Imagine. . .The Fall of Jericho
Page 7
The campground had an eerie feeling about it at night. There was no sun to light up the paths. Jake felt braver that Darius was with him.
It took a few minutes to reach the front of the camp, but when they saw the gatehouse, the boys stopped. Flames engulfed the tiny structure. There was no sign of the guard. Sirens wailed. Campers and counselors began to congregate in the parking lot to get a great view of the blaze.
“I guess we’ll have to look for the guard tomorrow,” Darius offered.
“Why wait for tomorrow?”
Jake and Darius turned in unison at the sound and found the guard standing next to them.
“What’s going on?” Jake took the red ribbon out of his pocket and waved it in the guard’s face.
The guard started walking to a cabin that wasn’t far from the front gate. “Police are going with arson. Come on, I’ve got something I want to show you two.”
Inside the cabin, Jake watched the guard’s computer fire up and, after a few keystrokes, display a screen with
ELECTUS
The guard said, “Watch this.” He hit a few more keys and then the word changed.
3L3CTUS
“Electus is a Latin word that means ‘selected’ or ‘chosen.’ And as you can see here”—the guard pointed to the reversed E at the beginning of the word—“both of these make the number—”
“Thirty-three,” Jake interrupted.
“Exactly. That, my friends, is a very special number. But, lest I get ahead of myself, let me show you a few more things.”
Jake and Darius stood behind the man and watched as he clicked on the word ELECTUS. The letters disappeared, and in their places was a list of titles that included The Great Flood, The Ten Plagues, and The Fall of Jericho.
“Jericho!”
“Are you familiar with that story?” the guard asked.
Jake nodded. He wasn’t ready to tell everyone about his adventure, but he was familiar with the Bible story.
Jake watched as the guard clicked on The Fall of Jericho. The screen morphed into a picture of the walled city. It was the same exact view Jake had of Jericho when he first arrived there on the plain.
The cabin door opened. A young man with a camp T-shirt stepped in. “Hey, they need you.”
The guard shrugged. “Coming.” He turned to Jake and Darius. “I’ll be right back. Wait here.”
After he left, Jake was tempted to start clicking buttons on the guy’s computer to get more information. He opted against it, not wanting to get into trouble.
Darius grabbed Jake’s arm. “I think we should leave.”
“Why? This is cool.”
“Look.” He pointed at a giant sword that was propped against the far wall.
Jake couldn’t believe it. All the similarities. But he did agree with Darius. Something wasn’t right about this guy. Both boys hurried out of the door and ran back to their cabin. Cabin 33.
The week flew by, much faster than Jake would have ever guessed it could. Now it was over, and he wasn’t looking forward to going home. There were so many questions without answers. And he’d made a real friend.
As Jake followed Darius up the trail toward the main parking lot, he wondered about the future. Would he be able to experience any other Bible stories? Were there other kids like him who had their own adventures?
In his heart, Jake felt that God had somehow orchestrated the events of the past week to change their relationship. Before camp, Jake felt alone and unnecessary. Now, in some small way, he felt like he belonged.
“For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain.”
Jake finally knew the truth. No matter what might happen in life, he finally understood that God’s love for him was as real as the trees that reached up around him. And God wouldn’t be God if He gave love one day and took it away the next.
They made it to the parking lot and stood next to each other, looking for their parents. Darius was the first one to see his mother’s car pull in.
“Okay, Jake. Let’s keep in touch.”
Jake gave his new friend a thumbs-up sign. “You bet!”
As he watched his new friend drive away, Jake was left to his own thoughts. God had been faithful. He loved Jake and had sent him Darius. Not to mention the whole Jericho experience. Feeling alone wasn’t an option anymore.
“He’s not going to keep in touch.”
Jake was pulled out of his reflecting by the sound of a man’s voice.
“You know that, right?”
Jake turned and saw that it was the guard. What was up with this guy?
“How do you know?”
“Dude. This isn’t real. You’re still not getting it, man. It’s all part of the plan.”
Jake started to walk away from the man. He had a weird feeling about him.
“Oh, Jake. You can walk away, but you can’t hide from me.”
Thank goodness, at the same moment, Jake saw his parents’ car pull into the drive. When Jake turned to see if the guard was following him, all he saw were the other campers who were still waiting on rides. The guard had disappeared.
Jake waved at his parents, and they waved back. His dad parked the car and got out to greet Jake. His mom did the same.
“How was your week?” Jake’s dad asked as he grabbed Jake’s suitcase.
“Unreal.”
Jake’s mother gave him a bear hug. “I bet. We missed you. Did you have a good time?”
“I met some new friends. Saw some amazing places. It was wild.”
“I can’t imagine.”
I can.
The Henrys got back in the car and started out of the parking lot. Jake’s dad pulled up to the burned-down gatehouse and stopped before pulling out onto the highway. The guard was there going through the rubble. He turned and waved at Jake’s dad.
The guard’s name tag said KEN NAH.
Unreal.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt Koceich is a husband, father, and public school teacher. Matt and his family live in Texas.
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