by Summer Lee
“I knew you would say that,” he replied, somewhat irritated. “I would run everything by you first. Of course, I would make it works of fiction, because I have trouble believing half of what we’ve been through anyhow. I surely wouldn’t expect anyone else to believe it. I would change the names and scenarios, just enough so I wouldn’t attract unwarranted attention from treasure hunters and archeologists. I’ve really thought this out.”
Achava felt embarrassed and ashamed for not giving Sam the benefit of the doubt of having a few brains. “I apologize, Sam. I did not mean to insult you. I was just…”
He smiled reassuringly. “I know what you were doing and it’s okay. You have to protect the big secrets of what we’ve been doing. I get that. I just felt the urge to write, but I wouldn’t do this without you being on board 100%. I would need you to be on the same page with me on this, or it’s a no go.”
Some of his meaning sneaked past her ability to comprehend, but she caught most of what he was trying to say. “I am… on board. 100%. I would love to be a part of your projects.”
“I don’t consider them my projects, Achava. I consider them… ours.”
She felt her smile sparkle, as did her golden eyes. She couldn’t express how happy she was to be back in Sam’s good graces. She put her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his mouth. He blushed red, placed his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. That was all. The time for celebration would have to wait until they came up with a plan to escape.
Chapter the Second
SAM KEPT A CLOSE EYE ON ACHAVA because it was important for him to follow her lead when it came time to get away from the bearded men. He knew she had more years of experience at that sort of thing and was more than happy to pass the buck to her. For himself, his mind had trouble accepting where and when he was.
He knew his strengths, and escaping five huge bruisers was nowhere within his realm of experience. He and Achava remained silent, as they continued forward. He continued to watch her every move. When she glanced around, he studied her face. He could see the wheels in her head were spinning.
He really was getting excited about the possibility of going into action soon. It could have been the fact that it might be easier to get away from someone who was centuries behind the times, or maybe it was just the thrill of it.
It could have been a little of both.
He knew that his timing could have been better on bringing up the book idea, but he didn’t know when he would have another free moment alone with Achava. The other two could appear soon. Or just about anybody form the first millennium could join them.
He asked about the mission. She didn’t seem upset. In fact, she was almost excited to talk with him about anything.
He tensed up, as he sensed that Achava was about to make her move to escape. He knew that when she did, he had to be ready to follow her lead, no matter what it was.
Glancing behind him, he noticed that they were a good twenty feet ahead of the bearded men. He wondered about them. Why did the locals allow their supposed captives that much leeway? Could they be testing them?
Sam was still walking close to Achava, clasping her hand. “Achava. Have you noticed how much of a lead our new friends have given us?”
“It has not escaped my attention,” she replied, nonchalantly. “That changes nothing. We cannot underestimate them, even though they may appear simplistic in their understanding of who we might be and where we are from. Still, we cannot pass up the opportunity to flee when we see a chance. I sense that chance is soon. If you will look about 100 yards ahead of us, you will see what appears to be the end of this forest. It opens up into a field of sorts, with a mountain range off to the left.”
Sam strained his eyes to barely make out what Achava could see clearly. The golden touch in her eyes must have given her better vision. “Okay. I think I see what you’re talking about.”
Achava seemed calmer than usual. Sam wished he had half as much confidence as she did, but he was glad to be with her and not Anthea. She was far nicer than Anthea. Wherever she might be in her plans, he did not really care.
“Be ready for my signal, Sam,” Achava said, as she eyed the mountain range. “When I give the word, we must run for all we are worth toward those mountains. They don’t appear to be extremely high, but I believe that they will provide adequate cover until we can gain our bearings as to where we are in this period of time.” She released his hand.
All Sam could do was nod. His heart raced, as he knew they were seconds away from truly beginning their adventure. It might have been the fact that his first adventure was action packed, and he wanted that experience again, but he was more than ready for whatever befell them.
“Now!” Achava yelled, as she took off sprinting toward the mountains. Sam was right behind her. Sam knew that neither of them cared about the bearded men right now. Neither bothered to see if any of the bearded men were following. All they cared about was their current objective—their destination.
“Plan to make it to the mountains before nightfall,” Achava called out.
Sam didn’t realize that the sun was starting to set. It was obviously something Achava had taken into account, because her timing was practically perfect.
Sam knew that his backpack would slow him down slightly. He also knew that he was in fairly decent shape. Not Achava shape, but decent, nonetheless.
She pulled out ahead of him by about ten feet. He saw that she was holding back to make sure she would stay near him in case the bearded men caught up.
It went unspoken that on this trek, they both wouldn’t speak until they got to someplace safe. They both also did their best to breathe through their mouths, to avoid losing oxygen too quickly.
Sam almost surprised himself that he was able to keep in stride, running without needing his inhaler. It also surprised him that it wasn’t even a concern until he just thought about it.
All of a sudden, it became a huge concern. It didn’t distract him from his running, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen if he had an asthma attack right then.
Not only would the men catch up to them, but Achava would have no choice but to leave him until she devised a plan to rescue him.
That’s the one thing he didn’t want to be. Rescued.
He wanted to prove to Achava that he could hold his own. Sam felt that the first time he needed her to save him, she would think of him as a liability and probably be too distracted with the fact that she needed to babysit him from then on.
As he thought about being the weak link, he gritted his teeth and pushed on harder.
Before too long, they were just a few hundred feet from the base of the first mountain. Since they got closer, the mountain became clear. It was more like a large rocky hill. It was definitely smaller than Sam thought it would be.
Achava stopped and turned to look behind them. She narrowed her eyes and seemed displeased at something.
Sam started to breathe more slowly through his mouth, as he came to a stop near her. He was almost afraid to look behind him. He pictured the bearded men being faster than they looked and beating both Achava and him senseless. He then pictured them taking the pair back to some weird village to cook the intruders. He didn’t know why he thought of people in Noah’s time as cannibals, but it helped his image of them in that time.
He couldn’t talk with all of the breathing he had to do, so he slowly turned to face whatever fate was to befall them both. His eyes widened as he saw no one behind them.
Were they just too fast, or was it something else?
“That’s… good. We lost… them,” Sam managed, between breaths.
“Maybe,” Achava replied, without showing any signs of being tired. “It is the fact that they did not pursue, that concerns me now.”
The path they were on took them down one hill and up another one. When they reached the top of that hill, Achava spotted the structure. “Look! Over there.” She gasped as if her heart jumped up int
o her throat.
Sam was shocked. “Wow. Are we really where I think we are?”
“Yes. It is Noah’s ark.”
“Do you see them? There are animals streaming into the ark.” Sam felt like squealing himself.
They sat down on the soft grass and watched the animals in the distance. She said, “The procession of animals must be a mile long.”
Sam said, “Or longer.”
“Why do you think that would be so?”
“Look at the bears; the different kinds of bears. There are black bears, brown bears, white polar bears, Asian bears, Panda bears, sloth bears and sun bears. Do you see that there are two of each species walking toward the ark.” Sam laughed. “This is better than a zoo.”
Achava laughed as well. “I can see it. Cows are the same way. There are Holsteins, Herefords, Black Angus, Guernsey, Jerseys and dozens of others.”
“Let’s rest here a while and watch,” said Sam. “This scene will never be repeated.”
“Just as well. The bearded men are leaving us alone.”
“True.” Sam pulled a coverlet out of his backpack and spread it out on the grass. They sat down side by side, watching the animals go into the ark.
Soon they lay back and went to sleep.
Chapter the Third
ACHAVA was the first to awaken. The sun was beginning to rise over the top of an eastern mountain. She got up and looked around.
In front of her, the animals were still streaming into the ark. She stood still for several moments, anticipating something to happen. She didn’t know what, but she didn’t like the fact that the bearded men gave up on their captives so easily. She might have been reading too much into it, since she wasn’t even close to being from that period of time. The locals might have a different way of doing things than she was used to.
She had to keep that in mind.
She stayed still anyway. Just in case. When she was satisfied that the locals had not led Sam and her into an ambush, she felt secure. Since they were no longer pursuing, she shook Sam to awaken him.
“I believe it is safe to continue,” she said, with slight hesitation.
“This place is giving you the creeps too. Isn’t it?” Sam stretched to fully awaken. “We’re like fish out of water. Not knowing how to react, or if we should react, because of the implications it could have on the future. This is all making me paranoid.”
She forced a smile. “I, too, am sensing my need to watch every step. I will breathe easier when we are back in our own time zone, as well.”
“Before we go on, I have a question,” Sam said, nervously. “We already know that we felt pretty useless in the timeline we were just in. At least there, we didn’t run into anyone from that period. Our first experience here was with several locals. What are we supposed to be doing here, Achava? What is the plan?”
She frowned, thinking for a few moments, as the day grew brighter with the morning sunlight. “I… wish I knew the answer to that, Sam. All I can say is that perhaps there is no specific reason why we are here, other than the fact that one artifact led to the next. It might be some odd chain of events that we happen to be trapped in the middle of.”
Sam looked at her with slight fear. “I’m not afraid for us, because we always find a way out of whatever we get into. I’m afraid of us doing something, that will change our original timeline so much that we may never find our way back.”
“Then we won’t do that,” she replied with a real smile that time. “Whatever that something is.” She did not have an answer. Her uncertainty could remind Sam of how human she truly was.
“Let’s get our heads together and try to figure this out,” said Sam. “Please.”
“Obviously, we won’t stuff that big ark into your backpack and take it home.” She punched him in the ribs and laughed. “Stop worrying.”
Sam grabbed her and wrestled her to the ground. “If I wasn’t such a gentleman, I’d make love to you right now,” he said.
“Whoa!” Achava formed her hand into a fist in the air, showing her muscular bicep. “I dare you to try.”
“You know I’d never force myself on you. I love you too much.” He swallowed hard.
“I know. I love you too, but I can’t marry you.” She sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. “Just look at me. I’m not a housewife. You can see that.”
“It would work for me.” He sat up and put his arm around her shoulders. “But I’ll wait.”
“Do you know what I’d like to do?”
“What’s that?”
“Go closer to the animal trail and watch those creatures march right into the ark.” She had a big grin on her face.
“That sounds like fun to me.” He stood and helped her up. Together, they walked down into a valley and across to the next small hill.
“Look. Water. I need a bath.” She giggled as she ran to the water’s edge. “You just can’t watch.”
“I’ll go downstream and wash up,” Sam said. “It is such a warm day. We should dry quickly.”
Once they were clean, they washed their clothes and hung them on a tree to dry. Sam pulled a couple garments out of his backpack for them to wear while their clothes dried on a tree branch. A breeze came up, drying them more quickly.
It was late afternoon when they got to the path where the animals obediently marched into the ark. A couple of monkeys came swinging by on the trees. The giraffes and elephants looked so exquisite, marching proudly along with their heads held high. Small squirrels and chipmunks scurried under their feet. They watched the animals until the sun went down.
Darkness of night was coming on. “Let’s find a place to sleep,” said Achava, as she began walking and looking around.
Sam pulled out his flashlight, and shined it on the path in front of her, as Achava led him up a small hill. About halfway up, there was a slight breeze, which cooled the temperature considerably. Achava found a small ledge with an overhang of rock to protect them in case the rains of Noah came. Since they had come near to Noah’s time, she was always expecting rain. Finding a smooth place to sit, she asked, “How is this place?”
“Perfect.” Sam dusted the flat rock off.
Sam opened his pack. He brought out the items he needed to start a fire. They didn’t do him much good when they looked for the crown of Christ. Perhaps this is the right time for them. He searched through his backpack for food and took out two protein bars. He gave one of the granola bars to Achava, who accepted it graciously. He ate the other one.
When she took a bite of the granola bar, it was as if an idea came to her. She stood and searched the area for twigs and anything else to be used for the fire. Achava was able to find several small dry twigs among the rocks close by. Sam arranged the small pieces of wood in a pile. He got the lighter fluid and lighter out of his pack and soon had the fire roaring. Once the fire was going strong, Achava took the flashlight and went off to find something to eat.
She said, “Sam. I’ll be back. I won’t go far, but there must be small game in the area. At least, I would hope so. We should have a decent meal in us before we try to sleep. There is no telling what tomorrow will bring.”
“Or tonight for that matter,” Sam added. “You take the flashlight. I’ll keep the fire going here, so that I can have some light, too.
“Wait!” Sam shouted, as she was almost out of sight. He looked concerned as she came back.
“What is it? Are you okay?” She asked.
“Not that,” Sam responded, as he grimaced. “I just had a thought. What if whatever you kill happens to be one of the two animals that Noah needs for his ark?”
She laughed. “I understand what you are saying, Sam. It makes sense. Just for future reference, it is important to remember that the Bible says Noah took seven of each clean animal and only two each of the unclean ones. There is a controversy as to how many of the clean ones he actually took, because the Bible verse states seven and seven. Some believe that to mean he took fourteen of each c
lean animal. I prefer to believe seven, because of the possible size of the ark.”
Sam’s eyes widened. Achava could tell that he didn’t know about the seven. She laughed and said, “Oh Sam. What are we going to do with you?”
Again, she went in search of a small animal to cook. She did not have to go far before she caught a chicken. She cut off its head and plucked its feathers. “It will take time to cook.”
“That is okay. I want to ask you some questions anyhow.”
“Ask on.”
“What constitutes clean or unclean?” he asked.
“Clean, meaning fit to eat,” she responded. “Cattle, sheep, deer, and so forth are considered clean to eat. Cats, dogs, lions, bears, and so forth, are considered unclean to eat.”
“I guess chickens and rabbits are clean.”
“That’s right.”
Sam nodded. “I have another question. After we get out of this timeline, I’m sure I will have asked more questions than you have answers for, but here goes one. If Noah was supposed to bring some of every living creature into the ark, then what about the fish and marine life?”
Achava smiled. “I appreciate that you think I am all knowledgeable when it comes to the Bible. I know most of what is actually in it. I can only assume that the fish were already in the water, so therefore Noah may or may not have had room to store every creature of the sea. I also do not know how the mixture of fresh water and salt water animals survived. I am sorry, but I assumed that would be your next question.”
“It was.” He broke off a tree branch and made it into a tool to turn the chicken. When the meat was done, they sat and ate it and then lay down to sleep.
Achava slept in Sam’s arms that night. She knew she would be safe until morning.
Chapter the Fourth