Imagine. . .The Fall of Jericho

by Koceich, Matt;

  A new wave of water crashed over the boy and knocked him off what was surely a log.

  The boat that Jake was on had started moving away from the boy.

  Jake looked down and saw a man wrapped in a brown robe leaning out from a lower section of the boat. He stretched his arms out in the direction of the helpless boy. When he looked back out, the boy in the water had disappeared. Seconds later, Jake saw a glowing hand appear in the middle of the storm. It wasn’t a human hand. Jake guessed the thing was at least the size of a two-story house, and it was radiating light.

  The supernatural hand reached deep into the water and came back out in the shape of a fist. Jake watched the fist open to reveal the boy, who had tried in vain to battle the flood. It was like the owner of the supernatural hand wanted Jake to know that the boy had been saved.

  “Wake up!”

  Jake opened his eyes. Dair was staring at him.

  “What?”

  “We have to go. We think one of Ka’nah’s men spotted us.” As Jake stood, he heard the distant sound of the Israelites’ trumpets. He bent down and grabbed a pebble from the ground. Number four. Only three to go.

  Dair and his brothers led Jake to a part of the city that was next to the ledge. They all looked and could see that Levi was still alive. Jake saw that the man’s cloak had been torn apart in random swaths, from top to bottom. His face and arms seemed to be covered in scratches. The old man was hunched over instead of standing tall like the first time Jake had met him.

  There was nothing to do but sit and wait until evening came.

  And again, when night came over Jericho, the group went back to the compound and Jez crawled back through the hole. This time he was in a little longer before coming back out.

  “Now there are three men in the room. Ka’nah has never had people in there. Maybe something’s wrong.”

  “No, we’re okay. We’ll try again in a couple hours. If there’s still men in there, then we will give it one more day. If nothing changes, we’ll come up with a new plan,” Dair said. Even though his brothers were older, it seemed he was the one born with an abundance of leadership skills.

  The group stuck to the shadows again. This gave Jake a chance to think about his situation. What if he never made it back to camp? What if he never saw his parents again? Whatever happened, he knew God was faithful. So Jake committed his time to praying that God’s will would be done. On another note, Jake was excited that even at his young age, he was seen as worthy in God’s eyes.

  After the darkness of night grew deeper, Jez went back into the hole. And he again came out with a bad report. “This time there was only one guy in there, and while I was watching, he left. I thought we were good, but then he came back in and sat on the floor. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave.”

  Dair led Jake and the others away from the compound to find a place to get some sleep. They all took turns keeping watch. When it was Jake’s turn to sleep, he had another crazy dream.

  The weight of another sleep brought him to another world. But this time, the darkness wasn’t borne from the absence of light. This time, a huge desert sun was covered by a swarm of bugs—huge cricket-looking insects with white wings. The swarm kicked up a storm of sand, making it hard for Jake to see.

  The light that did reach his eyes was a deep orange purple. Another mountain with hard lines and edges appeared on the horizon. It looked like a huge pyramid trying to peek through the wall of flying bugs.

  Now Jake saw a girl standing at the base of the pyramid. She had on a white sleeveless shirt and jeans. He also saw she had a fabric bracelet around her right wrist. Like the boy in the ocean, this girl also looked to be about Jake’s age. There had to have been millions of the bugs swirling around the girl, but she didn’t seem to be affected by them.

  Then the scene changed, and the same girl was now riding a horse. Jake’s surroundings had changed too, and he was standing on the shore of what seemed like an endless sea. Another horse and another rider came into view, galloping hard, trying to catch up with the girl.

  Jake turned and saw that the sea he had been standing next to was actually being split in two. Walls of water rose up, revealing a wide, dry path of earth. Jake saw tons of people walking right through the middle of the sea!

  The girl had almost made it to the path that cut through the water when the man caught up to her. He shot out a hand and yanked her off her horse. The man stopped his horse and then got down to yank the girl to her feet. He slapped her. The earth groaned, and Jake felt like this was the craziest dream he had ever had. Surely this wasn’t real.

  The walls of water collapsed over the girl and the man. This had to be the story of the Israelites escaping from the Egyptians through the Red Sea!

  Jake was overwhelmed with saving the girl, so he ran … into the raging water. He tried swimming out to the girl, but the closer he got, the more hopeless his heart became. The water was too powerful. In fact, he was sure he could see the man’s body being carried away on the unforgiving currents. The girl had to be gone.

  But then Jake saw something that gave him the feeling he had been here before. The gigantic hand of light came down from the sky and plunged itself into the water.

  Jake thought about the last time he had seen the hand. It had reached down and pulled a boy out of a raging ocean.

  One thing was clear. This was a hand of salvation.

  Now, here again, the glowing hand pulled out of the water and held up the girl who had only moments before gone under its unrelenting force. Then the hand took the girl away….

  A trumpet blast pulled Jake from the wild dream. After he came to his senses, he counted the rocks in his pocket. Four. He looked around and picked up stone number five. In two more days this whole city would be destroyed. Jake really couldn’t believe it.

  The boys spent the day roaming the streets of Jericho, trying to stay hidden and as inconspicuous as possible.

  When night came, Jez went back through the hole in the compound wall. This time he came back with a favorable report.

  “It’s clear.”

  Dair stood tall. “Okay, here we go. There’s a man who bakes bread three houses down the path. He has a fire burning all day long. He makes his awesome bread with the fire in the mornings, and uses the flames at night to forge steel. Next to the bread maker is a lady who sells cloth.”

  Jake took it all in and tried to guess Dair’s plan. His new friend kept talking. “We are going to the baker and buying five pieces of kindling. We will then go to the cloth lady and buy five pieces of cloth. We will each wrap a piece of cloth around our wood to make a torch.”

  Rehu interrupted. “How are we going to light the torches and get through the hole in the wall?”

  “Good question, brother. We won’t light them until we get inside the compound. Ka’nah likes to have warm meals at a moment’s notice. He has a kitchen fire burning all night long that is right next to the storeroom. We will quickly light our torches, run back to the storeroom, and set the plan in motion.”

  The group hurried and collected the supplies from the baker and the cloth seller. All five of them crawled through the hole and entered the empty storeroom. Dair went around a wall with his homemade torch and came back with the cloth on fire. “Hurry. The kitchen is empty.”

  Jake and the others lit their torches from the kitchen fire. They came back into the storeroom and set empty sacks on fire. The fire quickly spread across the wooden shelves. Jake couldn’t believe what he was doing. But if this saved Levi, it would be worth it.

  Jake felt the heat rise. It was amazing how fast fire moved. He hurried back out the hole, right behind Jez.

  When they were all out safely, Dair led Jake and the others to a nearby roof so they could watch the result of their work.

  “Jakehenry, thank you for coming here to help us hear about your God.”

  “You’re welcome, Dair. I still can’t believe I’m here.” Jake watched the flames start to leap out of th
e hole they had just crawled out of. Men and boys were yelling and running out of the compound by the dozens.

  Dair stood and pointed. “The whole east wall that runs from the storeroom to the ledge is wood. Ka’nah thought he was being crafty by making the ledge a place of punishment. He needed a door so he built the wall. All out of wood.”

  The boys sat there watching the compound burn. More yelling. More men and children pouring out of the compound gate.

  “Dair,” Jake said, “how will Levi get through the fire?”

  “Good question, Jake. When I said we needed a diversion, I meant for him, not us. Levi and I talked many times that if one of us ever escaped the compound and the other had not, then the one who got out would come back and set a fire like we just did.”

  Dair remained silent for a minute. He watched the flames rise across the compound. “Jake, Levi means a lot to Ka’nah. I’m sure by now he has men going after Levi.”

  No sooner had he said the words than Dair’s prediction came true.

  Jake looked down at the compound gate and saw the huge Drax monster man walk out with Levi in his arms.

  “He’s taking him to a secret hideout. If we follow him, we might be able to save him.” Dair’s voice didn’t sound so sure.

  If it were possible, the night felt like it was getting darker, and Jake had a feeling that the longer they waited the harder it would be to fight the big man. He was overwhelmed with the need to save Levi.

  “I have to go,” said Jake.

  “Go do what?” asked Dair.

  “Save Levi.” Jake looked at the fire burning on the compound. “It has to be me.”

  Dair shook his head. “I’m sorry, but you saw the size of the guy holding Levi. We’d need an army of men to take him out.”

  “Dair, like I told you earlier, I have no idea how I got here or why I’m here.” Jake’s voice became stronger. “But the more I do here to help, the more I feel a part of something. I don’t feel alone here. It’s like God is using this to show me I’m never alone, and I always have a job to do no matter what I feel inside or how crazy the situation is on the outside.”

  Jake got up and went to the stairs. “Pray for me.”

  Dair looked at Jake like he didn’t know what that meant.

  Jake said, “That means talk to God. Ask Him to watch out for me.”

  Dair still looked confused. Jake didn’t want Levi to get too far away. He said goodbye to his friends and went down the stairs from the roof to the ground. Then he jogged in the direction the huge man had gone.

  The only thing going in Jake’s favor was that there weren’t any side streets in this part of the city. This meant the giant who had Levi could only be on this main path. Unless he had gone into one of the doorways.

  Then Jake saw them from a distance and ran quicker to catch up. He had no idea how a boy like himself would be able to go up against this monster of a man, but he was going to trust God for the results. As Jake closed the distance, he still didn’t have any idea about what to do, so he yelled for the man to stop. When that didn’t work, he ran in front of the man and waved his arms. That did work. The monster man stopped moving to consider Jake. Levi made eye contact with Jake and smiled.

  “I need my friend,” Jake said as he pointed at Levi.

  The monster man laughed. “Get out of my way.”

  Jake still didn’t have a plan. He stood his ground and asked a second time for the monster man to hand over Levi.

  “You are in my way. Move before you get hurt.”

  Lord, please be with me!

  “I came a really long way to get here. I’m not going back without my friend.”

  The man put Levi down and took a huge step closer to Jake. Levi used the temporary freedom to run a safe distance away from danger, but close enough to keep an eye on Jake.

  “You are foolish to think you can stand up to me.” The huge man lunged at Jake and grabbed his arm. He swept Jake off his feet as fast as lightning. In seconds, Jake was hanging in the air, face-to-face with the giant.

  Use what I’ve given you.

  Jake felt the words in his mind. The only thing he had on him were the stones in his pocket. They weren’t big enough to do much damage, but Jake had to have faith that it was enough. He grabbed them out of his pocket.

  “I don’t know who you are, but—”

  Jake shoved the rocks deep into the man’s mouth.

  The giant tried to use his free hand to get them out, but he went into a choking fit instead. He couldn’t squeeze the life out of Jake and choke at the same time. The need to survive won, and the giant let go of Jake.

  Jake hit the ground hard. Pain shot up through his legs, but adrenaline helped him run. He made it to Levi. “Come on! The others are waiting!”

  When they got back to the roof where Dair and his brothers were waiting, Levi said, “Thank you, Jake. I didn’t think I would ever see you boys again.”

  After they shared hugs, Dair said they should head out toward the main gate. If the city was going to collapse in a few hours it would be smart to get the rest of their family and get out. He quickly led Jake and the others through buildings and side paths until it was clear they were not being followed.

  When night came, Jake spoke. “Thank you for believing in me. It feels good to be wanted.”

  Levi stood and spoke. “Jake, we are going to leave this place. I am so proud of you for having the courage to come here and rescue us.”

  Hours passed, and the group kept watch. The hours turned into a day and night, and when morning came, Jake heard the distinct trumpet blast pour up from the valley and down over Jericho. He looked and found six small stones to replace the five he used on the monster man plus the new one.

  The morning hours turned into afternoon as the sun made its way across the Jericho sky. Waiting for tomorrow rattled Jake’s nerves. What was it going to feel like? An entire stone fortress city crumbling like a sand castle built too close to the water. And what if he was trapped in the debris?

  Jake refused to think about it anymore. The truth was, he was going to rely on God. And God wouldn’t let him down. No matter what things looked like, God was big enough to handle anything. When night came again, Jake was looking forward to seeing how it all was going to go.

  Jake closed his eyes but had a hard time going to sleep. At some point, he thought about home. Would he ever go back? Would he be stuck here in this otherworld forever? After a long time of wondering about tomorrow, he fell into a light sleep.

  The next morning, Jake was exhausted. His only rest had been dotted with the bizarre dreams about kids experiencing Bible events and finding themselves in perilous situations only to be saved by some mysterious hand that came down from the sky.

  He and Dair had slept on the roof, while the other three boys and Levi took turns keeping watch.

  Rehu came up to Jake. “Our path is clear. But we need to leave now.”

  Jake let the excitement move him. Not being lonely and having a purpose was a great feeling. He was finally able to know what fitting in felt like.

  But the feeling didn’t last long. Ka’nah stepped out of the shadows and blocked Jake and the others from leaving.

  “Hello, Jake. I don’t want you to think you outwitted me. I let you take the old man and these boys. I needed to see whom I could trust. Obviously not these urchins.” Ka’nah snapped his fingers, and five guards stepped up and grabbed Dair, Levi, and the other three boys.

  “That leaves me and you. Should we play a game of kill the stranger?” Ka’nah closed the distance between him and Jake. His hand shot out and grabbed Jake’s shirt before Jake could block him. “You and I are going for a walk.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Jake was dragged all the way from the roof down through the alleys and streets of Jericho. Some people stared while others turned away. They were the ones who didn’t challenge what was wrong with their world.

  When they got to the doorway that led to the ledge, Ka’
nah stopped and looked at Jake. “You don’t belong here. I don’t know how you got here, but I’m convinced that it’s my job to make sure you never leave.”

  Jake was finally face-to-face with the end of his time in Jericho. The man who embodied evil and who lived to see other people suffer.

  Ka’nah opened the door and pointed to the narrow precipice on the other side. “Head on out there.” Ka’nah pushed Jake through the tiny opening. “You and your friends might have burned some of my compound, but as you can see it only ruined the storage room. The ledge is still beautifully intact.”

  The man spread his arms open wide.

  Jake stopped himself on the small stone ledge.

  “After you die, I’ll have my men collect your body. I’ll make sure you serve a purpose. You will be an example of what happens to people who try to cross me.”

  Jake stood on the rocky ledge and looked out over the valley far below. The last rays of sunlight painted the plain a deep purple. He sat down and let the situation soak in. He had tried hard, but it wasn’t enough. He had come so close to helping Dair and the other boys escape Ka’nah’s grasp. And here, on the edge of the world, Jake was right back where he had started. Alone.

  As the sunlight faded and the darkness grew, night took over. Jake fell into a light sleep, but dreams still found him.

  This time it was different. Jake found himself standing on the side of a mountain looking down onto a vast plain. Above the plain was a city carved out of stone. It was broad daylight, and now Jake could see a massive throng of people who seemed to be marching. At the front of the procession, something was glowing.

  The only darkness was a cloud of thick mist that hung over the city. A figure stood on top of the city walls. The scene zoomed in, and Jake saw that it was his twin standing on top of Jericho. This was crazy, but it was so real.