jake’s room.
Jake looked back out the window. He stared at the swath of green that marked the secret entrance to the vault where Dair was being held. There wasn’t a choice. He knew he had some connection to Dair and had to do whatever it took to rescue him. Lord, I don’t know what’s going on, but You do. I don’t understand why I’m experiencing this place. Please help me!
A horn sounded, deep and rumbling across the compound. It made Jake think of the time he was in Texas visiting his grandparents in Fort Worth. They took him to the zoo, and when they were just inside the main entrance Jake heard the same kind of deep rumbling. His grandfather said it was the male lion roaring. It was a sound that could be heard for miles.
The horn blasted again, and the boys who had been crowded around started leaving. Glancing out the window, Jake saw groups of boys walking out of the dorm and heading across the garden. Farther away, the main courtyard began filling up with kids.
Now was his time to move.
He joined the throng and went down the stairs to the ground floor. But instead of following them toward the front of the compound, Jake split off and headed to the garden where the two trees stood.
“Hey!”
Jake reached the trees and ignored the voice. He saw the green mark.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
Jake decided a show of confidence was in order. “I’m trying to help a friend.” He didn’t look back.
“Who are you?”
“My name’s Jake. Come here and help me get this cover off.”
The one asking all the questions gave Jake a once-over and must have decided he was legit. The guy left Jake alone and kept walking.
Jake ran his hand along the green grass beneath the two trees. He found a metal handle attached to a wooden lid. He lifted it up and felt a wave of stale air rush up against his face. It smelled like garbage that had sat in his garage way past the pickup date. Although it was dark, Jake could make out a set of rungs that had been fastened to the wall and led to a black nowhere.
Jake lowered himself into the hole and started down the makeshift ladder.
More darkness waited. It called to him like a lighthouse guiding the sailor home.
As Jake went down, cold air swirled around his body. After about fifty rungs, his feet touched down on solid ground. He couldn’t see much except for a small ring around him from the light above that made it this far down the shaft.
In the distance, a small sliver of light cut a white line across the subterranean passage in the black that surrounded him. Still, no one had followed him. Jake stretched out his arms and began shuffling forward toward the light.
Twenty steps didn’t bring the slash of light any closer. Jake was confused. Maybe being down in the earth made his mind play tricks on him.
Ten more steps forward.
Ten more.
Light exploded all around, forcing Jake to shut his eyes. He tried opening them again, but all he could see were odd shapes moving around in circles. He shut his eyes a second time. He couldn’t see, but he heard something in front of him.
When Jake opened his eyes, a form appeared. The form turned into the outline of a person, who smashed into Jake, knocking him down.
“Jake?”
The voice came in familiar tones. Jake tried shaking the dizzy feeling that came from being plowed into.
“Jake. It’s me. Dair!”
Dair?
“Can you hear me?”
Yes. I can hear you.
“Sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
Jake realized he hadn’t said anything out loud. “Dair.”
“Yes, Jake. It’s me, Dair.”
“Thank goodness. What now?”
“There’s something going on at the ledge. Somebody tried to help Levi. The guard from the vault left to help the guard at the ledge. I used his absence to take off, and here I am.”
Jake thought about the man out on the streets with the scar across his face. The one he’d taken the money from. “I need your help. I need to go up into the vault.”
“No. We have to hurry and go that way.” Dair pointed to the ladder.
Jake quickly explained his plan to Dair.
“Okay, but we must hurry. Come on!”
Jake followed Dair through the underground tunnel until they reached another ladder. Dair went up through the opening in the floor and waved Jake after him. The money storage room was void of the monster guard. Jake scanned the shelves and saw his two bags. He gra
bbed them and hurried after Dair, who was standing in a different doorway than Jake had come in earlier.
“Come on. This leads to the roof.”
Jake continued after Dair, following him up a narrow flight of stairs that opened up on a landing looking down on the main courtyard. He could see the giant guard lumbering back to the vault.
“Let’s go!” Dair’s voice was filled with hope. He jumped from the landing to an adjacent rooftop, one that was closer to the compound’s main entrance. Jake did the same and was grateful he didn’t break his legs in the process.
“You okay?”
“Yes, Dair. Where are we going?” Jake hoped that it would be somewhere away from this crazy place.
“There’s another set of stairs that leads out to the front entrance.”
Jake held tight to the money bags as he ran and jumped across the roofs of Jericho behind Dair. As he ran, he glanced down at the plain far below. He thought about the fact that this whole massive fortress of a city was going to be a pile of rubble in a few days.
“Jake!” Dair yelled. “Look out!”
Jake looked around but didn’t know what Dair was talking about. He saw the other boy jump and then disappear below the roofline.
When Jake reached the place where Dair had disappeared, he saw the reason the other boy yelled. There was a massive chasm between the roofs. Jake slammed on the brakes and stopped right before going over the edge. Dair had made the jump and waited for him on the other side.
“Stop!”
Jake turned around and froze.
The monster guard from the vault was coming for him.
CHAPTER 8
Jake refused to panic. He backed up and made a running leap across the gap. His body slammed into the rocky roofline on the other side, but at least he was safe. Dair grabbed his arm and lifted him to his feet.
Jake never looked back. He didn’t hear the giant anymore. Did the monster man not make the jump?
“Dair, I’ve got to take care of these,” Jake said, holding up the money bags.
“Okay, but we have to move quickly. That guard in the vault—Vi—let us escape. Ka’nah will send more men to hunt us down. And trust me, we don’t want to get caught.”
Dair led Jake across a few more rooftops and down a handful of winding stone stairways until they had successfully escaped the compound. Jake saw the man whom he had taken the money from, sitting in the dirt in front of the same stone structure.
“Here’s what I took, plus interest.” Jake put both bags in front of the man. “Forgive me, but it helped me find my friend. Thank you.”
The man yelled something Jake couldn’t understand, but as he picked up both money bags, the anger in his voice faded.
Dair urged Jake to move.
Jake left the man to his money and took off after Dair. When they came to the city gate, Dair stopped.
“It’s late, and you need rest. I’ll keep watch while you sleep, and then you can do the same for me.”
Jake looked around. They were in the wide-open entryway to the city. It was the same part of town where Jake had first seen his new friend. “Can we go to your house?”
“Not yet. That’s the first place Ka’nah will check for us. We’ll hide here in the open. You have to trust me. Get some rest, and we’ll come up with a plan to rescue Levi.”
Jake nodded. He sat down against the stone wall and tried closing his eyes. At some point sleep took over, and Jake let it.
The next morning, after a little sleep and a long night of keeping watch while Dair slept, Jake opened his eyes and found Dair having a conversation with a group of boys who appeared to be teenagers. Another long trumpet blast rattled through the air. Jake looked around on the ground and grabbed a small stone to add to his collection of two. The Israelites were on their third march around the city of Jericho.
Four more to go.
“Jake, hopefully you are rested. These are my brothers Rehu, Jez, and Sebbi. They have offered to help us get Levi out.”
Jake didn’t understand why he was in this place. The only thing he had to hold on to was his sense of purpose. First, it was Dair. Then it was returning the blind man’s money. Now it was the old man Levi who was on Jake’s heart. He rubbed the stones in his pocket. He had no idea what was going to happen, but he trusted the Bible to be true. This whole city was going to be a gigantic pile of rubble soon.
“Let’s go,” Jake said.
Dair looked at him. “What’s the plan?”
Jake put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Come here.” The two walked away from Dair’s brothers to a section of the wall that provided a beautiful view of the plain. The morning sun rose strong and warm in the east, lighting up the land in brilliant shades of yellow.
“Dair, I want to be honest with you. I don’t really have one. What I do know is that God’s in charge, and I couldn’t get you or Levi off my mind. So, just like I don’t know why I’m here, I don’t know how we will outwit Ka’nah, but I do know God will provide a way.”
“No one gets off the ledge alive.”
Jake didn’t know where it came from, but he felt a sudden surge of boldness. “We will try.”
Dair frowned. “Jake, you will be sent to the ledge for good. No turning back.”
Jake had a thought from last year’s social studies class. Harriet Tubman. After she had escaped, Harriet went back to the South and helped more people escape the bonds of slavery. It wasn’t much, but if Jake could go back and get Levi out, it would feel like an accomplishment. “Dair, my God will go before us. We just need to trust.”
“You are very odd, but I do feel there is something special about you. Let’s get our plan worked out, and then we’ll go for it.”
Jake showed Dair how to high-five. “Amen.”
Dair smiled. “You are strange, Jakehenry. But I like you.”
All five boys walked through Jericho, keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of Ka’nah’s men. When they were almost back to the compound, Dair held up a hand.
“Hold on. I have an idea.”
Jake was listening. “What?”
“There’s something about you that I can’t figure out, but I’m starting to believe what you say about your God and what you believe about this Bible story. If this place is really about to be destroyed, then let’s help it along.”
Jake stared at Dair, still not understanding what the other boy was thinking.
Dair continued. “Let’s cause a massive distraction that will get Ka’nah’s men out from the compound. Then we’ll hurry in and grab Levi.”
“Okay,” Jake said. “Like what?”
“We’re going to set the compound on fire.”
Jake didn’t want to hurt anybody. “How?”
“On the side where the ledge is, there are tons of storage rooms. Where Ka’nah keeps most of the things he steals. We will get in and set it on fire. Once the fire gets going, Ka’nah will pull Yod from the ledge and Vi from the vault to help put the flames out.”
Jake still wasn’t sure. “How are we going to start the fire? His men will stop us.”
Dair pointed to a corner of the compound that was closest to them. “We can go in from the outside. That little hole over there in the corner leads to the back side of the storeroom. Ka’nah leaves it open on purpose. He said it’s just big enough for a man his size to squeeze through. It’s an escape route if he ever needed to leave the compound unnoticed.”
Dair explained that they had to wait until night to go in, so the boys stayed in the shadows, biding their time.
When evening came and the sun set over the massive walls of Jericho, one of Dair’s brothers headed for the hole in the compound wall. Jake and the others watched as Jez crossed a dirt path, got down on the ground, and crawled into the tiny opening that led into the compound.
“I told him to just check if anyone’s in the room. If not, we will all go in and start the fire,” Dair said.
A few minutes after Jez disappeared
into the wall, he reappeared. A look of worry covered his face. “There are two men. I don’t recognize either one of them.”
“Okay, we will wait,” Dair decided.
Hours passed as Jake and the others waited. At some point, he fell asleep and had a bizarre dream.
CHAPTER 9
His eyes couldn’t make sense of anything. He had only an awareness of being in the middle of nowhere. Jake blinked, but the darkness remained. Even though he didn’t know where he was or what was going on, he was overwhelmed with the urge to move.
He started walking and kept his hands out in front of his body in case there was something in his path. A light breeze ran across his face, carrying with it faint traces of salt water. It was like standing on a beach in the middle of the night with no moon or stars to light the way.
Jake’s mind began creating scenarios that caused him to become afraid. Some crazy person was following him. The world was ending, and his last memory was only the darkness. This was what it felt like to die.
The ground had turned to water rushing around his legs. And it was rising. And so was the sun. The rays slowly erased the black world and let Jake know the source of the water.
Jake was standing in the middle of an ocean. The waves had risen up to his knees when the air started to move around him in angry rhythms, spinning the heavy water like it was blue cotton. Something, an unseen force, grabbed him and lifted him up out of the tempest and put him down on top of what looked like a massive wooden boat.
From this new vantage point, Jake could see a mountain of land rising up above the floodwaters. On the side of the great wall of earth, there seemed to be a crowd of people facing the water. Facing the crowd was a young boy who, to Jake, looked to be around his same age. Even though Jake was a good distance away, it looked like there were giants standing in the crowd.
Drops of water pelted his body as rain poured over the world in unrelenting sheets.
In the blink of an eye, Jake witnessed the side of the mountain collapse into the ocean, taking the boy with it. One of the giants threw something cylindrical down at the boy. Jake couldn’t tell what it was but thought it was a part of a tree because the object floated after missing the boy and hitting the water. Jake watched the boy grab hold of the floating object and begin to move in Jake’s direction.
Imagine. . .The Fall of Jericho Page 4