by Summer Lee
Khassima started to move and sway as if she was part of a soft breeze. Her hands clapped together and moved snakelike through the air, as her entire body became a thing of beauty. Her dance mesmerized the men, including Sam.
Every male within sight of her dance became entranced. Their eyes glazed over as Khassima proved why she was so sought after in the time of John the Baptist.
The women and children all returned to their homes.
Even Anthea and Achava seemed impressed by her being able to retain her abilities as a dancer. There were miracles in her magic. She would point toward the ark, to let the others know it was safe to move. She would then take a giant step forward, before beginning the next routine.
Achava grabbed Sam by the arm and danced along beside Khassima. Anthea was flirtatious as she passed by the men. Achava looked cautiously at each man they passed to make sure that she did nothing to break the enchantment. She said, “Khassima is mesmerizing the men.”
“She looks like a stripper,” said Sam, as he twirled Achava around, like he would on a dance floor.
Anthea just wiggled her hips as she smiled. “I have to see if there’s a tattoo for this.”
With Khassima leading, they all carefully moved past the local men. Achava was even more impressed with Khassima that she could dance and walk at the same time. Achava and Sam followed Khassima toward the ark.
Anthea looked jealous. “I think it’s great that Khassima lobotomized these guys with a few gestures, but I have a viable question.”
Achava looked with great concern, at Anthea’s statement. “What bothers you, sis?”
“We avoided a fight with the guys, but what about them,” Anthea said, as she pointed to something behind them.
Achava turned around and looked. The women had come back out. She saw dozens of angry females wearing robes and holding spears. “That is impossible! The females of this time were not warriors!”
“Maybe not,” Anthea responded. “Maybe they’re just pissed off women who don’t like a stranger entrancing their hubbies.”
Achava shook her head. “This is enough!” She said it in the language of the women. “We will stand for no more interference!”
Before Achava had the chance to leap toward the women, Anthea touched her shoulder. Achava turned and saw that Khassima had tired out and was no longer dancing.
“I’m sorry,” said Khassima. “I’m not used to dancing this long. That takes a lot of energy. Yes?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll take over.” Achava stretched her arms above her head. “I’ll give you a break, Khassima.”
They were surrounded by angry woman on one side and confused men on the other.
Achava kick-boxed the men, knocking them all silly. The glow in her eyes became brighter, the harder she battled. She was like a golden whirlwind of fury, as she continued to swing around.
Anthea did the same thing, taking down the women. She did it with considerable ease. Both ladies made sure to just knock them out and not kill them. They knew the flood would do that soon enough.
Sam knew the time limit they were up against. He felt frustrated, as he flexed his hands. The pain was incredible, but he also remembered Achava’s words. You must be prepared to fight for your very lives. No matter the pain or any apprehension. She looked right at him when she said it. He knew exactly what that meant. She was talking about fighting to the death.
It was time to go. They had to get out of that time period, and no sacrifice was too large to make that happen. He took several deep breaths and let out a scream of defiance.
For a brief moment, Achava stopped fighting to see what it was that caused him to howl like that. Achava smiled and continued cutting a deadly path through the men.
Sam picked up one of the clubs that was dropped and headed for Achava’s targets.
His hand burned as he gritted his teeth, but there was no time for that. Being stuck in the time of Noah was one thing, but being stuck just hours away from being washed off of the earth was another matter.
He breathed heavily as he was about to enter the fray. Then he looked up. “God? I know you and I were never that close, but we need You now. I know what an amazing experience You’ve given me. I cannot express to you how much it means to be one of a few people that has witnessed what I have witnessed. Not a lot of people get the chance to forgo faith and actually see…” He stopped short with a chilling revelation. Other than the crown of Christ and the staff of Moses, he really had no proof of having seen the artifacts he and Achava had rescued. So, basically, for the most part, he was using faith.
He looked upward still praying. “Anyway, if I die here today, two things. Don’t let me get killed by the flood. Let me die in battle. That’s one thing. The other is to let my sacrifice mean something. Not as global as Jesus’ sacrifice or anything like that. I want to be able to save my friends. If I do die, You can have mercy on my soul, or whatever you do. Thank you, God, for letting me know Achava. She is amazing. I love her.” Some people might have explained away his experiences as a bad dream of hallucination, but he didn’t see it that way. He knew that what he was going through was real.
He would never see his home again if they did not go now. No one would be there in his home, to protect the staff of Moses. He would die in a time before any of his ancestors were born if they failed. Failure was not an option. Even if it cost him his life to secure safe passage for the others, he would feel like he succeeded. When he snapped out of his secret conversation with God, he noticed that just a few seconds had gone by
His faith was real. He squeezed the club with all his might and in spite of the pain, he had confidence. He would fight alongside Achava.
If he was going out, it would be as a warrior. He noticed that Achava was getting overwhelmed and had several of the larger of the local men beating her down. He gritted his teeth and ran toward them. One man tried to stop Sam with his spear, but he miraculously spun around the attack and beat the man in the head twice, before continuing on.
He focused on Achava as she protected herself from an onslaught. He stepped in and helped her. With each large man that they vanquished, he gained more strength and more confidence. He also knew that he was the only one who could help Achava, since Anthea and Khassima were fighting the women.
Achava took out one of her adversaries with a butterfly kick to the throat, followed up with an elbow to the gut. With Sam’s help, Achava finished off her foes with a combination of lightning fast punches to the upper body and one well-placed kick below the belt. “They planned to kill us. We had to take them on.”
Four more men attacked Achava. Sam didn’t think much of their chances, as he roared in with some sort of fierce battle cry. It actually sounded better in his head, than it did out loud. Either way, it was enough of a distraction that it caught the attention of the four brutes attacking his woman. Two of them stood up and faced Sam. He used the club double handed for the duration. He was proud of himself.
He advanced without any thought of his own safety. He swung at the closest foe and knocked him to one side. He then swung the club again and hit the next man squarely in the chest, causing him to lose his breath. Once the man doubled over, Sam was relentless. He knew if the situation was reversed, the man wouldn’t stop to avoid hurting him.
Sam always believed himself to be a man of science, utilizing events from the Bible to justify a proof of expedition or theory. At the time, the Bible was convenient. Even when he made Professor Salinger his mentor, he kept the professor’s belief in God in the back of his mind. He didn’t care how Salinger came to believe what he did, as long as he was inspirational in his own right. One last kick and he was done. So was Achava. Khassima and Anthea ran off the women.
They were all out of trouble now. Sam had continued slugging the giants, even when he continued his silent conversation with God in his head. His prayer was answered. With God’s help, they won. The four of them had fought their way out of the camp. “Okay, we made it. N
ow we have to get back to our own time, the time where Anthea, Achava, and I belong. Khassima has been a big help. I hate to admit it, but so has Anthea.” He was wheezing hard. He looked back at the fallen foes. “Nice. Let’s get the next phase of this party on the road!”
Achava looked up at him with even more respect than when he beat the nomad. Her golden eyes were full of love. “Thanks!”
“My pleasure. Nobody hurts my girl,” Sam said with conviction.
“Wait!” Anthea exclaimed. “How could you understand them, Achava?”
“It is a spiritual gift.” Achava’s eyes glowed with a golden hue, even brighter than they were before.
“Ah,” Anthea replied. “I guess those little golden orbs of yours really come in handy. Where can I get a set?”
“You can’t. They come from my father’s side of the family.” She closed her eyes briefly and then smiled. Vibrations were coming from the hills in front of them.
Her face glowed with a golden hue, as she felt an otherworldly power enter it. The golden glow growing around her eyes was a symbol that the Lord was using her. Khassima and Anthea dispatched the women, as Achava and Sam took care of the men, including the four Nephilim. Achava and Sam had made a quick work of the local men.
“You all fought valiantly,” Achava exclaimed. “But our job is not over.”
“Other than finding a way out of here, what is our job?” Anthea asked.
Achava said, “We need to get to the ark. When you each are sure it’s safe, run toward the ark as fast as you can.”
Chapter the Thirteenth
ACHAVA HAD TO SMILE at the teamwork executed by all four of them as they tried to save their own lives.
Those people in 5000 BC chose to be on the road of the unrighteous. Noah had preached to them for years, but all they did was make fun of him. Actually, Noah had tried for over a hundred years to save them, and they would not listen. She had to let it go.
There were still choices to be made in her timeline, and she was bound and determined to get back there to help as many people as possible. She just might be the Noah of the 21st century. There was only one chance to make that happen. So she had to think fast.
Almost as if on cue, the ground started to shake. Minor tremors occurred in succession, as if someone had been beating a giant drum. All four looked around frantically to find the reason for it. “Earthquake.”
“The flood must be starting!” Khassima cried out, nervously.
Achava said, “That was not a real earthquake. It’s something else.
A slow moving shadow moved across the sky, and then hovered over the world. It hung over the group as if the lights had been turned out. They all looked around to see what it was. It was still in the afternoon, so the sky should have been visible. Storm clouds rolled in extremely fast. The sun was now blocked by thick black clouds, as lightning flashed across the sky.
“What do we…” Sam’s question was never finished. As if from out of nowhere, a huge hand slammed into Sam, knocking him a few hundred feet. He landed right in front of the ark, unconscious. He was alive, but not by much.
Achava turned to see several giants emerging from the path they originally took to find the ark. She felt faint. Khassima was frozen by fear in place.
The giants were dressed similarly as the natives Achava had seen earlier. They had no weapons, but didn’t really need them. They were each about fifteen feet tall; so much taller than any giant they had seen so far.
“Nephilim,” Khassima said, as her mouth remained open in shock. “The biggest I have ever seen.”
“We need super-duper power now.” Achava stared at Anthea. “It is up to you and me, Anthea. Are you up for it?”
Anthea smiled as she responded. “Yes.”
“Yes. This is Genesis 6:4 coming to pass,” Achava replied. “That is where these kinds of giants are mentioned. They were on earth right before the flood. Something I overlooked.”
“It’s hard to overlook them now!” said Anthea.
“What we do, we have to do fast.” Achava looked at Sam, who was beginning to come around. Khassima was putting cold water on his face. “Khassima! Will you stay with Sam? Anthea and I will take care of the Nephilim!”
“I thought you’d never ask,” she replied, as she tapped Sam on the face to wake him up. “Sam.”
“Look!” Anthea pointed toward the giants. “I don’t think we’re their target!”
The giants moved toward the ark. “The ark!” Achava yelled. “They want to destroy the ark!”
“Well, you wanted a reason as to why we were here,” Anthea added. “I think we’re supposed to protect the ark from the Nephilim attack. Why isn’t this part written in the Bible?”
“It wasn’t supposed to be.”
Achava and Anthea ran as fast as they could to the ark. Achava looked a Sam when he opened his eyes. He smiled. Khassima helped him close to the entrance of the ark, where the door was already closed and sealed tight. Sam stood on his own, although he looked a little wobbly. He waved to Achava to let her know he was alright. Khassima helped Sam around to the side of the ark away from the Nephilim that were quickly approaching.
One Nephilim had reached the ark and was pounding on the door. It appeared that the giants were not interested in the time travelers. Achava would make sure to change that.
She ran up to the giant and punched him repeatedly in both knee caps, trying to disable him. Anthea pursued another one. Achava said, “Do not hold back, Anthea! Give it everything you have!”
“So glad we’re on the same page,” Anthea responded with a Cheshire smile. She ran up to a female giant and pressed her Methuselah tattoo while embracing her leg. The giant immediately started to age and wither. She turned to dust within moments. “Wow! The new and improved version!”
Achava remembered when Anthea had used that weapon on her. It was Khassima that had rescued her.
It was time to play dirty if necessary to get rid of the giants. Achava’s fists glowed with a golden hue as she separated herself of every restriction she had from hurting the people she fought. She knew that she would have to be at full power to beat these giants, so they could go home. Just as long as there were no other distractions.
The ground trembled again, as the Nephilim’s attentions were diverted successfully from Anthea and Achava. The tremors that time were not caused by the giants. “A real earthquake.”
The ground crumbled underneath Sam and Khassima as a pillar of water shot straight out of the earth. It propelled both Sam and Khassima into the air about 100 feet. The water pillar was about 20 feet in diameter and seemed to have an endless supply of water.
Khassima held Sam tightly as they spiraled through the air, and angled their descent to where they safely landed on top of the ark with a thud. Pillars of water appeared in random places around the area, as the clouds released the torrential rains held within.
There were six giants left to dispose of before Achava could even think about getting to safety. She lunged for a giant and punched him solidly, twice in the gut, causing him to reel and fall backward.
Anthea was hit by a massive fist, causing her to fly into a tree. The wood splintered upon her impact and she knew a few of her ribs were broken. Blood ran down her mouth as she strained to get up and see her target. She gritted her teeth, as she placed her hand on one tattoo she had never used before. Her entire body started to glow as she smiled.
Another Nephilim grabbed Achava with both of his hands and squeezed hard. The tighter he squeezed, Achava’s golden glow grew brighter. The water was now covering the Nephilim’s feet on the ground. He brought her up close to his face, so he could stare her down. She could barely breathe.
His facial gesture showed he knew she was there to stop him. She saw the look of discernment in his eyes. She saw something else, as well.
She saw the one who controlled the giants. She saw the darkness of the evil one. “You shall not claim me today, Lucifer! My Father has always been
more powerful than you! By His power, I will vanquish you and your kind!” she said.
She brought her hands back and slapped his ears as hard as she could. His screams echoed against the mountains; he released her. When he let her go, she landed in the waist-deep water. He fell with a large splash beside her.
Her golden glow surrounded her entire body and she no longer felt the rain or the cold. She still got wet, but she couldn’t feel it. Achava jumped up and smashed her golden fists into the heads of two more giants. Electrical sparks flew. They were finished before they hit the ground.
She dispatched the next one by spinning into a golden whirlwind. The giant was sucked into the vortex created and shot high into the air. When he landed, he broke her neck.
There were two giants left. They were the largest of the Nephilim—maybe eighteen or nineteen feet tall. Anthea attempted to fight them with hand to hand combat. At the same time, her body grew. She was as big as they were. She wrestled one through the trees, knocking down several trees in their battle. Achava stepped back in shock. What on earth?
Achava turned away to seek out the last giant. He was already by the ark and had his fists doubled up, ready to smash them down upon Noah’s creation. Or was he after Sam?
By now, Sam was fully conscious, but looked disoriented. Khassima stood in front of Sam to protect him from the giant’s blow. Achava would make sure the blow never connected.
She tried to run through the water, but it just slowed her down. “Heavenly Father!” she called out through the storm. “Grant me the ability to walk on water!”
She quickly rose to the top of the water. She raced toward the giant.
“Nephilim!” she screamed.
The giant turned, just before he landed his blow. “Who calls me my name?” he answered, with a deep, rough voice. “Who dares?”
“I dare!” she screamed back. “I am Achava! Descendent of Achsah! My lineage is holier than the creature you spawned from! I declare that today, Noah’s ark shall escape you unharmed to fulfill the prophecy of his great-grandfather, Enoch. Plus, you shall die today! The chronicle of this event shall never be written! You will die unknown!”