The mist started to churn and cover the other Jake. Real Jake looked on from his hillside perch in shock. He was too far away to save himself, but he had to do something. The walls started to crack and fall. Huge slabs of stone began to peel away from the city and crumble down into the valley.
Jake watched his other self begin to run across the rooftops as the city literally fell apart behind him. Then he could run no farther. His other self was running one second, and swallowed up into the breaking earth the next.
Real Jake looked down and saw an army rush into the crumbling city with swords drawn. Soon, flames were licking the sky.
That’s when Jake saw the glowing supernatural hand reach down from the heavens and scoop up a pile of debris. Some unseen wind blew all the unwanted rocks away and left only the other Jake sitting safe in the middle of the glowing hand. The hand lifted him up above the smoke and flames and continued to carry him a great distance away.
Real Jake felt like he was riding in an airplane watching all these things happen to the other Jake. He watched the hand descend through the clouds and come to a stop above a chain of mountains. After a brief pause, the illuminated hand continued its descent over the mountaintops and farther down through the trees. It finally put him down next to a beautiful blue lake.
At some point, the imaginary airplane landed, and Jake disembarked and found himself standing on the shore of a beautiful blue lake. It looked like the exact same one that he had seen from the plane. He had an urge to find the other Jake and ask him to explain what was happening.
When Jake turned around, the airplane was gone. He looked around and knew exactly where he was.
The sound of trumpets pulled Jake from a deep sleep. Pieces of a bizarre dream clouded his vision. He turned and saw Ka’nah standing over him.
“Jake Henry,” the wicked one said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve had a change of heart. I want to give you credit for trying to not only save yourself but those four boys and Levi. I’m taking you off the ledge and bringing you into my inner circle. After all of your hard work trying to find a purpose here, I look at you and see that you’re still all alone. Just like you started.”
Jake counted the stones in his pocket.
Six.
The end was here. These trumpets were the last ones. Jake’s brain tried to figure out a way to beat the evil man standing in front of him. But now it didn’t matter, because if the Israelites were really on their seventh day of marching around the city, Jericho was about to fall. He remembered that they would march around seven times, so this was it. The end of all of it was finally here.
“Young Jake, I want to show you I’m not the evil man you think I am. I’m giving you one last chance to join me. You are very smart and brave. I don’t want you to feel alone or left out.”
A long blast of trumpets rang out. It was so loud, Jake thought the Israelites were just on the other side of the compound walls, not way down on the plain.
“No! I realize now that I am never alone! God is with me wherever I go.”
Ka’nah pulled his sword from its sheath. He held the silver blade out toward Jake. “Well, I’m really sorry you believe that, because you are all alone whether you believe it or not. There’s no one here to save you.”
The shouts of thousands of men proved Ka’nah wrong. No sooner did the sound of voices end than the sound of the world breaking came over Jake and his enemy. The wall behind Ka’nah split in two like a piece of paper being torn in half. The ground shook, but Jake was able to keep his balance. Ka’nah, on the other hand, stumbled.
Jake jumped for the sword. The earth shifted again. Ka’nah regained his balance and yanked his blade away from Jake.
“God is here to save me!” Jake lifted both arms in the air, fists clenched.
Walls exploded and fell all around them. Off to his right, Jake saw the dorm building collapse like a sand castle punched by an ocean’s wave.
Ka’nah ignored the destruction and swung the sword at Jake. Jake jumped back and missed getting cut in half by inches. He shook off the fear and refused to back down. Even though he didn’t have a weapon, he was not going to go back to camp with regrets. If he ever got back to the camp.
Angry rocks shot past him in all directions, trying to rip his skin off his body as they flew. Groaning from somewhere deep within the ground beneath his feet threatened an even worse fate than being buried underneath the collapsing city.
Jake still couldn’t believe all of this was really happening. He grabbed a chunk of stone and used it to block Ka’nah’s next swing of the blade. Sparks flew as the sword connected with the stone. Another wave of earth-cracking energy ripped the ground under the compound. Jake fell down and saw that Ka’nah did too. The next thing Jake noticed was the sword wasn’t in the wicked man’s hand. It was on the ground halfway between them, lying across an opening in the ground like a narrow silver bridge.
Jake jumped and grabbed the sword before Ka’nah was able to stand to his feet.
The sword was very heavy, and Jake barely managed to raise it up to waist level.
“Please!” Ka’nah yelled over the groaning earth. “You’re going to hurt yourself. Just give me the sword, and I’ll let you go!”
Jake knew better. “No! You come and take it.”
Ka’nah lunged at Jake.
Jake summoned all his strength and shoved the blade toward his opponent. The tip cut the man’s right hand.
The ground shook and crumbled again. Jake fell down again but didn’t let go of the sword. Rocks from a falling wall rained down over Ka’nah.
“Jake! Come on!” This was a new voice. A new sound in the middle of the chorus of collapsing walls.
Jake saw Dair standing on a pile of rubble on the far side of the compound. He yelled to Jake again. “Jake! You were right! The whole city is falling! Come on. Follow me!”
Jake went to where Ka’nah was being buried alive. He saw the man’s hand reaching out. Jake bent down to see if he could help. It felt insane that one minute he was trying to protect himself from the madman, and the next he considered saving him.
“Come on, Jake! Don’t worry about him! We’re not going to make it if we don’t leave right now!”
More groaning. More exploding rocks.
Jake let go of the idea that he would be the one to save Ka’nah. He took off running after Dair up over piles of fallen walls and crumpled homes. As he ran after Dair, Jake couldn’t help but think what would happen if he died here. Would that mean he would also die in the real world back at camp? Or would it be like a dream where he would wake up right after the end came? Jake looked back and saw Ka’nah crawling out from under the rubble.
Dair was fast. The older boy moved like a mountain goat up and over the piles of Jericho that had collapsed all around them.
Jake looked back again and could not believe that Ka’nah had the strength to not only climb out from under the rubble, but also to use his long legs to catch up to his prey.
Jake’s chest started to burn. He was running out of gas, but he couldn’t quit now. He had come too far. He wasn’t about to let the evil man catch him.
Jake concentrated and pumped his arms and legs as hard as they would go. Rocks shot across his path and rained down over him. Adrenaline surged through his veins and temporarily prevented him from feeling any pain.
“You are finished!” Ka’nah tackled Jake from behind. The force of the hit knocked the breath out of Jake’s lungs. The wicked one got up and pinned Jake to the ground with one foot. He took his sword from Jake and swung it down.
Suddenly the earth screamed, and the ground fell away from him. Jake went flying backward. He watched Ka’nah’s face let go of victory’s grin in exchange for the frown of defeat.
The race had finally come to an end. Despite all his hard work and standing up to the very wicked man, the falling Jericho was seconds away from ending it all.
He had stood up bravely to the evil Ka’nah but d
idn’t have the power to stand up against the forces of nature that were churning around him. As he flew down, Jake looked up and saw Ka’nah looking out over the chasm.
Jake crashed onto a pile of jagged stones. It was like diving backward into a concrete ocean. Stars of pain and light shot over the backs of his eyelids. Fire shot through his arms and legs. It felt like some invisible monster hand had squeezed his body and busted every bone. Twice.
The one who caused so much misery jumped and kept the sword out in front of his body. Ka’nah became like a bird of prey—a powerful falcon—zooming down to capture Jake. Jake was about to be pierced by the wicked man’s sword, and he couldn’t make his legs or arms work to get out of the way.
Where was Dair?
Muted voices came to Jake through the rubble. The sounds of men seeking their prey. Angry and determined tones got louder and clearer.
“Here’s another one!”
Through the haze of his confusion from the fall, Jake was able to make out a mob of men holding weapons.
“Kill him!”
Ka’nah was right above Jake, blade extended, zooming down for his own kill.
Jake shut his eyes and screamed.
Dair’s voice came immediately to him. “He’s with me!”
His body was yanked hard to the side.
He waited for the pain, but the piercing blow of the weapon never came.
A twisted clang and sickening crash echoed through Jake’s ears.
Jake opened his eyes and saw that Dair was holding his arm.
The aftermath of Jericho falling reminded Jake of the war movies his dad watched. Mountains of rubble rose up around him. Dust hung in the air, making it hard to see and breathe. It was like the pieces of a giant stone puzzle had been dumped out all over the plain … all around Jake.
Ka’nah’s body lay in a broken tangle inches away.
“I was there that day,” Dair said to the men standing in a circle around Jake. “One of your men said we needed to tie a red ribbon in the window as a sign of the oath that our family would be spared.”
The man lowered his sword. “Yes, that was our plan. I’m Joshua.”
“Joshua! Yes, I’m Dair, brother of Rahab. These are my brothers Rehu, Jez, and Sebbi. And our grandfather, Levi.”
Jake couldn’t believe any of this. Joshua? Rahab? And Dair was her brother? And Levi their grandfather? Out of all the people in this forsaken city, Jake had met Dair. Jake shook his head. God really was in control of all things.
“And who is he?” Joshua asked, pointing at Jake.
“He’s with us. He’s family.” Dair smiled at Jake as he spoke the words.
It felt so good to be wanted.
CHAPTER 11
PRESENT DAY
NORTH CAROLINA
Jake opened his eyes and saw the glittering surface of the lake. The water rippled out in big bands toward the banks. Then he remembered skipping the rock out over the water before closing his eyes to take a quick nap in the grass. How long had he been out?
He looked at his watch. He still had thirty minutes before he had to be back to the cabin.
Déjà vu kicked in. Hard.
He had thought about taking that long walk in the woods, but now he remembered there was a man’s deep voice that said—
Jake looked around to see if there was someone standing behind him.
But there wasn’t anyone there. Just the trees.
And the path that led back up to the cabins.
Where did Jericho go?
As Jake turned back to look at the lake, it was still there. Beautiful water.
The camp had returned. The trees rose up around him just like the mighty walls of Jericho had done. Oak Bay had returned just as fast as it had vanished.
Definitely insane.
But everything wasn’t the same. The lake and the trees were the same. The path back to the camp was the same. But something felt different. Jake couldn’t put his finger on it, but something had definitely changed.
By the time he made it back up the path, huddles of boys had formed in front of the cabins. Jake walked over to his cabin and joined his cabin buddies.
“Hey, man. You just made it. Where did you go?”
Jake remembered feeling alone and unwanted. He remembered that none of the boys invited him to play and that’s why he’d decided to go off on his own, down to the lake. And now, this kid had been watching. Had even noticed that Jake walked away on his own.
“The lake.” Jake couldn’t stop thinking about Jericho. “It was amazing!”
The boy gave Jake a look that suggested he thought the lake couldn’t be all that exciting.
Jake just smiled.
The counselors materialized from their respective cabins and made their way to the center of the sea of boys.
One of them held a megaphone and used it to go over the cafeteria rules and behavior expectations. While he was talking, Jake noticed a new camper walking down the path. The boy was pulling a small silver suitcase and looked the same as Jake had felt walking down to the cabin for the first time. Except this kid was all alone. Most likely had said goodbye to his parents up in the main parking lot.
As the kid got closer, Jake saw he had a ribbon tied to the handle of the suitcase.
A red ribbon.
No way.
Jake felt compelled to introduce himself. He approached the boy and smiled.
“I’m Jake.”
“Hi Jake. I’m Darius.”
What? No way.
“What cabin?”
“Thirty-three.”
Of course.
“Come on, that’s my cabin too.”
Jake showed Darius the cabin and told him about the lake. He was dying to tell him about the Jericho adventure, but he knew that would make him sound nuts.
“Jake, thanks for helping.”
“No problem. I was supposed to be here with a friend of mine, but he got sick.”
The other boy laughed. “No way. Me too. Good old Levi.”
What?
“Levi?”
“Yes, my good friend, Levi Lewis. He invited me to come here with him. He came down with the flu or something, and here I am.”
Jake was overwhelmed with anxious feelings.
What do I have to lose if I tell this guy about Jericho?
“Well, Darius, I sure am glad we’re in the same cabin. Maybe this week won’t be so bad after all.”
Darius tossed his suitcase by the last empty bed and looked at Jake. “Yeah, I think so too.”
They went back out and joined the group of boys who were already heading for the cafeteria. Jake’s brain was exploding with memories of the Jericho experience. He decided that he would share it with Darius while they were eating.
“Jake?”
“Yeah?”
Darius stopped walking. He let the boys go into the cafeteria before he talked.
“Jake, I’ve been dying to ask you a question that’s gonna sound bizarre, but I’ve got to ask it.”
Jake felt his anxiety lessen a bit. “Sure.”
“Did the guard at the gate seem weird to you?”
“Yeah! He stared at me as we drove in. A little psycho, if you ask me.”
Darius stood there for a second, staring off into the woods.
Jake was on the verge of telling him about Jericho. What did he have to lose? Even if it freaked Darius out, what did it matter? It wasn’t like he was ever going to see him again after camp ended.
“Yeah,” Darius continued. “He stared at me too. But when my mom was asking him for directions to the cabin, the guy started talking about the Bible story of Jericho. My mom just kept nodding. Then she rolled up her window and drove off.”
“Jericho?”
“You know, the place where the walls fell down. That Jericho.”
Okay, that’s it! I’m talking.
“Darius, can I tell you a story after we eat?”
“Sure. But why don’t you tell me w
hile we’re eating?”
Jake thought about how the story would sound to the other boys who’d be sitting around them. “I think it needs to wait until we’re done and by ourselves.”
“Okay. Let’s go hurry and eat so I can hear your story.”
The boys joined the crowd of campers in the dining hall and went on to enjoy a completely unhealthy but righteous meal of pizza, mashed potatoes, and French fries. Jake had an ounce of self-discipline and added a spoonful of broccoli to the carbohydrate symphony.
After they finished dinner, Jake and Darius went out and stood on a big deck that overlooked the lake. The sun had gone down, and the sky lost its color. The boys stood in silence for a while, looking up at the sea of stars that glittered across the darkness.
Jake finally worked up the courage to tell his new buddy the whole story of his Jericho adventure. When he finished, he looked at Darius to see if he would be shaking his head.
“Jake, that is crazy.”
I shouldn’t have said anything.
“Yeah, you probably think I’m nuts. I don’t know why I told you all that.”
“Dude, don’t worry about it. I’m so relieved.”
“What?”
Jake watched Darius pull the red ribbon that had been on his suitcase out of his pocket. Jake hadn’t seen him take it off the suitcase handle.
“Jake, something crazy is happening, because I have a story to tell you.”
“Shoot.”
“Okay, that guard back at the gate gave my mom two of these ribbons. He said one needed to go on my suitcase and the other was for a friend. I had no idea what that meant, but now I guess you’re supposed to have this.”
Jake took the ribbon. He had no idea what he was supposed to do with it. Tie it to his suitcase too? Surely not. He ran it through his fingers for a moment, trying to figure out what on earth was happening.
The guard at the gate.
Jake had to work up the courage to approach the guy, but at least he might get some answers. He told Darius his plan. “Do you want to come with me?”
“Sure.”
Jake took a deep breath and put the red ribbon in his pocket. “Okay, let’s go.”
Imagine. . .The Fall of Jericho Page 6